Unhappy returns: Caught from behind, Chiefs’ speedy Smith learns lesson the hard way

Tremon Smith has a short list of things he needs to work on going forward.

In fact, there’s just one thing he wants to do in the immediate future: score.

After getting tackled three yards shy of the goal line at Gillette Stadium on what would’ve been a 100-yard kick return touchdown against the New England Patriots, it’s no wonder that’s the rookie returner’s goal.

The Chiefs scored three plays later, but that didn’t stop Smith from hearing about his shortcomings from all of his friends, family members and teammates.

“Oh yeah, it was real bad,” he said with a laugh. “They were like, ‘Come on, you can’t get tackled on the 3-yard-line.’ It won’t happen again.”

Smith prides himself on being pretty quick — he said he had “lion speed” during training camp — but Sunday night, that speed didn’t carry him all the way over the goal line.

He fielded the ball at KC’s goal line and zoomed up the right side of the field though holes opened up by his kickoff unit. Patriots free safety Devin McCourty gave chase, making his first attempt to tackle Smith around the 50-yard-line. But McCourty missed and ran out of bounds for a brief moment before crossing back into the field of play. Smith kept running and glanced over his left shoulder. When he didn’t see anyone, he thought he was in the clear.

But McCourty accelerated from the right side and caught Smith from behind about 40 yards after his initial attempt, tackling Smith just shy of his first career touchdown.

“I definitely said something to Tre,” said wide receiver Tyreek “Cheetah” Hill, who’s known for defending his own speed around the team. “Tre is definitely not the second-fastest person on this team, and he’s definitely not faster than me. So, Tre is, he’s a good athlete but he’s not as fast as I thought he was.”

Though Smith didn’t get in the end zone, it was still a pretty good return for a guy who found out he was taking over for starting kick returner De’Anthony Thomas just a couple days earlier.

“As you saw the day go on, he was building his confidence as he went,” special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Dave Toub said. “He had a little bit of a return. He had a chance to pop one and then got tripped up with an arm tackle. The next one was a little bit longer. The third one was the one that he busted. You could see his confidence build as he went.”

As the Chiefs’ primary option to return kicks, Smith needs as much confidence and experience as he can get. After being active for the first three games, Smith was inactive against Jacksonville and Denver. But when a freak accident fractured Thomas’ leg — the same leg that was broken in January — Smith was immediately pushed into action.

“It felt good just to be back out there, padded and suited up with my teammates,” Smith said. “I was itching to make a play in that game.”

Smith averaged 45 yards per return in his first regular-season action back there, accumulating 180 yards on four tries. Not bad for a player who primarily returned punts at Central Arkansas.

He was bolstered by a strong preseason working as a returner. In the second preseason game of the year, Smith ripped off a 37-yard punt return. In the third preseason game, he had three kick returns for 75 yards.

“It helped me a lot, just getting my feet wet in that preseason game to prime me for a moment like that just in case DAT (Thomas) did get hurt,” Smith said. “He did, which I’m praying for DAT still, speedy recovery. I was primed for that. I was just staying the course.”

Now, Smith has to learn the nuances of kick returning, including the tricks that might keep him from getting caught from behind again.

For one thing, Toub said, Smith can use the giant video boards to his advantage. Next time he’s in a situation, he can take a peek at the screen.

“Devin Hester used to do it,” Toub said. “When he’d break away, he would look up to see if someone was chasing behind. It’s a tool you can use, but I think the most important thing is once you’re getting close to the end zone, at all times, secure the football and run as fast as you can in a straight line and get in the end zone. Don’t do anything crazy, just get there as fast as you can.”

Brooke Pryor

Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 4:29 PM.