Some fans in Kansas City Chiefs Kingdom are stuck on the idea that the team is doomed. Funny thing is, the Chiefs players don’t feel that way and Patrick Mahomes has already moved onto the Chargers game for this Sunday in Arrowhead:
“Everybody is ready to go…. We got an AFC West opponent, a great football team coming into town, so you got to kind of turn the page and move on to the next opponent.”
Mahomes also had plenty to say about the QB of their next opponent, Justin Herbert:
“His arm talent is crazy. I mean the way he’s able to throw some of these throws, it’s kind of like when you throw it it’s like I don’t know if this is a good throw but he’s always hitting it perfectly in there so it’s always a great throw. He’s someone who has a lot of talent and is learning more and more as he gets in this league. Whenever you can have success without having the knowledge, usually you start getting more and more knowledge and you get even better.”
Patrick Mahomes also had this to say about Chargers’ Safety, Derwin James:
“[He’s] a one of kind player…. You don’t get players like that all the time that can literally do it all. He’s a special player that you have to account for on every single play.”
The defense took a boat load of heat following last Sunday Night’s game. DT Jarran Reed shared this week what he feels the DL must do to get back in the winning column:
“Yeah, basic fundamentals… tearing off blocks, just get going, get back to the basics of football, get better at what we do.”
Jarran also gave us a little “Reed-on-Reid” and his Head Coach’s expectations:
“He looks at us to play great. We’ve got to step up to that challenge. We’ve got to take that upon ourselves each and every day. We’ve got to start out fast. We’ve got to start out physical, we’ve just got to keep going.”
The Chiefs Offensive Line coach Andy Heck was asked this week about the Chief new offensive linemen, to which he relied:
“First I’d say, I love this group, from top to bottom, I mean, it’s a great group to work with. They’re guys who love football, smart guys, they come to work every day, so I’ve been really pleased with that. And in terms of what we’re getting done, I’ve been very pleased with the progress. We’ve got some good young players in there. It’s a work in progress, but I like what I’m seeing out of that group.”
Anthony Hitchens was asked on Thursday about communication and what the problems are:
“Yea, we’ve got some new guys in new positions out there, we’ve got some younger guys, T-5 didn’t really play (Tyrann and 3+2 = 5) in the first game, he’s our communication guy, ah, he comes back, we got some young guys… new guys, we got J-Reed in the front, we got Nick Bolton playing a lot of snaps, so, it’s just the timing and culture, and guys, just outgoing things, and feeding off each other, and things like that, but we’ll get that down.”
Defensive Line coach, Brendan Daly said that the two games the Chiefs played so far have presented different challenges as will the game against the Chargers. Daly also acknowledged that crowd noise has been, and will be a factor:
“… especially at Arrowhead, and it’s a great problem to have, crowd noise is factor for us defensively. Because of the volume, on the line communication can be difficult to hear, and distribute. We’re working through some of that. Some of that we can help ourselves with just, understanding the when, the why, you know, kind of the mechanics of the defense and when those adjustments are going to come up and you can anticipate those things.
Patrick Mahomes was asked about playing in full stadiums this year and he said,
“There’s really nothing better than that. Just to be able to go into an environment like that, the fans are into it, they’re giving it their best shot obviously, and you have to go you there and be great. You have to find a way to win.”
… and win he does as last Sunday evening’s loss was the first loss for Mahomes on the road since November of 2019.
Many fans in Chiefs Kingdom, including me, have been wondering about why Juan Thornhill isn’t getting more snaps as he only was in on 11 plays vs the Ravens. DC Steve Spagnuolo addressed the issue this week saying,
“Look, Juan has done a good job. He’s had spurts of good football. But when you talk about — what you’re asking about is a position change. A position change has to be merited when someone is not playing well and they need improvement there. I mean, if you asked Dan [Sorensen] I’m sure he’d tell you that he wants to play better. If you ask any of the 11 guys who play the positions on defense, I’m sure they’re going to tell you that they want to play better.”
The Chiefs new wide receiver’s coach, Joe Bleymaier, was asked about scheming up the game plan to get Tyreek Hill the ball more:
“Yea, I that’s a good challenge, that’s a delicate balance. I think we always want to get Tyreek the ball. The morse times it’s in his hands, you know, the better for everybody. At the same time, without forcing it, or really taking away from the other parts of the offense or the other guys. It’s the balance we try to strike.”
Amen to that.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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Editor’s Note: Michael Travis Rose will be back next week with his Chiefs-Chargers Grades.