Chiefs: The IDL Could Be A Strength Now
Laddie Morse
The Kansas City Chiefs Interior Defensive Line — IDL — has long been considered a weakness. That idea may have been flipped on it head and the IDL could end up being one of the better IDLs in the league. Aside from ranking 29th in the NFL with 31 sacks in 2021, the Chiefs defense was also one of the worst in the league last year at stopping the run giving up 4.8 yard per carry, which ranked them second worst in the league. So far, after two Preseason Games, the Chiefs defense has allowed and average of 3.8 yards per carry, which would have ranked them as the 4th best defense against the rush in 2021. K.C. also managed 5 sacks vs the Bears and 3 sacks vs the Commanders and at that rate would end up with 68 sacks this season which would place K.C. in 1st place by a mile compared to Pittsburgh’s 55, which led the league in 2021.
Much of the reason the run defense works — or doesn’t — is up to the IDL and their ability to shut the other team’s running game down. Chris Jones, who has been considered the second best IDL player vs the pass, has gotten his fair share of criticism for his performances vs the run. On Saturday vs the Commanders, without Chris Jones in the lineup, the IDL gave up 3.5 yards per carry (YPC) which is a far cry from the 4.3 YPC the WFT averaged on offense in 2021.
Sure, the teams the Chiefs have faced in the first two weeks of the preseason were in the bottom tier of the rankings in YPC, but these Chiefs are clearly an improved unit. All offseason, David Bell and I were lamenting that what GM Brett Veach needed to do was sign a FA DE and a FA DT. In the end, that’s exactly what he did by securing both DE Carlos Dunlap and DT Danny Shelton.
Anytime the coaches are facing a more difficult decision when it comes to cut down day, it means the team has stockpiled talent at a certain position. The DTs on the Chiefs roster at this moment, are making that decision much more difficult because they include:
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Last year the Chiefs kept five DTs in:
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- Chris Jones
- Jarran Reed
- Derrick Nnadi
- Tershawn Wharton
- Khalen Saunders
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If the Chiefs keep five this year is should be the same five only substitute Danny Shelton for Jarran Reed. Since I believe Shelton will be a superior run-stuffer plus Khalen Saunders and Tershawn Wharton will both be improved in their pass rushing skills, it’s easy to see why I would believe this year’s IDL will be vastly improved. At least, this group should not be a weakness.
What this means for Taylor Stallworth and Matt Dickerson is… likely being released. Dickerson is 6-foot-5, 292 lbs. so you can see the attraction to a man who is similar in size to Chris Jones. We just don’t have any positive film we can refer to with Dickerson to say, “He’s our man.” Matt Conner at ArrowheadAddict has made his position, as have many other Chiefs fans, about Khalen Saunders:
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Matt Derrick has noticed Saunders too:
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I agree with Daniel Harms when he says:
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If Derrick Nnadi and Danny Shelton can rotate to keep the opponent’s running game held to a minimum… and… Khalen Saunders (as well as Tershawn Wharton), and Chris Jones can get push up the middle — the kind of pressure most QBs hate –> center pressure — the Chiefs could come away this season with a marked improvement on their defensive line.
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You may have noticed that most running plays by the Commanders were forced to the outside came as a result of the Chiefs clogging up the middle of the field. The new DL Coach Joe Cullen is largely responsible for this year’s improvement in the defensive line.
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Joe Cullen explains why Chris Jones needs to have a big year this year:
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One reason for the Chiefs big improvement across the board, is their new coaching assignments. Joe Cullen was a DC last year and Matt Nagy was a HC last year. Both of them understand what it means to run the whole ball of wax, so they can carry that knowledge over to the group of players they’re charged with coaching. Sometimes you have to understand the big picture before you can hone in on the individual skills. The Chiefs have that in spades this year. Tershawn Wharton has shown his improvement in practice, and so has Khalen Saunders (shown below):
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If the Chiefs can consistently get that kind of (Tershawn and Khalen) push up the middle, their Super Bowl odds go way up.
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You may (or may not) know what it means to work next to someone who is highly competent at their job. In other words, it matters who you are working next too. With Carlos Dunlap and George Karlaftis coming in this year, the Defensive End position is getting a huge boost. Why bring that up when we’re talking about the IDL? Simply because it really does matter if your playing next to a Pro Bowler. New DT Danny Shelton knows what it’s like to be successful in football. He’s won a Super Bowl ring before and he when he was with the Patriots, he went to the Super Bowl the year before the Chiefs won it all, and he came away with a ring of his own. He was also an All-American with the University of Washington Huskies in 2014 after starting there for three years straight.
When looking at the IDL position for the Chiefs in 2022, if we’re going to give credit to the DE’s for their improvement, we must also extend the same credit to the Chiefs LBs. Nick Bolton and Willie Gay will help improve the defense vs the running game. Yes, much the kudos will go to the IDL, but the LBs, and their ability to help shut down the run, will make the DTs look good this year. Much thanks must go to Nick Bolton and Willie Gay as well as Chiefs rookie tackling sensation, Leo Chenal.
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While the running game — and Running Backs — look like they’re taking a step backwards, the IDL is taking huge strides forward and the weakness of this team now looks like it is the RBs, and not he IDL.
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I realize it’s far too early to project success in one area or another, especially after only two Preseason games, but things sure do look good right now for the Chiefs Interior Defensive Line.
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Laddie Morse –ArrowheadOne
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