KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs' assistant coaches and defensive end Frank Clark fielded media questions Thursday.
From The Kansas City Chiefs Facebook page:
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
Q: The interior defensive line position and the depth at corner looks like it’s really going to be tested on Sunday. What are your thoughts about your depth there? How do you feel some of the new guys did at those spots, particularly L’Jarius Sneed and Tershawn Wharton?
SPAGNUOLO: “I’ll tell you what, I’m very encouraged by what those guys did last week. They were thrown in the fire. We planned to play LJ (L’Jarius Sneed) quite a bit. Terk (Tershawn Wharton) had to hop in there with the injury. Looking to those guys to continue to step up. We’re going to get some more bodies in there. I thought Rashad Fenton did a nice job last week. Those guys have gotten a lot of work this week and certainly will through the rest of the week. Hopefully they can step up and play well.”
Q: Last year when you prepared for the Chargers, it was Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon but now it looks a little different. What did you see in their tape against the Bengals and what are some of the challenges against Tyrod Taylor?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, I was with Tyrod in Baltimore. I have extreme respect for him. He’s a premier athlete. I know he’s been in the league for a little bit, but I respect his athletic ability, what he can do when he tucks the ball down, how he can extend it down. I’ve seen it in practice, I’ve seen it in games in Baltimore and at Buffalo. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. What I saw last week was a team that came out in the second half and decided that they were going to win that football game by running the football. I thought they did it really, really well. That was impressive to me the way they won the game, the way they hung in there. Listen, they’ve got weapons, we know that. I’ve got respect for the quarterback because I’ve been around him. I know that our guys feel this, it’s going to be a heck of a challenge, it’s early in the year and we need to find a way to win a divisional game.”
Q: What gives you confidence that you guys will be alright if Charvarius Ward is unable to go?
SPAGNUOLO: “Look, obviously Rashad (Fenton) and LJ (L’Jarius Sneed), if they have to go out there and play corner, haven’t had as many snaps as the guys we’ve had there before. It’s good that LJ has a game under his belt and that Rashad got out there and played a little bit last year. I think any of the other nine guys need to step up. We need to help them here and there, make sure the quarterback isn’t sitting back there with the ball too long, which is where our D-Line comes into play. I’ve got to call certain things to help those guys out. All of that in mind, hopefully we can wrap it up into a good package and certainly all 11 of us will have some success and make sure those guys have it too.”
Q: With Frank Clark specifically, is Thursday night the best you’ve seen him get off the line of scrimmage? Is that simply health or do you feel like you just have more options?
SPAGNUOLO: “The health is huge. Losing Alex (Okafor) hurt us a bit because he’s always a guy who does a lot of different things for us. Getting to your point on Frank and the take-off, I thought he did a great job of whatever it was that he was picking up. Listen, pass rushing and the D-Line is all about the get-off, especially on third down situations. I watched Frank yesterday work on that off to the side while we were doing one-on-one against the O-Line and it wasn’t even one of his reps. He was over there working on his get-off. I think he realizes how important that is and I agree with you. He looked pretty good at it last week.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ERIC BIENIEMY
OPENING STATEMENT: “How are we doing today? Everybody good? Well, good. Just a quick word here. It feels good to come in off a victory against a good opponent. I thought our guys played hard, played fast, had some good energy, had a good focus about them. I thought overall, we played a clean game however, we have some things that we need to clean up, that we need to improve upon that will help us over the course of this season. With that said, I’m all ears.”
Q: How important do you think it was to establish the run game?
BIENIEMY: “It’s always good to establish the run game because it opens up a lot of different things. Especially with the quarterback that we have and the receivers that we have out on the perimeter. I thought the young kid (Clyde Edwards-Helaire) did a heck of a job but hats off to the guys in the front. Our O-Line did a heck of a job of keeping Pat (Patrick Mahomes) clean and they did a heck of a job of blocking in the run game. Kudos to our tight ends and our receivers down field as well. The kid did a very good job. There are some things, and some reads that I know he missed and I know he’d want to take back. Those are the little things that will help him grow and continue to move forward in the season.”
Q: What do you see different at the O-Line and how do you see these new guys working up front different than last year?
BIENIEMY: “I just think that having this time together, Coach Heck has always done a great job of getting these guys to play. Obviously, Fish (Eric Fisher) came out. He’s a veteran who has been here for a number of years. Mitchell Schwartz stood up and did a hell of a job and I mean, Austin Reiter. Those three have been playing together for a while now and now you bring (Andrew) Wylie back into the mix and you bring KO (Kelechi Osemele). These guys do a heck of a job of playing for one another, they do a great job of communicating with each other, and they just have a good chemistry. When you have that combined with a unique runner as we have, we have a chance. As I said, out on the perimeter, we have unselfish football players. Those guys get it. They understand that it’s not about the personal stats, it’s about whatever is going to help us accomplish the goal. The goal is always to win. ‘How are we going to get that done? I need to make sure that I’m doing my part when called upon and if that means that I have to go block down field, then I have to go block down field. If that means I have to run X amount of routes, then I’ll run my route to perfection.’ Those guys play for one another and that’s what makes this team so special.”
Q: Kelechi Osemele has a little bit more of that brawler quality about him. Does that bring something different to your O-Line?
BIENIEMY: “I’m just going to say this, and I’ve said this before, but he is a competitive prick. We love the attitude and the determined mindset that he brings to our room. He’s the guy who wants to brawl each
and every play. On top of that, he’s just a tough guy. He understands the dynamics of our O-Line room and he just brings that chemistry together, brings that group force with him when he’s out there and playing. He wants the ball to be ran behind him. Also, he understands exactly how we’re going to go about doing this. We want to make sure that we’re playing smart, playing hard, playing fast, but more importantly that we’re being accountable and we’re not doing anything that’s going to keep us from accomplishing our goals. What a great kid. I love everything that he brings to the table and I think he’s just been a great addition.”
Q: What are your expectations for the offensive line as they face Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa this week? Do you foresee the protests and demonstrations continuing or was it just a one-week deal?
BIENIEMY: “Well, first of all, I think our offensive line did a heck of a job last week. Each and every week, they’re going to be tested. Every week there’s going to be somebody across on the other side of the ball that is going to present a challenge. We know what Bosa is capable of, we watched him this past weekend on TV and watched all of the things that he can do. We know what Melvin Ingram brings to the table as well. On top of that, they’ve got a couple of young guys inside that do a hell of a job as well, with (Isaac) Rochell and the young guy (Jerry) Tillery coming in. How about the free agent pickup of Linval Joseph, the kid out of Minnesota that they have. Each and every week, we’re going to be presented with a challenge. Our guys have been around enough, they’ve played enough ball together, they understand that challenge and we understand that those are some dynamic football players. We have to make sure we’re putting our guys in the right position and making sure that we’re giving them the appropriate help so they can execute and keep the quarterback clean. As far as the protests, I’m all in for whatever the players choose to do. Whatever they decide. Right now, I’ve been focused on the game plan. I haven’t asked because they know when I’m locked in, I’m locked in. They’ll let me know and instruct me on exactly what we’re doing moving forward. I will say this, hats off to them. These guys have utilized their voices, they’re using their platforms. I’ve been very, very proud of the way they have handled everything.”
OFFENSIVE LINE COACH ANDY HECK
Q: I wanted to ask specifically about Kelechi (Osemele). What does a guy like him and his brawler mentality bring to the group?
HECK: “Absolutely. He is a very physical football player; he has been his whole career. He’s got one speed. We’ve had some guys around here similar to that, you think about Larry (Laurent Duvernay-Tardif), he’s a one speed guy. Kelechi brings that. When you collect guys that have that, in our case with Kelechi, it’s infectious. It carries over to other guys. He plays good, physical football. On top of that, he’s experienced. He’s been around for a while. He brings experience to the table, he knows the game, so we’re glad to have him.”
Q: Have you identified the problems that you might have had running the short yardage and goal-to-go situations the other night?
HECK: “Yeah, we had a look at that, and we talked about as an offense, an offensive line in particular, when we’re in critical situations, we have to be able to step up and handle the situation. It’s hard to say if it’s just this one thing or if it’s another. It boils down to execution and fundamentals. Whether that was a breakdown in awareness or fundamentals, we recognize that’s an area we need to be better in.”
Q: Can you talk about the conversations that are held about fourth down and what your input is for what the plays might be? Who all is involved in the discussion about which plays to possibly run?
HECK: “There’s a couple of ways to look at that. First off, you’re right. The conversations are occurring. Part of it, initially, is kind of compartmentalized. We all handle our areas of the game, what we think they’re going to do in a situation, what do we like in that situation. Whether it’s a few of us working in the run game on what we want to do in a short yardage situation. It’s the same thing in the pass game, we’ve got guys who are looking at that. Coach Reid and Coach Bieniemy put that all together. There’s another conversation and of course it starts with Coach Reid. ‘What do we want to do?’ And Pat, I’m sure, is involved in that. ‘What will we do in this situation?’ So, we work as a team on that. Ultimately, whether or not you’re going to go for it, Coach Reid is going to be taking the lead on that. I’m going to be heavily involved on what we do run-wise in a situation and whether or not we call that run, is Coach’s call.”
Q: What do you think makes your line a little bit better equipped for some of the inside zone concepts we saw on Thursday night?
HECK: “It’s a very common run concept throughout the league. Everybody runs inside zone. We’ve done a lot of it over the years. We do a lot of different things, but we get a lot of practice at it. Runners and our linemen understand the angles. We have the addition of throw options, things that look just like the pass game, so we feel like even though it’s a simple concept, we can still put pressure on the defense. Our guys know how to execute it.”
RUNNING BACKS COACH DELAND MCCULLOUGH
Q: If you’re going to be affective down at the goal line, how vital is it to be able to change things up? How much easier is it when you kind of bring in some of the nuances you guys are known for that you didn't really seem to go to in the Texans game?
McCULLOUGH: “Well, I can tell you speaking from the running back perspective, we take it very personally if we didn't score because when you look at those, I mean it was a situation where Clyde (Edwards-Helaire), again with it be in his first game in the NFL with no preseason etc., live opportunities down there on the goal line, bottom line is, if you follow all the keys that we’re coached up to do in that room, he scores. So some of the things we talked about right now will be a moot point. But again, as he continues to grow and he’ll take a big growth after last game and he'll take another big step into this game, but regardless of what the plan is, when we are down there, the running backs job is to score and we need to do everything we coach to do and we'll score a touchdown.”
Q: Having seen Clyde Edwards-Helaire in a game for the first time, did you learn anything about him? What are your thoughts on him as goal line, short yardage runner?
McCULLOUGH: “Well, I mean what I learned about him is he is as advertised as far as being able to make guys miss, run with low center gravity, contact balance, different things like that, vision. But also on the flip side is you know we found out he's a rookie. This is first game he played, no preseason so it was a couple of – a bunch of things going on all at once in that game. At the end of the day, we were very – well, I was very encouraged with his offense, we as a team organization were very encouraged with what he did. We know that there would be some big steps coming forward. As far as him on the goal line, I know I answered this with the last gentleman just following all our keys, not trying to say, ‘you know what I'm just going to get in by any means necessary,’ but if you just follow the reads and the footwork, we're having a different conversation about Clyde as a goal line running back.”
Q: When it comes to Clyde Edwards-Helaire did you find that his vision and patience was right where you thought it might be? Or were you pleasantly surprised with just how far advance it was?
McCULLOUGH: “No, I mean it was on par with what we drafted him in the first round, so we definitely were excited about that, had the opportunity to show that in a live situation repeatedly so you know it was definitely encouraged by that. Again, it's just the amount of growth that happens from your first full game to your second one, so that's the part that I'm excited about, that we’re all excited about is, man he has some hiccups in the first game, which is – that's to be expected, you know, but here you're coming into the second game I mean, he's really grown a lot. You’re talking about just from last game to the next practice that we had a few days ago just learning and being able to see on tape, ‘wow I didn't do this, I should have did this, I can't do this.’ It's going to be – I would expect there to be some bigger steps coming into this game, too.”
Q: You've had a chance to coach Kareem Hunt, Damien Williams, Spencer Ware, Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Now with that being said, they've had some great games and what looks to be promising careers underneath you. Talk about that if you will. But also, should we start mentioning your name as an offensive coordinator?
McCULLOUGH: “Yeah, just speaking about the first thing you said, you know being blessed to be able to come here to the Kingdom and have some great guys in college and be able to bring that knowledge into the NFL. With Kareem and the list of guys you said. You know, very excited and was happy about having an honor to do that and then hopefully take those guys in, advance them while we had them. Being able to have the same opportunity that with Clyde is definitely in effect right now. I mean, I knew of Clyde, I knew of his running back coach coming out of college and excited to have him and what he's going to ultimately do. Think Game One we got a chance to preview to what that can be, keeping him levelheaded, moving forward, trusting the process and continuing to get better. To go to your second question, heck yeah, I mean, we are all in this to win. I’m in it obviously to win, have impact on the players that I coach, develop relationships but you want to continue to advance yourself professionally also. So yeah, being offensive coordinator and moving onto a head coach is something that I can envision for myself. But, in the meantime I'm just going to control what I can control and have these backs ready to roll here in a few days.”
RUN GAME COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE LINE COACH BRENDAN DALY
Q: You guys have talked about tackling, is that just basic, just try to get that game rhythm back in or is it something that you guys need to get back to the drawing board and correct?
DALY: “Well, I think there's a number of factors there. Tackling is always something as to defensive coach that you're concerned about. The first game is always, you know, the first live bullets of it are always a little bit of an adjustment to full speed and tackling to the ground. We're drilling it, we're working it. I actually thought in that first game we had some other issues in terms of scrambling and athleticism at the quarterback position that created some problems, that's part of who that guy is in terms of Deshaun Watson, and we're going to face a similar challenge there this week. And we're going to continue to work on it and obviously we don't want any missed tackles, and we're going to work in practice to try to achieve that goal you know, understanding we may fall short. But we're going to continue to coach it and work it and drill the fundamentals of things.”
Q: I was wondering what your initial thoughts were on seeing both Mike Danna and Tershawn Wharton just considering they’re fairly new names that we don't know a ton about?
DALY: “Yeah, I mean you know both guys have done a great job since we got them here. They work hard, they come in every day, they are very smart, they take great notes, they've got a business-like demeanor about them that I've been very impressed with both of them to be honest. They’re mature individuals for rookies coming into the NFL in my opinion. It's been a lot of fun to work with them, it's been a lot of fun to watch them develop. I'm excited about what they're going to continue to do and where they're going to continue to go. They’re two fun guys to coach and I expect them to continue to improve based on what their athletic skill set is and then what they bring to the job every day in terms of their work ethic and their dedication.”
Q: How concerned are you with the depth inside and possibly having players come up from the practice squad to fill in?
DALY: “Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot that remains to be seen there in terms of how that all plays out, but we've got some options there, you know, and honestly I don't know that that's a great concern to me. My thought process is we’re going to prepare each and every one of the guys, whether they're on the roster, whether they're on the practice squad to play each week, and that's my expectation for those guys is that they're prepared and when called upon that they're going to step up and perform, and we've spent a lot of time doing that all the way through the offseason and through training camp. I expect those guys if and when called upon, whoever that may be, Tim Ward as an example, Braxton (Hoyett), as an example Demone Harris, Taco Charlton guys that didn't necessarily play in the game a week ago, that's a very fluid situation week in and week out, and that's my expectation for each and every one of those guys that they're going to prepare and be ready to go in if they're called upon, that they're going to go out and perform at a high level for us and I've got confidence in every one of those guys. And I feel good about the depth that we've got, I think that's a great credit to our personnel department and the people that they've brought in. I think it's a great credit to that group of individuals in terms of the way they approach their business on a day to day basis.”
Q: Is it tough to sell the mindset of doing the dirty work for overall team success?
DALY: “Yeah, I mean it's a fair question. I've always looked at it in these terms that speaking to pass rush specifically, pass rushes – consistently good pass rushes is not one or two individuals, it's not one guy beat one on one rushes, it's four, five, six guys whatever you're bringing in terms of number of rushers, maybe it's three, maybe it's two at times but being coordinated in what you're doing and being on the same page with the plan and not necessarily – listen if we do that consistently, we will consistently affect the quarterback and the sack numbers will be where they are and I'm not necessarily concerned about who gets him and who gets the credit for them. The ultimate goal is that the Chiefs win and to me, we've got a great group of guys that have bought into that philosophy. They're not necessarily concerned or enamored with their own personal accolades or with what their statistical numbers are. They're concerned with what the overall objective here is, which is winning and playing good defense on our side of the ball to contribute to the ultimate goal of the team winning and that takes everyone involved and we've been fortunate. The guys have bought into that. Have I coached guys in the past that maybe it was a little harder to sell that philosophy too? Yeah, that's probably the case, but I give a lot of credit to the guys that we've got here right now and that they are unselfish and if you ask me if you're looking for a criteria in terms of defensive linemen, that's probably number one on the list and we've got a good group in that regard.”
DEFENSIVE BACKS/CORNERBACKS COACH SAM MADISON
Q: I’m wondering about L’Jarius Sneed’s evolution with the team since you first saw him and how has he impressed you in the meeting room?
MADISON: “Well, when you look at Sneed, coming in that's the reason why we went out and got him. He is able to run, he's tall, he's long and you look at our corners from last year, you know he just fit that mold, but it's been a transformation for him. Understanding the speed of the game from college, coming to the pros and not really having any OTA's and quarterback school, he was able to pick it up very fast, but one of the things that really helped was (Charvarius) Ward as well as (Bashaud) Breeland when he was here, talking to him trying to get him up to speed because Breeland knew his situation and you know, just making sure that he was feeling comfortable and as far as him in the meeting room, he's asking the right questions and he's going out there and applying those things on the field so for him to go out there and have that such game, it’s just really promising for the Chiefs as well as for Sneed as well.”
Q: Do you see BoPete Keyes showing enough progress where there is an opportunity for him to get involved in the defense?
MADISON: “Really smart kid. Throughout the virtual process, you know had all the right answers and he was able to pick this stuff up very fast and quickly, but he's a month and a half behind everybody else. He's still getting his legs up under him. He's playing a lot of scout team right now, and we’re talking him through some of the things that he didn't have opportunity to do during training camp, so he's coming along slowly. Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), Coach (Andy) Reid, they're taking their time with him, but he's going to be in a situation sooner or later to be ready and prepared so he's being quizzed and challenged throughout the course of the day and throughout the course of practice. But it’s going to be up to Coach Reid and as well as Coach Spags when they feel comfortable, but first of all, he's going to have to learn how to do things on special teams because that's where you really have opportunity to make that game day roster and Coach (Dave) Toub is going to be working him in so it's just going to be a situation where he’s picking up those little small things and then once he does that, getting his legs up on him and being able to go out there and have that opening game roster, but being out a month and a half or however long he was out, now he's finally getting over that soreness part and getting his legs up under him.”
Q: What are your thoughts about where Juan Thornhill is and what he's able to do?
MADISON: “Juan, you know when he first did it, he was like, “Coach I'm going to be ready for week one” and I was like, “Juan you're not going to be ready.” But I mean his mindset was there and then just to be able to see him go out there and play the way he played, it’s really good for him and really good for us because we put a lot of work into him last year and now he's right out there with Tyrann Mathieu and putting everybody in a situation to make plays so very impressed with him. He was a situation where you know just going out there, getting the feel because when you have an injury like that and then it was during a football game, for you to go out there you have a little hesitancy, but once he got that first contact, came to the sideline, he was like, “Coach Sam, I'm good.” So you know, we'll
eventually let him off the leash, but for now, he's doing a really good job, so hopefully he can continue and you look at the training staff. They've done a phenomenal job with him, so very impressed with him and happy with things that he's done so far.”
Q: How far do you feel Juan Thornhill is right now from being the player he was last year?
MADISON: “Yeah man, at the end of the year Juan was all over the field. He was really in a good place. When you have these type of injuries, you tend to gain a little weight and I've always talked to him about that and you look at him, he looks pretty good, but it's just going to take some time to really get back to that and what eight and half months? You know that's really impressive with things that he is able to do so there's no timetable. I mean, as long as he can go out there and he can apply the things that Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) is putting on the table and on the floor for him to go out there and do, Coach Spags is going to let him do it. Coach (Dave) Merritt has done a great job with him, bringing him along throughout the course of training camp and just watching him throughout the individuals drills and engaging him and seeing exactly where he is but he's picked up a lot more reps and he did really good in the game, so hopefully he'll be able to continue to build off of that and be back to the old Juan. But we'll just have to see and then just hopefully training staff and Juan himself continue to take care of himself throughout the course of the week so he can make it to game day and be out there and be able to go out there and apply the game plan that Coach Spags put together.”
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