A stadium record crowd saw rookie sensation Dexter McCluster do himself no good at all Saturday in his bid to win the job as punt returner for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Early in a softly played two-hour scrimmage, McCluster had punts bounce off his chest on back-to-back kicks. The quick and versatile second-round pick did manage to hold onto the ball on the third try, and still got a big hand from the 10,721 people who jammed Spratt Stadium on a hot, sunny afternoon.
Spratt is the 31-year-old home of Div. II Missouri Western State University which began hosting the Chiefs' training camp this year. The previous stadium record was 10,141.
"The fans have been awesome, ever since we got to training camp," said quarterback Brodie Croyle. "We were expecting a crowd but not that big a crowd. It was great to have them out here."
The big crowd was not unexpected. One reason the Chiefs moved camp from River Falls, Wis., to the Missouri Western State campus an hour or so from Kansas City was so fans could have easier access. On some days during the first week, as many as 5,000 have shown up in spite of oppressive heat.
The scrimmage, the first since the Chiefs opened camp on July 30, seemed to favor the defense and second- and third-teamers.
Javier Arenas, a rookie cornerback who looks like he may unseat incumbent Brandon Carr, made a nifty play when he knocked a pass away from Chris Chambers. In addition, linebacker Derrick Johnson got a big ovation when he held running back Thomas Jones to almost no gain on an outlet pass and defensive end Tyson Jackson and linebacker Demorrio Williams put a lick on a ballcarrier on one play that could be heard all over the field.
Another rookie defensive back, safety Kendrick Lewis, drew big applause when he broke up a pass over the middle from Matt Cassel.
"The competition was fierce, absolutely," said Cassel, the starting quarterback. "The defense did a great job. But until we get in there and look at the film and dissect it, you don't really know."
Wallace Gilberry, a backup defensive end, was credited with two sacks on back-to-back plays by head coach Todd Haley, who blew his whistle when he wanted to stop a play.
"Without a doubt, we got a lot of pressure up front and we brought it," Gilberry said. "It's all about competing. We had a lot of fun out here, offense and defense."
Rookie safety Eric Berry also drew big applause for intercepting Croyle's pass over the middle.
"We still have a lot of work to do," said Croyle, who also had a 10-yard TD run nullified by penalty. "But we did some good things and we did some things we've got to work on. We'll learn a lot from this tape."
The Chiefs get their first day off at camp on Sunday. On Friday, they're in Atlanta for their first exhibition game.
"It was great just to see the fans, get out there with live competition," Cassel said. "We had 10,000 people or whatever it was, a stadium record. It was a good first test for us."
The offense was not without its moments. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who has declined to speak with reporters during camp, made a very nice catch in traffic for a 17-yard gain and tight end Jake O'Connell, turned in a great diving catch.
But throughout the day, the hitting was mostly held to a minimum, softer than the scrimmage Haley held last year at this time in camp.
"I'm not going to use 'softer,'" Gilberry said. "This is football. But we kind of took off from that today. We wanted to take care of guys. After all, these are our teammates. And like coach said, we need everybody. I think that was more important — not get anybody hurt but just run around and have some fun."
