“Just go out there, have fun, understand your responsibilities but just let it loose. “Like I tell them all, it’s the same game they’ve been playing since most of them were 5 years old,” Mathieu said. Mathieu says he tells his younger teammates striving to win jobs to simply play hard as they can while setting aside the pressure. We don’t do anything live out here in practice, so we find out if guys can cover, if they can block, they can tackle out here during preseason games.” This year with the preseason games, that’s the only time that we really get to evaluate guys on teams. “We had to release guys last year that we never really knew if they could play or not,” Toub said.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub is grateful preseason games returned this year to help evaluate young talent, especially with the first roster reduction from 90 players to 85 on Tuesday. With only three preseason games this season, that also means fewer snaps for players on the roster bubble. Obviously, you don’t want any mental errors.” “I think the most important thing you want to be able to communicate.
“Obviously you want to see the young guys kind of step up, make plays,” Mathieu said. Veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu expects his first-string defensive teammates to play fast and smart. Not snap to whistle as much – I mean, coaches will take care of that – but I’m looking for operation and how guys function.” To me, I’m going to be really looking for that, and I’m going to be looking for the operation between whistle and snap. “You go out to these first games and everybody is doing what I call block tackling, which I don’t like,” Spagnuolo said. The philosophy on the defensive side of the ball for the first game is similar for coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. We try to find that right spot so that we go into the season we’re ready to roll.” We communicate, you see us communicating on the sideline. “You’re going up against usually the defense’s best pass rusher, and for him, he’s trying different stuff, seeing how I’ll like it. “A lot of times you’re on an island out there (at left tackle),” Mahomes said. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy he has been pleased with the communication he’s seen. Free-agent acquisition Joe Thuney at left guard headlines the rest of the group rounded out by three rookies: center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and right tackle Lucas Niang. The Chiefs expect to start five new faces on the line protecting Mahomes against the 49ers, starting with left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who arrived during the offseason via a trade with Baltimore. “You always like a score, but at the end of the day, I think if the communication, the procedures of in and out of the huddle with so many new guys, especially on that offensive line, I think that would be a win for me just throughout this first game,” Mahomes said. For quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the results in this first preseason outing matter less than the process. With only a few practices remaining before breaking training camp, the Kansas City Chiefs take a business trip on Saturday to visit the San Francisco 49ers.