Craig Stout: Chris Jones has been lining up at DE a TON at OTAs.

[Chris Meck]

I've been saying this for the last couple of years, but it bears repeating.

People are WAY too hung up on positions and what they think are 'prototypes' for those positions.

When Spags ruined Brady and Co.'s perfect season in that super bowl, he moved everyone on the line around all over the place.

In the same way that Matthieu is not really a 'safety', neither does it matter what you want to call Chris Jones when he's not lined up as a typical DT.

Just like we don't really utilize a prototypical slot receiver on offense.

Doesn't matter.

It's about putting guys with unique talents in position to use those abilities.

Don't worry about it. These guys know what they're doing.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

I've been saying this for the last couple of years, but it bears repeating.

People are WAY too hung up on positions and what they think are 'prototypes' for those positions.

When Spags ruined Brady and Co.'s perfect season in that super bowl, he moved everyone on the line around all over the place.

In the same way that Matthieu is not really a 'safety', neither does it matter what you want to call Chris Jones when he's not lined up as a typical DT.

Just like we don't really utilize a prototypical slot receiver on offense.

Doesn't matter.

It's about putting guys with unique talents in position to use those abilities.

Don't worry about it. These guys know what they're doing.

He's been here for two seasons. I think the best thing to compare Spags' incoming 2021 defense is the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

And in those seasons, the guys have generally not been cogs you could move around however you want.

It was in 2019, when you'd see a lot of Kpass as a DT in obvious rushing situations so that Spags could get a NASCAR package going. But Jones never played outside, and Clark never played inside. Really they only flexed Kpass and Ogbah.

I've watched a ton of 2020 film the past month and a half, and 2020 was different. Spags still had his NASCAR package, but it was structured different.

In 2019, Spags liked three DEs and Jones. Almost always Kpass as the DT rotating down.

But in 2020, we had the Turk Wharton discovery, and Spags' NASCAR package was usually two DEs and two DTs (almost always Jones and Wharton), almost every time, if you don't count the myriad of blitzes he put together.

The vast majority of time he put together that NASCAR DL, it was with the DTs in the middle and the DEs out wide. Though he did shift it around occasionally.

That's not what we're talking about here, so don't pretend this is Business As Usual. This is (likely) not 2020 Chris Jones, who is a DT who is only a DE once in a blue moon in NASCAR packages. This is also likely not 2016-2018 Chris Jones, who was a 3-4 DE full time.

This is (likely) Chris Jones playing a chunk of his snaps as a legit 4-3 base DE.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

This is (likely) Chris Jones playing a chunk of his snaps as a legit 4-3 base DE.

Again, you're hung up on your concept of position and prototypes.

You're exactly who I'm talking about.

Wharton's still here. Now Reed is here. And so is Jones.

So yeah, you'll see a chunk of snaps with those three and Clark. Why is this a problem for you? Why isn't it simply a way of getting your best players on the field at the same time?

legit 4-3 base DE? We're in a base 4-3 like a third of the time. We're usually in a heavy nickel type or dime defense with like 4 safeties. I think you're looking at things through an outdated conventional lens when that's not really how this team operates (or really, the NFL in 2021, but KC is certainly on the front edge of innovation I think we'd all have to agree-particularly on offense.)

Kpass was like 290 lbs, huge for a 4-3 DE, so yeah they moved him inside some on passing downs. Why is this like...groundbreaking news for you?

Obviously, they've liked the positional flexibility of having Jones be able to play inside and outside.

Is this just another thing with you, like not liking Veach's tier system?

Because it seems like it.

I think these guys have shown me that 1)they know more about football than I do, 2) They've earned the right to implement their plans before I'm going to criticize and 3) They are constantly innovating from the front office on down and nobody really knows what they're going to do, so wringing our hands about stuff in March, and May, and June when we have no real idea what they're going to do is silly.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Again, you're hung up on your concept of position and prototypes.

You're exactly who I'm talking about.

Wharton's still here. Now Reed is here. And so is Jones.

So yeah, you'll see a chunk of snaps with those three and Clark. Why is this a problem for you? Why isn't it simply a way of getting your best players on the field at the same time?

legit 4-3 base DE? We're in a base 4-3 like a third of the time. We're usually in a heavy nickel type or dime defense with like 4 safeties. I think you're looking at things through an outdated conventional lens when that's not really how this team operates (or really, the NFL in 2021, but KC is certainly on the front edge of innovation I think we'd all have to agree-particularly on offense.)

Kpass was like 290 lbs, huge for a 4-3 DE, so yeah they moved him inside some on passing downs. Why is this like...groundbreaking news for you?

Obviously, they've liked the positional flexibility of having Jones be able to play inside and outside.

Is this just another thing with you, like not liking Veach's tier system?

Because it seems like it.

I think these guys have shown me that 1)they know more about football than I do, 2) They've earned the right to implement their plans before I'm going to criticize and 3) They are constantly innovating from the front office on down and nobody really knows what they're going to do, so wringing our hands about stuff in March, and May, and June when we have no real idea what they're going to do is silly.

Hey Chris,

I'm not remotely sure if you are properly processing the points I'm making here. Like, I'm literally not sure if you're reading my posts or if you're scanning them and hitting reply.

You say: "of COURSE they moved Kpass in -- why is this news!?" and then you gas on a bit.

I literallly did not say it was news, I was simply describing the system that we're sliding Jones into, in order to set the foundation for my perspective. So I literally don't know where your exasperation is coming from on that point -- or on many of your points.

Tell you what, it's OTAs and we won't know Jones' role until the snaps are live. So let's start with the basics here.

What do you think Jones' role is going to be? Because we're just reading tea leaves at this point.

I think we're looking at him playing roughly 35-45% of his snaps at DE on the strong side. The rest will be in his usual interior habitat.

Do you agree with that prediction, or not?

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Hey Chris,

I'm not remotely sure if you are properly processing the points I'm making here. Like, I'm literally not sure if you're reading my posts or if you're scanning them and hitting reply.

You say: "of COURSE they moved Kpass in -- why is this news!?" and then you gas on a bit.

I literallly did not say it was news, I was simply describing the system that we're sliding Jones into, in order to set the foundation for my perspective. So I literally don't know where your exasperation is coming from on that point -- or on many of your points.

Tell you what, it's OTAs and we won't know Jones' role until the snaps are live. So let's start with the basics here.

What do you think Jones' role is going to be? Because we're just reading tea leaves at this point.

I think we're looking at him playing roughly 35-45% of his snaps at DE on the strong side. The rest will be in his usual interior habitat.

Do you agree with that prediction, or not?

No, man, I'm reading your posts.

and I think you're looking at everything through an incorrect lens. You're looking at this all wrong.

You're looking at this like we run a typical base 4-3 and concluding that this is a weird personnel fit.

And I'm saying 1)no we don't really 2)Spags loves versatility to exploit mismatches 3)Spags historically has moved his best 4 pass rushers inside and outside so there is precedent 4)This is mostly much ado about nothing.

You're not going to see Jonesy lining up in a wide 9. I seriously doubt that.

He's been lining up in a DE spot occasionally in the past, and we'll see it more frequently this season.

This is not something to get all worked up about. It will happen when the Chiefs feel like it's a mismatch worth exploiting; and it won't when they don't think it is. It's literally another chess piece for the coordinator to play with. It's a big-assed Honey Badger on the line.

Don't get so hung up on the position labels. They're not as cut and dried as what they were twenty years ago. Just like calling Mathieu a safety is not really accurate. Sometimes he is, sometimes he's a slot corner, sometimes he's a freakin' linebacker.

Now sometimes Jones will be inside, sometimes outside, he'll be something the offensive line will have to locate and deal with on every snap.

I really see no downside here.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

No, man, I'm reading your posts.

and I think you're looking at everything through an incorrect lens. You're looking at this all wrong.

You're looking at this like we run a typical base 4-3 and concluding that this is a weird personnel fit.

And I'm saying 1)no we don't really 2)Spags loves versatility to exploit mismatches 3)Spags historically has moved his best 4 pass rushers inside and outside so there is precedent 4)This is mostly much ado about nothing.

You're not going to see Jonesy lining up in a wide 9. I seriously doubt that.

He's been lining up in a DE spot occasionally in the past, and we'll see it more frequently this season.

This is not something to get all worked up about. It will happen when the Chiefs feel like it's a mismatch worth exploiting; and it won't when they don't think it is. It's literally another chess piece for the coordinator to play with. It's a big-assed Honey Badger on the line.

Don't get so hung up on the position labels. They're not as cut and dried as what they were twenty years ago. Just like calling Mathieu a safety is not really accurate. Sometimes he is, sometimes he's a slot corner, sometimes he's a freakin' linebacker.

Now sometimes Jones will be inside, sometimes outside, he'll be something the offensive line will have to locate and deal with on every snap.

I really see no downside here.

Alright, so I asked you a question (what do you think Jones' role will be?) and in the bold, you answered it.

You think he's doing spot duty. If I shared that belief, I probably wouldn't care a ton.

But I think he's playing 35-45% of his snaps there. (Although, again, we're both just guessing.)

What would you reaction be if you heard the Chiefs did intend to play a 35-45% of his snaps at the position?