Originally Posted by
ctchiefsfan
Seems to me the Defense was damned good the first 4 years. Do I remember wrong that they were in the top 8 or better each of those years? And weren't they always very good at collecting turnovers? Even this year the Chiefs were #2 in takeaway ratio (although that was more because of the offense not giving up the ball than because the defense took it away. In 2016 we were tied for #1 in differential and #1 in takeaways. In 2015 we were #4 in takeaways and #2 in differential.
Of course the turnover differential has a lot to do with Alex not throwing INTs but here are the last 3 years of the Chiefs ranking in takeaways....2017...#6...2016...#1....2015...#4. So our Defense has been very good at generating takeaways.
Now....are those takeaways individual actions, coaching or a combination of both? I don't pretend to know. But my THEORY is that Sutton combines a "bend but don't break" attitude with a coaching environment that encourages taking RISKS if a player thinks he sees an opportunity for a takeaway.
But without a doubt we've developed a bad case of "can't defend the run". Now is that a function of the individual players? Is it a function of being very aggressive at going after the ball? Is it a function of just plain crappy tackling? Again, I don't pretend to know. But CERTAINLY our Defense needs remedial tackling practice. What I don't know is whose fault that is....coaching? players?
So I'm not saying Sutton doesn't need to go nor am I saying he needs to stay. I'm saying that I suspect that none of us really knows what the problem is and that I CERTAINLY DON'T.
My summary....
Our Defense needs A TON OF WORK in the draft and free agency....probably for the next 2-3 years. Tamba is finished. Ford is....well....Ford and that ain't too much. We simply don't have a decent OLB on the right side and without that Houston just isn't the threat he used to be. DJ was great and he's still damned good, but the two major injuries and age are making him less of a factor as each year goes by. Poe is gone. What used to be our "Stone Wall" has turned to sandstone while we have invested in Offense.
And now we find ourselves with depleted draft picks and crumbling Defense. Sutton's fault? Not so much in my opinion. We have simply over-invested in Offense and now we need to find a way to put things back in balance.
In the end I still think the future rests on our ability to trade Alex for some good draft picks and Veach's ability to use them wisely if we get them.
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