Working out over the last week were Ks Sandro DeAngelis, Justin Medlock, and Jeff Wolfert as well as P Damon Duval and LS Sean Griffin.

The Falcons have Ks Matt Bryant and Steven Hauschka currently under contract.

I was pretty hard on Medlock after he flopped in Kansas City, but he’s coming off a solid season up in Canada in which he hit on 87% of his kicks with a long of 52.  That season has already earned him two workouts that were reported and maybe his poor NFL debut is now officially behind him.

You also might recognize another one of those names that the Falcons had in for a workout.  Jeff Wolfert had an amazing career at Missouri in which he broke the school’s all-time scoring record.

When Smith was named the head coach, one his first decisions was to retain Thomas and promote him to assistant head coach/secondary.

Last season was Thomas’ 42^nd in the league.  He played for 13 years and has coached for 29 seasons.

For all the talk about how the Chiefs do not appreciate their former players, here is a chance for the team to step up by bringing Thomas into the fold as a part of Romeo Crennel’s staff.

Good luck finding a man that knows as much about the defensive backfield, something that is as important as ever considering the likely turnover at safety and necessary development of Maurice Leggett and Donald Washington at corner.

Hiring Thomas wouldn’t be meaningless like letting former players hang out at practice.  You would be bringing in a Hall of Fame player to help improve one of the worst defenses in the league.

Gonzalez and his wife, October, will soon appear in a PETA ad, as part of the “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign.  No uniforms here: both of the Gonzalezes appear nude.

“We should be protecting animals, not sacrificing their lives for the sake of fashion or luxury,” says Tony Gonzalez.  “October and I have changed many of our habits in light of the inhumane treatment of animals that occurs not only in the fur industry but also on factory farms.”

Gonzalez credits  his vegan diet for his fantastic physique.

Judging by the slick, sexy ad, whatever they’re doing is working.

OK, who is asking Matt Cassel during his weekly press conference if he will be the next athlete to pose for one of these ads?

The Chiefs take a break from practice this week. They’ll resume next week with two sessions plus a mandatory weekend mini-camp.  If the current rate of progress continues, they’ll be ready for the start of training camp in late July.  The Chiefs looked sloppy in their first practice but were much sharper by the time they finished the week.  This progression seems about right for wide receiver Bobby Engram.

“It’s always slow at first when you’re putting in a new offense and trying to get everybody in to the same program.  But I’m encouraged. We’ve got a lot of good players.  It’s part of the growth process. Guys are trying to feel this offense and get to know each other on the field.  Obviously, the first week of practice is going to be slower, a little more uncertain than it will be three or four weeks from now.”

The Chiefs made most progress in the passing game. Dropped balls and scattered passes were the standard earlier in the week.  Leaping catches and completed passes were the norm by Friday’s final practice.  Todd Haley, like Engram, isn’t worried about any hiccups.

“As time goes on, you improve.  If you weren’t improving … I’d be a little more worried…  It’s going to take some time, there’s no doubt.  That’s what’s good about this time of year. It’s receivers, tight ends, backs or whoever’s running the routes understanding the coverage. The defense is putting in stuff, too, so they’re throwing a bunch of different looks at them, which makes it difficult.”

If you’ll remember, there were alarms going off when Matt Cassel’s first two passes went for incompletions last week. Any sort of slow start by the team shouldn’t be a worry to anyone.  Is the “Patriot Way” immune to any and all adjustment periods?  Calm down, folks it’s still May.  Like the coach said, if there weren’t any improvements there would be a reason to worry.

Tamba Hali’s conversion to OLB has been well documented but should the Chiefs cut ties with the former first round pick if he doesn’t take to his new position quickly?  Jeff Smith at NFL Gridiron Gab seems to think so.

What if Hali is unable to make the conversion to linebacker?  If conventional wisdom were to be applied to resolve the dilemma, a return of Hali to a position of success would seem logical.  But lining up at defensive end could only be accomplished elsewhere.

The relationship between Scott Pioli and Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff was instrumental in the trade of Tony Gonzalez and the two could once again be at work on a trade.  This time a straight player swap with Tamba Hali going to Atlanta for Jamaal Anderson.

Anderson (6-6, 282) has only amassed 2 sacks in 31 starts, but does have the versatility to move inside to the defensive tackle position.  The Chiefs would get depth and a player that has yet to fully realize his tremendous upside.

Pass.  What would be the point of swapping a guy in Hali who we know can get to the quarterback in the right situation with a player that has yet to open many eyes in any situation?  I’ve been the first to admit I’m a huge Hali fan and fully expect him to be starting at OLB when the season starts, but even the most skeptical Chiefs fan wouldn’t pull the trigger on this deal.  Before the draft I was been worried about the depth along the defensive line but after drafting Tyson Jackson and Alex Magee I think we could be looking at one of the team’s strengths.

Like everybody else, the Chiefs will return to work today after enjoying a three-day Memorial Day holiday.  Bob Gretz breaks down the team’s schedule until training camp opens.

After going through four OTA sessions last week the players will get back into the strength and conditioning program this week.  They will not get back on the field as a team until a week from today.  Starting with a workout on June 1, the Chiefs are scheduled to have 15 practices in 18 days, wrapping up the OTA sessions on June 18th.  The Chiefs will then be on vacation until July 30th, when they are currently scheduled to travel to River Falls, Wisconsin for the start of training camp.

As important as their practice sessions will be, Todd Haley has been focused on the strength and conditioning program for his team and the gains that his players have made since it began back in March.

“These guys have bought into what we are trying to do and you can see it on some of these guys already.  Bigger, stronger, in better condition, it all helps you play the game and it keeps you healthy.”

It can also help you win in the fourth quarter.  In the last 10 games of the 2008 season, the Chiefs had the lead, were tied, or trailed by less than a touchdown seven times.  The Chiefs record in those games: 1-6.

With all the talk about the players picking up the new offensive and defensive schemes, I’m more interested in the team’s conditioning.  That may sound silly, but then you just have to look at that 1-6 record and you see how poorly conditioned the Chiefs were last season and during Herman Edwards’ entire tenure.  As bad of an in-game coach as Edwards was, his powder puff conditioning was just as big of a detriment to the team.  It will be a treat to watch games this year and not see most every player on defense bent over at the waist looking down the field at a guy cutting them up for 50 yards.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants recently released NFL season win totals and assigned the Chiefs 6 wins.  Only the Lions (4), Rams (5) and Raiders (5.5) were given a lower number.  LVSC granted the Patriots the highest number of wins with 11.5.

The Atlanta Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons, but were still given a win total of 9 for the 2009 season.  Veteran handicapper Mark Franco feels the Falcons can get to their number thanks to a certain former Chief.

“I think the acquisition of Tony Gonzalez is the last piece of the puzzle for Atlanta’s offense.  With the way the Falcons ran the ball last year with Turner and Norwood and now you give Matt Ryan a security blanket in Gonzalez, they are going to be tough to stop.”

We’ve got a long way to go before the season starts so any sort of win/loss prediction isn’t worth much at this point, but I’d have a hard time putting the Chiefs down for an over.  A quick glance at the schedule and I can only see five games that I feel comfortable putting in the ‘W’ column:  Oakland at home Week 2, Oakland on the road Week 10, Buffalo at home Week 14, Cleveland at home Week 15 and Cincinnati on the road Week 16.  So in order to be on my way to winning an over bet with the Chiefs I need the team to win all five of those games and pick off two other games from a group that includes San Diego at home Week 7, Jacksonville on the road Week 9 and Denver at home Week 13.  The rest of the games — as it stands four months before kickoff in Week 1 — do not look to be anywhere near something you can count on for a win.

None of this means I think the Chiefs will only win 5 games this season or that I will be betting against my own team.  But at the same time I like to think I’m a rational guy and it’s just not rational to stand on a table and declare that Kansas City is ready to win more than 6 games with a tough as nails schedule on tap.

The Shadow Buddies Foundation is holding a Tony Gonzalez Fan Appreciation night on Wednesday, May 20th from 5:30-7:30 at the foundation officies in Lenexa.  Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under.  The proceeds go to the foundation’s program to provide backpacks to youngsters attending summer camps around the area.

For information or to buy advance tickets (limited to 500) you can call 913-642-4646 or visit www.shadowbuddies.org.

Former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez said goodbye to Kansas City today, but said he’s merely on loan to the Atlanta Falcons.

The 10-time Pro Bowler met with reporters Tuesday morning at the top of the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, saying that he might be going to Atlanta now but Gonzalez insisted he’ll someday retire as a Chief.

Gonzalez’ trade to the Falcons last week ended the 33-year-old’s 12-year affiliation with Kansas City, which traded up to draft him as a 21-year-old in 1997.  He has since broken every major tight end receiving record and former Chiefs president Carl Peterson — also appearing at the press conference — said Gonzalez was the best to ever play the position.

Gonzalez said he planned to play two or three years in Atlanta as he continues to search for playoff success. He said the pursuit of a Super Bowl championship is “everything” to him now, but he said that at the end of his career, he planned to re-sign with the Chiefs for as little as one day, just so he can retire with the team that drafted him.  He also said if he were lucky enough to be inducted there was no doubt he’d enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Chiefs player, regardless of what happens with the Falcons.

The Kansas City Star has a lengthier video of the press conference along with pictures from his time with the Chiefs.

When Tony first spoke out after the trade, I made it pretty clear I would not be happy if he ended up playing three or four seasons in Atlanta.  In fact I still believe it will hurt his legacy if that’s what happens, whether he retires as a Chief or not.  That being said, if he goes off to the Falcons and plays two standard “Tony” seasons, comes back to Arrowhead and dons the 88 jersey ones last time as he signs his one day contract then I will have no issues whatsoever.  Better yet, what if the Chiefs are on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl in two years and Gonzalez still has some game left?  I don’t think it’s the most ridiculous idea that Tony could come back and be that final piece of the puzzle.

From the drafting of a college backup QB named Matt Cassel to a daring deal for a moody WR in Randy Moss to Thursday’s trade of Tony Gonzalez, Scott Pioli’s approach to player moves can be summed up in one word: bold.  That’s something to remember as Pioli, formerly the top personnel assistant to Bill Belilchick at New England, embards today on his first draft as Chiefs general manager.  The Chiefs draft probably won’t go as anyone outside the tight circule of team officials predicts.

Mike Mayock of the NFL Network likes what has been going on in New England in recent years:

“The Patriots really don’t care what other people think.  They define value as players that are going to help them. What the Patriots have done better than 90 percent of the teams is define what is value for them, their scheme.”

Don’t worry I have no interest in continuing my campaign for Aaron Curry and instead I’m sitting here expecting the unexpected.  A trade, drafting the “hot” name in LSU’s Tyson Jackson or pulling out a name no one would place in the top 10 let alone the top 3.  Currently the Chiefs only have one pick — #3 — on this first day of the draft and if by the time we all wrapping up for the day at 9pm tonight I will be shocked.

Bob Gretz, as he always does, will give you some great info to chew on while you prepare for the draft.  As we talk about the unexpected here, he trys to tackle what we can expect from GM Scott Pioli.

Pioli will enter the draft with a list of names that he wants to draft, first round through seventh round.  The draft board is the draft board, but that will provide Pioli a place to fall when one of his players is taken off the list by another team.  The Patriots didn’t just allow the draft board to lead them to picks.  They identified the players they wanted and then did what they could to make sure they got them.  If that meant trading up, they traded up.  If their chosen player in that round was unavailable, they traded down and picked up selections to refill their basket for moving up.

The only thing I worry about when it comes to Pioli doing things “The Patriot Way” is if the plan revolves around the team trading out of the No. 3 slot.  Not only is a top pick nearly impossible to trade most years, but with the current economic situation it’s even harder.  So while Pioli will no doubt use the 2010 second round pick he received for Tony Gonzalez as a way to get into this year’s second round, it will be interesting to see how much magic he can work without moving the top pick.

Another rumor that is still bouncing around a couple hours before the draft is the Chiefs trading second year DT Glenn Dorsey to the Falcons.  In return, Kansas City would get the Falcons’ first (No. 24) and third (No. 90) round picks.

Well, this scenario would certainly give Pioli the tools he needs to work with and would answer my question how he could get things done without trading the No. 3 pick.  It would be quite the fall in value for Dorsey after being taken with the fifth overall selection in last year’s draft, but if he doesn’t fit then there is no reason to keep him around just because of how he got to Kansas City in the first place.

Let’s get ready to Draft!

Jason Whitlock does not believe the Gonzalez trade is a white flag on the 2009 season.

Pioli and Haley weren’t raised to rebuild.  Their upbringing and egos dictate immediate building and instant gratification.  They’ll be disappointed if the Chiefs miss the playoffs.  They traded Gonzalez simply because Atlanta made an offer that couldn’t be refused.  Christmas came very early at Arrowhead Stadium.

I laugh at people that think this trade throws away the upcoming season.  Really?  Before the draft has started or there has been one “mandatory” practice you think the season is over?  Try not to jump the gun just yet.  Whitlock is a little ahead of himself thinking this means Anquan Boldin or Julius Peppers is coming and he’s still pressing the idea that Pioli needs to bow at the feet of Brian Waters, but otherwise we’re on the same page.

Meanwhile Bill Williamson thinks the Chiefs will regret trading away TG.

It just doesn’t make sense that Kansas City has to wait until next year to get compensation for Gonzalez.  The Chiefs need plenty of help now.  They could use another quality rookie.  They could still use Gonzalez as well.  He was brilliant last season and he had one of his better seasons with 96 catches.

Brilliant?  As I’ve said before, TG is second only to Derrick Thomas as far as my favorite Chiefs go, but brilliant?  How brilliant could any player be when their team goes 2-14.  Could the Chiefs end up regretting this move?  Absolutely.  It’s way too early for anyone to know for sure since we don’t know the whole story yet.  Is the 2010 pick going to be turned into a 2009 pick?  Or maybe another veteran?  Until everything shakes out you cannot properly grade this trade for the Chiefs.

Joe Posnanski takes a look back at the amazing career or Tony Gonzalez and thinks this trade was inevitable and shouldn’t tarnish his Chiefs legacy.

There isn’t much sentimentality in pro football.  Jerry Rice finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks.  John Unitas threw his last pass for the Chargers.  Emmitt Smith gained his last yards for the Cardinals.  Reggie White made his last sack for the Carolina Panthers.

And so Gonzalez, the greatest pass-catching tight end in history, will probably catch his last pass for the Falcons.  No, it doesn’t seem right but football rarely has proper endings.

Right now, this trade should not impact the Chiefs legacy of Tony Gonzalez.  However, after all this talk from him about only playing for one or two more years, if he shows up in Atlanta with a fresh five year deal and spends all of those years with the Falcons.  Then for me I would think less of him, because if he really wanted to solidify his legend in Kansas City he would have publicly said “I am not going anywhere.  I want to help turn this franchise around.”  Speaking of which…

The Associated Press is reporting Gonzalez will have a new contract with the Falcons.

A person with knowledge of the negotiations said the Falcons have reached agreement with Gonzalez on a new contract.  The person requested anonymity because the agreement has not been announced.

It’s possible that the Falcons wanted to get a new deal done for salary cap purposes.  If that’s the case then I have no issue with it.  But after it’s announced, I better not hear more stuff from TG about playing three or four more years in Atlanta.  This is a business and I get that.  No one is going to say “I want to lose and not get a new contract while I’m at it!” but can we get some honestly please?

Lets not forget about the Atlanta side of this deal and Mark Bradley at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is excited the Falcons finally have a man with a plan.

In the way the best quarterbacks see the whole field, Thomas Dimitroff, who’s the son of a quarterback, grasps the big picture.

Just like the Chiefs got what they needed from the Patriots for a second round pick, the Falcons did the same thing.  So while as fans we can argue over what Kansas City got from Atlanta, but I think we can all agree this is a great move for Dimitroff and the Falcons.  Instead of using their first round pick on an unproved commodity like Brandon Pettigrew, they now have the best tight end in football helping their young quarterback develop.

After digesting all of the fan reaction to the trade, Chris at Arrowhead Pride thinks the much discussed compensation was appropriate.

The 2010 second round pick the Chiefs got from the Falcons for Gonzalez was completely fair.  There’s wiggle room for debate about the Falcons to throwing in say a 5th round pick but that’s about it.  No way is Gonzalez worth a first rounder.  Even the addition of a 5th round pick is a bit unnecessary.

We all get so emotionally involved that a player that has been around and been as good as TG was tends make people feel like they need to get value for the time spent as opposed to the time they will spend with their new team.  Gonzalez had a first round career five times over, but for what he will give the Falcons a second round pick is just about right.  Where I differ from Chris is I think a late round pick in this weekend’s draft should have been included, but at the same time a 5th round pick should never be a deal breaker.

Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt:

”On behalf of my family and the Chiefs, I want to thank Tony for his time in Kansas City.  Over the last 12 seasons, Tony has been one of the finest players in Chiefs history, and he will always be remembered as a member of the Chiefs. His play on the field speaks for itself – he holds almost every major NFL record for tight ends, and he is arguably the best to ever play his position. We wish him the best in Atlanta.”

General Manager Scott Pioli:

“From an organizational as well as personal standpoint there are mixed emotions.  I have the highest personal and professional respect for Tony and consider him to be a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.”

Wow, I can’t believe this actually happened.  I know we’ve been talking about this possibility since last season’s trading deadline, but I don’t know that I really thought a trade would ever go down.  Even earlier today, I said the trade I expected the Chiefs to make was for the No. 3 pick but that they would hold onto TG for next season.  Though I noted Pioli would need to get a second-round pick for Gonzalez and he managed that, albeit a 2010 selection.  I’m surprised Kansas City didn’t at least get a late round pick in this weekend’s draft just to add to the team’s total.

Gonzalez was always one of my favorite Chiefs, second only to Derrick Thomas and I really hate to see him go.  He is the best to ever play at his position and it will be so bizarre to see him in a Falcons jersey next season.

Hey, Falcons fans: You’re welcome.