Chiefs Open letter to Coach Spags - Page 3

oldman · 02-17-2020, 09:18 AM

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...id=hplocalnews

When you were hired just over a year ago, you were put into an unenviable position: turning around an undisciplined, struggling Kansas City Chiefs defense. I’ll be honest: to most fans, you weren’t the sexiest choice on the market.

But since then, you’ve completely revamped the Chiefs defense. You added aggression and unpredictability to a group that struggled in both of these areas under the previous coordinator. You brought in an all-star coaching staff to help execute your vision and add new wrinkles to your scheme. You added brash, vocal leaders in Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark to help align the locker room as a singular unit. You made adjustments — putting each player in their best position to succeed — which led to a unified group that was even better than the sum of its parts.

And you were a major contributor in bringing Andy Reid his first Super Bowl victory — the team’s first in 50 years.

After five years of vanilla schemes and predictable calls, the 2019 scheme was a breath of fresh air — featuring heavy blitzing, creative coverage drops and a clear plan of attack that was tailored to each individual opponent. While that seems like it should be commonplace among today’s NFL teams, we’ve seen it isn’t always the case — even for this season’s Super Bowl runner-up.

Early in the year, your aggressive, one-gap defensive scheme led to some situations where poor gap control allowed big rushing lanes. But under your guidance, the defense learned to trust each other. By the time the Chiefs were in the playoffs, traditional rushing attacks that were expected to dominate the team were rendered ineffective. Negative plays were significantly more commonplace than in previous years, allowing more situations where you could use your creative pressure packages to get your unit off the field.

It was nice to watch a defense that wanted to attack — rather than simply sit on a lead.

During the 2019 offseason, much was made of your all-star coaching staff. Brendan Daly, Matt House, Dave Merritt and Sam Madison didn’t just live up to their billing. They exceeded it.

In Albert Breer’s fantastic MMQB article, we learned of the “do your job plus” mentality you instilled in the team — and other contributions your players and coaches made.

Daly’s involvement with the pressure packages — and attention to detail — helped the young defensive linemen produce at a level that was even more impactful than the team’s 2018 defensive line.

Merritt and Madison’s coaching of the secondary allowed you to run exotic coverage schemes and tailor the game plan the way you wanted. Even with spending less than $10 million on cornerbacks — and utilizing a rookie safety and a veteran cornerback converted to safety — their ability to maximize the team’s minimal investment in the secondary was nothing short of exceptional.

House’s contributions were more difficult to see, but he helped with the game plans and adjustments in an evolving NFL — including key contributions that helped blunt the San Francisco 49ers’ RPO attack in the Super Bowl.

Your assistants helped execute your vision for the team. They allowed the defense to roll through injuries, some spots of poor play and week-to-week shifts in the game plan. The trust you put on your all-star assistants definitely paid you back in full.

When you walked into Arrowhead, you knew you needed the right culture. Your attitude and vision would come through your approach and your assistants, but you needed on-field leadership to help execute and organize it.

The impact that Mathieu and Clark had on your defense cannot be overstated.

Mathieu gave us a peek at your vision in July, saying that he would be a chess piece — and stating his belief that your approach to the defense was the correct one. At the time, it seemed like the company line.

It didn’t take long to see that this wasn’t the case. Mathieu was a true leader on the field, emboldening those around him to be better — even getting typically stoic Daniel Sorensen to show some swagger on the field. Mathieu took to his leadership role like a fish to water, proving that your decision to make him a focal point on the defense was the correct one.

If Mathieu was the brains of the defense, Clark was definitely a major piece of the backbone.

Previous Chiefs defenses had too many moments of soft play — both physically and mentally. When the going got tough, whether the defense would respond to adversity was a coin flip.

Clark was brought in for his “knife between the teeth” mentality — a player who would never quit coming. Over the course of the season, he proved his mettle through injuries and hospitalization, helping to tighten up the previously-soft defense down the stretch. Back in April, general manager Brett Veach said that you viewed Clark as a closer — and the playoff run proved your assessment was correct.

You were able to boost the entire group, taking a brand new set of players — most of whom had never played with each other before — and turning them into a unified front that played to their strengths. It wasn’t just Mathieu and Clark, either. It was Derrick Nnadi, Bashaud Breeland and Kendall Fuller playing what were arguably their best games during the biggest moment of their NFL careers. It was maximizing the talents of Chris Jones, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Charvarius Ward to become more consistent impact players. As a group, everyone knew what to do and when to do it — at the highest possible level.

In Kansas City, we’ve seen collections of defensive talent come and go. I’d argue this wasn’t the most talented group we’ve seen in the Andy Reid era — but thanks to the efforts of your and your staff, it was the best group we’ve seen since Reid arrived. The players wholly bought in to your scheme, culture and mentality — and they were a better unit because of it.

So thank you, Coach Spags. Thank you for helping bring Chiefs fans the bliss they’ve been craving for 50 years. This championship is due in no small part to your efforts.

Chief Northman · 02-17-2020, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I like listening to those AP guys on their podcast but every now and then they have a take where I’m just like.... what the ****.

The one that sticks out big time is they were saying that Wylie needed to play LG over Wisniewski right before the playoffs started, and made it sound as if Wis was just really bad. Never really understood that one, at all.

But hey, they’re right more often than not.

Yeah, you have to take the AP guys with a grain of salt. They tend to overly assert opinions at times.

Hammock Parties · 02-17-2020, 05:28 PM

COACH SPAGS IS GOOD

COACH SPAGS IS GREAT

HE FIXED OUR DAMN DEFENSE

SO WE COULD MASTURBATE

**Easy 6** · 02-17-2020, 05:29 PM

I’d definitely sign my name to that, it’s very heartfelt and true

Megatron96 · 02-17-2020, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R Clark

None I hope , where did you hear this nasty rumor?

I can't remember exactly anymore. Either on FB, or on my generic newsfeed is my best guess. It was a short two sentence or so blurb about Spags telling someone that he was interested in another HC job soon.

chiefzilla1501 · 02-17-2020, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperBowl4

The defense could be better, right? Against Houston in the playoffs they gave up 17 early. They came out soft. Were they part of the winning Super Bowl team? F-YES! Could they be even better next year? F-YES! Just say'n. I want a shutout. It's been a few years. Why do you hate on me for wanting a CHIEFS smothering D? Why? For the love of Pete!

Huh? 14 of those 24 first half points came off of special teams mistakes.

AJKCFAN · 02-17-2020, 06:16 PM

Best D Coordinator Chiefs have ever had - and he’s only been here a year.

How Spags managed that D from where it was to where it now is... absolutely incredible.

That D staff that was assembled can fully be trusted to putting Chiefs in a strong position to repeat.

Stryker · 02-17-2020, 06:17 PM

AMAZING! Awesome article! So very glad this Super Bowl was against Dee Ford - Imagine his HEARTBREAK! New DC and a super Super Bowl VICTORY! Thank you SPAGS!

SuperBowl4 · 02-17-2020, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megatron96

I can't remember exactly anymore. Either on FB, or on my generic newsfeed is my best guess. It was a short two sentence or so blurb about Spags telling someone that he was interested in another HC job soon.

just wanting Spags to be the next Buddy Ryan! Chill the F out! GO CHIEFS! and a KILLER D!

Red Dawg · 02-17-2020, 07:50 PM

Spags. Freaking Spags came in a saved our ass. Veach bought the food and Spags cooked a stellar meal. He is a great coach and game planner. Rough at the start but they got better. 2 rings now for him and well deserved.

ChiefaRoo · 02-17-2020, 09:03 PM

If you control the gap then biatches don’t be running wild. True in Football and true in Life.

Pitt Gorilla · 02-18-2020, 12:54 AM

Just used Ragland as a spy on Watson from the DT position. Brilliant.

**mdchiefsfan** · 02-18-2020, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperBowl4

The defense could be better, right? Against Houston in the playoffs they gave up 17 early. They came out soft. Were they part of the winning Super Bowl team? F-YES! Could they be even better next year? F-YES! Just say'n. I want a shutout. It's been a few years. Why do you hate on me for wanting a CHIEFS smothering D? Why? For the love of Pete!

The defense was as good as it had to be. They won the Super Bowl. Try to not overthink it.

02-17-2020, 09:18 AM
oldman Curmudgeon Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: North by Northwest Casino cash: $5836784	Open letter to Coach Spags https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...id=hplocalnews When you were hired just over a year ago, you were put into an unenviable position: turning around an undisciplined, struggling Kansas City Chiefs defense. I’ll be honest: to most fans, you weren’t the sexiest choice on the market. But since then, you’ve completely revamped the Chiefs defense. You added aggression and unpredictability to a group that struggled in both of these areas under the previous coordinator. You brought in an all-star coaching staff to help execute your vision and add new wrinkles to your scheme. You added brash, vocal leaders in Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark to help align the locker room as a singular unit. You made adjustments — putting each player in their best position to succeed — which led to a unified group that was even better than the sum of its parts. And you were a major contributor in bringing Andy Reid his first Super Bowl victory — the team’s first in 50 years. After five years of vanilla schemes and predictable calls, the 2019 scheme was a breath of fresh air — featuring heavy blitzing, creative coverage drops and a clear plan of attack that was tailored to each individual opponent. While that seems like it should be commonplace among today’s NFL teams, we’ve seen it isn’t always the case — even for this season’s Super Bowl runner-up. Early in the year, your aggressive, one-gap defensive scheme led to some situations where poor gap control allowed big rushing lanes. But under your guidance, the defense learned to trust each other. By the time the Chiefs were in the playoffs, traditional rushing attacks that were expected to dominate the team were rendered ineffective. Negative plays were significantly more commonplace than in previous years, allowing more situations where you could use your creative pressure packages to get your unit off the field. It was nice to watch a defense that wanted to attack — rather than simply sit on a lead. During the 2019 offseason, much was made of your all-star coaching staff. Brendan Daly, Matt House, Dave Merritt and Sam Madison didn’t just live up to their billing. They exceeded it. In Albert Breer’s fantastic MMQB article, we learned of the “do your job plus” mentality you instilled in the team — and other contributions your players and coaches made. Daly’s involvement with the pressure packages — and attention to detail — helped the young defensive linemen produce at a level that was even more impactful than the team’s 2018 defensive line. Merritt and Madison’s coaching of the secondary allowed you to run exotic coverage schemes and tailor the game plan the way you wanted. Even with spending less than $10 million on cornerbacks — and utilizing a rookie safety and a veteran cornerback converted to safety — their ability to maximize the team’s minimal investment in the secondary was nothing short of exceptional. House’s contributions were more difficult to see, but he helped with the game plans and adjustments in an evolving NFL — including key contributions that helped blunt the San Francisco 49ers’ RPO attack in the Super Bowl. Your assistants helped execute your vision for the team. They allowed the defense to roll through injuries, some spots of poor play and week-to-week shifts in the game plan. The trust you put on your all-star assistants definitely paid you back in full. When you walked into Arrowhead, you knew you needed the right culture. Your attitude and vision would come through your approach and your assistants, but you needed on-field leadership to help execute and organize it. The impact that Mathieu and Clark had on your defense cannot be overstated. Mathieu gave us a peek at your vision in July, saying that he would be a chess piece — and stating his belief that your approach to the defense was the correct one. At the time, it seemed like the company line. It didn’t take long to see that this wasn’t the case. Mathieu was a true leader on the field, emboldening those around him to be better — even getting typically stoic Daniel Sorensen to show some swagger on the field. Mathieu took to his leadership role like a fish to water, proving that your decision to make him a focal point on the defense was the correct one. If Mathieu was the brains of the defense, Clark was definitely a major piece of the backbone. Previous Chiefs defenses had too many moments of soft play — both physically and mentally. When the going got tough, whether the defense would respond to adversity was a coin flip. Clark was brought in for his “knife between the teeth” mentality — a player who would never quit coming. Over the course of the season, he proved his mettle through injuries and hospitalization, helping to tighten up the previously-soft defense down the stretch. Back in April, general manager Brett Veach said that you viewed Clark as a closer — and the playoff run proved your assessment was correct. You were able to boost the entire group, taking a brand new set of players — most of whom had never played with each other before — and turning them into a unified front that played to their strengths. It wasn’t just Mathieu and Clark, either. It was Derrick Nnadi, Bashaud Breeland and Kendall Fuller playing what were arguably their best games during the biggest moment of their NFL careers. It was maximizing the talents of Chris Jones, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Charvarius Ward to become more consistent impact players. As a group, everyone knew what to do and when to do it — at the highest possible level. In Kansas City, we’ve seen collections of defensive talent come and go. I’d argue this wasn’t the most talented group we’ve seen in the Andy Reid era — but thanks to the efforts of your and your staff, it was the best group we’ve seen since Reid arrived. The players wholly bought in to your scheme, culture and mentality — and they were a better unit because of it. So thank you, Coach Spags. Thank you for helping bring Chiefs fans the bliss they’ve been craving for 50 years. This championship is due in no small part to your efforts.
Posts: 5,319

02-17-2020, 05:28 PM	#32
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4790478	COACH SPAGS IS GOOD COACH SPAGS IS GREAT HE FIXED OUR DAMN DEFENSE SO WE COULD MASTURBATE __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 277,535

02-17-2020, 05:29 PM	#33
Easy 6 pie is never free Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: the drivers seat Casino cash: $3807775	I’d definitely sign my name to that, it’s very heartfelt and true
Posts: 91,590

02-17-2020, 06:16 PM	#36
AJKCFAN Head Chief, Esq. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: New York Casino cash: $2391798	Best D Coordinator Chiefs have ever had - and he’s only been here a year. How Spags managed that D from where it was to where it now is... absolutely incredible. That D staff that was assembled can fully be trusted to putting Chiefs in a strong position to repeat.
Posts: 925	1 0

02-17-2020, 06:17 PM	#37
Stryker In Mahomes I trust! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Casino cash: $2604636	AMAZING! Awesome article! So very glad this Super Bowl was against Dee Ford - Imagine his HEARTBREAK! New DC and a super Super Bowl VICTORY! Thank you SPAGS! __________________ Super Bowl LVIII Champions!
Posts: 5,931

02-17-2020, 07:50 PM	#39
Red Dawg Going home eventually Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $4812858	Spags. Freaking Spags came in a saved our ass. Veach bought the food and Spags cooked a stellar meal. He is a great coach and game planner. Rough at the start but they got better. 2 rings now for him and well deserved. __________________ If you're not first you're last!
Posts: 30,353

02-17-2020, 09:03 PM	#40
ChiefaRoo MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Austin,TX Casino cash: $5207505	If you control the gap then biatches don’t be running wild. True in Football and true in Life.
Posts: 11,848	1 0

02-18-2020, 12:54 AM	#41
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $3030194	Just used Ragland as a spy on Watson from the DT position. Brilliant. __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 45,980