'Why would we lose our edge?' – Steve Spagnuolo discusses Chiefs' defensive mentality during extended time off
Good coaching has been just as vital to the Kansas City Chiefs' recent success as the talent on the field. The Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC with their Christmas Day victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, allowing several starters to get some much-needed rest. The next meaningful game Kansas City will play […]
Good coaching has been just as vital to the Kansas City Chiefs' recent success as the talent on the field.
The Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC with their Christmas Day victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, allowing several starters to get some much-needed rest. The next meaningful game Kansas City will play is going to be in the divisional round of the playoffs, which is still a little over two weeks away.
Having the opportunity to get that long of a break this late in the season to refresh and recuperate is a huge positive. However, the one challenging aspect of it staying sharp, both mentally and physically. If players take it too easy during their time off, they could lose the momentum they've built up throughout the season and have to knock off some rust once they hit the field again.
When asked how to prevent that from happening, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had the perfect message to his defense.
“The first PowerPoint that I put up on Tuesday was, ‘Do Not Lose Your Edge,’ Spagnuolo said. "We’ve went two-and-a-half months of offseason work. We went, whatever it’s been, five-and-a-half months since July of all this work to get to this point. Why would we backoff, why would we lose our edge? I’m talking about it in preparation and how the guys practice, what they might do with their bodies physically, rest, all those things. That was an emphasis at the beginning. We’ve also challenged our guys – look, depending on where this all goes and we have this Week 18 to figure out who the playoff team – there’s a chance we play this team (Denver Broncos) again, so if I’m sitting there listening to all the information about Denver’s offense, I want to accumulate that for – you know, to be ready for this – not only this game but in the chance that we end up playing them again.”
Spagnuolo also gave credit to some of his veteran players for holding their teammates accountable.
"I see them challenging each other to maintain their edge," Spagnuolo said. "You know, the greatest thing about these guys, they've been around each other long enough that they can get on each other when they make a mistake or miss something. So we're out there on a walk through, and I'll hear one guy saying to the other guy, 'hey, didn't you hear him say that in the meeting?' So that's a good thing to me, that's maintaining the edge."
The Chiefs have rested their starters in the regular season finale many times over the years and have never displayed any rust or sluggishness during the postseason. If anything, it's when they play at their very best. A lot of that can be attributed to good, veteran coaching from all-time greats such as Spagnuolo and Andy Reid – who do a masterful job keeping players sharp and motivated during meetings and practices.
Latest comments from Chiefs HC Andy Reid suggest at least two starters will play in Week 18 vs. Broncos
Expect at least two Kansas City Chiefs starters to see some action in Week 18 against the Denver Broncos.
