WTF is with the defense?

[petegz28]

That's 2 games in a row they really didn't do a ****ing thing. Carr had all ****ing night to throw. Guys are dropping shoulders and not wrapping up. YAC is killing us. Receivers are running wide open.

I will give them some credit in that I thought they stopped the run fairly well against the Raiders.

No pass rush
No tackling
No attitude

WTF?

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

It isn't just athleticism at LB. Gay looked lost a good portion of last night. I'm sure he'll be fine but his inexperience really showed at times.

He's different, he's athletic enough he just needs more playing time since he didn't see a ton in college either, I get that. But guys like Sorenson know what they're doing and just can't get there to make the play because of athletic limitations.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

well, it's been surmised that they're bringing Thornhill along slowly post-injury, which makes sense.

Sorensen is in there I think because he's smart and understands the defensive assignments. Same with Niemann.

But he's not athletic enough to carry them out, and he's a shitty tackler. The one or two plays a game that he makes don't make up for the dozen he blows. And it's EVERY GAME.

Is it really better to have a guy who KNOWS but can't get it done than a better athlete that might blow it sometimes but also has enough athleticism to get it done?

Maybe it is, I don't know. But I doubt Sorensen is going to get faster or become a better tackler all of the sudden. The Raiders literally went right at him all night, and that'll be the blueprint until we do something about it.

It's pretty obvious right now that they'd rather give up a 10-play drive than a 1-play drive. That's what those guys generally give you.

They don't have the big breakdowns but they also can't shut anything down consistently.

It's one of the reasons they had no problem getting rid of Marcus Peters.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mecca

He's different, he's athletic enough he just needs more playing time since he didn't see a ton in college either, I get that. But guys like Sorenson know what they're doing and just can't get there to make the play because of athletic limitations.

Right. I'm just saying they can't just throw raw athleticism at the problem. They're going to have to draft REALLY well. Need more guys like Thornhill and less guys like KPass.

Football IQ matters.

[Mecca]

They exploit the linebacker assignments really really well. So if the linebackers are dropping into zones, they dig in behind the LBs. If they're playing man, the ball goes to TEs and FBs on the edge after the LB gets caught in traffic. Then, once the Chiefs switch to playing 6 DBs in nickel bc the LBs are useless, they start doing zone blocking run plays and all the DBs on the field get smoked. Carolina did the same thing.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mecca

I think about 70% of the issue is complacency, these guys are just trying to get to the playoffs.

That bothers me. If the playoffs matter THAT much, then seeding should matter. Losing a game now because of lack of effort could really hurt the playoff picture.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mecca

They exploit the linebacker assignments really really well. So if the linebackers are dropping into zones, they dig in behind the LBs. If they're playing man, the ball goes to TEs and FBs on the edge after the LB gets caught in traffic. Then, once the Chiefs switch to playing 6 DBs in nickel bc the LBs are useless, they start doing zone blocking run plays and all the DBs on the field get smoked. Carolina did the same thing.

Yep. And to a certain extent, the Raiders do that to everybody. The Chiefs defense can certainly be better but we also have to remember that some of these WCO are pretty good.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That bothers me. If the playoffs matter THAT much, then seeding should matter. Losing a game now because of lack of effort could really hurt the playoff picture.

It seems to happen to a ton of teams, but to be fair, Clark and Jones kind of have a history of showing up when it matters most and being off and on the rest of the time.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Idk what’s going on, but it’s largely the same personnel that played in the playoffs and Super Bowl last year so I’m hopeful that it can get a lot better.

I do think the Raiders, Gruden specifically, have a great beat on our defensive scheme and it makes for a bad matchup. But damn it we need get more from our guys regardless, especially the best players on the unit.

They’ve got some time to figure this thing out, and the good thing about last night is it doesn’t allow for further complacency. The entire team and staff know that isn’t good enough to win the SB, so we will see changes and see them soon.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Mecca

You see the change with the drafts in the last few years where we're getting more athletic but we still have some dudes who just don't explode and you can see it plain as day.

Sorenson, Kpass, Niemann, we need athletic upgrades here. We honestly need more athletes at LB because like last night the Raiders completely took advantage of it.

And we took advantage of their inability too. They put Arnette, Mullen and that Morrow kid on Kelce and we still did whatever we wanted. The same thing happened last game when they put their huge investment Cory Littleton on Kelce. They had no answer.

That’s the value of having a good TE. They are just damn near impossible to stop.

Derwin James is the only defender I’ve seen shut down Kelce for an entire game.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

Idk what’s going on, but it’s largely the same personnel that played in the playoffs and Super Bowl last year so I’m hopeful that it can get a lot better.

I do think the Raiders, Gruden specifically, have a great beat on our defensive scheme and it makes for a bad matchup. But damn it we need get more from our guys regardless, especially the best players on the unit.

They’ve got some time to figure this thing out, and the good thing about last night is it doesn’t allow for further complacency. The entire team and staff know that isn’t good enough to win the SB, so we will see changes and see them soon.

He's running a WCO that has a ton of plays that put stress on the LB's in coverage...something we suck ass at defending.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by RunKC

And we took advantage of their inability too. They put Arnette, Mullen and that Morrow kid on Kelce and we still did whatever we wanted. The same thing happened last game when they put their huge investment Cory Littleton on Kelce. They had no answer.

That’s the value of having a good TE. They are just damn near impossible to stop.

Derwin James is the only defender I’ve seen shut down Kelce for an entire game.

Yea unless you have some complete physical freak like Derwin James or maybe Isiah Simmons, covering a TE is a problem.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by Mecca

He's running a WCO that has a ton of plays that put stress on the LB's in coverage...something we suck ass at defending.

I think Gay coming along would have to help. His physicality and athleticism helps in many areas. I really hope they plan on upping his role this year.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yep. And to a certain extent, the Raiders do that to everybody. The Chiefs defense can certainly be better but we also have to remember that some of these WCO are pretty good.

Correct. The one thing I didn't realize, until I looked it up last night after the game, is that the Raiders lead the NFL in 3rd down efficiency. That is an extremely good Offense.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by RunKC

And we took advantage of their inability too. They put Arnette, Mullen and that Morrow kid on Kelce and we still did whatever we wanted. The same thing happened last game when they put their huge investment Cory Littleton on Kelce. They had no answer.

That’s the value of having a good TE. They are just damn near impossible to stop.

Derwin James is the only defender I’ve seen shut down Kelce for an entire game.

Yep. The whole league struggles with good TE's. They're just THAT valuable.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

The lack of productivity at DE has been a massive problem too, and opposite of Clark, Kpassagnon is playing with zero discipline, Danna isn’t explosive enough to play full time, and Okafor needs to play more but he’s bound to get hurt any given play.

I’d seriously make a run at Suggs to close this thing out. If for no other reason, do it for the leadership and smarts.