OPENING STATEMENT: "Alright, as far as injuries go really the only one to talk about is Eric Kush. He won't practice today, he has a shoulder that is injured, and we will see how he does the next couple days. We haven't counted him out for this game. Just a quick recognition to Brian Waters - anytime you play in this league for 11 plus years, in particular, the 11 years right here in Kansas City, have six Pro Bowls under your belt, and won Man of the Year, you've covered most of the bases. I couldn't stand competing against him because he's a heck of a football player, and I didn't have a chance to coach him. But I know the organization holds him in high regards, in particular, Clark and the Hunt family. He's one of the all-time favorites that they've had here. We, and I, wish him well in retirement and nothing but the best as he goes forward. With that, we look forward to the opportunity to play the Tennessee Titans. We know they are a good football team; they've got a new coaching staff. Similar situation to what we came into last year as a team. They are playing good, hard, aggressive football. We did play them last, basically the same personnel with the exception of a couple spots. Probably the primary one is the quarterback, (Jake) Locker is back and he's a heck of a player. They are an explosive team and they play great defense. Ray Horton is a quality defensive coordinator, and he's got good players there. Offensively, Ken Whisenhunt has a great track record of not only being a head coach but being an offensive mind. We've got to make sure that we prepare ourselves, go through all the steps that it takes here each day, take care of business, learn the game plan, learn the personnel we are playing against, understand the schemes and then go play."
Q: A.J. Jenkins is good to go?
REID: "Yeah, A.J. did the walk through and he'll go out there unless there's a setback. He's scheduled to go today."
Q: Donnie Avery last year showed flashes, early in the year against Philly and at the end of the year against Indy. What can we expect to see from him in the middle?
REID: "Donnie was hurt last year. He's recovered and coming off a really good camp. He's a great kid, obviously, and he's shown great toughness out here. He didn't miss a day of practice, so he's all in. Very good leader, and it's good to have him on this football team. He can still run very fast, so we're excited to have him healthy."
Q: So it was a health issue, the ankle then the shoulder?
REID: "It was the shoulder primarily. The shoulder, for him to push through and play, that was something."
Q: Obviously with Dwayne Bowe out, how important is it for Donnie to be a target?
REID: "Just to be Donnie, that's all he has to be. He doesn't have to be anything other than that. Likewise, I'll tell you the same thing about Frankie (Hammond Jr.). Go play and play your game. You don't be anybody different or do anything different."
Q: There's a pattern of NFL teams when they make a big jump like your guys did last year, they fall back a little bit. In Philly you avoided that, is there anything in particular that allowed you to do that?
REID: "I don't know that, other than good players and good coaches and working hard. I think that normally works. I'm not here to predict any future or anything else. The guys have worked their tails off and we've got good quality players. Now we need to just go play and that's the part I get excited about. They've worked so stinking hard, now let's go play and whatever happens, happens."
Q: When you were in Philly was that on your mind at all?
REID: "Not at all. It hasn't really been on my mind until you mentioned it. We do it one way and I think hard work is a part of that."
Q: You've got three College Free Agents that made the team this year and 15 on the roster total, is there a common thread among those guys that have allowed them to overcome the odds?
REID: "There's a variety of positions there, right? Starting with the kicker who had a tough battle against a good football player, Ryan (Succop), and ended up winning that out. I guess the common denominator is execution of what they were asked to do, doesn't matter the position. I guess execution would be the primary thing."
Q: You mentioned similarities between the Titans this year with Whisenhunt there and what you went through last year. Do you think you caught some people off guard last season? Is there any advantage at all to being a new coach in a new system? Do you study the tendencies at Arizona?
REID: "I mean, they are doing similar things. They aren't going to change that much, it's been successful for them at Arizona, the offensive side, and the defensive side when Ray was there. So I don't see a huge difference in what they've done. Normally, you're going to coach what you know best and present it to your players. It looks like that's what they've done."
Q: We haven't seen Eric Berry on the field in a preseason game. Concerns about rust? How is Eric?
REID: "He had good practices the last couple days. I'm not worried about it. He knows what he needs to get done and he'll do it. I'm not saying that he won't have to get caught up on speed of the game but I think he'll be fine."
Q: Taking nothing away from the effort of Daniel Sorensen but is there a coincidence that it was kind of an Achilles heel that Eric Berry wasn't in and you guys were a little vulnerable on big plays.
REID: "I think it was great for Sorensen to have the opportunity to show, especially working with the first group. I think it was absolutely positive for him, a lot of reps."
Q: Talking about Whisenhunt, if you're getting prepared for a Whisenhunt offense, first off is he from the Ron Erhardt kind of school? And what is his signature as an offensive mind?
REID: "Well, he's always combined a solid run game with a good short intermediate game. And he'll take his shots periodically. But he's pretty well rounded there around the pass."
Q: Got some young guys and some guys out of position on the offensive line. Not a ton of time playing together as a unit. What's their readiness?
REID: "Well, I'm expecting them to play well. So I don't really care about the position that you play, I just care that you go execute it. It doesn't have to be pretty, I don't care about that either. I just care that you get the job done and the guys here are wired that way. And I think they look forward to the challenge, this defensive line is a good defensive line that we are playing. It'll be a good challenge for them."
