Chiefs: Five things to know
Chiefs: Camp report | 
Judge
RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- Observations from Kansas City Chiefs camp:
1. So far, so good with Glenn Dorsey. The first-round draft pick missed a week with a knee injury, but it wasn't serious. And that's good. In fact, he was back at practice this week and seemed fine. Despite concerns by other clubs that Dorsey might be an injury waiting to happen, no one here seems all that worried about his health. In fact, if coaches talk about anything with Dorsey it's not his knees; it's his pass rushing. He needs to work on it. "Against the run he's (special)," coach Herm Edwards said, "but he still has to learn to rush the passer. It's going to take time but eventually he's going to have to learn how to take on the guard."
2. Had Miami not struck first, the Chiefs might have been interested in signing free-agent quarterback Chad Pennington, but only as a backup. Pennington was Edwards' quarterback with the Jets, and Edwards respects what Pennington did for his teams. But because Pennington wanted to go somewhere to start, the Chiefs were never in the mix. K.C.'s veteran quarterback is Damon Huard, but he's not the backup; Tyler Thigpen is. Huard is No. 3.
3. Take your pick for a kicker: Nick Novak or Connor Barth. There is no frontrunner, with insiders thinking a decision might come down to who is better on kickoffs. Novak has the edge in experience, kicking for Washington and Arizona. But he hasn't played anywhere since hitting 5 of 10 for the Redskins in 2006. Barth is a rookie free agent who hit 30 of his final 33 field-goal attempts at the University of North Carolina.
4. The hope is that rookie tackle Branden Albert will be back for the first regular-season game. Albert was supposed to anchor the left-tackle spot but has had to turn over that position to Herb Taylor, a second-year pro who played in one game last year. The Chiefs are thin on offensive line, where only one starter -- left guard Brian Waters -- returns to the position he played a year ago. Damion McIntosh switches from left to right tackle, while three others -- Albert, center Rudy Niswanger and right guard Adrian Jones -- are newcomers.
5. Talk about young. There are 30 rookies or first-year players on the team's roster and only 13 with six or more years of experience. The team expects to start four rookies, two on offense (Albert and fullback Mike Cox) and two on defense (Dorsey and cornerback Brandon Flowers). "We're just in it every week to win a game," said Edwards, "and that's my whole deal: Let's just try to win a game because the more you win the more confidence you gain." The Chiefs have a chance to win early, with a pre-bye schedule that looks like this: at New England, Oakland, at Atlanta, Denver and at Carolina. The way I see it, four of those five are winnable. "We can sneak up on people," said tight end Tony Gonzalez. "There were reports that we're going to go 0-16 and stuff like that. I can guarantee you, we will not do that. We will be a good football team, and we're going to be a physical football team. We'll run the ball well, and I think we'll play defense well. It's all wait and see, but we're not going to be blown out by anybody. That's just my opinion, and, hopefully, I'm right."
