ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs’ Steve Spagnuolo, Charvarius Ward, and Mitchell Schwartz met with the media Wednesday.
Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo
OPENING STATEMENT: “I don’t really have a lot to say, other than I’m really glad we got outside. Coach had us out here. We had a little bit of rain, but it was really good work. Glad we got it in. With that, I’ll open it up.”
Q: Are there any young guys that you’re particularly eager to see in the game on Saturday night?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, it’s hard to pick any particular one out. Certainly, we want to see Juan Thornhill in there and Khalen (Saunders), the guys that we drafted. But there have been a bunch of guys that have surfaced. To me, I just would like to see all of them give great effort and tackle. I’ll be looking for that and the same thing in the young guys, too.”
Q: Are there any veteran guys that you’re looking forward to seeing?
SPAGNUOLO: “To pick out anybody would be an injustice. I’m really looking for how cohesive of a unit we can be. With that comes effort and tackling, just like I talked about. To me, communication and working together as a unit, communicating from the back end to front end, that’s as important as anything. If we don’t get that squared away in the first game, it’ll be a long season. We don’t want that.”
Q: How much have players like Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon taken advantage of injuries to the players ahead of them on the depth chart?
SPAGNUOLO: “The next guy that’s in always benefits. One of the things that people don’t realize is that when all of a sudden, they’re working with the first group, which generally operates a little better – Hitch (Anthony Hitchens) is in there and getting people lined up – I think that makes them more comfortable. They’re hearing a different voice. We need that because quite honestly in a game, it’s going to be hard playing with just four guys there. They need to hear the other MIKE linebacker talking to them. It’ll all be a benefit. I’d like to get those other guys back, but I think that the guys replacing them will benefit from it.”
Q: What has been your message to Charvarius Ward in this camp?
SPAGNUOLO: “The message to him, quite frankly in a lot of practices here, has been to play all out and finish. We had that one-on-one drill down in the Red Zone. It’s an offensive drill. There are no offensive linemen in front of them. That’s a tough haul for the DBs. I’d just like to see them finish. Try to poke the ball out. All we’re concerned about is the result. If he catches it and we rip it out and it’s incomplete, that’s a good result. Really finishing, that’s been the motto for all of the corners. (Defensive Backs / Cornerbacks Coach) Sam (Madison) has been preaching it. (Defensive Backs Coach) Dave (Merritt) has been preaching it. Charvarius has been in that same group.”
Q: Is there anything that has surprised you about Ward?
SPAGNUOLO: “When I did watch the tape, and I had mentioned it to (General Manager) Brett (Veach), that I think this particular player – I didn’t know him at the time – had some potential to be a good press corner. I like the guys with the long arms. Now, I have to get used to the inner makeup of a corner. That’s really important in this league. I’d like to see him always challenge every play. If they catch it, get them on the ground. We can line up and play defense again. Just don’t put your head down.”
Q: Does your defense have an identity yet?
SPAGNUOLO: “I don’t know that I’d slap an identity on it. This is what I always preach to them; that we are going to chase perfection but rely on relentlessness. That’s been a motto and a theme for us. I’m hoping we’re adopting that as players. We’ll see. The game is the real tell-tale.”
Q: When you have young players like you do here, do you have a hard-set rule of where the players should be at the right time in each situation on the field?
SPANGNUOLO: “Each position is a little bit different. In my experience, it’s probably been a little simpler to begin or start out right away if you’re up front. There’s not nearly as much complexity with calls and defensive-wise. It’s a little bit tougher on the back end. It’s probably most challenging for a linebacker, that doesn’t have to know only his job, but he has to know the other guys around him. Probably by position, I’d think of it a little bit more that way. I’m not privy to starting rookies right away. I think they need to earn it. I’m still old fashioned in that way. But we’ll see what happens. Sometimes that’s dictated by injuries.”
Q: Have you ever started a rookie?
SPAGNUOLO: “We have. When I was in St. Louis, I do remember James Laurinaitis. We drafted him in the second round. He was a MIKE linebacker. I said, ‘Look, he’s got to earn his stripes up there.’ It got toward the end of the preseason and it was quite evident that he was the guy that could run the show, so he started right away.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
CB CHARVARIUS WARD
Q: What do you think of the crowd at camp, is it giving you all a lift at practice?
WARD: “Oh, yes. It is motivation for sure. I mean, they’re excited for the season, and we are as well. We’re ready to go, and they’re ready to go.”
Q: Can you talk about what you did in the offseason to prepare for this season and is it paying off so far?
WARD: “Yeah, this training camp is kind of hard, it’s a grind. I just have to stay focused, keep going and never give up on a play.”
Q: In minicamp you talked about how great the new coaching staff is at communicating and teaching, how has that carried over into training camp?
WARD: “They teach us pretty well. We learn the defense, and everyone learns their positions, now we’re just trying to come together as a unit and be better than we were last season.”
Q: What’s changed for you coming in knowing you’ll be counted as a starter for this defense?
WARD: “I have a year of experience under my belt. I know what if feels like to play in the playoffs and play against the best players, so I have to raise my game to the next level.”
T MITCHELL SCHWARTZ
Q: You made your debut this year on the NFL Top 100 players. It was voted on by your peers. How much does it mean to you?
SCHWARTZ: “It was awesome. I had no expectation for that. I didn’t know it was even starting, but it was really cool. It kind of blew my mind that I could be a part of that and I am grateful for everyone who voted for me. It’s one of those things where some guys might say it doesn’t mean much, but everyone wants to be recognized whether it is being a good player or being the best in your position, any of those things. When those come in, it is just really awesome, and like I said, I am grateful that the guys put me on that list.”
Q: You guys have installed so many plays per day, how much of the discussion on the offense has been tempo particularly for the offensive lineman to get from one play to the next, how much can that be used later on for the regular season?
SCHWARTZ: “I think every coach has a different philosophy on that. You know some coaches don’t like it. You end up having to abbreviate a playbook or shorten play calls and it is more learning, more wording. Some coaches obviously really like it. I’ve been with a coordinator where there is basically a number for formation and one word to tell everybody what to do and you are able to utilize that at times, but I think for the offensive line perspective our thing is wanting to put the pressure on defense, breaking the huddle, getting set fast, forcing them to declare, those are the things that we pride ourselves in. I do think that it does have a little trickle-down effect where if the skilled guys see us they will hustle and get to their spots. Also, with all the shifts and the motions and the stuff that we do, I feel like those guys just have way more to figure out with what personnel grouping it is. Having three receivers from three different personnel groupings, you’ve got to figure out what spot they are in and which formations, which bunch, which motion, all that stuff, so if we are able to get set that can give them time to do that and we don’t want any illegal motion penalties, so we don’t want to be moving when they are moving when the ball is snapped because you know we will get the flag for that. I think it is processing the information, doing everything quickly, and doing as much as you can when you are on the field to make everything as game-like as possible.”
Q: What does the first game do for a veteran? You know this is evaluation time for a lot players but that doesn’t really effect you as much. How do you use this game when all the players are getting looked at since it is different for you? Do you use something to test yourself? How do you perform?
SCHWARTZ: “Protect Pat (Mahomes), protect the running backs, I mean you just go do your job. Every week of the preseason and as the season progresses the speed kind of picks up. There is a little bit of acclamation there and getting that up to speed. I think, well you obviously aren’t in game play the whole week, but just studying everybody and some teams play starters and some don’t, so you don’t always know who you are going against. You try to watch film of really all of the defensive ends and it is just about going out there. Typically, the playbooks are a little simpler, so its core plays and you can block up against any look. You just want to go and block someone else well. You still have to protect Pat, as well as everyone else. You treat it very real.”
—Chiefs—
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