{"id":804890,"date":"2026-08-06T18:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/804890\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T18:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:54:09","slug":"chiefs-training-camp-notebook-day-8-the-defense-has-long-way-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/804890\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs training camp notebook Day 8: The defense has \u2018long way to go\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The eighth practice of Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> training camp was a mild one in comparison to the other seven. After three consecutive days in full pads, the team was mandated to have a lightened practice on Thursday ahead of donning the pads again Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

By all accounts, most of the work done on the field was basically a sped-up walkthrough, working on timing and the details of plays without full-speed contact to disrupt things.<\/p>\n

After practice, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was able to share a state of the defense after a week of camp.<\/p>\n

Spags needs to see \u2018a lot\u2019 from Mansoor Delane before Week 1<\/p>\n

Still wearing a yellow, non-contact jersey, rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane has been unable to show Spagnuolo the full extent of his abilities so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to be a little cautious with the shoulder, the shoulder blade,\u201d Spagnuolo told reporters. \u201cHe was out there today because we only had shells on so he could protect himself. The other three days, with the shoulder pads, it was just really being safe, protecting him from himself because we don\u2019t want to set him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a good job,\u201d Spaguolo noted. \u201cYou saw him in and out of huddles, getting everything mentally, trying to keep the conditioning up. We\u2019ll see where we are tomorrow, because we put the pads back on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defensive coach was asked what he needs to see from Delane before the team takes the field against the Denver Broncos <\/a>in Week 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot,\u201d Spagnuolo said. \u201cWe just haven\u2019t had the work; you go through OTAs, and it\u2019s just helmets. The thing he\u2019s missing right now is the continuity with a bunch of guys that are new to him; everybody\u2019s new, so we\u2019re going to have to fight through that; before you know, we\u2019re going to be lining up against Denver. Hopefully we can get him back quicker than we thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter Woods has \u2018a ways to go\u2019<\/p>\n

When asked about rookie defensive tackle Peter Woods, Spagnuolo excitedly tried to describe the good things he has put on display at camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way they\u2019re supposed to look, right?\u201d Spagnuolo asked the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he has a ways to go,\u201d he continued. \u201cSome of these younger guys aren\u2019t really used to the way we do things, and that\u2019s for all the rookies. Pete\u2019s right in there with that crew, but when he does get his feet right, he does keep his pad level low; he\u2019s a pretty good football player. It\u2019s our job to get him to do that every down, and he\u2019s a willing guy. I like him; he\u2019s a smart, good football player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of how much Woods still has to pick up as an NFL player, Spagnuolo admits that the interior positions may be better set up for a young, learning player to make an impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty well defined as what an inside guy does as a three-technique or an A-gap tackle,\u201d Spaguolo acknowledged. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a few multiple things we\u2019re looking at, so I think Pete\u2019s learning some things that maybe he didn\u2019t do before, and we\u2019d like to find out what he can do. I believe in having as many versatile players as we can, so he\u2019ll be thrown in that same category.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spags needs to see more physicality and violence<\/p>\n

When prompted to summarize his unit\u2019s performance throughout camp, a negative day in \u201cgoal-line\u201d work stood out in Spagnuolo\u2019s head. It\u2019s clear that Kansas City\u2019s defensive coordinator needs to see more of his defense in live action.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m assessing the three days in pads, I would say we have a long way to go with our physicality and our violent play,\u201d Spagnuolo said. \u201cYet, you\u2019re going against your own team, so you have to play that game, but hopefully we can get enough of those snaps in the preseason games to see where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

When zoning in on the defensive backfield, Spags talked through the lack of vocal leadership compared to previous seasons. He mentioned the loud communication of former Chiefs safety Bryan Cook while also pointing to cornerback Trent McDuffie stirring the pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take a little while before this group gets comfortable together,\u201d Spagnuolo admitted. \u201cHopefully sooner rather than later\u2026 I think Alohi will be that kind of guy; he\u2019s just still learning the defense, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ending on a positive note: Felix Anudike-Uzomah<\/p>\n

One day after head coach Andy Reid emphasized improvement in the get-off of defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Spagnuolo doubled down on a growing narrative from the week of practices: Anudike-Uzomah is playing well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s had a really good camp,\u201d Spagnuolo said. \u201cHe\u2019s fought these injuries all the way through; even when he was playing, I think he was hampered by it\u2026 When I\u2019ve had my brief conversations, it feels like it\u2019s the healthiest he has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has been in the system now for the fourth year, so he should know it,\u201d Spagnuolo pointed out. \u201cI think he has had some pretty effective, productive plays, and I\u2019m hoping that continues\u2026 Ashton [Gillotte], we need him out there too, but the blessing in disguise for Felix is he gets more reps, so hopefully it keeps being positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chiefs will be back on the practice field in pads on Friday morning, starting at 9:15 a.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The eighth practice of Kansas City Chiefs training camp was a mild one in comparison to the other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[15977,24538,99],"class_list":["post-804890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-training-camp","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}