Andy Reid Quotes, Jacksonville Game

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid talks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The Chiefs won 44-21. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Andy Reid Quotes, Jacksonville Game

Read what Andy Reid said following the 27-17 win over Jacksonville.

OPENING STATEMENT: “Ok, as far as the injuries go, JuJu Smith(-Schuster) and Chris Lammons have concussions, so they’ll go into the protocol part of it and do that. Andrew Wylie sprained his elbow and we’ll see how he does – he’ll have an MRI tomorrow as we go. All in all, it was a good game to get. (Jaguars Head Coach) Doug’s (Pederson) done a really nice job with this crew and I know he’s got this young quarterback that he’s developing and I know they’ll continue to get better down the road. But, (they) gave us all we could handle there and it ended up being a good game. The crowd was unbelievable – loud – and they’re crazy. It’s a beautiful thing to have a home like this for our players and coaches. As far as some of the individual achievements, (Isiah) Pacheco had a nice day today running the football – and that also is part due with the offensive line doing a nice job. MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) had a big catch at the end that I thought was tremendous, but he had a good day all the way around. But, he had that big catch at the end on our sideline that was great. Carlos (Dunlap) got his 100th sack and my hat goes off to him, that’s a lot of football right there to get you into those numbers. And he’s done a nice job here with it. Kadarius (Toney) got introduced to Kansas City a little bit more than what he had last week and had a nice day, some nice plays in there. And the young DBs – all of them, 23 (Joshua Williams), 21 (Trent McDuffie), 35 (Jaylen Watson), they, I thought, played well. Chris Jones, Khalen Saunders – these guys had sacks and thought they played well all day. So all in all, it was a good game. We got plenty of things to work on that we need to clean up – few too many mistakes, but again, (it’s) not easy to win in the National Football League so we cherish each one of these as we go.”

Q: What does it say about Kadarius Toney to be able to get in there and make an impact so fast?

REID: “Yeah – well, you’ll have him here is a second – but he’s a smart kid and he does pick it up easy – always willing to spend time at it too. So he’s not just getting the plays and then not studying, he spends the time at it. He’s very talented. We’re trying to give him some things that he’s done before and then adding one or two things the last couple of weeks that he’s not used to doing so that he can continue to grow. And then, the quarterback has trust in him because of the feel he has.”

Q: I’ll try to ask this in a way that you’re not commenting on the officiating, but is there a place for the hit that took place on JuJu Smith-Schuster? Or is that hit not needed in the game?

REID: “Well as long as there’s contact to the head, it doesn’t need to be in the game. It looked like there was contact to the head from where I was standing, but I’m not the one making that call.”

Q: Did you get any explanation of why there was a flag thrown after that hit but then picked up?

REID: “Yeah, they said that he hit with his shoulder and so that’s why they picked it up. You hit somebody in the head, you’re hitting in the head, but they said it was shoulder-to-shoulder is what they said. And he obviously was in (a) pretty bad position there for any shoulder-to-shoulder (contact).”

Q: Why was Isiah Pacheco your primary running back today? Were you just going with the hot hand or was there more to it than that?

REID: “Yeah, no, they all played and he was going, so we tried to get him into the flow. He did a nice job with it. We’re lucky that we have three guys we feel that comfortable with putting them in.”

Q: Pacheco had a fumble early on. How encouraging was it to see him not get discouraged?

REID: “Yeah, he’s a young guy, you got to get back on the horse. He was upset that he fumbled, he learned from it, now you got to go.”

Q: At the beginning of the game, you guys won the coin toss and generally defer. What was the choice there on deciding to receive first?

REID: “That wasn’t a good choice. We goofed that one. A little miscommunication.”

Q: On being able to win despite being 0-3 on turnovers and the onside kick to start the game.

REID: “Yeah, well, (it’s) a tribute to the guys – the coaches and the players – but we got to get rid of some of that stuff that you’re talking about, make sure we clean it up. You shoot yourself in the foot, it’s going to come back and bite you, so we got to make sure that we take care of business there.”

Q: When you’re walking on the field after a hit that Smith-Schuster took and see a guy in that position, what does it feel like as the head coach who cares about all the guys?

REID: “Yeah, it’s not good. That’s not a good feeling at all. And that’s what I tried to explain to the officials that guys don’t get hit in the shoulder and lay around like that right there. There’s more to it – somewhere, the head was involved. And so, that’s what the rules were put in for – for that type of thing.”

Q: How impressed have you been with the defense?

REID: “Yeah, and they’re getting better every week. That’s the part I like the most – they’re working hard, they’ve bought in. I like the veterans and how they’ve kind of helped these guys along – even though it might take a little playing time away from them. But they’ve been very gracious with that and that’s a neat thing to have on a team.”

Q: Was it by design to not give any rushing attempts to Clyde Edwards-Helaire?

REID: “No, not at all. It’s just the way it worked out. The other kid (Isiah Pacheco) got most of the rushes.”