Late night bullshit: breaking down the tape on our defense.

[Direckshun]

Just random thoughts on multiple viewings of our defensive snaps:

* During the first half (and the first half of the third quarter) the Chiefs were a fantastic, totally modern assortment of how they preferred to line up their DL. They played Poe 90% of the time, and they played him at nose and end. They played DeVito like 70%, and they played him at nose occasionally. They played Tyson Jackson about 70% of the time, and played him at both end positions. Catapano is our rotational guy.

* Catapano got some great snaps in, and looks incredibly promising -- a guy who was initially brought in as an OLB, but was insanely strong so the staff was like **** it, we have no depth at DE, let's try him out there. Not only does he give you extra athleticism, but the guy is stout as a mother****er against the run. You cannot run against the Chiefs.

* Let me say that again: you cannot run against the Chiefs. Jackson and DeVito are already incredibly good against the run, and Poe has finally developed to be perhaps the best of the bunch. Catapano has proven himself adept as well. Houston, Berry, Jordan, and DJ all serve their roles brilliantly in plugging gaps.

* That's probably the biggest difference between the Chiefs defense under Herm, Haley, and Crennel, compared to Reid. Under Reid (i.e. Bob Sutton), the Chiefs' gap integrity has so far been unrivaled. The entire defense moves as a singular cohesive unit. Poe is commanding double- and triple-teams, Jackson and DeVito are owning tackles, Houston and Hali are cutting off the edges, and Jordan, Johnson, and Berry are plugging gaps brilliantly.

* There are so many brilliant talents on this defense, but the emotional tone setters are clearly Hali and Flowers. Poe, Houston, Johnson, Berry, and all the others are very talented, but the emotional leaders on this defense right now are Hali and Flowers, and it looks like Berry is about a season or so away from getting there as well. Hali's hustle spreads like a virus across this defense, and you can see his pursuit borne out in Houston, DJ, Berry, Poe, and Jackson.

* Poe... what else can be said about this guy. His play today suggests he could keep developing to become the best DT this team has had since the franchise's Super Bowl days. There is only so much you can do against an all-muscle 330 lbs that's faster than most offensive lineman and stronger than most offensive lineman. You can tell his technique is developing, and the Chiefs are throwing him into all kinds of twists and stunts to create mismatches. My favorite play was probably his combined sack with Eric Berry.

* Eric Berry is being played like a linebacker, and against the Jags he played roughly 10% of his snaps at the line of scrimmage. His coverage has improved but the very best part of Berry's game: he is unblockable. Sending out offensive lineman to block him is a fool's errand. He sheds blocks like nobody's business.

* The Chiefs stuffed the box against the Jags -- they did more than stuff the box, they stuffed the line of scrimmage. So many times they lined up 7 guys along the line of scrimmage, some of them dropping back and some of them rushing. I still don't like Hali dropping back. Houston is money in coverage, though. He was on the field for every defensive snap because he is so ****ing versatile.

* Great game from Kendrick Lewis, too. Played very aggressive, lots of snaps up against the line of scrimmage. The Chiefs are treating Lewis as the FS and Berry as more of the SS, but they are mixing Lewis up all over the field, treating him as more of a hybrid between the safeties, while Berry is part-timing as a linebacker.

* If Jackson can rack up a half dozen sacks while being rock solid against the run, we should seriously work our ass off to resign him this offseason. He will be as close to that guy we drafted #3 overall as anything else we could possibly bring in.

* This defense has the talent and the defensive coordinator to be a Top 5 defense. It's definitely a Top 10 defense. The Cowboys game will be a phenomenal challenge, as Romo will willingly challenge our corners more aggressively, and Sean Smith, Husain Abdullah, and Quentin Demps will be challenged far more frequently. We can still be exposed in the passing game: Hali will have a bear of a time against Tyron Smith, but Houston and Poe should pave a path to Romo that Berry and DJ can follow. But if that passrush doesn't come as quickly as it needs to, then Sean Smith can get exposed if he's not on his game, which he all-too-frequently isn't. I don't fear any of Dallas' tertiary receivers against our nickel- and dime-backs, but I do fear Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, and Jason Witten against Sean Smith, Brandon Flowers, and Eric Berry.

But the Cowboys will not run on the Chiefs. Nobody will, this year.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Yeah, we have a shit ton of Defensive talent.

The Chiefs have been utilizing the wrong defensive scheme for years. I've said since the 2009 season that they should be an attacking one gap defense instead of Pendergast and Crennel's read and react two gap.

This defense has an enormous amount of athleticism and speed. It's nice to see Sutton devising a defense that takes full advantage of those athletes.

It's unlikely that they'll repeat today's performance of holding an offense scoreless but they should play well enough to keep the Chiefs competitive each week.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The Chiefs have been utilizing the wrong defensive scheme for years. I've said since the 2009 season that they should be an attacking one gap defense instead of Pendergast and Crennel's read and react two gap.

This defense has an enormous amount of athleticism and speed. It's nice to see Sutton devising a defense that takes full advantage of those athletes.

It's unlikely that they'll repeat today's performance of holding an offense scoreless but they should play well enough to keep the Chiefs competitive each week.

Yeah that D looked solid up front, should keep you in a lot of games.

[mdchiefsfan]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The Chiefs have been utilizing the wrong defensive scheme for years. I've said since the 2009 season that they should be an attacking one gap defense instead of Pendergast and Crennel's read and react two gap.

This defense has an enormous amount of athleticism and speed. It's nice to see Sutton devising a defense that takes full advantage of those athletes.

It's unlikely that they'll repeat today's performance of holding an offense scoreless but they should play well enough to keep the Chiefs competitive each week.

The truly crazy thing is the lack of perspective from Pioli to recognize the players required for the scheme his coaches were executing. He drafted the wrong players for the wrong scheme: a true disaster.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The Chiefs have been utilizing the wrong defensive scheme for years. I've said since the 2009 season that they should be an attacking one gap defense instead of Pendergast and Crennel's read and react two gap.

This defense has an enormous amount of athleticism and speed. It's nice to see Sutton devising a defense that takes full advantage of those athletes.

It's unlikely that they'll repeat today's performance of holding an offense scoreless but they should play well enough to keep the Chiefs competitive each week.

And with Smith being reliable yet unspectacular in not turning over the ball, damn near every game will be watchable, and dare I say...winnable.

(Please dont let this simple post turn this tread into a QB debate....maybe I should delete this post.)

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The Chiefs have been utilizing the wrong defensive scheme for years. I've said since the 2009 season that they should be an attacking one gap defense instead of Pendergast and Crennel's read and react two gap.

This defense has an enormous amount of athleticism and speed. It's nice to see Sutton devising a defense that takes full advantage of those athletes.

It's unlikely that they'll repeat today's performance of holding an offense scoreless but they should play well enough to keep the Chiefs competitive each week.

I would totally expect our D to still look like shit if were still 2 gapping.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Dude, we absolutely have the talent to be top 5 if we stay this aggressive.


I have been worried about Lewis all off-season, and after watching the game again right now, and focusing on his play, I think it was more mental for him before. He does not look nearly as slow as advertised here. I think his reaction time has been slow in the past. The less he has to think, and the more he learns the faster he plays.

Like I said, I think our talent is trending upward. But let's be real here, past a great performance against a horrible offense.

Our D-line is stout. But Jackson and DeVito aren't going to do anything for us in the pass rush. We need Catapano to come along to do that. On Kendrick Lewis, I'm not going to believe that one solid game against a horrible defense that can't pass to save their life has changed anything. Given how aggressive our defense is, he has potential to be a liability. And our CB depth is seriously terrible.

I think these things get fixed if we can get more consistent push from our DEs in the passing game, and once we address our horrible secondary depth. But to say we're top 5 because we dominated a horrible defense is jumping the gun way too soon. We have terrific talent, but we also have some gaps.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

I would totally expect our D to still look like shit if were still 2 gapping.

A lot of what we do is 2 gap. It's one of the reasons why Reid's hire of Sutton is so brilliant. Our D-linemen do play a few 4-3 alignments, but the big difference isn't necessarily in 2 gap vs. 1 gap, it's moreso that our back 7 plays a lot different. Especially in terms of mixing up how we pressure.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

And with Smith being reliable yet unspectacular in not turning over the ball, damn near every game will be watchable, and dare I say...winnable.

(Please dont let this simple post turn this tread into a QB debate....maybe I should delete this post.)

The defense is way ahead of the offense and special teams at this point. They SHOULD be way ahead due to the sheer number of high round talent and athletes.

The offense needs quite a bit of work. I expect there to be better holes on the inside once Asamoah returns. I hope that Jeff Allen improves but it certainly appears to me that Stephenson is a better player, so I don't understand why he isn't the left guard with Allen as the swing tackle. I have a feeling we'll see some experimenting if the interior doesn't improve soon.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Like I said, I think our talent is trending upward. But let's be real here, past a great performance against a horrible offense.

Our D-line is stout. But Jackson and DeVito aren't going to do anything for us in the pass rush. We need Catapano to come along to do that. On Kendrick Lewis, I'm not going to believe that one solid game against a horrible defense that can't pass to save their life has changed anything. Given how aggressive our defense is, he has potential to be a liability. And our CB depth is seriously terrible.

I think these things get fixed if we can get more consistent push from our DEs in the passing game, and once we address our horrible secondary depth. But to say we're top 5 because we dominated a horrible defense is jumping the gun way too soon. We have terrific talent, but we also have some gaps.

Fair enough.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The defense is way ahead of the offense and special teams at this point. They SHOULD be way ahead due to the sheer number of high round talent and athletes.

The offense needs quite a bit of work. I expect there to be better holes on the inside once Asamoah returns. I hope that Jeff Allen improves but it certainly appears to me that Stephenson is a better player, so I don't understand why he isn't the left guard with Allen as the swing tackle. I have a feeling we'll see some experimenting if the interior doesn't improve soon.

I wish they would give Allens spot to schwartz..
My true hope was a new C and Hudson moving to G, where I think he would do well, but dont have anything to back that up other than his play in college.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

A lot of what we do is 2 gap. It's one of the reasons why Reid's hire of Sutton is so brilliant. Our D-linemen do play a few 4-3 alignments, but the big difference isn't necessarily in 2 gap vs. 1 gap, it's moreso that our back 7 plays a lot different. Especially in terms of mixing up how we pressure.

Poe has obviously been turned loose. Of course we will play SOME 2 gap, but Crennel was running that shit 90+% of the time and it KILLED us.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

I wish they would give Allens spot to schwartz..
My true hope was a new C and Hudson moving to G, where I think he would do well, but dont have anything to back that up other than his play in college.

Kush improved during the course of the preseason but I don't know if he'll be ready to start later this season. If so, Hudson at left guard makes some sense.

I'm not a fan of Schwartz, so I'd just as soon see Allen continue to get reps in the hope of improving. But as I mentioned earlier, from what I've seen, Stephenson shouldn't be on the bench.

[mdchiefsfan]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Poe has obviously been turned loose. Of course we will play SOME 2 gap, but Crennel was running that shit 90+% of the time and it KILLED us.

Honestly, it could just be time to develop to NFL speed that is making Poe what he is. He was a diamond in the rough last year, but started to turn it on towards the end of the season. He then went on this diet and put forward max effort into becoming what we saw tonight. I really can't say that scheme is the complete reason why Poe is the way he is.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by mdchiefsfan

Honestly, it could just be time to develop to NFL speed that is making Poe what he is. He was a diamond in the rough last year, but started to turn it on towards the end of the season. He then went on this diet and put forward max effort into becoming what we saw tonight. I really can't say that scheme is the complete reason why Poe is the way he is.

It's a big reason. The Chiefs scheme since Pioli was hired was crappy and antiquated.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Poe has obviously been turned loose. Of course we will play SOME 2 gap, but Crennel was running that shit 90+% of the time and it KILLED us.

Well, the beauty of the Ryan scheme is that he mixes up a lot of the looks. Big difference being that we'll run a lot more 4-3 and 46 looks than other defenses do, and we can do it with pretty much the same personnel. But the base defense relies a lot on 2-gap principles. Again, that's why hiring Sutton was pretty brilliant. I don't think it's a matter of Poe being let loose or the D-line playing a completely different scheme, as much as it is being a hell of a lot more creative in how we use the back 7. Romeo's defense was often solid when he turned up the heat, which he didn't do enough of for some weird reason.