Sure, the Kansas City Chiefs defense isn’t as good as we’d all like it to be, but after taking a closer look, they don’t appear to be as bad as most pundits are making them out to be. We’d all like to believe the Chiefs have improved — defensively — from the time that Steve Spagnuolo took over in the offseason of 2019. Yes, he and his defense helped to deliver a championship in his first year as skipper of the D, but now it looks like they’ve taken a major step backwards. Well, hold on one second…
Health is Wealth
“Health is Wealth” is an NFL adage more than anything and the reason for bringing that up here is that the K.C. defense hasn’t yet played a full game with all their (key) players healthy, and on the field. However, it’s coming. With Chris Jones back on the field, and Charvarius Ward returning this week as well, the defense looks like it will be as healthy as it’s been all year. No, they may not have Anthony Hitchens, and while that may not be such a bad thing, that’s another story.
Good, Better, Best
Why it’s taken some time to get full snaps for Juan Thornhill, I’ll never know. Spags and his coaches were down on his at the beginning of the year then he was inserted full time against the WFT and he made a difference. Getting your best players on the field, playing their best ball, will be critical moving forward. The Chiefs defense used the…
Right Personnel, Right Time
Against Washington, DC Steve Spagnuolo used both CB Rashad Fenton and Juan Thornhill on 100% of the snaps. In a piece by Seth Keysor yesterday called: “Rashad Fenton and Juan Thornhill film review: looking at every snap of the “new” guys” he says,
“The short story about Fenton and Thornhill against Washington is this; Your eyes didn’t lie to you. Both of them played quite well, and neither needed to be at an All-Pro level to help the defense improve in a way that’s perhaps relatively small but quite important. And while there are the usual caveats of “it was only one game,” it’s worth noting that these are both players who have played well when given opportunities and healthy over the last 3 years, so it’s not as though they are complete mysteries.”
Fenton is also very good against the run, which should come in handy this Sunday.
5-Star Linebacker
You may have heard that rookie LB Nick Bolton is leading all rookies in the NFL with 40 tackles.
Any time a rookie gets the five-star rating you must also give that same rating to the man who drafted him –> Brett Veach. Veach has taken a lot of heat recently so give credit where credit is due.
Beyond the solid play of Bolton, we must compare this year’s primary LBs to last years. Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson were probably the two worst starting LBs in the NFL. Hitchens finished the year with a PFF grade of 50.5 and this year it’s been 36.1. Damien Wilson’s PFF grade in 2020 was 51.8 and this year he has a 46.6 grade (thank goodness he plays for the Jags now).
While Nick Bolton’s grade isn’t spectacular (yet) he has a PFF grade of 53.1 which is already better than Hitchens in his best year as the Chiefs MLB. Bolton is on the rise and has been forced into a learn-as-you-play situation. Gay has a current 67.1 PFF grade and it was 68.1 in 2020.
The important point is about the Chiefs overall Linebacking play this year as both Bolton and Gay are already superior to Hitchens and Wilson… and… they’re just getting started. It’s all thumbs up in the middle of the Chiefs D.
Cornerbacks Bolstered
It’s no small addition getting CB Charvarius Ward back. Do I think Rashad Fenton has played well enough in his absence (Ward has been gone since game 2) to deserve a continued position as a starter? Absolutely. However, getting Ward back gives the defensive backfield the flexibility to rotate more competent corners on and off the field as the need arises. Don’t downplay what it means to get Ward back in the groove.
Better Than Advertised
Since the Chiefs defense currently ranks 29th in the NFL, based on giving up 176 points overall (behind the Dolphins and Giants with 177 points allowed, plus the Washington Football Team with 186 points allowed), if you subtract the 42 points that came from the Chiefs offense having some culpability in those points, then the defense ends up being ranked 15th overall and giving up only 134 points.
Now, you may be reasoning that every team gives up points coming after turnovers, but that hasn’t been part to the Chiefs M.O. ever since Patrick Mahomes stepped on the field as a full time starter… nor even since Andy Reid came to town in 2013.
So, if the Chiefs defense was ranked 15th overall, would you be up in arms, as much as you have been? I doubt it, and that’s a good…
Reason to Celebrate
What better reason to celebrate than the fact that we’re part of Chiefs Kingdom! Also, CoreUCoaching lists five good reasons to celebrate which include:
- Celebration helps us stay in the present where our power is.
- Celebration builds self-respect. Others treat us according to how we treat ourselves.
- Celebration feeds our basic human need for self-love and self-acceptance.
- Celebration is positive magnification. What we focus on expands.
- Shameless self-promotion and marketing is easier with celebration.
Plus, the Chiefs have hosted the last three Lamar Hunt Trophy — AFC Championship — games. That’s worth celebrating right now.
One Thing Leads to Another
It’s hard to say if this defense has actually… “figured it out”… but one good game can lead to another. That’s often what happens when an NFL defense learns to play together.
This defense has a lot of moving parts and players coming and going, mostly because of injuries. Let’s not forget about the Chiefs 2019 defensive turnaround. That same Post Season included a game vs the Texans in which the Chiefs went down by 24-to-nothing before the half, but ended up winning by 20 points (51-to-31) which represents a ton of stops by the defense. Plus, 11 or 12 of those same players (just counting off the top of my head, so could be even more) from that 2019 defense, are still on the roster now.
That, and for all of these other reasons:
Stay Positive About the Defense
Things are looking up! Also, be sure not to miss the most recent episode of: “The Franchise“
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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