Chiefs' Reid marvels at Mahomes' no-look pass
Denver Broncos: After a crushing loss to the 49ers on Sunday, head coach Vance Joseph was critical of quarterback Case Keenum for not attacking downfield more often against San Francisco's zone-heavy defense. "Yesterday he was a little cautious with the ball," Joseph said. The bottom line is we got three weeks to play and he's got to make more plays, and sometimes taking some chances allows you to make more plays. ...I want Case to be more aggressive, especially down the seams over those Cover-3 defenses. That's where the soft spots are, so he's got to be aggressive down the seams and not worry about making mistakes." Kansas City Chiefs: After watching the film, head coach Andy Reid sounded even more impressed by Patrick Mahomes' no-look pass that had the NFL world buzzing on Sunday. "I've worked real hard with him on that," a deadpan Reid began before cracking a smile. "We build that right into the offense." Jokes aside, Reid praised Mahomes, noting he froze Ravens safety Chuck Clark with the look-off. "It's something to do in a practice, but then you start throwing it in a game, and a game against the No. 1 defense in the National Football League, that's a little different," Reid said. "You gotta have tremendous confidence in what you're doing there. ... I haven't seen a lotta guys do that. I was around (Brett) Favre, he did some amazing things that way, Donovan (McNabb) and those guys, but no... that umm... No, not quite like that." Los Angeles Chargers: Three days before a showdown at Kansas City, the Chargers' running back situation is in limbo. Head coach Anthony Lynn told reporters Melvin Gordon is "getting better" but will work off to the side of practice this week as the Chargers are unlikely to go full-speed on a short week. Austin Ekeler, meanwhile, sustained a stinger Sunday but avoided concussion protocol, though his availability for Thursday remains unclear. "He's a tough kid and he's been working through these stingers for a while," Lynn said. "If he can play, he'll play, but right now I don't really know." Seventh-round rookie Justin Jackson is next in line for carries. He had 15 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown in Weeks 12-13 but was held to just 12 yards on seven carries Sunday. Oakland Raiders: Head coach Jon Gruden distanced himself from the firing of general manager Reggie McKenzie on Monday, despite previous reports that Gruden had taken over personnel decisions from McKenzie and planned to bring in his own front-office leader after the season. Gruden said he does not know yet whether he'll be involved in the team's search for a new general manager. "I know (owner) Mark (Davis) is going to accumulate a list of names and candidates, and I'm sure we'll discuss those people later this week, but right now I don't have any idea," Gruden said. He added that he'd like to have influence in personnel matters moving forward. "I think any coach wants input, let's be honest," he said. "I've had input here. I had input on the draft picks we made when I was here with Al Davis. I had some input on the draft this year. ... I would like to be involved for obvious reasons." --Field Level Media
