Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
August 11, 2023
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright. The guys that will be out for this game are Turk (Tershawn Wharton), Jody (Fortson), L’Jarius (Sneed) and Kadarius (Toney). Everybody else will be ready to go and play. I’ve got it scheduled by quarterback so the ones – they’ll (the quarterbacks) each take a quarter. Ones will take the first quarter, twos the second quarter, threes the third quarter, fours the last quarter. Then, you know, obviously, we blend, and with special teams, it’s a little different. Substitution ends up being a big thing in the preseason, we’re juggling a lot of bodies. Anyways, I look forward to that challenge. We’re playing the (New Orleans) Saints, we know it’ll be a good test for us. Both are good teams, and it should be good to compete against somebody else. Anyways, with that time’s yours.”
Q: You didn’t mention Isiah Pacheco as one of the guys who wouldn’t play?
REID: “(Isiah) Pacheco, yeah, he’d be another one. He won’t play.”
Q: You’ve always had your starting quarterback play a little bit in the preseason. What do you like about getting Patrick Mahomes reps in these games when a lot of other starting quarterbacks don’t play?
REID: “Yeah just getting in the flow. Pregame, the whole thing there. Having to go through the warmups, your juices are going a little bit, more than what they do in practice. Just (a) gradual ramp up.”
Q: Patrick Mahomes seems to like it too. He wants to play in the preseason right?
REID: “Yeah, he wants to play more than I play him, but yeah.”
Q: Are you looking forward to seeing players like Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Justyn Ross play on Sunday, as they haven’t played in games in a while?
REID: “Yeah, I’m as curious as you are for the young guys. I kind of know 25 (Clyde Edwards-Helaire) and how he goes about it, but I know he’s excited to get in there and go.”
Q: Do you want to get Charles Omenihu as many reps as possible in the preseason as he is missing the first six games?
REID: “Yeah, he’ll get time in there. It will be with the ones and then in a rotational thing from there.”
Q: What did you appreciate about what Eric Bieniemy brought to the Chiefs that you think he can bring to a camp setting with the Washington Commanders?
REID: “Yeah (Washington Commanders Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy) EB’s a tough kid, but he gets guys right. I think that’s what (Washington Commanders Head Coach) Ron (Rivera) was trying to get out the second time that he talked. Nothing wrong with that, that’s his (Bieniemy’s) personality and guys play for him and he’s had great success. He had great success as a running backs coach and had great success as a coordinator, and so I always welcomed that. That was something that I welcomed into the mix. We always talk about letting your personality show and I think that’s an important part of it. I think when it’s all said and done, their guys will appreciate it. He’s going to challenge you, and they’ll appreciate it when they’re winning games.”
Q: In 1999, Eric Bieniemy was your player on the Philadelphia Eagles. How tough were you on him at camp that year?
REID: “Yeah, I was a little tough on him. I had he and (former NFL Running Back) Duce Staley, and both are wired the same way. Both are aggressive, they’re going to love you up, but they’re also going to tell you the truth, and that’s a thing I appreciate about them. They know what it takes to play at this level, at a championship caliber level. There’s a difference, there’s a difference. Nothing comes easy. In this business, nothing comes easy. Hardly in life, nothing comes easy, so you have to work at it.”
Q: Every player wants to make your roster, if not yours, another team’s roster. What is your message to the players?
REID: “Everybody’ll play. This game here, everybody will play, and they deserve that. They’ve earned that right; they’ve made it through this part of camp, and they’ve earned the right to get out there. Obviously, we can’t keep everybody, I tell them that, we can’t keep everybody so make the decision hard on (Chiefs General Manager) Brett (Veach), myself, and let’s go. We’re going to give you an opportunity though to get yourself on tape, so prepare and then go shine.”
Q: How does the new rule about the big cut on August 29th change how you go about things?
REID: “Yeah, I think all coaches like that, I mean I understand the other part of it. I think the coaches love that part and you get an opportunity to coach the guys all the way through and that last game, they get a lot of reps. Even when we were doing four games, that last game they got a ton of reps. I just think that’s a positive thing for the guys to have an opportunity to make a living at this thing you know, shine.”
Q: With the younger players just coming out of college and being from different programs, have you seen any differences in how you have to coach young players now as opposed to years past?
REID: “I think when you really get down to it, if guys understand the end of the equation – so you work from the answer back on that – that they all want to be pushed. It’s not easy though, I mean you have to reach down in there and grab that thing inside of you that drives you through it. But, normally the end result is a positive thing for yourself and for the team.”
Q: Do you still have the same energy and jitters for the first preseason game?
REID: “Yeah. I mean I have the same energy, you know I’m excited to see the young guys play and then the vets will knock off their rust – it’s an opportunity to do that. We’re still in the evaluation period and so let’s make it fair game and get out there and compete your hearts out and you know, maybe you have a chance. Some of these guys that you might not think will make the team, well maybe they will that chance and to make a great team.”
Q: What does it mean to you and your staff to have such a long tradition of BBQ being up here?
REID: “They do a great job with it, and it’s been going on for a while. The food is phenomenal, I’ll save you a little (laughter).”
Chiefs Player Quotes
August 11, 2023
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: A lot of starting quarterbacks don’t play at all in the preseason. Head Coach Andy Reid said you will play some. What benefit do you get from playing in the preseason games?
MAHOMES: “I think you said it. It’s just getting that – I always say, that first hit. You want to get hit where it’s not too hard, but you can feel it. I mean you go through a long offseason of working through the pocket and knowing the guys are rushing, but they can’t touch you so it’s just different. You get in the game and you’re able to get tackled and everything like that. I like to have at least one to two drives under my belt to be able to say, ‘I’m ready to go.’ We’re doing the right things and (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, he allows me to do that, he allows me to get in there. Adding the new tackles, it will be good to get a feel for them as well. They’ve done great in training camp so far, and I’m excited for them to get that opportunity to go out in a real game.”
Q: Tracking back to your first couple preseasons, are there any passes you threw that helped you feel comfortable going into your first year as the starting quarterback?
MAHOMES: “I think it was that first season that I started. That’s when I really – I felt really comfortable. I think in that first preseason, I made a lot of highlight throws, but some of the little things that sustain drives I still was working on. I always had confidence that I was going to be able to play, but the more I learned and the more I felt comfortable within the offense is when I really knew that I was going to be able to go out there and have success on the football field.”
Q: Do you think about the throw you made to Dolphins Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill your first year?
MAHOMES: “I think about that one. I think, I think about the pick I threw towards (Former Chiefs Wide Receiver) Sammy (Watkins) even more in that game because it was – if you look at it, it’s a very similar play (to) when I threw to him in the Super Bowl (LIV) where he got it down the sideline. You learn from your mistakes; you learn how to hold your eyes on the safeties a little bit longer. I mean obviously it was a cool throw, I threw it really far, but we didn’t play that good in that – if you remember that preseason game. That kind of just gave you a little bit of confidence going into the season.”
Q: What’s your messages to the young guys going into the first preseason game?
MAHOMES: “Cut it loose. We throw so much at them in training camp. (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) and (Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Matt) Nagy and all the offensive staff and (Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spagnuolo, they do a good job of simplifying it for the game. So, let’s go out there and play fast. Don’t worry about making a mistake, just go out there and fly around, let your natural talent and ability show. You’ve learned, you’ve been coached up, trust yourself.”
Q: What would you tell the players in Washington who are a little shocked by the coaching style of Commanders Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy?
MAHOMES: “I think I saw (Commanders Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy) EB say it perfect. EB (Eric Bieniemy) is going to be harsh on you, he’s going to really try to get the best out of you every single day. He’s not going to let you – he’s going to hold you accountable whenever you don’t really want to hold yourself accountable. It made me a better player. I think what he said that was the biggest thing is (that) he is your number one supporter though. He will go to war with you just like any other guy on your team and you’ve got to know that. You’ve got to know when he is talking to you on the football field that he’s trying to get the best out of you, he’s not trying to put you down. He’s trying to push you to be even better than you think you can be. That’s something that I think they’ll understand when they go out there and they start winning football games. There’s a reason (as) to why he’s coaching you the way that he’s coaching you and that he loves you. I mean he loves every guy that he coaches, and you see that with guys that have come out and said stuff about him. (Former Chiefs Running Back) Jamaal Charles, (Former NFL Running Back) Adrian Peterson, (Dolphins Wide Receiver) Tyreek (Hill), I mean they understand that he loves you and he’s going to try to get the best out of you every single day.”
Q: What did you have for breakfast this morning?
MAHOMES: “I didn’t eat breakfast this morning. I kind of pick and choose when I eat breakfast. It was a little bit (of a) lighter day, so I didn’t eat breakfast this morning. You know the intermittent fasting I’ve been trying to do a little bit – (Former Chiefs quarterback) Alex Smith taught me about that if I do a little bit of it.”
DE GEORGE KARLAFTIS
Q: What are you looking forward to in the game on Sunday?
KARLAFTIS: “Just getting everything started back up you know it’s been – it feels like it’s been a short offseason, it has, but it also feels like forever since we played a game. Just excited to get everything going, seeing how everyone kind of gels together. The new guys on the team and all that kind of stuff, so I’m excited.”
Q: What’s the energy like with you and everyone else in the locker room two days away from the first game?
KARLAFTIS: “It’s a great energy you know we’re gelling; everybody is gelling together. There’s a great energy, there’s great comradery and all the guys are getting along. It’s awesome to be a part of. Like I said last year it’s a unique locker room situation. You know we got a winning culture and a winning mentality in this team, and everyone accepts everyone and that’s awesome to have in a team.”
Q: Any specific young guy you are going to have your eye on during the first preseason game?
KARLAFTIS: “I think for me mostly the defensive linemen. You know Felix (Anudike-Uzomah), BJ (Thompson), KC (Keondre Coburn), and Truman (Jones), all those guys man. They’ve been awesome and just seeing what it’s like you know you get to see them in practice every day but just seeing them cut it loose and really get after it. It’s going to be exciting; I’m looking forward to watching them.”
Q: Do you feel like you’re a veteran now that you can be the guy on the sideline to tell them to take a deep breath or calm down?