David Bell
After coming off a win versus the Washington Football Team this week, there was a far more congenial outlook about the defense. I’m sure that no one was fond of the Chiefs first half offense however, which is best forgotten since the highly potent ability to move the ball was evident, but in the process the Chiefs booted away three possessions with turnovers. It was frustrating for fans and pundits alike. It was like hearing the screech of sharp nails on glass. At least, the offense was potent at moving the ball. Three times the Chiefs got into the Football Team’s territory only to give the ball back over to them.
Offensive Prowess
Cursing, I am sure, accompanied each error all round Chiefs Kingdom as well as under the breath of players and coaches on the sidelines. What is driving me crazy is to note the following tweet which demonstrates that this offense is still powerful — even with all the errors — it is scoring at a record-setting level.
No team has ever averaged 3.07 Points per drive in the NFL. Let me say that again: No team has EVER averaged 3.07 Points per drive in the NFL! Another way to look at the offense is the scoring of TD’s in the Red Zone as shown in this tweet by John Gonoude:.
Clearly, this offense is capable of dominating a football game… when the Chiefs have the football. One thing that was observed in an article by Laddie Morse involved a view of the offense “gain”… if the turnovers did not result in points for the opposing team. That is a powerful way to see things, but this time, my focus is restricted to the offensive side of the ball whereas the article’s point was to frame it for a defense that was called back into action because of the Mahomes led crew giving the ball away. You can see that article here:
Defense! With a Notable Cautionary
In the win against the Washington, the Chiefs defense more than did their job, holding their opponent to a single TD. I think at this point you can do a refer-back to the “magic number theme where I had used “17” as the main number, stating: if the defense held their opponent to 17 points or less, they should win the football game.
In 2018, I adjusted that to “20” points due the focus NFL-wide of building high-powered aerial offenses. In this case, they far exceeded either number. My Cautionary Corollary: is that the Chiefs were facing a second-tier opponent, so this defensive performance has to be taken with a grain of saltiness. On the other hand, as the saying goes: any team can beat any other team on any Sunday. I suppose due to this oft used and applicable observation, the cautionary is not necessary. It should be clear from the game that the Chief’s secondary played very well. The PFF grades for the DB subgroup were very high level as shown in the following graphic showing the rating for the Chiefs in that game.
Linebackers
Anthony Hitchens has been the subject of my ire for 3 years running. I thought he was performing at a better level as the season began to unfold, but I have reverted to an unhappy view of Hitch …again. Even against the WFT, as I watched the game for the second time, I came away with the same view I have had almost since his arrival in KC. He is late to read plays, causing him to be late to get to the ball, whether it is reading the play to get to the gap to stop an RB at the LoS, or for at least a short gain, or covering a receiver in the flats.
There has been some criticism about Nick Bolton in defending the aerial attack at the field boundaries with the judgment that he lacks speed to get to the edge. I am not convinced this is the case and will need to see how things unfold against the Ravens this week.
Last week, Willie Gay, Jr. returned to play and for me this is a welcome sight. Gay does have the speed the Chiefs desperately need when getting to the edge and beyond. Paired with Bolton this week, we should see an uptick in the LB support in both the run defense as well as the passing game. I know that Anthony Hitchens is experienced and is the play-caller for the defensive front 7. The Chiefs need him to be an above average defender to be the signal caller and the primary LB, but he is not that… so far, in 2021. At the same time Nick Bolton leads all rookie players in tackles for defense. Hitch suffered an injury and we won’t know where he stands with that come Friday’s report.
Outlook For Sunday?
Laddie’s article covered a lot of ground as he wrote about the defense so I am not going to double up on it. It’s my view now, that the defensive effort should be improved enough, given a good game plan by Spagnuolo and company, which builds on what was accomplished in the week building up to the game at Washington. We should see both, Safety Juan Thornhill and Cornerback Rashad Fenton, starting again. Also note that Charvarius Ward returns after missing several games as well as Chris Jones coming back for the same game.
The Chiefs defense, with a game plan to limit Derrick Henry’s run game, would force their offense to go to the air. I am not going to downplay Ryan Tannehill’s ability as a QB as he can be very successful. However, if the Chiefs get a leg-up, and get ahead by 2 scores, it will force the Titans HC, Mike Vrabel, in his approach to the game, to be far more one-dimensional, going away from their strong suit while having to play catchup by passing the ball. That should fall right into Andy’s Reid’s hands.
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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