Why Chiefs’ special teams will be behind in the opener... through no fault of their own
At some point in the Chiefs’ Sept. 10 season opener against Houston, the absence of preseason games will have an effect. Maybe it’ll be in a small detail only noticeable to the players and coaches. Maybe it’ll be a mistimed route here or there.
Or maybe it’ll happen on the first play.
The opening kickoff, to be more precise.
Because for all of the adjustments required to account for zero live preseason games, the absorption is most difficult for special teams. In a typical year, it’s the only time they tackle. Only time they truly block. Only time they run some plays at full speed.
“You see what’s going on in practice, and you see good things. But when it’s live bullets, you’re just not going to know until we get in there and play,” Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said.
While the Chiefs offense and defense will look remarkably similar, at least in personnel, the special teams units embrace annual change. They’re comprised from a collection of younger players, often those who see fewer snaps on offense and defense. The rookies must contribute, in some cases to earn a spot on the roster.
The Chiefs have already labeled second-rounder Willie Gay a four-phase special teams player, for example, until his role on defense grows to every down.
In other words, the special teams groups have less experience on which to fall back.
“I know there’s going to be a period of learning that’s gonna go on in the first two games with these young players because you can’t match the speed that you’re going to get,” Toub said. “All you can do is talk about it every day. We talk about it every day, and we can watch tape, and we watch regular season tape so they can see how fast it is. But it’s hard to mimic that in practice. A lot of these guys are going to have to learn on the run.”
This all plays into the 53-man roster. Toub acknowledged that it’s more difficult for a newcomer to stand out in practice than it might be in preseason tape. The Chiefs will feel more comfort with the known commodities.
And they do have some. In the battle for fifth or potentially a sixth wide receiver spots, special teams can become a big factor in close determinations. They know Byron Pringle spent the majority of last season as a gunner on special teams. They’ve seen Marcus Kemp do it. Same with Gehrig Dieter.
In fact, when asked what kinds of special teams contributions the Chiefs will be seeking from their wide receivers, Toub said, “What we’re looking for is guys like Pringle. Guys like Kemp. Guys like Dieter. We are so fortunate. Our wide receiver crew is really, really, really good on special teams. We’re all the way down the line from Demarcus (Robinson) on down. It’s a solid group. I love Mecole (Hardman). I love all those guys. The only guy we don’t use is (Sammy Watkins). Besides that, everybody has a role on special teams, and every one of them brings something to the table.”
The Chiefs coaches meet nightly, evaluating every player at practice. They grade them all. It’s always mattered, to be sure. But it’s never felt quite this important.
“I think we’re in a good position right now. We’re getting a lot of practice in; we’re getting plenty of time to work on things,” Toub said. “We just hope that if they do make a mistake, it’s not a huge one. But everyone will make a mistake. We just move on and don’t make the same mistake twice. That’s what we try to do on special teams.”