KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs rookie defensive end George Karlaftis has impressed head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo during his recent stretch of play.
Karlaftis has four sacks in his last five games, but before that period, he only had 0.5 sacks on his stat sheet.
Spagnuolo wasn't deterred about his lack of sacks, though.
"The stat everybody looks at is sacks, right?" Spagnuolo said during Thursday's media availability. "And when [sacks] weren't happening, Joe (Cullen) and I both felt that there were a number of times when he was almost right there."
Now, Spagnuolo sees a player that is getting more comfortable and confident.
"I think he's learning that and maybe the speed of the game, he's getting to it and he's [gaining] confidence," Spagnuolo said.
Karlaftis, nicknamed "Furious George" by fans on social media, had an effect on the field in other ways before going on the most productive run of his young NFL career. Since he couldn't get to the quarterback, he would do the next best thing: put his hands up and bat the ball down.
"I know before George kind of went on this sack thing that he's [got] going, he had a few batted balls in there, which were big for us," coach Reid said.
The first-round pick has defended seven passes, all at the line of scrimmage, which is tied for third on the team.
Reid credited defensive line coach Joe Cullen for Karlaftis' continued impact on the defense.
"That's part of his repertoire of things that he does in there with them, [and] it's been very successful," Reid said.
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