September 25, 1997

COACH MARTY SCHOTTENHEIMER DISCUSSES HIS IMPROVING CHIEFS

In a national media conference call on Thursday, September 25, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer answered questions on a variety of subjects:

How has new quarterback Elvis Grbac improved since the season-opener?

We have been able to move him along reasonably well because he does have a familiarity with this system. In our opinion, he has given us tremendous leadership. He’s very competitive. We still are struggling with the timing between he and Tony Gonzalez and Brett Perriman to some extent. But his familiarity with Ted Popson and his ability to interact with Andre Rison has enabled us to be reasonably efficient in the passing game.

What is the biggest reason for the turnaround since the season-opener?

We’re more confident and more familiar with what we are doing.

What concerns you most about Seattle this weekend?

They have a number of playmakers on both offense and defense. Among the receivers, Joey Galloway is a special player and Mike Pritchard is playing extremely well right now. Warren Moon continues to defy the odds and throw the ball very effectively. The defense has been helped by the addition of linebacker Chad Brown as well as Shawn Springs, Bennie Blades and Willie Williams in the secondary and Dan Saleamua on the line. They are a vastly improved football team from a year ago.

You have a lot of new players this year. Does this represent a new challenge?

Yes. I have really enjoyed it. We have a lot of young players here who are very anxious to learn. In a number of cases it’s their first opportunity. We are delighted with the way they have approached this. There has not been a single player intimidated by the workload or unwilling to spend the extra time necessary to get things done.

What is your philosophy on playing rookies and young players?

We have, in the past, have been willing to play certain rookies if they measure up to our standards. Derrick Thomas is certainly an example. As we approached this year, we had several – four picks on defense last year all starting for us – young players who we felt could step in and be winning performers.

How good can rookie tight end Tony Gonzalez be?

He certainly has every quality you are looking for. He has the competitive nature, the athletic skills to be a top receiver and interestingly enough, because of his flexibility and his body mechanics, I think he will be a very good blocker.

Another one of those young players, safety Reggie Tongue is a starter. How has he handled that responsibility?

He’s done a wonderful job this year. He has the one thing that accelerates the development of a young player – very good instincts. That is what enables a guy to go and make a play. It may not always be done the way you teach it, but the natural instinct will prevail.