"The calendar says May, which to quarterback Matt Cassel means it's time to start throwing. So, with the NFL lockout in place, he called some of his friends.

Chiefs wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Jerheme Urban and tight end Brad Cottam were among the first to answer the call. They joined Cassel this week in Kansas City for some informal pitch-and-catch sessions at a local high school.

That's about all the Chiefs can get done while they are barred from entering the team's practice facility because of the owner-imposed lockout.

Those without an offseason place to stay in the area, such as Urban, crash in Cassel's basement.

Like his teammates and other players around the league, Cassel hasn't been able to meet with coaches since the lockout started almost two months ago. The exception was last Friday, when the lockout was lifted for a day.

Cassel spent four hours then with new offensive coordinator Bill Muir and new quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn.

"It was a good, productive day for me," Cassel said. "I got to see what subtle changes they were making to the offense, see what changed. I was able to put some things in the memory bank, and now I can go out and work on some of these things."

Cassel said he doesn't think he's behind the normal schedule.

"Usually, the last week of April or the beginning of May is when we start those individual days when we go on the field and really break down a specific route," Cassel said. "We've actually been doing that, so I feel we're on track with what we would do normally. (Offseason practice) didn't start last year until the middle of May or something like that. So I'm trying to stay on track with what we would normally be doing this time of year."