Q&A with Chan Gailey - 5/27

[ChiefRon]

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/05...n_gailey__527/

Q: After a week of OTAs, your thoughts on getting this offense in and how these guys are taking to it?

GAILEY: “Well, we’re going slowly. We’re not trying to burden them mentally. We want them to get techniques down and fundamentals down, things like that. But like every practice, there’s some good and some bad. You don’t know until you get to ball games and that’s quite a ways away.”

Q: We keep hearing a lot about your offense, a new offense, what exactly can we expect from it?

GAILEY: “We want to be balanced. We want to be able to run the football consistently and throw the football. I’d like for teams to not know what we’re going to do next. That’s what balance creates. If you look at statistics, really first-half statistics are what tell you that. Because if you get behind in the game and you’re having to throw it to catch up and if you get ahead in the game, you’re having to run it to run the clock out. So, second-half statistics skew your overall balance. Really, I look at first-half and how we’ll handle first halves of games to see if we’re balanced or not.”

Q: There was a play today where RB Larry Johnson broke through a hole and ran 60 yards with some joy and some speed. When you see that does that tell you this guy is all the way back or where he needs to be?

GAILEY: “Well, I don’t know where he was. That’s the thing about me. I watched some tape on him but I’ve never been on the field with the guy. Since I’ve been here he’s worked hard and taken his reps. We’re trying to be smart about how we handle him. We’re not pushing too much, too fast. Those toes are dangerous things so you have to be smart about that. We’re going to go slow with it. But he’s been great so far.”

Q: Where would you put the importance of the offensive line and cohesiveness on your list?

GAILEY: “At the top. That is the one position on the field that you have to have communication and cohesiveness. If you try to move people in and out a lot in that position it gets very difficult. They have to be able to communicate and do things very quickly because those guys on the other side move fast.”

Q: Will you include anything from the playbook from what they did here last year?

GAILEY: “There’s only x number of football plays. We don’t have all new plays. We talk about them differently and we have different terminology. But we have a lot of the same plays. Now we block them a little different. There’s techniques, there’s fundamentals, there’s things like that. But there’s only a certain number of plays you have.”

Q: There’s a lot of opportunity here and a lot of room for improvement with this offense. How much of that excites you and really, is the sky the limit with what you can do here?

GAILEY: “Well, we’re excited about all the new players. We’re excited about where we can be. I told the players I don’t have any magic offense. I don’t have any dust that I sprinkle and all the sudden we become good. We have to work at it and it’s going to take a lot of practice days like today for us to get to where we need to be by the start of the season.”

Q: Veterans TE Tony Gonzalez and QB Damon Huard were trying to describe this offense or put a name to it. Can you talk about your offense?

GAILEY: “No, we don’t have a name for our offense. We’re trying to score one more point that than other guys each week. There is no name for it. We’re going to put our players in position to be successful. Our whole job is to let them be successful. We’ve got some talent on the field and we’ve got to make sure they touch the ball and that we block it correctly and are fundamentally sound. There’s no name for it, we’re just going to try to be as good as we can be.”

Q: Is it going to be pretty much what you’ve run earlier in your career?

GAILEY: “Yes, pretty much. I believe in running the football. I believe you have to be a physical football team to win. It’s a tough game for tough people. You have to be able to play physical. We want to throw the football effectively and use our weapons, whoever they may be.”

Q: Your impressions of QB Brodie Croyle so far?

GAILEY: “Brodie’s done a good job out here so far. No one’s getting hit yet and when it gets to be live it takes on a different stance, so to speak.”

Q: You guys didn’t draft a quarterback anywhere in the draft. Does Brodie look like someone to you who can run an NFL team and have a lot of success?

GAILEY: “There’s no question in my mind he can be that guy. There’s no question.”

Q: What about some of the older players, like Gonzalez, who have been in a different offense? Does it sometimes take them a little longer to learn?

GAILEY: “There’s two sides to that. One side is yes, they are used to doing things a certain way and hearing things a certain way. They have to change. They’ve been doing it a long time. The good thing is they’re pros. They’ve been involved in a lot of different offenses and schemes and they are smart enough to pick it up. That’s the advantage of having some older guys.”

Q: How do you recognize the receptiveness of how much they struggled on offense last year? Can you come in and show them how to do things more effectively?

GAILEY: “Like I said, there’s nothing magic about what we’ve got. We’re just trying to create good fundamentals, be tough, be physical and take advantage of the ability that we have. You’ll have to ask them about being receptive. We’re going to coach the way we think we need to coach in order to get to the playoffs and win some playoff games.”

Q: The staff had to make the decision to try T/G Branden Albert at left tackle initially and move T Damion McIntosh over to right. You were part of that decision. What’s the thinking? Is it throw the kid in and see what he can do immediately?

GAILEY: “Yes, you bet. He is a very talented young man. There is a great level of trust on our football staff for him to be able to play that position and to play it very well. I think the trust level is very high.”

Q: There must be some trust level too in asking Damion to switch from a position he’s played his entire career?

GAILEY: “There is. The good thing about that is he has played right guard a few snaps before. He’s made adjustments before. Branden’s always been a left-side player, for the most part, so we’d like to keep him on the left side if we could to make it easy for him.

Q: Are you still using the same left side techniques?

GAILEY: “A lot of the thought processes are similar.”

Q: Where does Larry stack up with other guys you’ve coached before at the running back position?

GAILEY: “I don’t know. Let me tell you a year from now. Statistically he stacks up very high with most of the guys that I’ve been fortunate to coach.”

Q: Does he remind you of RB Jerome Bettis when he was younger?

GAILEY: “No, he has his own unique style. He’s a bigger guy than I’ve ever had as far as height. He’s a slasher. I’m really anxious to see what he does best when we put him in position to use those abilities.”

Q: Do you temper the expectations knowing he’s coming off a foot injury and a lot of your offense is going to flow through him?

GAILEY: “No, I don’t think you temper expectations. I think you temper how quickly you move him back in to full speed, all-day, every day work.”

Q: What were your concerns with a guy coming off of a broken foot? Careers have ended on that. How concerned were you on how effective he’d be?

GAILEY: “You never know. You could lose somebody tomorrow on the practice field. So, if you make decisions on what might happen or what might not happen, you’re looking for great organizations when you make decisions.

Q: What is it about Brodie that has you sold?

GAILEY: “He has ability. He works at it and he’s smart. And good.”

[Micjones]

As long as he hangs 6's on the board and can adjust...
I'll be happy with Gailey.

[rtmike]

Like last year, there's never a mention of trying to win the Super Bowl, the drive to succeed. At least this year the coaches are hoping for a few playoff wins.

I realize we're most likely years away from hoping that but don't cha' gotta drill in these guys heads that a losing season is not acceptable. Anything short of a Super Bowl berth is unacceptable.

-keyboard coach

[redbrian]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Dude, no. You should be trying to score a touchdown every posession. If your defense makes 1 stop, you can't be defeated. There should be no posession in which it is OK not to score a touchdown. If you are running out the clock, you just run instead of pass for it.

The rest of the paragraph is OK, but that one more point BS screams Herm, and it is bullshit. If nothing else, it should be capitalize on every opportunity afforded us by the defense.

I know I'm overreacting to one statement, but I don't care. SCORE TOUCHDOWNS

take a deep breath, he does not mean literally he only wants to score 1 more point than the other team, its just a statement that you need to score 1 more point than the other side and you will win…..now that 1 point could in reality be 1 or more touchdown……..

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by redbrian

take a deep breath, he does not mean literally he only wants to score 1 more point than the other team, its just a statement that you need to score 1 more point than the other side and you will win…..now that 1 point could in reality be 1 or more touchdown……..

I know. And if you look at my quote, I said I know I'm overreacting. But for once I want a coach to say he wants to dominate someone's soul. Every coach wants to win. But in order to do so, you've got to want to dominate, not just win.

This team needs some hunger. It needs guys that want to go out and win with authority, and it can be inspired by coaches. I know exactly what he means by winning by a point. The W is all that matters, but I want a dominant team. And that should be the goal of each coordinator. Gunther should want to murder QBs and score touchdowns off turnovers. Gailey should want to execute perfectly and methodically or even explosively break defenses. It won't work out like that, but for once, I just want someone to say I want to be the best. I want to win by forfeit because the other team was too embarrassed to come out of the locker room at half. You can't have success unless you train to be the best.

There I go ranting again....my bad. It comes down to I know I'm overreacting, but I want a mean streak in my team that strives for football excellence.

[FAX]

I feel your pain, Mr. Buehler445. I understand what Chan's saying. I mean, it's pretty obvious that you only have to outscore your opponent by 1 point to win the game, and all.

To me, though, it's a silly thing to say and sends a weird message to your team. I would prefer that the coaches speak in terms of elevating expectations and building confidence in the guys rather than telling them that it's okay not to dominate the enemy, rub poot on their face, and make them cry.

FAX

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I know. And if you look at my quote, I said I know I'm overreacting. But for once I want a coach to say he wants to dominate someone's soul. Every coach wants to win. But in order to do so, you've got to want to dominate, not just win.

This team needs some hunger. It needs guys that want to go out and win with authority, and it can be inspired by coaches. I know exactly what he means by winning by a point. The W is all that matters, but I want a dominant team. And that should be the goal of each coordinator. Gunther should want to murder QBs and score touchdowns off turnovers. Gailey should want to execute perfectly and methodically or even explosively break defenses. It won't work out like that, but for once, I just want someone to say I want to be the best. I want to win by forfeit because the other team was too embarrassed to come out of the locker room at half. You can't have success unless you train to be the best.

There I go ranting again....my bad. It comes down to I know I'm overreacting, but I want a mean streak in my team that strives for football excellence.

Through all Gunthers faults, I still like him because he DOES want to do those things you speak of. Herm on the other hand, will have a hard time convincing me that he has a killer instinct. Every game that I remember Herm coaching was a slow nail biter, that he either, won, or lost in the final minutes. I have to put my faith in Gailey to bring that. He's got to be better than those loser OC that were in NY. What were their names? Hmmmmmm?

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Through all Gunthers faults, I still like him because he DOES want to do those things you speak of. Herm on the other hand, will have a hard time convincing me that he has a killer instinct. Every game that I remember Herm coaching was a slow nail biter, that he either, won, or lost in the final minutes. I have to put my faith in Gailey to bring that. He's got to be better than those loser OC that were in NY. What were their names? Hmmmmmm?

Hey we did smoke the Niners at Arrowhead under herm. outside of that i can't remember another team that we just buried.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Which was exactly Herm's point last week and he got blasted for it.

Baltimore and Atlanta KNEW we were running the ball, and they STILL couldn't stop it.

Yes. The ability to run at will with complete disregard for the pass happened two times (maybe a few more) over the course of 5 NFL seasons featuring one of the most prolific rushing attacks in NFL history.

Therefore it's all about execution and scheme, strategey and mis-matches mean nothing.

[Micjones]

Originally Posted by FAX

I feel your pain, Mr. Buehler445. I understand what Chan's saying. I mean, it's pretty obvious that you only have to outscore your opponent by 1 point to win the game, and all.

To me, though, it's a silly thing to say and sends a weird message to your team. I would prefer that the coaches speak in terms of elevating expectations and building confidence in the guys rather than telling them that it's okay not to dominate the enemy, rub poot on their face, and make them cry.

FAX

That's what worries me about Herman Edwards.
He just doesn't seem to be striving for excellence.
That instills the wrong message in these young guys.

[RustShack]

To score one more point would mean we have to score a TD while the other team gets two FG's... so we are going for TD's. Also no one had problems with Dick and Al scoring one more point... thats how it went because our defense couldn't stop anyone. I think this whole thing is getting blown out of proportion. He is saying they want to run, score, play great defense, and win. Hes not saying jack around until the end and giving the other team a chance to win.

[BigRock]

People are really misunderstanding Gailey's comments here. What he's saying is that he literally wants to win games by one point. And that's the way he's going to call the offense, with that goal in mind.

For example:

- If the Chiefs are up 3, they have the ball, and the clock is about to run down in the 4th quarter, Gailey's going to tell Brodie to receive the snap and then run backwards until he takes a safety.

- If the Chiefs are down by 5 at any point in the game, Gailey will forgo the extra point after a TD. If that happens in the 1st quarter, for the rest of the game he'll have Brodie kneel on 4th and 1 at the goalline rather than score and break up the 1 point lead. Unless the other team scores, in which case they'll do whatever necessary to get back up by 1.

- If the Chiefs are losing by 1 point late in the game, and they have the ball 4th and inches on the goalline, Chan will tell Brodie to fumble the snap and let the defense recover it. Then the other team will have the ball backed up on their 1 yard line, and Chan will cross his fingers that the Chiefs' defense can get a safety.

I think it's a really revolutionary style of calling an offense. I'm excited to see it.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by RustShack

To score one more point would mean we have to score a TD while the other team gets two FG's... so we are going for TD's.

Well, the Chiefs could score 5 field goals while holding the other team to two TD's.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by arc

Well, the Chiefs could score 5 field goals while holding the other team to two TD's.

Or score two FGs while holding the other team to one, and giving up a safety.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by milkman

Or score two FGs while holding the other team to one, and giving up a safety.

Or score one, while holding the other team to a safety.