Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid - Quotes

September 17, 2013

OPENING STATEMENT:

"Alright, for injuries, we have Anthony Fasano (with a) sprained ankle, he will not practice today. We'll see how Branden (Albert does), because he went through the walk through. We'll just see how he does this afternoon; he has an AC sprain. Everybody else will practice. (As far as) the families and their loss in the Washington DC area, our hearts go out to them. I know the National Football League feels that way as do the Kansas City Chiefs. Tragic deal, really tragic. We look forward to having the opportunity to play the Philadelphia Eagles. We know they're a good football team. I know it's Thursday night, we understand that. It's an electric place to play and our guys are geared up. They'll have their primary practice today and I know they are looking forward to the opportunity to play a good football team."

Peter King talked about Alex Smith calling plays at the line of scrimmage. How much does he do that for you?

"He has the option at the line there to get us in and out of those situations. You know, there are a handful (of plays); that's what he does. You see a lot of quarterbacks around the league do that. I was telling (Doug) Pederson, that's one of his strengths. He sees things and feels comfortable doing that. He makes good decisions, most of all."

What about the coach-quarterback relationship? Is your relationship with Alex ready for you to allow him to make those calls?

"I haven't been really in this (situation) in a long time. The last time I was in a situation like this, I had Doug Pederson as a quarterback. All the quarterbacks were able to do certain things with it and they should put you in a good position."

Is nickel and diming necessarily a good thing in your offense?

"I'm not a big stat guy, but I'll tell you, I'm big into the final score, how many points you score, how many allowed, I think that's important. I'm also big into turnovers on both sides of the ball, and we keep it that simple. We don't do the four-corner stall or anything, that's not what we try to do. We're going to try to score points to the best of our ability. On the defensive side, we're going to try to not allow the opponent to score points. I think most coaches would probably say the same thing—but hey that's the objective. We aren't slowing down the possession throwing game and this offense has always been a big part of it. That's what Doug (Pederson) I know believes in. He understands how it works. At the same time, we were able to get some big plays the other day, which were also good. We had a good little mix going there. We obviously, as you would, like to have scored more points. We played pretty good defense, too. They have a lot of talent on that defense."

What about their offense?

"It's exciting; it's an exciting offense. Chip (Kelly) has done a heck of a job with installing it and getting a lot done in a short period of time there. The obvious is the production. The numbers there are great, so you know it carries over from the college level. You see high schools and colleges doing it now, really predominantly, throughout the country. It made that transition into the National Football League and it looks like he's done that very well."

How does it help that you know some of the players very well?

"They have good players and they're back and they're healthy and they're doing a nice job."

Do you see time of possession as being important?

"In a perfect world, you'd love to keep the balls that you can and score as many points as you can. That's not something you can just gauge. You can't do that in this league. You've got to do what you think is best against that defense of the opponent that you're playing; a mix of whatever you feel like your talent matchups are with their talent matchups. That's how you go about business there."

What is your relationship with Donovan McNabb?

"I love Donovan McNabb. I think he's a great person and a great football player. I was very fortunate to have a lot of guys like that there that were tremendous people. Obviously, we were unable to do what we did there without Donovan McNabb. I know that he's very honored to have his number retired. I think it's a special day for him. He'll have a lot of his teammates back with him, and I think that's important for him. He deserves every bit of that, all of the accolades he gets. Whatever he gets, he deserves. He did great things for that organization."

Are you glad to be there for it (McNabb's jersey retirement ceremony)?

"I am. I won't be able to enjoy it, other than being there. But I'm honored that he did it this week, I appreciate that. I wish I was able to enjoy it with him, but under the circumstances, we're going there to play a football game and a heck of a football team."

How much have you thought about Philadelphia and what do you think it's going to be like out there?

"Honestly, I haven't gone there. That's not how my mind works. I'm pretty simple with that. They don't care whether I think about them or don't think about them; as a matter of fact, they'd probably be happy if I was thinking about them and getting caught up in the emotions as opposed to thinking about them as a good football team. I don't want to go there. That's not what I'm going to do. This is about our football team, it's not about me, it's not a one-man show. It has nothing to do with that; that was demonstrated when we had the opportunity to play the Cowboys. That was a team effort. This will take a team effort, when we play the Philadelphia Eagles. That's what I believe in and I know."

Jamaal Charles said that he wants to win this week for his coach; do you feel that sentiment from the players?

"I've said this from the time I've got here; this crew right here, this team, there's a special spirit about this group. They have worked their tails off and as a coach how much more can you really ask for than that, the dedication and their want to. So, I appreciate everything that they've done; with time here, we've grown close as a team and that will continue on. There are some great personalities on this team that I appreciate being around and that I enjoy being around."

Do you remember your reaction when someone first walked in and said 'Michael Vick'?"

"Unfortunately, I was playing against him. I remember when he was available. I don't remember that. I knew before he ever came to the Philadelphia Eagles what kind of a player he was. We're talking about one of the top players in the National Football League and even though he had a short hiatus away, he worked his tail off to come back and to be what he is now, a tribute to second chances and opportunities. He took full advantage of that in a lot of ways and that's the thing I'm most proud of him for, not his accomplishments on the football field, but being the dad he is and the husband and so on, those are the important things."

What have you seen from Akeem Jordan and his biggest improvement?

"I have had him (from his Philadelphia days). He's a heck of a kid, tough, and I mean tough, tough. There's nothing flashy about him. He's a tough special teams player; that's where he made his name. He has had the opportunity to start for me here, a number of games, and in Philadelphia, he did a nice, solid job for us and he's doing the same thing here. He's just not a flashy personality; he's not a flashy football player. He just goes and gives you an honest day's work every day. Just a tough, tough kid."

What is Travis Kelce's readiness right now?

"I'd probably tell you the same that it's been. That part hasn't necessarily changed, he's working through this. We're trying to spot him with as much time as we can, so that it continues to get better. He's making progress in that area, so that's kind of where we're at with him, right now."

Do you think he could be where he was a few weeks ago?

"He's still working through the injury, that's what he's doing. He's getting there."

How is the conditioning of your team going to help your team on Thursday night?

"The guys have worked extremely hard. They've fought through a couple of (hot) games and they've done a good job with that. This will be a different situation; it's going to be cooler and going to be a night game. Hopefully, for either team, it's not going to be necessarily a thing of conditioning, other than the team who plays the best ends up winning the game. That's how this one will work, I'm sure."