Hopefully last night's game was his turning point similar to last season against Denver. Looked like a completely different player.

Honestly?

I think Mike Pennel changes the defense.

I haven't dived into the tape yet. But this was the defense of the 2nd half of last year when Pennel became a fixture.

I think Pennel keeps Hitchens clean, and gives him fewer OL to fight through.

Bingo!

Our LBs (for the most part) brought the wood last night. Even the bigger gains by the Ravens ended with big hits.

We really contained their RBs.

I have his Jersey - the only one in KC! & CERTAINLY the only one in Atlanta.

I still think it's mostly an effort issue with this defense.

Our late season turn up last year really didn't make sense. You don't just go from a bottom 10 defense to top 5 because you add one run stuffer.

Come on man. It was an entirely new system with a bunch of new players and coaches. And Space runs a variety of coverages. It's not hard to understand why it took awhile to gel.

Agree with CM. New system, new coaches last year took time for everyone to learn. And they started getting the second half of last year. This year you have a core of players that already know most of it but you still have several through turnover and (mostly) injuries that are learning. That they put up a performance like last night is very impressive to me and bodes well for the future.

The change was too stark. We looked like ass and people were rightfully wondering if the defense would be able to get its shit together in time for the postseason.. then the very next week, they looked incredible.

I don't think it's likely that everyone on the defense suddenly learned how to play in the system at the same time.

When a defense is just a little off, it can look real bad. It's not strange really to see it gel and look a lot better in one game. Pennel is a very helpful piece, but it was a few things all coming together. Also realize the staff is learning their player's strengths and weaknesses in real time too.

ROFL ROFL ROFL

Spags' defense is all about assignments. You have to trust the guys next to you. We saw it over and again the first two weeks - a guy would miss an assignment and somebody would try to cover for him, leaving a guy wide open.

It's about staying disciplined, playing to the scheme, and trusting each other. They did that last night and it showed.

Hichens was HIThims last night. Much better effort from the lagging LB crew. They had their hands full.

I've gone from being this guy's biggest critic on CP to accepting what he is (and isn't).

What he isn't, is consistent. Boom or bust player. Either stinks up the joint or plays well. Rarely anything in between.

What he is, is a pretty big game player. While you never know what you're going to get from him on a weekly basis, chances are the bigger the game, the better he's going to play.

You can't ignore how much better he played the 2nd half of last season and through the playoffs, even if you bashed him as much as I did.

I do think LB, CB, OL needs to be emphasis in the offseason. We've gotten lucky with those positions the past few years but need to address them. Willie Gay is a good start, but gotta focus on protecting Patrick going forward and Schwartz and Fisher aren't getting any younger.