Think he’s a liability in coverage and they didn’t want to expose him against Brady. He just would’ve been picked on every time he was on the field. Needs to get in the playbook and figure out what his responsibilities are on any given play, otherwise we’re just going to get the occasional splash plays and some ST snaps. It’s still early, his time will come.

To be fair, Ward gave up the TD, but Watts was definitely way out of position.

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Rob Gronkowski ran a 4.68 at the combine 10 years ago. He is definitely slower than that now.

Willie Gay Jr. ran a 4.46 at this year's combine.

Covering Gronk with Willie would not have "exposed" him. I don't think he is too stupid to understand playing a tight end in coverage.

And he couldn't have performed worse than Hitchens did on the Evans TD on the left side of the end zone. Hitchens gets confused with the pick and just basically stands still in the end zone, and when Evans catches the TD pass, Hitchens looks like he is stunned.

Now, why was Hitchens even playing coverage in that down and distance at the goal line? Who knows, but Gay Jr. couldn't play worse than that.

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Ward thought he had deep help. That's the safety's job.

Ward gets out of position almost immediately, and puts his hand on Evans' chest to slow him down. Watts was definitely out of position, but Ward knew immediately that he screwed up. He pulled his hand off, seemingly worried about a penalty, but he should have just flat out grabbed Evans and taken away any chance for a catch.

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Not exactly a great sign, but hopefully he'll get more snaps this week against Denver. I know the physical traits are there, just hope he can pick up the mental aspect. This team doesn't exactly have a great track record of developing linebackers, but they have to get this one right because the cupboard is pretty barren there.

I've been seeing Gay on more and more tackles and good hits as well.

Think his confidence is building and seeing the field is getting better. Unlike Dee Ford.

I wouldn’t equate combine 40’s to a players ability to get open (or cover), otherwise Henry Ruggs would be lighting the league up currently. Gronk had over 100 receiving yards for the first time all season this game too, so I definitely think Brady had his eye on the that matchup.

Brady has made a legendary career off exposing defenders that are confused or out of place in the defensive scheme. It may not have been Gronk but if you have Gay out there who isn’t consistently in the place Spags wants him to be in, Brady is going to take advantage of it. Maybe he’s giving tells in his stance before the snap or isn’t catching on to coverage calls, idk but there’s something going on mentally with him to justify a one snap performance in a pretty big statement game.

I thought I read somewhere around draft time that stated Gay was the best coverage LB in the draft so this confuses me.

He for sure has the athletic capabilities of being the best coverage LB but he can’t get the reps if the coaches aren’t comfortable with him out there yet. I’m just suggesting it’s a mental reason in terms of not having a firm enough grasp of the defense and the plays being called.

Spags doesn't think he's ready yet.

The other day I was watching some show on ESPN or FoxSports, and they were interviewing a former player of Spags, and he said something kind of interesting about how Spags decides who plays on Sunday. Wish I could remember what show that was. Maybe I'll remember later and find a clip of it.

Anyway, the short version is that Spags wants to see a player show consistent ability, confidence, and comfort for a couple weeks in a row in practice before he puts a player on the field. And then if the player shows some uncertainty or whatever, he kind of starts over with that player. But it's not punitive. Apparently Spags doesn't want the player to get embarrassed and lose confidence, so he doesn't put the player in that position.

Anyway, based on what that player said, imo, Spags doesn't think Gay is ready yet to play an offense like what the Bucs have with a veteran QB like Brady that could pick on him for a whole game. I'd bet we'd see something similar if we had to play a healthy Brees in a few weeks.

Against DEN Gay might see a bunch of snaps, and possibly MIA as well.

In terms of raw athletic ability, he CAN be a good coverage LB. He also can rush the passer and stuff the run.

His problem is experience. He missed 8 games due to suspension his junior year and then skipped his senior year to declare for the draft.

He's very, very raw when it comes to the mental aspects of the game.

.

So close to getting another sack on that Matheui INT. He’s so damn fast.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Landlord will take that ���� <a href="https://twitter.com/Mathieu_Era?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mathieu_Era</a><br><br>��: <a href="https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SNFonNBC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProBowlVote?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProBowlVote</a> <a href="https://t.co/Wje7YKEzPs">pic.twitter.com/Wje7YKEzPs</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1335757914427035654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gay showing off the athletic ability when he is able to come down hill and close. So much athletic promise there. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JacobsEyeInTheSky?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JacobsEyeInTheSky</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> <a href="https://t.co/cTO9RN4ZlJ">pic.twitter.com/cTO9RN4ZlJ</a></p>&mdash; Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jacobs71/status/1336487345604988928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Holy shit this guys gonna be a stud.

Little by little he will put it together, but when he does, look out!

That QB pressure was right after he made the stop on the run.

I agree. You see REAL flashes from the guy. He has top end potential.

Kid needs to play. We’ve got a prime opportunity to win another championship and it can’t be wasted out of fear that he’s not as mentally prepared as a guy like Niemann.

Week after week, he’s making splash plays while the only other LB occasionally doing that is Hitchens.

That is such an embarrassing video for Wilson and Hitchens. There is no way Gay should beat either of those guys to the ball carrier.

Good lord.

WTF are you talking about. Did you watch the video? Hitchens was double teamed.

Not sure I agree....looked like Hitchens took on the lead block, and Wilson wrapped around Nnadi to cover the initial gap...

Seems to me Nnadi wasn't in the right gap, because Jones and Clark on the backside were already lined up in their gaps and weren't moved out of them....

Also looks like Breeland comes free as well, but from the outside....

If Nnadi continues to work to the off side like it seems he was supposed to on some type of stunt, Wilson makes the tackle in the hole...

Only looked at the tape once at regular speed, but this is what it looked like to me at first glance. Nnadi might have misplayed it, but everyone else looks like they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.

And Wilson exercised good gap discipline.

Yup. Both graded out perfectly...

https://i.imgur.com/fdMgN3X.gif

Looking at all the advanced stats, the Chiefs defense is nowhere close to as bad as people say. They're near the top of the league in points allowed and takeaways. They're near the top in QB knockdowns per pass attempt. They're in the top third of the league in pressures per dropback. The only thing they suck at is yards per rush, missed tackles, and actually getting home and sacking the QB.

Damn. Shot out of a rocket on that.

The play was meant for the gap Wilson came in on. If anything, it's just a good play by Gordon to quickly find the cutback lane.

Nnadi washed a bit and it was a good cut by Gordon, great play by WGJ scraping hard. Everyone was pretty much in their assigned gaps.

I'm a huge Jones fan, but he almost allowed a big run play. Nnadi is actually the guy that initially blew that play up and had his gap covered as well. Wilson does a really good job of filling the hole, but the hole is smaller because Nnadi is really ****ing good. The center initially gets his hands inside Nnadi but Nnadi says **** that and is able to knock the C hands off him and then pushed him back to close the hole and Wilson fills it perfectly.

Even though Jones technically had his gap covered he got beat. That G knows the play is designed to run the other way, so he's gonna let Jones have the gap. If Jones is able to control the G while still maintaining his gap, like Nnadi is doing with the C, then there isn't that huge ass cut back lane that you see. Willie Gay Jr. makes a huge play because if Lindsay hits that lane then he's making a big time run and maybe even a TD because he made it into the secondary and Sorenson is the only one with a clear path to him.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/789df356...46ccde2dab.pnj

https://64.media.tumblr.com/24c97f21...fed7724f34.pnj

https://64.media.tumblr.com/2abed15c...acb8c38375.pnj

https://64.media.tumblr.com/5b1f90ce...e74dde8ed8.pnj

https://64.media.tumblr.com/a807a0b0...8d4e3afac9.pnj

https://64.media.tumblr.com/f61d0bff...52532496a8.pnj

I get what you are saying, but don't agree: on the video, Nnadi is lined up on the Centers Right Shoulder, but on the snap of the ball, and despite the play is a dive directly into that gap, his initial move is to cross the center's face and maintain leverage on the opposite side of the play, at which case I can only presume his responsibility in that situation is the A gap to the centers left

I say this, because Wilson is originally lined up in that left side A gap, but immediately upon the snap, crosses the center from left to right, and fills the right side A gap after Hitchens absorbs the lead block....

During the video, Nnadi, makes that initial move across the center's face, but then tries to work back to the center's right side, leaving nobody in the left side A gap (which Wilson abandoned when he crossed, and Nnadi abandoned when he tries to work back to the centers right.

So, to me, either Nnadi or Wilson isn't where they should be, and I'm guessing Nnadi since he started the play in that gap, and immediately worked to the left

Jones (regardless of effort) is right where he should be, and if Nnadi keeps gap integrity, that hole isn't there at all.....

My $0.02

Jones was where he was supposed to be. Setting the edge and in his gap. Nnadi is the one who lost his gap when he went to make the tackle/play. That's what created the cutback lane.

You all are right and I'm wrong. I was running the All 22 in slow motion and it made it look like Nnadi who was initially lined up to the right of the center and moves over before the snap to the left of the center. This made me figure he had 2 gap responsibility and played it really well, but when watching in full speed that is not the case. Had Nnadi been on the right side of the center instead of crashing down to the left, then that hole wouldnt have needed to be completely filled by Wilson. Since Wilson sees Nnadi in the wrong gap he has to crash down to the unoccupied gap of Nnadi's and that leaves the cut back completely open because Wilson is trying to cover Nnadi's abandoned gap. Jones did play actually play it very well and shot the gap he was responsible for.

“It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong and it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man for being wrong” - Pete Griffin

Is this the week that Willie Gay gets more playing time?

Yes, he's replacing Damien Wilson due to injury

Hopefully less knee-man and more gay

I didn't get to watch the game yesterday so I looked up his stat line and it wasn't impressive. Did he get extended playing time, if so, did his play look like his stat line?

No.

He's starting to pop off the screen a bit.

He closes SO FAST.

Dude can fly.

They're bringing him along perfectly. Putting him in situations to succeed. He's going to be fine.

Yep.

He looked like a solid football player yesterday. His speed is very evident.

He only played 17 snaps. They're definitely bringing him along slow. Lets get his ass in there more fellas.

I don't think it's going to happen this year. Niemann still got 3x the snaps.

They don't play the same position. Stop

Either way it’s not happening. If Gay is backing up Wilson at SLB, that’s the player coming off the field when not in the base 4-3 alignment. Considering we’re in nickle and dime so often Gay doesn’t have much room for more snaps unless he moves to Niemann’s position.

Gay is a talented but inexperienced player.

He's not going to be making defensive calls anytime soon. The mental aspect of the defense isn't his strong point (yet).

He's starting to flash. They're putting him in situations to succeed. He's playing with more confidence.

It was always going to be a work in progress. We just need to be patient.

Agree.

He was awesome on Hardman's punt return, dude is crazy fast.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Watch Willie Gay on the play. Good control on his shuffle. Then he drops back to cover and then comes down to close and accelerate to close down the run. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JacobsEyeInTheSky?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JacobsEyeInTheSky</a> <a href="https://t.co/AWmXAvBRHc">pic.twitter.com/AWmXAvBRHc</a></p>&mdash; Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jacobs71/status/1339235840875237377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> linebackers in the last two games in Weeks 14-15<br><br>Willie Gay Jr.<br>• 88.2 Overall<br>• 90.4 Coverage<br>• 29 Snaps<br><br>Ben Niemann<br>• 56.5 Overall<br>• 49.1 Coverage<br>• 122 Snaps<br><br>Anthony Hitchens<br>• 29.5 Overall<br>• 29.3 Coverage<br>• 78 Snaps<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a></p>&mdash; PFF KC Chiefs (@PFF_Chiefs) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF_Chiefs/status/1341086775146639363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://theathletic.com/2284362/2020...role-playoffs/

Free Willie? Willie Gay could play bigger role for Chiefs before playoffs begin

by Nate Taylor

Hitchens appears to be out tomorrow, so I guess we'll see how ready Gay is.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That makes it official that the Chiefs will be without linebackers Anthony Hitchens (COVID-19 reserve) and Damien Wilson (knee). They will have available Ben Niemann, Willie Gay, Darius Harris and Omari Cobb.</p>— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattderrick/status/1342939416071974913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I would like to see him excel in coverage today. Show the coaching staff that he's ready to take a bit more work for the playoffs.

The O/U for Gay's defensive snap total today?

I'll guess 22.5

Gay is looking incredible!

So long Ben Nieman!

9 tackles, 1 TFL and a forced fumble.

This kid is going to beast next year when he learns the position

Love him. Still need Hitch back to QB the D, unfortunately.

We need updates?!?!?

It's an ankle injury...

Looked like an ankle sprain. Hopefully he’s back in two weeks, but not sure.

Out of all the players out there this week, Gay was the one I REALLY didn't want injured.

Damn. Hope he can still make it to for the Divisional.

That defense needs Willie Gay! Khalen Saunders is playing linebacker at this point.

Come on now Debbie Downer....

I’ll take Okafor, Wilson, Robinson, Hardman, Thornhill, Pennel, and Danna.

I’ll throw in Butker and Townsend for good measure. Might even throw in Winchester and Wisniewski.

Terrible take.

Khalen just took Willie's job.

FAX

I hear ya, He was/is destined to be a big play maker in the post season. Hope he can return.

Pretty sure Khalen>Gay after today. he doesn't even need to tackle. RBs see him coming, and they eat dirt immediately.

So, he's going to be ready for Superb Owl, no? That's a HUGE deal, IMO.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> list Patrick Mahomes, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mike Remmers and Andrew Wylie as full participants in practice today. <br><br>Le&#39;veon Bell, L&#39;Jarius Sneed, Willie Gay and Sammy Watkins were limited participants.</p>&mdash; Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaroldRKuntz3/status/1354895646638157824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

We need some Gay in the SB!

We really did miss him in the Super Bowl but I'm excited for his return for the 21 season and see how much he has improved from his rookie season. He is another player that missed out on a normal offseason do to covid that would have helped his development for his rookie season. This year I think he is primed to go.

Reid on Gay: “There’s a chance”

The Chiefs placed the 23-year-old Gay on injured reserve after he suffered a turf toe injury during the team’s final preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. He has missed the first four regular-season games of the year.

Gay was eligible to return to the active roster last week, but the Chiefs held him back.

“Theres’ a chance,” said Reid when it came to Gay’s potential activation this week. “He was kind of getting there last week. We’ll see on this, see where he’s at as we go forward here. But I think he’s starting to feel a little bit better, for sure.”


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Gay is the new Big Foot. You hear about him, but never see him.

I hope his turf toe isn't much like haglund's.

I'm more concerned about his spirit.

If he shows up to his next press conference with a scruffy beard then I won't have much hope of him seeing the field this year.

It’s been 9 months since he has played in a meaningful game.


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People need to temper their optimism about WGJ returning and immediately adding a pro bowler to the defense. He’s still inexperienced and will run himself out of plays while making his fair share of mental errors that cost the defense. He will bring big play ability, but at a cost until he gets a lot more experience. I honestly don’t look for him to be a beast until the final 6-7 games. Hopefully sooner, but I’m trying to remain realistic with expectations for him.

People are just excited to see less Ben Niemann. Surely you can appreciate that!?!?!?!?

Just seeing the field will be an improvement. Dude has Watkins Syndrome.

We don't have to be football technique nerds to see with our eyes that we are slow to the edge. The runners are already into the safeties before help arrives. Someone is open in the flat, no one ever shows up to meet them until they are at the safeties again.

We obviously need speed at LB. Gay fits that bill. He's not a panacea and will make some mistakes but that speed should be on the field for every play.