Brazillian-born Chiefs Kicker Cairo Santos had not missed a field goal all training camp. But, all of that changed after Saturday's early morning practice session was greeted with steady rain, high winds and blustery conditions.
"I don't know if you guys know this. But, Cairo was 100% going into today as far as field goals," Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub said. "He made like almost 30 in a row. We didn't want to talk about it. But, he hadn't missed a kick until today. We put him into the wind and with a rainy, cold day, he missed one today. So, we know he's human now. I'd rather have him miss one now than during the season."
Bad weather seems to affect the kicking game more than other aspects. And while most of the camp has been warm and sunny, the coaches and players took a golden opportunity to play outdoors in the rain.
"This is cold for St. Joe and KC. But, it's good work," Chiefs Punter Dustin Colquitt said. "You know, we get a lot of weather like this in Kansas City, in the Midwest obviously. It's good work for me and [Long Snapper James] Winchester to get on the same page."
There's usually one weather-related game the Chiefs play each season. They played in the rain in their 43-14 loss at Pittsburgh. The previous year in 2015, the Chiefs defeated Buffalo and San Diego at home. Both games were played in the rain.
"We had a few rainy games the last three or four years here. And, [it's] good work for Cairo," Colquitt said. " You know, balls get a little heavier with that when they get wet. And so, it's good work to always [prepare for bad weather] whenever you can get this cause we're gonna have a rain game here or there.
Santos certainly accepted the challenge of kicking in the blustery conditions at Chiefs training camp.
"Today, the ball was a little wet because of the rain. And, it's a little bit cooler. So, it doesn't travel as far," Santos said. "My range into the wind wasn't, you know, that much. And, when you flip it with the wind, then it carries. So, you gotta manage you know. The coaches know that if we're kicking into a wind and the cold, they're not gonna throw me out there to try a 57-yarder you know. It might just be a 50 [yard field goal] or a 48 [yard field goal].
