Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
November 2, 2022
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, as far as Britt’s (Reid) situation goes – I’m not going to talk about that. There’s nothing that I can say that, or deals with that, that is going to help us be successful for this weekend against the Titans and Britt really said it all in his statement yesterday, which I believe is public. So, with that, as far as the injuries go, Jody Fortson is really the only one that’s not going to practice today, he’s got a quad contusion. And then the people that are coming back here – (Trent) McDuffie will be back, (Lucas) Niang will be back and we added Kadarius (Toney), which I think we all know, and he’s healthy – he’ll practice. (Rashad) Fenton, we traded to Atlanta and we’re wishing him the best of luck and we’ve got corners – we’ve got corners coming back now so we’ve got depth with some young guys. So, we’ll continue to utilize them and let them continue to grow, which they’re doing every week. Then about the Titans, I mean this is a good football team. Every minute that we can spend studying them and learning their scheme, mastering it and them mastering our schemes to play against them I think is important. Limiting distractions is important and working hard on the practice field is important. Getting back into the swing – we’ve had a week off here so getting back into the swing of playing the game. Like I said, they’re good offensively, they’re good defensively. That defensive front, you’re going to find that they’re one of the better ones in the National Football League. Their head coach (Mike Vrabel) is a defensive mastermind – he’s a sharp dude and presents you different pictures every week. He designs them for you and your team specifically on formations and tendencies that you might have. And then offensively, you start with 22 (Titans RB Derrick Henry) and he’s a good football player – a future Hall of Famer and just a heck of a player. Then special teams wise, I think they’re ranked in the top 10 in special teams so all in all it’s a good football team, but we look forward to that challenge – that’s why we do this. It’s an opportunity to go against a good team. It’s important though that we have a good week of practice and it started today so with that, the time’s yours.”
Q: Frank Clark had his most productive game of the year against the 49ers. Did you have anything to say to him before he left on his suspension?
REID: “I did. Just – which he’ll do – is stay in shape. He’s gone through the other process – the law enforcement process. So, just stay in shape. He’ll be out a week, Adam (Teicher), then he’s back. He’ll do the right things. Obviously, he’s a good player (so) you’ll miss that, but it gives other guys the opportunity to step up, which our guys do.”
Q: You mentioned Lucas Niang back in practice obviously opening up his 21-day window. What about Blake Bell? Is he close?
REID: “Yeah, Blake’s (Bell) close. He’s close. We’ll just see how he does here in the next week or two then we’ll see where we’re at. (Lucas) Niang worked hard, he’s back in which is – like you said, Herbie (Teope), we’ll see how he does. These guys that come back after these long stints off, we want to see how they do on the field before we throw them in there.”
Q: You know all about Titans QB Ryan Tannehill. What have you seen from Titans QB Malik Willis?
REID: “Yeah, he’s an exciting player. Even though he’s young, he’s thrown a ton of balls in his time. We know about the ability to run, and he comes up last week and does a nice job. We’ll be ready for both of them in case that’s a situation, so we’ll get ourselves prepared for both.”
Q: We saw the 49ers work RB Christian McCaffrey in right away, is that more difficult with a wide receiver?
REID: “Yeah, we’ll try to work him in though. We’re going to try to do that. He’s a smart kid. He’s been with us a couple days, so we’ve had a chance to talk to him. He picks things up fairly easily. He was with (Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike) Kafka too – Mike – he knows a little bit of the plays, terminology even though they’re using mostly the Buffalo things, a little bit of it’s familiar to him. At least he has a little bit of a foundation, somewhat of a foundation.”
Q: Was it a tough decision of whether or not to play Trent McDuffie against the 49ers? Where was he in that?
REID: “We try to, you know how we do it, but we try to keep open communication with these guys, see what they’re feeling. Their coaches know them. (We) see what the coach sees, talk with the player, see how he feels and then obviously our medical staff and trainers. So, when it was all said and done, we just said, ‘You know what he needs a little bit more time’ and he’s been great communication wise with us. We know he wants to play.”
Q: How do you support your son Britt Reid during his sentence and beyond?
REID: “Yeah so, Nate (Taylor), listen, that’s not what this platform is for. That’s my point. I know you guys have a job to do and you have editors that push you guys like head coaches push assistant coaches. I get it. But this isn’t the time or the place and what I say can go two different ways and be taken different ways and I don’t want to put my players in a position for that, the organization in a position for that, my family in a position for that. My opinion doesn’t matter right now. It doesn’t matter. All that doesn’t matter. I’ll take care of that. We all in our lives have issues that we have to deal with. You do your issues and then when you’re at work you do your work and so that’s the frame of mind (that) I’m in. I appreciate your concern though. I’m not saying that but that’s not something that needs to be addressed here in front of everybody.”
Q: You mentioned distractions when talking about Frank Clark being out for two weeks. What does the support system look like for players when dealing with outside things such as a suspension?
REID: “Yeah sure. You know we hired Dr. T (Vice President of Player Services and Assessment Shaun Tyrance) here a couple, few years ago here and he obviously takes care of the – I mean I hate to say it – but the mental part of it and makes sure that the guys are ok upstairs. Normally their agents have a lawyer group that they work with. So that’s how that part goes. That’s basically (it).”
Q: Do you get involved?
REID: “And then we – yeah, the coaches talk to them, yeah. We keep open communication.”
Q: On Derrick Henry. Is there any different approach going into this game know what he’s capable of?
REID: “Yeah there are going to be things that you’re going to do to try and stop him. I think the whole NFL has tried that somewhere. He’s a great player, and you’re not going to stop him on every play. You just want to get him – you want to get the numbers up where it’s reasonable of stops and so he’s a good one. I know our guys will be fired up for it and they’re going to work their tail off this week to play against him because he’s, like I said he’s a future Hall of Fame player. You get excited about that.”
Q: I know you guys have used Skyy Moore at the punt return position. Bringing in Kadarius Toney how much can he help in that role?
REID: “Yeah, I want to see kind of where he’s at just shape wise out there, running around. We know he can do it. You’ll see him out there catching balls with the group, the pre-practice group that goes out. So, let me just kind of see it and see where we’re at with it and where he’s at. We’ve got a couple plays in for him here and there. I haven’t had a chance to be out on the field with him yet. Let’s see where we go with that and then go from there. He seems like a great kid and he’s anxious, I mean he wants to go. He knows I’m kind of holding back because I want to see what’s going on.”
REID: “I think he’s done a good job with it. I think the older the quarterbacks get they know when to be patient, check it down, when to take the shots, against what coverages. I think he’s there. He’s now seeing the man coverages early, the zone coverages – whether it’s single safety, middle in between and then the shell coverages, the twos the fours, the quarter quarter-halfs, and so he’s got that in the memory bank to work with. I think he’s in a good place that way, where he’s at.”
Chiefs Players Quotes
November 2, 2022
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: Did you have fun trick-or-treating?
MAHOMES: “Oh, I had a ton of fun. We were able to go around to a few of houses and Sterling (Mahomes) figured out if she grabbed two pieces of candy (and) threw it into the basket, then she was like proud as she walked away. Even though she doesn’t eat candy, she was proud to go out there and trick-or-treat and everything like that.”
Q: Did people recognize you in your costume?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, for sure, but people were respectful as they always are in Kansas City. They let me enjoy my time with my daughter and my family. It was really cool, for sure.”
Q: What are your impressions so far of Kadarius Toney?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, first off, he’s super excited. You can tell how much he’s ready to get out there and play. Physically, everybody sees how much physical gifts he has – he’s fast, he’s bigger than I thought. He’s done a good job of whenever he catches the ball and being able to make people miss in space. We’re just excited to get him into this culture, into this team and see what he can do in this offense.”
Q: Have you had the chance to throw to him yet?
MAHOMES: “I’ve thrown to him just a little bit here and there, but we’ll get more work this week, obviously. But, like (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid said, we’ll kind of just work him in as the season goes on and hopefully be able to use his talent to help take this offense to another level.”
Q: What were the conversations like with General Manager Brett Veach leading up to acquiring Kadarius Toney?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, it was something that he actually approached me about during the offseason. So he’s kind of kept me in the loop on everything. It didn’t work then, so you kind of get locked in during the season and kind of focused on the guys that are in the building and how can we have success with these guys. And we’ve had a lot of success, so he came after me after, I think, the San Fran game and kind of came back and said this might happen during the bye, we’re talking with him and everything like that. Luckily enough for us, it did happen, and we were able to get another talented playmaker in that receiving room.”
Q: How were you made aware that the trade was going to be made?
MAHOMES: “Brett (Veach) texted me whenever he knew it was kind of done. So, a little bit before social media got it and everything like that. He’s always looking to add great players. We had competition in this room, and we have a lot of great receivers in that room and we have a lot of great players on this team. Whenever you have more and more competition, it brings out the best in everybody, so I’m excited for that.”
Q: On coming off a bye week knowing Head Coach Andy Reid’s record coming off a bye. How does that play a factor in Sunday night’s game against the Titans?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, you got to be ready to play. Last year we weren’t ready, and they beat our (butts), so we got to make sure that we are ready to go and that it’s going to be a physical matchup. We’re going to have to go out there and play our best football. This is a team that is a lot better than I think a lot of people out on social media and in media – they don’t really talk about them. But we know that it’s a great football team coming to town. We have to play our best football.”
Q: What is it about the Titans that give the Chiefs problems?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, they’re talented. People don’t talk about their D-line, but it’s one of the best defensive lines in football. They’re well coached. (Titans Head) Coach (Mike) Vrabel – I worked a little bit with him at the Pro Bowl and understand the coach that he is. So, they’re a well-coached football team. And they have a mentality that they’re going to come in and they’re going to win. A lot of times in this league if you don’t have the confidence going in, that’s where you kind of lose the game. But whenever you go against a team that’s as confident as you are that they’re going to win, you have a tough battle. And so, we have to accept that challenge and find a way to win against a really good football team.”
Q: On last year’s game against the Titans not sitting well with him.
MAHOMES: “Any time you watch that on film and you see how you played, it wasn’t just them beating us, but we played bad and they kind of just put it down on us at the end of the day. So, for us, we have to come in with a better mentality because we understand that they’re ready to go and they’re going to have confidence, so we have to make sure we have that confidence to back up our play as well.”
Q: Where do you feel like you and your receivers are in terms of meshing?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I think we’ve gotten better and better each and every week. That’s all that you can expect whenever you go into a season with a lot of new faces. But I think guys understand the offense even more. I’m understanding how they’re going to run routes a little differently than when we first got here because they’ve seen how it’s supposed to be ran during the game. And when you get on that same page, that’s when our offense really clicks. And so, we’re going to continue to evolve, continue to get better and better, but I’m very glad with what the progress has been in that receiving room. I think it will get even better.”
Q: Does it help to have depth at that receiver position?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I think we just have a different variety of guys. I think that’s the biggest thing. And whenever you’re kind of trying to find that right role for guys, you get to see a lot of different mixtures of personnel sets and different receiving groups out there on the field. So, when you have guys that can come off the bench and be like Justin Watson or Skyy Moore that have speed, that can still be game breakers, that helps out a ton. And so, you never know where it’s going to come from because we have a lot of speed guys, but we have physical guys as well, so we can kind of interchange those routes between all of them.”
Q: Over the years you’ve learned what works for you as far as bye weeks. Do you do more self-scouting or try to get away from football for a bit? What works best for you?
MAHOMES: “Usually for me, I get away for a little bit and then I come back and try to get back to self-scouting, see what we did well before that and what we can do better. Then I go back to my fundamentals, and I usually get at least one day of work with just my quarterback coach (Jeff Christensen) and working on my fundamentals and stuff like that. So, I try to make sure I kind of am staying on top of all that stuff because we had that little bit of a break and I want to get away and let my body relax but not get too far away.”
Q: You mentioned earlier that General Manager Brett Veach came to you and talked about his interest in Toney. Were the Chiefs interested in a trade for him in the offseason?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, it was during the time when we were bringing all the receivers in so that was a time where he was kind of throwing out different options for different guys and there were a ton of options that he was going to try to work on. We were able to get JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) which is a great – obviously a great starting point because we have two great receivers that come in to add with Mecole (Hardman) and then you draft a guy like Skyy (Moore), bring in a guy like Justin Watson. In Brett Veach fashion, he didn’t settle. He wanted to keep getting more and more talent in that room and he was able to still, even though it didn’t happen in the offseason, bring in Kadarius (Toney). I’m excited to add him to the room because we already have a talented room, and we want to keep adding more and more talent.”
Q: What experience can you take from bringing in Josh Gordon last year and how that went and how will you approach it with Toney?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, it’s just about getting on the same page at the end of the day. Our offense is a hard offense to learn. I think that’s why you see the receivers getting better and better as the season goes on, but you don’t want to overwhelm guys and throw them in there where they can’t function and use their ability to the best of it but at the same time you want to give them some chances. So, I think Coach Reid does a great job of that and luckily for us we have a lot of depth in that receiving room anyways, so we’ll be able to bring him in and give him as much as he can so he can go out there and be a factor for us on the field.”
Q: At the American Century Championship what were the conversations like between you and Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel?
MAHOMES: “We don’t talk much football, but he’s a great man first off. I think that’s why his players play so hard because you can tell he really cares. He’s been through it. He played in the NFL, he’s won championships, so I think he’s going to get the best out of you as a player. I think I saw that during the Pro Bowl week as well. It’s something I understand why his teams play so hard because of the type of person that he is as well as coach.”
Q: On the support system of the Kansas City Chiefs.
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean we have a great building of coaches, staff and employees in all different levels of this building, and we all support each other. We’re always going to be there for everybody in this building.”
Q: You talked about the one on one with Senior Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks Coach Matt Nagy during the bye week? What was the point of emphasis that you worked on?
MAHOMES: “I did – I worked with (Matt) Nagy on the scouting stuff, but I was talking about my other quarterback coach as far as fundamentals and stuff like that but that’s stuff that me and Nagy work every week. While we’re gone and I can get away just to hear another voice, (I) just went back to a guy I was with in the offseason, but me and Nagy kind of went back on the scouting of the beginning part of the season of where I can be better at anyway.”
Q: Who do you work with in the offseason?
MAHOMES: “I always work with Jeff Christensen. That’s a guy I’ve worked with for the last five years now.”
Q: What did it mean to be inducted into the Texas Tech Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame?
MAHOMES: “It was cool. It was a surreal moment. It was even better than I thought it was going to be. Getting on the field and seeing your name kind of drop – that banner drops and your name is on the stadium – it’s something that you don’t imagine when you go into college or pro or anything like that, but to have that moment is something that you’ll have forever.”
Q: Astros Manager Dusty Baker talked about a lack of Black players in this year’s World Series. You grew up playing baseball too and a son of a former pro baseball player. What should be done to get more Black kids playing baseball?
MAHOMES: “I think they’ve started to kind of help that where they’ve done this thing called a Breakthrough Series which I actually played in when I was in high school. It’s grown more and more. My dad works with it a little bit. LaTroy Hawkins works it, my godfather, and they’re trying to do their best to get more, like you said, American-born Black kids to grow up throughout baseball. I think you see – everybody kind of goes to football because it became such a major, mainstream sport. When I look back and I watch these games being played sometimes I wish that I was out there playing because it’s such a great sport that I loved growing up. I think as we continued to show it in more neighborhoods and it’s not just basketball and football, I think you’ll see some of these great talents come back up and kind of make that statement that we’ve made in the past.”
DE CARLOS DUNLAP
Q: How was the bye week and how are you preparing for Sunday night’s game against the Titans?
DUNLAP: “We didn’t have a little time off, we had a very good, nice bye week – I’ve never had one like that – that was phenomenal. I got the opportunity to get a lot of things done (and) to relax. I got a good workout in, rode my bike to Honey (Uninhibited) to go check on my restaurant, I got with some friends, walked to eat, little things like that. I did some treatment, did an acupuncture, so (I) kept my prehab routine going as well. (I) saw all the people who help keep me ready for the season while I was down there. That’s how I prepared.”
Q: Most coaches don’t give you a week like that?
DUNLAP: “Traditionally, it’s been like Wednesday to Sunday. Yeah, so ours was phenomenal and we really needed it too because we’ve been working hard. Training camp was the hardest training camp that I’ve ever seen and been a part of, so I guess that was his (Head Coach Andy Reid) way of (saying) like, ‘You guys have been grinding out. We’re sitting at 5-2 – let’s look at what we did to get to 5-2 and how we could’ve been 7-0 and you guys get away from football, take care of your bodies and come back and get ready for this night game.’”
Q: You’re two sacks away from 100 career sacks and you can potentially do it on Sunday Night Football. What does that mean to you?
DUNLAP: “That’s phenomenal. I’ve had a couple of games now with a chance to do it and we want to get that done – obviously so we can get over that hump. That’s not my sole goal, but that’s just a milestone and something that I told my dad that I was going to do, so it’s important to me to get that done. But obviously, I need 108 or 110 (sacks) to be in that legendary type of conversations (like) top 50 ever and stuff like that so those are real goals. But I promised my dad that I was going to do 100 and obviously losing him this year, getting that 100 early in this season is important to me.”
WR KADARIUS TONEY
Q: Can you talk a little bit about what your expectations are for Sunday Night Football and how much you expect to play?
TONEY: “Right now I don’t really have any expectations. I just want to come in and do what’s asked of me. Whatever plays (and) whatever assignments I have to do, I’m going to do them my hardest.”
Q: What did you know about Kansas City before you came here? Not only the team but the city.
TONEY: “I didn’t know a lot about the city but as far as the team, I (have) known since way back when, (they’ve) been winning so I just want to come in and help (and) continue that tradition here.”
Q: What was your reaction when you were traded?
TONEY: “I was kind of shocked but I’m always thankful for the opportunity. I know the business side of it. I wasn’t too hard on it – I wasn’t too this or that but I’m just looking forward to the opportunity available here.”