Bob Sutton

[milkman]

I have asked this in threads before, and I get no legitimate response, so I am going to start this thread.

Over and over, and over again, people keep saying that Sutton made no adjustments, and is responsible for the failures of this defense.

I have no dog in this, but I want to know, what exactly do you think he could do?

This defense was playing spectacularly for the first 5-6 games, but then Buffalo, Houston and the Donkeys had enough film to recognize that they could exploit the deep zones because Kendrick Lewis was almost always in the wrong place, and they adjusted their game plans to take full advantage.

Sutton tried to counter that by moving the corners off the line, which allowed offenses to exploit the short passing game and minimize the pass rush, which was also affected by the loss of Houston to injury, and a less than 100% Hali.

The one critisism that is completely valid is that Sutton did not utilize a rotaion on the line that kept Poe fresh, and he was not the same player for the 2nd half of the season that he was for the first half, because he was just worn out.

So, again, I ask, given the limitations of the talent, what exactly did you expect Sutton to do?

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Sutton caught the most shit after the playoff game. His refusal to play deep coverage was infuriating, especially watching TY Hilton torch us play after play. Other than that, milk is spot on here, and this is coming from a guy that wanted Sutton's head on a spike initially.

That gif showing Luck hitting Hilton for the dagger TD against us with Kendrick Lewis and Dunta Robinson in "hot" pursuit 10 yards behind is all you need to see to explain why our D ssucked so bad in the second half of the season last year.

That was the big problem, he simply didn't have the depth to effectively run the type of defense that he wanted to run. He stuck two guys on Hilton and still got burned. In that situation though, with Flowers going down, I would have shifted Berry over to cover Hilton and let a combination of Abdullah and DJ take limit the effectiveness of Fleener.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

That was the big problem, he simply didn't have the depth to effectively run the type of defense that he wanted to run. He stuck two guys on Hilton and still got burned. In that situation though, with Flowers going down, I would have shifted Berry over to cover Hilton and let a combination of Abdullah and DJ take limit the effectiveness of Fleener.

Just goes to show you how utterly silly it is to talk about trading Eric Berry...

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Need to draft a pass-rusher at #23.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Just goes to show you how utterly silly it is to talk about trading Eric Berry...

I hope that his talk about improving in pass coverage this year is more than just talk though.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by SNR

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

Scary, isn't it?

Originally Posted by BCD

I believe Hilton began torching the D when Flowers went out.

Right?

Absolutely he did. I was mad when he kept putting Dunta on him. Play some off coverage with deep help on the guy that has burned you for 200 yards and 2 TDs in a quarter, perhaps?

Originally Posted by Simply Red

I'm cooling it w/ my insider posts.

I never get comments on my fresh football mind.

You all can screw off! I'm bumping the Fried Chicken thread!

Your insights intrigue me. I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[OldSchool]

At this point I could give 2 shits about a draft prospect's ability to play the run. What I want to know is whether or not they can stick to a WR or TE like a fly to a piece of crap.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

I'm cooling it w/ my insider posts.

I never get comments on my fresh football mind.

You all can screw off! I'm bumping the Fried Chicken thread!

Don't do that. You've got a vision nobody else has. Were you not right about Knile Davis?

Also, a time will come this season when you will gloat bukkake over everybody for seeing a legend being born before everybody else:

Chas Alecxih

[planetdoc]

Originally Posted by milkman

So, again, I ask, given the limitations of the talent, what exactly did you expect Sutton to do?

Get those liabilities off the field. For example, in the last 2 games (SD, IND) Abdullah had 14 TKL, 2 PD, 2 INT. Why didnt he get more playing time or replace Lewis?

Why was Dunta Robinson on the 53 when it was obvious he was a liability from day 1? Does he, as a defensive coordinator have no say on who makes the roster or is on the gameday? Chiefs could have filled that spot with someone who could have contributed.

As mentioned before, why didnt he rotate the d-line better? They showed ability in wk 17 against SD.

A 3-4 D thrives on the pass rush (and ability) of the linebackers. When Houston/Hali were banged up, why didnt he switch to more 4-3 looks? I know nickel/dime defenses are all the rage, but they dont work when the linebackers/secondary are banged up.

If Sutton's D requires a quick, single high safety, than why didnt he try Berry there in preseason? Berry has world class speed compared to Lewis.

I hope Sutton learns from last yr. One way to start would be to move DeVito to LDE.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I agree. While I have been wanting us to take either a receiver or safety tomorrow, I would feel pretty good if we snatched up Kyle Van Noy. He can be your other ILB, even if he can play outside. The guy really is that talented.

Originally Posted by SNR

Right, but I'm talking about last year.

If Lewis were benched, and Abdullah replaced him as teams like Houston and Buffalo started to figure us out, I'll bet Sutton never would have played the corners off the line, and we could actually press the shit out of Denver's receivers successfully.

I still don't know if the Indy game would have had the same result, but it at least would have deflected so much fan criticism away from Sutton. You wouldn't see such an abysmal product on the field for the second half of the year.

People are on my ass about this, but if we trade down from 23, Kyle Van Noy should absolutely be a consideration, where he can be the primary backup to Hali and the starter at ILB next to DJ when he's not. He would provide interior pressure and coverage skills that Mays, Jordan, and Belcher never had.

I'm really torn on this.

I keep going back and forth between Jimmy Ward and Kyle Van Noy, but I think I've settled on Ward, and finding that ILB in the 3rd.

[Simply Red]

Originally Posted by SNR

Don't do that. You've got a vision nobody else has. Were you not right about Knile Davis?

Also, a time will come this season when you will gloat bukkake over everybody for seeing a legend being born before everybody else:

Chas Alecxih

I'm also going to throw back in my b-boy stance once Avery owns souls. Thank God we haven't traded him - he's our leader on the offense.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by milkman

I'm really torn on this.

I keep going back and forth between Jimmy Ward and Kyle Van Noy, but I think I've settled on Ward, and finding that ILB in the 3rd.

I really haven't studied linebacker depth much, other than to listen to the talking heads say that LB depth isn't all that great this year. Anyone you've got your eye on?

[milkman]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

Get those liabilities off the field. For example, in the last 2 games (SD, IND) Abdullah had 14 TKL, 2 PD, 2 INT. Why didnt he get more playing time or replace Lewis?

Why was Dunta Robinson on the 53 when it was obvious he was a liability from day 1? Does he, as a defensive coordinator have no say on who makes the roster or is on the gameday? Chiefs could have filled that spot with someone who could have contributed.

As mentioned before, why didnt he rotate the d-line better? They showed ability in wk 17 against SD.

A 3-4 D thrives on the pass rush (and ability) of the linebackers. When Houston/Hali were banged up, why didnt he switch to more 4-3 looks? I know nickel/dime defenses are all the rage, but they dont work when the linebackers/secondary are banged up.

If Sutton's D requires a quick, single high safety, than why didnt he try Berry there in preseason? Berry has world class speed compared to Lewis.

I hope Sutton learns from last yr. One way to start would be to move DeVito to LDE.

Solid questions.

I am not convinced that Abdullah is suited to play as the single high safety.
I do think Berry has the talent to be the very best at it were Sutton to put him there, but I can only speculate that he values the versatility that Berry brings to the defense too much to limit him to that riole.

I'm guessing that,if the Chiefs don't address the FS position in the draft, that it speaks to how they feel about Sanders Commings.
I am skeptical on that.

The lack of rotation has to speak to the lack of confidence they had in the depth.
I also question that.

[BigRock]

I remember very little of Buffalo, Houston, and Denver exploting deep zones. I remember a lot of short passes to get the ball out quickly to neutralize the pass rush and the defense having no answers, either up front or in coverage.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I really haven't studied linebacker depth much, other than to listen to the talking heads say that LB depth isn't all that great this year. Anyone you've got your eye on?

I know that there's a lot of people that look at Telvon Smith and think he might be moved to SS, but I would take him and work on adding about 10 pounds to his frame and line him up next to DJ.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by BigRock

I remember very little of Buffalo, Houston, and Denver exploting deep zones. I remember a lot of short passes to get the ball out quickly to neutralize the pass rush and the defense having no answers, either up front or in coverage.

I am not talking about play after play after play.

They picked their spots and took their shots, which loosened up the underneath stuff.