Tag: George Karlaftis

Keys to the game for Chiefs’ Week 2 matchup vs. Jaguars

Check out @LazarczykLogan’s keys to the game for the #Chiefs’ Week 2 matchup against the #Jaguars

It’s rare to say that Week 2 is a must-win game for the Kansas City Chiefs, but after losing the season opener, that’s exactly where the team finds itself.

Falling to a 0-2 record would not be the end of the world by any means, but in a stacked AFC, the Chiefs cannot afford to fall too far behind. Losing on Sunday would put Kansas City two games behind Jacksonville, who could easily find themselves as the one seed with such a weak division in the AFC South.

The Chiefs will be receiving reinforcements for week two, as Chris Jones has reported to the team after agreeing to a revised one-year contract. Travis Kelce is expected to play after missing week one with the knee injury he suffered in practice last week.

Keys to the game for Chiefs’ Week 1 matchup vs. Lions

Our @LazarczykLogan breaks down his keys to a #Chiefs victory over the Detroit #Lions in Week 1 ahead of Thursday night’s game.

The Kansas City Chiefs begin their road to Super Bowl defense today in their season opener against the Detroit Lions. The 2023 Lions are not the same unserious team from seasons past. Detroit possesses a high-powered offense and an improving defense after aggressively making moves to add talent at key positions in the offseason.

Kansas City, on the other hand, may host the reigning MVP but has also been mired in a contract dispute with its best defensive player, Chris Jones, who is set to hold out through the Chiefs’ first week of the new season.

Despite the ongoing drama with Jones, Kansas City remains the favored squad for this matchup. Given that the Week 1 tilt will be played at Arrowhead Stadium, fans can expect something special from Patrick Mahomes when the Chiefs take the field tonight.

Let’s take a look at key factors heading into the contest, and what Kansas City must do to win:

Chiefs hint at pessimistic outlook for Chris Jones’ availability vs. Lions

Andy Reid and #Chiefs players hinted that they aren’t expecting Chris Jones’ holdout to end before Kansas City’s matchup against the #Lions.

Even though the Kansas City Chiefs’ season opener is less than a week away, there is still no clarity, answers, or transparency on the team’s contract negotiations with Chris Jones.

It looks more and more unlikely that Jones will be playing in the season opener against the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

Andy Reid did not mince words when asked if Jones would play in week one.

“I can’t tell you that [if Jones will play against the Lions],” Reid said. “I don’t know what his agenda is or when he’s coming or not coming. But we’re rolling right now. I haven’t put much into it.”

Mahomes echoed the same message that his head coach explained to the media on Sunday.

“At this point, you just kind of prepare to play the game with the guys that are in the building and let the front office handle that,” Mahomes said. “We’ve got a tough test with the Detroit Lions and we’re going to focus on how we can win with the guys here.”

It is a next-man-up mentality, and that is exactly how pass rusher George Karlaftis described the situation.

“It’s always been a next man up mentality – that’s how it’s been – if Chris [Jones] was here and he got hurt, it would be the same situation,” Karlaftis said. “You always prepare with what you got. That’s all we’ve had this offseason, and that’s how we are going to approach the game – whoever is here, that’s all we need to win.”

It’s a clear message from those within the organization – the team is preparing to be without Jones for the season opener – possibly an extended absence from the 29-year-old defensive tackle.

It was reported on Saturday by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, that the Chiefs had offered a three-year, $74 million deal with $70 million guaranteed. Clearly, that was not good enough to get Jones back in the building before the season opener.

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Top quotes from Chiefs’ August 11 post-practice press conference

Check out all of the top quotes from the #Chiefs’ August 11 post-practice press conference:

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, August 13 for the first preseason action of their 2023 championship defense campaign. The team has seen plenty of promising prospects exceed expectations in training camp, and will get their first look at some of the newest Chiefs in action this weekend.

Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and George Karlaftis all spoke to the media after Kansas City’s final workout before Sunday’s exhibition and provided valuable insight to reporters who were in attendance for their post-practice press conference.

Check out their top quotes from August 11 below:

Justin Reid: Chiefs defense has ‘whole lot’ of confidence

Chiefs safety Justin Reid wasn’t shy in expressing the confidence of Kansas City’s defense ahead of their 2023 championship defense campaign. | from: @LazarczykLogan

The Kansas City Chiefs had five rookies play a significant number of snaps for their defense in 2022, and battled through steep learning curves and lapses in judgment early in the season as they got their first-year players acclimated to life in the NFL.

Safety Justin Reid was also new to coordinator Steve Spagunolo’s system last year, and while he was a seasoned veteran entering the Super Bowl campaign, he too took time to adjust to the new defensive scheme. Reid spoke to reporters after practice on Saturday, telling the media that he believes that the defense’s improved confidence is evident heading into their second year together, as communication and speed have vastly improved.

“[We have] a whole lot [of confidence] across the board,” Reid said. “We watch the film from this time last year to right now, especially with the first team – not nearly as many busts, windows are tight. I know [in] previous training camps it used to be when the offense wasn’t scoring a lot of points, it [was assumed] that the offense had a bad day. But this year, the defense is playing well too. We are trying to make it hard on the offense – we give them a lot of looks, they give us a lot of looks – it’s competitive and it’s back-and-forth every day.”

What Reid described in his comments is what makes this Chiefs team so intriguing ahead of their 2023 campaign. In the past, it was the offense that carried the team, while the defense fell behind.

Now, it is a well-balanced team that can win a football game in multiple different ways. Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, and George Karlaftis, among others, are entering their second seasons in the NFL — giving Kansas City’s fans reason for optimism that this Chiefs defense can be a top-10 unit in the league.

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5 Chiefs we want to see more from in Week 2 of training camp

Impressive second weeks from these five #Chiefs players would be a welcome sight for fans in attendance at practices in St. Joseph.

The Kansas City Chiefs finished their first week of training camp practice on a high note on Sunday and began their second week of workouts on Monday. While receivers Justyn Ross, Skyy Moore, and Rashee Rice stole the show in Week 1 of camp, others had a quiet start to their preparation for the 2023 season.

The team has only conducted a handful of practices in pads, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Chiefs’ rising offensive stars dominated headlines early in camp. However, now that the team is in their full kit, defensive highlights should start trickling in as Kansas City gears up for their first preseason game next week.

Here are five Chiefs we want to see more from in Week 2 of Kansas City’s 2023 training camp:

Chiefs DE George Karlaftis spoke about practicing without Chris Jones at training camp

Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis talked about practicing without Chris Jones in comments made to reporters on Wednesday. | from: @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs got some downright outstanding play from their 2022 rookie class on both sides of the ball last season. The group produced many memorable moments that helped catapult the squad to a Super Bowl victory, setting the stage for a promising future in Western Missouri.

Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis came on strong late in the 2022 campaign, securing sacks for straight weeks straight as a rookie. He understands the impact of Chris Jones’ holdout as well as anyone else on the Chiefs’ roster and praised his teammates who are in attendance in St. Joseph for stepping up their game while the star pass rusher handles his business.

“Just as a group, we’ve had a lot of guys play a lot of ball, starting with Derrick Nnadi and Mike Danna,” Karlaftis explained. “You know, I’ve played some ball Charles Omenihu [too]. When you have a guy like that [Jones], that’s not here right now, you gotta fill that void as a collective.”

Jones was a game-changer for the defense last season, closing several games with clutch sacks.

“That veteran presence, obviously his accolades and what he’s done speaks for itself,” The second-year sack-master continued. “[He was] one of the best, if not the best defensive player last year, so there is a little bit of a void there. We try to fill it as a collective we have guys that have played a lot of ball kind of be all united.”

The Chiefs haven’t given any indication about the state of their negotiations with Jones since training camp officially started on Sunday, but to hear Karlaftis tell it, Kansas City still has plenty of defensive line talent getting work in at the team’s practices.

George Karlaftis describes Chiefs legend Tamba Hali as his ‘mentor’

Karlaftis described #Chiefs legend Tamba Hali as his mentor when telling reporters about his preparation for the 2023 season after practice.

The Kansas City Chiefs have selected edge rushers in the first rounds of consecutive drafts and are committed to getting after opposing quarterbacks with extreme prejudice during the 2023 season.

One of the team’s most legendary pass rushers, Tamba Hali, has even stepped in to help Kansas City develop their newest crop of defensive ends, as second-year lineman George Karlaftis explained to reporters after Wednesday’s practice.

“Tamba [has] taught me a lot from a mental and physical perspective,” Karlaftis told the media. “Pass rushing, run stopping, the mentality. Just a lot. He’s a great friend and mentor.”

Hali’s continued presence with the Chiefs in his retirement should be a welcome sign for fans who remember the legendary seasons he put up with Justin Houston and Jared Allen in the 2000s and 2010s.

Now in the 2020s, it seems that Kansas City is keen to rejuvenate their defensive system with top-tier bookend pass rushers in Karlaftis and 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

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Should Chiefs fans be worried about Chris Jones’ holdout?

Our @JohnDillonKC doesn’t think that #Chiefs fans should be overly concerned about Chris Jones’ holdout from training camp in St. Joseph.

The Kansas City Chiefs have hosted some of the most prolific pass rushers in NFL history, and Chris Jones is among the finest of the bunch. With sack numbers that put him in the same league as legends like Derrick Thomas, Tamba Hali, and Neil Smith, Jones’ current holdout has some Chiefs fans on edge about his future in Kansas City.

The team invested heavily in the middle of their defensive line after securing their Super Bowl LVII victory, signing veteran Charles Omenihu in free agency and picking rookie Keondre Coburn in the sixth round of April’s draft.

They also returned former first-round pick Danny Shelton from their championship roster, and have fan-favorite lineman Tershawn Wharton set to return from injury in the coming weeks. The team has even experimented with using Mike Danna at the defensive tackle spot and has veteran Derrick Nnadi to eat up space between the offensive tackles.

Add to that their selections of George Karlaftis and Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the first rounds of the past two drafts to fill out the edges, and Kansas City is loaded for bear up front ahead of the 2023 season, at least on paper.

While none of these players are likely to replace Jones’ production individually, the group has the potential to present offensive lines with plenty of precarious predicaments with their varied skill sets.

What is playing out between Jones and Kansas City’s front office is a negotiation where both sides have mutual interest, and one side has all the leverage.

Jones’ current deal is already the second-richest on the Chiefs’ books behind Patrick Mahomes, and while he deserves every bit of what he reportedly wants, the NFL’s salary cap is going to make it hard for the team to justify a deal worth $30 million or more per season.

Kansas City has prepared for a life without Jones if a split becomes necessary, and though it would be a huge blow to the Chiefs’ defense if the holdout extends into the regular season, Steve Spagnuolo certainly has contingency options at his disposal.

The Chiefs’ front office also has options and can choose to place the franchise tag on Jones at the end of the season to keep him in Kansas City through 2024, but they may have to pony up more money. He would be due a salary somewhere in the range of $32 million next season if the team were to tag him, so his demands for the extension aren’t totally without merit.

The reality of the situation, though, is that it would be in neither party’s best interest for Jones to continue sitting out through the entirety of the Chiefs’ training camp and preseason. If he is holding out for a massive payday, missed time to prepare for a contract-year campaign could hamstring his efforts to put up career-best numbers during the regular season and playoffs.

Fans who are more concerned about Jones’ immediate future in Kansas City can rest easy knowing that the team holds all the cards in a situation like this, even through the 2024 season. However, for those who want to see him stay with the Chiefs for the next half-decade, the current state of affairs should certainly seem worrisome.

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Ranking the AFC West by edge rushers

How does each team in the AFC West compare in terms of their edge rushing duos?

No position on the defense is at more of a premium these days than pass rush. Let’s check in on the state of the AFC West in that arena.