Kadarius Toney making strong first impression | KCSN Daily 11.3
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The newest member of the Chiefs’ offense has made a strong first impression on his new teammates and the coaching staff. Kadarius Toney has only been in the building for a few days, but he’s come to Kansas City with a positive outlook and an open mind. His teammates and coaching staff both seem to appreciate that outlook.
“Yeah, first off, he’s super excited. You can tell how much he’s ready to get out there and play,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said on Wednesday. “Physically, everybody sees how much physical gifts he has – he’s fast, he’s bigger than I thought. He’s done a good job of whenever he catches the ball and being able to make people miss in space. We’re just excited to get him into this culture, into this team and see what he can do in this offense.”
Toney recorded his first practice with the team on Wednesday. Eric Bieniemy came away impressed with what he saw in that first practice session, praising Toney for his smarts, but also noting he’s got some work to do as far as timing and chemistry are concerned.
“I thought the kid did a good job, obviously we’re not going to exhaust him,” Bieniemy said. “Kid’s a very good football player, but we just want to make sure that he can mix in with our guys because we have some good players that are doing a very good job. We want the chemistry to work. Obviously, we still got to get some timing up with Pat. But as far as a football player, the kid’s a heck of a player, the kid’s a very, very smart kid and we just want him to fit in our culture and basically understand what we do and then put him in position to have an opportunity to be his best.”
Chiefs WR coach Joe Bleymaier explained that once they’ve established a strong foundation for Toney in the classroom it’s just about stacking good days of practice. The rest of it will come with time and more repetitions on offense.
“He’s been great for the two or three days that he’s been here so far,” Bleymaier said. “He’s picking everything up, super good memory retention. We had heard he was smart and he’s demonstrating that classroom side of it. It’s been very impressive. (He’s) very intelligent. Now it’s just a matter of translating that on the practice field. So far, yesterday was good. Today will be another day, and we’ll just keep stacking them.”
The Breakdown: The best Chiefs plays of the season so far!
KCSN’s Matt Hamilton and former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel break down some key moments from the Kansas City Chiefs' season so far. To round out the show, the Matts talk about their matchup with the Tennessee Titans after the bye week.
Wednesday Injury Report:
Chiefs:
DNP: TE Jody Fortson (Quad/Illness).
LP: None.
FP: DE Mike Danna (Calf), WR Mecole Hardman (Heel), CB Trent McDuffie (Hamstring), RB Jerick McKinnon (Shoulder), DT Derrick Nnadi (Achilles), LB Willie Gay Jr. (Hamstring) and OT Prince Tega Wanogho (Rib).
Titans:
DNP: FB Tory Carter (Neck), S Amani Hooker (Shoulder), DT Naquan Jones (Illness), DT Jeffrey Simmons (Ankle), RB Derrick Henry (NIR) and QB Ryan Tannehill (Ankle).
LP: DL Kevin Strong (Ankle), OG Nate Davis (NIR) and NT Teair Tart (Hamstring).
FP: OLB Rashad Weaver (Back), OL Aaron Brewer (Toe) and DL Sam Okuayinonu (Ankle).
Key:
DNP (Did Not Participate), LP (Limited Participant), FP (Full Participant), NIR (Not Injury Related).
Notes:
The Chiefs are not required to list the practice status of OT Lucas Niang until he’s been activated to the 53-man roster.
Transactions:
11/3 - Practice squad contract terminated - WR Dazz Newsome (Read more here)
11/3 - Signed to practice squad - DB Ugo Amadi (Read more here)
KCSN Update:
KCSN’s BJ Kissel sits down with Tennesee Titans beat reporter from ESPN Turron Davenport to talk about the Titans and how they match up with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Quotable:
“Yeah well listen, he’s been on a roll – I mean, the whole team has. They lose the first two games and then they go five straight (winning). So, they’re geared up and heading – it looked to me that they got back to their Tennessee formula in the last couple of weeks which is play great defense, run the football, control the clock a little bit, win on third down and all of it, kind of, is generated by the guy you’re talking about, ‘King Henry’ they call him. Right? He’s the king of the run game and a big challenge for us because he’s a big (running) back. You can’t simulate that in practice, right? So, you just got to hope that your foundation of what you’ve done up to this point allows you to tackle him. (We) got to find a way to get him on the ground. Look, it’s – everybody does the exact same thing, it’s not a secret. Try to get more hats there. Commit eight or nine or whatever it is, take some chances in the run game and hope it doesn’t hurt you deep, but it’s focus number one.” - Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on the Titans and RB Derrick Henry
“Well, obviously you’re going to scrutinize what went on during the game – the good, the bad and what we expected, didn’t expect and do that as your offseason study. It was kind of like with the Bills. It’s a new year, a new team. They won last year, so again, as a competitor that always fits in, but it can’t drive you. We have a whole new team, and the dynamics are different, so you can’t talk in there (like) ‘Hey, this is what they did last year’ where half the guys weren’t here. That can’t be their driving factor. The guys that were – obviously Patrick (Mahomes) goes with it and Travis has some thoughts on that one - but you kind of have to use the good, evaluate the bad and have a positive – hopefully a positive performance going forward.” - Chiefs TE coach Tom Melvin on last year’s loss against the Titans
Quick hits:
From KCSN: Our new collection with Charlie Hustle Co. is available for purchase now!
From practice: Another quick look at new Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney from KC Star beat writer Herbie Teope from the portion of practice open to the media.
From the OL room: Chiefs OL coach Andy Heck gave a brief update on RT Lucas Niang (Knee/PUP list) after his 21-day practice window was opened on Wednesday.
Important dates ahead:
Sunday, Nov. 6 at 7:20 p.m. CT - Week 9: Chiefs vs. Titans - GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, Missouri
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