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Nzoner's Game Room>Fixing KC Chiefs’ defense can start with playing Juan Thornhill over Daniel Sorensen
Hammock Parties 08:48 AM 10-15-2021
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https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...255010742.html

Originally Posted by :
Daniel Sorensen should be remembered as an important part of the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. He can be part of another winning team. Thus concludes this column’s run of nice words about Daniel Sorensen.

He should no longer be a starting safety for the Chiefs, starting with Sunday’s game at Washington. His deficiencies are not just outweighing his positive impact, but he has by now crossed that awful threshold from yeah-but-there-are-other-problems to holy-smokes-this-is-just-unsustainable. It’s time for Juan Thornhill to start, and for him to get the 98% of snaps that have so far been Sorensen’s.

“Overall we haven’t been good,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “That’s a true statement. That’s reality. To focus on one person I don’t think is fair. Did Dan struggle a little bit last week? Yeah.”

Spagnuolo is being gracious. Sorensen is Pro Football Focus’ third-lowest graded safety, earning the lowest tackling grade and fourth-lowest coverage grade among 61 safeties with at least 50% of their team’s snaps.

But we don’t need PFF’s numbers here. Sorensen has played poorly in all five games this season and was yell-out-loud terrible against the Bills. He repeatedly misses tackles and had two snaps where he was the primary coverage defender on passes that went for a combined 114 yards.

You might remember these as the plays where fellow safety Tyrann Mathieu threw his hands in the air in exasperation, and in the post-game press conference left no doubt what he was feeling.

“I felt like we were in a fairly decent coverage, so you don’t expect anybody to be wide open,” Mathieu said when asked about his hands-in-air pose. “I do that on good plays, as well. But, yeah. Kind of embarrassing.”

Mathieu is a good person to bring into this, actually. He is the heartbeat of the Chiefs’ defense, and has been since arriving as a free agent before the 2019 Super Bowl season. He hasn’t been great so far this season, either — nobody on defense has, really — but it’s hard to think of a solution to the Chiefs’ problems on defense that doesn’t involve Mathieu.

This is a little bit of speculation, but the situation is further complicated by Mathieu’s contract situation. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has been clear that the team wants to sign Mathieu long-term, and Mathieu has said he’d like to stay.

The Chiefs can’t want these frustrations to change that dynamic, either by raising the price of an extension or by tempting Mathieu to look around. If Mathieu is saying these things out loud, then we can only imagine what he and others are saying and feeling in private.

This part is not speculation: Mathieu’s frustrations are a symptom of what everyone else in the locker room is seeing. Successful football teams are built largely on effort and cohesion, and nothing can torpedo morale more effectively than the feeling that a group isn’t all-in together. If 10 guys feel like they’re doing their job on a snap ruined by one man’s failure, well, that’s when guys start checking out.

This past week, leading up to the Washington game, happened to be one of those weeks in which the Chiefs made some of their assistant coaches available to media, including defensive backs coach Dave Merritt. He was asked about the primary problem in the secondary and referenced eye discipline three times in his answer. Then he was asked what he meant by that.

“If I’m looking at you and I’m supposed to be watching you, I gotta watch you,” Merritt said. “I can’t all of a sudden go watch someone else. So whether you’re coaching pop Warner, little league, your kids in basketball, if that’s your man, you teach your kids to cover that guy. “You don’t turn around and just start looking somewhere else: ‘Oh, there’s a bird, oh there’s a butterfly.’ No, you cover your guy. That’s what I mean.”

It was hard to hear that and not think about the long pass last Sunday to Bills tight end Dawson Knox. Sorensen was in good position on the play until he started looking back at the quarterback and lost track of his man.

The Chiefs have passed the point where they can still play Sorensen over Thornhill and retain credibility. And look, the problems are not all Sorensen’s fault. He’s doing the best he can. He is what he is — 31 years old, a regular starter for just the third time in eight years. A veteran with fading athleticism being regularly exposed by opponents who are increasingly thirsty over what they see on tape.

I want to be clear about something here. I’m not sure I’ve ever written a column calling for one player to rise above another on the depth chart. Not because I’ve never had my opinions, but because those opinions are outweighed by the fundamental truth that the coaches want to win and have vastly more information than sportswriters or fans.

And there must be some reason that Sorensen has been playing over Thornhill. Maybe there’s a confidence issue related to coming back from an ACL tear late in the 2019 season. Maybe it’s because he couldn’t take part in OTAs, and/or because he experienced a minor injury setback in the preseason. Maybe it’s something else that we have no way of seeing.

But the time has come. As a rookie, Thornhill and Tyrann Mathieu formed one of the league’s best safety pairings until Thornhill’s injury. At his best, Thornhill has the classic center-field range of a free safety, the speed to run with fast receivers and a skill-set that complements Mathieu’s.

At this point, if he’s not better than what we’ve seen from Sorensen, the Chiefs have even bigger problems than we thought.

[Reply]
Coogs 08:54 AM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Nickhead:


absolutely disgraceful of hitchens!
Originally Posted by oldman:
Benching Sorenson for Thornhill will not fix this D. Benching Hitchens for (name LB of the week) will not fix this D. Moving Jones back inside will not fix this D. I'm all for playing Dirty Dan as a nickel safety/LB, but not 100% of the snaps but is Thornhill ready? Would a new extension for HB make him a happy camper? I wonder how a slimmed down Jones would do on the inside. Is the duo of Bolton and Gay ready to take on the NFL? I can't answer any of those questions but somethings have to change or we have no chance for a playoff spot, much less a SB run.
Have you seen this video and watched the Hitchen's play? It's worth your time too watch.
[Reply]
oldman 09:03 AM 10-16-2021
My point was Hitchens isn't the only problem.
[Reply]
Coogs 09:16 AM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by oldman:
My point was Hitchens isn't the only problem.
I knew that. This video and analysis of a play goes a long way to explaining some things. No receiver on Hitchens side, yet he bails out... while seeing the pass being made to the back right in front of him.

Sorensen abandoing coverage responsibilities on TD pass to come up in run support when guys were in position to defend the run.

No pass rush.

Problems are multiple.

Watch this video breakdown by Simm's. It is damning of many issues.
[Reply]
Hammock Parties 09:18 AM 10-16-2021
Jesus Christ.

One thing about the Sorensen/Thornhill dynamic that is so puzzling...Thornhill has played 142 snaps and only has given up one completion in three targets, with one missed tackle.

Sorensen though, with these numbers, has been on the field for 325 snaps.

Even Thornhill's mediocre 2020 season puts Dan to shame.

In 2021, Sorensen has already allowed more TDs and has more missed tackles than Thornhill had all of last season.




[Reply]
seamonster 10:25 AM 10-16-2021
Sunday's a litmus test for Sorensen. Henike has excellent anticipation and makes throws but his #1 is out. So it's up to some rookies and practice squad players to run Scot Turners scheme. If Sorenson can't disrupt plays or get's burned by these receivers he should be outright cut.
[Reply]
Chiefspants 10:36 AM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
Jesus Christ.

One thing about the Sorensen/Thornhill dynamic that is so puzzling...Thornhill has played 142 snaps and only has given up one completion in three targets, with one missed tackle.

Sorensen though, with these numbers, has been on the field for 325 snaps.

Even Thornhill's mediocre 2020 season puts Dan to shame.

In 2021, Sorensen has already allowed more TDs and has more missed tackles than Thornhill had all of last season.



If Spags was trying to prove a point by putting Thornhill in the doghouse ala Todd Haley that's something that needs to be addressed in the offseason. A good Thornhill on the field could have absolutely changed the outcome of the Ravens and Chargers games.
[Reply]
Hammock Parties 12:16 PM 10-16-2021
I’ve been told Thornhill will start tomorrow. They are switching roles.
[Reply]
T-post Tom 12:17 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
I’ve been told Thornhill will start tomorrow. They are switching roles.
Heard that on 610 yesterday. Hope it’s true.
[Reply]
Grit for Brains 12:57 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
I’ve been told Thornhill will start tomorrow. They are switching roles.
Sweet. Now what about the non existent pass rush?
[Reply]
Chiefspants 12:57 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Grit for Brains:
Sweet. Now what about the non existent pass rush?
Gotta start somewhere.
[Reply]
LongSufferingToady 01:27 PM 10-16-2021
Sorenson's play has been abysmal. But no one player is going to fix the Chief's defense. It's awful in every aspect of their play.
[Reply]
Chiefspants 01:30 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by LongSufferingToady:
Sorenson's play has been abysmal. But no one player is going to fix the Chief's defense. It's awful in every aspect of their play.
Gotta start somewhere. One player doesn't feel like much, but Mike Pennel sure made a difference in the 2019 squad.
[Reply]
Pasta Little Brioni 01:32 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by LongSufferingToady:
Sorenson's play has been abysmal. But no one player is going to fix the Chief's defense. It's awful in every aspect of their play.
No but it can certainly help. We need just need 1 TD drive stopped a game and if he helps make a play to get the defense off the field there you go
[Reply]
Hammock Parties 01:46 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Grit for Brains:
Sweet. Now what about the non existent pass rush?
Not facing elite QBs and OLs will help. Gotta get Jones back.
[Reply]
dlphg9 03:28 PM 10-16-2021
Originally Posted by Marcellus:
Serious question. Where you not thinking the defense wasn’t going to be better this off season?
Let me ask you this question. Have you ever said or insinuated that we shouldn't question the coaching staff about which players are playing over others?

Because the coaches thought the moves would improve this defense and Tex was just going along with them. He now has the right to question why did they not actually improve the D.

I'd say Veach was infatuated with overpaying again for a guy (Trent Williams) and spent all his time trying to get him.
[Reply]
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