Arrowhead Pride
On Friday, Kansas City’s offensive coordinator discussed new looks for the postseason, the Philadelphia secondary, and Joe Thuney’s transition to tackle.
The Kansas City Chiefs will need a stellar offensive performance to win Super Bowl LIX and complete the NFL’s first three-peat attempt.
While not every possession was successful against the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s AFC Championship victory, the team’s scoring drives did feature some of the crispest looks seen from the offense all season.
On Friday, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy discussed changing the playbook during the postseason, reiterating the importance of offseason organized team activities (OTAs) for testing new formations.
“For the most part,” Nagy explained, “our guys do a great job of understanding conceptually some of the formations that we might test out in OTAs. Then, we might not ever get back to it until that formation might be new during that week, but they’ve heard it at some point.”
Having the entire playbook on the table can be challenging for players who joined the team during the season, such as veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was acquired via trade on October 23.
“Now, if you’re new,” remarked Nagy, “and you weren’t here in training camp or OTAs — like a D=Hop or somebody — it might be a little bit new to them, but the guys react pretty well to it. I think they’re used to it with coach Reid.
“He likes these different formations, and our guys do a good job with it. We’ve just got to make sure those are the hot spots that we make sure we’re practicing all week long — and that we understand why we’re doing it.”
Ultimately, play calling at this point in the season is about augmenting the squad’s existing strengths.
“You want to be able to do things that you do well,” said Nagy, “and then window dress it and get through it certain ways. I think that’s a little bit of the cat and mouse game that coordinators, both sides, offense [and] defense [play]. Same with defenses — they’re going to show a blitz, and it’s going to be the same spots from different people.
“So, I think there’s a little bit to that, and then there’s some new stuff too that’s always unscouted, but you want to be able to do what you do well.”
While he and the Chiefs staff plan the most unpredictable looks for the team’s offense, Nagy knows that Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will be doing the same for his squad, particularly the defensive backs.
Fangio was the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator when Nagy took over as head coach in 2018. He remained on staff during his first season with the team and then took over as the Denver Broncos head coach in 2019.
“They’re really good,” Nagy observed of the Eagle secondary. “They’re aggressive. They don’t do a whole lot. There’s not a lot that they do, but they’re all about the disguise. They want to be able...
