The Defense vs. Chargers

[Direckshun]

I rewatched the entire game last night focusing only on the defense, particularly the DL. I didn't even watch the offensive series.

So here are some random thoughts about the whole thing. Stick with me, because my thoughts are complex.

The first touchdown series, the Chiefs were running an extremely light dime package defense like they ran against Orton. Only Dorsey and Gilberry had their hands in the dirt for the majority of downs -- Edwards and Smith played only the first few downs.

The reason why that worked with Orton but not with Rivers is because Flowers' injury creates mismatches all over the field when the Chargers drop back to pass. A healthy Flowers can shut down Malcolm Floyd, leaving Carr to spend his time covering V-Jax, a MUCH better matchup for him. Arenas can then focus on other quicker guys like Washington or Naane. Berry and Daniels do a decent enough job covering tertiary receivers. Our LBs can cover their RBs with the occasional exception of Sproles. And McGraw has shut down every TE he's faced this season, so even a healthy Antonio Gates can be contained if Crennel commits him to it (which he doesn't always do).

But Flowers' injury throws all that in doubt. Flowers can't keep up with Floyd now, so you have to put Carr on him which is a poor matchup. Flowers and Arenas end up picking up whoever the #2 is and neither one of them is up to the task (Flowers might if healthy, and Arenas is getting there but is still a rook).

I bring all this up because this was a winning defensive gameplan if we had a healthy Flowers. And this is what happens with promising-but-still-rebuilding teams: you've got some great talent, but as long as the process is to transform a bad team into a good team, it takes even longer to create depth. We've created a good team here, but there's zippo depth. That will correct itself in time.

So Crennel does the smart thing and he shelves the light package for the rest of the game (only bringing it out on obvous passing downs, rather than making it the primary package).

The DL has three players with hands in the dirt for the rest of the game:

The starting lineup of Dorsey, Edwards, Smith is no longer adequate. Edwards has either lost his passrush or he's gassed at this point every season. And without a passrush, Edwards isn't particularly useful as a regular NT. This isn't news, but he gets washed way too often by basically every guard who takes him on. He has some success at 0-tech, but he lacks the strength of Ratliff or Garah so he basically just guesses which way to angle against the center and he's wrong more than half the time. We get hurt up the gut.

Smith on the other hand has zero range outside of the phone booth. We started playing him at DE out of desperation, but he is clearly more of a NT. He has no range of movement, so while you can't run to him very well, you can run very slightly off tackle and be fine. At NT, however, he doesn't fold like a card table, making him a vast improvement over Edwards.

Eventually, Crennel settled in on Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson, because this was the combination bringing the most success. The Chargers got some good yardage on the ground in this game, but most of it was (a.) up the gut on Edwards, (b.) off the edge where all our edge defenders except for Berry were pretty much owned for one reason or another, and (c.) occurred before the Dorsey, Smith, Jackson lineup came onto the field. Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson drastically slowed down the run game. You couldn't run on any of these folks -- the most success you'd have was around the edges.

Jackson really outplayed Smith at the LDE position, and deserves to get his starting spot back (I'd slide Smith over to NT over Edwards). Jackson's pursuit is so much better than any other defensive lineman we have on this team, at least for this game. Dorsey's pursuit is tenacious until the defender gets downfield (mainly because Dorsey is the only DL that plays 100% of our defensive snaps), but Jackson keeps going. Jackson held his own at the point of attack and showed more range and push in the passrush than Smith did.

This was Jackson's best game all season -- and it reminded us of how good he looked for the first half in Week 1, against the very same team. So I don't know how much of this is Jackson starting to get it, or how much of this is him simply having a brilliant matchup against the right side of the Chargers OL.

With all this in mind, even though we got 31 dropped on us, I'll say this: with a starting lineup of Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson, with Edwards and Gilberry rotating in for obvious passing downs, and we don't get gashed on the ground. Give me a healthy Flowers, and our downfield matchups make muuuuuch more sense.

I won't speak for the offense, but the defense was not necessarily a lost cause in Sunday's game.

[jettio]

I think the officiating crew was one that lets the O-line get away with more holding than the average officiating crew.

I think that was a factor that hurt the Chiefs on both sides of the ball.

I would not be surprised to see the Chargers flagged early for holding 3-4 times in thursday nights game against the 49ers.

[Direckshun]

I think the officiating crew was one that lets the O-line get away with more holding than the average officiating crew.

I think that was a factor that hurt the Chiefs on both sides of the ball.

I would not be surprised to see the Chargers flagged early for holding 3-4 times in thursday nights game against the 49ers.

The holding wasn't the deciding factor. Our complete lack of depth in our secondary got us killed downfield. We're soft in the middle of our line, too, and only slightly less soft when Smith mans the nose.

San Diego faced a TON of long 3rd downs yesterday, but converted virtually all of them because every single matchup downfield was favorable to Rivers. As I tried to explain earlier, a healthy Flowers changes all that -- and I mean it. Give me a 100% Antonio Gates and V-JAX, even, and we could have contained them.

[jettio]

The holding wasn't the deciding factor. Our complete lack of depth in our secondary got us killed downfield. We're soft in the middle of our line, too, and only slightly less soft when Smith mans the nose.

San Diego faced a TON of long 3rd downs yesterday, but converted virtually all of them because every single matchup downfield was favorable to Rivers. As I tried to explain earlier, a healthy Flowers changes all that -- and I mean it. Give me a 100% Antonio Gates and V-JAX, even, and we could have contained them.

The chargers owned third down no doubt.

I think if Chiefs and Chargers win out. Chargers will get the wildcard and come to Arrowhead. I think the Ravens or Jets will find a way to get to 10-6 or 9-7.

If that happens, I bet there will be a noticeable difference in the line play and the overall play of the defense.

[ModSocks]

The holding wasn't the deciding factor. Our complete lack of depth in our secondary got us killed downfield. We're soft in the middle of our line, too, and only slightly less soft when Smith mans the nose.

San Diego faced a TON of long 3rd downs yesterday, but converted virtually all of them because every single matchup downfield was favorable to Rivers. As I tried to explain earlier, a healthy Flowers changes all that -- and I mean it. Give me a 100% Antonio Gates and V-JAX, even, and we could have contained them.

I don't buy that AT ALL.

If they throw in a healthy Gates, we get murdered. We have no answer for Gates. If the chargers add Gates to the mix, it makes it much easier to take the top off our D. Now their Wr's can run more vertical routes, clear out the middle and Gates would work us over and over again.

And a 6-6" WR running vertically downfield against a 5 9" CB is a matchup nightmare. Rivers knows exactly where to put the ball and does a good job of it.

We don't match up well with the Chargers. At all. They are a matchup nightmare for the Chiefs.

Hell, for a lot of teams.

The Remedy?

A dominate, violent pass rusher opposite HAli and strong NT.

[Direckshun]

I don't buy that AT ALL.

If they throw in a healthy Gates, we get murdered. We have no answer for Gates. If the chargers add Gates to the mix, it makes it much easier to take the top off our D. Now their Wr's can run more vertical routes, clear out the middle and Gates would work us over and over again.

And a 6-6" WR running vertically downfield against a 5 9" CB is a matchup nightmare. Rivers knows exactly where to put the ball and does a good job of it.

We don't match up well with the Chargers. At all. They are a matchup nightmare for the Chiefs.

Hell, for a lot of teams.

The Remedy?

A dominate, violent pass rusher opposite HAli and strong NT.

I'm not arguing that those things would make us better. I'm arguing what's on the field right now.

There have been three games this year when Crennel has committed McGraw single-mindedly to a TE: Clark, Davis, and Lewis. He shut down every single one of them -- Clark had some unimpactful receptions, that's it. McGraw has also periodically been committed to other TEs with splendid results -- it really is the best thing he does.

All the success Gates had in Week 1 came at the expense of Berry early on. Gates stats bottomed out in the second half as McGraw was put on him to clamp him down.

V-JAX is a matchup nightmare plain and simple. I think Carr mitigates that the most, however, and even then, he'd have to be the guy that beats us. Everywhere else, we get favorable matchups with a healthy Flowers in the game.

[dallaschiefsfan]

The Remedy?

A dominate, violent pass rusher opposite HAli and strong NT.

I agree with this part of what you say in the sense that it positions us to win more times than we lose against the Chargers. However, the OP has a point on a healthy Flowers radically changing the game.

[Three7s]

It seemed like the Chargers were really going with a lot of underneath routes, especially on 3rd and long. I can't say for sure, but I was thinking that the WR routes for the Chargers were dragging most of our defenders deep, leaving intermediate routes underneath for easy first downs. Sort of like a prevent lite.

Would that make sense after watching the defense?

[ModSocks]

I'm not arguing that those things would make us better. I'm arguing what's on the field right now.

There have been three games this year when Crennel has committed McGraw single-mindedly to a TE: Clark, Davis, and Lewis. He shut down every single one of them -- Clark had some unimpactful receptions, that's it. McGraw has also periodically been committed to other TEs with splendid results -- it really is the best thing he does.

All the success Gates had in Week 1 came at the expense of Berry early on. Gates stats bottomed out in the second half as McGraw was put on him to clamp him down.

V-JAX is a matchup nightmare plain and simple. I think Carr mitigates that the most, however, and even then, he'd have to be the guy that beats us. Everywhere else, we get favorable matchups with a healthy Flowers in the game.

I dont see it.

Gates was being double and sometimes triple teamed in the first matchup. McGraw left one on one with Gates=Rape. And they had no V-Jax, which changes things dramatically.

The Chargers have big, fast, physical receivers, which is the opposite of what we have for DB's.

Our D just doesn't match up well with them. And the only way to negate it is with a pass rush.

I like our DB's match ups with certain teams like the Ravens, Patriots, Steelers and MAYBE the Jets.

But not the Chargers. Not the way they run their offense.

[ModSocks]

I agree with this part of what you say in the sense that it positions us to win more times than we lose against the Chargers. However, the OP has a point on a healthy Flowers radically changing the game.

And a Healthy Gates takes Flowers out of the picture.

[ModSocks]

It seemed like the Chargers were really going with a lot of underneath routes, especially on 3rd and long. I can't say for sure, but I was thinking that the WR routes for the Chargers were dragging most of our defenders deep, leaving intermediate routes underneath for easy first downs. Sort of like a prevent lite.

Would that make sense after watching the defense?

Exactly.

Now imagine if SD had Gates working underneath and in the middle of the field.

There is no way you can tell me McGraw is Gate's kryptonite.

The Chiefs are forced to play their safties deep because those big, fast rangy Wr's are so difficult to contend with. Flowers can have perfect coverage, but when Rivers puts the ball on the money (which he often does, like the TD catch over flower's head for example) then there is nothing our much smaller DB's can do about it. So, they get help over the top.

These wide outs are too strong to bump consistantly, too fast to not give a cushion to, and big enough to position themselves correctly. Our DB's can't control them at the LOS, which is a big problem. One on one with with Floyd and Jackson is not favorable for us.

And that's what we would esentially have to do in order to stop Gates.

It's pick your poison. Not to mention they have bowling ball RBs', which the Chiefs traditionally don't do well against.

[The Franchise]

This game proved that we don't really have depth ANYWHERE on this defense. Edwards and Vrabel should be done after this year. So going into next year we need:

NT
OLB (opposite Hali)
ILB

[ModSocks]

This game proved that we don't really have depth ANYWHERE on this defense. Edwards and Vrabel should be done after this year. So going into next year we need:

NT
OLB (opposite Hali)
ILB

And I Firmly believe that until we get a bad ass NT and OLB, we'll continue to get raped by the Chargers.

Matchup NIGHTMARE.

[dallaschiefsfan]

And a Healthy Gates takes Flowers out of the picture.

Hell...we shouldn't have made the flight if Gates was playing then. Apparently a healthy Flowers doesn't change much...but a healthy Gates turns our defense into goo. Give me a break. He's a great TE, but he's not the one-man victory machine you make him out to be.

[kaplin42]

The chargers owned third down no doubt.

I think if Chiefs and Chargers win out. Chargers will get the wildcard and come to Arrowhead. I think the Ravens or Jets will find a way to get to 10-6 or 9-7.

If that happens, I bet there will be a noticeable difference in the line play and the overall play of the defense.

What makes you say that.

Just being realistic here, but the Chiefs have not given one shred of evidence that they can rise to an occaision like that. They have folded to every halfway decent team that they have faced this year.

[ModSocks]

Hell...we shouldn't have made the flight if Gates was playing then. Apparently a healthy Flowers doesn't change much...but a healthy Gates turns our defense into goo. Give me a break. He's a great TE, but he's not the one-man victory machine you make him out to be.

Uhm...how often do you watch him play? Living in SD, I see him a lot. He is that good.

So good that the Chiefs had to triple team him in week 1.

Triple team.

Let that sink in.

The Chargers offense runs through Gates. Plain and simple. The reason i said what I said is because the Chargers will run Flowers out of the picture in order to better position Gates. They won't throw towards Flowers until they see him one on one, at that point they'll go deep on him, which is a favorable match up for the Chargers.

When Gates is in, he's Rivers' go to guy. They'll clear out the area for Gates. Whether you want to believe it or not, he's that good.

[dallaschiefsfan]

What makes you say that.

Just being realistic here, but the Chiefs have not given one shred of evidence that they can rise to an occaision like that. They have folded to every halfway decent team that they have faced this year.

I think he's implying that the home field will make a difference...which it has all season.

[dallaschiefsfan]

Uhm...how often do you watch him play? Living in SD, I see him a lot. He is that good.

So good that the Chiefs had to triple team him in week 1.

Triple team.

Let that sink in.

The Chargers offense runs through Gates. Plain and simple. The reason i said what I said is because the Chargers will run Flowers out of the picture in order to better position Gates. They won't throw towards Flowers until they see him one on one, at that point they'll go deep on him, which is a favorable match up for the Chargers.

When Gates is in, he's Rivers' go to guy. They'll clear out the area for Gates. Whether you want to believe it or not, he's that good.

Let's see. I have had Sunday Ticket since '98. I watch nearly every game I can get eyeballs on and I've had Gates on at least one of my fantasy teams for the least 4 years. Yeah...I pay attention to his play.

Again...he's a great TE. If I hadn't been spoiled by Tony G, I'd probably be more impressed than I am. But he's not going to decide games. If a great TE could do that, the Chiefs would have won multiple Super Bowls.

[ModSocks]

Let's see. I have had Sunday Ticket since '98. I watch nearly every game I can get eyeballs on and I've had Gates on at least one of my fantasy teams for the least 4 years. Yeah...I pay attention to his play.

Again...he's a great TE. If I hadn't been spoiled by Tony G, I'd probably be more impressed than I am. But he's not going to decide games. If a great TE could do that, the Chiefs would have won multiple Super Bowls.

Within the Chargers scheme, and the way our personnel matches up against theirs, he IS a one man wrecking crew against the Chiefs.

The difference between Tony G and Gates: Tony never had WR's that could clear out the field like Jackson and Floyd can. There is a reason why the Chargers offense has been so prolific for so many years and it starts with that Rivers to Gates connection.

Anyway, the point is, the Chiefs don't have the personnel to take away part of the Chargers offense w/o sacrificing something else.

You can take away Gates, but then you let the Chargers do what they do best; go over the top on you.

You can take away the deep ball, but that means Gates will have room to work you underneath.

And until we get a pass rush on Rivers, it's going to be like that. If the Chiefs are ever going to be consistant AFCW division winners they'll need to have the guys who can put Rivers on his ass.

[Gadzooks]

Let's see. I have had Sunday Ticket since '98. I watch nearly every game I can get eyeballs on and I've had Gates on at least one of my fantasy teams for the least 4 years. Yeah...I pay attention to his play.

Again...he's a great TE. If I hadn't been spoiled by Tony G, I'd probably be more impressed than I am. But he's not going to decide games. If a great TE could do that, the Chiefs would have won multiple Super Bowls.

It's a great TE mixed with big fast receivers. Most Charger WRs are 6'3"+ and 200lbs+. They're a matchup nightmare against any DBs. Add the play of Tobert, Mathews and Sproles and it becomes chaos for any D-Coordinator without a solid NT and a great pass rush.

[ModSocks]

It's a great TE mixed with big fast receivers. Most Charger WRs are 6'3"+ and 200lbs+. They are a matchup nightmare against any D. Add the play of Tobert, Mathews and Sproles and it becomes chaos for any D-Coordinator without a solid NT and a great pass rush.

This.

And I said it last year before the playoffs began and I'll say it again. Had the Chargers not drawn the Jets in their first playoff game, they would've gone to the SB.

At the time last year, I felt that the Jets were the only team in AFC that had a D that could fuck the Chargers shit up.

the Chargers are built to beat up on D's like the Chiefs.

[Mr. Laz]

impossible ... jackson is the worst football player in the history of the NFL.

[Mr. Laz]

btw our coverage wouldn't be such a nightmare if our safeties weren't sucking ass for most of the game.

Berry showed up in the 2nd half but we need more.

both guys ... Berry/Lewis are always LATE,LATE,LATE. Especially on the passes down the sideline.

Hopefully they will get better with experience but so far it's been a struggle.

[Gadzooks]

btw our coverage wouldn't be such a nightmare if our safeties weren't sucking ass for most of the game.

Berry showed up in the 2nd half but we need more.

both guys ... Berry/Lewis are always LATE,LATE,LATE. Especially on the passes down the sideline.

Hopefully they will get better with experience but so far it's been a struggle.

The Chiefs lack of a pass rush will expose any DB. You could have Reed and Polamalu running around back there and it wouldn't make a lick of difference.
You need a pass rush to expedite the situation for the QB. Sure, Hali will get close eventually, but it will often be far too late since he's on his own.

[cabletech94]

thanks for the breakdown 'shun.

i couldn't pinpoint what "helped" the def out in the 2nd half. and i'm serious. even tho, we got our lunches handed to us, that 2nd half didn't even come close to the first.
hopefully we can build on this from here on out.

[richpjr]

The Chargers put up 31 points without Gates, Nanee, Crayton and their starting LG. Floyd is playing with a bum hamstring and hurt his shoulder on the 2nd TD. If the Chargers weren't trying to shorten the game in the second half, they almost certainly could have scored more points. Yeah, healthy players always contribute more than beat up players, but his injury had zero impact on that beat down.

[kysirsoze]

So here are some random thoughts about the whole thing. Stick with me, because my thoughts are complex.

I'm out.

[MIAdragon]

btw our coverage wouldn't be such a nightmare if our safeties weren't sucking ass for most of the game.

Berry showed up in the 2nd half but we need more.

both guys ... Berry/Lewis are always LATE,LATE,LATE. Especially on the passes down the sideline.

Hopefully they will get better with experience but so far it's been a struggle.

This really stuck out, Flowers needed WAY more help especially on the deep balls but Lewis was consistently late getting there.

[chris]

I rewatched the entire game last night focusing only on the defense, particularly the DL. I didn't even watch the offensive series.

So here are some random thoughts about the whole thing. Stick with me, because my thoughts are complex.

The first touchdown series, the Chiefs were running an extremely light dime package defense like they ran against Orton. Only Dorsey and Gilberry had their hands in the dirt for the majority of downs -- Edwards and Smith played only the first few downs.

The reason why that worked with Orton but not with Rivers is because Flowers' injury creates mismatches all over the field when the Chargers drop back to pass. A healthy Flowers can shut down Malcolm Floyd, leaving Carr to spend his time covering V-Jax, a MUCH better matchup for him. Arenas can then focus on other quicker guys like Washington or Naane. Berry and Daniels do a decent enough job covering tertiary receivers. Our LBs can cover their RBs with the occasional exception of Sproles. And McGraw has shut down every TE he's faced this season, so even a healthy Antonio Gates can be contained if Crennel commits him to it (which he doesn't always do).

But Flowers' injury throws all that in doubt. Flowers can't keep up with Floyd now, so you have to put Carr on him which is a poor matchup. Flowers and Arenas end up picking up whoever the #2 is and neither one of them is up to the task (Flowers might if healthy, and Arenas is getting there but is still a rook).

I bring all this up because this was a winning defensive gameplan if we had a healthy Flowers. And this is what happens with promising-but-still-rebuilding teams: you've got some great talent, but as long as the process is to transform a bad team into a good team, it takes even longer to create depth. We've created a good team here, but there's zippo depth. That will correct itself in time.

So Crennel does the smart thing and he shelves the light package for the rest of the game (only bringing it out on obvous passing downs, rather than making it the primary package).

The DL has three players with hands in the dirt for the rest of the game:

The starting lineup of Dorsey, Edwards, Smith is no longer adequate. Edwards has either lost his passrush or he's gassed at this point every season. And without a passrush, Edwards isn't particularly useful as a regular NT. This isn't news, but he gets washed way too often by basically every guard who takes him on. He has some success at 0-tech, but he lacks the strength of Ratliff or Garah so he basically just guesses which way to angle against the center and he's wrong more than half the time. We get hurt up the gut.

Smith on the other hand has zero range outside of the phone booth. We started playing him at DE out of desperation, but he is clearly more of a NT. He has no range of movement, so while you can't run to him very well, you can run very slightly off tackle and be fine. At NT, however, he doesn't fold like a card table, making him a vast improvement over Edwards.

Eventually, Crennel settled in on Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson, because this was the combination bringing the most success. The Chargers got some good yardage on the ground in this game, but most of it was (a.) up the gut on Edwards, (b.) off the edge where all our edge defenders except for Berry were pretty much owned for one reason or another, and (c.) occurred before the Dorsey, Smith, Jackson lineup came onto the field. Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson drastically slowed down the run game. You couldn't run on any of these folks -- the most success you'd have was around the edges.

Jackson really outplayed Smith at the LDE position, and deserves to get his starting spot back (I'd slide Smith over to NT over Edwards). Jackson's pursuit is so much better than any other defensive lineman we have on this team, at least for this game. Dorsey's pursuit is tenacious until the defender gets downfield (mainly because Dorsey is the only DL that plays 100% of our defensive snaps), but Jackson keeps going. Jackson held his own at the point of attack and showed more range and push in the passrush than Smith did.

This was Jackson's best game all season -- and it reminded us of how good he looked for the first half in Week 1, against the very same team. So I don't know how much of this is Jackson starting to get it, or how much of this is him simply having a brilliant matchup against the right side of the Chargers OL.

With all this in mind, even though we got 31 dropped on us, I'll say this: with a starting lineup of Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson, with Edwards and Gilberry rotating in for obvious passing downs, and we don't get gashed on the ground. Give me a healthy Flowers, and our downfield matchups make muuuuuch more sense.

I won't speak for the offense, but the defense was not necessarily a lost cause in Sunday's game.

Nice analysis.

How did Vrabel grade out? As bad as others have stated?

Your opinion on #1 need for defense in the draft?

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

"The Defense Vs The Chargers"

mmmmmm.....SUCKED?!

"That boy's got a lot of quit in him".

[Direckshun]

Nice analysis.

How did Vrabel grade out? As bad as others have stated?

Your opinion on #1 need for defense in the draft?

Vrabel's understanding of the gameplan is there. He's rarely caught out of position.

What isn't there is his physical execution anymore. If we had any depth at OLB, he wouldn't see the field but a handful of snaps per game.

That highlights our biggest need, even moreso than WR. We need an outside backer, at least a starter and some depth there. Studebaker is terrible, too, but he's got at least some semblence of burst.

[Direckshun]

btw our coverage wouldn't be such a nightmare if our safeties weren't sucking ass for most of the game.

Berry showed up in the 2nd half but we need more.

both guys ... Berry/Lewis are always LATE,LATE,LATE. Especially on the passes down the sideline.

Hopefully they will get better with experience but so far it's been a struggle.

The Chiefs lack of a pass rush will expose any DB. You could have Reed and Polamalu running around back there and it wouldn't make a lick of difference.
You need a pass rush to expedite the situation for the QB. Sure, Hali will get close eventually, but it will often be far too late since he's on his own.

This really stuck out, Flowers needed WAY more help especially on the deep balls but Lewis was consistently late getting there.

Lewis has been late closing down that corner all season. For all his smarts, he's still a step behind more veteran QBs.

For the record, I've had zero serious complaints about Berry's play this season. He's played extraordinarily well for a guy who's learning on the fly. His coverage will get better, but his instincts, his sheer abilities, and best of all his ability to fly into the flats and into the backfield was a plus during the Chargers game.

[Direckshun]

I dont see it.

Gates was being double and sometimes triple teamed in the first matchup. McGraw left one on one with Gates=Rape. And they had no V-Jax, which changes things dramatically.

The Chargers have big, fast, physical receivers, which is the opposite of what we have for DB's.

Our D just doesn't match up well with them. And the only way to negate it is with a pass rush.

I like our DB's match ups with certain teams like the Ravens, Patriots, Steelers and MAYBE the Jets.

But not the Chargers. Not the way they run their offense.

DBs just aren't big. You have some bigger DBs, though, and that's where Brandon Carr comes in.

Let's break it down this way:

With an injured Flowers and current state of SD's receiving corps:
Floyd --> Carr
V-JAX --> injured Flowers/Arenas
Naanee --> injured Flowers/Arenas
Washington --> Daniels
RBs --> linebackers

Other than our linebackers on their RBs, that's a favorable matchup everywhere for Rivers.

With a healthy flowers and healthy SD receiving corps:
V-JAX --> Carr
Floyd --> Flowers
Nannee --> Arenas/Daniels
Washington --> Arenas/Daniels
Gates --> McGraw
RBs --> linebackers

Now you've got a fair fight. Carr can still get beat by V-JAX, but he can keep him in check FAR better than an injured Flowers or Arenas. A healthy Flowers takes out Floyd. And Arenas finally gets a great matchup against faster guys he can keep track of. And like I said, McGraw can relegate Gates to a few unimpactful catches.

So it's clear that losing Flowers drastically changes the quality of matchups that Rivers faces.

[Direckshun]

It seemed like the Chargers were really going with a lot of underneath routes, especially on 3rd and long. I can't say for sure, but I was thinking that the WR routes for the Chargers were dragging most of our defenders deep, leaving intermediate routes underneath for easy first downs. Sort of like a prevent lite.

Would that make sense after watching the defense?

I'd say the Chargers actually were taking advantage of what we were giving them for most of the game. We were dropping seven and eight all game. You go underneathe to beat that, and the linebackers outside of DJ were largely not up to the task.

[Direckshun]

thanks for the breakdown 'shun.

i couldn't pinpoint what "helped" the def out in the 2nd half. and i'm serious. even tho, we got our lunches handed to us, that 2nd half didn't even come close to the first.
hopefully we can build on this from here on out.

The main difference was the defensive line could stop the run with Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson. So the Chiefs felt much more comfortable dropping than stuffing the box.

Thus, the Chargers could only find the end zone at the very end of the second half, when our defense was 100% gassed from playing all game.

[Direckshun]

This game proved that we don't really have depth ANYWHERE on this defense. Edwards and Vrabel should be done after this year. So going into next year we need:

NT
OLB (opposite Hali)
ILB

I'd actually save ILB for some other time. Draft OLB and NT, definitely.

ILB takes less time to develop. OLBs and NTs take two to three years.

And our ILB depth is actually great right now with Johnson on the practice squad: DJ, Belcher, Williams, and Micah Johnson.

That'll hold for at least one season, and has pretty good upside.

[johnny961]

The Chiefs lack of a pass rush will expose any DB. You could have Reed and Polamalu running around back there and it wouldn't make a lick of difference.
You need a pass rush to expedite the situation for the QB. Sure, Hali will get close eventually, but it will often be far too late since he's on his own.

Exactly. Any decent QB will pick a secondary apart given enough time. Hurry the QB and it takes alot of heat off of the secondary. Rivers had entirely too much time to throw.

[Direckshun]

Exactly. Any decent QB will pick a secondary apart given enough time. Hurry the QB and it takes alot of heat off of the secondary. Rivers had entirely too much time to throw.

That actually wasn't the problem as much as people say it is.

Rivers doesn't take a lot of time to throw. Even a really good passrush has trouble getting to him because he's a rhythm guy.

Your secondary has to have decent enough coverage (which ours did not) to slow him down long enough for the passrush to get to him.

Which we did a few times, especially as Crennel adjusted in the second half.

[johnny961]

BTW, overall enjoyed the analysis. And the defense is a good place to start analyzing. I hated seeing us fall behind like this early in the game.

[Three7s]

The main difference was the defensive line could stop the run with Dorsey, Smith, and Jackson. So the Chiefs felt much more comfortable dropping than stuffing the box.

Thus, the Chargers could only find the end zone at the very end of the second half, when our defense was 100% gassed from playing all game.
Sure seemed like it. The only positive I could find through the whole game is the fact that the defense held the Chargers to 10 points in the 2nd half, despite being on the field for.....well all of it.

[Direckshun]

Sure seemed like it. The only positive I could find through the whole game is the fact that the defense held the Chargers to 10 points in the 2nd half, despite being on the field for.....well all of it.
Hey, they gave up three as far as I'm concerned.

[B_Ambuehl]

Detoxing is right about Gates. Other than the 1st TD where there was no deep help the Chiefs played the Chargers in a way that gives you a good chance. The whole key against the chargers is don't give up big plays on 1st and 2nd down. Keep the safeties back and force them to run it. Norv will run the ball but what he really wants to do is use the run to setup the play action game down the field. That's why their running game is so vanilla. They really only run 2 running plays. Keep the safeties back and Norv/Rivers will eventually force shit down the field and/or give you a sack fumble.

The Chiefs did a good job eliminating big plays on early downs and forcing 3rd downs. They forced the chargers into 15 3rd downs and got both an Int and a sack fumble. The main problem is Romeo's defense is so vanilla the 3rd down looks were just way too easy and they didn't get any red zone stops.

Had the offense and red zone defense done anything at all you give yourself a chance with that defensive game plan. With another pass rusher opposite Hali that's the exact defensive gameplan that will cause Rivers to shit the bed more often than not.