By David Bell
For once, I agree with Jim Rome. He said the other day that no one knows what the “H” is going on in the NFL. There is madness afoot. No one knows. The games are all a mystery as to who will win. The betting public is confused. I am as well.
A Method to Andy’s Madness?
It’s very hard to tell what is going on with the Kansas City Chiefs offense. They have been inconsistent and lacking in execution. Then, suddenly, the offense bursts forth versus the Raiders, scoring 41 points. Sure, they had scored over 30, and had 35 in the loss to the Bills who scored 36… go figure that one.
What I mean by the Andy Reid “the mad hatter”… it appears to me to be a case of withholding things from the game day play book, to be used later. Could it be part of a mad plan? We have seen certain plays which are new but that can only be a brief view of what was cooked up in the offseason.
Getting hot in the stretch run is exactly what the season calls for and having beaten the Cowboys, it appears that the Chiefs final six games should yield wins against division foes Raiders and Broncos (2 very possible wins). They face the Chargers to whom they lost earlier (a 3rd win). They then face the Steelers and Bengals games before closing out week 17 against the Broncos again(a 4th win). The Bengals will present the biggest threat as an opponent as things appear to me now.
Is Andy cooking up the final streak to get to the playoffs with a witches brew that is a Chiefs Deluge?
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Hardman They Said
Hardman I suppose – a disappointing 42 catches, 58 targets, 424 yards, 10.1 ypc and only 1 TD. Hardman’s most productive game was versus the Bills game where he was targeted 12 times with 9 catches and 75 yards. Mecole’s inability to emerge has been very disappointing for me. OTOH: Byron Pringle catches everyone’s attention. He appears to be the playmaker that the Chiefs need from a 2-3-4 receiver. Still not emerging as I expected is Josh Gordon. I have a big “Huh” that goes along with any WR not name Hill.
A Stout Defense Makes the Offense Effective
Overall, the defense is allowing 14.25 PPG in November. Outstanding. For the past six games, they have held opponents to less than 17 in all games save the loss to the Titans. The Chiefs pass coverage is complimentary of their good pass rush. Linebacker reads are solid because the front four is handling the LoS. It is all such a drastically different look for the Chiefs defense from the first 5 games.
So, on to the defense, where things are getting much better.
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The Front Four
Before the season began, I was convinced that the Chief’s were about to balance things with top drawer performances in all three phases of the game. I admit that I was a doubter about CJ moving outside, but after the preseason, I wrote about that doubt and that it was diminished. Two games of a big dose of Stone Cold “Inside” proved that my original view was correct.
When Melvin Ingram came to visit, I thought that Veach should hire him on them moment he stepped across the Club’s threshold. It didn’t happen—but then 3 weeks ago, Brett Veach engineered a trade to bring Ingram to the fold. It is my view that the addition of Ingram makes other teams keep track of where he is on the field at all times which makes the other 3 players on any given snap far more effective. Certainly this was evident in the games against the Raiders and Cowboys.
I mentioned that Ingram’s addition to the Front Four player mix was important and moving CJ inside for a predominate number of snaps was also a boon to the pass rush.
At the same time, having a healthy Frank Clark is really telling as well. Finally he is healthy and has apparently shut off the internal dialogue and worry about his pending legal problems out in LA.
The Chiefs front four also boasts Derrick Nnadi, Mike Danna and Alex Okafor. If Ingrams ability to be a starter on every snap is diminished at age 32 (which I personally doubt) the mix of players outside makes up for it. With Ingram on the field, DC Steve Spagnuolo has flexibility in how Ingram is used while at the same time being able to move other players around or even use Ingram more as a LB which we witnessed in the Dallas game.
The Secondary
A larger view of the Chiefs Secondary needs to be the overhead camera picture. L’Jarius Sneed has emerged as a constant physically dominating Cornerback outside.
I think his game-in, game-out work is deserving of a Pro Bowl nod. I am not here to tell you he is a shutdown cornerback—but he is closing in on such designation.
Two more factors are important for the CB room. Rashad Fenton has become a very solid player despite physical limitations. He does not have the closing speed that you would like to see a player at Corner possess and he is a bit lacking in being able to open the hips in order to shift direction. However his diagnostic ability is acute and he overcomes his flaws with his own mechanism to counter weaknesses.
Fenton is not an incredibly athletic Corner, but he is very likely the teams most improved player in the secondary. He ranked first among all CB’s when rated by PFF recently—the highest graded corner in the NFL. Also, the much maligned Charvarius Ward has steadily done his work in a quiet, unassuming manner.
I have never believed that he was a great cornerback. I have and do believe he is a solid, dependable player. Ward is one of only four CB’s in the NFL who has a defense percentage rate of less than 50% reception by receivers. The other three names are, as reported by Ron Kopp: Raider’s CB Casey Hayward Jr., Titan’s CB Kristian Fulton, and Seahawk CB Tre Brown. Myself? I have never thought he was a great CB, but also believed him to be a solid defender who should be a starter.
With these three players, the Cornerback group has been particularly effective and it is abundantly clear that the improvement of the Chiefs defense over the past 6 games is largely due to their efforts. I am sad that Fenton’s season may have ended abruptly.
It is time for another player to step in and step up: Mike Hughes? I wonder how close Deandre Baker is to being able to play effectively after suffering a broken leg last December? I was frothing at the mouth to get him into the mix.
Our Effective Linebackers
The effectiveness of the front four empowers the linebackers who have been very good in 2021, especially over the last 6 games. Hitchens is the field commander and Nick Bolton the understudy who is playing football as a top drawer linebacker.
Willie Gay’s speed sees him making plays all over the field and his pass coverage has been very good at the same time. The Chiefs seldom use a base 43 set with all three players on the field but they have been utilized that way. From the front end to the back-end the Chiefs defense is suddenly extremely stout.
The Chiefs Juice
Our juice comes from Tyrann Mathieu. Juan Thornhill is a far superior safety to other players and it showed when Thornhill took over the back-end of the defense 3 weeks ago.
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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