Edwards defends defense - Page 2

**dirk digler** · 12-06-2006, 08:08 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/16172850.htm

Coach admits team didn’t meet his standards Sunday, but he says critics also should look at season as a whole.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star

For those who cursed the Cover 2 and burned their Greg Wesley and Ty Law jerseys shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, Kansas City coach Herm Edwards offered an interesting observation Tuesday.

He said the Chiefs are getting better on defense.

Even after giving up 31 points to, coincidentally, the No. 31 offense in the NFL.

Even after Browns backup quarterback Derek Anderson scampered 33 yards in a move that a teammate told the local scribes made him look like Forrest Gump.

“What you can’t do is you can’t look at one game,” Edwards said. “Because they just played four games before that and they gave up 13 points a game. Against some pretty good teams, now.

“You’ve got to look at the whole picture at the end of the year and look at how far you’ve come as a football team. This is our first year here. We’re trying to build a defense; we’re trying to build a program that is going to be built on team. We didn’t play up to our standards, and those guys know it. And they’re hurting.”

It was a day for defending people — his 11 starters on defense, his coaches, their game plan. Edwards said they blitzed lanky quarterback Derek Anderson, and did the same thing they’ve been doing for the last 11 games.

But when Anderson started completing passes, the Browns gained more confidence. And the Chiefs didn’t do anything to rattle it.

The meltdown was reminiscent of another game just two hours down the road in mid-October, when Kansas City gave up 45 points in a loss at Pittsburgh. The Chiefs came back after that game and beat San Diego at home. Could they do the same this weekend against a Baltimore team that leads the AFC North?

Should it be noted that this game is at home?

“It’s not like they haven’t played good defense on the road, because they have,” Edwards said. “Everyone wants to know why. Well, if I knew why, I could fix it and it would never happen. But there’s no magical reason why. I don’t know why.

“They only know that. That’s why I told them, ‘You’ve got to look at yourself now as a football player and ask why you didn’t function, why you didn’t play up to your standards. Only you can answer that.’ I’m just a coach. I can’t look into every guy’s mind and go, ‘Oh, this is why you didn’t play that way.’ ”

It’s obvious the defense has taken on a different personality at home. The Chiefs held Denver to 10 points on Thanksgiving, shut out San Francisco, and hung on for last-minute stands against the Seahawks and Raiders.

Sunday was sort of uncharted territory. The Chiefs were up by two touchdowns with 9 minutes to play when Anderson worked his long-legged magic. The loss triggered rapid-fire shots on the radio and Internet, calling for cornerbacks, safeties, linebackers and coaches to lose their jobs.

Law and Wesley drew much of the fans’ ire. Anderson blew past Wesley on the run that led to a game-winning field goal; Law, a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, slipped on a big Browns reception.

“If you’re a player (of) Ty Law’s status, that gets shown more on television than Joe the Rookie who plays the same position,” Edwards said. “What happens if you don’t make a play or two or something good doesn’t happen, people talk about it because it’s Ty Law.

“I don’t know if (he’s) less effective. He had 10 interceptions last year, and I think he has two this year. He’s gotten his hands on some balls. Sometimes, the ball’s not going his way so he doesn’t make a lot of plays on the ball.”

About the only positive Edwards could take out of Cleveland is that quarterback Trent Green appears to be back. He threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns in his first big game since suffering a severe concussion.

And the negatives? Well, Edwards was ready to move on from them Tuesday, with a 7-5 record and four very big games ahead.

Two of those are on the road, by the way.

“Certain players, I guess, don’t play as well on the road as they do at home, and they’ve got to find a way to do that,” he said. “I wish I could give them a medicine, a pill, but you can’t do that.

“You could look at this game and say, well, your defense didn’t play really good on the road but your offense did. What difference does that make? So what, the offense ate different food than the defense or their beds were better than the defense? There were some defensive players who played halfway decent and there were offensive players who should’ve played a little bit better and didn’t.”

'Hamas' Jenkins · 12-06-2006, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

Herm's trying to boost the confidence of the defense. It's the same reason why he didn't call a timeout near the end of the game. He's trying to show he has faith in them.

He's new in KC. He hasn't lost faith in them yet like the fans have and like DV did. If DV was still coach he would have been supporting Crennel on the pass to Jurevicius. "Hey ref, he's right - our guy did push him out. He would have gotten both feet in. Give them the 6. Not only give them the 6, we'll concede the extra point. Time's a wasting for our offense."

I hate this excuse. They are professional football players, they play football for a living. There is no reason to coddle them by "showing faith in them"...you either get the job done or you don't. If you can't get the job done, then we need to find someone else who will. This isn't Pop Warner and it's not tee ball. If they aren't mentally tough enough to accept the fact that it is their responsibility to keep the other team from scoring (regardless of how the coach *feels* about them) they need to find a new profession. Herm's job is to win games, and it is the player's responsibility to win games.

People wonder why Belichick is such a good coach...it's because he realizes this patently obvious concept. He doesn't "show faith" in a terribly performing unit, he just makes the requisite decisions to put his team in the best chance to win. Showing your entire team you care enough and are emotionally strong enough to put everyone in the best chance to win the football game is the only thing that matters. That's why Belichick has three rings.

I'm sure that Dick Butkus' play slipped because he felt his coach didn't show faith in him. Same for Joe Greene.

This is such unmitigated horseshit.

12-06-2006, 08:08 AM
dirk digler Please squeeze Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Clinton, MO Casino cash: $64644	Edwards defends defense http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/16172850.htm Coach admits team didn’t meet his standards Sunday, but he says critics also should look at season as a whole. By ELIZABETH MERRILL The Kansas City Star For those who cursed the Cover 2 and burned their Greg Wesley and Ty Law jerseys shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, Kansas City coach Herm Edwards offered an interesting observation Tuesday. He said the Chiefs are getting better on defense. Even after giving up 31 points to, coincidentally, the No. 31 offense in the NFL. Even after Browns backup quarterback Derek Anderson scampered 33 yards in a move that a teammate told the local scribes made him look like Forrest Gump. “What you can’t do is you can’t look at one game,” Edwards said. “Because they just played four games before that and they gave up 13 points a game. Against some pretty good teams, now. “You’ve got to look at the whole picture at the end of the year and look at how far you’ve come as a football team. This is our first year here. We’re trying to build a defense; we’re trying to build a program that is going to be built on team. We didn’t play up to our standards, and those guys know it. And they’re hurting.” It was a day for defending people — his 11 starters on defense, his coaches, their game plan. Edwards said they blitzed lanky quarterback Derek Anderson, and did the same thing they’ve been doing for the last 11 games. But when Anderson started completing passes, the Browns gained more confidence. And the Chiefs didn’t do anything to rattle it. The meltdown was reminiscent of another game just two hours down the road in mid-October, when Kansas City gave up 45 points in a loss at Pittsburgh. The Chiefs came back after that game and beat San Diego at home. Could they do the same this weekend against a Baltimore team that leads the AFC North? Should it be noted that this game is at home? “It’s not like they haven’t played good defense on the road, because they have,” Edwards said. “Everyone wants to know why. Well, if I knew why, I could fix it and it would never happen. But there’s no magical reason why. I don’t know why. “They only know that. That’s why I told them, ‘You’ve got to look at yourself now as a football player and ask why you didn’t function, why you didn’t play up to your standards. Only you can answer that.’ I’m just a coach. I can’t look into every guy’s mind and go, ‘Oh, this is why you didn’t play that way.’ ” It’s obvious the defense has taken on a different personality at home. The Chiefs held Denver to 10 points on Thanksgiving, shut out San Francisco, and hung on for last-minute stands against the Seahawks and Raiders. Sunday was sort of uncharted territory. The Chiefs were up by two touchdowns with 9 minutes to play when Anderson worked his long-legged magic. The loss triggered rapid-fire shots on the radio and Internet, calling for cornerbacks, safeties, linebackers and coaches to lose their jobs. Law and Wesley drew much of the fans’ ire. Anderson blew past Wesley on the run that led to a game-winning field goal; Law, a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, slipped on a big Browns reception. “If you’re a player (of) Ty Law’s status, that gets shown more on television than Joe the Rookie who plays the same position,” Edwards said. “What happens if you don’t make a play or two or something good doesn’t happen, people talk about it because it’s Ty Law. “I don’t know if (he’s) less effective. He had 10 interceptions last year, and I think he has two this year. He’s gotten his hands on some balls. Sometimes, the ball’s not going his way so he doesn’t make a lot of plays on the ball.” About the only positive Edwards could take out of Cleveland is that quarterback Trent Green appears to be back. He threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns in his first big game since suffering a severe concussion. And the negatives? Well, Edwards was ready to move on from them Tuesday, with a 7-5 record and four very big games ahead. Two of those are on the road, by the way. “Certain players, I guess, don’t play as well on the road as they do at home, and they’ve got to find a way to do that,” he said. “I wish I could give them a medicine, a pill, but you can’t do that. “You could look at this game and say, well, your defense didn’t play really good on the road but your offense did. What difference does that make? So what, the offense ate different food than the defense or their beds were better than the defense? There were some defensive players who played halfway decent and there were offensive players who should’ve played a little bit better and didn’t.”
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