Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
September 26, 2024
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: Has Harrison Butker done a lot to work on his range with weights or other stuff?
TOUB: “Yeah, he (Harrison Butker) has. Just like I said, I mean, he does a good job with (Head Strength & Conditioning/Director of Sports Science) Ryan Reynolds (and) our strength staff, they’re really into the power lifts, you know, the Olympic lifts. I really think that’s made a big difference for him, he’s really into it. He’s a guy – he’s a kicker, I think he power cleans over 300 pounds, it’s unbelievable. He’s really jumped into that part – that aspect of it. He covers every aspect of it, really. He does it all. He does it all at 100 percent, that’s why he is what he is.”
Q: What stands out about the Chargers special teams unit and how has it changed since new Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh took over?
TOUB: “We know these guys (the Chargers) well; they changed the head coach (Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh), but the special teams coach (Special Teams Coordinator Ryan Ficken) is the same. It’s the same that they’ve had the last couple years and (he) does a great job, the guys fly around. They’ve gotten better and better over the years, and he certainly does an excellent job. (Chargers K Cameron) Dicker the kicker is really good and (Chargers P) JK Scott hangs the ball up, (he) punts it to the boundary most of the time, causes fair catches. They’ve had 18 punts (and) I think only five returns out of 18 punts so that says something (and) seven fair catches, so he hangs it up. (The long) snapper’s (Chargers LS Josh Harris) good and then the returner, you’ve got to notice him, (Chargers Returner) Derius Davis, great speed, 4.3 (40-yard dash) guy, hits it north and south, can run around you, he’s got it all. They’ve put a lot into their special teams over the last few years and it’s definitely something – a lot more hard to handle now than it was four years ago.”
Q: What is your evaluation of Mecole Hardman so far this season?
TOUB: “Good. I mean, he (Mecole Hardman) did a good job on the kick returns. He was an arm tackle away from really breaking one. We had a sideline return call there and it’s one guy away. I mean, we had blockers up in front, (and) it was only the kicker left on the one. One punt I thought he possibly could’ve gotten to, it was a bad punt, and he decided not to. You’ve got to let him make those decisions back there. Then, one punt we got, we had like a 12-yard return, but we haven’t had too many opportunities, but we had a few last week.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, I don’t have a – I mean, listen, I’m happy we were able to pull that game out last week and (we’re) looking forward to our first AFC West divisional game, so with that I’ll just open it up.”
Q: What are your thoughts on Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins and the new-look Chargers team that favors running the football?
SPAGNUOLO: “(Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins) pretty positive affect, right? Listen, I have a lot of respect for (Chargers Head Coach) Jim (Harbaugh) and (Chargers Offensive Coordinator) Greg (Roman), (I’ve) known both of them for a long time. (I) kind of have a feel for, I think, what they want to do and become and you can see that they’re doing that, especially early. I know they’ve had a rash of injuries. We’re not going to overlook anything. I think Jim has a way of getting his team ready to play in any situation. The running backs, I mean both of them (Chargers RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards) really fit what they do. They feel like they – that’s the identity of their team now, right? Yet, they have a quarterback (Chargers QB Justin Herbert), and we’ll see where the health is and all that, but they have a quarterback that, I think, is one of the best throwers in the league so it’s a pretty good combination for them. We’ll see who they put out there but to us, it doesn’t matter, really. We’re going to defend the scheme and try to play our best football.”
Q: Is there a mindset that a defense has to have specifically in the red zone?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, no question. I think we’ve got guys that are built the right way. I mean, your back’s against the wall. Everything’s tighter down there. Offensive coaches will tell you this all the time – the windows get tighter, things close quicker, the game moves faster. There are certain guys that function really well in the red zone because of that and others that it takes a bit of time. Rookies come in and it’s the red zone and it’s the regular season and things are going fast, and you find out about guys pretty quick, but there’s definitely a mindset.”
Q: What have you seen from Chamarri Conner’s ability to always be around the football?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, if you watch him (Chamarri Conner) – I showed a clip this morning – the one thing he does all the time is gets off of blocks. He doesn’t – wide receivers try to block him (and) he wants nothing to do with them. Now, not all DBs do that but he has a physical mindset. He’s a safety playing a corner position at nickel. He’s earned the right to play that, and I put the challenge on him a while back. I didn’t know if he’d be able to do it, that wasn’t what he played in college, but I think he stepped in there and (he’s) done a real nice job for us. He’s another one of those guys that I think just likes mixing it up physical-wise. We take as many of those guys as we can get because that’s defensive football, right?”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: Is there surprising anything about the way that Rashee Rice has started the season or did you see this coming?
NAGY: “No, there’s nothing surprising with the way he’s (Rashee Rice) come back in. I think we probably compare it a little bit to last year when he first got here. Remember, we talked about drinking water from the fire hydrant, and he came back right away in OTAs and looked amazing. (He) took it into training camp (and) looked great, so it’s not surprising. It takes a little bit of time, but it’s been really cool to see him grow and I know he has a lot more to go.”
Q: On what Travis Kelce has been able to teach Rashee Rice over the past year.
NAGY: “Just a lot of things. A lot of good teaching points that Travis (Kelce) has done over the years that is invaluable. It’s great when we’re teaching them as coaches and we give them our insight but when the guy that’s (been) doing it for a bunch of years, like Trav is and making it work the way he does, when you’re a player and you hear that come from another player that’s had success, I think means a lot. So, watching him (Rashee Rice) now take that into account and do what he’s doing from Week 1 until now has been really cool.”
Q: With the road you guys had to navigate on offense last year, how did that help you as a starting point this year?
NAGY: “A lot. A lot. It really helped glue us together and show what we can do. Mentally (and) physically – it was a long season, and you get to that mentally to the playoff game against the Dolphins. You go through a gauntlet of teams there – on the road and then in the Super Bowl. Then, you’ve got to hit he reset button. I think, as an offense, there’s an energy, there’s excitement (and) we’re winning football games. Right now, we’re getting callused how to win and there’s not a lot of 20-point wins – there’s none – but we’re learning how to win in situational football, which is great, and I think can benefit us down the road.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
September 26, 2024
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: What have you seen from the Chargers and the way they approach their offense right now?
JONES: “They’re (the Chargers offense) physical. Nice running game – heck of a running back (Chargers J.K. Dobbins – (the Chargers) Quarterback Justin Herbert, we’ve played him multiple times, we know he has a big arm (and he) can make big plays out of the pocket. They’re (a) physical, hard-nosed football team.”
Q: From a teammate’s perspective, what can you say about Nick Bolton and what he means to everything you guys do?
JONES: “He’s (Nick Bolton) a dog. We try not to bring him off the field. We try to make sure he’s playing every play. He’s our play caller. I think he is the pillar of this defense.”
Q: You guys have a lot of success at stopping people in the red zone. What is the mindset that this defense has – do you take it to a different level when you have your backs against the wall?