Can Our D Be Better This Year Without JA?

[philfree]

I think it can since we got Dorsey. I thought I heard Herm say we will move Hali to RDE and one of our interior linemen (Edwards?) to LDE. I think Flowers will be better then Law and I think we got a couple sleeper CBs and an upgrade at a S position. Yeah these guys are young but as the season progresses I think tell just better and better. I look for double digit sacks from Hali and I think we'll be hard to run against on the left side of our D. Call me a Homer but I think with our schedule we win 6 games at least.

PhilFree:arrow:

[King_Chief_Fan]

Hey Homer! I like your positive attitude. But let's be real. It will take these guys a couple of years to get development and be good enough. I will be happy with 6 wins given what we have to work with.

[Tribal Warfare]

Brian Johnston will take over the DE spot during mid-season

[CrazyPhuD]

Well considering that JA would have held out for 8 games before reporting, if you get 1/2 the production of JA it's a win.

[Direckshun]

That's crazy that we're going to be moving Boone to LDE.

I don't like it, but the sheer size factor makes it entertaining. We'll easily have the heaviest DL in the NFL.

Boone -- 300 lbs || Tank -- 300 lbs || Dorsey -- 310 lbs || Hali -- 270 lbs

Backups:

DE Johnston -- 270 lbs
DT Edwards -- 320 lbs
DT Turk -- 280 lbs

[Extra Point]

Turk may not be out of the running at RDE. Who knows?

[Tribal Warfare]

Boone -- 300 lbs || Tank -- 300 lbs || Dorsey -- 310 lbs || Hali -- 270 lbs






That's a generously light estimate of Tank the guy is more like 320 lbs

[The Bad Guy]

I think part of the motivation in moving Boone is because of how weak our left side of the line was in the run game.

Tank and Glenn on this line is going to be great to watch for the next 5-10 years.

[Fish]

I'm excited to see how much Dorsey's play rubs off on Tank. I think there's some crazy potential there....

[keg in kc]

Sacks aren't everything. I'd have probably traded Jared Allen straight-up for Glenn Dorsey for the potential impact across the board he brings. The run defense should be stronger immediately, and it should help the linebacker play immensely. As far as pass rush, I think a healthy Hali moving forward into his third year should move up to the 10-15 sack range, so that's no real dropoff from what I think we'd have gotten from Allen at RDE, the question is what we get on the left side. I'm in the camp that thinks Brian Johnston can contribute by midseason, and has a lot of long-term upside, but he may be too raw and/or the NFL may be too big for him. I don't get the Boone experiment (if there's actually anything to it...) but I'm patient enough to wait and see what they come up with.

It probably won't be a drastic improvement, but I do expect it to be better.

And I'm on board with 6 wins. Not a lot to shoot for, and I'd say we could possibly do more than that if I believed in Croyle at QB. We play some bad teams this year...

[banyon]

That's crazy that we're going to be moving Boone to LDE.

I don't like it, but the sheer size factor makes it entertaining. We'll easily have the heaviest DL in the NFL.

Boone -- 300 lbs || Tank -- 300 lbs || Dorsey -- 310 lbs || Hali -- 270 lbs

Backups:

DE Johnston -- 270 lbs
DT Edwards -- 320 lbs
DT Turk -- 280 lbs

The raiders had a line like this a couple of years back that absolutely sucked.

Trying to remember who was on that line? I just remember the ends were huge and got abused by fast teams. I'm hoping Johnson could supplant Boone by week 6.

[DT Fan]

Dorsey will likely face constant double and triple teams so his impact may not show up in his own stats, but hopefully he'll make everyone else better. Hopefully he makes Tank better with all the extra attention he draws, which along with the change at MLB will hopefully make us much tougher up the middle against the run.

I think we'll have trouble getting after the QB, but our secondary should be a little better (but much as I love Brandon Flowers, I don't see him as being better than Ty Law from day 1).

Basically, I think we're setting it up nicely for 2009. By then, Flowers should be a solid corner and Morgan should be an effective safety, combining with page and Pollard for a nice rotation for the Cover-2. The missing links at that point will be corner (assuming Surtain is done), improving the pass rush and probably middle linebacker.

So between the draft and free agency, I think that by 2009 we'll have one of the league's better defenses. Just don't expect it to happen this year.

[KCJohnny]

No way we win 6 games unless we get punt returns for TDs, INTs for TDs, etc... our O has a loooong way to go.

The loss of Jared Allen is HUGE. Dorsey will be a gamer, but he's also a rookie. I like Tamba in Jared's old spot. The cover 2 has its own built in leaks and weaknesses and it depends on 11 thoroughbreds for effectiveness. We might have 7.

My hunch is one of these rookies or even Domorrio will emerge as an unexpected play-maker and give the D some punch. I expect a lot of enthusiasm with the new players but vets like Donnie and Surtain need to keep them focused when we get behind. We will be playing a lot of games from behind.

To answer the question, no. The 2009 D will be better than the 2007 D, but the 2008 D will not.

[markk]

they have always said they thought Hali could get double digit sacks palying on the right.

we will be better against the run. flowers can only improve on law. morgan can only improve on either one of our safeties, they both need to grab some pine

[RINGLEADER]

Not a chance. And JA wasn't just great at getting sacks. He brought pressure, deflected passes, caused fumbles and caught touchdowns. He's a great player and the Chiefs defense will not make that production with the players they have (at least not quickly).

All that said, it's hard to give $32mm to someone who is one strike away from being suspended for a year.

[Rain Man]

No.

[Extra Point]

Hali sure will get better stats than last year. I'm glad the Allen trade happened. We can see what the DC will do with LOLB position. Will Donnie Edwards be on the field for all downs?

[KCJohnny]

Not a chance. And JA wasn't just great at getting sacks. He brought pressure, deflected passes, caused fumbles and caught touchdowns. He's a great player and the Chiefs defense will not make that production with the players they have (at least not quickly).



Exactly. Well-said. JA was the best defender on this team since DT58 in his prime. Maybe better.

[keg in kc]

So between the draft and free agency, I think that by 2009 we'll have one of the league's better defenses. Just don't expect it to happen this year.They'll have next year's draft to work with, as well. Wouldn't surprise me to see a pass rusher taken first (especially if Hali doesn't progress) and another corner taken second.

On the offensive side, the skill positions are already in place (assuming one of the new receivers becomes a #2), there's next year's draft and free agency to finish the line (if it isn't finished already) and my guess is, if Croyle doesn't work out, they find their QB in free agency or through a trade next offseason.

I'm thinking there's a realistic shot at a playoff push in '09. I don't think we're as far away as we believe.