Andy Reid describes his approach to seeing the Chiefs schedule
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid recently broke down his approach to seeing the NFL schedule for the first time.
We all likely had our own unique way of viewing the Kansas City Chiefs schedule when it was unveiled last week for the 2020 regular season. The opponents were already known in advance, of course, but there’s something about seeing the ins-and-outs of how it all comes together to create an overall journey for a season.
For the Chiefs, this is not just another year’s schedule. This is their chance to “run it back,” a quest to defend the first crown earned in a half century. Each week will feature another team full of players giving it their all to rise up and “upset” the Super Bowl champions from a season prior.
In 2020, the Chiefs will face an improved round of rivals via free agency and the draft. They also face both sides of the divorce between Tom Brady (now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and the New England Patriots. Last year’s top seed in the AFC will be waiting in Week 3 when the Chiefs travel to face the Baltimore Ravens. There are also must-watch games against the Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, and Buffalo Bills among others.
Watching the schedule announcement is exciting because it reveals the toughest runs and the easiest stretches. It shares when the team will be tested most and when they can recuperate. When revealed, we all look at the schedule differently, breaking it down in different ways. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is no different. He recently spoke with Chiefs staff reporter Matt McMullen about his approach.
"“I think we all get excited, and it might not be necessarily the way the schedule is set up as much as it is just to find out when you’re playing these teams. We kinda know who we’re playing, we just don’t know when.“You go to that primetime, what games you get there—your Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night and when you’re playing and who are you playing in those times, obviously.“Then you go through and break it up in quarters. All right, first quarter who do you have and second… so you’ve got the four quarters, those 16 games, and seeing exactly what you’ve got. And even the preseason, you still have to look at that, too.”"
The quarters approach should be familiar to fans already since one other recent coach emphasized the approach as well. Todd Haley commonly quoted the quarters perspective and would often state the team’s record in a particular quarter.
However Reid wants to break down a schedule, it clearly works in his preparation. The Chiefs have a 77-35 record since his arrival in 2013. The Chiefs open the 2020 season hosting the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football on September 10.