After John Dorsey’s first two drafts which included Eric Fisher first overall in 2013 and then Dee Ford 23rd overall in 2014, Kansas City Chiefs fans began to wonder if Dorsey had the right touch in the draft. When he got it right in 2015, with Marcus Peters, many fans felt it was still too early to tell about Dee Ford, but now, after three full seasons to look back, many are wondering what’s the problem with Dee Ford.
Snaps
Except for Derrick Johnson, Dee Ford had more snaps (798) than any other Chiefs linebacker in 2016. Let’s round that off to 800 because Ford had 10.0 sacks for the season which means, he had approximately one sack every 80 snaps.
You may recall a piece I shared last September called, “Give Peace, and Dee Ford, A Chance” in which I created the following graphs detailing Fords snaps per sack in 2015 compared to other team members:
Although Ford was averaging above 100 snaps per sack he was also within the same range as Tamba Hali.
In 2016, Ford averaged less that 80 snaps per sack and was not far behind Justin Houston who was returning from a severe knee injury.
Overall Effect
More than the progress that Ford has shown from 2015 to 2016, the major takeaway that I see here is that the Chiefs top three OLBs combined for nearly 5-less sacks (17.5) for the season than Justin Houston had in 2014 (22). The team will clearly need to create more sacks and pressure than these three were able to create in 2017 if they wish to compete for a crown.
The Rollercoaster Ride
Dee Ford’s mid-season success aside, his overall performance in 2016 was sub-par and that’s the best you can say about the way he played last year. When I scout Ford and watch him on any given play, he often gets locked up with an Offensive Tackle and looks like he’s trying to read the play and decide whether or not he should rush the passer and attempt to disengage or stay and set the edge for a running play. In other words, Ford doesn’t read plays well and consequently ends up playing tentatively.
Wrong System?
If Ford played on a team, or in a defense, in which he could just pin his ears back and rush the passer like Von Miller does, he’d be a Pro Bowler. Instead, DC Bob Sutton keeps his OLB’s on a leash which makes it harder for opposing QBs to read but much easier for the talents of his OLBs to be wasted. In other words, part of Dee Ford problem is not him, it’s the coaching. Or, better put, the scheme he’s playing in.
Still, you have to compare him to Justin Houston who does well in this system and consequently you must ask why this is not working out for Ford?
Houston v Ford
First of all, Houston is 6-foot-3 inches weighing in a 258 while Ford is 6-foot-2 inches and 252. Now, those figures don’t sound like there’s a big difference between them but if you’ve been to the Chiefs training camp and looked at Justin Houston up close and personally, you can tell he’s a big man. The bottom line is, that size difference makes all the difference in the world when it comes to the way each player approaches the game. Houston manhandles Offensive Tackles while Ford tries to finesse them or beat them with quickness and speed. One way is working wonders while the other way leaves you wondering.
In scouting college prospects in the past few months I have come across players who can rush the passer with more moves than Dee Ford seems to have. After three seasons Ford should have more than a speed rush around the corner.
Andy Reid’s Plan
Andy Reid recently said in a WHB interview,
“This is what you’ve got. This is what excites me about this whole thing. You’re going to add back in Bailey: six-plus sacks right? You going to add back in 50 [Houston]… twenty-plus sacks right… haha… you’ve got Jaye Howard, potentially and now you got Dee Ford, who now will have a little more experience on the other side (he’s referring to Tamba Hali’s side). Remember the (Ford) got all those sacks on that other side, where Justin was and then when Justin came back we had to move him over there to the opposite end… and he had to get used to that. So, he got a little experience under his belt there.”
Andy Reid was talking about the whole defense so this was only an excerpt but he was expressing his optimism for next season’s team, specifically the defense.
While I can accept Reid’s analysis to a certain degree, just because Ford had to “get a little experience under his belt” as the blind side rusher doesn’t answer all of the questions fans have about him in games when he seemed to disappear. Completely. Dee Ford had 38 tackles for the season but in 6 games he had 1 tackle — or fewer — with zero sacks. In two such games, Ford had zero tackles and zeros sacks. Problematically, both of those games came before Justin Houston’s return in weeks one and three.
Dee Ford vs De’ Fraud
I like the power side to Tamba Hali’s game and have missed that aspect to his pressuring attack style ever since his decline. Obviously, Andy Reid and Bob Sutton plan on using Hali like a pinch-hitting home-run hitter. As long as Dee Ford can master the blind-side of the rushing attack then the Chiefs won’t have to go out and draft another OLB in the first round this year. Since those sound like the plans, I’d bet against that happening in April. In the meantime, here’s to hoping Dee Ford has his ship together… or the day the Chiefs 2017 “D” sets sail will be as infamous as the day the Titanic was christened… at least for this Chiefs fan!