Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
August 15, 2024
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, don’t have any updates on injuries, we’ll get those to you – (Vice President of Football Communications) Brad Gee will get them to you later. As far as the play time goes, the ones will take a half and then we’ll kind of fill in after that, we’ll just see how the rest of that goes – after the third and fourth quarters. It’s great to have the military out here, so important to all of us players, coaches (and) you guys right here to do what we do. I had a chance, I told them I had a chance to go to Afghanistan a few years back and kind of see the guys in action and what a confidence builder that was, just to know how dedicated they are and obviously giving us that chance to do all of this over here and protect us. Then the people of St. Joe here at Missouri Western State University - we appreciate all their hospitality. What a great job they did in taking care of us. There were people that were making our beds, to the people that were cooking the food, to the grounds crew that was taking care of the area here and everybody was just first class and on the ball. We appreciate that. It makes it a lot easier when we’re all pulling in the same direction. It was a great thing. Anyways, with that, time’s yours.”
Q: Will Joe Thuney get some reps in the Lions game?
REID: “I’m just kind of going to see on that. I’m not going to force it. (We’ll) see how he (Joe Thuney) feels after today, but we’ll let you know on that.”
Q: What about Jaylen Watson?
REID: “I don’t think Jaylen (Watson) will play.”
Q: Will Carson Wentz get some reps with the starters?
REID: “Yeah there’s a chance, there’s a chance we’ll get him (Carson Wentz) in there. (We’ll) just see how that goes, I’m just going to play it by ear but he’ll be ready to do that.”
Q: How involved would you like Xavier Worthy? Would you like to get him jumpstarted?
REID: “We’re not going to force that but I just want him (Xavier Worthy) to play. You play in this thing, somewhere it’ll come to you but we’re not forcing anything in there, no.”
Q: Would you be open to him returning a punt?
REID: “There’s a chance, small chance.”
Q: Is Jawaan Taylor’s injury long term?
REID: “No, he (Jawaan Taylor) won’t go this weekend, but I think he’s going to be ok.”
Q: What does staying in the dorms do for you?
REID: “I was telling somebody that in this day and age when everybody is on their cellphones and doing that it kind of brings everybody together. You can’t help but talk to the person sitting next to you there, and I think that’s a positive - staying in the same dorms and I think it just develops a comradery and I think that’s a positive.”
Q: What’s the significance to the bracelet you’re wearing?
REID: “You know what, they just gave them to me – the military. So, I threw them on, I didn’t even notice but it has me name on it, appreciate that.”
Q: From the first day of training camp to now, what has this group improved on and how have they gelled together?
REID: “I think the – I mean you’ve been able to see the growth. We’ve added a ton in the last few days up here and the guys have digested it but have been able to spit it back, retain it, that’s a positive. Maybe most of all is just get yourself in football shape – kind of ramping up to your first game against the Ravens. We still have a couple weeks ahead of us here before all of that takes place, but we’ll keep working at it. So, we’re not ready yet, but we’ll keep working and get ourselves sharpened up a little bit to play. I appreciated the attitude the guys had; we caught a break with the weather. I mean I think this is the first year that we didn’t have a rain out where we had to go inside, I think that’s a positive.”
Q: How is Clyde Edwards-Helaire doing?
REID: “He’s (Clyde Edwards-Helaire) doing good, he was actually feeling a little bit better last night which is good. We’ll just keep an eye on him. He’s in good hands, so we’ll keep an eye on him.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
August 15, 2024
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: What was your reaction to Hollywood Brown’s injury? What will you guys miss while he’s out?
MAHOMES: “Obviously, (it’s) unfortunate. I guess we’re lucky that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. He’s (Hollywood Brown) in good spirits. He’s doing well, so just kind of getting him back going again – back moving around. Obviously, we lose a little bit of that veteran type (of) receiver in that room. I mean, we have other guys that kind of replace a little bit but to have that much talent (and) have a good understanding of what I want but he’s in the room, I think that’s what’s awesome. He’s talking to those guys and everything like that. Hopefully, we’re getting him back sooner rather than later, but we’ve got to just keep pushing those young guys to keep getting better and better every day.”
Q: Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy said that Justin Watson would have to step up a little bit more. How confident are you in Justin?
MAHOMES: “Very confident. A guy (Justin Watson) that’s knows everything, can play all three (wide receiver) positions, can block, can catch, can stretch the field deep and can work a little bit underneath as well. That’s the type of guys that are going to have to step up while he’s (Hollywood Brown) out. Like I said, we’re lucky that it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be too long. So, J Wat will come in and fill that role and right when Hollywood (Brown) gets back we’ll throw him right back in there and he’ll be ready to go.”
Q: What position groups stood out during camp?
MAHOMES: “I thought it was a competitive camp. I think that was the best thing. (It’s) more than just standouts, I thought every day, you just didn’t know if the offense or defense was going to win. That’s when it’s a great camp is that you want to compete. There are days (that) the defense gets after us (and) there’s days that I feel like we had the advantage. I think that was the most positive thing that I took from camp. Obviously, players had (good) days and stuff like that but I think just the competitive nature of camp was the best part about it.”
Q: What led to the behind the back pass to Isiah Pacheco in the redzone period? Is there a possibility of that during the season?
MAHOMES: “There definitely is a possibility of it. If you do it (the behind the back pass), it’s got to work. It was a similar play to the one in the Super Bowl and I wasn’t going to do it in that situation. It was a good day for the offense, especially the last period. I had kind of got it going (with) two completions and then once you’re having a good day, you have the freedom to kind of try stuff like that. Obviously, when stuff’s not working out well, you don’t have that opportunity. It was cool that I completed it and it’s just that you want to get it in like a live type (of) atmosphere and that’s as live as you’re going to get in practice.”
Q: What did Head Coach Andy Reid think of the behind the back pass?
MAHOMES: “The first thing that he (Head Coach Andy Reid) said was ‘I’ve been telling you to do that for a while.’ That’s all he said. He said, ‘that’s one of the plays that I’ve been telling you that you could do it (the behind the back pass).’ I’m telling you, he’s all for it. It’s me the one that’s hesitant to do it in a game.”
Q: You said you wanted to be better than last year. Do you think that you’ve taken the steps at this camp to do it?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I’ve been trying to push the envelope, trying to push the ball down the field, trying to make sure that we stay in that attacking mindset but at the same time, find that right balance. There’s been days that we connected on a lot of deep passes (and) there’s days that we’ve missed them. That’s what this (training camp) is for. For us to see what we can try to get away with, try to see what we can do and see what everybody’s great at. I thought we had a great camp, like I said, but it’s not done now. We have to continue into this preseason game against the Lions (which) will be a great test. They play hard (and they’re) a great football team. Then, going back to KC, you can’t let off the gas, you have to keep pushing because the beginning of our schedule is tough (and) you have to be ready for it.”
Q: On getting Xavier Worthy involved.
MAHOMES: “We obviously want to get him some catches. We called a play for him, that first play in this last preseason game. Obviously, they brought pressure. I got it out to Hollywood (Brown.) Obviously, we want to try to see what he can do in the live – as live as you can get before the season. You’ve got to take what’s there, but you want to give him chances to go out there and make plays and get that live action at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, but you know defenses are accounting for that as well, too. It’s trying to find that balance. You want to get those young guys those plays – him, (Jared) Wiley, some of these guys that haven’t got a ton of reps – Justyn Ross, stuff like that – Skyy Moore but at the same time you have to play within yourself and within the offense.”
Q: What have you observed from those extra sessions with the wide receivers?
MAHOMES: “I think just watching the extra film with them, you see those positive things happen almost the next day. Just talking through stuff. In this offense, I mean y’all know, it’s so much of freedom within structure. I think them hearing me talk, hearing Travis (Kelce) talk and then them having their input as well, I feel like it helps them have their stamp on the offense. I think that’s important. Obviously, I started a couple years ago with Trav (Travis Kelce), and then it kind of went to JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and 11 (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) last year. Now, all these young guys are kind of taking it on themselves – Skyy (Moore), Rashee (Rice), Nikko (Remigio) and Justyn Ross, they’re coming in those meetings, they’re listening, they’re talking through it and making those adjustments the next day.”
Q: Could you share how brotherhood has been built by staying in the dorms?
MAHOMES: “For me, it’s – even more than the dorms, we always go to Il Lazzarone a couple times. We take the guys. We get some pizzas. I usually do it like the second padded day before the 10-10-10, so we were there yesterday. Don’t remember that for next year and try to storm our party. We go there and you just eat and joke around. I think Ian Book had like nine pieces of pizza yesterday. I had to calm him down. The first time we went, the o line – he only got one piece because the o line ate all his pizza, so he went in this last day. Stuff like that is where you build that bond and then you have those jokes and stuff for the rest of the year and that’s what builds the great culture that we have.
Q: How has Head Coach Andy Reid’s evolution of practice affected you?
MAHOMES: “I think the best thing about (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid is he pushes you to be great and he pushes himself to be great. He always is trying to just be more creative. What else can you do to help the offense out, help players out, help with different motions or different plays and he challenges the coaches to do that as well. When you see that they’re working that hard and they’re challenging themselves, whenever they ask you to try something that might be a little different, they want you to work on – you can say, ‘Alright, I’ll try it. If y’all are trying new stuff, we can all try it. We’ll see if we can get better together. I think that’s important because he could be – I mean, he’s one of the best coaches of all time. He could just go out saying, ‘This is how we do it. This is how I’m going to coach it, and this is how it works.’ He’s pushing himself to be better and then he asks a lot of us, but he also asks a lot of himself. I think that’s super important.”
Q: What kind of training camp did you think Travis Kelce had and what allows him to be effective?