From the FanPosts -Joel

In this post, I will analyze the two main returning defensive linemen from last year: Dontari Poe and Tyson Jackson. Dontari Poe will occupy the majority of this post, because he is a first year player and less of a known commodity (and more exciting). For Tyson Jackson, since he is a known and established player (especially in the run game), I will try and focus on his effectiveness on obvious passing downs. Let's get started.

############################################################

STATS

############################################################

First of all, Dontari Poe was never a true developmental pick in the sense that he would be limited in the first year. Don't be fooled that he was 2nd string in pre-season. He started early and started often throughout the year. In week 1, he played a team high 43 defensive snaps, accounting for 64% of the snaps.

Here is his snap numbers and percentages for the year:

As you can see, Dontari Poe was by far the most used linemen last year.

Now let's take a look at the traditional stats for each player:

Tyson Jackson: 43 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 sacks, 4 QB pressures and 3 passes defensed

Dontari Poe: 38 tackles, 3 for loss, 0 sacks, 3 QB pressures and 4 passes defensed

Tyson Jackson only played 15 games and almost 150 less snaps than Poe. Tyson Jackson has always made his bread and butter in the run game and showed again that he was stout in the run game with more tackles and almost equivalent stats to Poe despite playing less. This should be expected, as Poe is a rookie who is considered raw and playing a very tough position at NT. Of course, in our defense last year, the D-line was not responsible as much in make the actual stop as much as they are allowing our linebackers (mostly Derrick Johnson) to do so, where he amassed 125 tackles for the season.

However, with D-linemen, stats only tell part of the story. There is simply so much that goes into the play that stats simply won't quantify. Therefore, stats will be used sparingly and only when they fit with what I want to say or make the player look better than they are. Let's just go ahead and get started then.

############################################################

DONTARI POE

############################################################

I want to review the pre-draft comments from Poe first and see how they stack up with what we saw this season. Let me outline them and then touch on them as I go through this analysis:

Here are some highlights from Sideline Scouting:

Strengths: demands double teams due to his sheer size, occupies blockers and clogs up running lanes, collapses the pocket with power... penetrates easily in one-on-one situations... gets his hands up in passing lanes when he can't get to the quarterback... impressive first step, consistent get-off, good initial quickness, can beat linemen with his get-off and one move.. Can penetrate into the backfield to disrupt running plays...chases the action out to the flanks, reliable tackler, ball carrier goes down even if Poe just gets a piece of him, a powerful hitter who can jar the ball loose... Plays with a better motor than given credit for, stays active, doesn't take plays off... Has played in all but one game during his collegiate career, missed 2009 Houston game due to a death in the family.

Negatives: struggles to disengage once blocked....flashes a rip move and nothing else.... Lacks the anchor and balance of an elite 3-4 nose tackle prospect and disappeared for stretches at a time playing at Memphis; moving him off the line of scrimmage is easier than expected... Doesn't always maintain gap responsibilities, blockers can easily seal him out of the play....he often ends up out of position to prevent backs from crossing the line of scrimmage...doesn't disengage well versus double teams

I have bolded some of the important parts here. Remember these as we go through this.

I have watched all 16 games from last year to do this analysis. This will not be a snap by snap analysis. Those are sort of hard to follow and basically useless you care about that specific game or watching it. It will be my attempt not to cherry pick exceptions and look for the trend to show. This will not be a highlight reel. I will try and show the good and bad so that you know where he is at now and what to look for in next season to see if he is taking it to that next level.

############################################################

ABILITY TO BEAT SINGLE TEAMS

############################################################

The most important thing that the nose tackle must do in a 3-4 defense is consistently command a double team and push the pocket. In order to command double teams, you need to be able to beat single teams. After watching all of Dontari Poe's snaps, I can safely conclude that Poe is already there. Let us see the evidence.

Here Poe works on the left guard one-on-one in the 3-tech position. He has excellent use of hands here. He first works right and then use some quick footwork to move left. Once Poe gains that step past the linemen, he has shown the ability to consistently blow by the player. The Colts O-line decided to send 3 linemen on Houston/Jackson.

The Colts offensive line is not that good, it had a tough day overall against the KC pass rush. Poe made his presence felt in this game. Here he lines up at the 0-tech nose tackle position. Here he uses a bit more power in his pass rush and works towards the left side. He displays impressive quickness to catch up to Luck but was unable to get the sack. It appears like the Colts O-line intended to help on him with the right guard but he stepped left and avoided the double team.

This was one of Poe's better plays of the season. He used impressive power to push back the center and then uses that exceptional quickness to move right and force the throw. Here the left guard helps on Tamba Hali.

Here Poe is lined up on the bottom of the screen in the 3-tech position. We shall get to the 3-tech position shortly and Poe's use and effectiveness there. Here Poe is able withstand the contact from the O-linemen and bend right and contribute to closing the pocket.

Here Poe is the second rusher on the top of the screen towards the inside. He works on the left guard, who fails to get good initial contact on Poe. Poe dips inside with what looks like a rip move. Poe is once again single teamed and beats his man. Ryan has excellent pocket presence and steps up efficiently to avoid Poe. Not bad for his first game.

Here, Poe is lined up in the 3-tech position and bull rushes the right guard right into Flacco, who runs for a first down. Most of the time Poe uses his quickness to get to the QB. This is what you will see in the above gifs you have just seen. However, he is capable of the occasional bull rush. As we shall discuss though, Poe is inconsistent with power in his game and it shows in the run game and double teams. Many a play will show that Poe gets stunned too easily or loses his balance/center of gravity. This criticism stems in many ways from his stellar workouts which would lead one to believe that he should overpower most people.

Here Poe is playing in front of the center in this one. He makes good use of his hands and explodes to the right and forces the protection from the RB. Another example of forcing additional attention. You will again notice that speed is the primary mechanism for him to achieve his leverage/separation.

This is one of my favorite gifs of Poe. In the Steelers game, he started the game right off with a similar move (a rip move it appears) and I had never seen his hand movements so smooth and quick before. His feet are so quick that you can see how many steps he can get in with each movement. If he can begin to develop his hand skills like this, his quickness will become even more invaluable. Here he is the first to draw the attention of the RB.

############################################################

DOUBLE TEAMS

############################################################

As we have seen above, Poe has the ability to beat single teams on a pretty consistent basis. Much of the time, you will see him being occupied by the center and guard. It is a very difficult task when you are double teamed and there is a tendency to be taken out of the game. The job of the NT is to command the double teams and he is already there. However, one must also be to push the pocket and try and remain in the play. We shall see how Poe does below:

The Good

Here you can find Poe as the 4th player counting down from the top before the ball is snapped. The whole pocket basically collapsing on Ryan and Poe is a big part of that. This sort of bull rush is more of the exception to the rule rather than what you will normally see on film when double teamed though. Poe here showcases his strength and ability to churn his legs continuously.

Poe is in the 1-tech position on the bottom of the screen here. Poe is able to generate a decent amount of push and make the pocket just a bit smaller for Dalton. The most important part here is that Poe is able to stay in the play. You will notice that Dalton scans the field for receivers but comes up dry. He peaks towards his left and sees Poe coming off the edge. He dips to his right and runs into Hali who does a 360 around the left tackle.

Here Poe is lined up on the 0-tech position on the bottom of the screen. He makes initial contact with the center and beats him one-on-one, forcing the right guard to help on him. Only problem is that Poe is so quick that he was able to make the right guard's contribution far less effective than normal-- where he is only able to block the left side of Poe. Part of beating a double team is to make your presence felt before it can effectively arrive. Here the right guard is making sure that both Houston and Anthony Toribio are covered (Houston drops into coverage) before providing his center that inside protection that he normally gets. Poe closes off Freeman's right side but Belcher overplays the blitz and Freeman rushes outside the pocket. Notice again how many steps Poe is able to generate during his movement.

Here Poe is in the 3-tech on the right side of the screen. As we just saw on the last image, there is another situation where an offensive linemen (the left guard) must account for a possible blitzer before he can commit to Poe. That blitzer is Derrick Johnson who acts as a spy and possible blitzer on the play but notices the throw right away and rushes towards that side to help out. Hali is covered by the TE (playing on the left side) and Poe takes on the left tackle and left guard. One can also notice that Travis Daniels is there to help cover the TE if need be. Since the TE is in pass protection, the left tackle also hesitates on Poe to make sure Daniels is covered and not blitzing. He probably is also cognizant of if Hali goes inside, he may need to help.. Poe is able to able to get the inside position on the left tackle and once again prevent the onset of the double team to fully set in. Poe gets right in the face of Palmer and sticks a hand up. Although Poe is helped significantly by the confusion in this play, he does a great job on capitalizing on the confusion and demanding attention. If you have a dominant force like he can be, it will open up the opportunities for both himself and a blitzer.

THE BAD/AVERAGE:

This is a pretty typical sequence for Poe here. I hesitate to call it bad at all, more or less average. Here is located in the 3-tech position on the top of the screen. Poe displays an adequate effort in the play. He does not generate a great deal of push (as it is tough for a double team) and seems to have a difficult time generating any meaningful hand movement. He does make himself available towards the end of the play by dipping inwards and gets a hand up towards the side but there is no pass rush here at all. Houston is in coverage and his presence in the pass rush is missed.

Another pretty common play to see on film for Poe. Here is lined up as the NT and engages immediately with the center and works right to be met with the right guard. Poe loses all his momentum and stone-walled at this point. This is excellent protection by the Falcons all around and they adequately account for all the blitzers. Poe is a non-factor in the play.

A similar sequence to the other two above. He is again lined up in the 3-tech position towards the top. Poe at this stage dosen't have the skill to split double teams or really do much to maneuver around them. There is not a great deal of push or bull rushing. Poe is often neutralized if he cannot split outside. You can can sort of see him try and get inside but he dosen't really commit to any sort of method. If he is attempting to bull rush, it is wholly ineffective. Poe will need to practice more about how to deal with these situation. He will need to work better on to:

a) side step towards the inside more sharply (although there was a surplus of protection that could have accounted for it here)

b) create more of a push in the pocket with a more committed bull rush (probably his best option in this situation and most ones)

c) develop techniques to try and split the double team inside (very difficult to do)

This is one of the bad plays from Poe. The plays above are probably more average than bad. In this play, early in the game, Poe is so easily stopped by the double team and is completely taken out of the play. The offensive linemen don't really move much at all past their initial stance. There is not that fire or nastiness to try and push or get out of the block. Dalton walks right in front of the O-linemen and gets the ball out fast to the RB. Poe generates just about no push whatsoever from off the LOS. If Poe had generated some push or even made an attempt to go inside, he could have affected the outcome of the play.

############################################################

THE 3-TECHNIQUE AND THE 1-TECHNIQUE

############################################################

You have heard me say "Poe is lined up in the 3-tech" or "1-tech" many times already in this article. It is about time I explain what I mean for those unfamiliar with these terms.

Much of the time, especially during the run, Poe is lined up in the 0-tech (right under center). This will put him up against the center and one of the guards usually. This requires him to be stout and immovable during the run. This position is ideal for the run game, not for the passing game. Of course, it will not always be clear if the play is a pass or run. On 1st and 2nd downs, particularly on non-nickle/dime packages, Poe is in the 0-tech position. If it is a passing play, he is put in a difficult situation because he will often be immediately double teamed early in the play. You can see the difficulties he may run into above, where most of his double teams occurred at the 0-tech position.

Poe will be in the 3-tech position (in between guard and tackle) or the 1-tech position (between center and guard) more often on obvious passing downs. He will either shoot through the "A" gap [between center and guard] or the "B" gap [guard and tackle]. This would come in the form of 4 man rushes with Hali, Houston and T-Jax with him. It is my observation that he was able to use his quickness more in the position because the distances between him and guard is farther than that of the center, allowing him to display his quickness. He would be able to get some bend that he normally never had to get in the NT position. Moreover, there is more of an open lane to the QB. Here is a basic description of being in the 3-tech:

A 3-technique tackle lines up between the offensive guard and tackle. A 3-technique tackle is supposed to run through his gap immediately. He is a 1-gap player. His job is not to block or get tied up in a block, but rather to be athletic and get himself into the offensive backfield and disrupt their plans. Because of this a 3-technique tackle is a lighter more athletic guy than a nose tackle, typically weighing more like 290 to 300 pounds. [source]

Of course Dontari Poe weighed in at 346 and does not give up any athleticism or strength in this matchup. Normally NT are not supposed to be able to line up in these positions, coming off in passing situations. This allows for a wonderful showcase of Dontari Poe and his versatility.

As Mike Mayock said:

Most rookie defensive tackles get taken off the field on third downs. This kid's best down is third down

He is absolutely right. You will recall that Romeo drafted Poe and called him a 3 down linemen. You have already seen quite a few sets above that show Poe in the 3-tech where he is able to beat the single teams. Let us take a more focused look at him in this 3-tech and 1-tech:

Here Poe is in the 3-tech position on the bottom of the screen and cuts through the B gap. The first thing that stands out his incredible first step. He simply side steps the guard and completely blows right by him. The guard dives backwards but cannot even catch up to Poe's feet with his hands at full extension. Notice the ability to have Poe in a bit of space allows him to explode off get that separation. This is in contrast the 0-tech position where he is met head on with center right away.

Poe appears to be in the 1 tech position here on the top of the screen and goes through the A gap. Here he immediately draws the double team from the center and left guard. His ability to get off quickly from this position makes the double team harder for the center to catch up with. He is pushing the inside of the double team before getting his hands up to tip the ball. This immediate pressure is something we have have not had on a consistent basis for the KC defense.

Poe is in the 3-tech position on the bottom of the screen here and shoots through the B gap. The left tackle lags behind to account for Houston and Poe is matched up in space with the right guard. He uses his quick first step to do his damage and collapse the pocket. Notice how fast he is off the LOS and the first one off the snap.

Here is about as close up a view as I can get for you on the gifs. Poe is in the 3-tech position and cuts into the B gap. Poe initially squares up with the left guard and then goes outside. Notice the key arm motion is that right arm that pushes off the guard and allows him to work his way inward. Luck is a great QB and steps in the pocket right where he needs to avoid the pass rush. You will notice Poe works his way where Luck is to stay in the play. This is great persistence by Poe. You should also notice that Hali's ability to fully occupy the LT opens up the lane more for Poe.

Here Poe is in the 3-tech position on the bottom of the screen. This is basically the exact same move we have seen above. Here he goes into the "B" gap.

Here Poe appears to be lined up in 1-tech position here on the bottom of the screen. He collapses the pocket very well in this position.

############################################################

QUICKNESS

############################################################

We have talked about Poe's quickness a lot already. It is evident by now that he can explode off the line and generate a lot of footsteps in a short amount of time. His quickness is also evident by him being consistently one of the first guys off the snap. In addition, he can help make plays outside of the pocket once in a while.

Here Poe is in the middle of the screen and recognizes quickly that Rivers has left the pocket. He leaves not long after Allen Bailey but you can tell in this foot race, Poe is just as fluid and quick (if not more) than someone about 70 lbs lighter than him and makes the play first. Rivers forces a near interception due to his ability to close out.

Here Poe is the 3rd linemen counting down from the top. Here is an example of how fast Poe is off the LOS. That burst that he has is rare.

Here are some examples of his ability to be the first guy off the snap:

############################################################

STUNTS

############################################################

Romeo is such a tease. Either that or the most boring defensive coordinator ever. Very rarely would we ever see a tremendous amount of creativity with crossing patterns or stunts. Let me tell you, stunts with Dontari Poe could be a thing of beauty for the future.

Poe here is lined up here again the NT 0-tech position and immediately shifts towards his left. You can see that burst of quickness. This play would have been awesome if:

a) our secondary could have held up 1 second longer

b) the RB did not accidentally run into Poe as he exited for the catch. It looks very accidental doesn't it?

This one has to be one of my favorite plays of the season for Poe. Physically or technically speaking, Poe did not overcome some major hurdle for himself or anything. For me, Poe was finally used in a way that allowed his talents to be showcased in dramatic fashion. This is a crossing pattern with Houston occupying the left tackle and guard. Poe initially sells that he is going inside and then bursts off to the right and forces the ball out of the QB's hands while avoiding the roughing the passer call. The sad part of this all was that I could never find another play like this all season (crossing patterns and stunts) except for the play above this one which was hardly as impressive.

############################################################

GET OFF THE GROUND!

############################################################

This was a problem in college and it remains an issue at times during the season. Poe loses his balance multiple times a game. This includes him getting sealed off in the run, get put on his knees (although at times he can recover) and times like the one below where he gets laid out flat on floor. I compare him to Tyson Jackson, who is almost always upright and holding his block. He still has more work to do with holding his blocks and staying immovable. These are significant issues, especially in the run game where he can leave gaping holes down the middle. The good news is that it is rarely due to lack of strength. It is more because of poor technique, hand placement, momentum/balance and occasional lapses in effort.

In this play Poe, who is in the 0-tech position, plays against the center on this third and long play. Poe has a poor sense of balance here and starts the point of attack at a very low angle. He is effectively shoved to the ground by the center alone.

This play, which went for a large gain, was squarely on Poe's shoulders. He starts off with a terrible sense of balance and position and his legs got sweeped up right below him. He displays no initial burst to resist and absorbs all the the initial contact dead on. It is a lazy play by Poe. He only had to deal with the center, who had the disadvantage of having to snap the ball. The RB runs right through the hole where he should have have been holding his gap. The defense focuses on the top of the screen, where the play was originally headed, but the hole was so gapingly large that the RB changed directions, keeping the entire defense off balance. These plays are killers.

############################################################

RUN DEFENSE

############################################################

The nose tackle has to be the anchor point of the defensive line in a 3-4 defense. He has to be a brick wall to stop players from running up the middle. By clogging the lane, the NT can make sure the line and gaps hold up. At almost 350lbs and 44 reps on the bench, Poe has the strength to be this guy. However, he is not there yet. We have already touched on him being on the ground a lot and we shall see it continues here again.

THE GOOD

Poe has demonstrated that he can hold his block firmly and patrol the gaps at times. Poe has to deal a lot with two interior linemen pushing him around. When he only has one blocker, he works much better. Although he likely gave up the 1st down on this one, it is an excellent play to hold his position and get off his block to make the tackle. He wraps his arms around fully and pulls the BR back.

This image is sort of tough to see things but Poe is the second player from the top of the screen. He holds his block firmly, while moving laterally, against the left guard and then disengages him to bear hug the RB and pull him back. He pushes into the backfield with his power and is still able to move laterally fast enough.

THE BAD

Here Poe is blocked by the left guard and tackle and just about before he is even touches his knee is on the ground he is moved easily out of the way. His stance did not even allow him to engage the linemen with meaningful resistance. The RB ran right through that gap.

Poe here is in the 0-tech position in the middle. This is one of the more embarrassingly displays from Poe on staying on his feet and holding his block. He gets shoved easily and gets pushed like a wave down the beach. Poe here is engaged by the center and right guard. The center is able to get a block downfield because Poe was beat so easily and the right guard continue to shove him out of the way.

Here Poe is actually in the 3-tech position on 3rd down, likely anticipating a passing play. Here the right guard and right tackle seal off Poe and he once again lands on his knee. This hole created was the target of what would eventually become the 1st down.

Summary/General Observations for Dontari Poe:

1) He does not seem as strong and dominating as you would expect from someone who had 44 reps. He is capable of a good bull rush here and there but he has not shown the ability to dominate in this aspect frequently. He can be often taken out of the play if he loses his momentum. If he is double teamed, he will often be completely disengaged from the play. This criticism may seem unfair, as a double team is a sign of respect and one should not expect him to make many plays; however, he seems to be stunned in a way where he doesn't quite know what to do. There is not a lot of power or push in these situations but usually more arm movement that does not yield any results.

2) He still needs to be better at holding his gaps in the run game and being stout and upright. Look no further than Tyson Jackson for an example of how to do this with consistency. Poe gets sealed off frequently in the run game and will even get pushed the floor from time to time. He will need to work more on achieving that balance from that initial contact.

3) He is almost always one of the first off the snap. His quickness, unlike his power is constantly on display. If he is ever given free room, he can move his feet very quickly. It is not only straight line speed, his lateral quickness is impressive too. He can bend on the guards when he is in the 3-tech position particularly well. This is also on display on run plays or broken plays where he can get to the QB if they escape the pocket or track down a runner.

4) Poe is almost always brought in on 3rd down. Poe might be out on the 1st and 2nd downs for rest of some series but he will always be there to rush the passer on 3rd down. It shows how much our coaching staff valued him early on. From looking at our D-linemen, it was clear he was already the best in this area.

5) Poe needs to play with more vigor, nastiness and persistence. When he gets double teamed or even engaged in blocks, he has a tougher time than you would expect with his attributes to make more out of the play. Part of this is that he doesn't appear to have that inward desire to dominate or never quit on a play. He dosen't use all his power on a play and can get beat early on because of this. This may sound like a shot at him. That is not the intent. Those are special players-- like Tamba Hali. Although highly skilled, his best attribute is his ability to keep at it even though it appears like he is beat or the play is over. This is one of the differences between him and Haloti Ngata, who has that fire and intensity with him.

6. Still very raw on pass rush moves, relying too much on his quickness. Imagine if Poe could start using swim moves and start splitting double teams? He still has a lot of hand movement that he needs to work on but he seems already a bit more fluid in this area as the season went on. However, the progress was not significant.

############################################################

TYSON JACKSON

############################################################

Chiefs fans, Tyson Jackson is back this season. I remember at the end of the last season we all thought he would be cut but Dorsey did the right thing about brought him back for the right price.

TYSON JACKSON RESTRUCTURING. CHECK.

— Tamba Hali (@TambaHali91) March 5, 2013

Tyson Jackson had one of the better seasons of his career this year. His run defense picked up where it left off last year and he finally got the opportunity to rush the passer on 3rd downs. The first time I could see this was on the Bengals game (Week 11), possibly a few times earlier. T-Jax is 80% (rough estimate) of the time or so single teamed by an offensive linemen while Poe occupies two and Hali and Houston the other ones. He is pretty much exclusively lined up in the 1 or 3-tech position in a 4 man rush.

I have focused here on his pass rushing opportunities. I have chosen more of his highlight plays and sacks to show what they are all about and to see how impressive they are. Part of me is looking at this because my initial thought after seeing his stats after the season were that his stats were sort of inflated based on his situation (single covered and coverage sacks). I read MNChiefsfan's article where he predicted an impressive stat line for Tyson Jackson and want to see how good his plays were. Let's take a look:

If you want to sort of see the difference between T-Jax and Poe in pass rushing, look above. T-Jax is nothing but a shover during the pass rush. He will almost always be the guys who is single covered and will try and push or outwork the guy. Jackson is the DE at the top of the screen and Poe is at NT. Jackson immediately jolts the O-linemen and creates some good push. Poe uses his hands and side steps to try and get around the O-linemen.

Here is another example of T-Jax generating some pressure. He, along with Poe are just gonna push the pocket. Even though T-Jax doesn't get the sack, he is happier than anyone else (perhaps he thought he actually got it?)

Sack #1

This was Jackson's first sack of the season. You will notice that they sort of put him in coverage initially and then Dalton gets flushed out of the pocket by Hali and T-Jax chases him down. Jackson was sort of the beneficiary of good coverage and a swirling pocket. I don't like this one much because he really dosen't do what most defensive linement do to get a sack.

Sack #2

Jackson is the DE on the top of the screen. This play shows that he is a relentless player. The O-linemen gives up on the play and gives up the sack. Newton tries to scramble but is met with the sack. This was good presence by Jackson to make sure his side of the pocket is being monitored for the ever scrambling QB.

Sack #3

This was my favorite T-Jax sack. What was particularly impressive to me was that he was part of a 3 man rush with Houston in coverage. He really bullrushed the tackle and this sack was generated in large part to his own pressure. Dontari Poe drew a triple team and T-Jax capitalized on the single coverage. Hali was single teamed but drew help from the RB who knocked him off his rush. The Browns clearly did not respect T-Jax on this play much.

Almost Sack #4

Here T-Jax is the DE on the bottom of the screen. He holds his guy in place, not generating much push at all. Manning steps up too far into the pocket and found nothing there. This was a coverage "sack" but T-Jax does a nice job not quitting on the play. This play did not count as a sack, as it happened past the LOS.

Batted Pass

T-Jax is the DE at the bottom of the screen. Here he curls up and bats the pass down. In this situation, he actually forces a double team here.

Run Defense

Here, T-Jax is the D-linemen at the top of the screen. He is able to absorb the initial contact and bear hug the RB right into the ground. More examples of Jackson' run D can be found in some of the gifs above.

General Thoughts on Tyson Jackson:

1. I am happy that Tyson Jackson has finally got his opportunities on 3rd downs and passing situations. He has shown many of the same attributes in his passing game that he has in the run game: power and relentlessness. He does not quit on the pass rush ever. He is not particularly skilled at all with hands but if the QB takes too long to throw or the coverage is not good, don't be surprised if he gets a sack. I am unable to remember an instance where he was in a free lane to the QB early in the pass rush. He is a guy who can push the pocket and if you try and step out, he can get you. As you can see from the images above, few of his sacks will make the Sports Center top 10 but is active and shown he can make some plays when being isolated one-on-one. I encourage fans to not be too high on Jackson as a pass rusher yet, as he still has a lot to work on and benefits a lot from the players around him.

2. T-Jax is good at getting his hands up and trying to make an impact. He batted down 3 passes in his short stint of passing situations. I cannot tell you enough how he never quits on plays and plays until the last second. I think this is what makes him as successful as he has been on passing downs.

3. He is really an anchor for this run defense. He is very stout and upright and will maintain his blocks in most situations. He is highly consistent in this area IMO.

############################################################

BONUS

############################################################

I was bored one day and trying to get better with my video making skills more and decided to make a video about one of my favorite plays from last year (there weren't many plays to choose from anyway). My goal was never to put loud blaring mute-worthy rap music but to try and capture that one single play and make it more real/fun. In this video, I inserted with what may be corny or even excessively lengthy dialogue (especially in the beginning) but tried to make the scene more fun and create a scene. Please let me know in the poll what you think of it.

If I ever get the opportunity to contribute to AP one day (or even just in fanposts), I always thought doing something like this would be cool for an important play each week (showing the multiple angles and bringing in fitting instrumentals to capture the play) or even just use a still image and break down the routes/blitz schemes/formations and see what is going on better. I would call it "Chiefs play of the week."