Chiefs' Reid: Mahomes' 'hand is OK'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid fielded questions Monday. Following are his comments.

OPENING STATEMENT: "I don't really have anything injury-wise. Patrick's (Mahomes) hand is OK. It's bruised up pretty good, but there's no break in it, I know that. But other than that, I think we came out fairly healthy. At this point, we'll just see what shows up today. The guys are trickling in with the late arrival. All in all, I thought it was a good win. Plenty of stuff we can correct and get better at in all three phases. The bottom line was that the guys played for four quarters and did a nice job with that. I'll leave it at that. With that, time's yours."

Q: I know that you make in-game adjustments, but were there any discussions about adjusting the offensive approach due to Mahomes having that bruised right hand?

REID: "He was having a little tougher time gripping the ball, so we went with a little bit more of the shallow cross game – you saw that. Ran the ball a little bit more, probably. But, that was it, for the most part."

Q: To be able to still play efficiently during times when he's not at full health, what does that say about Mahomes and the character that he possesses?

REID: "That comes with playing the quarterback position, I think, in this league. You're the leader of the team and the organization. As it goes, you're the face of the organization and the leader of the team. There are certain things that you have to do and step up. It's not just one thing – it's not that you just have to throw the ball 50 yards down the field, but that you lead the guys around you to be even better than what they are. He has an innate ability to do that. He keeps everybody involved on both sides of the ball – even with special teams, he's all in all of the time. That's a real positive attribute that he has."

Q: You talked about how Mahomes does not have a bone break in his right hand. Does that mean that he will play on Sunday against the Broncos?

REID: "Yeah, we'll see. Right now, I'd tell you that, most likely, yes. But, let's see how he does here in the next couple of days."

Q: The X-Rays were negative, correct?

REID: "Yes."

Q: Are there any thoughts, looking forward, that it might be better off to sit Mahomes until he is at 100% health, or at least more effective compared to where he was yesterday?

REID: "No. He can still be effective. That's not an excuse for the second half or any of that bit. No, that's not where we're at right now."

Q: What unique traits does Spencer Ware offer that led you to believe that he would be able to handle a little bit more of the workload?

REID: "He came back in good shape, that was the starter. Then, he knows the offense. He gives you just a little different wrinkle in there, which isn't bad. He uses a little power game. That's effective. All three backs got to play. I thought that was important. We gave different looks from different people and each one had a couple of good things that they did there."

Q: What did it say about the defense being able to go in and get stops consistently yesterday? What is the confidence level at right now?

REID: "I love the way that there is no wall in the locker room. The guys are just always supporting each other and feel comfortable around each other. They do the same thing on the field. They challenge each other, whether it's at practice or in the game. They have a good way about how they handle each other and knowing each other's responsibilities. That's unique. Like I keep saying, we have room to grow in all spots. But the one thing that I will tell you is that our defense is progressively getting better as we've gone on in understanding the scheme and what Spags (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) and the other coaches are asking them to do. They believe in it. It's a tribute to Spags, it's a tribute to the coaches on the defensive side. He's got good leaders. You mentioned Tyrann (Mathieu, he's one of those guys. He unites people, brings them together, and at the same time, has a unique way of being able to challenge guys – including himself. If he makes a mistake, he's not afraid. 'This isn't going to happen again, I've got it.' That attitude is infectious. I appreciate that. Then, you see guys like Frank Clark. He's had the flu. Going out there, he had it. He just wasn't feeling very well, and the son of a buck just found a way to pound through it. He hoots and hollers at me, 'I want to play more.' How great is that, right? That attitude of, 'I want to be out there, I want to help. I don't feel very good, but I'm going. I'm ready to go.' That's infectious."

Q: Going into the game yesterday, between you and Coach Belichick, you had 474 regular season wins combined. The second most regular season wins behind Coach Don Shula and Tom Landry meeting each other. You’re a big fan of the history of the NFL, what does being a part of that mean to you?

REID: “I think it’s probably hard getting your mind around it because you grew up watching these other coaches and these guys are phenomenal. They’re Hall of Fame guys. You have so much respect for them that way and now that you’re doing it, you’re just kind of in that washing machine going around and around. You don’t sit back and think on it. But, when you hear it, I know Ted’s mentioned it to me a couple of times, I just go ‘Wow, that’s ridiculous,’ and then I’m on to the next thing. What are we going to do on third and two, that type of thing. I don’t think you have time to sit back and do it. I know Bill (Belichick) has really enjoyed doing the 100 best player deal and he’s also a fan of the history of it. I’m sure if you asked him the same thing he would say the same thing. They asked him who the best head coach is and I believe he went to Paul Brown, he went right to him. You don’t look at that when you’re in it. You don’t wear that. I think both of us have a lot of respect for the guys that came before us and the great job that they did.”

Q: Bill Belichick said on the blocked punt play it looked like half the team was blocking for a punt and the other half was ready for a fake. What was the breakdown of that play?

REID: “Yeah, we had a fake called and it just didn’t get executed the way we wanted it.”

Q: What’s evolved in the defense to help limit the Patriots running backs rushing and catching the ball out of the backfield?

REID: “We’ll have another crew coming up here and they’re doing that same thing in Denver with different people coming from inside out.  I think you get used to this defense and you understand when you’re in a zone how you pass things off or the leverage that’s expected of you. All the different things that are involved in your read keys, your run key reads. What’s run, what’s pass and so I think we’re getting better at that as we go. I’m more comfortable with it. Again, we still have room to improve but I think the more we do it the more familiar and comfortable the guys get with it.”

Q: Did you find out what happened with the equipment and maybe put in some safeguards so that it doesn’t happen again?

REID: “We’ve looked into it. Like I said, I got one of the best equipment guys in the National Football League, I know the finger gets pointed at him when there’s a lot involved with those things. He’s dug into it and looked at it. There are some things that are a little bit out of your hands, but we will work it out, make sure we get everything taken care of.”

Q: In some of the postgame quotes it seemed like some of the guys were less celebratory than in previous years, do you get the sense that this feels more like a checkpoint than an accomplishment?

REID: “Well, this is what’s real. We enjoyed it while we were in the locker room. As a team, we enjoyed it but the season’s not over. It was a nice win. It was a nice opportunity to grab that AFC West title but listen, we have games ahead of us that we have to take care of. We have a team coming in here that’s hotter than a firecracker. We’ve got to make sure that we get ourselves right and get back on it. You saw the last team that played the Patriots and what happened that following week. You have to make sure you get yourself ready to go. There’s unfortunately in this league not a lot of time to rest on this one. By the time I do this press conference with you every week, I’m well into the next team. The freshest part of me giving it to you is right after the game. That’s kind of how it is as a unit. You just celebrate the moment then you get ready to go for the next one.”

Q: Your focus is preparing for the Broncos, but do you think it’s special that one of your former players’ son is going to be under center for the Broncos? How special will this be for you?

REID: “Yeah, well, Andy (Lock) played offensive line for me although in his heart he was really a quarterback. I used to joke with him about that, but he was a heck of an offensive lineman. I only had the opportunity to coach him for a year, but he was a very talented guy and he’s a very talented restaurateur now. He’s opened up a few restaurants that are top-notch too. He’s used that Missouri (University) education well. This kid is talented. I’m happy he’s had a chance to play. I think it’s good for the AFC West and the National Football League. We have some young quarterbacks in this league right now that are really special. So, you add another one in there and we love challenges. He’ll present that to us on Sunday.”

--CHIEFS--