Yes, Hitchens is hesitant, gets sucked inside and eaten up by a block. Yes, Sorensen's tackle attempt is weak.
But what is Houston doing on this snap? Blocked by a WR, then sheds the tackle...and stops. Why is there this effort level in such a crucial spot on the field? pic.twitter.com/UXpIef4p7n
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
I think there's a lot of mischaracterization in this thread.
I don't think if you fired Sutton and just hired another guy and kept everything the same it would suddenly be a great defense.
that being said, I also don't think that 3 #1 pics, at least 4 #2 picks and a Pro bowler in Houston would indicate that they are in terrible shape talent-wise. That's not bottom feeder talent level.
Sutton has a secondary with veterans that have no idea how to line up, linebackers that don't know what their gap responsibilities are and don't attack the line of scrimmage, an entire team that doesn't tackle for shit, and veteran FA's that looked very different just last season in different systems looking lost and useless.
I'm sorry, but that indicates A) the defensive staff are poor teachers of the scheme B) have let slip all fundamentals C) have not established accountability in their players, as the same mistakes happen every week, and D)they play with no fire, other than a few individuals. That's a culture problem. There's no swarming to the ball, attacking of ball carriers. The whole backfield ILB's and DB's all play on their heels. Look at their coordinator. Look at his posture. Look at his demeanor. He's their leader. They act just like he does. Defeated. At the very least, they don't believe in what he's trying to do, so it's time to go. A lot of playing tough defense is intensity, and WANT TO. This defense does not play with it.
Last week was the first time guys were benched for shit play, and I would argue that Reid did that. I think it's pretty clear by his post-game comments. At least the HEAD coach is demanding some accountability, at least behind closed doors.
yes, we have some talent deficiencies. I'm also not sure we can even know where those are, because it appears that the coaching is just THAT bad. Hitchens does NOT look like the same guy. Watch some clips of him last season.
We need scheme changes. We need better coaching. We need an influx of talent. We need all of that, I don't think anyone would argue different.
But this idea that NFL players are finished products when they get to the league and don't need to work on fundamentals is horseshit. Otherwise, why not just play rookies at every position? Why do players improve from year to year? Why is Tyreek Hill a better route runner than he was two years ago? Why is Chris Jones a better player than his rookie season? I mean, come on. That's silly.
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
Who can blame him? Andy Reid is more interested in covering for his dinosaur of a DC. The players? Throw those assholes under the bus.
Who can blame a player for not being professional? I think anybody could. You are getting paid to play. You ideally also care about winning. Even if your coach sucks it's not an excuse to not play. [Reply]
Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan:
Who can blame a player for not being professional? I think anybody could. You are getting paid to play. You ideally also care about winning. Even if your coach sucks it's not an excuse to not play.
Dude has checked out. Squeeze what little worth you cam out of him then cut him with a post June 1st designation. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Two games ago berry looked frustrated as hell moving players in and out of position. Not even just frustrated. Almost angry. Last game... His eyes had no intensity. His comments about spirit were cryptic. I don't see berry as a guy who would ever lose his heart. He looks like a leader who knows his general is leading his troops into slaughter. Hot take but berry looks and sounds completely defeated.
In a defense that's defeated, it's hard to find a lot of brimming pride, and pride is about all they have left to incentivize themselves. With Berry being rich beyond belief, knowing he's at the end of his career (prolly this year) so no new contract/team, especially for him there is no incentive.
I never bought into the whole, "it's killing him to not be out there" BS. I might have if he actually showed some emotion about it, but his silence suggested to me that it was bullshit. Then came all the unrecorded workouts that would "kill most players", but those workouts couldn't, somehow, translate to being on the field. Yeah, everything surrounding Berry a hot mess, things just don't make sense.
Now, if the team comes out next week and kills it in week 17 of the RS, then two weeks after in the divisional round, then the week after that in the conference round, then two week after that in the SB, all will be forgiven and I'll say I'm sorry. [Reply]
Justin Houston is sandbagging too. This is pretty concerning.
Yes, Hitchens is hesitant, gets sucked inside and eaten up by a block. Yes, Sorensen's tackle attempt is weak.
But what is Houston doing on this snap? Blocked by a WR, then sheds the tackle...and stops. Why is there this effort level in such a crucial spot on the field? pic.twitter.com/UXpIef4p7n
If your top players are sandbagging? Your coach needs to be fired. Those guys are supposed to set the tone for the lessers and the n00bs. If they aren't doing that, then they aren't being driven and held to a standard.
That shit will NOT fly, and is completely unacceptable. And THIS is the reason that fans are continually bagging on guys like Houston and Berry. Those two were paid to be premium players, producers, and leaders of this crew. I just hope this disease that Sutton has infected everyone with can be cured, or the alternative is to remove it altogether and find players who want to play, win, and lead. [Reply]
This is how bad the Chiefs defense was and yes despite the first sentence you can blame Bob.
Originally Posted by :
Here, Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton can’t be blamed. The Chiefs have outside linebacker Justin Houston spy rather than rushing to ensure that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t chew them up on the ground (which they should have done the entire game, but we’ll discuss that later). The Chiefs cover well deep and get pressure, forcing Wilson to check down. This should force a punt and give the Chiefs a chance to seize the lead.
Instead, what follows is a comedy of errors in the least funny sense. Rookie corner Tremon Smith, who saw his first significant snaps Sunday, whiffs in space. Rather than maintaining awareness of the down-and-distance situation, which called for squaring up and letting help arrive, Smith dives at the ankles of the receiver and misses. Inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens is still in position to make a tackle well short of the first-down marker. However, the man who didn’t miss a single tackle with Dallas last season — true story, that’s Hitchens — can’t bring down a receiver despite getting two hands on him. By the time cornerback Steven Nelson arrives, he’s in a badly leveraged situation and the receiver is able to dive forward for the first down.
This play sums up the problems the Chiefs had with basic defensive execution Sunday night, and it’s no exaggeration to say that it cost them the game. Using my own charting, the Chiefs missed 13 tackles on nine different plays Sunday night. Those misses cost them 90 yards, a touchdown and six first downs.
It was the “unearned” first downs that destroyed the Chiefs on Sunday. Twice the Chiefs missed tackles on third down (including the above play) that allowed Seattle drives to continue. On several other occasions, missed tackles were the difference between a play being stopped at or near the line of scrimmage and a gain of 15-plus yards. Had the Chiefs missed even half as many tackles, the Seahawks likely score at least 10 fewer points. While it’s impossible to know the butterfly effect of such things, in a game that came down to the wire, poor execution was one of the differences.