Saturday, September 22, 2012

Nickel and Dime - A Defensive Nightmare


Stop me if you've heard this one: through two games of the 2012 season, the Chiefs have never had the lead or forced a turnover... but they have surrendered 75 points, good for worst in the NFL.

Rather than fully expand on why the defense has been playing so poorly, I'll direct you to a great post by @kalophoenix that can be found on Arrowhead Pride.

A basic summation of issues: the Chiefs don't have a nickel package... nickel meaning five defensive backs. This is the typical counter to an offense going with three wide receivers, but instead we've been using a dime (six defensive backs) each time we're faced with covering three wideouts.

Think about it this way: our base package has three defensive linemen, four linebackers and four defensive backs - hence being labeled a 3-4. Romeo has shown a tendency to go with a 2-4-5 alignment when faced with covering three receivers, meaning you lose a defensive lineman and bring on your nickel corner. Herein lies the problem... we don't have the personnel to run Romeo's preferred nickel package.

Derrick Johnson is the only linebacker on the team that has consistently shown he is an above-average player in coverage, especially in the middle of the field. What's the solution? Eric Berry is being lined-up considerably closer to the line of scrimmage, essentially playing as a coverage linebacker.

In case you weren't aware, Eric Berry is not a linebacker. Like... not even close.

Due to a lack of talent in the front seven, we're consistently moving our best defensive back into the box, thereby eliminating most of his playmaking ability. Berry is an elite run defender when lined-up 15 yards off the line of scrimmage, free from being washed-out by men (nearly) twice his size. Its checkers, guys... there's a reason he's a Safety. He is granted the liberty to read, react and above all "play in space" back there. Sure, he can come-up and run support and plays excellent man-coverage against running backs and tight ends on occasion. But, But, But...

You can't just put the guy right at the line 75% of the time and expect him to play at the elite level we've been told to expect.

Meanwhile, we remove all three of our starting defensive linemen - who also happen to be the heart and soul of our run defense - from the field every time we abandon the base package. Chan Gailey knew this. You can bet your ass Drew Brees will too. Clearly the injury to Kendrick Lewis compounds the issue, leaving Abe Elam and Travis Daniels at the back of the defense.

That's not a good look, fellas.

Bear with me for a moment as we rewind to late April, when local draft evaluators like @jinxallessio, @bkissel7, @jason_madson and myself were talking almost exclusively about improving the sub-package play. While some of my personal opinions may have been in the minority, hindsight has shown that (in some aspects) I owe quite a few of you one hell of an "I told you so".

Dontari Poe has shown some promise, but I don't think we'd have seen any fewer flashes from Jerrell had he been given the snaps. Aside from that, none of our other picks are even seeing the field.

Do you see what happens, Scott? DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS?!

Let's not dwell on the mistakes of the past - for now, let's worry about Sunday.

Oh shit... Sunday. The Saints. In New Orleans. This is gonna get ugly.

Drew Brees and co. love going three-wide. It’s what they do. If Romeo follows suit with that dreadful "not a nickel" package, there's no question we're going to get roasted. On paper, we're due to get 60-balled tomorrow. Idaho State feels sorry for what the Chiefs are facing.

That being said... when all hope is lost, it’s time to bet on the Chiefs.

The only possible results tomorrow are losing by three scores or more, or winning by a very slim margin. Really, I don't like our chances at all... but I kind of like our chances. You follow?

Long story short: we're 1/8 of the way through the season - which, in the grand scheme of things isn't very much at all - and not a single player to date has shown much fire, passion or resolve. There are many things plaguing the Chiefs that should be obvious tomorrow morning, but none more so than our total lack of vocal leadership both on and off the field.

Here's to hoping that injuries, "communication" and all the other lame-ass excuses we've heard are the least of our worries when the dust clears in the Big Easy.

Oh wait... you wanted an official prediction?


Chiefs 17 - Saints 38 - Ryan 0 (surprise the team looks so bad right now)



Follow me on twitter @ryanscotthall

No comments:

Post a Comment