KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Several Kansas City Chiefs assistant coaches fielded media questions Thursday. Following are their comments.
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH / SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: When you guys make roster decisions this time of year, how much of a factor is what you see on film in preseason games in a typical year?
TOUB: “Really a lot. When we had preseason games, it was a big factor, especially on special teams because that was the only time we really went live and saw somebody tackle or block live. Now, we have to make decisions off of practice, like I said last week. We meet every night as a staff and we go over each guy and we evaluate each guy and we put grades on them. Obviously, all we're doing is looking at practice, and that’s all we really can do. Everybody's in there and everybody hears what each guy says, so we know where everybody stands.”
Q: The fifth or sixth wide receiver position often comes down to their ability to contribute on special teams. What specific traits do you look for in order to determine they're pulling away from the rest of the pack?
TOUB: “Well, what we’re looking for is guys like (Byron) Pringle, guys like (Marcus) Kemp, guys like (Gehrig) Dieter. We are so fortunate our wide receiver crew is really good on special teams, all the way down the line from Demarcus (Robinson) on down. So, it’s a solid group. I love Mecole (Hardman), I love all those guys. The only guy we really don’t use is 14 (Sammy Watkins). Besides that, everybody has a role on special teams and everyone one of them brings something to the table.”
Q: Around the league, a number of teams chose not to practice today, and Coach Reid talked about the conversation that was had yesterday. What was the tone like, and was there a conversation today? What is your personal opinion on teams not practicing?
TOUB: “I really feel for what's going on. It’s really a shame that we're still dealing with this. That's really how I feel about it. But our team is a solid group. They love each other. We talk all the time, and I think coach really has a great handle on the whole situation. He talks with the leaders of our team and if something is said behind closed doors, I don’t hear about everything that goes on, but I know there's a lot of great conversations going on within our football team right now.”
Q: What are you seeing right now at the gunner position?
TOUB: “The gunner position is looking pretty good. We have some good, solid depth there. We brought Antonio Hamilton in from the Giants, who probably was the Giants’ number one gunner last year. When you put the tape on, he made a lot of plays for them and we're really happy to add him to the mix. So, right now I’d probably say Antonio is in the lead, with Pringle—obviously, Pringle was our gunner all year last year—and then we have a number of guys behind them. Kemp, he was a starting gunner for us and he's really looking good this offseason. Coming off his knee injury, he’s looking good. Other guys that can play it—Robinson can play it, (Rashad) Fenton can play it. There’s a number of guys that can play gunner for us, and some of these young guys look good too—the (L’Jarius) Sneeds of the world and BoPete Keyes. They're all contributors and they're all going to help us this year.”
WIDE RECEIVERS COACH GREG LEWIS
Q: What are the things you talked to Mecole Hardman about improving on during this off season and how efficient do you feel he’s been in training camp?
LEWIS: “I want him to work on becoming bigger, being more explosive. Obviously he was explosive last year, but he has more in him and just understands all facets of the offense. I think he did a wonderful job this offseason of doing those things and coming back prepared and ready to get to work, so I'm excited where he is right now and what’s to come.”
Q: Curious about the system and I know there was an emphasis always put on learning each position in the offense. How do you balance, we want you to learn every position but at the same time really hone in on what might be something particular that you really want them to focus on?
LEWIS: “Well, it's a juggling act with all the receivers that are involved here. My big thing and what Coach preaches to me is make sure everybody knows every position because in a game situation you never know who could go down and what not and we need to continue to put the guys in position to be successful. So understanding everything is big and then just technique wise just making sure everybody's on the same page and able to do the same things, some may be better than others, but we're able to get the job done with whomever is out there.”
Q: Jody Fortson is a guy that had a great camp this year. What do you think is the biggest difference that you see between him last year and him this year?
LEWIS: “Understanding the offense. Jody came in as a tryout guy and we released him and then he came back and he was playing tight end, then moved to receiver so just really being able to focus on one position, understanding what's going on with the offense at the receiver position. That’s allowed him to play faster and play more physical and let his natural talent show, and I think he’s done a tremendous job of that throughout this offseason and up through training camp thus far. He's a guy that's a workaholic, he wants to be great. He's going to do everything possible to give yourself the best opportunity to be a part of what we we’re doing.”
Q: Sammy Watkins did a number of interviews during this offseason. What was your reaction to hearing some of his comments?
LEWIS: “Nothing, I didn't have a reaction to it whatsoever. I'm around all the guys a lot. I know their personalities. I know how they act and how they react to different situations. Sammy’s a team guy just like every other receiver within the group, it’s team oriented. If Sammy is called upon, he's ready to answer the bell. If Tyreek (Hill) is called upon, he's ready to answer the bell. Same with D-Rob (Demarcus Robinson) same with Mecole (Hardman) and on down the line with everybody that we have. So, everybody in the NFL, all players want to have success. That's why we're here. We're competitive and they want to be shown that way. But at the end of the day, we're all team here and that's how our guys approach it and that's what they believe in. That's what got us where we were last year and last year is last year, obviously, but we had that same mentality of whatever it takes for us to be successful. That's what I'm willing to do and you saw it. In the first game last year, it was Sammy for 300 yards and then in the playoffs he's dominating each playoff series or each playoff game that we had. So, when his number is called, he's ready to answer.”
QUARTERBACKS / PASS GAME COORDINATOR MIKE KAFKA
Q: How have you seen Patrick Mahomes develop as someone that can evaluate opponents, evaluate film, and is there any story that you can remember about an incident where Patrick saw something on film and then was able to apply it on the field?
KAFKA: “Yeah, it's a great question. Pat does a phenomenal job in the film room, watching, studying tape, you know, very intricate details of defenders and/or indicators. One example that comes to mind was last year against Denver (Broncos). They had brought one pressure. We were playing Denver late in the season and they had brought pressure maybe midway to early in the season and really it was only one time they had shown it and we had watched it. You know, we would watch it throughout our blitz cut up, but you know them only bringing it one time, Pat was able to diagnose it. Actually, brought it in a game. I think we hit Tyreek (Hill) on the sideline one of them, but he was able to at least see it at post snap, identify it, get the ball out of his hands, ended up being a big play, big third conversion for us.”
Q: As you learn from Eric Bieniemy and Andy Reid, when you are able to finally get that opportunity as Offensive Coordinator, what type of things have they shown you that will stick with you and that maybe you'll take on when you get that chance?
KAFKA: “Yeah, I think the most important part is the attention to details that Coach Bieniemy, Coach Reid they bring to the offense. You know, really no detail is spared as far as what we want to do on offense from up front. The receiver room, running back room, tight ends, quarterbacks, so it's very well thought out. You know, it's sound to the offensive mind, and we put it into where we can get the quarterback answers and allow him to play freely and give our receivers and ballcarriers answers as well, you know so we try to build that into the system and that's one thing I've learned since being here over the last several years. Being able to give the quarterback answers and give our skill players answers within the offense.”
Q: What's the biggest loss backup QB-wise? They're going to get a lot of the reps and not having these preseason games, is that the part that becomes the most difficult to either get them ready or to evaluate?
KAFKA: “Yeah, the game situations and being out there with the live bullets is definitely the biggest part for a quarterback. Everything is faster in the game and so you really can't replicate that to a certain extent, and in practice we try to, whether it's drills or, you know, giving the quarterbacks fast mental games and mental drills throughout practice to make him think fast and shoot the ball fast. So, you try and simulate that as best you can throughout practice. But at the end of the day when the games going and, we're rolling on offense, you got to be able to make quick decisions. It's tough to replicate that in practice.”
LINEBACKERS COACH MATT HOUSE
Q: Looking at the tape of last year knowing that Texans personnel, knowing how you're trying to work with Willie Gay, is there a specific sub package? Maybe you don't want to give away necessarily what it is, but are there sub packages or roles that you think he may be able to contribute more to?
HOUSE: “I’ll be honest with you. We're in the very preliminary, preliminary deal with the Texans and we're careful not to flip the script too quick. You know what I mean? Because two reasons, one, we're still evaluating. We're still competing to improve. And two, we don't want to get stale by getting into it too quick. So, we're still working through that process.”
Q: How much do you lose in the evaluation process not getting to go up against a team that you don't know what they're doing, you don't know their personnel?
HOUSE: “Yeah, I think you definitely lose the aspect of guys reacting, but that's one of the advantages of going against our offense day in and day out. They’re so multiple. They do so much, and they challenge your eyes. They challenge you with different personnel groups, multiple formations, shifts, and motions. So, to be honest with you, we're very fortunate to be able to compete against that offense as compared to some teams.”
Q: I wanted to ask you about Darius Harris since he didn't practice for you guys all last year. What have you learned about him in the few weeks of practice?
HOUSE: “Yeah, I think he's some of the other young guys. He's trying to knock some rust off at the beginning. As we got into camp, he's slowly gotten better and better every day. You know, certainly, for a guy that hasn't played in a year, there's some growing pains, but he's definitely improved throughout the camp.”
Q: Coach Reid said last week that the biggest thing he's seeing out of Ben Niemann from last year to this year is his strength. What are some of the things you're seeing out of Ben as we get ready to closeout camp?
HOUSE: “Yeah, I’ve got to agree with Coach on strength and then also just the confidence. I think last year, as he developed a bigger and bigger role, he grew more confident. This year being his second year doing similar things, his confidence is improved.”
Q: Ben Niemann has just shown a lot of flexibility for him being able to play multiple positions. How valuable is that? How valuable it is to have a guy like that behind Anthony Hitchens that can be your quarterback out there?
HOUSE: “I think it's huge, one. Ben’s just got a good feel for the game. He sees the game from a wide, wide lens and that definitely helps you. The more flexibility you have, the more you can get a guy ready with limited reps, which helps too.”
DEFENSIVE BACKS / CORNERBACKS COACH SAM MADISON
Q: I was curious about Antonio Hamilton and now that you guys have been able to work with him for a few weeks, do you see him more as an inside guy or an outside guy? Maybe a little bit of both?
MADISON: “Yeah, you know, since Hamilton has been here, he's very smart. You know we talked to a lot of people where he came from, the Giants, and just understanding his strong points. But you know, right now we're using him in multiple roles. We use them on the inside, we're using them on the outside because he has done both in his career. Just trying to find the best pieces to the puzzle to put out there on the football field so we can win some games. He's definitely going to have opportunity to be able to help us in multiple positions, and that was the same thing that Kendall Fuller was able to do for us last year.”
Q: With everything that's going on between yesterday and today, teams boycotting for change causing games to be cancelled across sports and some NFL teams canceling practice, being a black coach in pro sport, was it hard for you to come in today? What have some of the conversations been like within the team within the last 24-48 hours?
MADISON: “Yeah, well, you look at this team and you know, just playing under Coach Reid, man. I tip my hat off to Coach Reid. He really opened up the locker room, as well as the coaching staff, to be able to communicate about this issue. Just seeing what the NBA players are doing, around the National Football League and just listening to our players, our leaders who we have a number of guys on this roster that put their best foot forward over the last couple of months really to talk about this issue. It just was something that we're open to, we’re very open to understanding and making sure that we're doing the right things and making sure the guys are able to express themselves about this situation. Coach Reid has been really good about that and the players, they’re definitely doing their due diligence and making the right decision for our football team, but as a whole, as a group, as one. Playing in this League for 12 years in the past, I really tip my hat off to these young guys for really taking a step forward. Still the organizations understanding and finally, seeing the things that we've been able to talk about over the last 50-60 years and now it's starting to come to the forefront. I just really hope that as a country we continue to pray, and hopefully, be at one, but as of right now, our players, they're doing their due diligence and Coach Reid is giving them the opportunity and the platform to be able to do that and be able to express themselves as well.”
Q: I wanted to ask you about Bashaud Breeland. Obviously, you guys are going to be losing him here in a little bit. What's your advice for him? For those four weeks between the time his suspension starts and the time he can rejoin you guys?
MADISON: “Yeah, just to keep his mind and his mental in check. Last year we had a guy as well that was in a similar situation. Breeland is looking back on what he did, and he was always engaged with the players, being able to have opportunity to give them those little titbits of what they should and what they shouldn't. We're going to have a lot of young guys out there that's going to be playing that don't have many years in the league. We're going to need his veteran presence and his voice just as much as if he was here. For him, just continue to stay in shape because once he does come back, we're expecting him to come back and be that veteran presence to be able to come in and help us out. On a continual basis, just wanting him to come out there, be a leader like he's been so far in helping these young guys because he knows that his reps are going to be limited. He's continued to get his work on the side and staying after practice to get running in. He's doing all the right things, knowing that you know that this is a marathon, not a sprint and he understands because he's been through it last year before. Just being there mentally for our young guys, but still keeping his mental in check as well, knowing that he is a part of this organization, but he just has a four-game suspension. He's just going to have to go, he's going to have to do it and we're going to hold him down until he comes back.”