Teicher: Johnson gets start at linebacker for Chiefs

[TheGuardian]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

I hate this rotational 2 down LBer split time shit, it kills the momentum for these guys. And the guys subbing in are cold and expected to just fire it up in one (important) play? Come on.

Does Ray Lewis, David Harris, Nick Barnett, Karlos Dansby, etc ever come out of games every 2 downs? I can't think of another 3-4 team that does this to their LBers for nickel packages/pass rush situations versus run stop situations. Usually those ILB are 3-down players.

I think Demorrio Williams hits the nail on his head when discussing a full time linebacker roll. He maybe shitty, but only coming in for half the plays just doesn't cut it. I wish this team could just make up its mind on which guys to play and actually play them/stick with them.

Actually it doesn't kill "momentum". This isn't like offense where it's based on timing and such. Defense is about attitude for the most part.

Second, the Pats did this exact thing when they were winning super bowls. That's why they carried so many linemen and linebackers there. Guys were moved in and out based on roles and what they wanted to do defensively.

I think that Belcher earned a starting spot. I thought that Williams outplayed Johnson, but what I think will happen there is that you will see a combination of Williams/Hali/Studebaker coming from the outside on obvious passing downs with Vrabel sliding inside. This is a really nice combination of players IMO and gives us a lot of looks to present to the offense.