The Sports Xchange

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Head coach Andy Reid’s offensive line was the biggest question mark for the Kansas City Chiefs heading into the 2015 training camp.

After three weeks and one preseason game, not much has changed. Reid and his offensive coaches continue to mix and match candidates in hopes of finding, as Reid said earlier, the “five best” blockers, no matter what name is on the back of their jersey.

“We’re improving every week,” Reid said after returning to camp following an opening preseason victory over Arizona. “We did better this year in the first game than we did last year, so we’re getting better. We’ve got young guys and we’re working to get better every day.”

The constants of the line so far have been Eric Fisher at left tackle and Ben Grubbs at left guard. Or, at least that was the case until Fisher suffered a sprained ankle during practice on Monday. The Chiefs had no immediate idea of how long Fisher might be out. Guard/tackle Jeff Allen went down with a MCL strain against the Cardinals.

When training camp started, Eric Kush was the center, Allen was at right guard and Donald Stephenson was the right tackle. After a bit more than a week of practices, rookie draft choice Mitch Morse moved into the No. 1 center spot, with Allen shifting to right tackle and Zach Fulton grabbing the right-guard position he held all of last season.

The first offensive line struggled in limited time against the Cardinals, and that brought changes afterward as second-year man Laurent Duvernay-Tardif stepped in at right guard and Stephenson was back at right tackle. When Fisher went down, Stephenson moved to left tackle and first-year man Jarrod Pughsley stepped in at right tackle.

If it sounds like a lot of juggling, it has been for Reid and his offensive staff. Developing some sort of chemistry and continuity along the blocking unit is vital for the Chiefs to be able to make the offensive improvement necessary to improve their record.

“We had a couple blown assignments and you blow an assignment and things are going to happen negatively,” Reid said of his No. 1 offense’s play against Arizona. “That’s kind of what happened there with (an) interception. We’ve got to make sure to tighten that up and get better.”

One of the new faces that made a push for a spot on the final roster was Pughsley. An undrafted rookie last year out of the University of Akron, he went to camp with Dallas but was released. In the spring, he worked at guard, but in camp he’s practiced almost exclusively at tackle.

“He had a lot of reps,” Reid said. “He’s not short on opportunities out here. He got a lot of reps in the game and then we asked him to take a lot of reps (in Monday practice). I’m sure he’s a little bit tired and sore, but he did a nice job of pushing through it.”

Any young player that is getting a lot of “opportunities” from the coaching staff in training camp is on the radar screen for consideration in the final 53-man roster decisions.

Despite the lack of a solid starting group, one man thinks the Chiefs’ offensive line is much better this year.

“I’m getting comfortable with the group,” said running back Jamaal Charles. “I feel like Grubbs and Fish, they’re building chemistry. Then you’ve got Jeff (Allen), he wants to play. He missed football last year (ruptured biceps.) He wants to play. He’s just happy to be on the field, do whatever it takes.”

–Although there was no real competition for the job, Chase Daniel firmly established that he will be the Chiefs’ No. 2 quarterback for the third straight season with his performance against Arizona in the preseason opener. Daniel and the No. 2 offense came on the field in the second quarter, and they put up three touchdowns in three possessions.

Daniel threw three touchdown passes among his 17 completions and 21 attempts. He threw for 189 yards in his 29 plays.

“You have to get it in when you can especially these twos and threes,” Daniel said of playing time. “This is the chance to shine and put it on tape, to go out there and play tough. You’re not only auditioning for this team, you are auditioning for 31 other teams.”

Against the Cardinals, Daniel was not given outstanding pass protection, but he showed his ability to escape pressure and still throw the ball.

“He took some hits there and was still able to make throws,” said Reid. “He had three or four of them where he was under a little bit of pressure. They blitzed him too. They didn’t hold back much on him and he did a good job with it. Chase hung on to the ball right to the end and I just thought he did a real nice job with that.”