Looking forward to an outstanding NFL career from Big George:
KC Chiefs rookie George Karlaftis looks the part as ‘real football’ begins in camp
by Herbie Teope
Kansas City Chiefs rookie defensive end George Karlaftis could hardly contain the excitement describing what the past two days of padded practices were like for him. As a regarded full-motor player, his reaction to putting on the pads for the first time of training camp doesn’t come as a surprise. “First day of pads, you get all that excitement, you’re amped up, you’re playing real football,” Karlaftis said. “But, then you also get really fatigued because you’re really not used to it.
“Now, you’re used to it and you’re going. Now, we’re playing real football.” The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Karlaftis has looked the part as a real football player, especially during full padded one-on-one drills against the offensive linemen.
He’s done it with a combination of speed and power, but mostly the last part. On Monday, he used a power rush on two separate repetitions against offensive tackles Evin Ksiezarczyk and Roderick Johnson, overmatching the two blockers with pure strength to get in the backfield. During Tuesday’s one-on-one drills, he used another strong pass rush against rookie tackle Darian Kinnard, who was pushed back into the backfield.
It’s been impressive to watch what the Chiefs’ first-round pick can do on any given pass rush, but don’t try to categorize Karlaftis’ signature move. “I wouldn’t describe it as bull rushing,” he said. “For me, I’m a power rusher. You see guys around the league — you see the speed guys, you see the power guys. You see speed guys, like a Von Miller. “But if you really look at the game, study the game, you see that over half the guys with sacks comes from power. From that alone, you hear Von Miller — he has 100-something sacks — over 60 of them, over 70 of them are from power, so why wouldn’t you just hone in on that? That’s all I’ve been working on.”
The Chiefs will put Karlaftis, who finished his college career at Purdue with 97 tackles and 14 sacks, to good use on the edge as part of a revamped defense. And the rookie is in good hands, learning from veterans Frank Clark and Chris Jones. “For a guy like George, a Big Ten guy, I’m a Michigan guy, so we got that Big Ten bond,” Clark said. “I just want to see him be successful. When he lines up on the other side of me, inside, wherever he lines up, I just want to see him be successful at the end of the day.”
Clark is more than just words, too, because after Karlaftis’ one-on-one repetitions, Clark was the first one to greet the rookie with a celebratory hug for a job well done. The attention and mentorship from the veterans are appreciated. “Frank helps me out after every practice, then Chris helps me out in his own way,” Karlaftis said. “Everyone really helps me out in their own way because we’re trying to have the strongest group possible.” The Chiefs have a little more than two weeks to go before the end of training camp, and there are three preseason games in August for Karlaftis to help solidify the defensive front. So far, so good before the games count for real. “I’m here to just get better every single day in order to help this team win,” Karlaftis said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article264063826.html#storylink=cpy
KC Chiefs rookie George Karlaftis looks the part as ‘real football’ begins in camp
by Herbie Teope
Kansas City Chiefs rookie defensive end George Karlaftis could hardly contain the excitement describing what the past two days of padded practices were like for him. As a regarded full-motor player, his reaction to putting on the pads for the first time of training camp doesn’t come as a surprise. “First day of pads, you get all that excitement, you’re amped up, you’re playing real football,” Karlaftis said. “But, then you also get really fatigued because you’re really not used to it.
“Now, you’re used to it and you’re going. Now, we’re playing real football.” The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Karlaftis has looked the part as a real football player, especially during full padded one-on-one drills against the offensive linemen.
He’s done it with a combination of speed and power, but mostly the last part. On Monday, he used a power rush on two separate repetitions against offensive tackles Evin Ksiezarczyk and Roderick Johnson, overmatching the two blockers with pure strength to get in the backfield. During Tuesday’s one-on-one drills, he used another strong pass rush against rookie tackle Darian Kinnard, who was pushed back into the backfield.
It’s been impressive to watch what the Chiefs’ first-round pick can do on any given pass rush, but don’t try to categorize Karlaftis’ signature move. “I wouldn’t describe it as bull rushing,” he said. “For me, I’m a power rusher. You see guys around the league — you see the speed guys, you see the power guys. You see speed guys, like a Von Miller. “But if you really look at the game, study the game, you see that over half the guys with sacks comes from power. From that alone, you hear Von Miller — he has 100-something sacks — over 60 of them, over 70 of them are from power, so why wouldn’t you just hone in on that? That’s all I’ve been working on.”
The Chiefs will put Karlaftis, who finished his college career at Purdue with 97 tackles and 14 sacks, to good use on the edge as part of a revamped defense. And the rookie is in good hands, learning from veterans Frank Clark and Chris Jones. “For a guy like George, a Big Ten guy, I’m a Michigan guy, so we got that Big Ten bond,” Clark said. “I just want to see him be successful. When he lines up on the other side of me, inside, wherever he lines up, I just want to see him be successful at the end of the day.”
Clark is more than just words, too, because after Karlaftis’ one-on-one repetitions, Clark was the first one to greet the rookie with a celebratory hug for a job well done. The attention and mentorship from the veterans are appreciated. “Frank helps me out after every practice, then Chris helps me out in his own way,” Karlaftis said. “Everyone really helps me out in their own way because we’re trying to have the strongest group possible.” The Chiefs have a little more than two weeks to go before the end of training camp, and there are three preseason games in August for Karlaftis to help solidify the defensive front. So far, so good before the games count for real. “I’m here to just get better every single day in order to help this team win,” Karlaftis said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article264063826.html#storylink=cpy
