[Kansas City.com] Tonight’s game will provide the Chiefs coaching staff with their first opportunity at player evaluation against outside competition. They declined their customary joint practice session with the Vikings this year.
Coach Dick Vermeil is less interested in team achievements and more interested in individual accomplishments.
“We’ve got to see them play in a live situation, tackle full speed, catch the ball full speed,” Vermeil said. “That’s what the preseason games are for, to execute the fundamentals in an intense environment. Whether you win the game or not doesn’t make that much difference.”
The competition for jobs is intense at a few positions, wide receiver in particular. Rookie Craphonso Thorpe and other players with little or no NFL experience – Jeris McIntyre, John Booth and Richard Smith – are trying to win a roster spot.
The Chiefs have been encouraged by their play at training camp, but that’s meaningless if they fail tonight.
“I want to see that in a game,” Vermeil said. “None of these guys have been hit. Some kids, young in this league, in the first preseason game or two are a little bit timid. Some of them don’t know what it means to play the game fast when they’re not the so-called primary receiver. They think they’re not going to get the ball, and all of a sudden the quarterback reads the coverage and throws the ball, and he’s going half-speed.”
“Chances are you won’t stay here very long doing that. You see this sometimes under pressure better than you do on your own practice field.”
