The Kansas City Chiefs have the pass rushers to potentially be very good. The problem is that injuries have stopped them from being very good lately.
I was looking at this list of the best pass rush duos’ and saw the Chiefs popped up on it. Derrick Thomas had 20 sacks that year while Neil Smith had 9.5 ...
5. Von Miller & DeMarcus Ware, Denver Broncos; 2014-15
4. Derrick Thomas & Neil Smith, Kansas City Chiefs; 1990
3. Harvey Martin & Randy White, Dallas Cowboys; 1977
2. Reggie White & Clyde Simmons, Philadelphia Eagles; 1991
1. Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles Rams; 1967
... and my mind went straight to Justin Houston and Dee Ford. Yeah, yeah, Houston and Ford are not DT and Neil Smith and I’m not saying they are. However, individually, they’ve both had a season like the one DT and Neil Smith had in 1990. It’s unlikely that Houston is going to get 22 sacks again but it’s possible, if healthy, he gets 10-15. Ford just last year had 10 sacks. Is it unreasonable to expect that from him again?
The (hopeful) return of the Chiefs pass rush is probably more important than the No. 2 corner or even the loss of Jeremy Maclin. It’s the difference between the Chiefs being a very good defense and elite. Contrary to popular belief, defense is still important! The teams that win the Super Bowl are usually pretty darn good on defense.