Camp quote sheet: Chris Jones, Daniel Sorensen on defense’s progress, Chiefs fans
Defensive lineman Chris Jones and safety Daniel Sorensen met with the media Monday following training camp.
The duo talked about the defense’s progress, facing the Houston Texans in next month’s season opener, fans in the stands and more.
Here are excerpts of what was said, per a release from the team. The questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones
Question: Now that you guys have been practicing for a few weeks, what have you seen from the defense and what has shown you it could be even better than last year?
Jones: “Day in and day out, competing with one of the best offenses in the league. When we’re able to go out on that field and compete with those guys, the sky is the limit for us. With all of the weapons that they have and the dynamic offense that they’re able to score at any time in the game. Competing with those guys (is) elevating us as a defense.”
Question: You tweeted out that you liked the fact that the Chiefs were bringing in fans. Do you feel like you guys have an advantage with some other teams not having fans in the stands?
Jones: “Yeah, of course we do. Kansas City, we have some of the best fans in the world. It was nice to see them out there the other day. We were able to go on the field and have them out there and have the attendance. We look forward to having them during the season and that’s a huge part of Kansas City, it’s a huge part of who we are and I’m thankful that we can have them.”
Question: You haven’t been afraid this year to say that, OK the goal is to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. I’m just curious in your own words why you feel that you’re capable of being the top defensive player in the league?
Jones: “That’s something that I’ve always done throughout my career is set my standards high, as a player and try to incorporate it with my team. If I’m the best defensive player in the league, then I’m obviously doing well for my team and helping my team be one of the best defenses in the league. That’s my main goal throughout year in and year out, to exert myself to be the best. That’s just one of my goals right now, to be the best that I can be and be the best defensive player in this league.”
Safety Daniel Sorensen
Question: Dating back to last year’s playoffs, one of the biggest plays was when you sniffed out the fake punt. Now that months have passed, what did that moment mean to you? How do you take that and maybe teach some of the younger guys moving forward?
Sorensen: “It was a good play; it was a great play. There were a lot of good plays to look back on. I’m looking forward, I’m not looking back. Last year was last year. We had a good time. We did great things, but we’re moving on. Something to teach the younger guys is that every play matters. That’s what you need to be prepping for in the NFL. At any time, you can make a big play for your team.”
Question: (Defense coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) mentioned earlier today how you guys in the back move around, in particular, the safeties. How comfortable is that this year versus last year? Are secondly because you guys are facing the Texans again, are there certain things you can see on film from last year’s games that you guys can implement or perform better this time around?
Sorensen: “Yeah, so we do move around a lot and that speaks to the ability of the players that we have, especially in the secondary, being able to play multiple positions. That gives us a huge advantage because we can confuse offenses and also put players in favorable positions. Then, yeah, we have game film from two games to look back on and make improvements. That’s a huge advantage, probably for both sides for coordinators going into it. It’s going to be a great challenge. I love the fact that we get to start off with the Houston Texans.”
Question: How are you guys, as a defense, going to keep up the intensity and how important is it?
Sorensen: “If you’ve ever seen the Badger (Tyrann Mathieu) out at practice, that dude is as intense as it gets. We just follow his lead. Every day there is something that sets him off and he’s fired up about something. That gets the rest of us going. It’s fun to have guys like that who care about practice, can come in every day and compete, get the juices going and get the guys going. Without fail, he brings it every day. We follow some great leadership on this team and that’s what is going to keep us going.”
Question: Where would you say you (the defense) are now after adding new people? Do you just pick off where you were last season and expect this defense to be firing on all cylinders?
Sorensen: “Yeah, absolutely. I’ve had that same feeling that we just picked up exactly where we left off after the Super Bowl. We were hitting on all cylinders and playing good defense. I would argue to say that with the time that we’ve had, this ramped-up period plus training camp, we’re really dialed in on defense. The coaches know the personnel and we know the scheme and that’ll be good for us.”
