Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
August 20, 2024
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: Are there still guys that you want to get a last look at with one preseason game left?
TOUB: “Oh yeah, we still want to – I mean, obviously, the wide receiver group. There’s a bunch of guys there – how many guys we’re going to keep, and those guys are still battling for positions. A couple of guys are – obviously, they’re all returners. That’s where it comes into play for me.”
Q: Were you happy with the return game in the Lions game compared to the first week?
TOUB: “I was. We didn’t get a lot of reps in that other game. There were a lot of touchbacks, so I was looking forward to – I’m glad we got some returns this week to see what our stuff’s going to look like. I was happy with the way they blocked, and they finished – did a nice job.”
Q: How do you envision your kickoff return depth chart, and with the game Thursday night, who will you put back there?
TOUB: “I don’t know. Could be Mecole (Hardman.) Nikko (Remigio) did a great job. I’ll be pounding a table for that guy, I love him. (Carson) Steele, he looks good back there. He hits it north and south. He’d be able to block. He’s a guy that you could use at backup running back somewhere – maybe (Deneric) Prince. You need bigger guys that can block too back there. It’s not – you just can’t have two punt returners back there, I don’t think.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “That was a fast Friday. A normal Friday practice, which was pretty good. (If) we’re ready to roll. I’ll just open it up and take questions.”
Q: How annoying is it to have guys out at different times in general and during a cornerback battle?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, so, more frustrating than annoying because it’s really part of it. I was – I made this point in our (defensive) unit meeting the other day, but I don’t believe – we couldn’t have because J Reid (Justin Reid) hasn’t had any practice snaps, right? So, I don’t believe we’ve had the – let’s call it our top 11, 12, or 13, whatever that is. I don’t think we’ve had them on the field for one play. That’s concerning (and) frustrating. Now, I did say to them, ‘Those things are out of our control. I can’t control guys getting hurt, (but) what we can control is our conditioning and being ready to play and all of that.’ With regards to your question about the corners, it’s making it really difficult to decide which way to go. We’ve got one more game. Some of these guys will play that are still fighting for jobs, but we can't say there is a starting other corner right now, in all honesty.”
Q: You have established roles in the safety room. How do you reconcile playing everyone in the safety room?
SPAGNUOLO: “That’s a good point. That’s what I would say. That’s a good problem to have four guys. Every once in a while, we might have four safeties on the field at the same time, but not too often and the down and distances kind of dictates that. I’m really happy and excited for what maybe Jaden (Hicks) can do for us. We know the other three guys are reliable. We just haven’t had Justin Reid out there in so long. The chemistry thing – as we sat in here last year, I remember us talking about when we kind of got rolling (and) playing really good. A lot of it had to do with the chemistry of the guys. That doesn’t just all of a sudden happen after this much time off. So, the concern is – Bryan Cook wasn’t here for a week, Justin (Reid) has been (out) for a while, and Nick (Bolton), those are the chemistry guys. We will just have to do it in practice in the next two weeks as we get ready for Baltimore.”
Q: With so many injuries, how tough is it to make roster decisions?
SPAGNUOLO: “We don’t have much of a choice and we will have to go with a little bit of past performances and guys with experience and all those other things. At some point, you’ve got to go with your gut. I mean, the heads get to – I mean (General Manager) Brett (Veach) will get to (Head Coach) Andy (Reid), myself, the coaches, and try to come up with the best 25 or whatever that number is.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: What are some things that you need to see from the young guys this week?
NAGY: “Probably the biggest thing is just making sure that we’re putting guys in the right spots for these opportunities. When they get a chance to get to play (in) the last couple of (preseason) games and then getting in this game here – schematically, where we want to get a guy to be able to see a little bit more. Then, these opportunities that jump up for making the team, it’ll be big – for both sides. As a coach, you go into this game and you understand that, for us, it’s our third one. Usually, around the NFL, there’s not a whole lot of scheming that’s going on in these (preseason) games, but it’s so important for these guys to be able to play fast so that we can evaluate them. I think that’s what’s most important, probably.”
Q: Is it more necessary to evaluate Carson Steele with his ability to catch the ball out the backfield and pass protection? How have you seen him grow in those aspects?
NAGY: “Yeah, that’s definitely a part of it. To see Carson (Steele) do everything that (it) entails to be a running back. He had that one big run in the first game. We were able to see some of that stuff in training camp and some of the practices, but that’s not all about just playing running back. You’ve got to be able to (pass) protect, you’ve got to know where to go, you’ve got to be good on special teams. So, more opportunities (and) more reps are going to be valuable for him and then for us, to be able to see where he's at. Again, another great kid. I think back to when I first met him in OTAs and he’s in there every day (at) meetings early (and) he’s in there trying to learn this offense. Now, he can go out there and try to play and put it on us to see what he can do.”
Q: Head Coach Andy Reid was surprisingly okay with the behind-the-back pass in the game. Where do you land on that?
NAGY: “I’ve been hearing Pat (Patrick Mahomes) talk a lot about it. We talk about him barking and never biting and I guess he definitely bit the other day in the game. (Travis) Kelce had a particular route he was going to do, it didn’t happen and all of a sudden, I looked up and saw he’s doing the behind the back and then Kelce caught it. I don’t think people understand – Kelce not necessarily knowing where to go or what to do on that play (and) after everything happened, he still caught the ball. I mean, that’s not easy to catch when you don’t know it’s coming. Those guys are crazy and I’m glad it was in the preseason.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
August 20, 2024
WR MECOLE HARDMAN
Q: How are you seeing the young guys in the wide receiver room develop?
HARDMAN: “4 (Rashee Rice), he got a year under his belt now, a Super Bowl, so I think he came along very well. He’s getting more of a leader, he’s starting to come into his own, he knows his role for sure, he’s the main guy and I think he takes that with pride and he’s doing a real good job. Xavier (Worthy) he’s coming in, and he’s doing real well. He’ll bring that speed definitely. (It’s) going to be a learning curve for sure when the regular season gets here, stuff like that, every rookie goes through it. As far as right now, he’s doing real well. Coaches love him, we like what he’s bringing out there, so he’s going to be good.”
Q: When you say that Xavier Worthy is going to have a learning curve, can you tell us what that is like?
HARDMAN: “I think every rookie goes through it. I think when you hit the preseason it’s like – it kind of gives you like a college feel in a sense. You feel like you’re good but then when you have regular season hit, that speed changes, the scheme, the atmosphere, it all changes. It’s kind of like, I won’t say a shock but it’s one of those like, ‘Woah, ok this is real, it’s that time.’ I think that’s the learning curve that you hit, it’s not saying a learning curve where you’re going to do bad, not in that sense, but a learning curve as in just the different atmosphere, the different speed, the play type, the knowledge (of) how people are smarter than normal because now you actually have to game plan. People have a – you’re coming in with a game plan and schemes that you probably haven’t been familiar with for real. It’s one thing to show it on film and (another thing to) actually be on the field and see it in a scheme. Baltimore has a real good scheme of doing things and how they want to do certain things. Once you learn that, it’s like, ‘Ok cool people got that.’ Then, that’s when film watching starts coming into play. As a rookie you know we didn’t really – in college we didn’t really watch film like that, you know you watch film over certain things, but it was – it’s not as detailed as it is in the league. That’s just a learning curve that I think everybody goes through. I think people are still going through it. I definitely hit that learning curve my rookie year, just different speed and stuff like that but watching (Dolphins WR) Tyreek (Hill) and Trav (Travis Kelce) make it look so easy, it’s like you learn fast. I’m glad that we have some guys here that have been a part of this offense and (have) been here so when he sees that, I’m pretty sure he’s going to learn pretty fast.”
Q: After this last preseason game, cuts happen. Can this be a nerve-racking time for players?