Threat Level Midnight: the Hitchens problem is getting worse.

[Direckshun]

How closely did you watch the first series from the Chargers game?

First snap, Hitchens is right where he needs to be and squares up Ekeler, they collide for what could have been a 1- or 2-yard gain but instead Ekeler just bounces off Hitchens and gains about 9 yards on first down.

Next snap, same issue. Hitchens can't seal the deal.

Couple snaps later, a screen to that one RB Kelly in the flat, who is completely uncovered because Hitchens doesn't see him and is actually running deeper into coverage, away from the dude with the ball. Kelly eats up so much space so fast that Hitchens can't even get to him despite the fact it's his side of the field.

We're all used to Hitchens not playing very well, but this is reaching a critical mass, particularly because we don't really have a valid replacement for him going forward.

He wasn't playing this poorly in 2019 or 2018. This is a new level of suck.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Have any of our LBs made a single big play all year? On defense, not on special teams, that is. A tackle for loss? A QB pressure? A pass knocked away? How about just a solid, square, open field tackle?

The lack of big plays aren't even it. It's just the complete lack of execution in the basic stuff. Ekeler is an underrated RB and can be slippery and hard to bring down, but come freaking on.

If they were messing up the simple stuff but occasionally chipping in a big play of some sort, that would be one thing. But they're not. Like, at all.

DOD sacked Watson when the Texans opened up like the Red Sea for him.

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by staylor26

So the playoff run didn’t happen? Because given their talent level, these guys showed up when it mattered last year, especially in that Titans game against Henry. He certainly got the most out of that group last year all things considered.

It’s hard to have a group so void of talent and put it on the coach. Gay is the first real talent he’s had to work with, so I’m going to see how he develops before I write off House for not turning chicken shit into chicken salad.

The question is then, why are they so void of talent?

They clearly haven't invested a huge amount of resources at linebacker, but they haven't ignored it either: a sizable contract on Hitchens, a 2nd on Gay, a 3rd on DOD. It's arguably more than they have invested at cornerback, yet we seem to find a hidden gem at cornerback every year.

I'm somewhat confident that Gay can/should be seeing starter minutes by the midpoint of the season. Otherwise, not much positive at the position.

[Demonpenz]

Veach just sent DJ an AOL message to see if he is in shape

[lewdog]

Niemann makes Hitchens look like an absolute beast.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Chief Northman

Don't care if I get ripped - Matt House might not be all he's cracked up to be.

The read/react from this group is horrible. They don't read keys consistently and are often flat-footed far too long after any given snap. The poor tackling is one thing, but it is evident that part of the mental game is missing and this is showing up with slow/late reactions and bad angles/shortcuts being taken in pursuit. Block defend is also bad from this group. I get it is early, but some of this is just poor fundamental football.

I find it hard to criticize a guy like Matt House when he's been given guys that wouldn't be starters elsewhere in the league and certainly not a part of a championship defense.

I'd challenge any linebackers coach to put a competent unit on field consisting of Hitchens, Wilson and Niemann.

[New World Order]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Niemann makes Hitchens look like an absolute beast.

[Megatron96]

So I just rewatched the first half on NFL's GamePass Coaches film, and had to retract my earlier statement about the LBs in the Ravens thread.

Yes, Hitchens and Wilson didn't play particularly well in that first series. Or the second for that matter. But after that they settled down some.

But they weren't the only ones having trouble either. Thornhill had some tackling issues, and he flat missed two opportunities for INTs or at least defensed passes. I think he still isn't 100% confident in his knee, so for now I'll give him a pass there, because in spite of that, he did read and react nicely to several plays, he just didn't finish. In particular was the WR screen, where he sniffed it out immediately, ran all the way from his high safety spot to the sideline and should've made a tackle for about a two yard loss but somehow missed the tackle allowing a big gain. That sort of thing can be cleaned up with practice and more snaps, so I don't think we should be worried.

Hitchens blew a couple assignments early, but after that through most of the first half he played fairly consistently. He did have a couple bad missed tackles early, and I still hate the way he catches a lot of tackles with his stomach instead of hitting with his shoulder/facemask and wrapping up, but he did diagnose the plays, got to the right spot, and was generally the first tackler. He just didn't stuff them cold or knock them back.

Wilson made some plays, including that one to knock Herbert out of bounds where he got a little hurt. That one was pretty good because he had to fight through a couple Chargers just to make that play and I thought he did a nice job with that.

And I think we have to give some credit to Niemann though he did miss a couple tackles on guys that he had in his arms. Overall he showed good recognition and except for just three times he was where he was supposed to be and made the play. He even defensed on what might've been a TD pass, which Sorenson kind of whiffed on.

Other notes:

The Chargers double-teamed Nnadi a ton in the first half. Like nearly every running play. Apparently someone for the LAC has been watching a lot of Baldy's film studies, because they tried to blow Nnadi out of every play. he actually was the target of more doubles than Chris Jones for the first half, and Chris received a lot of doubles as well. And it worked, I guess, because there's a couple series in a row where Nnadi wasn't on the field at all. I'm assuming he got gassed having to fight so many doubles early.

Jones started out pretty good against the run, for what it's worth. He stayed home and actually made some nice plays, though he didn't actually make any of those tackles, he did contain the runner and sent them into "the wall" Spags was talking about in that "Time's Yours" video.

But some time in the second quarter he started ad libbing some, maybe because he got tired of the double-teams and was trying to out-smart them? Obviously I don't know, but in the second half he started trying to loop or twist away from where he thought the double was coming from, and a couple of those were on first down with the Chargers showing a run. And they were runs which Chris twisted his way right out of leaving pretty big holes that Ekeler or Kelley ran for big yards on.

With Nnadi taking long breathers we saw a lot of KPass, and I believe Wharton (98) trying to take up the slack.

There's more, but the bottom line is that Hitchens and Wilson weren't the big problem with our run D. It was a combination of the front 7 not being in game shape (possibly, might've had something to do with the air quality as well, or both), Nnadi getting his ass doubled every snap, a few times Hitchens and Wilson not trusting each other, Chris trying to avoid doubles, and across the board a lot of guys not tackling very well. In that regard I saw a lot of missed tackles because guys were aiming too high, basically trying to tackle around the shoulders.

Now that all sounds kind of bad, but the thing is Hitchens was getting the front lined up right nearly every time, and he did settle down and start making plays, or at least was in the right spot to make a play, about as well as he did in the second half of last season. His relative lack of aggressiveness at the point of attack is something we may just have to live with for now. But at least he didn't spend the whole game just completely lost like in that one play in the first series. He and Wilson have to work on the trust thing for sure.

Nnadi was playing pretty well when he was on the field, but it's obvious someone's been paying attention and they figured out that Nnadi is the anchor of the run D. We need Pennel back badly, and probably Saunders to spell him as well ASAP.

When you consider the fact that we went into that game without either of our starting CBs, our best run defending DT out, our starting DE2 out, our defense didn't play that badly. Spags had to hide/cover a lot of weaknesses with back-ups and rookies against a team that does have plenty of weapons. Plus, they prepped for Taylor not Herbert, who's a rook but obviously a completely different animal.

Last thing: Herbert made a ton of mistakes. They just didn't show up as turnovers or losses of yards. There were several throws that should've been intercepted (1 or 2 by Thornhill) or were just bad decisions. If Thornhill was 100%, and we had our starting CBs on the field, things may have unraveled for Herbert in the first half. I'm beginning to think coach Lynn was telling the truth about Herbert needing more time.

[keg in kc]

Thornhill looked pretty bad both week 1 and 2.

I believe most of the issues we're seen on defense really are related to the lack of a traditional camp and preseason. I know other teams aren't having the same issues, but I think that's what's up with us.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

Last thing: Herbert made a ton of mistakes. They just didn't show up as turnovers or losses of yards. There were several throws that should've been intercepted (1 or 2 by Thornhill) or were just bad decisions. If Thornhill was 100%, and we had our starting CBs on the field, things may have unraveled for Herbert in the first half. I'm beginning to think coach Lynn was telling the truth about Herbert needing more time.

UNPOSSIBLE!!!!

(I tried to tell y'all that if you watch it without listening to Romo, you'll understand that the guy really wasn't very good)

Regarding the rest - I think we've learned the last couple of years how critical cohesion is for a defensive unit. You look at how the Colts and Ravens Ds have played well beyond their true talent level and it really demonstrates that.

For whatever reason, the squad just wasn't in sync. You add up 'only 2 or 3 truly bad plays' for a half dozen different guys on that squad and it gives you 20 odd plays where something broke down. And ultimately, that's a LOT.

I think it's fair to point out that nobody was quite as bad for 4 quarters as it appeared they were - but there were also more guys who really weren't all that good than it appeared at first blush.

In some ways it's easier to just fix one or two guys ****in' up a lot than it is to get 10 guys who are struggling to play together to figure it out.

But we saw this last year. It'll likely iron out. The injuries/suspensions had a lot to do with it I'm sure.

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

UNPOSSIBLE!!!!

(I tried to tell y'all that if you watch it without listening to Romo, you'll understand that the guy really wasn't very good)

BUT WE LIKE LISTENING TO ROMO!!! DON'T TAKE AWAY OUR EAR CANDY, FFS!!!

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

BUT WE LIKE LISTENING TO ROMO!!! DON'T TAKE AWAY OUR EAR CANDY, FFS!!!

The way he talked about that TD throw just drove me nuts. Herbert is throwing it to a wide open guy because Fenton is playing 5 yards away from the Guyton when the ball is in the air and right before he throws it Fenton is moving the opposite direction and then has to try to cover 7+ yards in like a second. Fenton also takes a horrible angle and tries to run in front of the ball instead of just going to where the ball is going to be caught. Matt Cassel could make that throw.

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

The way he talked about that TD throw just drove me nuts. Herbert is throwing it to a wide open guy because Fenton is playing 5 yards away from the Guyton when the ball is in the air and right before he throws it Fenton is moving the opposite direction and then has to try to cover 7+ yards in like a second. Fenton also takes a horrible angle and tries to run in front of the ball instead of just going to where the ball is going to be caught. Matt Cassel could make that throw.

Yeah, that was a terrible play. Fenton had no chance unless he just gambled and stayed wide. But I could've made that throw if I were still 18. Or whatever. Heck, I might be able to just make the throw right now. It might not be as pretty, but I could probably get it out there.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

The Direction bad threads are getting worse too...

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by Mecca

....hopefully it's just the lack of preseason etc.

This is what I think a lot of this is IMHO. When you are severely limited in getting any real live game snaps as you should it takes a while to get your eyes, brain and body on the same page. Granted he is not the ideal but remember we won the SB last year with this defense. I know the play Direckshun is talking about because his eyes and brain interpreted correctly but his body did not respond in being to take the runner down. It will take time BUT remember every team is experiencing the same issues.

[ChiefsFanatic]

I think Pennel's absence, and Saunders absence to a lesser degree, has impacted the effectiveness of our linebacking corp. Offensive linemen are getting to the second level of our defense pretty easily.

Also, after watching the all-22, from several games last year and this year, Frank Clark seems to crash down the LOS too often when he should be setting the edge. When he crashes down, and the RB bounces outside, the LBs are kind of hung out to dry a little because they really don't have the speed to get to the ball carrier quickly.

Obviously Veach has been doing a jam up job of building up the defensive line and secondary, but now he needs to turn that beautiful mind towards improving our athleticism and speed at linebacker.

Edited to clarify that I was referring to all-22 film from last year as well.



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