CHIEFS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
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Q: **What did you see from Kareem Hunt that led you to believe that he was ready for what you were going to give him in his first NFL game?
NAGY:"To start off you see some resiliency. He starts off with that fumble and everybody wants to try to help him out as much as possible after that play. You kind of feel for him a little bit, first touch in the NFL after all of those carries in college, but he just showed that he can rebound from a little adversity. He stuck in there and he knew that we all had his back and he had our back and went forward. That was a good thing to see early on."
Q:You made sure you got him the ball the very next play. Did you have to go off of the script for that one or did you want to get that one done?
NAGY:"Coach has been in this for a long time, so he gets it. Coach made a great call with getting him the ball next and get the guy's confidence back and that's exactly what happened."
Q:What did you see in him leading up to the game, you had some veteran options that you could've turned to, but what did you see in him that let you know that he's ready for this kind of thing?
NAGY:"During camp nothing was really too big for him. He's handled all of the assignments that we've given him and you get in practice, you get in training camp and if there's a fumble here or there you get on him, but nothing is as real as it is on a Thursday night in the middle of the biggest game of the night. You don't know how he's going to react. In that situation it's a win-win for all of us to just be able to give him the ball again, for him to feel comfortable with carrying that ball and just get his confidence back."
Q:I know you had a chance to be around him in 2012 the year you were there, but what makes 91 (Fletcher Cox) such a special player?
NAGY:"He has a high motor and he's smart, he's strong, he's powerful, there's so many positives that go in to Fletcher. He has a great mindset and he understands the amount of games that go on, on that front line. He's a dynamic football player and he's extremely athletic. I remember when we were there he was always there doing backup snaps wanting to be the long snapper to help out if anything happened. He has a great personality and he has a high motor."
Q:On the play that Tyreek identified as the one that he could exploit for a touchdown, how much trust is there between you and him and Alex (Smith) just to make that play work?
NAGY:"It was neat. It was during a little TV timeout and Coach had the play call and we gave it to the guys on the sideline and instantly without a thought there was, 'Coach I want the double move' and so coach goes with it, trusts his guys and to be able to have that happen and hit that play, those are the ones that you always remember."
Q:When you go back and watch the tape and you see the plays he (Kareem Hunt) made better vs. what the O-Line was giving him, does anything stand out to you the second time watching through?
NAGY:"The one thing that you see with Kareem is that he's going to get yards after contact. He's really good at that. To see that come to fruition here in that first game is nice and he wants to build on that. Now with that said, when you're breaking tackles and that first guy hits you have to protect that football, and after that first play he got a feel, he got in a groove and he was able to do that."
CHIEFS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BOB SUTTON
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Q: **Already missing Steven Nelson, now Eric Berry. What's your secondary look like, what are you left with back there?
SUTTON: "I think we've got a capable group. We've played a lot of guys so we're fortunate to have Dan Sorensen and Eric Murray who in different groupings can help fill that void, it's a big void obviously when you lose a guy like EB (Eric Berry) whose one of the real top flight players in the game. But unfortunately we've had to go through that before with him and other guys here and you just got to try to march on. We'd love to have our full complement of players every time, but this stuff happens in the National Football League."
Q: (Daniel) Sorensen has obviously played a lot for you, but what tells you that Eric Murray is ready for whatever goal you might have for him?
SUTTON:"I think the way he's progressed, he had a great camp. A great camp and preseason, played really well. I think he's very confident in himself and the system. He made the transition from corner to safety a year ago and I give him a lot of credit because he attacked the position, demanded a lot out of himself. His practice habits are outstanding and I think that's why he's been able to make this jump that I think we'll all see when he gets out there and plays. But he's well prepared and that's credit to him and the coaches that work with him. So I feel good about him."
Q: What did you think about Terrance Mitchell in the first week?
SUTTON: "He did a good job. Obviously the penalties are something that he needs to work on. Most penalties are usually a result of a technique, something happened bad in your technique early in the down that got you in that position. So he knows that's something he has to work on in practice. If he ends up grabbing or holding, I say it's usually because of your feet or your eyes. So you've got to work on those and that's how you have to improve that. The one thing about (Terrance) Mitchell is he is highly competitive and to his credit, he doesn't back off. If he gets a penalty, he gets a penalty. He's got to improve but it doesn't shut him down, it doesn't make him soft – he keeps going. And that's really the way you got to do it. You got to work to get rid of some of those."
Q: Is his job made harder by people just avoiding Marcus Peters' side at times?
SUTTON: "It might. You might get more tired because you don't want to throw it on the other side. That would be it. Schematically I don't think besides you don't want to throw it to Marcus (Peters) as much, and throw it over there, you might get more work."
Q:Do you think offenses scheme, do they move people away from Marcus (Peters)?
SUTTON: "You'd have to ask them but I'm sure that happens. Like everybody, the game is about matchups – you're always trying to get some of those matchups like that. I'm sure people say hey these are the kind of routes we're going to run on Marcus (Peters), these are the kind of routes we're going to run on the other guys. And play like that."
CHIEFS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
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Q: **What do you see when you watch tape?
TOUB: "Eagles are excellent. They finished last year on Gosselin's rankings as No. 1 last year. They were where we're trying to get to – that's where we want to be. They fly around. They're very well coached. They've got eight guys who are all solid, solid special team's players. Good in return game, good in their coverage – everything, they're total."
Q: You have history in Philadelphia, particularly for you that's where you got started, and can you talk about what it means to you to play this team and do you still think back to how you got started?
TOUB: "I think about it a lot. Andy (Reid) hired me in 2001, when I was at Missouri. He hired me there to be a quality control, a special teams/quality control/defensive line. He kind of created the first position that was known back then. Now everybody has got a quality control guy or an assistant. So I felt fortunate to get on that staff. I got to work under John Harbaugh and then I was also working for Tommy Brasher, the defensive line coach. So I was getting taught by two of the best."
Q: Did Doug (Pederson) try to convince you to come over when he went to Philly?
TOUB: "No. I think Andy (Reid), one thing he does is he protects his coaches. You might get another job somewhere but his guys are off limits. He's made that clear to me last year when I interviewed."
Q: De'Anthony (Thomas) had a couple of tough returns, is that a blocking thing?
TOUB: "Yeah it was. We were sloppy on special teams. I mean if we go back, we've coached them hard this week because we were so sloppy, you know with the fair catch, the bobbled catch that he had, missed blocks. We almost gave up two punt blocks. Really not ourselves. We were really sloppy so we've got to fix that up this week. Particularly this week because we're going against such a good group."
RB KAREEM HUNT
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Q: **Could you have ever dreamed that your regular season pro-debut would have played out like that?
HUNT:"Actually no, I couldn't because I haven't fumbled in so so long and honestly just to start off that way I was just like 'What's going on', so I just had to get back to the basics and make sure I extra protected it and did that and we came out with a win."
Q:Will you be able to stay grounded through all of this?
HUNT:"I'm just going to stay myself, nothing will change. I'm not going to make it bigger than it is. I'm just going to keep going out there and playing football. I love this game and it's what I do."
Q:Were you surprised that they went right back to you and what did it mean to you that they had the confidence to go right back to you?
HUNT:"Honestly I was kind of surprised. Coach Andy Reid said 'Get ready because we're going right back to you. We're giving you the ball'. I was just like 'Wow these guys really believe in me' because if I was a coach I don't know how I would feel about that. I was just like 'Okay, I have to go out there and make something happen and forget about that play'."
Q:Somebody clocked you as running faster than Tyreek (Hill) on one of the plays. Has he approached you about that?
HUNT:"Yeah, but he's Tyreek Hill. I know I'm not faster than him. He was coasting on his (touchdown) and I was actually running."
Q:Coach Nagy talked about your ability to take a hit and continue to go without being tackled and break those tackles. Do you feel like that's a big part of what you do as a running back or a big part of what makes you successful?
HUNT:"I think so, just my contact balance I'd have to say and just keeping the play alive and not really going down on first contact. I just keep running my feet and try to get every yard possible."
Q:How has your life changed, maybe in small ways maybe since week one, it's a whole different world for you isn't it?
HUNT:"It's a lot of new people around. But I keep my circle tight, still talk to the same people and just keep going about my day. I just do what I do."
Q:You opened the season on the road, you have this home opener coming up. What have you heard about playing in front of the crowd at Arrowhead and how much are you looking forward to that?
HUNT:"I'm definitely looking forward to it. I've been looking forward to it since I got here. Everyone's been telling me about how we have the best crowd, the best fans and it's the loudest stadium. I can't wait to get out there and have people cheering on our side and it's not [going to be] quiet when we do something good."
LB DERRICK JOHNSON
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Q: **How did the first game feel health-wise?
JOHNSON:"I felt good in the first game. I felt myself getting better as the game went on. It is more about reps with me. My body is adjusting quickly. It has always been that way. I am very fortunate and just want to get better from here."
Q:You always talk about training your eyes, what is the time period where you think you have your vision back?
JOHNSON:"Well, you want it earlier than later. But, usually midseason. You definitely don't want to peak too early but you want to play at a high level always. Usually midseason, training your eyes with your feet, it helps you make more plays and anticipate better. We started fast as a defense and hopefully I can become more of an impact player for this defense as we go along."
Q:What did you think the difference was from the first half to the second half?
JOHNSON:"Well, I think we still did the same things, I just think we did them a little bit better. We stayed with our game plan. Coach Sutton always says, 'Don't blink.' It is just a simple term saying don't get discouraged when things don't go your way. Just trust the process. We did a really good job of trusting the process throughout the game and we made some moment in that game that created momentum for us. As far as the fourth down stops, that is big."
Q:Is it frustrating to keep losing star players and not get all on the field at once?
JOHNSON:"It is frustrating at times when you can't get everyone together, all your core players that have been here for a while. But it is the NFL, you are never surprised. Things happen. I know that, coming off of two Achilles injuries. It's one of those things where it is next guy up. It is huge shoes to fill with Eric Berry gone, but hopefully a couple guys can step in and help."
Q:Do you see some of your offense in the Eagles?
JOHNSON:"A little bit. Even though they (Reid and Pederson) are under the same umbrella, they have their own identities. Pederson has done a great job with that young quarterback, Wentz. They have an explosive offense. Of course you can't just pull up the Chiefs playbook and say, 'Hey, here is Pederson.' You can't do that. There are some similarities because he was under him. But, at the same time, it is not as simple as you think."
Q:What is it like the first few days after the Achilles surgery? What is Eric Berry going through?
JOHNSON:"I'll tell you what, we will see Eric Berry pretty soon. Nothing is going on much after the surgery. The first two months is just letting the Achilles heal, letting it mend back together. It is just kind of boring. You just have to let it heal. It is a patience deal early on. I know he will struggle with that, because he wants to get going. But after a couple months, he can start training."
