herm thinks the d is getting better
read this article i am speechless
No red and gold rush in KC
Chiefs have six sacks, two less than ex-KC end Allen's eight
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, November 26, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Maybe the Chiefs should start embracing their disgruntled fans attending Arrowhead games wearing identity-concealing grocery bags — paper, not plastic.
After all, they represent the only sacks anyone's seen around the place lately.
ED ZURGA / The Associated Press
The closest Kansas City got to taking down Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards in Sunday's 54-31 thrashing at Arrowhead was when Edwards dove into the end zone over Kansas City defensive end Tamba Hali for a 5-yard touchdown run. The Chiefs have only six sacks in 12 games this season.
Last week's 54-31 loss to Buffalo marked the seventh time in 11 games this year the Chiefs have failed to record a quarterback sack. They have only six all season, which puts them on a record pace they would rather avoid. The NFL record for fewest sacks in a 16-game season is 13 (Baltimore, 1981). Kansas City might even challenge the all-time league low of 11 sacks recorded by Baltimore in the nine-game strike-shortened 1982 season.
This is a franchise, remember, that once saw the late Derrick Thomas get seven sacks in one 1990 game.
Coach Herm Edwards fielded yet another round of questions Tuesday about what happened to the pass rush that once was a franchise trademark. Only this time the line of inquiry took on a more pointed tack. As in:
How's that Jared Allen trade look to you now, coach?
"It was the right thing to do for this team," a steadfast Edwards said of the deal that sent the 2007 NFL sack leader (with 15½) to Minnesota for three draft picks.
The Chiefs, remember, used Minnesota's first-round pick for left tackle Branden Albert, and third-round picks on running back Jamaal Charles and safety Dajuan Morgan. Albert has started all but one game (when he was injured). Charles is a frequently used backup to Larry Johnson, and Morgan is a special teams player and rotation substitute.
"You can't lose sight of the fact that we're trying to build a football team, and to do that you need players," Edwards said. "We knew we were going young, that we were going to draft players and play them. The only way we were going to get (extra) players was through the Jared Allen trade.
"Remember, a long time ago Jared Allen was a rookie starter, too, before he became the player he's become. He's a very good player now, but you couldn't say that his first year. But as he grew in the position, he became the player now that everyone knows. It's the same way with these young guys. They're getting better, but you don't yet see the fruits of their labor.
"But you will. It's what we're counting on."
It's not like Allen is having a bang-up year in Minnesota. But his mere eight sacks look pretty good right now to a Chiefs team that is two short of his individual total.
The Chiefs knew they were losing something big in hopes of making future big gains in the Allen deal. The omni-upbeat Edwards still maintains, even in the throes of this 1-11 season, that the team is making gains that will become evident in the near future.
"When you're trying to build something, you sometimes take a step back to build somewhere else, to get more players," he said. "You can't get all the pieces at once. But we're closer now than we've ever been. There are still pieces we need, but it's a lot better now.
"We're building a team that will be together for a long time. A lot of rookies and young guys have gotten a lot of playing time. We don't think we're that far away."
Maybe. Maybe not.
Kansas City had hoped to replace Allen's edge rush with a stepped-up effort from young defensive ends Tamba Hali and Turk McBride, an inside pass rush from top draft pick Glenn Dorsey, or through blitzing.
None of those avenues have ended at the quarterback, though Edwards continues to believe they eventually will.
"We've gotten better," he insisted. "We've put some pressure on the quarterback, but we haven't got him down. We've got to continue getting better with the guys we have, though eventually we may have to add a guy. And that's OK, too."
Rick Dean can be reached
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Originally Posted by Chiefster
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