FanPost

Our Defense Compared To The Jets

So what went wrong last year on defense? Did we not have enough top five draft picks on the line? Did we not have enough playmakers? Did we not have the coaching? Those are all good questions. I have another one for you though. What made the Jets different from the Chiefs last year? The Jets defense last year was at the top at almost every defensive statistic. The Chiefs were near the bottom at every defensive statistic. What is so different about the two teams? I will compare and contrast both teams starters. I will compare the front seven and the secondary of each team. I will also throw in some other tid bits of information.

What makes a good front seven? Well, let me ask that question again. What makes a good 3-4 front seven? Since, both teams run this defense it was perfect for comparing. The defensive line are suppose to take up as many blocks as they can. They are suppose to attack the O-line and be very physical. It is great if they can cause havoc in the backfield and make some plays. Although, the linebackers do most of the QB killing and run stopping. A lot of people say that we lacked in the nose tackle position. A nose tackle needs to plug the middle of the line. A nost tackle must be a monster to clear the way for the line backers. Did Ron Edwards really do that bad last year? Compare him to the Jets nose tackle Sione Pouha he basically put up the same numbers. Sione put up 43 tackles but no other stats. Edwards put up 28 tackles, 3 passes defended, and 1 fumble recovery. What we can't tell by stats is how many blocks Sione took up for his LB Core to get through to the QB and RB. I'll post some stats and then discuss.

Jets Front Seven

Total Tackles

Sacks

Interceptions

Passes Defended

Forced Fumbles

Fumble Recoveries

David Harris (RILB)

127

5.5

2

3

2

0

Bart Scott (LILB)

92

1

0

1

0

0

Calvin Pace (ROLB)

56

8

0

1

2

0

Bryan Thomas (LOLB)

53

2

0

1

1

2

Marques Douglas (RDE)

64

1.5

0

0

1

2

Shaun Ellis (LDE)

54

6.5

0

0

1

0

Sione Pouha (NT)

43

0

0

0

0

0

Chiefs Front Seven

Total Tackles

Sacks

Interceptions

Passes Defended

Forced Fumbles

Fumble Recoveries

Corey Mays (RILB)

83

0

0

2

0

0

Demorrio Williams (LILB)

117

0

0

6

0

0

Tamba Hali (ROLB)

62

8.5

0

1

4

0

Mike Vrabel (LOLB)

53

2

0

5

2

1

Glenn Dorsey (RDE)

54

1

0

2

0

3

Tyson Jackson (LDE)

37

0

0

2

0

0

Ron Edwards (NT

28

0

0

3

0

1




So lets look at tackles first. The Jets have 484 to our 434. The Jets have 50 more tackles than we did. So what does that mean? It means the run stopped at the first level and didn't get to the secondary where big plays were made. Thus, fewer first downs and fewer scores. The Jets had 13 more sacks than we did from their front seven. So, they put more pressure on the QB which caused more mistakes such as interceptions. This is something that we must improve on. We did however get our hands up more. We had 21 passes defended to the Jets 6. This just means we need to bring the ball down to make interceptions. Clearly, passes defended didn't translate into wins. Our stats on forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and interceptions were pretty much the same. So what did we learn? We need more pressure on the QB and need to stop the rush better with better tackling.

What makes a good secondary? Does a good secondary run up to the box and make tackles? Do they strive to be ball hawks? I think a good secondary should be balanced. If there is a weak link then it is all over with. A good QB can destroy a weak link in a secondary. Especially with no pressure coming from each side. Let's see how our secondary stacks up to the Jets. Can we find our weak link?

Jets Secondary

Total Tackles

Sacks

Interceptions

Passes Defended

Forced Fumbles

Fumble Recoveries

Lito Sheppard (RCB)

31

0

1

8

0

0

Darrelle Revis (LCB)

54

0

6

31

0

0

Kerry Rhodes (FS)

62

0

3

13

0

1

Jim Leonhard (SS)

76

2.5

1

6

1

0

Chiefs Secondary

Total Tackles

Sacks

Interceptions

Passes Defended

Forced Fumbles

Fumble Recoveries

Brandon Carr (RCB)

62

0

1

19

1

2

Brandon Flowers (LCB)

65

0

5

23

2

2

Jon McGraw (FS)

42

1

1

1

0

1

Mike Brown (SS)

99

2

3

3

0

1

Ok, lets look at tackles first and stay consistant. We have almost 50 more tackles in the secondary than the Jets. So those 50 that were stopped by the Jets early on, we stopped later on. Once again, that translates in the offense getting more yards and points. If we got those 50 extra tackles at the front seven instead of the secondary then maybe things would be different. The Jets beat us out barely in the passes defended department and that says a lot about our corners. Since our safeties only had 4 between them. The Jets beat us by one interception which shows we pretty much held our own. We beat them in every other stat which seems to say that we made some extra plays and were more aware in certain game situations.

So, it seems that our weakness is the front seven putting pressure on the QB and not stopping the run. Our secondary is very good especially with some key additions in the draft. We didn't seem to do much about our front seven though which causes some concerns. It seems that we had about the same toughness in our schedule as the Jets. We each played some very good offenses and some very bad offenses. I know that stats don't mean everything but can provide some good informations such as the 50 extra tackles each team had but where they fell. Also, I didn't look at the rotation players and back ups which also helped. So, let's see if our front seven can step up this year and if Edwards plays better with Smith taking the majority of the snaps.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.