OPENING STATEMENT: "Alright, on the injury front, Tamba (Hali) has some swelling in his knee; we'll have to get it out of there, before we can go. He should be okay, down the road here. Then, Ron Parker sprained his ankle. But, other than that, we came out pretty much injury-free. Obviously, we're disappointed with the game. I think we all could have done a better job, starting with me. But collectively, they got us. We'll learn from this and we'll get better from it. We've got to eliminate the obvious things, the turnovers and you have to maintain field position, when you're put in a position to do that. When you do have the field position, you need to make sure you get points out of that and we didn't do a very good job there. Obviously 25 (Jamaal Charles) didn't touch the ball much the second half and that's my responsibility to make sure that within the realm of things, 28 plays that we had in that second half, that we give him more of a shot there than the six touches that he had. As far as going forward here, I haven't made up my mind, exactly how we're going to play it. I've done it a couple of different ways, but we'll see. We'll see how we do that. I'll evaluate all the different situations. I have sat people before, quite a few times actually, and we benefitted from that. But, I'll look at everything and have that part evaluated."
Q: What are the pros and cons to resting guys in a game like this?
REID: "Well, if you look at the history of it, it's about a 50/50 shot, over the last three or four years of people that have done it. I think it's what you feel most comfortable with as a coach. The obvious benefit is that you rest your guys and then you kind of get them back feeling a little bit fresher than they are at the end of the season; you take the risk of the timing part of it. Sometimes that's there, sometimes that's not. But, those are the things that you have to evaluate."
Q: Where is this team in terms of that right now?
REID: "Well, that's what I'm going through and looking at. I'm not going to say anything right now; I'd like to address the team, obviously, before I address the media."
Q: In 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2010 you did rest your teams.
REID: "I've done it a couple of different ways. But yeah, that was one of the things."
Q: Do you see similarities in the players here like you did in Philly as far as resting them?
REID: "Listen, I've got to go back—I do appreciate you doing your homework there. One thing I did then that I'm going to do now is I took the time that I have to evaluate it and make sure that I do what I think is right in the situation. There's a bit of a gut feeling you're going off of and I'll go off of that."
Q: What about the integrity of the game? Is that something you look at?
REID: "I think the way the NFL sits right now, and you've seen that with our football team and I think you saw that with the depth of the Colts and the players they've played over time, that's one of the better football teams in the league. They've had to put their second group in and there's obviously some rich talent there. One, that won't, I think, affect the integrity of the game or hasn't affected the integrity of the game and still kept the game at a very high level. I don't think either way you go with it, you're going to hurt that part of it. It surely wouldn't be with the people that we have and I don't think the other teams."
Q: Will the way your team played yesterday factor into who will play against San Diego?
REID: "I'll try to look at everything. I always try to look at everything and evaluate it and come up with what I think is right for this team."
Q: How important would it be for Branden Albert and Justin Houston to get in on Sunday to knock a little rust off?
REID: "I'll look at that too. Again, I'll take that into consideration and look at it as I go through the process here."
Q: If you decide to rest some guys, are there any particular young guys you'd like to get a look at?
REID: "I haven't gotten that far yet. I'm still going through everything. So, that's not where I'm at, right now."
Q: Can you take pride in knowing that what your team showed isn't the identity that your team has shown all year?
REID: "Listen, it's a good character football team. They got us yesterday. They were the better team yesterday, all the way around. I thought they coached better, I thought they played better. That happens in this league, I get it. It's important that we figure out how we can coach better and how we can play better. Whether we play them or somebody else, we need to make sure we do that. That's what we'll do, whoever we play this week, it's the Chargers, we know them; they got us last time. We respect them. We're going to go in and study them like crazy and go out there and play good football."
Q: Is there a percentage or certain amount of touches you'd like to get out of Jamaal Charles per game?
REID: "I don't think you do that, no. That's not where I go. Listen, the game kind of got away in that fourth quarter. We were still in it the second half and then we were put in the position where we had to throw the ball a little bit. We had a couple of routes that were set up for him, but they covered him. They rolled the coverage that way. The coverage didn't present itself, where we could use him in those. Then, a few of them, we had the option of where the quarterback could keep it and you saw that. The front presented itself, where the quarterback kept it, and he didn't get the touch on that. You want to give him (the ball). He's a very good football player (and) you want to make sure that you do give him enough touches; what that number is, I don't know, but I know that you need to give it to him a few more times (in) the second half."
Q: You have won seven of eight challenges this season; is that something you can take some pride in?
REID: "I appreciate the cookie, there. Yeah, I'm proud of that, I guess. I'm proud of the guys upstairs. I have a lot of trust in them. They know what they're talking about, when they look at those and evaluate them. I've had a few in my career, where they could go the other way and it's gone the other way; so, I appreciate the ones that do go our way."
Q: What is the process behind those and who are the guys behind it?
REID: "(Chiefs TEs coach) Tom Melvin is the primary one and (Spread Game Analysis/Special Projects) Brad Childress is up there and they kind of look through those things. There are a lot of eyes up there, obviously, but Tom is the one that has headed it up, over the years."
Q: Do you look at the video boards when you make those calls?
REID: "Yeah, I do. Sometimes, they don't come up as quick in other arenas as they do here."
Q: What has been lacking in the defense getting to the quarterback; is it the pass rush or the secondary?
REID: "I would probably say there is a combination of things; the bottom line is we aren't having quite as much pressure on the quarterback as we had. The sack total is down a little bit and then pressure and coverage kind of work together. Each one is a little bit different; we just had a couple yesterday, where we didn't have guys covered, so we have to make sure we get that straight. Each one has its own little story there; it's a little bit like pass protection, one breakdown and if the quarterback sees it, it is an issue. We have to make sure we get that covered."
Q: There was a line of demarcation in the last Chargers game, when Tamba Hali and Justin Houston went out; how much of that do you believe will get fixed with both of them potentially back?
REID: "I think that helps to have both Justin (Houston) and Tamba (Hali). That is a good thing. That's something that the offense has to be concerned with. I know it doesn't hurt you, that's what I do know. I look forward to getting both of them back on the field."
Q: Do you think both of those guys will play on Sunday?
REID: "Well yeah, they both have a chance to. Tamba (Hali), we just have to see with his leg."
Q: After he fumbled a couple of times yesterday, where are you with Knile Davis?
REID: "Up until that point, I thought he had been making progress. You can't, and he'll be the first to tell you this, you can't touch the ball four times a game and have two of them on the ground. He knows that. There's an answer to that. We have identified the problem now, and we have to make sure we get that taken care of, when things are live. He is a pretty conscious kid, smart kid. I trust that he will get that taken care of."
Q: That issue aside, would you be comfortable with him as a backup running back?
REID: "Yeah, do I think he can step up? Yeah. We have to feel that way, up to this point, because that is what we have done. That running back position is tough, if Jamaal (Charles) would go down, he steps up and goes."
Q: But you do have another option…
REID: "Yeah, but the one we have been using is 34 (Knile Davis)."
Q: Why did Dunta Robinson take over for Marcus Cooper?
REID: "Coop is a young player, who has a great future; sometimes you have to take a little step back to take a big step forward. That's just how it works sometimes in this game. Dunta (Robinson) came in and I thought he did a respectable job in there. We played him in the nickel role and put (Brandon) Flowers back outside. That's what we did. I'm not taking anything away from Coop. Coop is going to have a great future."
Q: Did Brandon Flowers' move have anything to do with the groin tweak or was that a purely football move?
REID: "That was just for football."
Q: Did you feel like Marcus Cooper needed a break?
REID: "I thought we just needed to take a step back. I have done that with younger guys in the past. I thought he handled it the right way. He had a few snaps in there, in the game. He did okay and then, we'll gradually let him work his way back in."
Q: How much of yesterday was the team and players, who have never been to the playoffs before, kind of "taking a breath", when you can't take a breath?
REID: "The thing that you know in this league is there is a very fine line between winning and losing. You figure that out and you figure that out quick. If you didn't know, then you learned it yesterday. There is no off week, when you present yourself to a playoff team or any other team, but in particular, a playoff team. If you're low on your game or if you don't come in mentally or whatever it is, you learn that. I thought that the guys were ready to go. That's how I felt. As it went on, I thought they got the better of us, both as coaches and players. I just thought all the way around they did a better job than us. But to answer your question, you can't be off. There's just no off in this league. That's not how it works. When you come into a game, you have to be ready to play."
