Mike McDaniel – January 8, 2024
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Monday, January 8, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(With the MRI result for LB Andrew Van Ginkel, do you have a sense if he’s going to miss the Kansas City game?) – “Yeah, I think he’s going to miss it. He’ll be out.”
(And then at the edge position, I know Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio will talk about some things but is playing LB Jerome Baker outside to supplement what you have DE Emmanuel Ogbah and LB Melvin Ingram, is that a consideration?) – “It would have been a consideration but Jerome will be out as well. He injured his wrist and had to have surgery. So both of those guys will be out.”
(LB Jerome Baker has had surgery already?) – “Yeah.”
(So no matter how deep you guys go, he’s done?) – “It appears to be as such.”
(And LB Andrew Van Ginkel, will that require surgery as well?) – “The timetable is kind of up in the air with regard to how they are going to treat it. But yeah, he won’t be back for this postseason.”
(With LB Cameron Goode, did you get unfortunate clarity about his injury?) – “Yeah. It happened on the punt return for a touchdown. He tore his patella.”
(Is there anyone else beyond those three that you lost last night that maybe we’re not aware of yet?) – “I don’t think so. The biggest issue is for those individuals. The team hurts for the individual players just because you invest in your teammate’s story, know where they’re at and the opportunity that they have. I think we’ve learned through the hard way that we have capable players across the board and the team doesn’t use that as an excuse whatsoever. But very heavy hearts for the individuals, for sure.”
(Just doing the math, it seems like there’s a pretty good likelihood that somebody who wasn’t in the building yesterday is going to play on Saturday. Is that a fair assessment?) – “That’s pretty good math. I think that’s where we’re at from a depth perspective. We’re working on that as we speak.”
(What’s that like to deal with? You’re preparing for a playoff game on a short week.) – “I don’t really attach any feeling towards it. At this time of the year, that’s why you stay prepared. That’s why Chris (Grier) and his department work the way they do. So we have conversations about people that we were bringing up today that we were sorting through last week just to stay adept at that. It’s a thing if you make it a thing. I think the main focus is transitioning from a game where guys really laid it on the line and fell short. We fell short of our goal going into the season to win the AFC East. But at the same time, does that matter? No. We’re one of the 14 teams that still have games. So you try to harness all of your emotion, focus and really thought towards coming together for that goal.”
(A couple of players have already mentioned that we’re in the tournament, we’ve got a shot, we’re where we need to be. Is that sort of your message to them, that despite the loss yesterday, we still have an opportunity?) – “Well, yeah. And here’s the thing about NFL playoffs is as much weight as all the things that happen during the season carry, there’s narratives galore that grow out of results. And in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter. It’s a reset. There’s no winners and losers bracket. You’re playing football and the winner gets to continue to play and the loser does not. I think you have to be bold to set goals that you go into knowing it’s not what has been done. You have to be willing to be vulnerable enough to fully commit yourself to something that you aspire to achieve. That’s a goal. That’s not the only goal. It’s so much like life. The bottom line is how do you take whatever hand that you have, and however it is dealt, you try to make the most of it. The team will be fired up to go embrace the challenge. There are many layers to why it’s a challenge. For us in-house, we all believe in each other and we want to go get a losing taste out of our mouth. That’s the only objective. That’s not to say it is easy. But nothing worthwhile is. So you have to transition. We don’t have any time to waste. And we have to put our best foot forward, being one of the 14 teams that gets to continue to play, and we’ll take pride in that and do everything we can so that we can be proud of what we put on the field.”
(You talked about this team wanting to be at a point where they are peaking and they are playing their best ball when it matters most, which is now. Obviously you don’t want to go into the playoffs with a two-game losing streak, but is there any past experience you can kind of lean on to guide a team entering the postseason on a losing streak and with all of these injuries?) – “The idea is that you really immerse yourself into the season and grow, so you have a chance to be your best when it is elimination time. There’s not an exact science. You prefer to go in on a winning streak obviously, but really any team that I’ve been on that has been successful through the playoffs has had what appeared to be a completely detrimental loss down the stretch of the season. But when that happens, I think you get to learn a lot about your team and people either come together or fracture apart, and I don’t see this team fracturing apart at all. I think there is a lot of confidence that they can garner from playing a lot of good football during the season. I don’t think the team is going to expect nor be really giving any concern about the fact whether or not people have so many reasons why we can’t. We’ll focus on why we can. I really believe in the individuals to be strong-minded enough to handle the hurt that has been delivered the last couple of weeks, and press forward to try to do something special together. Really, there’s more things that could distract you from what we need to do together as a team to win a football game on the road in a hostile environment, but I think there are so many more reasons for you to strain and try to achieve it because it will be that much more worthwhile as a team. That’s what we’re focused on.”
(It will be a difference of about 60 to 70 degrees from playing at home to having to play at Arrowhead. Are you busting out the “I wish it were colder” shirts this week or anything else?) – “Really, those shirts are more about it carries on an ultimate premise or adversity is an opportunity. I think in the process of teaching the team how I really view things, I think that might have been more appropriate. I think they know what time it is now. You’re talking about playoff football more often than not. If we’re playing in any playoff game that isn’t at home, it probably will be cold. It will be the same temperature for both teams. For us and for the individuals in the locker room, I know they will not use that as an excuse. The bottom line is we’ll play a game in the same environment as the other team. It doesn’t matter if you played the last couple of games in warm weather. You have to adjust if you want to have a chance to win, so I have no doubt the guys will leave that on the doorstep of the cause of concerns. There are plenty of reasons to be motivated and this team is highly.”
(Regarding WR Tyreek Hill, we know he is having an MVP caliber season. He’s also had some big drops in some of the biggest games. I know he is very prideful and one of the best receivers in the league. Do you talk to him about the drops or just rely on his professionalism to get it right?) – “I think when you are a player of his caliber that our team depends on so much, that can be a little misleading in terms of he gets a ton of targets and when we go to him in high-stake situations, it’s not like he is just gliding in open field. They’re pretty contested. And he’s proven time and time again why we continue to go to him. There are zero people, including myself, that are concerned about a pattern of whatever. He has a high expectation to literally make every play. And in that process, there’s no such thing as a 100 percent shooter.”
(You obviously expressed some optimism for RB Raheem Mostert and WR Jaylen Waddle last night. Do you share that optimism for CB Xavien Howard or is that more dubious?) – “I would say that’s a little more dubious. I’m more optimistic for sure about Raheem and Jaylen. I would never rule anything out with ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) because it means so much to him and he’s doing everything he can. But I would say it would be fair to say we’re not planning for him to be in this game, but if things change, things change.”
(How do you categorize the season that LB Andrew Van Ginkel has had?) – “Very impressive and inspiring for teammates on the other side of the ball, same side of the ball, various positions. This guy seized every opportunity. And that’s the hallmark of what players have to do in this league is you eventually get an opportunity in some way, shape or form. What do you do with it? He found a way to be a versatile contributor before he was a starter. Then every time we called upon him to start, he came through in a big-time way. It’s the beauty of professional sports. When you see those types of things occur, it’s inspiring to coaches and players alike. He really made the most of his opportunities for sure.”
(Where did things evolve with LB Jason Pierre-Paul when he was waived? Could talks be reignited?) – “Yeah, we’ll investigate a ton of different scenarios, which is what you do when you kind of have a run on injuries at a certain position. There’s a lot of guys we’re discussing and we’ll iron that out here in the next quick future.”
(Even if you didn’t have these injuries on defense, there would be a lot of people saying, “Oh, warm weather, fast-paced team going to Arrowhead. They don’t got a chance.” Do you like to have backs against your wall mentality? Is that something you’ve used with your players?) – “I think this particular team, the noise I anticipate will be loud enough and pointed enough that I won’t necessarily have to bring it up. I will say this team, in my opinion, set their expectations and standards for what they wanted to do way before people said they could do it. There’s a lot of people littered on the team that have been outrightly told that they can’t. I don’t see that as surprising as that would be said, nor do I worry about it. I think it’s something that our – the individual players across the board in the locker room – our locker room is littered with people that have found success in the face of people saying they can’t. People say we can’t until we do.”
(Did S Jevon Holland have any setbacks checking back in with him today? Will he be further limited in practice or is he good to go for this week?) – “We’ll try some different (things). The main thing is to try to get him where he can be at his peak performance for the entirety of a game. Our plan is to kind of adjust the way we’ve done the work week and see how that will relate to the game. The idea is he’s able to fully be himself for the entirety of the game, so we’ll probably try a little different formula to try to get a better solution.”
(I just wanted to do a quick follow up on that. Obviously, you guys are dealing with a ton of injuries. There’s some cases where you guys have had people like RB Raheem Mostert and WR Jaylen Waddle who they practice out there, they are limited, and might look like they’re fine but end up not playing. Some people say you might be holding guys out. When you make that decision or come to that decision to not play a guy or make him inactive because of an injury, is it because there’s a risk of reinjury you don’t want to deal with? Is it because they’re structurally not able to go out there? I just wanted to know if you could go into that decision of why guys aren’t maybe active on game day if they practice all week?) – “I understand why that question would come up because we are very particular with how we treat each individual on a case-by-case basis. For example, both Waddle and Raheem had the aspiration to go. In their minds, they were ready to go. However, from our medical staffs’ perspective, it was more likely than not that their vulnerabilities would lead them to either not finish the game or not be available for the next week. When the risk is substantial enough where it’s more likely than not I would say, then it makes the decision easy. But that’s why you have to treat every individual as an individual, completely discuss each and every little nuance to whatever their injury is, apply appropriate – either pushing or pulling back of exertion. You just have to be very communicative and do what’s in the best interest of the organization. We thought the risked outweighed the reward for those two. Those are the types of decisions that aren’t always easy, but you make them collectively with the players involved in the conversations because it’s their career ultimately and we’re just trying to do right by them.”
