Another great article from Seth Keysor at 'The Athletic'...
Darwin Thompson film review: Rookie back is ready to contribute, and at just the right time
https://theathletic.com/1424604/2019...st-right-time/
The Kansas City Chiefs have struggled to seize control of games this season.
Despite having one of the best offenses in the league and a surprisingly competent defense, the Chiefs have not been able to consistently put games out of reach. The issue hasn’t been exclusive to one side of the ball. In some games, such as their loss to the Colts and their win over the Chargers, the offense couldn’t take advantage of repeated chances to extend leads. In others (the loss to the Texans and win over the Lions), the defense hasn’t been able to hold the line and prevent teams from coming back. In some cases, it has simply been due to bad luck or freakish plays.
With 14:56 remaining in the fourth quarter and a commanding lead against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon, the Chiefs found themselves in position to salt away a victory. They did just that with a 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted 14 plays and took a whopping 9:32 off the clock. That drive featured several third-down conversions and a Raiders penalty, but the star was rookie running back Darwin Thompson.
Thompson was excellent in training camp and all preseason, leading many, including myself, to wonder if he would find a prominent role in the offense.
However, Thompson has barely played in the regular season after the Chiefs signed LeSean McCoy in free agency and with the other spots filled by Damien and Darrel Williams. His first true opportunity came Sunday with Damien Williams out, Darrel Williams getting nicked up and Reid resting McCoy down the stretch. Thompson seized it, running the ball 11 times for 44 yards on the final drive despite facing a Raiders defense that knew the run was coming and had held the Chiefs’ running game in check all day.
Thompson was able to succeed against a defensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage in large part thanks to his patience and burst.
The line isn’t able to create any lanes for Thompson to run through immediately here. Thompson strings the play out by moving horizontally and waits for a spot to open up. When it does, he shoots through it and picks up 5 yards quickly.
The Chiefs’ run game is generally predicated on a runner’s ability to identify whether to move outside or find a cutback lane to take advantage of. Those lanes have been closing quickly this season, partly due to injuries along the offensive line and partly due to the Chiefs missing center Mitch Morse. Thompson was able to find them and exploit them Sunday in a way other runners haven’t.
On this 2nd-and-7, the Raiders do a good job blowing up the right side of the offensive line. They also keep a linebacker and a safety on the other side to contain the edge. Tight end Blake Bell makes an excellent block on the linebacker, but Thompson makes the run work by keeping his hips turned outside until the last moment. This forces the safety to respect the edge and leaves an inside lane open. Thompson plants and drives forward for a first down.
The safety must respect the edge on this play because Thompson has the ability to get there quickly and turn the corner.
On another play in which the blocking was less than stellar, Thompson is fast enough to get to the edge and shows off contact balance that allows him to maintain his speed and trajectory through a hit. His ability to then leap over an incoming tackler is the most spectacular part of the play, but it doesn’t happen if Thompson can’t make it to that point.
Being able to succeed independent of the blocking is a crucial skill for a running back and one of the few areas they can move the needle on offense. Thompson did so multiple times Sunday to help keep the drive moving.
Here, the Chiefs are executing a handoff that took some time to develop, but the Raiders have an unblocked defender screaming into the backfield. Center Austin Reiter is also shoved backward quickly by Johnathan Hankins, who consistently blew up the interior line and ruined runs throughout the game. Thompson sees the unblocked defender as he gets the ball and quickly cuts back the other direction, which allows him to change the angle of the tackle and shake it off. He then moves up the field quickly enough to gain positive yardage before being brought down on a play that looked dead in the water.
Thompson also showed the ability to follow his offensive line when the blocking was there. “Getting skinny” through the hole is a term used to describe runners who are able to move through small cracks in the defense and still maintain speed. It requires good feet and decisiveness.
On his touchdown to finish the drive, Thompson doesn’t have much of a lane to run through. Left guard Andrew Wylie helps double-team the edge defender, but there’s a linebacker filling the gap, so Thompson must quickly move outside one gap over. The lane is narrow, but it’s there as Thompson covers the ball with both hands and starts churning his legs through the contact. He keeps the play alive long enough for Wylie to assist him into the end zone.
Wylie talked about this play after the game with The Athletic’s Nate Taylor.
“So that’s nothing new to me,” Wylie said about helping his running back score. “I pulled around and there was some color on the inside with a white jersey, so I hit that and (Thompson) skinnied through. He kept his feet moving, so I grabbed on and drove him in the end zone. He’s a strong kid and he kept his feet moving the whole time.”
Wylie was effusive in his praise of Thompson as a player.
“That dude is a blast to watch,” said Wylie. “His work ethic, every single week, and just the way he works, he’s been doing this since (training) camp. He’s a super fun player to watch, and I’m so happy for that guy.”
Thompson has had plenty of time to learn the offense over the first 12 weeks of the season. When asked about working within the framework of the offense, his answer was illuminating for a running back.
“It was just be me,” Thompson said. “I was getting tired, but I was just running off of reaction. You know the reads. You know how to run the ball. You’ve been doing it all your life. Don’t do too much and don’t try to be a superhero. Just play your game.”
A primary concern for Thompson this season has been learning to pass-block at the pro level. At 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds (though he looks lighter), Thompson is small for the position and struggled at times with blitz protections during training camp. However, he’s willing and didn’t stand out in that area despite 34 snaps in the game. He also learned from a questionable holding penalty in which his hand placement gave the official a reason to throw the flag. Thompson was asked to make the same block late in the game and adjusted his hands to leave no doubt. Watch his right arm from the first clip to the second.
The blocks are eerily similar, but Thompson keeps his arm inside on the second block in order to prevent even the appearance of a trip/hold.
The one area of concern for Thompson that could prevent him from becoming a full-time back is that despite his strength and balance through contact, defenders are at times able to stop him in his tracks due to his size.
Several times over the course of his carries Thompson was halted by a single defender. While he’ll fight for yardage and usually falls forward if hit from the side, he’s not always able to force his way to extra yardage when directly taking on a defender. Even arm tackles can occasionally stop him if it’s a defensive lineman.
Thompson’s work against the Raiders is easy to dismiss given the game situation, but the reality is the Raiders’ defensive line had dominated the Chiefs’ running game all day before Thompson began to get carries. Oakland shut down Kansas City’s rushing attack earlier this season as well. They knew the run was coming and still weren’t able to consistently stop it when Thompson carried the ball.
The Chiefs haven’t run the ball as effectively this season as they did in years past, ranked 20th in the league in rushing DVOA prior to the Raiders game. Thompson’s decisiveness and burst is a good fit for the inside/outside zone the Chiefs like to run, and he could be a solution to the Chiefs’ struggles in close games. With both Darrel and Damien Williams potentially out against the Patriots, he’ll likely get a chance to show Sunday’s performance was not a fluke. From what he told The Athletic after the game, Thompson seems ready to get his shot.
“This is the first of many,” Thompson said. “I had the veterans behind me cheering me on. I know I had to seal the deal and close the game.”
Seth Keysor is The Athletic's resident Kansas City Chiefs film analyst. He previously covered the Chiefs at SB Nation for more than seven years. Seth is also an attorney and pastor in Minnesota. Follow Seth on Twitter @RealMNchiefsfan.
https://theathletic.com/1424604/2019...st-right-time/
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