Chiefs Defensive Breakdown

The season is over, and as the Chiefs staff has started evaluating the 2009 season.  Evaluating the coaches, systems, and players.  It is urgent to evaluate your needs with the coaching staff quickly.  We have seen in the past weeks, that the early bird gets the biggest worm.  The Chiefs have already reached out and hired new Offensive Coordinator, Charlie Wies.  From the press conference, it sounds like Coach Wies knew he was coming here a month ago.  They have already hired a new Defensive Coordinator, Romeo Crenell.  This also seems to have a feel that talks may have been started before the season ended.  It appears that Scott Pioli and Coach Haley have a plan, and are moving forward with it.  They seem to be following a proven path to success.

With that in hand, the Chiefs staff will be moving on to evaluating players.  As we eagerly await the beginning of Free Agency.  I decided to do my own evaluations and share them with you.  When doing evaluations of players, you have to not only know what they did or did not do.  You must also compare them to others at the same position, and level of competition. 

The Chiefs defense in 2009 was often inept.  My first question is does the system have anything to do with this. Switching from a 4-3 system to a 3-4 system is not as simple as removing a tackle and putting in another linebacker.  The Chiefs had DE’s transitioning to OLB and DT’s transitioning to DE.  All the while, having to learn a completely different system.  Not to mention, rookies and second year players that are still developing NFL level skills.  Green Bay also switched to a 3-4 system last year, started out very slow due to the transition to a 3-4 system. 

Looking at the Defensive line, I already know by the stats that we have problems.  We only had 1 sack all year from our starting interior 3.  One thing you have to keep in mind about a 3-4 system, is your down three are supposed to occupy blockers why LB’s make the play.  They do need to get penetration however.  Whether it is a pass or a run play.

DT/NT

Ron Edwards did not have a great year, but didn’t have a terrible year.  Edwards started 14 games and played in 16 games.  He had 24 solo tackles, which doesn’t seem like a lot. There has been a lot of talk from Chiefs fans that they would like to get Vincent Wilfolk to replace Edwards at the DT/NT position.  Wilfolk started 13 games (1 less than Edwards) and had 31 solo tackles and 0 sacks.  There is a moderate difference between the two.  If you compare them to the 2009 top ranked DT/NT Kelly Gregg, who plays for the Ravens.  Gregg had 46 solo tackles and 3 sacks. With Ron Edwards going into his 10^th year, he is not a player that the Chiefs are going to develop over the next couple of years.  The Chiefs are behind the game and need help here.

DE

Glenn Dorsey was the stand out of the group this year.  Dorsey had 41 solo tackles and the only sack from the starting interior line.  This puts him 4^th in the league among all 3-4 DE’s.  The # 1 3-4 DE, the Browns Robaire Smith had only 43 solo tackles and 1.5 sacks. 

Tyson Jackson started 14 games this year as a rookie.  Jackson had 27 solo tackles and ranks 1^st of all rookie DE’s. 

Wallace Gilberry did not have any starts, and limited playtime in 16 games.  Gilberry had 20 solo tackles and 4.5 sacks.  Played well when given his limited opportunities. 

Alex Magee started 1 game, and played in 16 games.  Magee had 6 solo tackles and 2 sacks.  Since the majority of his limited playtime was in passing situations, these are not terrible numbers. 

The Chiefs will look to Coach Crennel and the new DL coach, to develop these young players into a long-term anchor for their defense.

ILB

The Chiefs linebacker core, are also a relatively young group. The Chiefs had problems last year at the linebacker position.  Mostly because of youth and the change over from 4-3 to 3-4.  The linebackers did show signs of potential at different times throughout the year.  You will not see huge changes to the linebacker core during the off-season.

Demorrio Williams, a 6^th year player, turned in a solid year.  Williams had 95 solo tackles, which ties him for 8^th in the league among inside linebackers.  That’s pretty good since the two ILB’s that he is tied with, are the Ravens Ray Lewis, and the Redskins London Fletcher.  Williams also had 6 passes defended.  This shows he is a pretty well rounded linebacker. He is a good tackler, but has a tendency to overrun plays and get out of position on cutback runs. 

Derek Johnson a 5^th year player started only 3 games this year, but did play in 15 games.  Johnson had 30 solo tackles, 8 passes defended, 3 interceptions, 2 touchdowns and 1 forced fumble.  Johnson saw his duties limited mostly to passing downs.  He has proven himself to be a good cover linebacker, but had problems with tackling throughout the season.  From his interview after the Denver game, he commented that he and the coaching staff have had disagreements, but that was worked out.  Next year will be a new opportunity for Johnson. Coach Crennel will bring out the best in him.  If you are a Derek Johnson fan, you will enjoy next year.

Cory Mays a 4^th year player started 13 games but shared duty in all 16 games. Mays had 66 solo tackles.  One of the Chiefs promising young linebackers, he flows to the ball well, but is not as good in pass coverage as he needs to be.  The Chiefs will keep Mays and give him the opportunity to continue to develop.

Jovan Belcher a Rookie Free Agent. Belcher started 3 games and played in 16games.  He had 45 solo tackles. This placed him 5^th among all rookie linebackers, ahead of Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews, Larry English and Brian Orakpo. Because of this, the Chiefs will not be looking for an ILB early in the draft.  It is more likely that they will look to pick up another Rookie Free Agent.

OLB

Mike Vrable had 44 solo tackles and 2 sacks.  Vrable is still a good solid player.  Though he may have lost a step, he knows this system better than any other linebacker on the team.  He brings leadership, knowledge, and a lot of heart.  Vrable can help younger players pick up Coach Crennels system.

Tamba Hali a 4^th year player had a career best year.  Hali had 46 solo tackles, 8.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 1 safety.  He has steadily improved and is becoming one of the NFL’s notable pass rushers.  With continued development, he will have another career year.  Early in the season, he had problems being out of position.  This was due to learning a new system and the transition to OLB from DE.

Andy Studebaker a 2^nd year player showed great potential.  Studebaker started 2 games and played in 16.  He had 24 solo tackles, 5 passes defended, 2 interceptions 1 fumble recovery and 1 touchdown.  It would be a mistake to let this young talent go before giving him every opportunity to reach his full potential.

Since the OLB position in the Chiefs 3-4 is more similar to the DE position in a 4-3 system, I decided the comparison for this group should be a 4-3 DE.  Pro Bowler Jared Allen, my personal favorite ex Chief, had 43 solo tackles, 14.5 sacks, 1 safety, 1 interception, 5 forced fumbles, and 4 passes defended. 

The Chiefs have talent, but are still thin at OLB.  They may decide to retain the services of 13-year veteran Mike Vrable for another year. The Chiefs still need another good OLB to build depth, and to replace Vrable after next year.

CB

Brandon Flowers had a really good year.  Flowers started 15 games most of which he was battling a shoulder injury that required surgery when the season was over.  He had 58 solo tackles, 28 passes defended, 5 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  He ranks 4^th in passes defended among all CB’s in the league. To put this in perspective, he finished behind Darrelle Revis, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Leon Hall.  He finished just ahead of 5^th place Charles Woodson, the defensive player of the year.  Look for Flowers in the Pro Bowl next year.

Brandon Carr got picked on hard in the last game vs. Denver.  Carr started all 16 games.  He had 56 solo tackles, 20 passes defended, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble.  Carr ranked tied for 15^th among all CB’s. He has the skill and talent to stay with receivers.  Turning and locating the ball seems to be his biggest problem.  But he is a second year player.  It will be easier to teach him more technique than to find someone with his athletic skills and ability.  Cornerbacks play a long time in the NFL.  He will be back next year.

With Travis Daniels and Rookie Donald Washington, the Chiefs will not be looking for cornerbacks.

SS/FS

The Chiefs seemed to need 4 safeties last year, two for run support and two more covering deep.

Mike Brown did not have a good year.  That does not say that he didn’t play well.  He had 79 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 6 passes defended, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery.  This puts him ranked 6^th among all SS’s. The 5^th ranked SS was Bernard Pollard, with 81 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, 11 passes defended, 4 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble.  You may ask if he played so well, why did the Chiefs get burnt deep so many times?  Teams made him look bad.  When he would be pulled up to help stop the run, they would burn him deep.  When the Chiefs kept him back to stop the deep pass, they would gash the defense with the run.  Mike brown is a better player, with a better team.

Jarrad Page was on injured reserve most of the season. In 2008 he had 63 solo tackles, 16 passes defended, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.  That placed him 4^th in passes defended and 7^th in tackles.  To give comparison, in 2009 Darren sharper had 51 solo tackles, .5 sacks, 24 passes defended, and 9 interceptions.  Page will be a free agent this year.  With him being injured last year the Chiefs should be able to resign Page without breaking the bank.

Jon McGraw started 9 games this year and played in 14.  McGraw had a good season with 42 solo tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass defended and 1 fumble recovery.  McGraw is solid in special teams, and tackling, but doesn’t seem to have the speed to cover deep.  He makes a good dime back and with 20-30 lbs could be a good linebacker.

Although the Chiefs have some young talent at the safety position with DaJuan Morgan and Ricky Price, they are not in great shape at the safety position.  The Chiefs will be looking for help in this area during the off-season.

OVERVIEW

It seems the Chiefs utmost concerns on Defense are the NT, S, and OLB position. They are not desperate at any position. The Chiefs may bring in some Free Agents to fill some holes.  But with the new CBA looking less likely to be done before the 2010 season, there will be fewer quality Free Agents available.

With a year of experience in the 3-4 system and solid coaching from the Chiefs Defensive staff, the defense can become a top 10 defense in the 2010 season with minimal additions.