Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson after OTA's

[Tribal Warfare]

Derrick Johnson discussing the scheme change

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

I dunno. Thats what I was realizing when I was typing my last post.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by milkman

But there are some who are better at shedding blocks than others.

You hear that "shedding blockers" thing a lot, but, really, how many star linebackers can we come up with that don't play behind a line that keeps their jerseys clean. We've had a total of two talented defensive players here in the last ten years. It's been Allen, DJ and a bunch of other guys. That's not the kind of talent that's going to make any linebacker shine.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

You hear that "shedding blockers" thing a lot, but, really, how many star linebackers can we come up with that don't play behind a line that keeps their jerseys clean. We've had a total of two talented defensive players here in the last ten years. It's been Allen, DJ and a bunch of other guys. That's not the kind of talent that's going to make any linebacker shine.

Yes, but some of these guys can get off of blocks easier than others.

For all of our bitching about Donnie's tackling, he was actually pretty good about shedding blocks.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by milkman

Yes, but some of these guys can get off of blocks easier than others.

For all of our bitching about Donnie's tackling, he was actually pretty good about shedding blocks.

The fact that his name is often brought up is one great example of just how awful the talent has been here for so long.

Christ, we're talking about Kawika Mitchell "getting away". Our notable defensive line escapees, Allen aside, are frickin Terdell Sands and Vonnie Holliday. Not one quality defensive tackle has been on the field here in the time I've followed the team (Dorsey gets an incomplete...). Allen's been the only good end. The linebacker position, DJ aside, has been a revolving door of suck. Cornerback, until last year if the draft picks hold up, has been worse.

And we talk about Derrick Johnson like he's supposed to be ray nitzke despite that, and like the "can't shed blocks" thing is what's been holding this team back. It's like Trent Green in 2001: was that year a sign that he was a horrible quarterback that could never do anything, or was that year a sign of what a quarterback is going to look like with no blocking, no receivers and a running game that wasn't defined until halfway through the year?

That's how I look at DJ. How good can anybody realistically look playing linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs circa 1999-2008...

I'm curious to see what he looks like in 2009 and 2010. Maybe it won't be any different at all.