Special teams have the ability to change the outcome of games in the NFL. It’s why the Kansas City Chiefs have invested so many resources and have given coordinator Dave Toub so much control over the bottom of the roster.
Ahead of the Week 1 tilt against the Arizona Cardinals, Toub is both excited and nervous. He’s replacing thousands of snaps over last season’s special teams unit and primarily with rookies and newcomers. Asked about what excites him most and what terrifies him most, Toub explained that it’s the same thing.
“It’s probably the same thing. The young guys, they excite me and then the young guys, it’s terrifying too, at the same time (laughter),” Toub said. “I’m excited about it, really because I think (General Manager) (Brett) Veach brought in some good players. We had (nine out of ten draft picks make) our team and they’re all going to help us. They’re all going to help us on special teams.
“I’m excited about what we have (and) I can’t wait to see them when the live bullets come and see how they handle it. But I feel pretty good about them. They’re going to make some mistakes and there’s going to be some things that surprise you like ‘why’d you do that?’ but I think, in the long run, you know after a couple of weeks, I think they’re going to settle in and be pretty darn good.”
Like defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Toub is expecting that there will be some growing pains for his unit. He’s not terribly concerned about those growing pains because he feels this group has the talent and speed to make up for it. It’s simply going to take some time for him to build that trust with kick/punt return, coverage and protection units comprised primarily of new players.
“Yeah, it takes a while. It takes a while,” Toub said. “You have to see it probably two or three games then you feel pretty good about it. And then, you never know what you’re going to get thrown at you, you know. You don’t know how the guys are going to handle a ‘break the formation’ or a fake. How are they going to handle a fake? I knew how (former Chiefs S) Dan Sorensen was going to handle a fake (but) I don’t know how Deon Bush is going to handle a fake in the same position. So, those are things that we practice and in the game speed and stuff, those are all unknowns.”
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