must confess...

[stevefuller]

i am a little concerned with the overall play of our secondary in the preseason
my son tries to telll me not to worry its only preseason but, flowers smith where beat multiple times
duante robinson was beat badly in the first 3 weeks looked solid vs gb(however it was there backups and v young qbing)
anybody else dealing with this concern?

[jason1981]

I thino alot of it will depend on how our pash rush goes which did look good I think.

[jap1]

I am mildly concerned. But I have hope because a lot of the breakdowns I saw seemed to be people being out of position. That is easy to fix. That is just a matter of getting the starters all on the same page, which can be difficult in preseason when personnel are shifting around.

[TopekaRoy]

I'm not worried for four reasons.


First, coaches rarely (if ever) game plan for their opponents in preseason. They want to see how the starters perform in basic sets without double teaming elite receivers or scheming to take away the pass. That will change in the regular season.


Second, look at who we played---two elite QBs in Drew Brees and Big Ben and a third who led his team to the Super Bowl, last year. The Saints had the #1 passing offense in the NFL and Roethlisburger extended a lot of plays by avoiding the sack and giving his receivers more time to get open. We won't face QBs like those most weeks.


Third, I'm less concerned with how many passing yards our defense gives up than how many points they give up. They completed a lot of passes, mostly for small or medium gains, but the receivers were tackled as soon as they caught the ball and there were very few yards after the catches. But when they got into the red zone our defense stiffend up and held them to mostly field goals.


And fourth, It's very early in the season and we have a new offensive coordinator. Players are still shaking some rust off and getting used to new assignments. They will get better as the season goes on. Also most starters don't go all out in the preseason. They just want to make it through without getting injured in games that don't count. I'm confident that they will step up their games when it counts.


Hmm, I guess that's five reasons!

[brdempsey69]

I'm not worried for four reasons.


First, coaches rarely (if ever) game plan for their opponents in preseason. They want to see how the starters perform in basic sets without double teaming elite receivers or scheming to take away the pass. That will change in the regular season.


Second, look at who we played---two elite QBs in Drew Brees and Big Ben and a third who led his team to the Super Bowl, last year. The Saints had the #1 passing offense in the NFL and Roethlisburger extended a lot of plays by avoiding the sack and giving his receivers more time to get open. We won't face QBs like those most weeks.


Third, I'm less concerned with how many passing yards our defense gives up than how many points they give up. They completed a lot of passes, mostly for small or medium gains, but the receivers were tackled as soon as they caught the ball and there were very few yards after the catches. But when they got into the red zone our defense stiffend up and held them to mostly field goals.


And fourth, It's very early in the season and we have a new offensive coordinator. Players are still shaking some rust off and getting used to new assignments. They will get better as the season goes on. Also most starters don't go all out in the preseason. They just want to make it through without getting injured in games that don't count. I'm confident that they will step up their games when it counts.


Hmm, I guess that's five reasons!

Add to that, we didn't see a whole lot of the Chiefs blitz-pressure packages in the pre-season, except for maybe a few plays. They aren't going to just let opposing QB's just stand back there uncontested all game long in the regular season games. They are going to be scheming to come after them in obvious passing situations & try to force the opposing QB to have to get rid of the ball quickly or get decked for a loss like we saw happen to Big Ben a couple of times. This isn't Romeo's defensive system anymore & you can bet that Bob Sutton is going to be a lot more aggressive.

[Seek]

Add to that, we didn't see a whole lot of the Chiefs blitz-pressure packages in the pre-season, except for maybe a few plays. They aren't going to just let opposing QB's just stand back there uncontested all game long in the regular season games. They are going to be scheming to come after them in obvious passing situations & try to force the opposing QB to have to get rid of the ball quickly or get decked for a loss like we saw happen to Big Ben a couple of times. This isn't Romeo's defensive system anymore & you can bet that Bob Sutton is going to be a lot more aggressive.

My concern with this, is being aggressive has a high Risk Reward. We will be more open to giving up huge plays if one person makes a mistake. Just like the Frank Gore run week one when he bounced outside after the middle was plugged.

[brdempsey69]

My concern with this, is being aggressive has a high Risk Reward. We will be more open to giving up huge plays if one person makes a mistake. Just like the Frank Gore run week one when he bounced outside after the middle was plugged.

That was a running play where they didn't stay disciplined & we didn't see a repeat of that in the next two games. I was referring to pass defense & the examples being the well timed blitz by DJ on Big Ben and again with Berry and Hartman. Although you are right, there could be times when being aggressive could backfire, but still, I'd rather they be aggressive and try to make things happen than be docile and just let opponents steamroll over them like last year.

Another problem last year was the Offense constantly turning the ball over & there were too many 3 and outs that gave opposing Offenses too many opportunities. This must improve & that's why they went after Alex Smith because he'll help them in those areas.

[Lord-Chiefy]

Time will tell.. last few tears we never knew which team would show up. Hopefully we some consistency finally.

[TopekaRoy]

... last few tears ...

I know that's a typo, but it is SO true!

[rodu]

I'm a little concerned with our WR depth. After Bowe, we have Avery, who may be decent, but after that, unless Hemingway steps up as our #3, it looks shaky

[Chiefster]

That was a running play where they didn't stay disciplined & we didn't see a repeat of that in the next two games. I was referring to pass defense & the examples being the well timed blitz by DJ on Big Ben and again with Berry and Hartman. Although you are right, there could be times when being aggressive could backfire, but still, I'd rather they be aggressive and try to make things happen than be docile and just let opponents steamroll over them like last year.

Another problem last year was the Offense constantly turning the ball over & there were too many 3 and outs that gave opposing Offenses too many opportunities. This must improve & that's why they went after Alex Smith because he'll help them in those areas.

Agreed, the biggest concerns against an aggressive defense is the quick slant and screen plays so we'll have to be careful and recognize them, but I too would rather see us be more aggressive and get pressure on the QB, something we didn't do last year.

[mcclusterfan1982]

or if Jenkins somehow becomes good.