Following the 54-51 defeat his team suffered at the hands of the Rams on Monday night, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid talked with the media on Tuesday. Here are some key takeaways from the session.
Reid said that the game was very special — not only because it was a great matchup on the national stage, but because he is a Los Angeles native.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13457803/usa_today_11701373.jpg)
“One of my high school teammates — our starting fullback — walked me down to the field,” Reid said. “He’s with the LAPD. From that moment on, [I knew] what a great experience this [was] going to be. And that was before the game even started. I knew a lot of people that were there, just [from] having grown up there.”
But Reid said that once the game was underway, its pace didn’t leave much room for anything else.
“Once the ball kicked off, things were going so fast and furious, you didn’t have time to think of anything else — other than what we needed to get done.”
Still, Reid said the game was a special experience.
“You love being in the moment — two good football teams playing each other. We work so hard at our profession — doing what we do — that when you get an opportunity like that, it’s unbelievable. You’re in it. Your focus is maximized. And you go. It’s a pretty neat deal.”
Reid was asked about his decision-making late in the game, and whether he had considered slowing down the offense so that the Chiefs would have the final possession of the game.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13461039/usa_today_11701296.jpg)
“I’ve thought about a bunch of those different scenarios -- that being one of them. You’re on the road. You’re there to win the game — or score, in particular — and you’d need points to do that. I can’t tell you I didn’t think about that for a second, but it [faded] fast.”
Reporters pressed him on the subject, but Reid said there were other things to consider.
“There were a couple of things there that you had to debate on. One was the fourth down before we punted — the second to last time there — do you go for that, or not? It looks easy, but it’s a relatively tough call. The way the offenses were rolling there, you knew points were going to be important. Part of it is being on the road. You think about those things. There were no weather conditions, but those are also things that can go into your thought process. So you have a few things that you kind of check off there.”
Reid was then asked if things were changing — that the idea NFL teams could trust their defenses late in games was fading.
“I think every game is different. You have to look at it, and see where the momentum swings go — although the stat folks will tell you there’s no such thing as momentum — you have to weigh that out. Some of these are big time judgment calls, and you just have to go with it. Do I think it’s [fading]? No. I think it’s situational.”
Other notes from the Tuesday press briefing
Reid has no injury notes from Monday night’s game.
Reid was asked whether Eric Berry would be returning after the bye week. Reid sounded optimistic but guarded. He said that Berry was making “steady progress,” but he wanted to see how this week would go.
Reid was also asked about the possible return of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from injured reserve before the end of the season. Reid acknowledged that LDT’s return was possible, but said that the team was keeping all of its options open — including the potential return of Armani Watts. “We’ll just have to see how it goes,” he said.