BigRedChief
10-06-2004, 03:33 PM
Here the link to the article:
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7770262
Now on board, Chiefs building winning defense on the run
By Clark Judge (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/judge)
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
The Kansas City Chiefs (http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/teams/page/KC) accomplished the improbable this week, and I'm not talking about just beating Baltimore. I'm talking about beating Baltimore by calling on their maligned defense for the save.
Make no mistake, Trent Green, Priest Holmes and a rejuvenated offense take the curtain call for Monday's 27-24 victory, but scoring points hasn't been a problem in Kansas City until this season. Stopping opposing running backs has, and for the second straight week Kansas City applied the handcuffs.
Jamal Lewis didn't beat them Monday, just as Domanick Davis didn't beat them the week before -- and, suddenly, last year's 29th-ranked defense is twice as good, moving up to 14th in this week's standings.
So now here's the question: Have defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham and his unit turned the corner, or do the Chiefs look good because they played low-scoring offenses?
Neither. The Chiefs are a work in progress, and Monday's victory was noteworthy because it was achieved with two starters -- linebacker Scott Fujita and defensive tackle Ryan Sims -- sidelined in the second half. Give Kansas City credit: It bottled up a premier back, but the Chiefs' most effective defense was an offense that ran nearly twice as many plays as Baltimore.
That's not to diminish the achievement. But Baltimore's 25th-ranked offense averaged as many yards per play (5) as Kansas City. The only difference was it had 41 snaps; the Chiefs had 78.
The key here was that the Chiefs did not allow Lewis to beat them.
After gaining 18 yards on his opening carry, he never ran for more than 10 yards -- which he did once -- and wound up with 73 yards. The week before the Chiefs played Houston -- a club with the league's 10th-ranked offense -- and stuffed Davis, holding him to a season-low 12 yards.
So there's a trend beginning to take shape here, just as there was a trend before when an opposing back ran for 100 yards in eight of their last 10 starts. And now the Chiefs feel so good about themselves that Cunningham, his players and coach Dick Vermeil honest-to-God believed that Lewis would not beat them Monday.
In fact, shortly before the Chiefs left for Baltimore on the team charter Sunday, Cunningham walked back to the players' section of the plane, stood on a seat and delivered an emotional speech.
"I wanted to get on the intercom, but I decided not to," he said. "I said, 'Look, anyone who's scared get off the plane, and get off the plane now!' They all started laughing and screaming, and I knew right then and there we were going to play hard."
The Chiefs caved only once in the second half, on a 65-yard Ravens' drive in the fourth quarter -- with Baltimore scoring on a 1-yard Lewis run. But look a little closer, folks: The TD was set up by a controversial pass interference call on a pass thrown out of the end zone, and a subsequent interception was nullified by a holding call.
When it was over, Baltimore had no first downs on four of its 10 series and no more than one on eight of its last nine.
"We're taking shots for growing pains," said Cunningham. "How can you berate these guys? They've given everything they have to try to build this thing the right way. We could have done things differently. There are some teams that all-out blitzed in the first game and won, but now they're near last in team defense.
"We decided we're going to build this thing the right way, with a foundation. We're going to take our lumps early, but we're going to get better one game at a time. The players bought into that, and I like it."
He should. So should the Chiefs' organization. While Kansas City is a disappointment at 1-3, the Chiefs have something to work with now. It's a victory, and it's a victory achieved with the help of a defense that might, just might, be settling down for the first time in years. I guess we find out Oct. 31 when the Chiefs host Indianapolis.
"This was critical," defensive tackle Lional Dalton said of the victory. "You don't see many 0-4 teams going to the playoffs. This could be just like sacks: When you get one they come in bunches. Hopefully, we can build on this, momentum will swing our way and we can win four or five in a row."
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7770262
Now on board, Chiefs building winning defense on the run
By Clark Judge (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/judge)
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
The Kansas City Chiefs (http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/teams/page/KC) accomplished the improbable this week, and I'm not talking about just beating Baltimore. I'm talking about beating Baltimore by calling on their maligned defense for the save.
Make no mistake, Trent Green, Priest Holmes and a rejuvenated offense take the curtain call for Monday's 27-24 victory, but scoring points hasn't been a problem in Kansas City until this season. Stopping opposing running backs has, and for the second straight week Kansas City applied the handcuffs.
Jamal Lewis didn't beat them Monday, just as Domanick Davis didn't beat them the week before -- and, suddenly, last year's 29th-ranked defense is twice as good, moving up to 14th in this week's standings.
So now here's the question: Have defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham and his unit turned the corner, or do the Chiefs look good because they played low-scoring offenses?
Neither. The Chiefs are a work in progress, and Monday's victory was noteworthy because it was achieved with two starters -- linebacker Scott Fujita and defensive tackle Ryan Sims -- sidelined in the second half. Give Kansas City credit: It bottled up a premier back, but the Chiefs' most effective defense was an offense that ran nearly twice as many plays as Baltimore.
That's not to diminish the achievement. But Baltimore's 25th-ranked offense averaged as many yards per play (5) as Kansas City. The only difference was it had 41 snaps; the Chiefs had 78.
The key here was that the Chiefs did not allow Lewis to beat them.
After gaining 18 yards on his opening carry, he never ran for more than 10 yards -- which he did once -- and wound up with 73 yards. The week before the Chiefs played Houston -- a club with the league's 10th-ranked offense -- and stuffed Davis, holding him to a season-low 12 yards.
So there's a trend beginning to take shape here, just as there was a trend before when an opposing back ran for 100 yards in eight of their last 10 starts. And now the Chiefs feel so good about themselves that Cunningham, his players and coach Dick Vermeil honest-to-God believed that Lewis would not beat them Monday.
In fact, shortly before the Chiefs left for Baltimore on the team charter Sunday, Cunningham walked back to the players' section of the plane, stood on a seat and delivered an emotional speech.
"I wanted to get on the intercom, but I decided not to," he said. "I said, 'Look, anyone who's scared get off the plane, and get off the plane now!' They all started laughing and screaming, and I knew right then and there we were going to play hard."
The Chiefs caved only once in the second half, on a 65-yard Ravens' drive in the fourth quarter -- with Baltimore scoring on a 1-yard Lewis run. But look a little closer, folks: The TD was set up by a controversial pass interference call on a pass thrown out of the end zone, and a subsequent interception was nullified by a holding call.
When it was over, Baltimore had no first downs on four of its 10 series and no more than one on eight of its last nine.
"We're taking shots for growing pains," said Cunningham. "How can you berate these guys? They've given everything they have to try to build this thing the right way. We could have done things differently. There are some teams that all-out blitzed in the first game and won, but now they're near last in team defense.
"We decided we're going to build this thing the right way, with a foundation. We're going to take our lumps early, but we're going to get better one game at a time. The players bought into that, and I like it."
He should. So should the Chiefs' organization. While Kansas City is a disappointment at 1-3, the Chiefs have something to work with now. It's a victory, and it's a victory achieved with the help of a defense that might, just might, be settling down for the first time in years. I guess we find out Oct. 31 when the Chiefs host Indianapolis.
"This was critical," defensive tackle Lional Dalton said of the victory. "You don't see many 0-4 teams going to the playoffs. This could be just like sacks: When you get one they come in bunches. Hopefully, we can build on this, momentum will swing our way and we can win four or five in a row."