The Chiefs are reeling — having lost five of their last six games — and the team’s head coach believes the entire team is to blame.
Kansas City jumped out to a 5-0 start to begin the season, and appeared to have a stranglehold on the AFC West division title. That’s not the case anymore, though. Both the Raiders and Chargers trail the Chiefs by just one game, and Los Angeles is in good form, having won five of its last seven games.
A lot of criticism has been thrown in quarterback Alex Smith’s direction — by both fans and media members alike — but head coach Andy Reid believes he’s not the only player on the team that needs to improve their play on the field.
“I think it’s not just Alex,” Reid told reporters on Wednesday, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “I think people do that, and I told you that I’ve got to get better at doing my part. Each position has got to do better. This is a team game and so everybody has a piece of the pie. You’re bringing it to Alex. I’m bringing it to all of us doing a better job. Alex is part of the team so he’s included in that. But it’s surely not just one person.”
Reid continued:
“I’m not going to tell you it’s one thing – it’s not one thing. Sometimes people see something and that might not be the primary receiver and so it might not even be in that part of the progression and read. There’s a lot of things that go into it. The thing I can do is stand before you and tell you that this isn’t an Alex Smith thing, it’s all of us. I know our players understand that and coaches.”
Smith has had issues finding open receivers, and has also struggled with turnovers, neither of which plagued him earlier in the season. Reid, however, is sticking with Smith, rather than starting rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes — for now.
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