Quote:
Originally Posted by htismaqe
Bob Sutton's defenses were excellent when the talent was there. This defense sorely needs talent and using Bob Sutton as an excuse to not acquire it is inexcusable...
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I'm just going to have to disagree with you man, and that's fine... a difference of opinion makes things interesting.
I see Bob Sutton as the leader of the defense. Just like a QB makes average players around him better, the DC should be putting players in position to succeed.
Now, I agree the tackling is a shit show this season, but IMO that still falls on the DC. He needs to figure out a way to toughen up his squad. If that takes benching players, fine (it can't get much worse). If that takes a Todd Haley approach at being a dick-head to get production... so be it. This defense sucks and just like in the real world, it eventually is a telling tale on management.
To me, looking at the stat sheet on Bob Sutton's defense over the past few years is the same as looking at Alex Smith's stat sheet and thinking he is [good enough]. The stats are skewed, and the eye-test tells a more telling story. That's not saying the Chiefs defense Hasn't shown up in some games over the past 5 years, because they have.
Say the Chiefs defense game plans VERY well against an offense and they haven't been able to do much all game, and then in Q4... Bob Sutton switches to a prevent which opens up everything for the offense to march down field and score TD's. This allows the offense to get right back into the game and gain a ton of momentum. WHY NOT just use the same plan that had been working most of the game? As much as I blame Sutton for not adjusting, he sometimes seems to adjust in the WRONG direction when something has been working.
Side Note:
The Chiefs defense benefited from an insane amount of Luck (the ball bouncing their way) and Marcus Peters going off with a ton of INT's and Strips. Some of us around here have said that hoping for THAT many turnovers is not sustainable and we were right, because the Defense isn't getting them anymore.
Bob Sutton had THE SAME talent/personnel in both playoff collapses... why does his plan fail in the late 3rd and 4th Quarters no matter what his talent is on the field? I don't really think you can replace Sutton with another DC during mid-season, but until I see different I still think the DC position needs to be heavily looked at this off-season.
Hell, maybe Sutton turns his defense around in week 4+... I would love to eat crow, but Sutton has been tiresome to me the past few seasons and that was WITH all of the turnovers. I may even regret this post, and I may not know as much as everyone else, but this is just how I feel right now.