Chiefs Pantalones
12-03-2006, 03:13 AM
A good time for a stand
The Chiefs defense can leave an impression with a dominant performance against the Browns.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
It’s 11 games into the Herm Edwards era, and we’re still waiting for that first signature defensive game that a union between Edwards and Gunther Cunningham should generate.
Sure, there was that shutout of the then-forlorn 49ers when the season was young, but we’re talking something bigger.
We’re talking about the kind of game that gets people talking, the kind that happens in a playoff push, that makes a statement to future opponents.
The kind the Chiefs could easily get today against the Browns in Cleveland.
The Chiefs have played against a series of offensively challenged opponents in the Dolphins, Raiders and Broncos. All are among the league’s lowest-scoring teams, yet the Chiefs weren’t able to quite choke the life out of any of them.
None of the other recent opponents is as deficient as the Browns. Cleveland has trouble running the ball, throwing it and putting it in the end zone. The Browns are next to last in the league in turnovers and sacks allowed.
In short, Cleveland, which is coming off a shutout loss to the Bengals, is a perfect opponent against which the Chiefs can leave an indelible mark.
“If you can just shut them down on the run and the pass and just do it all, those games are good to have because you gain confidence,” Edwards said. “You’re always looking for that every week defensively, and the more you do it, the more of a mind-set it becomes.”
The Chiefs might want to make that statement today. Their next two opponents are the Ravens and the Chargers. Both entered the week in the top 10 in scoring.
The Chiefs haven’t exactly been pushovers in recent weeks. They’ve been remarkably consistent, allowing no more than 17 points in a game during November — or more than 13 in the last three weeks.
“I think it has been 17, 13, 13 and 10, so that’s a pretty good clip of not allowing the opponents to score, and you’ve got to do that,” Edwards said. “They have done it on the road, too, which is good. They have to continue to do that.”
Statistically, the Chiefs are average, ranking about in the middle of the league against the run and pass and in total yardage.
But most important, they have climbed into the top 10 in fewest points allowed. The Chiefs are ninth, yielding about 18 1/2 points per game.
“You don’t see them giving up many big plays,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. “The yardage a team gets on them, they have to work for it. That’s the way (Herm) wants it, to make them work and have to run play after play after play and not give them the easy stuff.
“You look at them and wonder how you can run the ball on them. They’re giving up 100 yards a game, but you don’t see teams gaining easy yards. They’re all hard yards. In the passing game, you see short to intermediate throws. You don’t see those throws going over the top and guys getting beat for long touchdowns. So you know that defense is working well together and they’ll give up some short stuff, but they’re not going to give up the big stuff.”
The Chiefs have cut down on the number of big plays they’ve allowed, particularly runs. That may have more to do with the quality of recent opponents than any defensive breakthrough they might have made.
“We’re not looking for a breakout game,” defensive end Tamba Hali said. “We can’t go in thinking we’re going to shut everyone out. We’re just looking to get better. If we play our kind of football, those things take care of themselves.
“It’s the part of the season where a lot of guys are feeling good about what they’re supposed to do. So we could be ready to take the next step up. What we’ve done is kept ourselves in a position to win some games. I think that’s what all great defenses do.”
Edwards would prefer more. He wants the Chiefs to force more turnovers (they’re about average in that category) and score some points (they don’t have a defensive touchdown or a safety).
The pass rush still runs hot and cold. Tackling is occasionally spotty. Third-down defense has been far less than dominant.
They could get well in all of those areas against the Browns.
“There are still some things we have to work on,” Edwards said. “Third and 8 and third and 6 have not been very good. People have converted too many passes on that down.
“We have done a pretty good job against the run, for the most part. We’ve given up some touchdowns in the red zone in our goal-line defense, which we need to improve on.
“The thing that I would like to see more of is that we don’t have a lot of interceptions. We need to get our hands on more balls. We need to take the ball away.
“We haven’t scored on defense, either, so there are some things that we still have to do if we’re going to be one of those top defenses. Those are the types of things that make you really good.”
The Chiefs defense can leave an impression with a dominant performance against the Browns.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
It’s 11 games into the Herm Edwards era, and we’re still waiting for that first signature defensive game that a union between Edwards and Gunther Cunningham should generate.
Sure, there was that shutout of the then-forlorn 49ers when the season was young, but we’re talking something bigger.
We’re talking about the kind of game that gets people talking, the kind that happens in a playoff push, that makes a statement to future opponents.
The kind the Chiefs could easily get today against the Browns in Cleveland.
The Chiefs have played against a series of offensively challenged opponents in the Dolphins, Raiders and Broncos. All are among the league’s lowest-scoring teams, yet the Chiefs weren’t able to quite choke the life out of any of them.
None of the other recent opponents is as deficient as the Browns. Cleveland has trouble running the ball, throwing it and putting it in the end zone. The Browns are next to last in the league in turnovers and sacks allowed.
In short, Cleveland, which is coming off a shutout loss to the Bengals, is a perfect opponent against which the Chiefs can leave an indelible mark.
“If you can just shut them down on the run and the pass and just do it all, those games are good to have because you gain confidence,” Edwards said. “You’re always looking for that every week defensively, and the more you do it, the more of a mind-set it becomes.”
The Chiefs might want to make that statement today. Their next two opponents are the Ravens and the Chargers. Both entered the week in the top 10 in scoring.
The Chiefs haven’t exactly been pushovers in recent weeks. They’ve been remarkably consistent, allowing no more than 17 points in a game during November — or more than 13 in the last three weeks.
“I think it has been 17, 13, 13 and 10, so that’s a pretty good clip of not allowing the opponents to score, and you’ve got to do that,” Edwards said. “They have done it on the road, too, which is good. They have to continue to do that.”
Statistically, the Chiefs are average, ranking about in the middle of the league against the run and pass and in total yardage.
But most important, they have climbed into the top 10 in fewest points allowed. The Chiefs are ninth, yielding about 18 1/2 points per game.
“You don’t see them giving up many big plays,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. “The yardage a team gets on them, they have to work for it. That’s the way (Herm) wants it, to make them work and have to run play after play after play and not give them the easy stuff.
“You look at them and wonder how you can run the ball on them. They’re giving up 100 yards a game, but you don’t see teams gaining easy yards. They’re all hard yards. In the passing game, you see short to intermediate throws. You don’t see those throws going over the top and guys getting beat for long touchdowns. So you know that defense is working well together and they’ll give up some short stuff, but they’re not going to give up the big stuff.”
The Chiefs have cut down on the number of big plays they’ve allowed, particularly runs. That may have more to do with the quality of recent opponents than any defensive breakthrough they might have made.
“We’re not looking for a breakout game,” defensive end Tamba Hali said. “We can’t go in thinking we’re going to shut everyone out. We’re just looking to get better. If we play our kind of football, those things take care of themselves.
“It’s the part of the season where a lot of guys are feeling good about what they’re supposed to do. So we could be ready to take the next step up. What we’ve done is kept ourselves in a position to win some games. I think that’s what all great defenses do.”
Edwards would prefer more. He wants the Chiefs to force more turnovers (they’re about average in that category) and score some points (they don’t have a defensive touchdown or a safety).
The pass rush still runs hot and cold. Tackling is occasionally spotty. Third-down defense has been far less than dominant.
They could get well in all of those areas against the Browns.
“There are still some things we have to work on,” Edwards said. “Third and 8 and third and 6 have not been very good. People have converted too many passes on that down.
“We have done a pretty good job against the run, for the most part. We’ve given up some touchdowns in the red zone in our goal-line defense, which we need to improve on.
“The thing that I would like to see more of is that we don’t have a lot of interceptions. We need to get our hands on more balls. We need to take the ball away.
“We haven’t scored on defense, either, so there are some things that we still have to do if we’re going to be one of those top defenses. Those are the types of things that make you really good.”