Spags deserves some praise today

[RunKC]

Defense struggled in the first 2 drives and we shut them out the rest of the game. Excellent adjustments were made by that staff today.

That’s what I want to see from this defense!

[wazu]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

Gruden's game plan was terrible as was his play calling.

Chiefs D still sucks.

Only nine more years to go.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by MAHOMO 4 LIFE!

Currently we are the 10th best defense in points allowed. 11th in rushing and 21st in passing. 19th in total yards

If we end the season with those rankings, we might go undeafeated. Seriously.

I don't think we will; middle of the pack to 20-ish is more likely. We haven't played any of the top offenses yet.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by Danguardace

Run D was a bit feast or famine wouldn't say it flat out sucked

(14:55 - 1st) J.Jacobs right guard to OAK 32 for 7 yards (C.Ward; D.Wilson).
(12:43 - 1st) J.Jacobs up the middle to KC 25 for -1 yards (A.Okafor). PENALTY on KC-C.Jones, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at KC 24 - No Play.
(12:19 - 1st) J.Jacobs left guard to KC 11 for 8 yards (X.Williams).
(11:41 - 1st) (Shotgun) J.Jacobs left tackle to KC 10 for 1 yard (A.Hitchens).
(11:03 - 1st) B.Parker reported in as eligible. J.Jacobs right guard to KC 10 for no gain (C.Jones).
(7:19 - 1st) J.Jacobs left end pushed ob at OAK 30 for 4 yards (A.Hitchens).
(1:51 - 1st) (Shotgun) D.Washington left guard to OAK 42 for 2 yards (F.Clark; C.Jones).
(14:48 - 2nd) J.Jacobs right tackle to OAK 37 for 12 yards (K.Fuller; A.Hitchens).
(13:42 - 2nd) J.Jacobs left guard to OAK 41 for -1 yards (T.Kpassagnon).
(0:03 - 2nd) J.Richard right end to OAK 13 for no gain (C.Jones, B.Niemann).
(11:43 - 3rd) J.Jacobs right tackle to KC 30 for 51 yards (C.Ward).
(11:06 - 3rd) J.Jacobs up the middle to KC 27 for 3 yards (D.Nnadi, D.Wilson).
(9:09 - 3rd) J.Jacobs right guard to KC 4 for 6 yards (J.Thornhill, C.Jones).
(4:46 - 3rd) J.Jacobs right tackle to OAK 29 for 8 yards (A.Hitchens).
(4:18 - 3rd) D.Washington up the middle to OAK 33 for 4 yards (X.Williams).
(3:01 - 3rd) D.Washington left tackle to OAK 47 for 3 yards (X.Williams).
(13:59 - 4th) J.Jacobs left end to OAK 22 for no gain (B.Breeland).
(8:26 - 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Richard up the middle to KC 45 for 3 yards (E.Ogbah).

I'm mostly looking at the run D from their league worst yards per attempt metric. Fortunately our offense is forcing teams to play from behind so it isn't as concerning. I also understand that yards per attempt doesn't tell the whole story as it can be easier to break off longer runs against pass personnel. Either way, it doesn't seem too concerning given our offense in today's game and I do think the defense as a whole is better than last season just from an aggressiveness and in-game adjustment standpoint. I'm anxious to see how they do next week as I imagine Baltimore will employ a similar offensive game plan as they did in our last meeting.

[scho63]

Not according to all the crybabies in the first 12 minutes of the game.

[duncan_idaho]

I grade the run D entirely on its ability to make stops and keep teams from just gashing the Chiefs 5 yards at a time for long, methodical drives that kill the clock and keep the Chiefs O off the field.

So far, they’ve passed the test each time. As long as they can get stops when the game is close, I’m good with the D.

The Raiders has some success early thanks to the passing game. The adjustments the Chiefs made limited that success. So nice to see in-game changes that work rather than rubbing the same scheme the whole game and expecting success.

[WhiteWhale]

Good point.

The Raiders offense is awesome and Sutton always struggled with them.

Ah, shit. Neither of those things are true.

I covered this last week. It's going to take more than beating up on Bob Sutton's punching bag to show me this D has progressed. I expect even a bottom 10 defense to clown on this club.

Next week at home, against Baltimore, is going to teach us a lot more about what we've got.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Good point.

The Raiders offense is awesome and Sutton always struggled with them.

Ah, shit. Neither of those things are true.

I covered this last week. It's going to take more than beating up on Bob Sutton's punching bag to show me this D has progressed. I expect even a bottom 10 defense to clown on this club.

Next week at home, against Baltimore, is going to teach us a lot more about what we've got.

They just put up 24 pts last week on a good Broncos defense. And they put up 33 last year on us in Oakland.

Not saying we don’t need to prove it against better offenses, but those are the facts.

[Danguardace]

Originally Posted by staylor26

They just put up 24 pts last week on a good Broncos defense. And they put up 33 last year on us in Oakland.

Not saying we don’t need to prove it against better offenses, but those are the facts.

In previous seasons regardless of opponent if the offense got shut out in the second half on the road you know the opponent would have got some points on the board vs Sutton, leading to a nervous finish. I liked that they finished the game out which hopefully shows a change in culture.

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by staylor26

They just put up 24 pts last week on a good Broncos defense. And they put up 33 last year on us in Oakland.

Not saying we don’t need to prove it against better offenses, but those are the facts.

I'm a little more optimistic, but not convinced. I am happy they didn't let Oakland have any garbage time points. I really think KC's 2nd quarter offensive explosion totally demoralized them.

Which is GOING to happen and a reason KC doens't need an ELITE defense to improve to championship level. They just need hold on until KC's offense breaks their opponents' will.

It was nice to see them NOT fall into that 'oh here we go again' mentality after the 1st quarter.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

I'm a little more optimistic, but not convinced. I am happy they didn't let Oakland have any garbage time points. I really think KC's 2nd quarter offensive explosion totally demoralized them.

Which is GOING to happen and a reason KC doens't need an ELITE defense to improve to championship level. They just need hold on until KC's offense breaks their opponents' will.

It was nice to see them NOT fall into that 'oh here we go again' mentality after the 1st quarter.

well, I mean, it's two games. I don't think anyone should be 'convinced' of anything at all in the entire league based on two games.

I think it would appear that they're trending upwards. I'm optimistic they'll continue to get better.

[jaa1025]

His defense is going to take time to reach their potential. His superbowl year that shut down brady, his defense sucked at the beginning of the year until the players learned the scheme then it became deadly. I anticipate it will steadily improve throughout the season to finish like a top 10 defense.

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

well, I mean, it's two games. I don't think anyone should be 'convinced' of anything at all in the entire league based on two games.

I think it would appear that they're trending upwards. I'm optimistic they'll continue to get better.

I haven't seen any quit in 'em yet, and that was arguably their BIGGEST problem over the past 2-3 years.

When things went bad, they just fell apart. They couldn't rally after a bad start. They usually STARTED strong and slowly unraveled. If they started bad, you KNEW you were in for a bad day.

That's as much about on field leadership as coaching, which is why I think the 'leadership transplant' might have been even more important than the coaching changes (both HAD to happen)