Chiefs HC Andy Reid conference call (1.13.21)
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid conference call:
On Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Mahomes throwing the bulk of his interceptions in the final quarter of the season:
“I do not know. He had a couple in there I know, and I am not too worried about it. He is probably just trying to make some things happen right there. I can’t get too detailed on it. We are OK. I am not too worried.”
On what has impressed him most about QB Baker Mayfield and Mayfield’s development this season:
“I think he is a heck of a player. He did a great job in college. He is driven. He wants to be great. That is how he goes about his business. He sure does a nice job with it. I would just tell you he has made huge strides. I just like his attitude and the way he goes about it.”
On being more aggressive with fourth-down decisions in recent years:
“I think it is how comfortable you feel with it and what you have left in the plan, how you think the matchups fit and whatever you have in the plan, not only what is left in the plan but what you have in the plan that you feel comfortable with putting out there on fourth down and then obviously location with where you are on the field, time of the game, the score and all of those things go into it. I have not really had too much of a change of heart. I think the older I get, maybe I get a little bit more challenge there with going with it. The percentages have been pretty good, though. I know you have probably studied all of the analytics. Those things, it kind of works out in your favor.”
On NFL coaches appearing more willing to go for it on fourth down and the public seeming to call out NFL coaches more for not going for it on fourth down when they potentially should:
“That normally happens. If you are receiving 50/50, you have coaches who would like to do it and coaches who do not. That is good for you guys, right? You can create a debate there on which way to go. I like it when they work, right?”
On what has impressed him most about Head Coach Kevin Stefanski and the Browns’ performance in Stefanski’s first year as head coach:
“He has done a great job. He is a Penn grad. I had a chance to see him as a player. He was a cornerback there, and he went to St. Joe’s Prep in Philly there – he is all Philadelphia. It is great to see him have success. He is a good guy, too. You know that. He is a good person and works hard. You have to pull for those guys, unless you have to play them. He sure has done a nice job.”
On how eye-opening it was to him that the Browns won the way the team did at Pittsburgh when dealing with adversity and COVID-19 situations:
“Absolutely, they were not too worried about all of the things that had taken place. They just focused in on playing the game. My hat goes off to them. They did a heck of a job. That is a tough place to win, fans or no fans.”
On Chiefs LB Anthony Hitchens returning:
“He is the transmitter from the front to the back and everybody in between being your middle linebacker. He knows this defense like the back of his hand. He does a great job with that. He has had a tremendous year. He had the COVID deal, and it is great to have him back. It is great to have him back, yes.”
On if he has a sense of pride in RB Kareem Hunt for how Hunt was able to turn things around:
“That is a tough thing. Really, he put all of the football aside, and that is why you do this. You care about the kids and you care about what happens after football. Football is great, but there is a short lifespan. If you live to 80 years old, you are only playing this for a few years out of that 80. You want them to have a great time doing it, but at the same time, you want to make sure that they are set when their days are done. He has made that commitment, and I am proud of him for that. That is a huge thing. He is doing a great job. He is with a great organization. I am a fan of Kareem Hunt so I am pulling for him, except on Sunday. He is a heck of a football player. You have a couple of them there who are awfully good.”
On if he gets the sense that the Chiefs are just as hungry to win coming off of last year’s Super Bowl win, particularly given how hungry the Browns appeared in last week’s game:
“This is what I do know and I know our guys know this is a heck of a football team coming in here. We have to play well. That is the bottom line. Our guys know that. You just go back to preparation, and they have done that all year and it has worked out for us. We have to go back to that. You try to get rid of all the clutter in there and just focus on the team that you are playing and try to master the gameplan and master what they do. There is no time for anything else. That is how you go about working on and what you know you play. I have been proud of the guys for doing that all year, and I expect them to keep doing it now. We had a good practice today, and we will see how it goes tomorrow.”
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