The Chiefs held practice Wednesday night under the lights and in front of over 8,000 fans in St. Joseph, Missouri. Here are a few observations from the evening.
Offensive MVP: Dexter McCluster the jitterbug
Kendrick Lewis described McCluster as a "jitterbug" at one point in training camp and he's never been more correct. McCluster flew around the field on Wednesday night with several impressive catches.
The first came on a 40+ yard pass from Brodie Croyle, over the shoulder, near the sidelines inside the ten yard line. The second came on a full speed sprint and a pass from Matt Cassel that was also 40+ yards in the air. McCluster beat out fellow rookie Javier Arenas on that play.
He also took a handoff to the left side of the field, made one cut up field and....poof! Like a magician, he disappeared into the open field.
Defensive MVP: Kendrick Lewis
Lewis has had a solid training camp so far splitting time on the first and second team with Jon McGraw. I've said for a while that I think McGraw will start the season opener but Lewis is making a case to prove me wrong.
He was all over the field on Wednesday night with several pass breakups. His athleticism is obvious as he made one diving pass breakup to the cheers of 8,000 fans.
He's more athletic than McGraw. He showed that on Wednesday night. The safety position is going to get very, very interesting down the stretch.
High school game atmosphere
Several players commented that it was a "game-like atmosphere" on Wednesday night at Spratt Stadium. The lights were on, the bleachers were filled and the fans were cheering for every little thing.
I would compare it to a popular high school game. As a graduate of Rockhurst HIgh School in Kansas City -- a fairly popular football program. -- it reminded me of those battles with Blue Springs back at the start of the decade (a decade ago .... geez).
The lights were on, the beer stands were open (that's not high school-like) and the fans were decked out in red. The Chiefs have a family fun night scheduled this weekend but the atmosphere on Wednesday night will be hard to beat.
Front seven makes some strides
The front seven had a decent night getting to quarterback Matt Cassel on several occasions. You can't hit the quarterback in training camp but I can think of at least three sacks from the outside linebackers including ones from Mike Vrabel and Tamba Hali.
It's hard to evaluate these guys when they can't go full speed at the quarterback but the early results say the front seven will be improved.
Succop has it goin' on
Ryan Succop isn't a guy you hear a lot about during training camp because, well, kickers don't do a whole lot in camp. But I think it's telling that, Haley, the guy who loves competition everywhere, only has one kicker in camp.
They believe in Succop and that showed on Wednesday night. The Chiefs did a drill where they had to get the field goal unit on the field with seconds remaining in the game and kick it through the uprights as quickly as possible.
Succop of course nailed 'em all but what impressed me was how he did it with so much ease. A 47-yarder looks like nothing to this guy. So far, the Chiefs got it right with Mr. Irrelevant.
Jersey watch and Zubaz update
I was disappointed with the number of obscure jerseys on Wednesday night.
I saw lots and lots of Trent Green, Priest Holmes and even a few Larry Johnsons.
What was missing was those jerseys that are 15-20 years old, ripped to shreds with names like Percy Snow or Harvey Williams on the back. Disappointing night in that regard.
Also, there were no known sightings of Zubaz pants.
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