Has our defense been HARSHLY judged?

[UChieffyBugger]

It seems to be in fashion to knock the Chiefs defense. WE as fans slaughter them daily, the local press slaughter then daily, the NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL media slaughter them daily, and when I sit and think about the circumstances sounding that group, one could argue that they are getting judged a little harshly.

Now let's start with the preseason. Ragland and Hitchens played ONE warm-up together against the Bears and both missed several practice sessions. Nelson got knocked out of the Atlanta game and missed sessions himself, whilst Parker wasn't even In our building during the preseason. Then we have Ford who Is just returning to the team after being out for most of last season, and Houston barely played In the warm-up games himself.

Last year there was a perception that we had "the worst defense known to man", but I argued it was an overblown notion because the reality was that we were around fifteenth In the points allowed tally. But that notion has stuck with the team and now this unit that has barely played together Is thrown together and Is trying to both gel as a unit and get their football legs going all whilst facing TWO quality offenses on the road. The Pats defense started off badly too last year and then managed to be a decent unit until the superbowl where they contrived to drop their best corner, so there is a clear example of how things can change quickly In this game.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Plenty of reasons for failure, but no excuse. This is the NFL. You can't be giving up like 1000 yards and like 78 points in 2 games and be considered "good" or even OK. This defense is BAD right now. We can hope that they will "gel" and get their heads out of their asses soon, but reality is that we'll have to score 30+ to win consistently with this defense. That ain't good.

Granted, they went up against 2 very high powered offenses, but shiiiit...they have to do better. I hope I'm wrong. I just don't see much sunshine here...

[FlaChief58]

Yeah, there's a lot of room for improvement

[Kiimo]

Considering the pace that the offense is scoring at we give the other team a million possessions and a lot of time.

I mean, it's bad for stats but a recipe to go 12-4.

[RunKC]

This defense has stepped up when it mattered and that’s all I care about.

I don’t give a shit about 23 garbage time points that were scored when the game was over.

[Best22]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Good grief. Stop making excuses for these sorry sacks of shit. Hopefully as this year goes along they get their collective heads out of their asses and actually play something resembling NFL ball, but we've won these 2 games riding the historic arm of Mahomes and his ability to get TDs.

It's been 2 weeks. Things will settle down. It's hard to call things "best" and "worst" after 2 weeks, especially since we haven't even faced an average QB yet, only top-flight ones

I mean, KC is averaging 40ppg, but I doubt that average continues throughout the year. I mean, statistically Mahomes is the best QB so far, but no one would rank him over Brady or Rodgers

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by Best22

It's been 2 weeks. Things will settle down. It's hard to call things "best" and "worst" after 2 weeks, especially since we haven't even faced an average QB yet, only top-flight ones

I mean, KC is averaging 40ppg, but I doubt that average continues throughout the year

Cool. "They've statistically been so awful that there's no way it continues for the whole year" isn't anything to be happy about. They need to get their shit together now, or we're going to start losing games when Mahomes comes back down from outer space.

[Best22]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Cool. "They've statistically been so awful that there's no way it continues for the whole year" isn't anything to be happy about. They need to get their shit together now, or we're going to start losing games when Mahomes comes back down from outer space.

There are only a handful of teams with defenses good enough to stop us and offenses good enough to put up 35+ on us.

This also assumes that Berry doesn't return. Replacing Murray with Berry probably shaves off a touchdown per game

The defense will never be good this year, but it can be better, and will if Berry and Sorensen return.

How many defenses would be good if they lost both starting safeties at the start of the season and had to face Big Ben and Rivers on the road? Most fans would be calling for 0-2, yet here we are, 2-0

[notorious]

It’s all about situational stops in the playoffs.

They haven’t been bad in this department, but the rest is AIDS.

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by Best22

There are only a handful of teams with defenses good enough to stop us and offenses good enough to put up 35+ on us.

This also assumes that Berry doesn't return. Replacing Murray with Berry probably shaves off a touchdown per game

The defense will never be good this year, but it can be better, and will if Berry and Sorensen return.

How many defenses would be good if they lost both starting safeties at the start of the season and had to face Big Ben and Rivers on the road? Most fans would be calling for 0-2, yet here we are, 2-0

At this point I'm not looking for "good". I'd be content with not dead ****ing last by most metrics.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Which defense is worse?

Vermeils ‘Career Day’ defenses or the current ‘Bend and Break’ defense?

Too small of a sample size. Vermeil's 2003 defense got quote a few turnovers but they were awful against the run and pass. They gave up like 5.5ypc on the season.

[Best22]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

At this point I'm not looking for "good". I'd be content with not dead ****ing last by most metrics.

I mean, we played 2 top offenses from 2017. That'll hurt your rankings

I don't really know what you expect. No fan expected the defense to shutdown Rivers and Roethlisberger. Many fans (after the Bears game) expected LA to drop a 50 burger. Few media pundits expected us to even have a win after 2 weeks

Getting Berry and Sorensen back, and playing fewer talent-laden offenses, should certainly help our overall statistics for the season

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by Best22

I mean, we played 2 top offenses from 2017. That'll hurt your rankings

I don't really know what you expect. No fan expected the defense to shutdown Rivers and Roethlisberger. Many fans (after the Bears game) expected LA to drop a 50 burger. Few media pundits expected us to even have a win after 2 weeks

Getting Berry and Sorensen back, and playing fewer talent-laden offenses, should certainly help our overall statistics for the season

Yay. So if we run into a high powered offense in the playoffs we're ****ed unless either Berry or Sorenson come back and make a big difference or Mahomes is still playing at an unsustainable rate. Yippee.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Yay. So if we run into a high powered offense in the playoffs we're ****ed unless either Berry or Sorenson come back and make a big difference or Mahomes is still playing at an unsustainable rate. Yippee.

The playoffs are a LONG way away. Hitchens is new and didn't play in preseason. You have to think Berry will be back. Scandrick, Ward, and Lucas just got here and are still adjusting.

I mean that's just a few of the things that are likely to change, and potentially improve, as the season goes on. I'm not big on the draft but some of those guys are likely to contribute at some point.

I don't like the way the defense is playing but we have a long way to go before it's time to talk playoffs.

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

Considering the pace that the offense is scoring at we give the other team a million possessions and a lot of time.

I mean, it's bad for stats but a recipe to go 12-4.

This is why when If we get a big lead Andy needs to pump the breaks a little and start running the ball. We have an embarrassment of riches In our RB group so getting our run game going Is gonna be key.

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Cool. "They've statistically been so awful that there's no way it continues for the whole year" isn't anything to be happy about. They need to get their shit together now, or we're going to start losing games when Mahomes comes back down from outer space.

These were the points the Pats conceded In their first four games last season

42= vs Chiefs
20= vs Saints
33= vs Houston
33= Panthers

And everyone was saying it's a "historically bad" defense. But from that Panthers gone onwards, they became one of the top defensive units in the league which took them to the superbowl. So there is a clear example of how things can turn around quickly.