A CASE FOR THE DEFENSE

[UChieffyBugger]

During this offseason and the preseason games, folks have been going mad about the defense and I think it's time to lay the facts on the table and have a serious discussion about it.

Last season our defense consisted of.

Revis
Peters
Gaines
Mitchell
Revis
Nelson
Acker


Sorensen
Parker
Murray
Berry (for one game)

Ford (for a few games)
Houston
Zombo
Kpass
Hali

Ragland
Johnson
KPL
Wilson
Smith

Jones
Bailey
Logan
Jenkins
RNR

And these were the points we conceded

Pats= 27

Philly= 20

Chargers= 10

Skins= 20

Texans= 34

Pitt= 19

Raiders= 31

Denver= 19

Cowboys= 28

Giants= 12

Bills= 16

Jets= 38

Raiders= 15

Chargers= 13

Miami= 13

Denver= 24

Titans= 22

So let's do the maths. Out of seventeen games, we only allowed more than 25 points five times. We also kept teams under twenty points eight times, which is nearly half the total amount of games we played. There were some horror shows, no doubt, but I think when you look at that roster and see how many guys were either not good enough (Gaines, Sorensen, Mitchell, RNR, Acker etc), or simply too old and fading (Johnson, Revis, Zombo, Hali and so forth), then I think the defense probably done themselves justice in the end.

And let's be honest guys, would anyone swap our current list of players for the ones we had last year? I certainly wouldn't. It's not perfect by any means, but it's younger, fresher, faster and I have a great belief that fans will be pleasantly surprised by what they produce this season.

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by UChieffyBugger

Wouldn't mid-pack and a good offense bode well for the season? I think it would .

It certainly would. I just don't see it as likely.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

Can't post this enough as it exemplifies the shortcomings of Sutton's defensive play calling:

Houston rushed the quarterback on 77 percent of his pass plays last season, when he had 9.5 sacks. His career percentage is 72 percent. As comparisons, Denver's Von Miller rushed the passer 93.3 percent of the time last season and 82.5 percent in his career. Oakland's Khalil Mack went after the QB 95.1 percent of the snaps last season and 89.3 percent of the time in his career.


http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/277932/chiefs-plan-for-justin-houston-to-rekindle-his-22-sack-season

Way to completely omit the context in order to satisfy a false narrative. Justin Houston was in coverage out of necessity and the defense was actually better as a result.

But what’s interesting is that while their pass rush is better when Houston rushes the quarterback, their pass defense isn’t as good overall. That suggests that perhaps defensive coordinator Bob Sutton is doing the right things with Houston on the whole. Houston leads the Chiefs in sacks with 5.5, but he’s good in coverage as well.

http://www.espn.com/blog/afcwest/pos...-pass-coverage

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

It certainly would. I just don't see it as likely.

Why? Last season our points allowed totals was about 15th right? And imo we have better talent In the defense than last season so why not? I think Fuller is a stud tbh and will fill Peters role well. Berry coming back should also be a godsend. Whilst Ragland and Hitchens should certainly shore up the middle of the D. Our defense doesn't have to be like the Jaggs for us to have a successful season.

[JimNasium]

This was always a two year rebuild. If this defense can over achieve and be middle of the pack, then it’s a victory.

[ChiefGator]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Way to completely omit the context in order to satisfy a false narrative. Justin Houston was in coverage out of necessity and the defense was actually better as a result.



http://www.espn.com/blog/afcwest/pos...-pass-coverage

This.

Those numbers are actually a case for Sutton analyzing how good the defense is in different situations and going with a bit of an unorthodox defense, since that was statistically the best defense we put on the field.

As long as Berry, Ragland, and Hitchens can all play, we will be a much better defense.

[Danguardace]

The Pre-season brings about false hope and false hate.

I'll reserve my judgement for week 1 and beyond.

I expect the defense to be better, which isn't hard.

[Buckweath]

The defense will be at worst average. And I would feel very strongly about this if not for the fact that Amerson has looked underwhelming.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Buckweath

The defense will be at worst average. And I would feel very strongly about this if not for the fact that Amerson has looked underwhelming.

I'll bet you anything its bottom 10 overall. In fact IMO, that's its ceiling. This _efense is going to be terrible. No pass rush, bad Secondary and cant stop the run. What mskes it worse is they're counting on improvement coming from several key players who have a history of injuries. They need everything to go right for them just to be average. Way too many issues for all that to happen IMO.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

Can't post this enough as it exemplifies the shortcomings of Sutton's defensive play calling:

Houston rushed the quarterback on 77 percent of his pass plays last season, when he had 9.5 sacks. His career percentage is 72 percent. As comparisons, Denver's Von Miller rushed the passer 93.3 percent of the time last season and 82.5 percent in his career. Oakland's Khalil Mack went after the QB 95.1 percent of the snaps last season and 89.3 percent of the time in his career.


http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/277932/chiefs-plan-for-justin-houston-to-rekindle-his-22-sack-season

I still think this is overblown. Houston goes into coverage a lot because he's damn good at it. Especially with lousy ilbs. Hopefully Hitchens helps. Not rushing Houston wasnt the biggest problem. The problem is that Sutton hasn't shown yet that he can adapt beyond his nickel scheme. Andy insisted the defense will be more aggressive and they obviously prioritized the interior of this defense. In Suttons defense, he was pretty aggressive his first 1 or 2 seasons with the chiefs. We'll see if that works.

[Priest31kc]

Originally Posted by Danguardace

The Pre-season brings about false hope and false hate.

I'll reserve my judgement for week 1 and beyond.

I expect the defense to be better, which isn't hard.

This.

Not judging the D until the regular season. We haven't had Hitchens, Ragland or Berry. Houston's played like 2 series. Bailey's barely played. We're trying out everyone at the other S spot with Sorenson down. We got a shit ton of rookies and new parts too.

And like the offense, were not game planning or scheming for shit yet.

I hate preseason

[Eleazar]

Whether people want to admit it or not, the team is rebuilding. The defense has been bad for a number of years and there is no reason to believe that will change this year. The offense has some key pieces but the line is not good and is going to limit what they can do. It's going to take another offseason of making solid moves to see the team turn the corner. They'll probably take a step back this year which is fine.

[Chiefnj2]

I somewhat like the fact that the backups have been playing at ILB and S so far during the past two games. There is probably a good chance they have to take the field during the season, so you might as well get them some playing time in a basic defense to see what they can do. Way too early to panic.

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by UChieffyBugger

Why? Last season our points allowed totals was about 15th right? And imo we have better talent In the defense than last season so why not? I think Fuller is a stud tbh and will fill Peters role well. Berry coming back should also be a godsend. Whilst Ragland and Hitchens should certainly shore up the middle of the D. Our defense doesn't have to be like the Jaggs for us to have a successful season.

Hopefully you are right.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

Whether people want to admit it or not, the team is rebuilding. The defense has been bad for a number of years and there is no reason to believe that will change this year. The offense has some key pieces but the line is not good and is going to limit what they can do. It's going to take another offseason of making solid moves to see the team turn the corner. They'll probably take a step back this year which is fine.

I agree. The Offense is not going to be good enough to overcome the _efense. But we finally have a Franchise QB, so we need to give him the time he needs to develop and the Chiefs time to build a solid team around him.

[JimNasium]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

Whether people want to admit it or not, the team is rebuilding. The defense has been bad for a number of years and there is no reason to believe that will change this year. The offense has some key pieces but the line is not good and is going to limit what they can do. It's going to take another offseason of making solid moves to see the team turn the corner. They'll probably take a step back this year which is fine.

This. Another off-season and a solid draft and we are in business. If we get to and make some noise in the playoffs this year it will be gravy.