#Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles spoke to Ed Easton Jr. about grilling, his thoughts Travis Kelce’s critics, and his drum honoree experience. | w/ @EdEastonJr
This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Kansas City Chiefs legend and fan favorite running back Jamaal Charles.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Charles, who recently teamed up with Kingsford to host the ‘Kingsford College Football Tailgate Tour’ at the Red River Rivalry tailgate, revealed his favorite food to grill, thoughts on recent criticisms of Travis Kelce’s, and his experience being the Chiefs’ drum honoree in Week 5.
“I like lamb chops, and I do oxtails sometimes, as well as turkey legs, man, and I’ll smoke and barbecue chicken wings,” Charles said, when describing his favorite meats to grill after hosting a successful Red River Rivalry tailgate with Kingsford. “I love wings. Man, I’m a big-wings person.”
Many critics questioned whether All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce had lost a step statistically due to the season’s slow start. Charles shot down that notion and defended his former teammate.
“I think I wouldn’t pay attention to that, all those politics, all that I think Travis (Kelce) is every once in a while, coming around with players who don’t really have a great start, they really don’t play well at the beginning,” Charles explained. “I think it’s all fantasy football, man, as long as I think the Chiefs are not worrying about that. I think the organization’s not worrying about that. I just feel like they are winning. Who cares? I don’t think Travis cares about that much, either.”
The Chiefs announced that Charles would serve as the drum honoree before their week 5 Monday night game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. He appreciated the honor of embracing fans again in Kansas City.
“It was awesome, and I got that Juju feeling again. Man, I feel the fans showing me love and giving me that energy. Man, I really feel like I am about to play,” said Charles. “I got hyped up, saying I was ready. I started doing dance moves. I never started doing I was on the drums up there, but it was. It was exciting to be out there and see the fans in a Monday night game and the guys pulling through for the Saints; it was awesome.”
Ed Easton Jr. spoke to #Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles about grilling with fans at a Kingsford tailgate and Xavier Worthy’s rookie season. | w/ @EdEastonJr
This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Kansas City Chiefs legend and franchise leading rusher Jamaal Charles.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Charles, who recently teamed up with Kingsford to host the ‘Kingsford College Football Tailgate Tour’ at the Red River Rivalry tailgate, discussed his enjoyment of grilling with fans and fellow Texas Longhorns alum Xavier Worthy’s rookie season in Kansas City.
“[It was] an [awesome] opportunity to team [up with] Kingsford. Grill some good barbecue on the grill, and [got to] smell that good old charcoal. It was an awesome time. [I was] able to grill, and we were cooking some chicken that day,” Charles said. “[I was] able to cook some of the chicken and eat something. It was awesome, [to] pass it around to some of the fans. Man, you just saw the smile on their faces [for] Kingsford, and it was awesome to let them get some of that good old barbecue.”
“You may not win every game, you can win every tailgate with Kingsford,” said Charles as he greeted fans at the latest edition of the River Rivalry, which saw the Longhorns win 34-3 over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Charles’ alma mater continues to produce top-tier NFL talent, including Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
“Man, seeing another Longhorn representing the University of Texas is good,” Charles said of Worthy’s presence in Kansas City. “We always have a good connection with the Chiefs. They always draft some of them. They do a great job drafting the Longhorns players and we always go up there and try to represent. I’m just happy that (Xavier) Worthy is having great success. I knew he would have great success because Coach Andy Reid was one of the best coaches I’ve been around in my entire career. So I knew he had a great opportunity to continue the success.”
Ed Easton Jr. spoke to #Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles about Patrick Mahomes touchdown run against the #49ers and Kareem Hunt’s return to K.C. | w/ @EdEastonJr
This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Kansas City Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles, who was one of the top running backs in the NFL from 2008 until his retirement in 2019.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Charles, who recently teamed up with Kingsford to host the ‘Kingsford College Football Tailgate Tour’ at the Red River Rivalry tailgate, reflected on the grilling experience, Patrick Mahomes’ trucking touchdown run in Week 7, and Kareem Hunt’s Kansas City comeback.
“The smell and the smoke, the charcoal, the fire, flavor, and experience of bringing friends and family together over some delicious food,” said Charles. “It’s just a good vibe and Kingsford is my go-to when it comes to fueling my grill in the game; It helps you play well on the field, too, as well.”
#AD I’ll be at the @Kingsford tailgate this afternoon at the Texas State Fair for the rivalry. Stop by to see me flexing my grilling skills! 🔥Who ya got this year??
Charles was eager to weigh in on Patrick Mahomes’ outstanding touchdown run against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend, and gave his thoughts on the reigning Super Bowl MVP’s ability to lower the boom on defensive back Malik Mustapha.
Though the legendary running back was impressed, he made it clear that Mahomes was playing a dangerous game by putting his body on the line.
“That’s the nature of football. Man. Pat (Patrick Mahomes) got one that day, he got up on him.” Charles explained. “That’s a football play. I don’t really think it’s a really big deal. I think he just got up on that day. He got lucky because it could have went the other way.”
One of the Chiefs’ most significant contributors this season has been the returning Kareem Hunt, who stepped in as the starting running back while Isiah Pacheco recovered from injury. Charles shared his happiness for Hunt and his potential to finally win a Super Bowl with Kansas City.
“Yeah, I’m happy, man, because, I mean, that’s just like reminding me of me if I have the opportunity to go back and play for the Chiefs right now,” said Charles. “Man, it would be awesome, man. So, with Kareem getting the opportunity to go back and finish what he’s been able to, he could have won a couple of championships when he was there, with Tyreek (Hill) getting on a guy. So, just to see him back and get another shot at the opportunity. Man, I wish that were me. I’m happy for him that he got a shot to go for a ring; if he finishes like that, after all the situation he has been through, and I see him win a championship, man, I know that would be a highlight of his career.”
Anthony ‘Spice’ Adams preached simplicity when it came to solving the Bears’ problems on offense.
You can pick out pretty much any negative adjective or term to describe the 2020 Chicago Bears offense and any one of them would be valid. The unit ranks in the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category. Now that they’re out of their bye week with six games to go, can they turn things around to go on a late-season run? One former Bear lays out the recipe on how to do just that and more.
Former Bears defensive tackle and social media star Anthony “Spice” Adams gave his advice and thoughts to Bears Wire on how Chicago can remedy their offensive woes. Adams also shared as his thoughts on the running game, who on the Bears reminds him of a younger Spice and even grilling tips for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Adams, who played defensive tackle for the Bears from 2007-11, preached simplicity when it came to solving the Bears’ problems on offense.
“Just throw away half of the playbook,” Adams said, literally. “You look at an offensive players playbook, and that thing weighs 50 pounds. Get it down to 25 pounds. Get it to something where, the offensive line, they love mauling people. Give them an offense where they can maul somebody, where they can double team the nose, double team the three technique, on up to the linebacker. Run some powers, get back to the nitty gritty, put a fullback in there and go ‘I’ formation. Go goal line on the 20 yard line and make sure we are going to run the ball. We’re going to run power, we’re going to run trap, counter.
“All the bread and butter. Get back to the smash mouth, snot in your nose football. Get back to the basics. Then, everything else will open up. Once you establish that run game, teams got to respect it. They have to. Then that’s going to open up the play action.”
The running game is an area that has plagued coach Nagy over the course of his tenure with the Bears, who has lost the luster from his shine recently. Adams believes the offense has become too predictable over the last few weeks.
“The offense is sputtering,” he said. “Sometimes we move the ball well when we absolutely need to, but sometimes we go three and out. We haven’t been able to run the ball as effectively as we normally would, which kind of allows teams to peel their ears back and just go ‘I know the Bears aren’t going to run on me and if they do run, they’re going to try and run with Cordarrelle Patterson and it’s not going to work. We’ve seen that a billion times. Teams are making us one dimensional. The fact that we’re not going down the field with that, because we can’t, we’re not getting the protection that we need to. A lot of teams are peeling their ears back and trying to rush the passer to get to our quarterback.”
The Bears certainly have become one dimensional, as they rank third in the NFL in pass attempts per game. Fortunately, fans won’t have to carve time out of their Thanksgiving holiday this year to watch the offense underperform and can instead focus on the cooking, or grilling in Spice’s case.
“I’ve partnered with Kingsford and they’ve been sending me these pellets and I’ve been using a smoker tube and I put the pellets in there,” Adams said. “I let the smoke do the cooking of the turkey, the chicken, or the ham. There’s nothing like that bold, smoky flavor, especially from Kingsford pellets because they’re 100% hardwood. There’s nothing like the smoke of a hickory, or a mesquite.”
Adams offered up a quick and easy meal to prepare on the grill as well; A whole chicken.
“Just get like a smaller version, something you can put a little TLC in and you can start in the morning and cook as long as you want,” he said. “Just let the smoke do the work, get some Kingsford pellets in that thing and woo!”
Spice was fired up about his grilling opportunities this Thanksgiving and had lots of praise for Kingsford, but also had that same enthusiasm for a current Bears player on the defensive line. When asked which player reminded him of himself during his playing days, Adams didn’t hesitate.
“I like Bilal (Nichols),” he said of the third-year pro. “I think Bilal is one of those hard-working guys who has a chip on his shoulder, has something that he has to prove. He’s been getting better every year. He can play multiple positions because he’s so athletic. He can play end, he can play on the inside. With Eddie Goldman opting out of the season, it was a chance for him to get in the middle and show what he can do there and he’s been flourishing there. I like his motor, I like his attitude. I think he’s a good, young player that’s going to last a long time in this league.”
Nichols and the defense have continued to be one of the top units in the NFL, while the offense maintains its status as one of the worst. Will Nagy and the coaching staff take Adams’ advice this Sunday evening and commit to the running game like they did in September? Should the Bears want to make a run at the postseason, they’ll first have to run the ball to get their offense in gear and take pressure off the quarterback. Better start ripping those pages, Nagy.
