Kansas City Chiefs Front Seven Evaluation: Preseason Week Three

Hey all, I'm back with this week's Front Seven KPM ratings!  As usual the rating system is located here.  This week, I graded until Philly took their starters out, which happened to be after the second series in the 4th quarter.  After the jump are some notes and the KPM's!  Enjoy!

• 71.7% of the time, we were in a straightforward 3-4.
• The other 28.3% of the time we were in a Nickel (2-4-5 or 3-3-5)
• 26.4% of the time, we blitzed a safety or ILB.
• We created 3 3 & Outs.
• Our Nickel lineup was Dorsey(Magee)-Gilberry-Tamba(Walters)-Sheffield(Studebaker)-Vrabel-DJ
• 55.2% of the time, Demorrio and Mays were the 3-4 ILB's.
• 34.2% of the time, DJ and Belcher were the 3-4 ILB's.
• 11.6% of the time, Demorrio and Belcher were the 3-4 ILB's.
• Lots of Nickel early on.  Philly ran a lot then, so Dorsey's missed o-linemen really hurt...twice I saw two men run through to the second level.  They called audibles to exploit this, and it hurt.
• Tamba's sack-that-should-have-been where Kolb got away was a terrible block in the back. Hali beat his blocker, had Kolb lined up, then was shoved to the ground from behind. I noticed a bunch of holds as well.  I'd hoped the refs would being paying more attention this year, but it seems they aren't.
• Studebaker and Belcher didn't work very well when Tamba and Studebaker switched sides. Studebaker was covering the TE at the same time as Belcher while the slot WR was free in the short flat. If Studebaker drops into a zone like he normally does, it's an easy pass defense. As it is, McGraw doesn't step up and it's an easy completion.
• Good work on a 3^rd and 1 in their 1^st series of the 2^nd half. Edwards goes low and takes the center and guard out of the play. Dorsey gains penetration and trips up the RB behind the line of scrimmage for a TFL.
• Demorrio and Belcher played toegether 2 series of the 3^rd quarter. I've been calling for this for the past two weeks, and I was very happy to see it. It led to a 3 and out and the INT on back to back series before we switched back to the standard ILB pairings.
• The Lewis INT was forced by solid pressure from Tamba, Sheffield, and a delayed blitz from DJ that stopped Kolb from stepping up into the pocket to throw. A real team effort there.
• The first play of the 4^th quarter had us in the Nickel, but Studebaker was playing with his hand on the ground on Tamba's side, making 3 down linemen and 3 standing LB's. Textbook 3-3-5 on the start, then Studebaker dropped into coverage.

The KPM's:

Glenn Dorsey 

Dorsey had another off week this week.  He was double teamed 3 times, had a TFL, a tackle for no gain, let 3 free men go, missed a tackle, and was shoved off the line once.  The shove off the line was on McCoy's TD run, which left a huge hole that started the chain reaction.  He generally got manhandled, and normally by one player.  After a good first week, he's reverted to last year's mid-season form.

Overall KPM:  -3 Points 

Tyson Jackson 

Tyson was fairly pedestrian this week.  He let 2 free men through and garnered 3 double teams.  Two of those double teams, however, were because Jackson took the outside shoulder of his man and pushed inside, creating a giant hole for Demorrio to make a beeline for the QB both times.  Still, with the Eagles passing as much as they did, he needed to get into the backfield or at least collapse the pocket, of which he did neither.

Overall KPM:  2 Points 

Ron Edwards 

Ron Edwards took a step back this week.  He had three double teams, but let 2 free men through, and was shoved off the line once.  His first free man blocked Mays, who was streaking towards the gap, but instead was stopped 3 yards back.  That was also on McCoy's TD run, which prevented Mays from stepping up to take the lead blocker and close the gap.

Overall KPM:  -3 Points 

Derek Lokey 

Lokey penetrated into the backfield once, but missed the tackle.  He was also pancaked once.  He is definitely our pass rush NT. Not good on the run, but he's collapsing the pocket well on passing downs.  He works hard to get there, too.  I like him in those situations, but good teams will audible up the gut when he's in...of which he is weak.

Overall KPM:  -1 Point 

Wallace Gilberry 

Gilberry also worked hard this week.  He had a QB pressure and garned a double team.  He didn't see the 3-4 DE snaps that he did last week, instead seeing Smith and Gales.  However, he played on all the Nickel snaps.  We didn't bring blitzes to his side, and the OLB that was to his side tended to go into coverage.  This left him to work 2-3 OL, which obviously hurt his pass rushing ability.  Still, he was able to get by one blocker fairly consistently, so his spot in the Nickel is almost guaranteed.

Overall KPM: 4 Points 

Shaun Smith 

Smith didn't get nearly the amount of snaps that he did last week.  He let a free man through, but didn't garner any double teams while on the field.  He played a small amount of NT, and then played DE when Garrett Brown was in the NT position.

Overall KPM: -2 Points

Alex Magee

Magee was good this week.  He filled one gap, and had one QB pressure that forced Kolb out of the pocket.  He really worked hard on passing plays. Not terribly successful, but he's showing a good work ethic this game, and lots of good hand fighting to try to get around his man.  He needed a performance like this to show some reason of why we picked him up last year.

Overall KPM:  4 Points

Garrett Brown

Garrett Brown sighting!  He played the 1^st series of the 2^nd quarter as NT. He was promptly shoved off the line by a double team after coming in the game.  Didn't see him again in the graded portion of the game.

Overall KPM:  0 Points

Dion Gales

Dion saw limited time as Magee's backup at DE.  His only KPM recorded play was one that he tried a swim move that positioned him more inside than he should have been, leaving a giant hole that the RB scampered for a first down through.  Unimpressive in the rest of the time on the field.

Overall KPM:  -2 Points

Mike Vrabel

Vrabel was strong in run support this week, but didn't fare as well in pass coverage.  He filled 3 gaps, allowed 2 completed passes, and whiffed on a tackle.  He did alright in the ILB position with his coverage, but from the OLB position, he struggled to recognize the RB or TE in the flat.  They were big pass completions, but if he recognizes it earlier, it's a nice PBU or INT for him.

Overall KPM:  -3 Points

Tamba Hali

Tamba did his usual night on the field.  He had 3 QB Pressures, forced the QB out of the pocket, but whiffed on two tackles.  As usual, he was held badly on several plays, as well as the previously mentioned block in the back.  His two missed tackles were both runs that he should've brought the RB down behind the line of scrimmage.  Several games last year I watched him do that.  If he cleans that up, he's a force.

Overall KPM:  3 Points

Demorrio Williams

BEAST!!!  After talking about how our WILB's hadn't done anything in previous weeks, both stepped up huge.  Demorrio finally quieted some of the talk about his inability to make plays.  Sure, he benefitted from a blitz happy defense and Jackson's shove to create the gap, but he finished the plays.  2 sacks, 1 QB Pressure, 1 gap filled, 1 forced checkdown, and 1 PBU.  He played incredible against a strong passing team and took his chances well.  Very well done, Demorrio.  That'll do.

Overall KPM:  15 Points

Corey Mays

On the flipside, Mays was terrible.  1 gap filled, 1 forced checkdown, and 1 tackle for no gain, but allowed 2 completed pass, 1 more completed pass for a first down, and one missed tackle.  That missed tackle was on the McCoy TD run.  After being blocked by the free Guard left by Edwards, he stepped in front of the RB, reached out to arm tackle him, and whiffed badly.  Can't have that sort of play from our SILB.

Overall KPM:  -8 Points

Derrick Johnson

Playmaker!  DJ had 3 QB pressures, 2 gaps filled, and forced 1 dropped pass.  He was late to one gap early in the game.  The hit he put on Bell was incredible.  The pressure from the QB forced the early throw, but DJ flew right through the blockers and lit up the RB.  Great play.  Several well played runs and great delayed blitzes where he worked himself well through traffic.

Overall KPM:  9 Points

Jovan Belcher

Jovan was the best of our SILB's this week, and looked good when paired with Demorrio.  He filled 3 gaps and had one tackle for no gain, but allowed an easy completion.  He was solid, not spectacular, all around this week.  He had some trouble getting through the OL on his blitzes, but was good in run support, and outside of the completed pass, was generally good in pass coverage.

Overall KPM:   2 Points

Andy Studebaker

Studebaker continues his run of form!  He took his two sacks well, with the first being a good shed of a block, and the second being a free shot at the QB...he won't get an easier one than that in his career.  He had 2 sacks, 1 QB Pressure, but allowed 1 completed pass and another for a first down.  As said above, he seemed lost when on Belcher's side of the field.  Also:  anyone else notice that his celebration is almost a combination of Neil Smith and Shawn Merriman's?  Hrm.

Overall KPM:  5 Points

Cameron Sheffield

Sheffield was very good prior to his injury, recording 2 QB Pressures, with one flushing the QB out of the pocket, and the other resulting in Lewis' INT.  I was glad to see him getting the first team nickel snaps, and he looked really good doing it.  Hopefully we can get him back on the field soon, because he's turning into an asset.

Overall KPM:  5 Points

Pierre Walters

Pierre came on the field after Sheffield's injury.  He recorded a QB Pressure, but didn't really do much else.

Overall KPM:  2 Points

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Defensive Line:

1. Wallace Gilberry 4
2. Alex Magee 4
3. Tyson Jackson 2
4. Garrett Brown 0
5. Derek Lokey -1
6. Shaun Smith -2
7. Dion Gales -2
8. Glenn Dorsey -3
9. Ron Edwards -3

Linebackers:

1. Demorrio Williams 15
2. Derrick Johnson 9
3. Andy Studebaker 5
4. Cameron Sheffield 5
5. Tamba Hali 3
6. Javon Belcher 2
7. Pierre Walters 2
8. Mike Vrabel -3
9. Corey Mays -8