Andy Reid says team’s equipment manager had Chiefs ready for slippery Super Bowl field
By at least one ranking, the Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Eagles is considered one of the top 10 best Super Bowls of all-time.
One downside: The field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, was a big problem as players were left slip slidin’ away during Super Bowl LVII.
During an interview Tuesday with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and Chris Simms, coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs special-teams players were initially encouraged by the conditions.
“You know what? Our kickers went out there the day before and had an opportunity to kick there,” Reid said.”I guess it was Friday they went out. And so the field. they said it was great. ... They opened the roof and and so moisture can get in there and make it (slippery).
“It is a beautiful field. So I don’t know exactly what happened.”
Eagles players expressed their frustration with the conditions after the game.
“This is the worst field I’ve ever played on,” edge rusher Haason Reddick told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Chiefs were ready for trouble. Having played their season opener against the Cardinals in the stadium and dealt with poor field conditions, the Chiefs came prepared for problems in the Super Bowl.
Reid said in the interview that equipment director Allen Wright made a change to the players’ cleats during the game, and that helped the team deal with the turf.
“I thought our equipment guy, Allen Wright, did a great job with the studs in the shoes,” Reid said. “So he made a little conversion change there and we had enough shoes to do it.
“He had all the stuff ready to go and we had played there that first game. ... So we went in prepared for that type of thing.”
Because Simms cursed during the interview, I won’t embed the video, but here is the link.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 9:18 AM.
