Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
December 21, 2023
OPENING STATEMENT: “We’ve got a couple guys that are sick; Nick Bolton is sick and Cam Jones is sick. We had a couple last week, so we’re going through it a little bit. Then (Jerick) McKinnon with a groin (injury) won’t practice today, (Kadarius) Toney with a hip strain, won’t practice today. (We) Look forward to the challenge of playing the Raiders, they’re playing good football. (Raiders Interim Head Coach) Antonio (Pierce) has done a real nice job with that group and they’re playing hard. They’ve got a good scheme offensively and defensive and special teams for that matter. We’ve got to have a good week of practice and that starts today. Anyways, with that, time’s yours.”
Q: When it was brought to your attention that the kicking footballs were not inflated correctly, how can that impact play?
REID: “You know (Executive Vice President of Communications) Ted (Crews) told me – I don’t know anything about it, walking down he mentioned it to me. I’m not worried about all of that.”
Q: Did you hear any concerns from Harrison Butker about it?
REID: “No, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Q: Is Mecole Hardman close to returning?
REID: “Yes, he’ll (Mecole Hardman) be out there. He’s got 21 days I think it is, so he’ll be out there today and get some work in and just see how he does.”
Q: You said on Monday that you’re hoping to increase Richie James’ snap count and that Justyn Ross could be back in the mix, what are you seeing from them?
REID: “We’ll see. We’ve got a few plays in. We’ll just see where it goes. They’re (Richie James and Justyn Ross) ready to go. We’ll just see how it works out.”
Q: If you guys make a deep postseason run, is there a chance that Skyy Moore can return to play?
REID: “Yeah, there is a chance. That thing (his knee) is tender, it’s been – he’s (Skyy Moore) a tough kid, he battled through it there.”
Q: Do you like the idea of playing on Christmas Day?
REID: “Listen, once you’re in the season, every day is the same. Today is Wednesday, but it’s Thursday so we’re programmed but I think it’ll be neat for the fans. Our guys are excited, and I’m sure the Raiders are excited. It’s different, Monday night at noon, that’s different.”
Q: The Raiders are good at getting teams to turn the ball over. How important is ball security for this game?
REID: “That’s a good point, they’re great at that. You better keep it high and tight; you know we’ve had a couple that have popped out and you know they’re going to go after the ball, but they do a nice job doing that.”
Q: You have the chance to win the division on Monday, how much of this is included in the pregame conversation?
REID: “The main thing is getting ready, and you know that they’re still alive. Then it’s the Raiders versus the Chiefs, so you just have to get ready. You don’t have to really talk about all the other stuff. It’s one of those Raiders/Chiefs games.”
Q: The NFL gave you a lump of coal after the Bills game by fining you for your post-game comments. Is that just the cost of doing business?
REID: “Well you take that coal, and you make diamonds out of it. I appreciate the setting me up.”
Q: You guys are last in the league for fourth quarter scoring. How do you finish games better?
REID: “We’ve got to do better there. I mean the bottom line is you have to score, you have opportunities, you have to score.”
Q: How eager is Isiah Pacheco to get back out there and are you expecting to give him a full workload?
REID: “Yeah, I think it’ll be a full workload, but with that, we’ve got back up relief if he (Isiah Pacheco) needs to come out. Clyde (Edwards-Helaire), I mean, can – we’ve got all kinds of confidence in Clyde stepping in.”
Q: On Chiefs Hall of Famer Ed Budde passing.
REID: “Yeah, that’s what I was going to finish this with, our hearts go out to the family. What a great player, well he (Ed Budde) and his son (Brad Budde). Ed was a great person. He would show up for all the different events, and he’ll be missed. What a good football (player), tough guy.”
Q: When guys are going through slumps, how do you keep trust in them?
REID: “If they’re young, you take a little step back (and) have a chance to take steps forward, that’s how it goes. You’re going to have ups and downs in this business, it’s a pretty tough sport. A lot of people are going to put their opinion out there, along with the coaches and players, everybody has an opinion. You have to keep working.”
Q: What do you try to get out of the coaches to help them help their players on the field?
REID: “They’re doing a good job, young guys they’ve got. (Chiefs Running Backs Coach) Todd (Pinkston) is a little different, he’s got guys that are pretty – he got a pretty veteran group right there. I mean (Chiefs Wide Receivers Coach) Connor (Embree), look at (Rashee) Rice and that kind of tells you – that gives you the answer to that part of it and his production.”
Chiefs Players Quotes
December 21, 2023
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: On the gifts he gave to the offensive lineman.
MAHOMES: “I got that golf cart, the Club Car, at home and I was like, ‘Man this is sweet.’ I was thinking about ideas, and I wanted to change it up from what I have done in past years. I figured I’d get them something that I enjoy, and I think y’all can see from some of the videos that they enjoyed it. They were going around GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. I got a little nervous because I was going to ship them to where they were going, and they were like, ‘No we need to take them for a ride.’ It’s cool. I’m glad they enjoyed it. It’s that part of the year and they do a lot for me, so I’m going to take care of them as well.”
Q: Are you excited to play on Christmas Day?
MAHOMES: “I am excited. Obviously a little disappointed that I don’t get to do the Christmas morning when Santa comes with the kids, but I get that whole afternoon and that evening. To be able to play on Christmas day right after everyone wakes up, they get their gifts, turn the TV on and they’re going to see the Chiefs playing, it’s extremely exciting and a great opportunity.”
Q: How much do the offensive linemen actually play golf?
MAHOMES: “That’s why I got the four seaters – there are only a couple of them that actually play golf. Those have a place to put your golf clubs if you want to take it out to the golf course, but (they are) more for the cruising around the neighborhood type of golf cart. I gave them the option where they could do both, but I chose more the comfort over the convenience of being on a golf course.”
Q: What is the ceiling for Rashee Rice?
MAHOMES: “He’s still got a lot he can improve on which is crazy to say. He’s had such a great season. The little things that NFL receivers do – he’s got the explosiveness, he knows how to run the routes – but the nuance and the how you run the routes, how you set one route to run up another one. I’ll say this, he’s taken from the veterans Marquez (Valdes-Scantling), Justin Watson and Travis (Kelce). He listens and he learns as much as he can and tries to take that in. I think that’s why he’s gotten better and better as the season’s gone on.”
Q: Knowing you can clinch the division this week does that affect your preparation at all?
MAHOMES: “Not necessarily. I think you just have to take it like it’s a game you’re going up against the Raiders. We know how intense it’s going to be. We know what this rivalry means to both sides. It’s going to be a great battle. We’re excited for the opportunity to play at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Obviously if we win, we can clinch the division, that’s part of it. At the same time, I think it’s just when these two teams go up against each other, there’s going to be an added step in the – I don’t want to say pressure – but the momentum where you have to go out there and give everything you’ve got.”
Q: Clinching the division this week isn’t a big part of the conversation going in?
MAHOMES: “Everybody understands it. At the same time, it’s a game. We have to go out there and play just like every other game. Every game matters in this league, so for us, we have to put our best effort forward every single time. That’s something we talk about at the beginning of the year. Our first goal is to win the AFC West, and we understand that that’s a great challenge. We have to come in with that mentality that we’re going to do everything we can to win this week and that will clinch our first goal if we can do that.”
Q: How have you seen Wanya Morris progress at left tackle and how do you adjust to his blocking style?
MAHOMES: “I think what you know is he’s (Wanya Morris) a battler. He’s someone that’s going to go out there and fight the entire game. He’s getting better and better as far as technique, little things we do within our offense and how (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck wants it. I think what you do know is he is going to finish every play. He’s going to go out there, and if he loses a rep, he’s going to come back with the mentality that he’s going to win that one and he’s not going to let anything affect his mentality. It’s great when you throw a guy in there like that – a young guy – and he steps up to the plate and he gets a base hit or he hits a home run. He’s ready to go, whenever his number gets called, he’s going to be ready to play.”
Q: Does the protection scheme change at all when you throw someone different in?
MAHOMES: “Not necessarily. We stay on top of that stuff. We try to be really top tier as far as picking up protections and stuff like that. Obviously, with pass rushers like (Raiders DE Maxx Crosby) 98 on the other side you add some attention to him, but their (the Raiders) other guy, (Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce) 51 is playing great too. It’s going to be a great challenge for us going up against this team and this pass rush. I think you just have to go out with the mentality that we’re going to execute the game plan and let the guys win their match ups.”
Q: The camera caught some frustration after the second pick on Sunday, where are you at from a trust and frustration level right now?
MAHOMES: “I think in that moment, I was just frustrated with the interception and giving the defense a short field. The defense was playing so well in that second half especially, and I knew in that moment of the game you don’t want to have turnovers and stuff like that. You want to either score – (that’s) obviously the first goal – but second, the goal is flip the field, let our defense play. Getting that turnover and (putting) them in a position where they’re basically (need) one play for a touchdown or whatever that was, that’s on us as an offense. There’s no added frustration towards any player. I know how hard these guys work. I’ve said that all year long, I see how they practice, I see how they work after practice, before practice, I know they are doing whatever they can to help the team out in the best way possible. They always know I’m going to have the confidence in them, I’m going to keep firing the ball to them, that’s just how I roll. Whenever I see the guys put in the work every single day, I have trust that he’s going to go out there and make the plays happen. The frustration I think was just over the whole situation not necessarily directed at one person or the other.”
Q: What do you see from the confidence level of your receivers?
MAHOMES: “I think they look confident. They joke around, they’re having fun at practice, they’re working their tails off. They understand they want to be better – everyone does – we want to be the best that we possibly can be. At the same time, I know those guys are going to make plays and I’ve seen them make plays on the biggest stage. I know they have the confidence and know they believe in themselves as much as I believe in them.”
Q: What do you think Richie James can provide with more opportunities?
MAHOMES: “I think he’s (Richie James) done a great job with the opportunities that he has had. You’ve seen he’s able to catch the ball, get vertical, break tackles, be in the right spot at the right time. I know (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) is talking about how we need to get him more and more involved. Obviously, the injury in the middle of the season hurt his production, but as he’s gotten healthier and healthier. You see we’re trying to add him in as much as we can. I think the coaches are going to continue to do that because he offers a different skillset. He’s a veteran guy that knows where he needs to be at the right time.”
Q: Did you get any communication from the league about the fine you got?
MAHOMES: “You understand the consequences; they tell you before the year. I had an outburst on the sideline, and everybody saw it in a big game. There’s going to be consequences to that. I got the fine so now you just have to live with those consequences, learn from it, be better from it and try to not let that happen again. We just kept it moving. That was a couple of weeks ago, and now we are just focused on the Raiders and how we can do whatever we can to beat them.”
Q: What are your thoughts on the moves the Kansas City Royals have made in free agency?
MAHOMES: “It’s cool. Obviously, since I’ve been here it’s been down a little bit. Before I got here – I talked to Travis (Kelce) about it a little bit, about how cool it was for those two World Series title runs. A lot of those players left and now they’re trying to rebuild that thing. You can see the young core and how talented those guys are, now they just want to add the veterans. The veterans to come in and not only have their impact on the team but they want them to influence that young core of how you do things the right way. I think they have as good a chance as any to win their division. I think it’s going to be a great season and I’m excited to be able to be there and just see it. I want to see the K (Kauffman Stadium) packed and how those World Series runs were. I’m super excited about it obviously, hopefully – I’m an owner so I can’t really say anything – hopefully we have (Royals shortstop) Bobby Witt here for a long time (laughter).”
Q: Any specific moves the Royals made that excited you the most?
MAHOMES: “I think just adding to the rotation. We (the Royals) have a lot of talented young guys. If you look at (Royals starting pitchers Cole) Ragans you look at (Brady) Singer, you look at the other guys (Royals starting pitcher) Kris (Bubic) that we just singed back. We’ve got talented young guys. To add those veterans (Royals starting pitchers Michael) Wacha, (Seth) Lugo, guys that have done it in a lot of different places, know how to pitch, know how to teach other guys how to take their game to the next level. Then adding some bullpen guys as well. I think they’ve done a great job, that’s what their plan was. I heard them talking about it, the GM (Royals General Manager J. J. Picollo) talking what the plan was and how they were going to go out and execute it and they’ve done that. I don’t know what else is in the works. I’m not that close, but hopefully we come into the season with some momentum going, and we can go in there and start off hot and finish even better.”
Q: The main goal is to win, but is there anything else you want to accomplish to set yourself up well for the playoffs?
MAHOMES: “You always want to be playing your best football going into the playoffs. That’s what I’ve learned in my career is you can start hot, but you want to be playing your best football when you get to the playoffs. It doesn’t matter what your record is at that point it’s just whoever plays the best football is who ends up winning the Super Bowl. Obviously, we did some good things in the last game, but I think if we can finish better – we started better finally – now let’s finish better. Let’s put that complete game together, and if we can do that and get better and better these last few games then we can get to the playoffs playing our best football. And I think the AFC is wide open and we can go out there and try to find a way to get to the Super Bowl.”
Q: How beneficial is it that you’ve seen all the running backs step in and have success this season?
MAHOMES: “They all have different skillsets, and they all do a great job of just being ready for the moment. I think that speaks to the room; it speaks to how much pride they have in not only one guy having success but everyone having success. You see it on the sideline, you see the little snippets. They all want to score, and they want the other guy to score as much as they want to score. That speaks to the type of room that they have that they want everyone to have success and they’re going to capitalize on their moment and be ready for it.”
WR RASHEE RICE
Q: How do you embrace the challenge of opponents starting to recognize you and gameplan against you?
RICE: “Just like I embrace every week, not letting the outside stuff get to me and knowing that if I’m handling what I have to handle in practice then it’ll take care of itself in the games.”
Q: Who have you leaned on to learn about overall health heading into playoffs?
RICE: “The vets on the team in general. We have guys that have been through the physical part, the a lot of running part, the mental part, so I have a lot of vets I can ask plenty of questions about that depending on what I’m feeling like.”
Q: When you scored the touchdown in the Patriots game and broke the record for receiving touchdowns by a rookie, Patrick Mahomes went and grabbed the ball for you. What did that moment mean to you and what will you do with that ball?
RICE: “I plan on putting the ball somewhere safe to where my kid can’t play with it all the time (laughter). I cherish the moment when it happened, but I look forward to many great moments with the team and with Pat (Mahomes).”
Q: What do you think you need to improve on?
RICE: “Truthfully speaking, everything. I’m young and I feel like every time I’m out there, there’s vets on the field all the time so every time I’m out there, I’m looking to learn something from all those guys so if it’s the smallest thing or even if it’s the biggest thing, I’m going to try to put it into my game as soon as possible.”
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: How nice was it to have Drue Tranquill back last week?
JONES: “Drue (Tranquill) has been wonderful for us throughout the whole year. His speed, his wisdom on this defense, he’s coming in to make plays for us, even able to transition to Mike (linebacker) when Nick Bolton went down, so it speaks volumes for what he’s able to do for this defense.”
Q: George Karlaftis’ ended last season with 6.0 sacks, he has 9.0 this year; can you talk about his growth?
JONES: “He (George Karlaftis) needs to get 10. He needs to get 10. We’ve been talking about this all week. I’ve been giving him crap all week, I think it was one of his goals coming in this season to make sure he has double digits, and I want to push him to get that. He works so hard during the season, during the offseason, me and him talk about it a lot. I think it would another, milestone in his career to reach that. We have three more games left, and I think he’s able to do it, I think it would be tremendous not only for his confidence and game moving forward but give him something to build off of.”
Q: When guys like Mike Danna and Charles Omenihu who are dominant on the inside, also get sacks from the outside, what does that say about the defensive line?
JONES: “I think we have a lot of hybrid guys in that room. Mike Danna who can play DE (Defensive End) and three technique the whole game if you need him. You have a guy like Charles (Omenihu) who can do the same. You have a guy like Tershawn Wharton. We have a lot of guys who can transition from in and out and it adds versatility in that room to be able to move guys around in that room and cause havoc.”
Q: Is there a different feeling the week you’re able to clinch the division?
JONES: “Not really. I think it’s the same importance as any game we play. We know the importance of these last few games of the season. We know what we want for us as a team, and we know what’s ahead of us. For us every game is this, important that is, a division game or outside of the division.”