Kansas City Chiefs Front Seven Evaluation: NFL Week 15

Hey everyone,  after a long break, I'm here to bring you the KPM for the St. Louis Rams vs. Kansas City Chiefs game last week.  The defense gave up a couple big drives, but in all, performed very well.  As always, the rating system is located here.  Let's get to it!

• 41.9% of the time, the Chiefs were in the base 3-4 defense.

• 58.1% of the time, the Chiefs were in the nickel formation.

• 20.8% of the time, the Chiefs blitzed a linebacker or safety.

• The second play of the game, Belcher had the running back covered behind the line of scrimmage. He tried to arm tackle the running back and missed. He's got to do a better job of getting his body behind the tackle and wrapping up.

• The third play of the game, the quarterback ran a bootleg and the running back rolled into the flat in front of him. Lewis ran a delayed blitz and went after Bradford. Tamba was caught between rushing the passer and covering the running back, and it resulted in a big pickup on 3^rd down.

• DJ is looking fast after a bad first drive. He's getting the the point of attack in a hurry and making stops.

• Fantastic pass break up by DJ on a 3^rd and 8 blitz. He got in and got his hands up in front of the quarterback to knock the ball down.

• Great job by Dorsey and McGraw on a 1^st and 20 in the second quarter. Dorsey knifes through the line and forces a quick throw on a screen pass. McGraw started towards the quarterback, but delayed, seeing the screen develop. Because it was a forced throw and because McGraw recognized the development, it resulted in an incomplete pass. A split second later, and it might've been an easy pick six for McGraw.

• The very next play, Tamba beats his man on an inside swim and gets to the quarterback just a shade too late. He forced a quick throw that resulted in an incompletion and he put Bradford on his back.

• Side note: I really like Tamba's dark eye-shield. He doesn't really have that "I'm going to hurt you" look in his eye when he's rushing the passer, but the dark shield makes him look much more menacing.

• And the very next play was sheer determination by Gilberry. He was held the entire time he was attempting to get through the line, and it looked like Bradford was going to step up into the pocket and deliver a strike. However, Wallace shook the hold and got back to the quarterback and made a beautiful sack.

• What a punt by Colquitt! He boots it from the 17 yard line into the endzone, and it results in a 63 yarder. Clutch field position change there. It was in the air a whopping 73 yards!

• Critical stop by the defensive line early in the 2^nd quarter. It all starts with a line shift towards Dorsey. Tyson commands a double team, and Ron cuts inside, grabbing his man and holding towards Dorsey's man. Belcher fills the open gap and forces the running back towards Tamba and Dorsey. Dorsey knifes past his man and brings the running back down for a loss. Textbook formation shift stop.

• Nice 1^st down play by the linebacking crops. Vrabel gets by his man and forces a quick throw from the quarterback (and also puts Bradford on the turf) and DJ reaches across his body to break up the pass. He came very close to intercepting it.

• Throughout the 3^rd quarter, Tamba and DJ were everywhere. Lots of quarterback pressures from Tamba, and great coverage and gap destruction from DJ.

• I don't know if it's a superstition, but I see Jovan start to run onto the field, then flip and run backwards a couple steps, then flip around again. The broadcasts this year have caught a couple of them.

• Great delayed blitz call with the Rams backed up against the goal line. Berry came late and nearly avoided the backfield blocker. Instead he just barely overshot the quarterback for what would have been a safety. Carr had a beautiful pass break up on what would have been a sure first down on that very same play.

• Tamba with a killer pass break up in the 4^th quarter. He beat his man, got into the backfield, and got his hands up to stop it before it started.

• DJ gets to yet ANOTHER pass on a blitz in the 4^th quarter. He's playing out of his mind, and is everywhere!

• DJ got his bell rung a little bit in the 4^th quarter on a tackle. He seems to be moving a bit slower after that play.

• DJ's ringer was most evident on Jackson's touchdown run. Dorsey took a nice double team, leaving a gap for either DJ or Demorrio to step up into, and both froze and watched. DJ reacted, but took the wrong gap, and Demorrio watched the runner go right by him. Both get penalized for the touchdown.

• Gilberry's second sack of the day was a great overall effort to get past a blatant hold and get himself a strip sack. He was double teamed and held around the head, yet he still got through.

• AND AGAIN!!! Wallace blows by his man and gets to the quarterback quickly. Back-to-back impact plays by Gilberry! Tamba was just a shade behind him, too...Bradford had no chance.

The KPM's:

Linebackers:

And now, time for Kalo's MVP of the Week! This week, it's WALLACE GILBERRY!

This wasn't quite as easy as I thought it would be.  Sure, Wallace pulled it down, but DJ and Tamba both played very, very well.  Still, Wallace was everywhere and put in an impact performance.

Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading!