CHIEFS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q:What do you like about your new kicker?
TOUB: "He's a good kid. He's a good kicker. He was our number one guy coming out this year as a rookie, we had him ranked number one. So if we were going to draft a guy he was going to be the guy we would probably target. So we felt good about him coming out, we just weren't looking for a kicker at that time. It's funny how things work and now all of a sudden we've got him. We're happy with him, he's a good kid. He's worked well with Dustin (Colquitt) so far and James (Winchester). The operation seems to be going flawless right now. I mean Dustin, he's a great pro, and he's probably one of the best holders in the league. Harrison (Butker) is pretty fortunate to have him as a guy."
Q: How do you feel going with a rookie for that job?
TOUB: "I mean it's a nerve wracking deal. You've got a rookie and you don't know how he's going to react. Right now we like his temperament. He seems to be real confident, doesn't seem like it's too big for him. Sooner or later he's going to have to have his first game and it's going to be Monday Night Football, so it's a pretty good situation for him."
Q: With young kickers, are you more protective about how far you take them back?
TOUB: "Field position is a big deal, Andy (Reid) and I talk about it all the time, we want to play defense and pin them down when we can. So those long field goals we don't do that a lot. You take it in consideration, we aren't going to all of a sudden take this kid back to the 55-yard line. I think he's got that range. I think he's got that ability eventually, we probably will monitor him."
Q: (Daniel) Sorensen playing more snaps because of Eric Berry's injury – who are other guys that have to step up now that Sorensen is playing more snaps on defense?
TOUB: "Our guys have done a really nice job of it. But other guys jumped in, guys like Eric Murray are doing a bit more, but we've got a good group of guys in the cover form. I still use Daniel (Sorensen) on punt return, I've got to have him in there. But guys are doing a good job."
Q: How are the Redskins special teams?
TOUB: "They're good. They're fast, they're physical. That's the thing when you watch the tape you see a real physical group, a really good returner. The punt returner (Jamison) Crowder is very, very dangerous. He gets the ball in his hands, he's tough to bring down. We're going to have to have a good net, a good hang time as usual with Dustin (Colquitt). Then kick returner Chris Thompson, they've got him back there. He's dynamite. So they're good. Good in return game, physical in coverage and very well coached."
CHIEFS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BOB SUTTON
Q: How's their quarterback?
SUTTON: "Certainly an outstanding guy. I don't know what the numbers are the last two years, 4,000- plus yards (Kirk) Cousins has had. He's playing right now at a really high level, hundred-plus quarterback rating. I think 68 percent completion, I think he's only thrown one pick. Just a guy I think over these last years has played at a really high level. When you have a guy like that it gives you a chance, every single week. I think he's surrounded around some good football players. They've got really great balance in their offense in the running game, I think they have 97 passes and 90 runs for the year. That's about as balanced as you're going to see in the NFL. Their team is playing really well on offense and going to be a great challenge for us."
Q: They've had some injuries at running back, what do you think is back there now?
SUTTON:"I don't think it's bothered them a lot. The Rams game two weeks ago they had two-hundred yards rushing at halftime. They've got a host of guys that have played back there, that are different styles of guys. I think they present a great challenge in that regard. They've got guys that can hammer you down, great speed from No. 25 (Chris Thompson), a legitimate guy that can take it to the house every play, whether it's run or catch. So they're a good team. Those backs are blessed with a really good offensive line, I mean a really good offensive line. We got a major challenge here."
Q: How do you think you've done defensively guarding running backs in the backfield?
SUTTON: "I think ok. We've done pretty good with that. Every game is different and every back is different. I don't know what the statistics show, I think we hung in there pretty good with it."
Q:Can you talk about their left tackle?
SUTTON: "(Trent Williams) is a great football player. Gives up very few, not only sacks, but very few pressures. A really, really good football player. Playing at a high level. I think their line really plays well together. They function well. They don't have a lot of mistakes, they don't cut many guys loose. They help each other in the passing game and the running game, they're a real physical group of guys. They can set the tone of the game, if you will, by the way they play. That's why that word challenge is going to keep coming up because we're kind of challenged at all levels in this game. They've got receivers on the outside that challenge you, they've got a quarterback, they've got a line that can challenge you, and they've got running backs. The only way you can do it in those games is you've got to play great team defense and take advantage of your opportunities."
CHIEFS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q:How scary is it seeing what the Redskins just did to the Raiders?
NAGY:"They're a very talented team, they played fast and they played a great offense and did well against them in front of everybody. You look at a team that is as balanced as they are for us the last three weeks we've seen some pretty aggressive defensive lines and linebackers, so we have been tested. But you watch these guys on tape and they play fast, they play hard and they don't give you much time."
Q:You've taken some sacks, but they haven't really cost you other than punting a drive away, what's the willingness to take those?
NAGY:"You don't want sacks. Sacks are bad, you lose field position, you get into third-and-longs, penalties all that. Unfortunately last week offensively we had too many of those and we can't dig ourselves in a hole because when you do that you almost become one dimensional and now generically speaking you're letting the defensive line just tee off. As you saw last week we got into some third-and-long situations where the defense can just sit at the sticks and play everything in front of them. We really need to focus on eliminating the penalties and the sacks."
Q:Are a lot of the sacks against Alex (Smith) on your end?
NAGY:"I think it's a combination of things. You see some guys are getting home, one-on-one battles, but then you also see on our end just the timing aspect of it isn't there. So our guys are in there Monday morning checking out the tape, understanding what's going on, seeing where we went wrong and trying to fix it."
