🏈 Chiefs Quotes: Coach Reid, Mahomes

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes

OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, first the Tangen family, our hearts go out to them. The death of mom there to the kids, it’s a terrible thing that happened we’ve obviously reached out to them, it will stay that way and continue to support them by contact. And then Mosaic (Life Care) for the job that they did their staff of helping the best they could. Terrible thing, but again, our blessings go out to their family. As far as the injuries go L'Jarius Sneed, we held him out. He’s got – his knee is sore, a little bit of inflammation in it; we’re just going to keep that calmed down as we go. Townsend, Tommy has a sprained ankle, but you saw him out here. It’s not too bad. Michael Danna with the calf strain still getting better. Jody (Fortson), you know about that. Nazeeh (Johnson), again, you know that one. Isaiah Moore and Kadarius (Toney) all those you’re aware of. All in all, good work today. I thought the guys practiced hard; they challenged each other. It’s always tough coming form a day off, but the tempo was great. Again, they caught a break with the weather nice and cool out here. I was impressed with how they challenged each other. Time’s yours.”

Q: You’re so process oriented. I wonder if you keep anything visually or verbally to keep the suggestion planted on what the main goal is?

REID: “With the locker room the way it is, the guys know what the plan is and what this does for you when you come out and work hard. So, I’ve got good leadership there – you can’t do it without that; can’t do it without guys buying in and understanding. They’re willing to work and push themselves which is paying off for them when the season starts and throughout the season. They trust that the new guys are trusting the old guys of telling them.”

Q: Joshua Williams said you’ve had the word edge as a key word but you’ve been thinking about replacing that. Is that correct?

REID: “Well you want to maintain that you want to maintain your edge as you go through daily, make it a habit. That edge helps you drive to be the best you can be that day; you finish that one, you line up the next one and do that. It’s a grind going through camp. Like I said I like the effort being but forth the mindset is good they’re challenging each other is the most important thing.”

Q: What’s it like seeing Justyn Ross have basically a redshirt year to learn the system and have success so far in this camp?

REID: “Yeah, he’s doing good. It was a redshirt year he probably didn’t want to have right with the injury. But he’s done nice job, he had a good offseason, and then he’s worked his tail off here. He just needs to keep doing that. It’s how you answer the bell every day and push through it, but he’s got the right mindset to do that.”

Q: Tershawn Wharton was back out there. What can he add to the defensive line?

REID: “(Tershawn) Terk (Wharton) has that great quickness and strength, great combination there, good pass rusher. He’s a strong player who has experience, so adding him into the mix is a good thing – that’s a positive thing for us. We just got to take it slow as we go with him and make sure he’s okay ramp him up there.”

Q: What would be a timeline for Tershawn Wharton to get back in the mix?

REID: “We’ll see. We try to keep open communication with him and just see how it goes day-by-day. That’s the way to handle these type of things, serious injuries.”

Q: You have had a lot of training camps. How much have your training camps evolved? Where do you get new ideas?

REID: “It’s normally what you feed them, new plays, schemes those types of things that challenges them. As far as the training camp does, it’s similar now the rules – the rules obviously we had a different conditioning program for the offense and defense line. But other than that we keep it kind of the same. There’s no easy way to get yourself into shape, football shape.”

Q: Whan you talk about edge, what comes to mind?

REID: “Yeah, challenge. Challenge each other and if you can do that every time I line up I’m going to do my best against that guy, that’s the edge, that’s the edge.”

QB PATRICK MAHOMES

Q: You want Chris Jones in camp. How much do you get involved with that stuff and do you talk to him?

MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean I talk to Chris (Jones), not necessarily about contract stuff. That’s how I am about all things, I never talk about the contracts, I just talk about football, and how he’s doing. I mean he’s working out; he’s staying in shape. All of that will handle itself, and all I can do is just be supportive, be a teammate. I mean, that’s one of the guys that’s been a staple to this organization for a long time, so hopefully we get him back in camp as soon as possible.”

Q: What are your impressions of Justyn Ross’ performance at training camp?

MAHOMES: “Yeah, he’s had a good one. (He is) Learning the offense fast, you can tell he’s been in the offense for a year now. Obviously, making big plays, he’s getting more and more involved in those first team reps, and so a guy that I have a lot of hope for that he can be a really good player in this offense.”

Q: How do you balance staying in the moment, but also planning for the big picture?

MAHOMES: “We talked about that at the beginning of the first team meeting, you talk about the goal of the entire season and then now, it’s everyday just getting better. Getting better, making sure you’re getting better in the classroom, getting better on the field, or watching film – whatever that is – and then when you get your opportunity, you go out there make it happen. That’s all we think about is day by day right now, and then I’m sure before that first game, we’ll have that same conversation and then go game by game.”

Q: Do you have any catch phrases that remind you of the big picture?

MAHOMES: “Nah, I’m not a catchphrase guy. I just kind of keep guys motivated, that’s just by continuing to finish, continuing to go out there and work, and just have that mindset every single day.”

Q: You worked with Deneric Prince a lot today. What have you seen from him?

MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean he (Deneric Prince) can catch the ball in the back field, he can run the ball really well, and he’s getting better and better with the protection stuff, so I think they’re just continuing to get him reps. We’re going to have a deep running back room, and it’s always good to have those guys that we can trust to be in there for the big moments of the game.”

Q: I know Head Coach Andy Reid has talked about pushing it early in camp and not being afraid to throw interceptions. Is there a time in camp where you start scaling it back and focus on being more precise?

MAHOMES: “Not necessarily. It’s just whenever you make a mistake, just don’t do it again. Just don’t do repeat type of interceptions. If you throw a ball in a tight window and it gets tipped up or picked, that’s fine, that’s pushing and trying to make it happen. If you throw a ball and it does get picked and it’s not in the right spot and it’s a bad interception in your brain, just make sure you don’t repeat that same mistake. Learn from it and just keep moving on.”

Q: You’ve been successful with the impromptu plays on the field. Earlier you were talking to Richie James about that. How long does it take for a new guy like him to pick up on your impromptu plays?

MAHOMES: “I think Richie’s (James) been doing a great job of it. There are just some things I tell guys that I don’t think you run in a lot of other offenses. I was scrambling to the left, he tried to work back, and I told him just run down the other sideline, I’ll still throw it to you. I know that’s not really taught in a lot of other offenses, but just him having that mindset knowing that the whole field is open at all times, and I’ll throw it back across the field and try to keep it away from the defenders.”

Q: How do you keep the edge on the team?

MAHOMES: “Yeah, I think we all have it. We have a lot of guys out here that are super competitive, but it’s about just doing it the right way. (Travis) Trav (Kelce) punching the guy, not necessarily the way you want to do it, but you love the fire. You love the fire on both sides of the ball. Trying to finish to the last second, but that’s just the type of guys we are. We’re going to compete, we’re going to argue on the football field, and then we’re going to love each other in the locker room. We have a lot of dudes that are super competitive on this team.”

Q: The past two years there has been a lot of turnover in the wide receiver room. When was it last year that you recognized that it was all going to fit together?

MAHOMES: “Just out here. It’s how I feel this year. When you have a lot of guys that can rotate in that I trust are going to do the right decision and make the right play and make the play when they’re called upon, that’s when you know you’re in a good spot. I feel like that now. You look at our depth chart in receivers and it just – I’ve always said, every one of these dudes can make the football team. That speaks to (General Manager) Brett Veach and (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid bringing in the right guys, and these guys working their tail off. I’ve been in there with all types of different receivers, and we have a lot of guys that can make plays in that room.”

WR JUSTYN ROSS

Q: What was the first day of pads like for you?

ROSS: “It was very exciting; it was very exciting. I was real anxious, real excited just to get out there and get back to it.”

Q: And the first hit, the first couple pops?

ROSS: “Beautiful (laughter). I loved it, I couldn’t wait.”

Q: Considering you haven’t played in a real game in a while, what are your expectations for yourself this season?

ROSS: “Just to take advantage of the opportunity. You never know what the future may bring, but right now I’m just taking it day-by-day, step-by-step really.”

Q: The first preseason game is going to be 21 months exactly from your last college game. How much are you looking forward to that and what do you want to learn about yourself in that game?

ROSS: “Very excited man. Ready to go out there and take some hits, hopefully just have a great game and win the game.”

Q: Marquez Valdes-Scantling said he took you and Rashee Rice under his wing because you guys have similar builds. What impact has he been on you so far?

ROSS: “He’s been a great impact. I look at MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) as a big brother for sure. He’s always that guy that’s going to want you to finish that rep, he’s always going to want you to finish the catch and everything like that, so I look at MVS as a big brother for sure.”

DT DERRICK NNADI

Q: How’s camp been going so far?

NNADI: “Man, we are in St. Joe. Our Head Coach is Coach (Andy) Reid, it’s going to be tough no matter what, but we are grinding it out.”

Q: What have you seen from Keondre Coburn and Felix Anudike-Uzomah?

NNADI: “They have a lot of potential; they show flashes day in day out coming to practice. They’re like sponges, especially Keondre (Coburn), I’ve been working with him just trying to make sure he stays locked in on the things we got to do. Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) he is improving every single day, in terms on one on ones, pass rush, things like that. I expect a lot of promising things from these two kids.”

Q: What kind of fundamentals are you working on this year and in camp?

NNADI: “Techniques, working on playing the run, I’ve been telling a lot of our guys since day one ‘You may feel good now, but you have to build up a routine to take care of your body because it’s going to be a long one.’”

Q: What did it mean to win the Super Bowl a second time and take us back to that moment when you guys knew you were World Champions?

NNADI: “I was how I was the first time; I just couldn’t believe it. In my head its always too good to be true, but it always a long time coming to get all the way to there (Super Bowl) again and win it. We’ve been through a lot of obstacles in my career from losing in the AFC Championship, going there and winning it, going there and losing it, going there and losing it at the AFC Championship game and then to come back again and win it is a lot of trial and tribulations and it just goes to show with the guys in our locker room how much we fight to get where we need to go.”