Steam Roller Blues
Well, I’m a steamroller, baby, I’m bound to roll all over you.
Yes, I’m a steamroller for you, baby, I’m bound to roll all over you.
I’m gonna inject your soul with some sweet rock ‘n roll,
And shoot you full of rhythm and blues.
~James Taylor, 1970
From year to year changes are made all over the roster. Injuries are an equal opportunity employer and plague players at every position. So, different position groups can change dramatically from one year to the next. However, in 2016 it looks like the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line could be a steamroller!
While I have mentioned several times in the past few years that the Chiefs need to work on building an offensive line that is a juggernaut… it is the defensive line that has likely already arrived.
Each year for the past four seasons Chiefs fans have had the luxury of watching one of the best nose tackles in the business. I’m referring to Dontari Poe of course but, 2015 was not the same old Dontari that fans have grown to expect.
Poe’s numbers over the past four seasons:
Year .. Tkls . Sks
2012 .. 38 …. 0
2013 .. 51 …. 4.5
2014 .. 46 …. 6.0
2015 .. 39 …. 1.0
Dontari Poe made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014 but, 2014 was the year that both Mike DeVito and Derrick Johnson were out nearly the whole season so not only did Poe have a down year stopping the run but so did the team when they finished 28th in the league in rushing yards allowed with 127.2 per game. More sacks, yes, but Poe was “part” of the reason the defense didn’t excel against the rush that year.
2015 was supposed to be a bounce back year for Poe as far as stopping the run and they jumped from #28 in 2014 to #8 in 2015 allowing only 98.2 yards per game. That wasn’t before we found out at the end of June of last summer, that Dontari had just had back surgery and when it was first announced coach Andy Reid said he “might be” back by the end of the season. However, Poe started the year off playing but it was clear he wasn’t quite the same player until later in the season. Now, that Poe has had a healthy offseason and is ready to have his best season yet and the sky’s the limit for him.
Jaye Howard
Jaye Howard on the other hand had a great year in 2015 and should pick up right where he left off which was 57 tackles and 5.5 sacks. If you compare Howard’s 2015 performance to any of Poe’s best years his stats actually exceed Poe’s for the most part. Poe’s 51+4.5 or his 46+6.0 are both lesser years than Howard’s 57+5.5.
I recall scouting Jaye Howard when he was coming out of college and my impression was that he had way above average hands. To me, a defensive lineman has to have good feet and good hands to be successful. Having “good hands” is all about that upper body movement when they begin to do the hand-to-hand battle in the trenches. That’s where Howard can actually dominate as the game wears on. With Poe less than full strength last year Howard was often double teamed and he came through that season shining like a diamond. I was touting him for the Pro Bowl but that designation is often a popularity contest for high profile players and Howard isn’t there yet. However, his stats were.
Now, Jaye Howard seems to have put it all together and how John Dorsey got him to sign a team friendly deal is as mysterious as crop circles on Venus to me. Place a healthy Jaye Howard next to a revved up Dontari Poe and opponents must fear arterial collapse along their offensive lines each week.
Jaye Howard’s quickness is at another level. He has pushed his athletic ability even more. Looks like a natural rusher. OL can’t stop him.
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) August 5, 2016
Allen Bailey
But wait… the Chiefs also have a cute dude named Allen Bailey. Better known as, “The Hulk.” Mr. Bailey is no slouch and teams always have to account for him too. Bailey is a 6-foot-3 inch 290 pound man sculpted in bronze. But don’t think for one second that this means he’s ever like a statue standing still. He ran a 4.71- 40 yard dash (official time) at the NFL combine in 2011 and he’s only gotten… harder… better… faster… stronger (to quote Jimmy Fallon)!
Here’s a picture of Bailey bumping heads with teammate Dontari Poe. Poor Poe… looks like Bailey is hurting him… aw-widdle-bit. His stats for the last three seasons look like this,
Year .. Tkls . Sks
2013 .. 30 …. 1.0
2014 .. 41 …. 5.0
2015 .. 38 …. 4.5
So, you can see the Chiefs don’t have a weak link along the defensive line. In fact , nothing about the DL should be associated with weakness. Nor should it be linked to a lack of speed. Remember Dontari Poe ran a sub 5.0- 40 yard dash (4.89 official and he also ran a non-official time of 4.71 earlier) at the combine and for a lineman weighing in at 346 pounds at the time, that ever so suddenly got him labeled and moved to the “freaky” end of the “freak” department. Yes, he’s a Super Freak!
More Help
Perhaps you’ve forgotten about Rakeem Roches-Nunez who had a terrific practice day on Friday.
There may not have been a player more fired up to go live today than @RakeemNunez. The guy made plays and let everyone know about each one.
— BJ Kissel (@ChiefsReporter) August 5, 2016
It’s his second year in the system… he’s having a good camp… and we should see him getting more time in the rotation this season.
Which brings us to the Chiefs first pick in the draft, rookie defensive lineman Chris Jones. I’ll now defer to our resident sage berttheclock who said yesterday,
“BTW, did you read my comment from another thread earlier about Michael Bennett and why he was not drafted in 2009? The reason I mentioned it was due to the concern of some about the negative scouting report on Chris Jones saying he took plays off. Coming out of Texas A&M, many scouts said Bennett was inconsistent. He has developed into a one man offensive line wrecking crew for the Seahawks. Hope that will be said about Chris Jones someday soon.” ~berttheclock
It hasn’t been a problem so far since Chris Jones arrived in K.C.. Don’t be a bit surprised to see Jones receive some rotational reps this season. Some say he’ll be Dontari Poe’s eventual replacement but he’ll have to prove it on the field first. The wonderful part is… he’s a talented guy and is quite capable if he continues to apply himself.
Beyond breaking down the individual players responsible for helping the Chiefs defensive line developing into the Steamroller it’s becoming, they’re also winning big in training camp against a Kansas City offense that looks to be much improved in 2016.
They went “Live” for the first time at #ChiefsCamp for a couple of periods today. Most competitive practice to date. DL wrecked everything.
— BJ Kissel (@ChiefsReporter) August 5, 2016
“DL wrecked everything.” It’s clear that the strongest position group on the team is the defensive line. That’s important as K.C. begins year four of the JARD regime. If you’ve kept up with the signature components of each of the most recent Super Bowl teams who have won it all, their defensive lines have been outstanding. Some would say they have steamrolled their offensive counterparts. Call me a homer if you like… but I say this year’s Chiefs will have that kind of defensive line. I also believe that’s exactly the way John Dorsey, Andy Reid and DC Bob Sutton have designed the defense: dominate along the defensive line and by so doing, you open up the back end for their speedy linebackers and defensive backs to do their work without fear that it’s going to take all day before they apply the necessary pressure to end the next play, and the next… and the next. It keeps everyone on the back end fresh and scares the patootie out of the offense they’re facing in the process.
So, let the steamrolling commence.