Kansas City Chiefs Still Giving Up Big Plays
by Joel Thorman on Sep 22, 2010 12:10 PM CDT
in 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Season
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PrintThe Kansas City Chiefs defense is off to a strong start, there's no doubt about that. We looked at some very basic numbers that suggest this is one of the better starts for the Chiefs defense in recent memory. Of course, it's only two games and there's plenty that can change when we're talking about a small sample size.
One of the things that seemed to consistently beat the Chiefs in 2009 was big plays (Miles Austin says thanks for the paycheck). That's one part of the Chiefs defense that hasn't changed much.
They're tied for sixth in the NFL with eight passes of 20 yards or more given up. The Washington Redskins defense leads the pack with 12. They're tied for first in the NFL the most 40 yard passes (3) given up.
The Chiefs defense has given up four touchdowns including 65 and 59-yard touchdown passes.
That's a pretty interesting stat for the defense. A few of the players we've talked to have called it a bend-but-don't-break type of defense and the numbers would support that -- bending with the big plays but not breaking by giving up the points.
At some point, I feel pretty confident that the rookie safeties will improve to the point where those big plays simply don't happen at the same rate. They both seem to be picking things up pretty quickly so I'd imagine that the big play number would decrease as the season goes on.
What do you think about the Chiefs winning despite the big plays?
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At least the big plays came from big playmakers
Giving up a deep Phillip Rivers pass or getting beaten on coverage by Josh Cribbs isn’t as bad as giving it up to no-names. Still, I’d like to see a reduction in the big plays.
I like that the Chiefs seem to "punch back"
a big play like this can demoralize a team… but the Chiefs seem to come right back with a big play of their own, and find a way to win (so far)
I think we’ll see less of these as the year goes along and the secondary improves their communication
this should be the most exciting Chiefs team in years! Most major needs filled with playmakers, and the league's best coaching staff... 10-6 a possibility?
AND
they’ve really cut out the big RUNNING plays… which are even worse than a blown coverage long pass
this should be the most exciting Chiefs team in years! Most major needs filled with playmakers, and the league's best coaching staff... 10-6 a possibility?
Have to agree
Jerome Harrison became a household name in KC last year. We’ve improved a lot in the run D area. Pass rush is still weak, and playing two rookie safety’s and McGraw is more about the learning curve than anything. Our pass coverage will get better as Berry and Lewis learn.
" That was a cajun run! Flew Bayou!" - Dexter McCluster
Chalk it up to Eric Berry being a rookie.
He’s gonna be a stud, but he isn’t going to the Pro Bowl year 1 as some have anticipated.
by craig in calgary on Sep 22, 2010 12:22 PM CDT reply actions
I look at polomalu, the guy is a warrior on the field, mentally tough...and has flowing locks...but in his first year...he made a lot of mistakes that cost the steelers points
Team Pioli/Haley. Decade of the Chiefs.
Team Colquitt
Yep
http://www.markberger.com/games/steelers_2003_draft.htm
2003 Season review: Troy started the season really slowly. He looked completely lost in coverage at times and he was thinking more than playing. In the first Cleveland game, he let a receiver blow by him for a TD in the Red zone. In the Rams game, he was in perfect position to intercept a pass at the goal line, and he let the ball slip between his hands that set-up a Rams TD. Then, in the Arizona game, he tuned himself loose, running harder and not being afraid to make mistakes. From that point onward, he was a force as a blitzer and excellent covering TE’s. He never broke the starting lineup in 2003, but played a lot in the Nickle (5 DBs) and Dime (6 DBs) defenses as well as goal line defense. In 2004, he should be the starter. Overall, an excellent year of growth for Troy as he adjusted to the Pro game and the complicated Steelers D. Trend: Steady / Up
by cpa913 on Sep 22, 2010 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
Agree
The other thing I keep wanting to add is that we know that Berry has blown two deep ball passes, but we don’t know what Romeo has gamed plan for him.
I’m not saying to blame it on Romeo, but he might have drilled into Berry’s head that his responsiblity is the run. Also, on the deep play in the SD game…. if you go back and watch it, it was Berry’s side, yet Berry cut in with GATES on an out route leaving the man wide up for a TD. Again, was it engraved in his head that he HAS to be on Gates durnig that play? We don’t know.
"The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph"
Eric Berry counted to infinity -- twice.
Yes....but ....flowing locks? Thats an ISLAND FRO! Nothing more nothing less
Jared Allen, Culinary Acadamy
by aPacificChief on Sep 22, 2010 6:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Like I said in another post:
He looks like a healthy Bob Sanders with his run support skills. He’s been dead-on in that facet of the game and has made some huge tackles that saved giant gains with nobody else around. In that aspect, he’s lived up to every expectation thus far.
I, like you, see the pass coverage skills developing bit by bit…not just for Berry, but for Lewis as well. In a couple years, I think we’re staring at a top flight secondary.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
by KaloPhoenix on Sep 22, 2010 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions
They're both ahead of what I expected from rookies
In run support, especially Berry (I also made the Sanders comparison. He just buries RB’s).
The pass defense will come. They are hard working, smart guys with no physical limitations to hold them back (ie lack of speed).
I agree with you. In a few years, maybe less, we’re looking at one of the best secondaries in the NFL.
I love my wife, my kids, and the Chiefs. In that order. Except on game days.
We have to keep in mind
here that we have two rookie safeties back there for a good amount time during the game.
These safeties are doing enough just to adjust to the speed of the NFL game and on top of that, they don’t have the best pass rush to help reduce the amount of time they have to cover receivers.
Our defense looks much stronger and more confident than this time last year…….Haley says “progress” all the time, but here we are actually seeing it so I’m cool
I was mad as $#%@ when we drafted Dexter McCluster and now I'm ordering his jersey......oh the irony! Go Chiefs!
Giving up the "big play" has been a problem for several years.
I don’t have the answer. Thankfully though…I don’t have to have one. Romeo Crennel does. And I think he’s more than qualified to find the solution.
Chiefs will. But...will Cassel?
10 + wins in 2010. Chiefs SHOCK the NFL!!! Mark it down.
its different this year though in how we give up said big play
Team Pioli/Haley. Decade of the Chiefs.
Team Colquitt
GET TO THE QB!
I was surprised to see Wallace Gilberry get a much needed sack last game. I hope there is more of this to come…
"Oh I'm Sorry I Thought This Was AMERICA"
by porkchop_sandwiches on Sep 22, 2010 12:28 PM CDT reply actions
He got quite a few this game.
Over 20 snaps on a defense that didn’t play more than 60.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
by KaloPhoenix on Sep 22, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
wow I didnt realize that....
I hope he continues getting snaps when Jackson comes back then :)
Thanks for pointing that out Kalo
Chiefs Will
We were in the nickel a lot more against Cleveland.
He was also in on our goalline defense too. Got pancaked, creating the hole for the touchdown, unfortunately.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
unlike with taking poor angles etc
the mistakes made by our young safeties are completely correctable..
Nothing but confidence in eric berry, I love his run support, he will get this down, a strong D takes a few years to gel, I think by next year this unit turns into a shutdown defense that makes little to no mistakes.
if they can keep the penalties down…that will really help, as one of the td’s given up was due to the 5 yard penalty on vrabel.
Team Pioli/Haley. Decade of the Chiefs.
Team Colquitt
Agreed on the penalties
People wanna play the were winning by flukes card. The games were only that close due due some bad mistakes on our behalf. The blown coverage in SD, That penalty by Vrabel and another blown coverage.
yeah the "fluke" or "lucky" bs bothers me
special teams success requires discipline…not just luck
of course there is luck involved in winning in the NFL….but this team has been mentally strong..the 7 penalties do show this.
totally agree
Team Pioli/Haley. Decade of the Chiefs.
Team Colquitt
Another reason for those few lapses in concentration
may have something to do with the fact the offense can’t stay on the field long enough to give the D a damn breather
I'm not too worried about it
Last year we were giving up 3-4-5 big plays a game. We had 2 major lapses in coverage this season due to Berry being super aggressive, I can live with that for now because of the impact he is having in the running game. And i agree with stag, the long running plays are the ones that hurt and they are all but gone. We’ll see how long that holds against SF.
also seems like less 15-19 yard type gashes that our D would allow...this past game it was huge as it kept field position
Team Pioli/Haley. Decade of the Chiefs.
Team Colquitt
The answer.......maybe
Our run defense has been superb and I think we have been loading the box to do so…I guess that leaves our D more open to big plays. I agree with what was said above, I can live with the big pass plays by big name players, but the big run/pass plays by nobody’s is over……hopefully
November 23, 2006. 1st and only trip to Arrowhead. That was a good day...
I haven't seen us load the box too much
In fact during the monday night broadcast the commentators even noticed we were holding against the run with just our front 7. Of course there has been run blitzes, but for the most part it’s just been solid play up front
That is true. We now face Gore so let's see if we can keep it up
Chiefs start 4-0. Yes the colts lose to us.
Cassel will be our QBotF. The hate needs to stop NOW
Motivation is a fire from within, if someone else lights it, chances are it will burn briefly
by CasselKiLLer on Sep 22, 2010 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I like how 3 of the 4 TDs we've given up have been big plays.
That shows that our opponents aren’t just marching it down the field every drive… like they did last year so often.
I also like how 3 of the 4 TDs have been because of Berry screwing up. That’s not going to happen forever. Once he gets comfortable at the NFL level this defense is going to be an absolute monster.
"Reach for new elevation; and see just how high we can go. Full blown determination; will take us further than we know. My own anticipation; keeps the fire from burning out, It's time for domination... no one can ever take us down" - Pillar - "For the Love of the Game"
by Red N Gold Beast on Sep 22, 2010 1:13 PM CDT reply actions
Colts, Saints, Packers, Chargers, Vikings...doesn't really matter what team....
Every team, including the best in the NFL is going to give up a couple of big plays per game….at least. It’s how we react to them and adjust that matters.
"I'm losing." ~Last words of Frank Sinatra~
by TheK-man on Sep 22, 2010 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Chiefs sill giving up big plays....
…..but WINNING Shows these guys don’t get so down on it like they seemed to have last year. Shows we at least(so far) have the mentality that no score/game is away from us. I have JC,D-Bo,Gore, SF D this weekend<DAMNIT!!!!!
Last year compared to this year
We were giving up BIG plays in the running game and the passing game. We also couldn’t stop anything. We are giving up the big plays but are doing better on the normal plays. So i can handle a defense that gives up a big play a game compared to a Defense that turns normal running and short passing plays into big gains all game. Romeo is doing the right thing contolling the majority of plays instead of worrying about just 1 play in the game.
Offical member of the Eric Berry Fan Club
Yep, was gonna say something similar
Seems like we were giving up 3-4 big plays a game last year. We were on alot of highlight reels for other team’s players (Miles Austin, Desean Jackson, Jerome Harrison, etc.). I am perfectly okay with us giving up the plays that we have this year…
I'm not.
I know exactly the things we can pin them on, specifically a set of rookie safeties. They will most likely come around, but right now, we need more of a mistake-free performance out of those two than attempting to be playmakers. Learn the speed of the game and the diversions teams will use, then slowly add onto that.
Our defense has let 5 or 6 big plays (not just the TD’s, but crucial 3rd down conversions as well) in each game get to us, as well as a couple of penalties that gave away first downs. If we get that down to 2 or 3 big plays, these games aren’t even close.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
Every team
allows big plays at some point. It will happen but we need to minimize the effects on the other 95% of the plays.
Offical member of the Eric Berry Fan Club
They make a lot of tackles in the run game,
They may just be trying to do too much. They need to let the game come to them, focus on playing within the scheme a little more and less on making the tackle on every single play. Once things slow down a little, they get a better feel for the pro game, the big plays will come.
Mental vs physical
The reason it doesn’t bother me in the least taht we’re giving up big plays is a little of what you guys have all alluded to. The last 3 years we gave up huge plays becasue we were either outmatched or out of position and physically incapable of catching up. The mistakes this year are all mental, and those are easy to correct and tend to go away with experience. We’re setting the table to have a really good defense— but I’ll lay you odds we’re going to have a few set backs. If Payton goes for 40 on us, don’t lose faith. It’s coming and it’s coming fast.
those really are back breaking plays
defense has worked so hard to improve and they’ve done such a good job and then each game given up a monstorous TD that negates everything before it. Would the Chargers and Browns scored anyway on those drives if those balls had been incomplete? Who knows but I like to think that out of those two drives, at least one of them would have wound up as a field goal at best and given some breathing room.
This is that whole "break but don't bend" defense I was telling you guys about.
What do you think?
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The funny thing is, you're right.
It’s a fairly solid defense at this point. We’re just leaving our secondary manned up against some fast players that burned our rookies, and it’s cost us.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
The good news about the big plays against Berry is that its happening early in the season
and its not costing us the game.
Eric Berry should start to realize what teams are trying to do against him. He’ll look a lot better as the season progresses, too good a player to keep making this mental break down a chronic problem. Just got to stay healthy, and he might learn a thing or two this season.
Jared Allen, Culinary Acadamy
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