KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and several players fielded questions during a presser on Wednesday. Following are their responses.
The team heads to Miami on Sunday to continue Super Bowl preparations.
OPENING STATEMENT: "As far as injuries go, Demarcus Robinson is the only one that won’t practice today. He’s sick. Getting better, but sick. We look forward to the challenge of playing the 49ers. What a great atmosphere it will be – and at a great spot there in Miami (Fla.). (49ers Head Coach) Kyle Shanahan has done a phenomenal job with that football team. We look forward to that challenge of playing him, his coordinators and his players. They have a great bunch there. With that, I’ll turn it over to you guys.”
Q: How much of a distraction is having to handle all of the extra obligations that go along with going to a Super Bowl?
REID: “We have a tight itinerary and we’re sticking to that. (Chiefs Vice President of Communications) Ted (Crews) has done a good job of keeping the media part organized. We’re there to play, but we also understand that it’s the Super Bowl. We understand that everybody has their job to do. People are interested and we understand that.”
Q: How have you approached using the bye week this week in preparation for the game?
REID: “For the coaches, it’s not bad. Next week, there are a few more distractions. This week, you get yourself right. You get the gameplan ready and you get ready to go. Then when you get down there, you’re able to go through and review and finalize things – make sure everything is the way you want it.”
Q: DE Terrell Suggs and G Stefen Wisniewski have won Super Bowls. How much do you lean on them to help talk to the other players about playing in this game?
REID: “They’ve talked to the guys. Not necessarily collectively, but they’ve had a chance to share some of their experiences with them. It’s been part of it.”
Q: How quickly did you turn off the celebration following the AFC Championship to get ready for this game?
REID: “It was a matter of getting back into the swing of things. You don’t have the time right now to do all of that. You have the time initially, but the guys were back in to work, and the coaches were back in, the next day. The players came in like a normal week. You have to put it behind you relatively quick. But, like they know, there is a whole offseason to do all of that. Right now, they’re pretty focused in.”
Q: What does your practice schedule look like this week?
REID: “Today is a normal Wednesday. Tomorrow is normal. We’ll take it all the way through Friday. Saturday it will shut down so that they can get everything together to move on Sunday. When we get down there, we’ll practice on Monday and Tuesday. We’ll get back into our normal routine.”
Q: Are you already game planning for the 49ers?
REID: “Yes.”
Q: Are you going to institute curfews and things of that nature next week?
REID: “There’s a curfew, just so that we can keep track of everybody. It’s not one to where we don’t trust the guys – it’s late. I trust that they’re going to handle themselves the right way. There’s the normal curfew before the night of the game, but the other one is a little bit later, just so that everyone is accounted for and ready to go for the following day.”
Q: Will you let the team know what to expect with the media obligations and the potential distractions that come with family arrivals?
REID: “We’ve addressed all of that. We have a great bunch of people that work for us here. They’re organized. Starting with (Chiefs President) Mark (Donovan, Mark Donovan doesn’t get nearly enough credit for all that he does in keeping us all together. He has it really well-organized. He has been there, so he knows a little bit about the chaos that goes on once you get there. They’ve done a nice job. (Chiefs Director of Team Operations) Mitch Reynolds has been very involved in it and he has done a nice job with it. We’ve talked to the team. They know the whole deal. They’ve had it laid out to them.”
Q: How could your past Super Bowl experiences benefit you this time around?
REID: “I don’t think it can hurt. I have been there and have been through it. I know the fact that there are things that go on down there. There are just a lot of events and a lot of media responsibilities. We have to just make sure that we stay on top of that and keep that organized. Ted does a phenomenal job with that. Then, we go. I try to keep everything cut-and-dry. The guys know where they’re going, where they’re at and what they have to do. I’m not just keeping them busy to keep them busy, I trust that they’re men and that they’ll handle it the right way.”
Q: Does having Super Bowl experience give you a sense of calm at all?
REID: “I wouldn’t say anything out of the norm, other than that you’ve been there. You’ve been through it, so you kind of know what to expect. I don’t know if that is calming, but I know what to expect – and, normally, that’s a good thing.”
Q: What is your main concern in facing the 49ers?
REID: “I think they’re well-coached. I think they’re a real good football team. They’re solid on both sides of the ball and on special teams. That’s what you get when you’re the last two teams going. That’s what you expect. We’re in it for the challenge and this is a great challenge. That’s why we do what we do.”
Q: From his first year with the Chiefs to now, what have you seen out of LB Anthony Hitchens?
REID: “Hitch is one of the captains, voted on by his teammates. That tells you the story. He’s well-respected. He does his homework. Extremely hard worker. The guys respect him for that.”
Q: Did this conference championship feel any different for you compared to winning the NFC Championship in 2004 with the Philadelphia Eagles?
REID: “I can’t remember all of the details. That was a long time ago. From my recollection, very similar to this point. Back then, you can go, ‘We got to one here, we can go to a million of them (laughter).’ It doesn’t quite come that easy. I think you just respect it and appreciate it now maybe a little bit more than I did back then. I appreciated it then, but I think it’s a little more now.”
Q: Since you’re playing the San Francisco 49ers, does your mind flash back at all to your coaching roots at San Francisco State?
REID: “That was great. I had stayed on at BYU for a couple of years, then I went to San Francisco State and worked for Vic Rowen, who was an older coach – very, very well-respected in the country. He was head of the College Football Coaches Association. He was a great teacher of coaches and players – a tremendous amount of experience. It was great learning ground for me, personally, as a coach. He gave me an opportunity to work, which I appreciated.”
Q: Did coaching at San Francisco State give you a desire to want to do bigger things later in your coaching career?
REID: “I’ve come a long way from selling hot dogs. Actually, (Chiefs Equipment Director) Allen (Wright) gives me a couple after the game, so I’m doing good (laughter). I don’t have to pay for them. It was a Division II non-scholarship program. Great conference, the Northern California Athletic Conference is a great conference. Put out a lot of coaches and a lot of players. Great experience. Gave you that respect factor to where you are now. You appreciate it, you don’t take it for granted. You feel very privileged to be in this position.”
Q: Are we seeing a revolution of offensive football, where you don’t have to run the ball efficiently to win games?
REID: “I want to believe that, but I still think combinations are good. Playing to team’s strengths and weaknesses – matchups, all of those things. That has been forever. I think it depends on who you’re playing, where you’re playing, what you’re best at, what they’re best at. Then, you work to the strength of it. Obviously, if you can run the ball well and you can throw the ball well, that’s the best of both worlds. That combination has always been tough for defenses to work with. I think both teams that are in this game are capable of doing that.”
Q: How does Chris Jones feel, now a few days following his first game back?
REID: “I think he feels pretty good. He didn’t have a setback, so that was good. We kept it to that 20-play area right there, which was smart, I think, and good for him. He didn’t wear us out on it. I know that he wanted to play, but he didn’t completely beat us up on it every five seconds. When he got in there, he did some nice things. Initially, we started him on third downs, and then he was feeling good, so we put him in on a couple of first- and second-down situations.”
Q: Has having not won a Super Bowl yet kept you up at night at all?
REID: “Life is bigger than that. That doesn’t tell you that I don’t want to win. This is America, man, I’m in it to win. This is what we do. I don’t want that to be slighted. But I also understand and have a perspective of life. Maybe it’s my age now, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to work hard and coach hard. I’m going to swing to the best of my ability. I’m not going to tell you that there aren’t other things in life. I understand that, too.”
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: How do you balance the distractions while keeping focused as you head to your first Super Bowl?
MAHOMES: “I think the biggest thing is these first few days, trying to get everything settled as far as getting family and friends at the game and everything like that. Getting tickets squared away and hotel rooms and stuff like that so that now, going into the week, I can focus on the game plan and doing everything. Obviously, I’ve already watched film on Monday and Tuesday and stuff like that. I got my family squared away first and now I can focus on doing what it takes to win it.”
Q: How much are you leaning on Coach Reid and players like Terrell Suggs who have been to a Super Bowl for advice on the whole experience?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, for sure. Just talking to those guys and seeing what the week is like first of all. We have a schedule on how we’re doing everything but seeing what extra free time I can pick up to study more or get guys together to get some more work in. Just using those guys and their experiences to understand what we’re getting into and what to expect.”
Q: How much time did you allot yourself to celebrate the win on Sunday?
MAHOMES: “Just that night with the family and friends and some teammates just kind of enjoying it. Then going in on Monday getting right back onto the 49ers. The cool thing is we know who we’re playing so you can use this extra week so that you can prepare yourself in the best way possible.”
Q: What are your first impressions of the 49ers and their defense?
MAHOMES: “Obviously they have a ton of playmakers on the defense with the defensive line, linebackers and in the secondary. They have guys that have experience and they have young guys that are super talented and so you can see that the young guys have really grown as the season has gone on and they have learned from other guys around. They’re very sound in what they do and in the coverages that they play. For us, it’s about executing at a high level and knowing it’s going to be a challenge every single play.”
Q: You know Aaron Rodgers, are you going to call him to see what he saw from the 49ers as they just played them?
MAHOMES: “I haven’t even thought about that. I might need to. I do have a relationship where I can talk to him and text him and do stuff like that. I’ll probably just focus on what we do here and Coach Reid’s game plan because he’s done a good job of game planning all year long.”
Q: With the extra time, how do you not go too far and over analyze film and what do you plan to do with the extra time?
MAHOMES: “I don’t think you can spend too much time watching film. I think you can spend too much time trying to dissect every little thing. I think there’s times where you’re playing a team like them and there are certain coverages they play really well that you just have to go out there and execute. That’s the biggest thing. The plays are going to be there and you’re going to have chances in the game to make opportunities, but you won’t get a ton. When you do get those opportunities, just make sure you execute at a high level.”
Q: Have you played in any other championships in your past that you can fall back on?
MAHOMES: “No. I don’t think so. I’ve played in championship games growing up, but this is definitely a bigger one. Probably the biggest one that’s around. Like I said, it’s talking to Coach Reid and Suggs and all these guys that have been in these games and getting a feel for it. Getting a feel for having to run out of the tunnel and then having to wait around before you get going and containing your emotions and being able to get there and play football when it gets down to it.”
Q: Can you describe how Andy Reid connects with you and the team emotionally?
MAHOMES: “I think it’s just that he’s the same person every single day. He’s the same person if we’re winning or if we’re losing. He’s going to have that same fire, but at the same time being able to teach in the moment and really get the best out of every single person. That’s a huge thing and you’ve seen these past few weeks when we’re down and when we’ve been up in games. We still have that same mentality of taking it one play at a time and trying to be great every play.”
Q: I was joking with him the other day and he said you guys can finish each other’s sentences, have you caught on to that?
MAHOMES: “It’s happened before. Matt Moore has a great story about it in one of his first weeks here. It’s just being on the same page. In the game, knowing what he’s going to call before he calls it. Having the same feel for the game and making sure we’re communicating. That’s stuff Coach Reid does a great job with along with (Offensive Coordinator) Coach Bieniemy and (Quarterbacks) Coach Kafka.”
Q: Does he still do impressions of you?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, every once in a while, he’ll throw it out there still. He keeps the room alive you would say, and he can still throw a joke here and there even in a week like this.”
Q: Even when you have a lot of pressure in your face you can still look down the field, have you have always been able to do that or is that something you’ve learned?
MAHOMES: “I think it’s something I’ve always done whenever I’m scrambling, I always keep my eyes downfield. I’ve never been the fastest guy, so I’ve always wanted to get to guys like Tyreek (Hill, Mecole (Hardman, Travis (Kelce, guys like them, Sammy Watkins. For me, actually in that play I left the pocket a little too early because they did kind of a stunt with the D-line and I thought I could run for it but as I saw it develop, I knew I had to reset in the pocket. As I did that I got back through my reads and Sammy was my guy to go to anyways and he did a good job fighting through a holding penalty and getting down the field. I was able to get the ball to him in enough time that he could score a touchdown.”
Q: You’ve been here a few years now and the city has been waiting 50 years for this, how do you guard against winning on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game not being the destination?
MAHOMES: “Obviously we celebrated that night, but I think the mentality of these guys in the locker room is that we want to get the big one and not fall short. We want to make sure that we’re going to the Super Bowl and we’re going to win it and not regret not preparing or doing whatever it takes to do that. I think with the guys in this locker room we’re going to take advantage of every day. It’s a long build over this next week and a half or whatever it is. We’re going to build every single day and just taking advantage of it and hopefully just getting there and playing our best football and getting a chance at winning it.”
Q: When do you think it’s going to hit you that you are going to the Super Bowl?
MAHOMES: “I think when I get on the plane and it’s snowing, and I get off the plane and I’m sweating, I’ll know I’m there.”
Q: The last few weeks you have played in cold weather, what’s it going to be like when you’re in Miami and it’ll be around 70 degrees at kickoff?
MAHOMES: “It’s crazy. Coach Reid has been talking about it since the playoffs have started, staying in warm-weather shape, and I think he said something about it after the game. Guys have been getting extra running in and extra stuff in to make sure they’re ready for this opportunity and to be in this spot. Obviously, we know going from snow to 70-80 degrees is going to be different, but we’re going to make sure we prepare ourselves physically and mentally to go out there and play a full four quarters or whatever it takes.”
Q: Against the Broncos you said, ‘Did I look like Lamar (Jackson) on that juke?’ and then you ran for a 27-yard touchdown against the Titans, how much have you tried to emulate his game?
MAHOMES: “I mean I watch everybody in the league and see what guys are doing. I think you do that as a quarterback as you watch all these great players. For me, I know I can’t juke like Lamar, but I feel like I can extend plays. When I watch similar opponents, like when I watched Lamar playing the 49ers, and seeing him extend plays, I know that’s some stuff I can take away. I can’t run at the same agility or speed he does.”
Q: Travis Kelce has been with the team for seven years. How bad do you sense that he wants this?
MAHOMES: “Travis has played a lot of great football in his career and I know he’s super excited to play in the Super Bowl and get a chance to play for it. Obviously, he watched his brother do it and saw how much excitement and stuff it was. I know it’s going to be an exciting moment. I think the biggest thing for all of us is just being who we are. That’s something we do every day. We take advantage of every single rep, we let our personalities show and try to find a way to win in any way possible.”
Q: What was the Matt Moore story?
MAHOMES: “It’s one of those stories you have to ask him. It’s about how I completed Coach Reid’s sentences one of his first weeks here. That’s when he knew we’re on the same wavelength.”
Q: From your perspective what was it like to have Chris Jones in uniform on Sunday and to play well?
MAHOMES: “The way he is able to disrupt what the offense is trying to do, whether it’s sacks or getting in the backfield and setting up for someone else to make a play, he’s a special football player. For us to have him back, knowing he’s battling through injuries and he was still going out there giving his best on every single play. This bye week will help him get fully healthy and we’ll be able to have him for a huge game and be able to have all our weapons.”
T MITCHELL SCHWARTZ
Q: How do you handle the distractions that come with playing in the Super Bowl?
SCHWARTZ: “All of that stuff was due at noon today, so we don’t really have the ability to change that now. (Chiefs Head) Coach (Andy Reid) is big on eliminating distractions. The way that they set it up was for us to do all of that and get it out of the way. From here, it’s just football.”
Q: Having gone up against 49ers DL Dee Ford for years in practice when he was with the Chiefs, does that give either of you guys an advantage?
SCHWARTZ: “It is and it isn’t. I’ve only faced him once in like real action. That was when he was younger. He is a much different player and pass-rusher now. I think you have a feel for guys, obviously, when you’re going against them every day, but it’s a lot different when it’s live bullets. We all know that he brings it, so it’s going to be a tough matchup.”
Q: When did you really turn the page from the AFC Championship to start breaking down film and preparing of the 49ers?
SCHWARTZ: “Essentially, the next day. We came in and had meetings and moved forward to the Super Bowl. We got into the logistics and started figuring stuff out. The earlier you can get through all of the logistics, the better – then you can get to football. Really, just after that first night, it was back to normal.”
Q: When you put on the film of the 49ers, what was your initial reaction to DL Nick Bosa?
SCHWARTZ: “He’s pretty awesome. I think we all know that. I’d imagine that he wins Defensive Rookie of the Year and is in contention for NFL Defensive Player of the Year – that’s how good he is playing. He is a guy that’s really well-rounded. I know from experience, having your brother being ahead of you and doing it, you have a better feel for what to expect and what not to expect, and kind of how things go. You’re just a little more comfortable. You have someone that you can ask questions to. Obviously, you combine that with pretty insane athletic ability. The thing that I think makes both of them good, they have all of the physical traits but they’re also extremely skilled, too. The stuff he does with his hand usage and in understanding leverage, he is already a really smart player. It’s pretty crazy to be that good that quick.”
LB ANTHONY HITCHENS
Q: How do you adjust from playing so many cold games recently to playing in the heat of Miami?
HITCHENS: “Coach Reid has been preaching to us really since the playoffs started and when we had the bye week, we did extra conditioning on the side. A lot of players do extra work on our off days. We’ve been staying in shape just in case we got to this game and it’s a good thing we did because we’re here. We’re going to continue doing that this week and next week as well.”
Q: Is stopping the run always the same or is it different when you have more of a halfback than a fullback?
HITCHENS: “Stopping the run is stopping the run. If you saw their game last week, I think he (Raheem Mostert) ran for 200-something yards. Stopping the run is stopping the run. You can control a game by running the ball, so our mindset it to stop the run and for the third week in a row, try to get off to a better start. We’re preaching that right now. We’re trying different ways to throw different things in the game. We’ve got to find a way if we’re on the field first to get that three and out.”
Q: How do you account for the way you played in the run defense against the Titans compared to the first time?
HITCHENS: “Like I said before, we had a solid game the first time. We gave up about four or five runs that was just self-wounds, that we didn’t line up right or we didn’t communicate right, and he busted a 70-yarder on us the first time we played. All we did different was just line up and have a different mindset for four quarters. We didn’t run different plays. We ran the same plays when we played them earlier in the season so, we just had a different mindset, and everyone did their job. So, if we keep doing that then I think we’ll be alright.”
Q: What does it mean to you to be voted a playoff captain?
HITCHENS: “It means a lot. A lot of my teammates and coaches look for me to lead. Being a linebacker, you couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m here to continue to try to lead and do it one more time for this year.”