Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
August 23, 2022
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright just as far as injuries go, most likely these guys won’t play likewise. Blake Bell had surgery on that hip flexor, and he won’t play. Carlos Dunlap has some inflammation in his Achilles, he won’t play. It is getting better, however. (Rashad) Fenton, with a groin strain won’t play. Derrick Gore fractured his thumb, and he won’t play. Lucas Niang we know about with the knee and then JuJu (Smith-Schuster), but JuJu is making progress. Everybody else is scheduled to play. So, listen I mean we look forward to getting the Packers in here and finishing this thing up and then getting on with preparation for the regular season. Our guys have had some good work throughout. They had (a) nice practice yesterday and you know we’ll have another one today. This gives us a chance to semi-prep for like a Thursday type game even though we gain an extra day here, but we try to use it and utilize it that way. So, with that, time’s yours.”
Q: What are you looking for as it relates to your starters and making cuts?
REID: “Starters continue to play good, solid football and keep getting better at that and then the second group and third group, where we have a third group, just continue to gain experience and execution. You’re always kind of keeping a tight eye on, so it’s a great opportunity for those guys to get some playing time. You know we had a cut this week, so we’re down numbers. We got a couple injuries, so guys have opportunities to play. Whether they make it here or somewhere else it’s a valuable tape.”
Q: Do you anticipate playing Patrick Mahomes?
REID: “We’ll see how all that (goes). He’s been practicing, yeah. How long and all, I haven’t made up my mind on all that, but you know he’s been going, going doing everything.”
Q: How do you weigh playing Patrick Mahomes vs. resting?
REID: “Well, I was going to say it’s not quite as heavy as I am, but I figure out a way to weigh it (laughter). I just go off of what I think is right. I use number count too. So, from what he’s had in camp and you know in games.”
Q: Do you pretty much have your set 53-man roster in your mind and look at Thursday’s game as a way for guys to sneak in there?
REID: “Yeah there’s always that bottom third of your group there that you’re looking at but there’s competition all the way through for starting positions and depth positions. We keep our eye on all that. I mean we grade these guys every play every day so we’re talking about it and going through it and (General Manager) Brett (Veach) and I get together. He does it with his staff and then he brings it to me and then we get together and talk through it and kind of coaches me up on what he thinks. You know as of today, this is what we’re looking at and we’ll see where it goes from here.”
Q: In terms of guys that are kind of off the radar, how is Kehinde Oginni Hassan doing? I assume he’s in the developmental group/category overall.
REID: “He is. He’s still on the team and he’s getting reps, so we’ll just see how that goes.”
Q: How hard is it for a guy to be introduced to this at this level?
REID: “I mean it’s tough, it’s a tough thing. But he’s working at it, and he’s got a great attitude.”
Q: On Blake Bell’s timeline post-surgery.
REID: “No, I don’t think it’s going to be real quick though.”
Q: Are you anticipating Bell will go on IR?
REID: “We’ll see on that. We’re kind of throwing some things around right now.”
Q: In reference to JuJu Smith-Schuster, you mentioned knee inflammation. Is this something that occurred in the first preseason game or is this something that happened in practice on that Monday?
REID: “It was practice.”
Q: What is your concern level that he’ll be ready?
REID: “I think he’ll be fine, Herbie (Teope). I mean he’s right there right now. He’s starting to really – he’s kind of turned the corner here the last couple days and he’s running on it so it’s good.”
Q: How comfortable are you with Noah Gray’s progress regarding blocking?
REID: “Yeah Noah (Gray) has done a nice job with it. Let’s see, you don’t want it to happen to anybody but that position we’ve at least got some capable guys in there that can do it. But Noah’s worked very hard at that, and he’s done a nice job with it.”
Chiefs Players Quotes
August 23, 2022
LB WILLIE GAY
Q: How do you approach this part of preseason?
GAY: “Well I just treat it like, I tell myself mentally ‘okay, you’re preparing for the season’ even though it’s preseason still. Eventually you’re going to get into Week 1 of the regular season and everything you did from the first week of training camp on, it adds something every week. I try to add something every week to my game that will help me get ready for Week 1, whether it’s playing in a preseason game or practice and I just build off of that.”
Q: Do some of your mental strategies come from Vice President of Player Services and Assessment Dr. Shaun Tyrance?
GAY: “Getting closer to God. I know you guys probably saw I got baptized – I was baptized when I was younger – but just knowing where my foundation is and knowing where my real problems were. Like I said, when I handled that situation – still not perfect of course – but when I handled that and told Him ‘I just want to live right,’ everything else kind of fell into place and (is) still falling into place.”
Q: What have you seen from the defense in practice or the preseason that lets you know you guys are in a better place now than maybe when camp started?
GAY: “Just constant growth each and every week. Each and every day, again, you see the young guys add on and come in. They know the defense well; we didn’t have to slow it down for them or anything. So, to see that and to get those guys adding on to the defense on the back end, defensive ends, linebackers, they added on a great piece to this whole defense.”
Q: On Nick Bolton working on slowing down his speech in the offseason. Have you seen an improvement in his communication in the huddle?
GAY: “Nick (Bolton) is a lot more comfortable now. When you come into a whole new building, a whole new area, city, state – whatever it may be – defense, team, you got to get comfortable. It’s hard to just have a rookie come in and be the same person he was for three, four years when he was in college. It all takes time, and he’s definitely got there now.”
S JUAN THORNHILL
Q: Are you seeing things from the defense either in practice or the preseason games that tell you that you’re in a better spot, defensively, now than when camp started?
THORNHILL: “Yeah, I’ve been seeing a bunch of good things with us being out there in these preseason games, we haven’t had the most reps but at the same time, when we’re out there we’re making the most of every single rep that we have. Guys are making plays. We’re getting stops on defense, so that’s always a good thing when the offense isn’t scoring.”
Q: Bryan Cook spoke about how you and Justin Reid have been mentoring the rookies. How have you seen the rookies’ development in meshing and interacting with the veterans on the field?
THORNHILL: “I’ve seen the guys grow each and every day, honestly. Just looking at Bryan (Cook), at first, he wasn’t being super vocal, but now he’s taking the leadership role when he’s on the field. Like if he’s out there with the two’s or the one’s, I always notice him making the calls and that’s a good thing with a rookie being able to step up and take leadership like that.”
Q: In the preseason, what do you try to get out of the last game – with three preseason games, a two week break and then the season starting? Is there something that you want to do in this game that will help you go through those two weeks of no competition?
THORNHILL: “Yeah, definitely. Each and every week you’re just looking to improve. When we go out there, we just want to give it 110%, no matter if it’s one rep or 20 reps, it doesn’t really matter. We just want to get out there and just have fun and just build the relationship on the field, build that team chemistry and just keep improving each and every week.”
Q: Justin Reid gushed about Deon Bush’s hit in the Commanders game when we spoke with him yesterday. What type of player has Bush been?
THORNHILL: “Oh yeah. Deon (Bush) is a heck of a player. He’s that guy that you definitely want on the field. We’ve been talking about an ‘attitude’ defense each and every single day and hits like that will just set the tone. That will let the opponents know that we’re not here to mess around. Like we’re serious. We’re going to lay the boom. Every time we’re on the field, you’re going to feel us.”