Tribal Warfare
12-11-2008, 01:56 AM
Q&A with HERM EDWARDS - 12/10 (http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/12/10/qa_with_herm_edwards__1210/)
Dec 10, 2008, 3:32:12 PM
Highlights
HERM EDWARDS: “We’ve got some guys well and some guys not so well.”
Q: You only had six offensive linemen dressed last week.
EDWARDS: “Wade (Smith) can play center or Brian (Waters) can play center. We’re okay.”
Q: Brian Waters came here as a center. Did you ever think of him going back there if Rudy Niswanger is out?
EDWARDS: “No, not right now. Wade has played center, too. We could do that. Brian takes snaps at center.”
Q: People didn’t expect much out of the Chiefs this year but they did of the Chargers. What happened to the Chargers?
EDWARDS: “When you look at them they still have a very good offense. Their defense has changed a little bit with Merriman missing and they changed their philosophy when they changed coaches. They’re kind of in the same boat we’re in. They lost five games by seven points or less. If they win those they have 10 wins and we’re not having this conversation.
“That’s the difference in this league. You look at some teams all of a sudden that have won nine or 10 games last year and some of them that haven’t done that this year. They’re still very talented and they find ways to win in December like they did last year. They’re going to try and make a run at it this year. I guess it’s disappointing to them because they were favored to win this division. Right now, they lost some games and I think the one they won was us, the one-point game. All the other ones they didn’t win. We’ve lost five of those games and our record would be a lot better too but it’s not.
“We’re in a little bit different situation than they are. We’re in their situation now where they were in like five years ago. They were going through this same rebuilding program.”
Q: What’s Rivers’ reputation around the league?
EDWARDS: “He’s a good player, leading the league, I think, in quarterback percentage. I think he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the league and rightfully so. He’s got some weapons and knows how to distribute the ball. But it’s just been one of those seasons and you never know.”
Q: He jaws a little bit in the games. Is that something you would want your quarterback to do? Have you had any quarterback who talks like that?
EDWARDS: “Not really, Trent Dilfer had a little bit of that in him. But he was with a team that was built on defense and he was a tough quarterback. He’d talk a little bit but that’s okay.
“One thing about the quarterback is he has the ball in his hands. You might get mad at him but eventually if you’re playing in that back end he can come back and get you.”
Q: One team you did have success again in sacks was this team the last time? Can you point to anything in that game?
EDWARDS: “We beat the guy in front of us, pretty good coverage in the back end. Ron (Edwards) got one there at the end that was really good because that was when we had them backed up and that’s when they had to punt and we ended up going down and scored and went for two. We beat somebody and right now we’re having a problem and don’t do it when we have them one-on-one or the coverage breaks down.”
Q: What intangibles does Tyler Thigpen have?
EDWARDS: “I think the players are drawn to the guy, he has that ability. He is a confident guy. When things happen to him he doesn’t get down. He’s played some games where he’s thrown the ball to the opponent but he’s found a way to come back and rally the team. That’s what you like about the guy.
“He has a little bit of a swagger when he plays. He’s a tough guy and I think the players like that. He’ll take the ball and run and try to make some plays. Anytime you do that I think it brings energy to your offense. He’s a guy who will run and sometimes he gets out of bounds and sometimes he doesn’t. He can make a play with his arm when a play breaks down. He can look down field and make the throw.”
Q: The fact that he’s won over the veterans…is that in his favor?
EDWARDS: “That’s in his favor. He’s earned it. This guy has earned it. That’s what is great about the guy. He doesn’t have a lot of experience. He came in third on the depth chart and he sat and waited and got a chance. Then he had to sit again for a while and now he’s the starting quarterback.
“And, we’ve played pretty consistent on offense since the Jets game. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s got about a 90 percent rating. That’s pretty good for a young quarterback.”
Q: It’ll come down to how much growth potential he has, right?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, and I think the offense helps him. It fits his style and that’s what you want to do. You build your program around your players. You have a philosophy but at the end of the day you find out what your players can do well and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that on offense to help us move the ball, to do things a little bit different. Now, we haven’t scored enough the last couple of weeks when we’ve got in the Red Zone. That’s hurt us some but we’ve got a way now to move the ball and it’s fun to watch. I like it. We throw it some; we run it some. You can’t really dial in to what we’re going to do.”
Q: Why has Maurice Leggett’s play been so impressive this last month on defense and special teams?
EDWARDS: “I think he grew up some in the New Orleans game. Bad things happened to him and I visited with him and said, ‘now, we’ll find out how you recover. I’m still going to trust you and you’re still going to play. Now you’ve got to go do it.’ He’s been pretty good since then and good for him.”
Q: Can Brodie Croyle play this offense too?
EDWARDS: “No doubt. If we decide to do this there are probably more players in college that have played this type of offense. Everyone looks at quarterbacks different but now that can is opened up because that’s what they run in college.”
Q: Has this offense become more of a style in the NFL than it was?
EDWARDS: “I can see it happening because when you talk about quarterbacks coming out every year most of them play in this style of offense now. Every team has a version of it. It’s like anything else. When we started it, it was in our two-minute package. Then we expanded it to six plays and so on.”
Q: What is the spread offense and what elements have you tried to incorporate?
EDWARDS: “The only one we really have is one back. Generally you don’t have a back behind you but now we’ve done that. Every week it seems like we do a little something different. We’re looking too. As we’re building a team we’re trying to build this offense, too, so every week it’s another wrinkle. As you go along, you’re just connecting the dots.”
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Dec 10, 2008, 3:32:12 PM
Highlights
HERM EDWARDS: “We’ve got some guys well and some guys not so well.”
Q: You only had six offensive linemen dressed last week.
EDWARDS: “Wade (Smith) can play center or Brian (Waters) can play center. We’re okay.”
Q: Brian Waters came here as a center. Did you ever think of him going back there if Rudy Niswanger is out?
EDWARDS: “No, not right now. Wade has played center, too. We could do that. Brian takes snaps at center.”
Q: People didn’t expect much out of the Chiefs this year but they did of the Chargers. What happened to the Chargers?
EDWARDS: “When you look at them they still have a very good offense. Their defense has changed a little bit with Merriman missing and they changed their philosophy when they changed coaches. They’re kind of in the same boat we’re in. They lost five games by seven points or less. If they win those they have 10 wins and we’re not having this conversation.
“That’s the difference in this league. You look at some teams all of a sudden that have won nine or 10 games last year and some of them that haven’t done that this year. They’re still very talented and they find ways to win in December like they did last year. They’re going to try and make a run at it this year. I guess it’s disappointing to them because they were favored to win this division. Right now, they lost some games and I think the one they won was us, the one-point game. All the other ones they didn’t win. We’ve lost five of those games and our record would be a lot better too but it’s not.
“We’re in a little bit different situation than they are. We’re in their situation now where they were in like five years ago. They were going through this same rebuilding program.”
Q: What’s Rivers’ reputation around the league?
EDWARDS: “He’s a good player, leading the league, I think, in quarterback percentage. I think he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the league and rightfully so. He’s got some weapons and knows how to distribute the ball. But it’s just been one of those seasons and you never know.”
Q: He jaws a little bit in the games. Is that something you would want your quarterback to do? Have you had any quarterback who talks like that?
EDWARDS: “Not really, Trent Dilfer had a little bit of that in him. But he was with a team that was built on defense and he was a tough quarterback. He’d talk a little bit but that’s okay.
“One thing about the quarterback is he has the ball in his hands. You might get mad at him but eventually if you’re playing in that back end he can come back and get you.”
Q: One team you did have success again in sacks was this team the last time? Can you point to anything in that game?
EDWARDS: “We beat the guy in front of us, pretty good coverage in the back end. Ron (Edwards) got one there at the end that was really good because that was when we had them backed up and that’s when they had to punt and we ended up going down and scored and went for two. We beat somebody and right now we’re having a problem and don’t do it when we have them one-on-one or the coverage breaks down.”
Q: What intangibles does Tyler Thigpen have?
EDWARDS: “I think the players are drawn to the guy, he has that ability. He is a confident guy. When things happen to him he doesn’t get down. He’s played some games where he’s thrown the ball to the opponent but he’s found a way to come back and rally the team. That’s what you like about the guy.
“He has a little bit of a swagger when he plays. He’s a tough guy and I think the players like that. He’ll take the ball and run and try to make some plays. Anytime you do that I think it brings energy to your offense. He’s a guy who will run and sometimes he gets out of bounds and sometimes he doesn’t. He can make a play with his arm when a play breaks down. He can look down field and make the throw.”
Q: The fact that he’s won over the veterans…is that in his favor?
EDWARDS: “That’s in his favor. He’s earned it. This guy has earned it. That’s what is great about the guy. He doesn’t have a lot of experience. He came in third on the depth chart and he sat and waited and got a chance. Then he had to sit again for a while and now he’s the starting quarterback.
“And, we’ve played pretty consistent on offense since the Jets game. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s got about a 90 percent rating. That’s pretty good for a young quarterback.”
Q: It’ll come down to how much growth potential he has, right?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, and I think the offense helps him. It fits his style and that’s what you want to do. You build your program around your players. You have a philosophy but at the end of the day you find out what your players can do well and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that on offense to help us move the ball, to do things a little bit different. Now, we haven’t scored enough the last couple of weeks when we’ve got in the Red Zone. That’s hurt us some but we’ve got a way now to move the ball and it’s fun to watch. I like it. We throw it some; we run it some. You can’t really dial in to what we’re going to do.”
Q: Why has Maurice Leggett’s play been so impressive this last month on defense and special teams?
EDWARDS: “I think he grew up some in the New Orleans game. Bad things happened to him and I visited with him and said, ‘now, we’ll find out how you recover. I’m still going to trust you and you’re still going to play. Now you’ve got to go do it.’ He’s been pretty good since then and good for him.”
Q: Can Brodie Croyle play this offense too?
EDWARDS: “No doubt. If we decide to do this there are probably more players in college that have played this type of offense. Everyone looks at quarterbacks different but now that can is opened up because that’s what they run in college.”
Q: Has this offense become more of a style in the NFL than it was?
EDWARDS: “I can see it happening because when you talk about quarterbacks coming out every year most of them play in this style of offense now. Every team has a version of it. It’s like anything else. When we started it, it was in our two-minute package. Then we expanded it to six plays and so on.”
Q: What is the spread offense and what elements have you tried to incorporate?
EDWARDS: “The only one we really have is one back. Generally you don’t have a back behind you but now we’ve done that. Every week it seems like we do a little something different. We’re looking too. As we’re building a team we’re trying to build this offense, too, so every week it’s another wrinkle. As you go along, you’re just connecting the dots.”
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