Andy Reid roundup: four takeaways from the Chiefs’ head coach

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid met with the media over a Zoom conference call on Monday, a full week removed from the team’s 44-23 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Listen to the full presser above or by clicking here.

In his opening statement, Reid said that the win over the 49ers was “a good win over a good team,” noting that San Francisco had gone on to defeat the Los Angeles Rams 31-14 on Sunday to even its record at 4-4. Reid said he was happy with how the team had “played our way back” in the Week 7 victory.

Reid then took questions, which we have rounded up in four takeaways.

The head coach likes what he has been seeing from veteran wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman.

“The part I like the best is they’ve made improvement every week,” he remarked. “They’re getting on the same page with the quarterback every week — a little bit better every week. I like what I’m seeing there. I like the strength with which JuJu is playing, the speed with which Marquez is playing. And then obviously, Mecole has been doing a lot of different things for us — and doing them well.”

Starting Isiah Pacheco at running back was simply something Reid and Eric Bieniemy worked out to make sure the rookie would get more snaps.

Reis once again emphasized that there are plays available for all of the team’s running backs.

“I thought that was a way of getting him more than [the] 10 reps that we got him the last time,” said Reid of starting the rookie a week ago Sunday. “And the way it worked out, I knew that [Clyde Edwards-Helaire] would get enough reps. I knew [Jerick McKinnon] would get enough reps.

“EB, [Greg Lewis] and I sat down and hammered this out: ‘How can we get him more than 10 reps in a game and feel good about it?’ The way it worked out, it worked out well for all three of them.”

But Reid wouldn’t go as far as to say that the team would keep making Pacheco the starter.

“Going forward,” he said, “we’ll just see.”

The head coach said he is informed about what personnel moves are coming — and wouldn’t rule out the possibility that another trade could happen.

“We’re always trying to stay two or three years down the road on that part,” observed Reid. “Our financial guys do a great job with it — and likewise, our cap guys — and likewise, [Brett] Veach does a great job with it. So they share that with me.

“It’s my responsibility to get these guys incorporated, so that’s kind of where my energy goes. But they do have a plan there — and they do talk to me about that.”

Reid pushed back on the idea that there were moves he’d have to be talked into making. And while he didn’t rule out the chance another trade might happen, he didn't exactly hint that one was coming, either.

“We keep everything open,” he said. “There’s a chance that somebody gets traded or we pick somebody else up. Everything seems to happen at the 24th hour in this business; there seems to be more activity at that time.

“But we’ll just see how it all rolls this year.”

The trade deadline is Tuesday at 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time.

The head coach credited statistical analysis coordinator Mike Frazier with the self-scouting that took place during the just-concluded bye week.

“I think ‘Fraz’ does a nice job with the self-scout — keeping us up-to-date,” said Reid. “The thing you get [during the bye week] is a little extra time to dig in and make sure that you’re not missing something. So ‘Fraz’ heads it up — and then he gives it to us to go back through and evaluate. If we have any questions about what the staff might think we need to get better at, we look at those.”

Reid said that during the bye, he’s mainly concerned with getting everyone some time off.

“I try to get the guys out and rest up,” he explained. “[That’s] really what we try to do with the players. The coaches work a few days and then we take a couple of days off. I think that helps recharge you just a little bit.”

Finally, Reid said he doesn’t know why his teams always do well after their bye week. (Reid is now 20-3 after the bye — 7-2 in Kansas City).

“There’s no secret to it,” said the coach. “I don’t know what the answer is — [beyond] that I’ve been blessed with good football teams.”