ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Chiefs are heading to Arizona to face the Cardinals in State Farm Stadium, and once against the field conditions are playing a leading role.
Head coach Andy Reid says he doesn’t have any concerns, even though kicker Harrison Butker sustained a high-ankle sprain there in Week 1 last season and the field conditions were heavily criticized during Super Bowl LVII.
“We know what the field has been,” Reid said Thursday. “We’ve checked on it, which we do every week everywhere. So it’s actually in pretty good playing shape.”
Before his team’s preseason opener against the Broncos, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon dismissed any concerns about the field conditions. “No, field is in good shape,” he said in a press conference.
That didn’t stop the field from receiving criticism in last week’s opener. The Cardinals hold their training camp practices on the field as well, leading to heavy use during the preseason.
According to the Arizona Republic, one reporter called the field conditions “atrocious.”
Reid said the field looks worse than it is.
“It might not look the best when you’re looking at on tape but they say it’s gripping well and that’s what you want,” Reid said. “You want the sturdiness of the turf there.”
The field doesn’t at this time doesn’t appear to impact Reid’s decision for playing time Saturday night.
“The ones will go for a half and then we’ll mix in the twos and threes in the third and fourth quarter,” Reid said. “Obviously, there’s things that happen during the game where don’t hold me completely accountable for all that if we pull people out whenever.”
While the trend among more and more NFL teams is away from playing starters, especially quarterbacks, in the preseason, Reid takes a different approach when.
“(Injuries are) part of the game,” Reid said. “They’ve got to get ready for the game and at the same time, I think it’s tough going in the first game. It’s going to be fast, much faster than what you could present in practice, the regular season game. This at least is another step up from that. Gives you just a little kick up speed-wise of the game.”
Reid explained he seeks “equal balance” in pitting players at the same level against each other during the preseason but other situations also play a factor.
“If you had your druthers, you’d want ones versus ones and that whole deal when you’re in game, but I just keep that in mind as I go,” Reid said. “Then I just take my gut feeling after that. So if I pull guys early, it’s just something I feel at that time.”
