Defensive Observations

Overall, if I had to grade our Defensive performances in the first two preseason games, I'd have to give them a B- with full expectation that they continue to develop and improve during the season.  Pioli has done an amazing job helping us turn around our defense this year and Haley is doing as good a job as you could hope for in getting them prepared.  Here are a few specific observations of this year's preseason so far:

1. The Chiefs have one player with 13 tackles already this pre-season, tied for 9th in the league.  That man is Jovan Belcher.  Very impressive for an undrafted 3rd string rookie.  Following Belcher in tackles this preseason are Leggett with 10, Corey Mays with 9, DJ with 7 and Brandon Flowers with 6.  My observations:  In 2008, DaJaun Morgan was our top preaseason tackler and, likewise, Pollard was our top regular season tackler.  This year, our CBs and LBs are doing a much better job of bringing their targets down.  I think we'll see that trend continue as well.
2. We're still below average in pass defense -  I think we can attribute this to a few things:  youth at CB, inexperience at LB defending the pass, and a lack of comfortability in the new system.  They have the talent; they just have to relax into their roles as time moves on.
3. We're above average in run defense and that's after playing Minnesota - a team stacked with running talent.  That's something to feel pretty good about.  I think it's a sign that our defensive linemen are getting the job done.  Nothing flashy, but they're taking care of gaps and slowing runners down enough that our linebackers and DBs are able to react.  It's a big improvement over last preseason and hopefully a good indicator for the entire season.

Overall, I think the biggest threat to our defense is the vulnerability to the big play.  We saw it time and time again last year and it broke our hearts.  But last year, we didn't have Mike Brown, Zach Thomas, or Mike Vraebel to help mentor our players.  Those guys will pass along invaluable experience which should go a long way in helping us succeed.