Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
October 24, 2024
HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, just a real quick injury update. Obviously, we’ve put Skyy (Moore) down (to IR). Skyy came in yesterday with a core muscle injury. We had him evaluated and he’s going to need that fixed. He will be put down there on IR. Then, as far as JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Mike Danna go, both are making progress and so on and so forth there. Then, DeAndre Hopkins – (I will) take a few questions on that but we’re excited to have him here and join in with that receiving corp. Again, he’s been a proven player, and he’ll work in those spots that JuJu and Rashee (Rice) did.”
Q: Is there something specifically that DeAndre Hopkins does well that you feel like you guys have been lacking?
REID: “Well, I think – not necessarily lacking, but I think he’s (DeAndre Hopkins) a good – he’s a veteran player. You’ve seen just about everything over 12 years. He’s a good space player, so he’s very good at understanding how to work in space. At the same time, he’s a tough matchup because of his size, arm length – (he’s a) big body that knows how to kind of play that low post area.”
Q: What is the timetable for him playing?
REID: “Well, it could be this weekend. We’ll see how he (DeAndre Hopkins) picks up (laughter) – we have to get him on the practice field. I mean, why wait, right? If he can handle it without putting him in a bad position.”
Q: How much will DeAndre Hopkins’ football knowledge mean in this process?
REID: “He’s (DeAndre Hopkins) a smart guy. He understands football, likewise. Justin (Reid) knows him probably better than anybody just having been with him those years (in Houston), so that’s exciting. I mean, that’s a good thing. We’ve got a lot in right now and we’re just trying to get him acclimated with meetings here. We’ll see how things go at practice, but you can tell he’s a very focused guy and he’s intelligent.”
Q: How many additional hours would DeAndre Hopkins have to put in in order to play this week?
REID: “Well you start counting from the bottom of just the snap count part of it and work your way up through, but he’s (DeAndre Hopkins) seen enough. He’s been around it long enough to where it’s more (of) a dialect than a language that he has to learn.”
Q: Are you done making moves at wide receiver with the trade deadline approaching?
REID: “Only if you want to jump in and take a few reps (laughter).”
Q: Do you need to adjust the offense to fit DeAndre Hopkins’ skill set or will he need to adjust to what you guys are already doing?
REID: “Listen, we do this so often. We try to utilize their strengths and work them in to what we do without completely changing everything. I mean, we have a little of everything in the offense, but he’s (DeAndre Hopkins) similar in his awareness in space as JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and (what) Rashee (Rice) was developing into. That’s a good thing in this offense to be able to do.”
Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
October 24, 2024
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: On Trent McDuffie’s block on special teams during Mecole Hardman’s 55-yard punt return.
TOUB: “I had all those guys before so when they get out there on that play, they have a chance to make a play on special teams, he (Trent McDuffie) takes it really serious. You know, like just the other day he stuck his head in my office (and said), ‘Hey, did you see my knockdown?’ I said ‘Yeah, I saw your knockdown (laughter).’ It’s awesome, I mean all those guys, Turk (Tershawn Wharton) and everybody out there, (Nick) Bolton, every one of them is working real hard to get blocks and that’s why that play worked. You have defensive guys that are starting that are playing their butt off for you on special teams, so I mean that’s what we have going right now.”
Q: Do you trust Mecole Hardman as the punt returner?
TOUB: “The punt returner, I’ve said this a lot of times, the punt returner is – besides the quarterback – is probably the hardest thing to do in my opinion, on the football field. It’s hard. You have guys coming down on you, you have to make a lot of quick decisions, you have to catch the ball (laughter), it’s tough. I have a lot of trust in him (Mecole Hardman), he has the great experience and he’s gotten better and better. He’s really taking it serious this year. I mean, because it’s a big part of his role right now is being that guy.”
Q: What have you learned about Chris Roland-Wallace?
TOUB: “He’s (Chris Roland-Wallace) just a solid player that – a rookie that’s kind of (that) unsung hero kind of guy. He’s a lot like (Jaden) Hicks, I have a lot of trust in him. (He) does a lot of important things for us. Singled up gunners as a corner and singles up guys and runs with them. Great effort, you know he’s a smart, instinctive football player that’s really stepped up for us. Our young guys (are) doing a great job.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “I know you (the media) just got done with (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) and (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (Dave) Toub. We had one day of practice yesterday for this team (and I’m) anxious to get another one in here, so with that I’ll just kind of open it up.”
Q: What’s was the difficulty like of playing against DeAndre Hopkins?
SPAGNUOLO: “(DeAndre Hopkins is a) big wide receiver that has a huge catch radius, right? (He) catches everything. (I have) a lot of respect for him (and) I’m glad he’s on our team now (laughs). That’s a good thing.”
Q: How has Chris Roland-Wallace developed and how is he fitting into what you’re doing with the defense?
SPAGNUOLO: “Listen, C-Ro (Chris Roland-Wallace) is one of those guys that – he came here as a free agent. He earned everything he’s gotten right now. He made the team, made the roster, made the 53. He’s earned playing time. I don’t know if you know – (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Dave (Toub) and I talked every week about trying to get him in there in games. We got him in there last week. I think before Jaylen (Watson) got hurt, I can’t even remember, but we’ve been talking about it a lot. I guess what I’m trying to say is he’s kind of earned the right to get some playing time, so you’ll see him in and out of there and we’re going to have to use him as one guy goes down – other guys, our responsibilities go up so that’ll happen to Chris.”
Q: What do you remember most about that last game against the Raiders?
SPAGNUOLO: “The thing that I remember most is we were in there swinging away, right? It was a pretty tight game but where we kind of were disappointing as a group was when we had to stop them at the end, right? I think we had enough time outs, and we call it four-minute defense, right? We didn’t get that done. They ripped off a couple of long runs to kind of ice the game which is what you want your offense to do if you’re on their sideline, but we would’ve liked to have rose up somehow and got the ball back to Patrick (Mahomes) one more time. Am I right in saying it was a 20-14 final? Yeah, so if we could’ve got it back to Pat one more time – that’s what I remember. Now, I thought we played for the most part pretty good. I think we only gave up six points. Weren’t there were a couple of pick-sixes? Yeah, but when you finish like that, it’s just kind of a bad taste so we’re going to remember that and hopefully not let that happen.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: What have your early conversations with DeAndre Hopkins been like and how is he meshing with the guys?
NAGY: “It’s exciting – I think for everybody. You get a guy (DeAndre Hopkins) that’s super experienced, he’s been in this league a long time (and) he’s had a lot of success. So, you look at both situations and I feel like it’s really a win-win type (of) deal, but he came in this morning and (he’s) ready to rock and roll. Everything is a first time now for him so he’s getting in here the first time trying to figure out where to sit in the meetings, first time to go in walk-throughs and figure out how we do walk-throughs. (His) first time to go out and figure out what practice tempo’s like, there’s a lot of firsts. Sometimes, it can get to thinking it’s just like plug-and-play (but) there’s a process to it, so we want to make sure we do that the right way and (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid’s been great with that.”
Q: Is there something that DeAndre Hopkins does specifically well that can help you guys offensively?
NAGY: “I’d say, Adam (Teicher), the biggest thing right now is the – his (DeAndre Hopkins) hands are phenomenal, he has really, really good hands. I think he’s got some of the least amount of drops in the history of the NFL. The experience that he has, which comes I think with that, is trust. So, he’s played in a lot of games, he understands and he’s seen a bunch of different defenses, that’s valuable. Whether it’s zone or man (coverage), he’s a very good route runner, he understands leverages. One of the things – just getting it kind of – you see it on tape, you see it in interviews but then when he’s here, up close and live and in person, you see the confidence and the swagger that he has. I think that confidence can really penetrate, and you feel that with the other players – you’ve got to go out and do it. It’s just that we’re at the beginning stages but he’s does a lot of good things in zones, too.”
Q: What do you hope that the other receivers learn from DeAndre Hopkins?