Bob Sutton has been around football long enough to realize that every year brings turnover
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It didn’t stop him from marveling at how different the Kansas City Chiefs look this year.
The Chiefs’ defensive coordinator focused only on his side of the ball, and counted nearly two dozen new names among guys who could be fighting for a legitimate job.
That includes five of their six selections in the draft and Kendall Fuller, the cornerback they got in the trade of Alex Smith to Washington.
”We have a lot of new dudes,” Sutton said. ”They’re all different. They’re from young rookies to guys that came here as free agents. It really is a good group of guys. And it really is early in the process, but they seemed to have meshed really good.”
It’s not just new faces under helmets, either.
The Chiefs shook up coach Andy Reid’s staff after their debacle of a playoff loss to Tennessee and following the departure of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy to Chicago.
Eric Bieniemy was promoted to that job from running backs coach with Mike Kafka taking over the quarterback coaching, while on defense, the Chiefs replaced linebackers coach Gary Gibbs with Mark DeLeone and Mike Smith.
All those changes came on the heels of a couple of offseasons with very little turnover, both on the roster and among the coaching staff.
And that makes their three-day mandatory minicamp that began Tuesday one of the most important for Reid and Co. since he took over prior to the 2013 season.
”Whoever is in the building, you teach. That’s how I look at it,” Chiefs secondary coach Al Harris said. ”At the end of the day, their performance falls on me. I take that approach.”
Well, there’s already been plenty of coaching after several weeks of voluntary workouts, and there is plenty more getting packed into the next couple of days at the Chiefs’ practice facility.
The goal is to set up the team for a productive training camp beginning in late July in St. Joseph, Missouri
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On defense, the Chiefs are trying to decide how best to fill the outside linebacker job now that Tamba Hali has been released. Justin Houston has one spot locked down, even though he’s been injury prone, while Dee Ford is expected to handle the other side despite a rough start to his career.
Then there’s Breeland Speaks, their top draft pick out of Ole Miss. He also fits in the mix.
On the inside, the Chiefs are seeking a replacement for longtime middle linebacker Derrick Johnson, who was released and then signed with AFC West rival Oakland. Reggie Ragland showed promise after arriving in a trade last season and Anthony Hitchen was signed as a free agent to stand next to him.
Justin Hamilton was signed to fill the middle of the defensive line, while the defensive backfield is a complete work in progress. Star safety Eric Berry is coming back from a season-ending injury, while top cornerback Marcus Peters was traded away as the Chiefs sought to establish a better locker room atmosphere and veterans Darrelle Revis and Terrance Mitchell are gone on the other side.
Fuller joins free-agent signing David Amerson and holdover Steven Nelson in competing for those jobs.
”They are all very attentive, working hard at it,” Sutton said. ”This is hard on anybody, but it is really hard on defensive players in this time frame. You can’t do a lot of things you want to do, but the guys have really embraced it and gotten as much out of it as we possibly can.”
On offense, the biggest question is how well Patrick Mahomes II will fare now that he’s not only the starting quarterback but possibly the face of the franchise. Mahomes spent last season learning the ropes under Smith, but he’s the clear-cut starter for a team that has playoff aspirations.
So far
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”He’s put in a ton of hours. He’s going behind the scenes, working with guys individually. I’m really proud of where he’s at right now,” Kafka said.
The question is will he be where the Chiefs need him when the season rolls around?
Will the rest of the new faces be ready, too?
”Everything that we do now, we’re not going to take into the first game. It’s something that you can pull out and learn from, all the different schemes, fundamentals,” Reid said. ”We’re getting better every day and that’s the idea. We have a lot of new faces and we welcome new faces, and they’re learning.”
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Perhaps there will come a time when Carson Wentz wants to talk about having to watch the Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl.
For the man expected to be the next franchise quarterback for the Eagles, it wasn’t going to be the moments after Nick Foles led a 41-33 win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
Wentz said he just wanted to celebrate with the Super Bowl MVP and the rest of his teammates, which he did. He shared quiet conversation in the locker room with owner Jeffrey Lurie before tight end Brent Celek grabbed him by the shoulders and said, ”Brothers for life.”
A few minutes later, Wentz, Foles and Nate Sudfeld, the backup since Wentz’s season-ending knee injury in Week 14
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Wentz didn’t flat-out say no when asked if he wanted to talk, and got a little testy when a reporter tried to find out what ”soon” meant. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft smiled a lot, too, as he wandered the locker room.
”You just know it’s tough when you talk to him sometimes,” receiver Torrey Smith said. ”It would be tough for me. He would have been the MVP of the league if he didn’t get hurt. You know that’s tough.”
Wentz, who walked gingerly and didn’t step into throws while making tosses alongside Foles during warmups, tore two ligaments in his left knee in a win over the Los Angeles Rams in December.
Foles and the Philadelphia offense were up and down through three regular-season games and the playoff opener, a 15-10 win over Atlanta.
But in his final two postseason games, Foles threw for 725 yards and six touchdowns, three in each game. He even caught a scoring pass in the Super Bowl.
After the Eagles fell behind for the first time in the fourth quarter against the Patriots, Foles guided 14-play, 75-yard drive to what ended up being the winning score – an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz.
When Brady’s desperation pass hit the ground in the end zone on the final play, Wentz stormed the field alongside everyone else. And that sideline had some other key players in street clothes – two-time All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters and speedy running back Darren Sproles.
Oh, and Wentz held the Lombardi Trophy over his head during the celebration.
”When he went down
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Coach Doug Pederson lauded Wentz for staying engaged with his teammates after the injury. He was leading the NFL with 33 touchdown passes when he got hurt and finished just one behind league leader Russell Wilson of Seattle.
”He was in there in the mornings studying the tape with the quarterbacks like he always does,” Pederson said. ”And then he’d come to practice and just watch. Any advice that he had for Nick he would give it. If he felt like it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t give it. Just a great resource for Nick.”
Wentz says he plans to be ready for the regular season in September. If not, Foles is under contract for another season, and the Eagles could get offers from teams looking for a starter after what the sixth-year pro did in the playoffs.
”I’m not going to say it’s bittersweet,” Smith said. ”But you know as a competitor you want to be on the field. I know he’s genuinely happy for Foles and this team. And I know more so than anything this is motivation for him to come back stronger than ever and to help lead this team back to this position.”
From time to time during the offseason, the Eagles will also get the question some just can’t resist asking after a backup becomes a Super Bowl MVP. Who’s the starter?
”Man, here you go,” receiver Alshon Jeffery said. ”Shut you off, man. You know who is throwing the ball. Carson, of course.”
As far as talking, though, Wentz deferred to Foles on this night.
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