Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo asserted that the criticism directed at Travis Kelce this season has had little impact on the star tight end’s play .
On the heels of an action-packed offseason spent around the world with girlfriend Taylor Swift , Kelce got off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the NFL season. Through the first three games, he reeled in just eight catches on 12 targets for 69 yards and zero touchdowns.
Critics promptly sounded the alarm bells, speculating that the three-time Super Bowl champion was struggling to balance his life on and off the field. During the Chiefs’ 22-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, NBC’s broadcast spotted him looking dejected on the sideline while Swift was absent from Mercedes-Benz Stadium - sparking false rumors that the star couple might’ve hit a rough patch.
During a recent appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show, Spagnuolo insisted that the outside noise and hearsay surrounding Kelce rarely makes its way into the Chiefs clubhouse. “I don't hear it. I don't feel it,” he said. “I'm not flipping through the phone looking at that stuff. So I don't really hear it.
“We don't worry about Travis,” he added. “There's some guys in all of these professional sports that you know when you're gonna need them the most they're going to show up, and that's Travis.”
In recent weeks, Kelce has looked more like his dominant self during the Chiefs’ wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints - amassing 16 receptions on 19 targets for 159 yards. He even recreated his signature play on “Monday Night Football” after pitching a lateral to running back Samaje Perine, who rumbled downfield for 15 more yards before being dragged out of bounds one yard short of the first down.
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Discussing the unconventional play, Spagnuolo said: “He plays around with it in practice and you'll see him do it all the time,” the coach said. “So it's not like it hasn't been rehearsed before. I don't think it shocks his teammates when he's looking to do that.
“You have to have extreme self-confidence, which Travis does, to do something like that.”
Despite sputtering out of the gates to begin the season, Kelce believes that he still has plenty left in the tank to compete at a high level in the NFL. Speaking to reporters last month, the 35-year-old gave little attention to his underwhelming stats.
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"I think this year's stats may say something different, but at the same time you'll see the same person inside this building, and that's all I really care about. I'm my own worst critic," he stated. "Everything outside of this building is just noise.
"I'm fortunate. I've had the success in the past and I realized that the ball can't always go to one person. It can't always get in my hands, but at the same time, I got all the trust in [Patrick Mahomes] to make the right decision, and he's been making great decisions.”
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