The Sports Xchange

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Dee Ford, the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2014 first-round draft pick, has the same obstacles in front of him at outside linebacker as he found last year in his rookie season. With Pro Bowlers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali in the lineup, there are limited snaps for the Auburn product.

But he’s working hard to soak up some snaps in the defense, and coordinator Bob Sutton and his staff are looking for more ways to get Ford on the field.

“One of the strides I wanted to make was against the run, and I feel like I’m making strides, huge strides against the run,” Ford said. “I’m definitely getting better. It feels good; I’m playing fast. I can’t think of anything more than that right now.”

Head coach Andy Reid wants him to keep working hard so the coaches have to get him on the field.

“He’s out here and he’s rotating in with the ones, he’s getting a lot of snaps,” Reid said. “He’s getting better against the run. He’s continuing to work his fundamentals in the pass game and the run game. The one thing we know he can do is pass rush.

“He’ll have opportunities this year, more so than he had last year. We used him a little bit at the end (of 2014), and I think we feel pretty comfortable getting him into a game.”

Ford had a setback on Aug. 8 when he suffered a concussion in practice.

–The Chiefs are limiting the number of snaps safety Eric Berry gets in practice as he continues his comeback from Hodgkin lymphoma and his six-month regimen of chemotherapy treatments. Berry does not work with the first-team defense, as Ron Parker and Husain Abdullah are the starting safeties. When the Chiefs go to a nickel package where they have three safeties on the field, Berry has gotten some snaps with that group.

But there’s no question the Chiefs are taking it slow in his recovery. On Aug. 9, Berry got his first chance to get in on the physical end of practice.

“He’s feeling better, I think, every day,” said Sutton. “I don’t really just mean physically — I think he’s getting back into football too. If you look back over the previous year, he missed a lot of training camp a year ago with an Achilles and then he got nicked up again. He really didn’t have a lot of practice time, even in the few games he played in. I think he’s getting back, he’s seeing things better; it’s slowing down for him.”

One thing that is obvious is that Berry has become the Chiefs’ fans No. 1 player as the crowds at Missouri Western State University are vocal every time he’s near the ball. A Berry interception during one practice brought a big reaction from the stands.

–Nose tackle Dontari Poe is in St. Joseph rehabbing after undergoing surgery on a herniated disc in his lower back in the middle of July. Poe has not been on the practice field, but is doing his rehab work in the training room and the team’s indoor facility. With Poe out, four-year veteran Jaye Howard has stepped in with the first defense. At 6-3, 301 pounds, Howard has shown power and quickness playing in the middle of the defense. Also, veteran Mike DeVito (6-3, 308) is working inside as well with rookies Rakeem Nunez-Roches (6-2, 307) and Charles Tuaau (6-5, 310) showing promise.