‘No excuses’: Why Kansas City Chiefs’ Steve Spagnuolo challenged his defense this week

Steve Spagnuolo was not a happy man on Monday following a practice that he said was not good for his defense.

The frustration grew to the point that the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive coordinator said that the group “challenged each other” during a meeting on Monday night.

“There’s really no excuses. That’s what we talked about last night,” Spagnuolo said. “We can’t be wasting any days. I thought we did a nice job bouncing back today.”

Spagnuolo, who is entering his 24th season as an NFL coach, said that though it seems counter-intuitive, sometimes players seem less energized at practice following an off day. The Chiefs’ second- and third-string defenders also played a lot in Saturday’s preseason opener at Chicago, which perhaps contributed to some fatigue.

Regardless, Spagnuolo said he expects more from his defenders, saying he saw better effort Tuesday during a rainy practice at Missouri Western.

“I thought the defense came out and played pretty well,” Spagnuolo said.

Saturday’s first exhibition game also allowed Spagnuolo to see some of his rookies in a game setting.

That included first-round pick George Karlaftis, who had a sack and another QB pressure in his limited action.

“He had some production, right?” Spagnuolo said. ”Yeah, he made a couple of rookie mistakes, like they all do. But overall, I’d say very pleased.”

On Tuesday, Spagnuolo also continued his praise for late-round rookie cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson, saying they both have “done a nice job.”

“We’ve got to figure it all out. To me, it still comes back, though, to how you respond in a game. Now they’ve got some more games to go here. And more than anything, how they respond when it doesn’t go well. That’s really what I have my eye on,” Spagnuolo said. “Yesterday (during practice), we had some snaps there that didn’t go well for some guys, and I’m looking to see ... especially at that position, you can’t put your head in the sand, or else they’re coming right back at you.”

On Saturday, Williams had close coverage on Bears receiver Tajae Sharpe but was caught off balance with the ball in the air as Sharpe held him off for a one-handed sideline catch.

Spagnuolo summed up that moment by saying, “We’ve got to make that play.”

“You hope that as he gets more comfortable, the confidence comes there,” Spagnuolo said, “and he goes and makes that play.”

Spagnuolo said his biggest concern from Saturday — while playing so many young guys — was allowing too many chunk gains. The team charts explosive plays on each side of the ball, and the Bears’ number was too high for his liking.

“When the passes get deep like that, it puts everybody on their heels, and it can lead to points allowed, which is our No. 1 goal,” Spagnuolo said. “So there were some things in there in this past game that we just need to clean up from the standpoint of long pass plays.”

PARTICIPATION REPORT

Tight end Blake Bell (hip) and punter Tommy Townsend (family) did not practice for a second straight day. Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster also did not go through drills because of a knee ailment after he had practiced Monday.

Kicker Harrison Butker (ankle) participated in Tuesday’s workout after leaving early Monday.

Offensive lineman Lucas Niang (knee) remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

OBSERVATIONS

• With Smith-Schuster out, Marquez Valdes-Scantling had the best day of the receivers, pulling down a pair of deep sideline touchdowns from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. That included the day’s top highlight, as Valdes-Scantling pulled down a deep pass from a rolling Mahomes while heavily defended by both Juan Thornhill and L’Jarius Sneed. In fairness to the defense, both Frank Clark and Willie Gay appeared as if they might’ve sacked Mahomes before he threw it had it been a real-game setting.

• Though he had a big day overall, Valdes-Scantling did have a few drops when open in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, appearing frustrated with himself after two of those incompletions.

• Safety Justin Reid stood out defensively. He tackled running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for a safety during a drill when the offense was backed up, then added two interceptions of Mahomes after that, including one he returned for a score.

• The running back order for 9-on-7 drills was Edwards-Helaire, Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Ronald Jones then Derrick Gore. Jones, who has slipped down the depth chart in camp, had a strong run Tuesday when he made one cut and then ran through a big hole up the middle to break deep into the secondary.

• The Chiefs waived defensive lineman Austin Edwards and wide receiver Devin Gray to get to the mandated limit of 85 players on their camp roster.