Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
September 19, 2022
OPENING STATEMENT: “Okay I don’t have any injury updates for you. I’ll get you those later. I’ll tell you (that) we look forward to the challenge of playing the Colts and I know what their record is – you can put that aside. This is their first game back at home and they’ve got good talent and good coaches, so we need to have a good week of preparation going forward. And as you saw – or as we all saw yesterday with that day off – anything goes on any Sunday. So, I mean the parity in this league is unbelievable right now. I know the league strives for that and they sure look like they’ve got it. So, you better prepare yourself every week for a knockdown, drag out battle.”
Q: What are you hoping to get out of Harrison Butker with that time off that he has had?
REID: “Yeah so, all the guys that we had mentioned before were getting treatment, but we’ve just got to see. That’s what it is right now. It’s kind of wait and see. They’re busting their tail to get everything right. Let’s just see how this week goes and every day he’s making improvement and that’s important.”
Q: On his thoughts on Matt Ammendola.
REID: “I actually reached out to him. I thought he – when it was all said and done – I thought he did a really nice job. That’s a tough situation to come into, especially here at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, when it’s as lively as it was. I mean our crowd was loud, and it was a lot of excitement in the air. So, I was happy for him for that, and I felt comfortable with him kicking, obviously, we let him do it. He did a nice job, with the exception with the last kickoff, where he kind of hit it wrong. He didn’t hit it the way he wanted to hit it. (It) was a little bit short, (we) did a good job covering it but it was a little bit short. But I thought he had a real nice day.”
Q: How much do you balance the message that they’ve got to be better, even after getting the win?
REID: “Yeah so – you try to do that every game as you go forward – win or lose. You try to get yourself better. I listen – I try to listen to guys talking after the game and I heard that – like ‘We’ve got to do a better job here, here and here.’ So, I think that’s important. If they’re talking (about) it before you have to get up there and hammer that point home, then that’s a good thing. I think they understand that. It was good team unity; it was good to see – like I said before that – the offense and the defense supporting each other through it. And give the Chargers credit. They’re a good football team too.”
Q: On no penalty being called after Travis Kelce was body slammed to the ground during the Chargers game. Is there any way to speak to clarifying that?
REID: “It’s in the eye of the official there, (it’s) what they consider. I know that they’ve called it against us before so I wasn’t sure exactly what way that would go but I thought maybe they would go in the direction for us, but it didn’t work out that way. And it might’ve been a little bit cause (Travis) Kelce tried to jump and get himself – he wanted to score there, so it might’ve looked…That position that the defender had on him wasn’t that he literally just picked him up, it was Kelce kind of helped him with getting up there. You still had the slam, which probably didn’t have to take place like that, but it’s kind of in the eyes of the official there on what they deem it. But I do know we’ve been called for that.”
Q: On struggling to convert on third down with short yardage. How do you address that?
REID: “Yeah, you try to see what went wrong first of all, whether it’s the call, whether I sent in the wrong thing at the wrong time or whether there’s a mistake somewhere. We had a couple of mistakes in there and then one of them where we did have a mistake, the defense still had a pretty good leverage on it. Although, we’ve had a lot of success with the one play so got to tighten that part up. We’ve got to tighten up the mental errors on it. Every once in a while, the defense is going to have an overload somewhere that you didn’t think they would. You’ve got to sort that out and make better with it, but you know a couple of those we just didn’t handle it right and that’s normally not the case. We can do better in that area.”
Q: On carrying a fullback when not many other teams do. What is the value of having that position when roster spaces are so much a priority now?
REID: “You want him (Michael Burton) to be able to catch in there too and not just be an extra o-lineman and be able to run the ball. It gives you some flexibility in the personnel groups that you can use, it gives you a lead blocker which becomes important in certain situations. In our case, this kid, Burt can catch and he can run the ball. You’re not just putting a guy out there that the defense is going, ‘Oh we don’t have to defend against him.’ They’ve got to still work and defend the guy or he’s going to have success so that’s a big part.”
Q: How do you think Fantasy Football has impacted we, fans or maybe even you all as coaches see the sport?
REID: “That’s a good question, I haven’t thought much about that. I love the attention that it brings to football in general. I think it’s probably helped women become part of the game and understand it more and want to be involved with it more which I think is a positive. I think it’s probably good for the young people. That along with the Madden game, I think has really helped the interest in the sport. Other than that, you’ve got to tell me because I’ve never played any Fantasy Football.”
Q: Patrick Mahomes referenced Pro Football Focus’ grades after the Chargers game. He seems to kind of keep tabs on things, but it doesn’t seem to affect his play. Is that something that you encourage? Does it drive him? Is there a point where you’d say, ‘hey maybe you need to shut that down because it’ll burn you out?’
REID: “No listen, he (Patrick Mahomes) stays in tune with everything, so he’s pretty observant on things. Pro Football Focus has done a nice job with their stats and their analysis. I think they’re pretty accurate with things. Yeah, that’s usable information. If it drives you, it drives you but it’s also pretty real. That’s what (Statistical Analysis Coordinator) Mike Frazier deals in all of that so he could tell you what’s right and wrong. He’s also putting information out there too of course, so we do use that.”
Q: A lot has been said about the shell defenses and the cover-twos. When people would say that you and Mahomes are “unstoppable” and “defenses don’t know what to do,” you would remind people that defenses will catch up and then you will take the next step. How is that “next step” going? How do you feel about the counterpunch defenses are doing?
REID: “Yeah so, it’s doing okay. Always room to improve, but I think Pat’s done a nice job with what he’s been given. We ran the ball a little bit more early than what we did the week before for various reasons and kind of moved the pocket around a little bit more for various reasons. So, I think we’re doing okay. Listen, as long as you have more points than they have, it’s a good thing. Like I said, there’s a lot of parity in this baby right now. And for whatever reason, which is great for the fans, this rivalry thing we got going with the Chargers, is always close. You almost come to expect that it’s going to come right down to the wire and it’s very exciting. I wish there was a bigger difference there, but both teams are good football teams.”
Q: On the difficulty of opening the season with two games in five days. And then, what does it say about your team that you can win both games?
REID: “Yeah listen, Matt (McMullen), it’s one of those things that the league gives you. It’s a little bit of a scramble drill getting everything together, but we try to work with it before we get to that point and have somewhat of a plan of what direction we’re going to go unless that team that you’re playing on Thursday night completely changed in the first game from what you’ve anticipated. But it’s workable, it’s nice to have the couple days off for our players to get a little of the soreness out from the beginning of the season, training camp, all (of) that, so I think that’s a plus. The mini-bye – I guess (that’s what) we’re calling them now – it’s good to have a mini-bye and get ourselves back on the road. We don’t have another Thursday game, so it’s behind us now and you move forward with what we’ve got.”
Q: On how you use the information Statistical Analysis Coordinator Mike Frazier provides.
REID: “Yeah, sure. So, he can give you just about anything statistically that you need – percentages, success in certain areas on whatever situation that you’re talking about. It can be as simple as things that a team does on first-and-10, and then their success rate, run/pass, what personnel groups are best, (etc.). He gives us quite a little book there of stuff that we can look at.”
Q: Are the stats helpful during a game? Do you have Frazier on a headset? Do you consult with him maybe before you decide to kick the field goal there to start the fourth quarter the other night?
REID: “Absolutely. Yeah, no, he’s on the headset. And I mentioned after the game that statistically, that might be a time that you go ahead and kick it. And then you have to evaluate that. That’s where I come in. I’ve got 51% of that vote and I’ve got to make a decision there on how I feel things are going at that time and what-ifs and all (of) that. But I would tell you statistically, that’s a time when you normally go for it, and you don’t end up kicking it.”