Chiefs Mellinger: Fire Sutton - Page 3

excessive · 01-07-2018, 04:03 PM

Chiefs need change, and they should begin by firing defensive coordinator Bob Sutton
BY SAM MELLINGER

smellinger@kcstar.com

UPDATED 40 MINUTES AGO

Bob Sutton needs to be fired.

The Chiefs should be looking for a new defensive coordinator. There is no joy in calling for a man’s job, but then, there is no joy in watching a defense underperform its talent and fair expectations over and over and over again.

This can’t continue. That is plain. That is obvious.

Andy Reid isn’t ready to talk about this yet and that’s fine, that’s understandable, that’s his right. What’s more — that’s smart.

The head coach lives this in a way that requires space for any major change. Emotional decisions are usually bad decisions, and Reid had to know the Will You Fire Your DC question was coming in the postmortem press conference the day after another embarrassing postseason collapse.

And he had to know he would answer it with a vague non-answer.

“Time in this league has a funny way of working,” Reid said. “You’ve gotta step back. You’ve gotta evaluate. You’ve gotta go through that process. Look at what’s real, and what’s not. You don’t want to do it when you’re emotional or still tied into what happened obviously last night.

“You’ve gotta fight that. A question like that, you’ve gotta fight that. You step back and you evaluate it, and do what’s right for the Chiefs. If you always come back to that, you’re going to be OK.”

That’s an 86-word excerpt from a longer answer that can be generally summarized: “I just had my heart ripped out, again, and am not yet ready to make any decision more serious than lunch.”

Chiefs' Andy Reid reflects on Wild Card playoff loss: 'We've got to do better'
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid held a press conference a day after the Chiefs’ 22-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Wild Card playoff game. It was the Chiefs' sixth straight home playoff loss, a NFL record.

Allison Long The Kansas City Star
Again, you can understand where he’s coming from. Even if he somehow has already decided to move on from Sutton, he hasn’t had a chance to tell his friend and longtime assistant yet, and taking some time comes with no downside.

Potential replacements aren’t being hired, and in fact may still be working. More to the point, Reid’s coaching philosophy centers around personal accountability.

After every loss, he says some form of, “we need to get better and that starts with me.” After the offense played dead in the second half against the Titans, Reid said he called the plays that didn’t work and assistant Matt Nagy called the plays that did.

Firing his defensive coordinator the next day would reek of scapegoating.

But if he hasn’t yet, Reid must soon come to the cold and unemotional conclusion that the Chiefs need a new voice for the defense.

That needs to be only part of the change. Alex Smith must be replaced by Patrick Mahomes, offensive line coach Andy Heck needs to make a convincing case to keep his job, and no position group on the team underperformed as much as the defensive line coached by Reid’s son Britt.

Reid himself should wear the biggest chunk of this loss. He just finished his 19th season as a head coach and by now has earned a reputation for regular season success and postseason failure.

Seventy-eight teams have led by 18 or more at halftime of a playoff game. Only four have lost, and two have been coached by Reid in the last five seasons. He is tied for the third-most playoff losses of any coach in NFL history, and the two ahead of him won multiple Super Bowls.

Chiefs are on this list twice: Teams blowing an 18-point halftime lead in NFL playoffs
According to ESPN research, Andy Reid's Chiefs teams are responsible for two of the only four times in modern NFL playoff history a team has blown an 18-point or larger halftime lead.

Neil Nakahodo, David Eulitt, Shane Keyser, John Sleezer, Allison Long The Kansas City Star
Since 2001, he has won just one playoff game as the underdog, and lost seven as the favorite.

The loss to the Titans followed a familiar pattern: the offense went cold, the defense couldn’t get off the field and the Chiefs had a chance to win at the end and failed.

The standard for this team was always postseason success, so the outcome is a failure, and any credible evaluation of another wasted opportunity must acknowledge Reid’s share of this.

But he’s not going anywhere, for better or worse. Chairman Clark Hunt values the stability Reid has created after the horror show Pioli years, Reid signed a contract extension last summer, and he’ll oversee the quarterback transition to Patrick Mahomes.

Sutton has no excuse, and no cushion.

The Chiefs were 28th in total defense, and 27th in yards surrendered per play. They could not stop the run (24th in yards per carry, 202 given up in the playoff loss), which tended to overshadow the fact that they could not stop the pass (24th in yards per attempt).

Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson: 'If you’re good enough, you come out with that win'
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson called Saturday's playoff loss to the Titans one of the toughest of his career.

Sam Mcdowell The Kansas City Star
The advanced metrics, if anything, are worse. Football Outsiders’ DVOA ranks the Chiefs dead last in the league in overall defense.

This fits what the eye sees, too. They could not get off the field on third down (23rd, and second worst among playoff teams), and could not adjust to opponents’ schemes. Sutton allowed Daniel Sorensen to be exposed against the run for far too long, didn’t do enough to scheme pressure, and was far too easy to manipulate.

His scheme had Justin Houston rushing the passer or dropping into coverage based on what the offense showed, which meant the other side was controlling what the Chiefs’ best player did on any given snap.

Sutton had enough to work with, too, even after losing Eric Berry for the season. The Chiefs spend more than half their salary cap on defense, and that’s with stars like Chris Jones and Marcus Peters still on rookie deals, and Reggie Ragland playing for relative peanuts.

If it was bad luck that Berry played just one game, it was good luck that Houston played 17. The injury excuse is a tired one, anyway. Every team has something. The Titans had two defensive starters on IR, and they managed.

Coaches are supposed to put their players in position to succeed, and far too often, Sutton was doing the opposite. The Patriots gave up an average of 32 points in their first four games (including a season-high 42 to the Chiefs in the opener) and then an average of just 14 the rest of the way.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is an unrealistic standard for defensive scheme, but this is two years in a row the Chiefs have lost a playoff game at home as the betting favorite largely because they could not stop the run and get off the field on third down.

Against the Titans, a team with a struggling quarterback and dangerous running back, the Chiefs used far too much nickel and even dime personnel — including on Derrick Henry’s 35 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Whether that was because the Titans were able to influence the Chiefs’ substitutions with their own personnel, or because Sutton made the decision on his own is irrelevant. This just can’t continue.

Let us say it one more time: Sutton is not the only problem, and may not even be the biggest.

Reid is Sutton’s boss, and could’ve better protected his defense and an 18-point lead with more carries for the league’s leading rusher.

Even so, the offense could’ve won the game on its last possession, and this is a staggering fact: all but one of the Chiefs’ losses this season could’ve been wins if the offense performed better on its last drive.

The Chiefs aren’t giving the next defensive coordinator a fair shot if they don’t improve the personnel, too, which is part of why the team needs to replace Smith with Mahomes. The change would create $17 million in cap space and whatever draft picks they can acquire in a trade, which is enough for a corner, edge rusher, and defensive lineman.

There can be no doubt, in any part of the organization, about whether change is needed. We can have lively and smart debates about how far that change needs to go.

But there is no question that it needs to include the defensive coordinator, whenever Reid is ready.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...193446229.html

hitchief · 01-07-2018, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

Kudos to Mellinger for writing a necessary article that most wouldn't.

Too true!

And if your going to replace Alex and start anew what better time to revamp the entire D including the DC.

So sick of hearing Andy say they have to do better but then he changes almost nothing in the way of coaching??

pugsnotdrugs19 · 01-07-2018, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Fire Bob Sutton for John Dorsey's incompetence at drafting defensive players.

That's.... questionable.

We've had the most predictable defense in the league for 5 years now. We've been grossly unaggressive for a couple of years now.

They play with no edge, no killer instinct.

**Ragged Robin** · 01-07-2018, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superturtle

He owns 2 of the worst defensive collapses in the history of the playoffs in only 5 years on the job. Get. The. ****. Out.

ILChief · 01-07-2018, 04:27 PM

Bravo. Every word is true

Sassy Squatch · 01-07-2018, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandy Vagina

I saw him state that during the press conference last night.

One could speculate that he was being facetious.. but I think most took him at value.

IF that is true, then Andy needs to go as well. Inexcusable.

Hog's Gone Fishin · 01-07-2018, 04:29 PM

Suttons defense had DJ blitz Mariota for a sack and fumble for 7 points that turned into 3 points for the Tit's . Not Suttons fault the Refs were told to let the Tits win.

Not champing for Sutton but thats the truth.

Discuss Thrower · 01-07-2018, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

That's.... questionable.

We've had the most predictable defense in the league for 5 years now. We've been grossly unaggressive for a couple of years now.

They play with no edge, no killer instinct.

Because they've had just one effective pass rusher and one great DB playmaker over the last five seasons and gotten by with some one year wonder FA signings on the defensive line.

Sutton's done more with less in terms of what he's been given personnel wise.

I expect he'll be fired Monday, but again I say, who else are you going to get that's going to be able to turn chicken shit into chicken salad?

pugsnotdrugs19 · 01-07-2018, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Because they've had just one effective pass rusher and one great DB playmaker over the last five seasons and gotten by with some one year wonder FA signings on the defensive line.

Sutton's done more with less in terms of what he's been given personnel wise.

I expect he'll be fired Monday, but again I say, who else are you going to get that's going to be able to turn chicken shit into chicken salad?

How can you say the talent has been so bad? How many teams have had Marcus Peters, Justin Houston, Eric Berry, prime Poe, prime Sean Smith, Hali when he was still good, Chris Jones, Derrick Johnson, Bailey, Howard, prime Devito, prime Abdullah, etc... I could go on and on.

There is no good excuse to be made for the terrible misusage of some of these defenders over the years. Peters doesn't follow number one receivers. Houston is in coverage half of the time. Hali and Tanoh sitting for Zombo. Sorensen being used as an ILB.

Sutton SUCKS.

old_geezer · 01-07-2018, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Fat Andys son is our DL coach? Lol

I did not realize that either. That is crap (just like our defensive line).

Chiefnj2 · 01-07-2018, 04:42 PM

KC needs writers who aren't afraid of being denied access to the team. This team desperately needs a Whitlock to help hold them accountable.

Chiefnj2 · 01-07-2018, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

Suttons defense had DJ blitz Mariota for a sack and fumble for 7 points that turned into 3 points for the Tit's . Not Suttons fault the Refs were told to let the Tits win.

Not champing for Sutton but thats the truth.

Staying in nickel and dime packages (that was gashed by the run all season) when Henry got rolling is Suttons fault.

Discuss Thrower · 01-07-2018, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

How can you say the talent has been so bad? How many teams have had Marcus Peters, Justin Houston, Eric Berry, prime Poe, prime Sean Smith, Hali when he was still good, Chris Jones, Derrick Johnson, Bailey, Howard, prime Devito, prime Abdullah, etc... I could go on and on.

There is no good excuse to be made for the terrible misusage of some of these defenders over the years. Peters doesn't follow number one receivers. Houston is in coverage half of the time. Hali and Tanoh sitting for Zombo. Sorensen being used as an ILB.

Sutton SUCKS.

Peters and Jones are the only two consensus starters that have been drafted in Sutton's tenure. The other guys were drafted during earlier GM regimes or FA signings.

That group of guys you listed made for a good defensive run during the middle part of the last five years -it just didn't amount to anything because of reasons that I don't wanna get Bob-Dole banned for in mentioning.

First three round draft busts like KeiVarae Russel, Philip Gaines and Dee Ford have been twice the reason for KC's defensive failures compared to Sutton's inabilities to adjust a game plan.

**Easy 6** · 01-07-2018, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

How can you say the talent has been so bad? How many teams have had Marcus Peters, Justin Houston, Eric Berry, prime Poe, prime Sean Smith, Hali when he was still good, Chris Jones, Derrick Johnson, Bailey, Howard, prime Devito, prime Abdullah, etc... I could go on and on.

There is no good excuse to be made for the terrible misusage of some of these defenders over the years. Peters doesn't follow number one receivers. Houston is in coverage half of the time. Hali and Tanoh sitting for Zombo. Sorensen being used as an ILB.

Sutton SUCKS.

QFT

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

KC needs writers who aren't afraid of being denied access to the team. This team desperately needs a Whitlock to help hold them accountable.

Yeah, I really like Paylor... but he is kind of a softball tossing company man

**dannybcaitlyn** · 01-07-2018, 04:52 PM

I’m liking Melllinger more everyday.

CapsLockKey · 01-07-2018, 04:58 PM

Sutton overall isn't horrible and does a decent enough job preparing but the guy struggles at making adjustments which is why he needs to go. Too many times he's been out coached in the second half of games. I don't blame Peters for blowing up on him earlier in the year. He knows it too.

01-07-2018, 04:03 PM
excessive Starter Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: KCMO Casino cash: $9766885	Mellinger: Fire Sutton Chiefs need change, and they should begin by firing defensive coordinator Bob Sutton BY SAM MELLINGER smellinger@kcstar.com UPDATED 40 MINUTES AGO Bob Sutton needs to be fired. The Chiefs should be looking for a new defensive coordinator. There is no joy in calling for a man’s job, but then, there is no joy in watching a defense underperform its talent and fair expectations over and over and over again. This can’t continue. That is plain. That is obvious. Andy Reid isn’t ready to talk about this yet and that’s fine, that’s understandable, that’s his right. What’s more — that’s smart. The head coach lives this in a way that requires space for any major change. Emotional decisions are usually bad decisions, and Reid had to know the Will You Fire Your DC question was coming in the postmortem press conference the day after another embarrassing postseason collapse. And he had to know he would answer it with a vague non-answer. “Time in this league has a funny way of working,” Reid said. “You’ve gotta step back. You’ve gotta evaluate. You’ve gotta go through that process. Look at what’s real, and what’s not. You don’t want to do it when you’re emotional or still tied into what happened obviously last night. “You’ve gotta fight that. A question like that, you’ve gotta fight that. You step back and you evaluate it, and do what’s right for the Chiefs. If you always come back to that, you’re going to be OK.” That’s an 86-word excerpt from a longer answer that can be generally summarized: “I just had my heart ripped out, again, and am not yet ready to make any decision more serious than lunch.” Chiefs' Andy Reid reflects on Wild Card playoff loss: 'We've got to do better' Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid held a press conference a day after the Chiefs’ 22-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Wild Card playoff game. It was the Chiefs' sixth straight home playoff loss, a NFL record. Allison Long The Kansas City Star Again, you can understand where he’s coming from. Even if he somehow has already decided to move on from Sutton, he hasn’t had a chance to tell his friend and longtime assistant yet, and taking some time comes with no downside. Potential replacements aren’t being hired, and in fact may still be working. More to the point, Reid’s coaching philosophy centers around personal accountability. After every loss, he says some form of, “we need to get better and that starts with me.” After the offense played dead in the second half against the Titans, Reid said he called the plays that didn’t work and assistant Matt Nagy called the plays that did. Firing his defensive coordinator the next day would reek of scapegoating. But if he hasn’t yet, Reid must soon come to the cold and unemotional conclusion that the Chiefs need a new voice for the defense. That needs to be only part of the change. Alex Smith must be replaced by Patrick Mahomes, offensive line coach Andy Heck needs to make a convincing case to keep his job, and no position group on the team underperformed as much as the defensive line coached by Reid’s son Britt. Reid himself should wear the biggest chunk of this loss. He just finished his 19th season as a head coach and by now has earned a reputation for regular season success and postseason failure. Seventy-eight teams have led by 18 or more at halftime of a playoff game. Only four have lost, and two have been coached by Reid in the last five seasons. He is tied for the third-most playoff losses of any coach in NFL history, and the two ahead of him won multiple Super Bowls. Chiefs are on this list twice: Teams blowing an 18-point halftime lead in NFL playoffs According to ESPN research, Andy Reid's Chiefs teams are responsible for two of the only four times in modern NFL playoff history a team has blown an 18-point or larger halftime lead. Neil Nakahodo, David Eulitt, Shane Keyser, John Sleezer, Allison Long The Kansas City Star Since 2001, he has won just one playoff game as the underdog, and lost seven as the favorite. The loss to the Titans followed a familiar pattern: the offense went cold, the defense couldn’t get off the field and the Chiefs had a chance to win at the end and failed. The standard for this team was always postseason success, so the outcome is a failure, and any credible evaluation of another wasted opportunity must acknowledge Reid’s share of this. But he’s not going anywhere, for better or worse. Chairman Clark Hunt values the stability Reid has created after the horror show Pioli years, Reid signed a contract extension last summer, and he’ll oversee the quarterback transition to Patrick Mahomes. Sutton has no excuse, and no cushion. The Chiefs were 28th in total defense, and 27th in yards surrendered per play. They could not stop the run (24th in yards per carry, 202 given up in the playoff loss), which tended to overshadow the fact that they could not stop the pass (24th in yards per attempt). Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson: 'If you’re good enough, you come out with that win' Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson called Saturday's playoff loss to the Titans one of the toughest of his career. Sam Mcdowell The Kansas City Star The advanced metrics, if anything, are worse. Football Outsiders’ DVOA ranks the Chiefs dead last in the league in overall defense. This fits what the eye sees, too. They could not get off the field on third down (23rd, and second worst among playoff teams), and could not adjust to opponents’ schemes. Sutton allowed Daniel Sorensen to be exposed against the run for far too long, didn’t do enough to scheme pressure, and was far too easy to manipulate. His scheme had Justin Houston rushing the passer or dropping into coverage based on what the offense showed, which meant the other side was controlling what the Chiefs’ best player did on any given snap. Sutton had enough to work with, too, even after losing Eric Berry for the season. The Chiefs spend more than half their salary cap on defense, and that’s with stars like Chris Jones and Marcus Peters still on rookie deals, and Reggie Ragland playing for relative peanuts. If it was bad luck that Berry played just one game, it was good luck that Houston played 17. The injury excuse is a tired one, anyway. Every team has something. The Titans had two defensive starters on IR, and they managed. Coaches are supposed to put their players in position to succeed, and far too often, Sutton was doing the opposite. The Patriots gave up an average of 32 points in their first four games (including a season-high 42 to the Chiefs in the opener) and then an average of just 14 the rest of the way. Patriots coach Bill Belichick is an unrealistic standard for defensive scheme, but this is two years in a row the Chiefs have lost a playoff game at home as the betting favorite largely because they could not stop the run and get off the field on third down. Against the Titans, a team with a struggling quarterback and dangerous running back, the Chiefs used far too much nickel and even dime personnel — including on Derrick Henry’s 35 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Whether that was because the Titans were able to influence the Chiefs’ substitutions with their own personnel, or because Sutton made the decision on his own is irrelevant. This just can’t continue. Let us say it one more time: Sutton is not the only problem, and may not even be the biggest. Reid is Sutton’s boss, and could’ve better protected his defense and an 18-point lead with more carries for the league’s leading rusher. Even so, the offense could’ve won the game on its last possession, and this is a staggering fact: all but one of the Chiefs’ losses this season could’ve been wins if the offense performed better on its last drive. The Chiefs aren’t giving the next defensive coordinator a fair shot if they don’t improve the personnel, too, which is part of why the team needs to replace Smith with Mahomes. The change would create $17 million in cap space and whatever draft picks they can acquire in a trade, which is enough for a corner, edge rusher, and defensive lineman. There can be no doubt, in any part of the organization, about whether change is needed. We can have lively and smart debates about how far that change needs to go. But there is no question that it needs to include the defensive coordinator, whenever Reid is ready. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...193446229.html
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01-07-2018, 04:27 PM	#34
ILChief MVP Join Date: Jan 2001 Casino cash: $7924831	Bravo. Every word is true
Posts: 11,476

01-07-2018, 04:29 PM	#36
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1790477	Suttons defense had DJ blitz Mariota for a sack and fumble for 7 points that turned into 3 points for the Tit's . Not Suttons fault the Refs were told to let the Tits win. Not champing for Sutton but thats the truth.
Posts: 40,312

01-07-2018, 04:42 PM	#40
Chiefnj2 In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Casino cash: $7913688	KC needs writers who aren't afraid of being denied access to the team. This team desperately needs a Whitlock to help hold them accountable. __________________ Mismanaging the clock.
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01-07-2018, 04:52 PM	#44
dannybcaitlyn Supporter Join Date: Oct 2004 Casino cash: $5244000	I’m liking Melllinger more everyday.
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01-07-2018, 04:58 PM	#45
CapsLockKey Starter Join Date: Feb 2009 Casino cash: $2051445	Sutton overall isn't horrible and does a decent enough job preparing but the guy struggles at making adjustments which is why he needs to go. Too many times he's been out coached in the second half of games. I don't blame Peters for blowing up on him earlier in the year. He knows it too.
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