Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
December 23, 2024
HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, so the guys that won’t practice today are (Chamarri) Conner, (D.J.) Humphries and Chris Jones. (They’re) all making improvement but again, quick turn around here so we’ll just keep evaluating throughout here. (We) look forward to the challenge of playing Pittsburgh, (they’re a) good football team. (Steelers Head Coach) Mike (Tomlin) does a heck of a job there with his group and he’s got good coaches, good coordinators and good players so that’s why they’re doing well this year. So again, our guys have had a good day yesterday and we’ll finish it up today with the second practice. With that, time’s yours.”
Q: What was unique about the Saturday turn around and preparing for Pittsburgh?
REID: “I mean, that’s part of what you’ve got to do. The coaches did a good job of spending some time before our game on Saturday looking at them (the Steelers), so we had a little bit of a jumpstart, but we did come back here and take a peek at them.”
Q: What are some characteristics of Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s teams?
REID: “I used to play him every year – at least when I was in Philadelphia. He’s (Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin) – his teams are tough, they’re well coached and they’re going to play hard every snap. They’re going to give you an honest down every snap, so you’ve got to come in ready to go.”
Q: When you say that you took a look at them, did you come back to the facility after the Texans game?
REID: “Yeah, I did.”
Q: You stayed at the facility a good while, I take it?
REID: “Yeah, stayed a while.”
Q: How did Patrick Mahomes come out of the game ankle-wise?
REID: “He (Patrick Mahomes) did good. Yeah, it’s sore but he did well. (He’s a) pretty tough kid, man. That was an amazing thing he did.”
Q: Is the starting lineup for the offensive line going to remain the same as the past two weeks?
REID: “I’m just going to see how we finish up today and then, Nate (Taylor) just take it day-by-day here. We have a couple days. We’ll see how it all rolls.”
Q: This is the third-straight team you’ll face that statistically puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback. How did your offensive line do against the Texans? What is the difficulty with the Steelers defensive line?
REID: “I’d tell you similar as the other groups, I mean they do a nice job of rushing the passer – all of them. So, it’s not just the outside guys, it’s those inside guys, too. The offensive line has another big challenge. I thought they faired up pretty good last week (and) did a nice job for the most part. They have to do it and do it again but that’s all part of this, they know that. They take that responsibility seriously (and) prepare themselves the right way.”
Q: On Hollywood Brown’s performance.
REID: “I thought he (Hollywood Brown) did a pretty good job. He didn’t have a ton of snaps. We’ll keep increasing that as we go. I thought for the snaps he had, I thought he played pretty good football. Also, he got to take a hit. That’s always the – when you have that upper body injury just getting that first hit is a big thing.”
Q: Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said that Travis Kelce doesn’t get enough credit for his unselfishness. What do you think about the role that Travis Kelce has played this year?
REID: “He (Travis Kelce) does a great job with all that, (he’s a) good team leader. That’s why he’s been voted a captain the last – however many years during the playoffs. (Steelers Head Coach) Mike’s (Tomlin) right on that, he’ll sacrifice for the cause as they’d say. I’m not telling you he doesn’t like to play and catch and do all that stuff, he loves that, but at the same time, he’s willing to help out everywhere.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
December 23, 2024
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: How do you feel physically after the game?
MAHOMES: “I feel good. I mean, obviously we haven’t done a ton as far as getting out there on the practice field. We’ve done some walk – a walk-through, well actually two walk-throughs now. I feel like I can move around and then do what I need to do, and now we’ll get to get to a little bit faster-paced practice and see where I’m truly at. I thought all-in-all I came out pretty well.”
Q: Do you feel like you’re in a better place than you were during the Houston game?
MAHOMES: “I think I’ll be in a better place ankle-wise. I mean, obviously the body’s going to be sore with the short week and everything like that, but I think the ankle should be in a better place. Obviously, we’ll see at practice today. As far as how I felt after this game compared to the one before, I’m definitely in a lot better place.”
Q: On the preparation for a short week.
MAHOMES: “No, I didn’t do any of the preparation before. You have to focus on those teams that you’re playing. I mean, Houston’s a great football team and we needed all hands-on deck for that. Right after I left the building, I was already getting pictures and videos sent to me from the coaches. I got to open some presents with my family and then right when they went home, I was already onto Pittsburgh. This is a great defense and so for us, we’re going to have to play our best football to beat this team and it’s going to take everybody’s best so I’ll try to get as much information as I can in before we get on that plane.”
Q: So you already handled the Christmas shopping and opening presents?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, Santa hasn’t come yet but as far as my family, we traded gifts and my kids, but I got – Brittany’s (Mahomes) a champ because I’m not there to help build the toys (that) my family got, and the kids have opened up every single one of them (laughter).”
Q: How do players handle playing on Christmas?
MAHOMES: “You know, I think with the – just being the short week and how this has kind of worked out, you don’t even realize how close you are to Christmas other than when you go home and there’s presents under the tree. I think we’re really just all hands-on deck, (we’re) super focused on Pittsburgh and understanding how great of a challenge it’s going to be and then getting on the flight and flying there so it’ll feel like a regular game. Hopefully, we go out there and get a win and you can come home and have a few extra days to celebrate Christmas with the family if that’s going home or in Kansas City.”
Q: What is it like having Xavier Worthy hit his stride while getting Hollywood Brown back at the same time?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I think you’re just trying to see kind of what this offense was meant to be. Obviously, we don’t have Rashee (Rice) out there but having some other guys (that) we’ve added to try to fill that role as best as we can. You can see where we thought we were going to be at the beginning of the year. Obviously, we have to ramp it up fast against some really good teams, but I thought it was a great start having Hollywood (Brown) out there for a limited number of snaps and him making an impact on the game and Xavier (Worthy) and everybody. That was a good defense (that) we went up against. It’ll be another challenge this week – can we build on that and build some momentum into the playoffs.”
Q: Was it exciting when you found out that you were going to play on Christmas Day again this year?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, it was definitely exciting until I realized it was on Wednesday (laughter). No, I mean, I think it is really cool playing (in) the first Netflix game (and) playing on Christmas Day in front of the whole nation. I mean, it’s an honor. We’ll go out there trying to do what we can and not have the same experience (that) we had last Christmas, but like I said, it’s a great football team and it’ll be a great challenge for us.”
Q: Did the outcome of last year affect your excitement of getting to play again on Christmas?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, for sure. I mean, that was a – not just a loss, that was a pretty embarrassing loss, and you know everybody was watching because it’s Christmas Day. Obviously, it sparked us to win the Super Bowl, so it ended up working out, but you want to make sure that you go out there and put up a better performance for everybody to see.”
Q: Do you guys talk about locking up the one-seed in the playoffs with a win on Wednesday?
MAHOMES: “I don’t think you talk about it, but everybody knows. I mean, it’s – you want to get that one seed to get that bye (week) so that you’re basically winning a playoff game by getting the one seed. You get that and you’ll have homefield advantage as well at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium which we feel like is a huge advantage for us. You can’t put all your attention to it, all you can do is go out there and play football and know that we’re going to play a great football team and it’s going to take our best football to win.”
Q: What do you remember about your first trip to Pittsburgh?
MAHOMES: “I mean, it’s a great environment, I think that’s the best thing about it. It’s one of those true football stadiums, just kind of like GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium where you know the history of everybody that’s played in this stadium and the history of this franchise. It’s pretty cool, it’s right on the river and everything like that. It’s going to be rowdy, the fans will be out there, and it’ll be a great challenge for us and it’s going to feel as much like playoff football as you can possibly get.”
Q: Is Joe Thuney feeling more comfortable playing left tackle and how do you think Wanya Morris did jumping in at right tackle?
MAHOMES: “I thought the whole offensive line did a great job. That’s a really good (Houston Texans) defense, a really good pass rush especially. I thought Joe (Thuney) did a great job. I mean, it’s remarkable what he can do at every single position on the offensive line. He doesn’t have a huge personality outside of the building – he does in the building but outside the building – so people don’t really recognize how special a football player (that) he is. He did it in New England and he’s done it here for a lot of Super Bowl football teams and it truly is a credit to him and the work ethic he puts in every single day, and I hope he starts getting the recognition – other than the All-Pros (that) he already gets, recognition outside of that that he truly deserves.”
Q: Did you feel that your offensive line was ready for that challenge?