Kansas City Chiefs rookie defensive end Ashton Gillotte might still be a little bit of a work in progress on the defensive side of the ball, but one area where he has impressed this preseason is on special teams. Speaking to the media on Tuesday afternoon, special teams coordinator Dave Toub singled out Gillotte for his performance last Friday against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I thought Gillotte really played great on special teams,” said Toub, complimenting the rookie. “He had three tackles on special teams.
He had a knockdown… I mean, he’s an animal out there.
“He’s so physical, he’s big and he’s fast… he’s got a really great toughness about him.”
For his part, Gillotte said that he’s just trying to play fast and physical — doing whatever it takes to get on the field.
“Special teams is a big part of our game,” Gillotte stated, “We want to get our special teams to be number one or number two [in the league]. Us being good on that, we’ll set up our offense better, set up our defense better, so really any way we can contribute.”
In regard to his early success in this phase of the game, Gillotte gave a lot of the credit to Toub, who he praised for giving him opportunities to go out and compete.
“That’s kind of the bridge of trust right there, like him putting me in position just to be able to work or put my talents on display.”
When Gillotte refers to his own “talents,” he means putting his hands on another person and trying to dominate them.
“It’s like the same principles as defense,” explained Gillotte. “Being able to manhandle someone, that’s a good feeling, to just be able to exert will on people.”
As much as Toub likes having Gillotte on special teams, he knows that if the rookie can translate this level of physicality to his play on the defensive line, it won’t be long before he’s too valuable a player to be playing special teams snaps.
“I think it’s gonna be hard to keep him off the field on defense,” admitted Toub. “But I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna use him up as much as I can until that point comes.”
It’s not just Gillotte who needs to step up the intensity; it’s the entire defense. Gillotte said he felt like the defense didn’t play its best game across the board against the Seahawks.
“I think we can just be more physical, but at the end of the day, it’s a team sport, so we just have to come together, stop and run, and that will allow us to rush the passer and stuff like that.
“You can’t really, you can’t give up 400 yards of total offense, like it’s like a reality check.”
Along with the intensity, Gillotte said that one of the hardest parts of playing in the NFL is getting used to the speed of the game, sorting through all of the shifts and misdirections offenses throw at you.
“The tempo is obviously a little bit higher,” he admitted. “There’s a lot more eye candy, so attention to detail is very critical. Making sure my eyes are on the right key, make sure my footwork is clean.”
Against the Chicago Bears on Friday, Gillotte will have another opportunity to translate his success on special teams into putting pressure on the opposing quarterback. Kansas City may have just found its newest ace on special teams.
