I think we all have a feel of how the Kansas City Cheifs general manager John Dorsey likes to draft now: replace the positions that have looming holes rather than waiting until they are empty to fill them. In 2013, with the first overall pick, JD drafted LT Eric Fisher to replace pending free agent LT Brandon Albert. In 2015 Marcus Peters was drafted in the first round to cover the hole CB Sean Smith left this past offseason. This year we saw a mountain of a man in Chris Jones drafted with top defensive tackle Dontari Poe’s contract set to expire after the Chiefs leave NRG Stadium with the Lombardi Trophy.
I’m sure you noticed I left out 2014 above. Let me set the scene a little.
Left outside linebacker Justin Houston just had his most productive season as a pass rusher in Kansas City with 11 Sacks. In his first 3 years he racked up 26.5 sacks, 166 tackles, 12 stuffs, 3 fumbles forced and 4 recovered, 14 pass defenses and a safety in 43 games. Check out more of Houston’s stats here.
ROLB Tamba Hali also had 11 sacks in 2013 and a productive 3 years leading up to the 2014 draft. His stats over Houston’s first 3 years with the team are 32 sacks, 130 tackles, 12 stuffs, 9 fumbles forced and 2 recovered, 3 pass defenses and 2 defensive touchdowns in 45 games. Hali’s stats are here.
Houston was entering his final year of his rookie contract with no fifth year option as he was a 3rd round pick thanks to a failed drug test at the Scouting Combine. The window for Houston and the Chiefs to work out an extension opened in the offseason prior to the draft, but it became clear he was going to play out the 2014 season under his rookie deal and become a free agent at the end of the year.
Although Hali had 2 years left on his deal at the time, the veteran of 8 years was fast approaching his 30th birthday and was due $11.5 mil. and $5 mil. in 2014 and 2015 respectively. That’s a lot of money for someone who is supposedly over the hill in NFL terms as 30 seems to be the age of decline for many positions and there was no certainty the team would keep him through the end of his contract.
With the 2014 draft being the second of the John Andy Reid Dorsey (JARD) regime, and the Best Player Available (BPA) approach being preached by the team, many fans were unsure where the team would go with the 23rd pick. We now know that the BPA approach is actually B-P-A-B-O-O-P-F-N (best player available based on our projected future needs).
Looking back now, it’s easy to see that pass rush was going to be addressed early in the draft… with Justin Houston as the cornerstone of the defense… in the last year of his contract and his counterpart aging.
Enter Dee Ford
Here are a couple scouting reports on Dee Ford, when he was coming out of Auburn:
“Powerful legs that generate power and facilitate explosive movements. Plays with his eyes up and locates the football well. Has pure speed-rusher potential around the corner. Explosive first step to accelerate. Bends around the edge with enough flexibility to dip under blocks and pop back up. Flashes a heavy punch to the frame of pass-blockers while converting speed to power. Disciplined in rush lanes to contain mobile quarterbacks when asked. Strength to engage multiple blockers and hold ground on the edge.”
“Fluid athlete with impressive burst, agility and underrated strength. As his size suggests, Ford relies on his burst off the snap to gain the corner against offensive tackles. He accelerates smoothly and is flexible enough to bend around the corner as a pure speed rusher. While he’s not going to be able to hold up against a powerful run-blocking right tackle all day long, Ford shows some toughness in setting the edge and does a nice job of jumping outside to keep contain.”
On paper, Ford was a perfect fit for what Sutton likes to do; set the edge to force the play inside and get to the quarterback. He needed to add some weight and get used to playing while standing up, but coming in behind Houston and Hali he had time to do so. There was zero pressure for Ford to be “The Guy” in year one, and he was far from it.
That year Houston had a near record setting season with 22 sacks, .5 away from Michael Strahan’s 2001 record, and Hali added 6 to his total while they both played a full 16 games. Ford played in all 16 games as well, posting 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks, hardly first round numbers. His lack of production was chalked up to playing behind Houston and Hali, which is perfectly viable. It was widely accepted Ford would use the year as time to develop and learn the system.
It appeared going into the 2015 offseason Ford might get his chance with Houston being a free agent and Hali the subject of cap casualty talks. Ford, along with the Chiefs fans all over, would soon learn he would once again be assuming the role of depth. Houston received the Franchise Tag, which he turned into a monster deal, and Hali reworked his contract to take less money so he could stay with the team.
Ford had another season with pedestrian stats coming off the bench, finishing the year with 23 tackles and 4 sacks. The lone bright spot for Ford in 2015 was week 14 against the Bolts, 7 tackles and 3 sacks. It appeared in this small sample of play Ford was starting to put it all together, looking dominate at times in that game.
After 2 years to learn behind two of the best pass rushers in the league, 30 tackles, 5.5 sacks and a big game maybe Ford just needed a chance. Although Hali received a contract extension this past off season he learned he would finally get his shot with Houston rehabbing a knee injury, not returning until……
Ford has taken all his snaps with the first team throughout OTA’s, mini-camp and training camp lining up in Houston’s vacant LOLB spot with all reports to this point being positive. Ford looked the part in practice, albeit mostly in shorts.
That is until last Saturday. We all know by now Ford did not have a good showing against the Seahawks, to say the least. He looked lost, constantly out of place and over matched. He could not gain leverage to set the edge and his one trick, speed, wasn’t enough to get to QB Russell Wilson.
I am normally one to drink the Kool-aid when it comes to the Chiefs. I’m always first in line with a cup I brought from the house sporting Jon Baldwin stains… which are covering up the Junior Siavii stains. I pride myself in not giving up on players, especially after 2 seasons. Ford is really testing me on this.
Based on last week I have zero faith in his ability to fill in at LOLB while Houston is mending his knee. LOLB has been a strength of our defense since before Reid and Sutton arrived but will be, in my eyes, a glaring weakness this year if Ford is starting.
What makes Houston so great is not just his ability to get after the passer, but also being able to meet a runner in the back field for a loss. If he is unable to do that he will often times force the run back inside where his buddies will be waiting. We don’t have that in Ford. Not only does he get jammed at line when in pass rush, he can’t set the edge either which was supposed to be one of his strengths coming out of Auburn. If I were an opposing Offensive Coordinator, I’d trim my play book down to “run at Ford” and “roll the QB Ford’s direction,” If he continues to play like he did last week, guys like Zombo, Moses and Massaquoi might start getting more snaps at practice… and in preseason games.
Hopefully Ford has done his tune-up, changed the tires and washed and waxed because he will be on display this weekend against the Los Angeles Rams. Can he win best in show or has he already gone up in flames? Should he be sent to the scrap yard or does he have the engine revving on all cylinders?
What do you think Chief’s fans, is it time to pour out the Kool-aid?
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