<table> </table> RIVER FALLS, Wis. | The Sept. 7 season opener in New England, just a dot on the horizon three weeks ago, is now looming large for the Chiefs as they break training camp today.</p><p>They leave their summer home in Wisconsin still very much a work in progress but also with a few reasons to believe they can somehow be competitive against the defending AFC champion Patriots.</p><p>&#8220;We got a lot accomplished with a lot of the young guys that are going to play for us,&#8221; coach Herm Edwards said. &#8220;That was the whole key coming up here. We wanted to find out about a lot of young guys, and we&#8217;ve learned a lot about their strengths and their weaknesses.</p><p>&#8220;We knew we had some athletes. The physical part of it we didn&#8217;t know about until we got here. We established that. We established that we&#8217;re going to be a physical football team. That&#8217;s something we have to be.&#8221;</p><p>This year&#8217;s camp was all about their many young players who for better or for worse will either start or get significant playing time. With the significant exception of their two injured first-round draft picks, Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert, all received valuable practice time and return to Kansas City with more experience than when they left.</p><p>For that reason, Edwards said he feels better about the Chiefs&#8217; ability to get their season off to a better start than in either of the last two years. The Chiefs each time broke camp in disarray and opened 0-2.</p><p>He then added a most important caveat.</p><p>&#8220;Now they&#8217;ve got to go play,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the unknown because they&#8217;re so young. You still aren&#8217;t sure how all the young guys will react. That&#8217;s going to be the key thing for us.&#8221;</p><p>Dorsey, cornerback Brandon Flowers and Albert, if he&#8217;s ready, will start in New England. As many as eight other rookies will play, some getting significant time.</p><p>Brandon Carr is the third cornerback, Will Franklin the slot receiver. Mike Cox could be the starting fullback and Connor Barth their kicker.</p><p>Tight end Brad Cottam, running back Jamaal Charles, defensive end Brian Johnston and safety DaJuan Morgan will get some snaps against the Patriots.</p><p>It threatens to be a bumpy ride, but Edwards appears truly at ease with it and not at all like a coach who wants to double-check that his seat belt is buckled.</p><p>&#8220;Flowers is the guy we thought he&#8217;d be at corner,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The game is not too big for Carr. Charles is going to be fine. Morgan, too, and the tight end and Will Franklin. We like Johnston. He&#8217;s OK.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re going to get on-the-job training. They&#8217;re not going to be sitting on the sideline with me. They&#8217;re going to play, all of them.&#8221;</p><p>Dorsey probably won&#8217;t play Saturday night when the Chiefs continue their preseason against the Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium. But he could return to the starting lineup next week.</p><p>The Chiefs&#8217; single biggest disappointment of camp is that Albert missed so much practice time. An exact schedule for his return from a sprained foot hasn&#8217;t been issued, but he probably won&#8217;t play in any of the three remaining exhibition games.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to get him practicing again whenever that is and get him up to par,&#8221; Edwards said. &#8220;We&#8217;re disappointed about that, but when he was practicing, you could already see he&#8217;s going to be a very good player for us.&#8221;</p><p>Linebacker Donnie Edwards is the other key injured player who missed significant time. Edwards could also return next week, but the Chiefs are concerned because his injured hamstring is the same one that caused him problems toward the end of last season.