Chiefs’ Justin Reid shares insight on why Steve Spagnuolo’s defense is so complicated
When safety Justin Reid was pondering which team to sign with during the offseason, he received a call from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
That recruiting call helped sway Reid, who signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Chiefs in March.
Reid on Wednesday talked about his reasons for joining the Chiefs while on “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network.
“I actually got a call from Pat when I was going through my free agency,” Reid said. “He called me and was like, ‘Man, we would just love to have you. Everyone here has a good feeling about you.’ The fit felt right.
“There’s a winning atmosphere that’s there — and, of course, the money made sense, too. So when you combine all those things together, it was just a very good fit.”
Reid talked about playing for defensive coordinator Steve Spagunolo, and why one-dimensional thinking won’t work.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces,” he said. “You can’t just be a one-trick pony in that defense, you gotta be able to play in multiple positions. What’s been very fun and stimulating to me is being able to move around there, be a resource for my teammates.”
When asked specifically what makes Spagnuolo’s defense complicated, Reid offered a nuanced look at how the unit works.
Among the insights: the defense can adapt to what it’s seeing from the offense before the snap.
“Pressures are going to be coming from all angles,” he said. “Coverages twist left, they twist right. Sometimes line(backers) are dropping deep, then safeties are coming down low.
“And there’s a bunch of double calls in the defense, too, where a call will change based on the offense’s formation. When we switch from one formation to a different formation, it might automatically check into or out of a pressure to keep quarterbacks on their toes. Thinking they have a coverage split right, they’re going to make an audible (and) adjust the formation to get into the right check. Now that adjustment checks us into the right call — and now we’re attacking it from a different angle.”
The new guys
Reid had high praise when asked about defensive end George Karlaftis and cornerback Trent McDuffie, who were both selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in the spring.
“The first thing is that they came in with the right mentality,” Reid said. “They came in with their eyes wide open, ears wide listening, they take in advice from the older guys, the vets, the coaching. This is no easy defense to just jump into. There are a lot of pieces that go into and mentally it’s very heavy. But George Karlaftis, Trent McDuffie and all the other guys who have come in, have really had the right attitude.
“They’re getting coached up very well. They all have a very high motor and (are) excited to be here.”
Reid also talked a bit about his teammates on the other side of the ball. The Chiefs offense has been a hot topic this offseason because wide receiver Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
That deal, Reid believes, won’t affect the offense.
“The Chiefs offense is going to do what we always do,” Reid said. “We’re going to come out, we’re going to put up 100 points. We have the greatest football quarterback in the game,“ Reid said.
“The top three, in no particular order — although I’m sure you guys can guess who’s my No. 1 — (are) Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. And when you have a quarterback and you have an offensive system, coordinator that is able to just mix things up all the time, you’re always going to put up points.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 11:27 AM.
