Getty Mecole Hardman with Tyreek Hill & Demarcus Robinson.
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ith NFL teams only having three preseason games to utilize this season, the biggest question is how teams will handle distributing the reps in each game between the starters and the remainder of the roster. For Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, he’s handling the three games similarly to the first three preseason games of seasons in the past.
“I basically do it the same way we did our first three before,” Reid said during his Thursday press conference. “Then, they’ve got two weeks where we’re practicing, so we’ve got to get them some work in.”
So what does Reid’s strategy mean in terms of how often Kansas City’s starters will play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers?
“As far as this game goes, we’ll give the ones a quarter, twos a quarter, the second quarter, three the third quarter, fours the fourth quarter,” Reid explained.
There you have it. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense along with the first-team defense will play one quarter of football — the first quarter — against the 49ers, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
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Reid on Preseason Shakeup, Offensive Line
Reid was also asked about the importance of the preseason opener, especially for the players on the roster bubble who have one less game to play in during the preseason than in previous seasons.
“This game will be important for them, getting some work,” Reid said. “Next game it will decrease as it goes, but it’s important that they get in and show. And practice will be important. Remember, we make cuts Tuesday after every game.”
One of the units to keep an eye on Saturday evening is the offensive line, as there will be five new starters on that unit compared to last season. Reid told the media what he will be looking for from the offensive line against the 49ers.
“That continuity, communication, working together through different works, functioning,” Reid explained.
Mahomes, Mathieu on Preseason Opener
Mahomes explained what he feels he needs to do in the preseason opener in order to feel that he got what he needed to out of the training camp practices leading up to the game.
“I think just going out there and executing, in and out of the huddle, making the right calls, getting the ball out of my hands, making some plays happen,” said Mahomes after training camp practice on Thursday. “You always like to score, but at the end of the day I think if the communication, the procedures in and out of the huddle with so many new guys especially on that offensive line, I think that would be a win for me just throughout this first game.”
Safety Tyrann Mathieu named the things that he would like to see out of the Chiefs first-team defense against San Francisco.
“Anytime a defense takes the field, you want the other team out of the end zone,” Mathieu explained to reporters on Thursday. “I think that’s most important. Obviously, you want to see the young guys kind of step up, make plays. I think the most important thing you want is to be able to communicate. You want to have some communication. Obviously, you don’t want to have any mental errors, so I’d probably say those are the things that I look for as a player when I take the field is how well can I communicate, how can I not have mental errors, and then it’s all about playing fast.”