CHIEFS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
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Q:** Do you have a short list of guys that you're looking at for kickoff return including Tyreek?
TOUB: "Yeah, I mean we have a number of guys that can do it. (Demarcus Robinson) can do it, (Charcandrick West) can do it. We have options."
Q: What stands out about the Titans specials teams units?
TOUB: "Very good unit. At this point in the playoffs, everybody's really good. They got Adoree' Jackson who is a punt returner/kick returner – a fantastic rookie player. Dynamic, fast. Can make you miss, great vision. He's got it all. Obviously their punter is a Pro Bowl punter. Bangs the ball high, hang times, great punter. They've got (Ryan) Succop, who beat us last year at the end. They've got a good coach, they've got Eric Weems who I coached who I think is one of the best special teams players in the league. So they're solid across the board."
Q: Playoff situation – is it more important to have someone with more experience back there receiving kicks?
TOUB: "Yeah it is. It certainly is. I mean we're going to practice hard with all the guys that we have, knowing that we still have Tyreek if we need him."
Q: Does (Tyreek Hill) press you that he wants to get out there?
TOUB: "Yes. He wants to touch the ball all the time. It's in his DNA – that's what he wants to do."
Q: Saw a college football playoff game decided on a special teams play, anytime something like that happens do you show your unit?
TOUB: "We talk about it, yeah. We do, we talk about it all the time. When it's a battle, when it comes down to the end and it's a close game, overtime, whatever, it always comes down to special teams. Always. Usually a field goal, field goal block situation. So we talk about that a lot."
CHIEFS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
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Q: **How about Patrick Mahomes from last week – did he meet your expectations?
NAGY: "He did a good job, he did a really good job for all things considered. We wanted him to come out here and to go back to last week when you're asking what we look for and it was to get the win, number one, which he did, and protect the football which he did for the most part. He had that one throw, had the juices flowing. But his read was there, his progression was there. His feel within the system, being able to get in and out of the huddle, and make the correct ids and see where it's at within the play was really good. So he'll build on that and we were happy for him."
Q: When you went to Tyler Bray, was the idea just to get him some time or what?
NAGY: "Probably a little bit of both. We were in a position, up by 14 with about seven minutes to go and Tyler's been here a long time and put in a lot of work and a lot of effort, so you want to be able to give him an opportunity to get into a real live game and see what he can do. Unfortunately at the same time you look back at it and you have new centers in there and the weather elements, the ball handling we have (Anthony) Sherman back there taking ball handling. So some of that stuff for him, it was the first time he was doing that, but at the same time, he's hard on himself and wishes he would have done better. But we're proud of Tyler and he's done a great job so far."
Q: How much of what Patrick did on Sunday was God given ability or intense work?
NAGY: "Both for sure, without a doubt. He has a lot of God-given ability and talent, that's obvious. Anyone that watches him play can see that. What you want to do is you want to try to build off of his strengths and be able to help him with his weaknesses. To me what I thought was really unique was at the end of the game, to get into a two-minute situation, when it's a tied game to get a chance to get down there and win a game and have it come into fruition is a step in the right direction."
Q: Were you still amazed when he was wrapped up and was able to complete that throw?
NAGY: "Well, you always become amazed at all these guys at the throws that they can make. When Patrick comes in here, we've seen some of the stuff he's done in practice, we've mentioned that. Then to see it with the live bullets coming at you, third and 15, third and 16, breaks a tackle, makes a throw over the middle, there's some impressive throws. That's the obvious part. For us as coaches, it's the little things of just trying to get better at what we're working on each and every day since training camp. Again, the one thing that I liked about Patrick throughout the game, extremely calm. To be in the position that he's in, you don't always have that with everybody. But he was really calm, even after the interception it's like the next play. Let's go onto the next play, that was neat."
Q: How does (Jurrell) Casey stack up against the other impressive defensive linemen you've faced this year?
NAGY: "Well he's crafty. He likes to get after the quarterback. He has a lot of good moves on the inside. So our guys on the interior have to be focused on that. But he's a good player, he's a Pro Bowl player that plays hard, his motor is always going, so we have to know where he's at."
Q: Keeping to the run, is that something the team has discussed or you put a focus on?
NAGY: "It kind of goes to us collectively as a coaching staff, we went through that rut. I'll go back to saying we want to create an identity so all of us believe and said hey, you've got to be balanced, got to be able to run the ball. There are a lot of things that go into that, just so happens that the run game is picking up. But again you have to be able to throw the ball to open up the run game and you need to be able to get the run going to open up the pass game. Every game it might be a little different on how you do that, but in the end if you can get those numbers to be balanced, you have a really good chance of winning."
CHIEFS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BOB SUTTON
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Q: **What challenges do the Titans present offensively?
SUTTON: "They've got an outstanding offensive line. Two of the better tackles in our league, both run blocking and protection. They've done a really good job of protecting Marcus (Mariota) I think and allowing him time to throw the football. They're a team that can run the ball very effectively. They've got a tough mindset. I think it's a reflection of the head coach who kind of grew up in that system as a tight end. Was there at Pittsburgh when they were a great running team and it's very similar the way they attack. They're just a good team. Obviously the one back is out but (Derrick) Henry's still a legitimate player, a big man almost 250 pounds. They have an outstanding tight end, so they have plenty of weapons and we're going to have to play a really good football game on defense."
Q:Increased pressure during the last little bit of the season, is there a certain guy that you think has been that key to driving that forward?
SUTTON: "I think there are a lot of things. I think tighter coverage adds to that. Those things you can't separate them, it's the same in the running game. As much as you'd like to you need all 11 working hard together to get what you'd like and I think we've improved our coverage, our ability to challenge. I think individual rushing technique has improved as well. Hopefully we can keep going on that right now."
Q:Has Darrelle Revis been what you thought and hoped he could be?
SUTTON: "Yeah, I think it's pretty remarkable what he has done considering he had no camp, no nothing and he just dropped in here. That's nothing about the technique and the football x and o part it's just getting back in that kind of condition and that type of reaction time and I think each and every week he's been out here he's been better from that regard. He's a great technician throughout his entire career and I think that's starting to come back little by little each week. Hopefully he's another guy who keeps ascending right now."
Q:How do you classify a successful day against the run?
SUTTON: "Win first, seriously. Any of these numbers can get swayed. You can have a great run game and you give up a 50-yard run and it knocks you out percentage-wise, but if you're looking over the 25 runs of the game and you look down and say 'Hey these are the number of runs that went over four yards'. So you just kind of look at it that way and then obviously you apply it to the situation. Sometimes on 3rd and 19 they run the ball and you might give up eight or ten yards, but we get the ball back. So you just kind of have to really dig through those numbers and I think honestly without looking at the numbers you have a pretty good idea of 'Did you play the run good today?' That's what I do with it."
Q:Can you talk about the playmaking ability of Marcus Mariota?
SUTTON: "Marcus is a big man. People don't realize he's 6'4 230 pounds. He has great speed, not good, he has great speed. So you're dealing with a guy who every time he touches the ball if he gets into your back end it's going to be difficult to catch him. That's the kind of speed this guy has. He obviously has the ability to get out of trouble in the pocket and extend plays. Strong-armed guy. This is a really talented guy. He's fought through some injuries with the hamstring and all that. But right now he's playing pretty good football. Big time playmaker."
