Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “It was nice and toasty out there. It was good to get outside and get on the grass because you guys know yesterday, we were inside of course. With that I’ll just open it up.”
Q: What have you seen lately from Chamarri Conner?
SPAGNUOLO: “We’re kind of force feeding him a lot of things. You’ve probably noticed he’s in a lot of spots there, he’s kind of earned it and deserved it the way he’s played in training camp. I think the veterans have some confidence in him. We’ll see how he progresses, (we’re) trying to get some other guys healthy and back then we’ll see where all the moving parts go. For now – listen he’s played safety, played some nickel, played some dime and that’s good to see from a young guy.”
Q: With the cuts being all at once after the preseason, what are you looking for in this last preseason game?
SPAGNUOLO: “Listen I’m hopeful for all the guys. I’ll talk about the guys we don’t keep (we want them to) play well enough that something happens for them later on down the road. This is a real business it’s real life for these guys and it’s a job, right? Nobody wants to lose their job. Hopefully the guys that don’t make it – because you can’t keep everybody – have an opportunity somewhere else that’s always the hope. We’ve got some really good guys here, some good football players that maybe just numbers wise we can’t keep. For the guys that are going to be here number one be healthy, number two do the fundamental things right we’ve got to continue to do that. I think the tackling has been okay I’d like things to get faster and more violent as we get closer to a real game. We’ve got a heck of a challenge coming in here September seventh and we need to be ready for that, so we’ll use this game to get ready for that opener.”
Q: Is there anyone on the defensive line that has taken a step forward during camp you didn’t expect?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, I honestly can’t say that. The one – Danny Shelton sticks out because I know what he did with his weight and how prepared he got himself, but that’s back at the beginning of training camp. But all those guys have kind of been in there grinding away (they’ve) made some good plays and some not so good plays and somewhere down the road we’ll have to make a decision on that crew.”
Q: What specifically have you seen from Danny Shelton?
SPAGNUOLO: “Well I guess when I was saying that – because I really can’t – all those guys are about right in the middle there. I did like the fact – Danny (Shelton) is an intelligent football player – what you probably don’t see is he’s also a really good leader, he’s into everything. He’ll be over there pushing teammates during special teams when he’s not involved in the special teams. That’s a good quality to have. Loved having him around last year even though he was on the practice squad. All those things we like, just the play has got to show up and somebody’s got to surface for us to decide which way we’re going to go.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: Shane Buechele is starting to get some more opportunities, what strides have you seen from him so far this preseason?
NAGY: “Yeah, you know what for me it’s been really neat watching him grow coming in last year and not knowing him. Just seeing where he’s been as a player as a person; learning this offense has certainly helped being in that room with Pat (Patrick Mahomes). Now I mean the offseason the preseason games is all about opportunities. (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) has a great way of going through those type of battles, at all positions, and I think the competition brings out the best in everybody and you see that with Shane (Buechele). He gets a chance last week to do that and goes in and plays well. You love being able to see guys have success when behind the scenes they put it in all this work and they do all the stuff behind the scenes in practice, all last couple years and now to get an opportunity, he’s played well.”
Q: At times during training camp, it looked like Deneric Prince was getting reps with the first team offense but now it looks like he has not gotten as many reps there, did something happen or something you saw that stood out?
NAGY: “No nothing’s happened, I think early on you want to be able to see – especially in OTA’s you get guys that come in and there’s no pads and its more passing so you want to be able to see what you can do in the pass game. Now naturally you get back into – whether it’s the start of training camp till now, there’s movement throughout, there’s different guys in all different positions that get opportunities. As a rookie the volume starts to hit you a little bit and it can slow you down and I think for him that’s not the case as much as it is just the fact that we have a great room of running backs; there’s great competition. We’re trying to give all the guy’s opportunity in different spots which Deneric (Prince) is doing a really good job of learning this offense and just continuing to grow.”
Q: What have you seen from Justin Watson?
NAGY: “Same thing that we’ve seen since the day he’s gotten here last year. Somebody that knows where to be at every play. (He) is always going to play fast, he’s in the right spots at the right time. Now again for him its just a matter of continuing to grow with the timing with Pat (Patrick Mahomes), certain routes, making sure that Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and him are seeing things the same way. All those guys are a little bit different, and I think that’s what makes that room so special is they’re not all the same, they’re all very different and he brings a great element of speed, knowledge, and experience to our offense.”
Q: You guys have some tough decisions to make with receivers five through eight. What role will you play in that process when talking to Head Coach Andy Reid and General Manager Brett Veach?
NAGY: “I’ll give my honest opinion on all of those guys when the time comes. I think it’s been a really good camp for those guys, there’s some guys that have come in and shown that they’ve been able to take the playbook on right away (and) not make the same mistakes twice. That’s one of the things that I mentioned before is we look for that, who keeps making the same mistakes. Who has the ability – do you see the ceiling with them where their at talent wise or do they have the ability to grow and develop but one thing they’ve certainly done and it’s a credit to (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) and (General Manager Brett) Veach is (they) brought in a lot of really good guys that in the end I wish everybody could make this team, I do. That’s your goal as a Coach is to develop them so that if they don’t make this team, it’s a small fraternity and they’re able to go somewhere and help somebody else out and be thankful for their opportunity here.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
RB ISIAH PACHECO
Q: What does it feel like to not have the no contact jersey on, do you feel like you’re back-back?
PACHECO: “I don’t feel like I’m back-back. I was back out there when I was out there in St. Joe, and I felt like I was comfortable breaking with the guys just being able to get as much out of it as I can.”
Q: Do you appreciate the fact that the staff has taken it slow having you come back even if you always want to play hard?
PACHECO: “Absolutely. I wasn’t cleared and I couldn’t just get out there in the fire, but whatever I could do to maintain that shape and to keep up to tempo I was going to do it. (The) coaches allowed me to do that. I’m thankful for them.”
Q: What did you learn about what it takes to play a full NFL season as a running back having 20 games plus preseason last season?
PACHECO: “It takes the mental toughness and to be able to find a routine to maintain the shape of your body. For me, I’m just finding older guys to ask them questions (and) pick their brains about how to take care of your body. For me that’s what I love doing because I love talking about the game and taking care of myself. The guys, they always look out for me and they hook me up with somebody and if there is nobody, then just going to the hot tub and getting that routine.”
Q: What do you want to do to be better this year?
PACHECO: “Be more flexible. For me that’s the word I want to use because taking care of my body, as I said before, being able to stretch a lot more. Just finding ways to be looser so I can be more explosive out there.”