If You Ran The Chiefs: Glenn Dorsey And Tyson Jackson
Welcome back, Addicts, to week 2 of my NFL dead zone series “If You Ran The Chiefs.” If you missed last week when you let me know what you would do with Dwayne Bowe if you were in charge, check it out here.
This week it’s time for you to take a stand on what you would do long term with Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson if you ran the Chiefs. In case you didn’t read last week’s piece, let me give you the basics. Unlike other posts that I’ve done in the past, these posts aren’t about me trying to sell you on my way of thinking. It’s also not about predicting what the Chiefs will actually do. This is your chance to tell your fellow Chiefs fans what you would do if you had the chance.
Before we get to the different options that you can choose from for Dorsey and Jackson, let’s get an idea of just who they are as players. Once again we turn to the football gurus at Pro Football Focus. These are the guys that grade every player of every team on every single snap and then let us know how they did. I’ve actually got four different articles/studies that Pro Football Focus did that I’ll reference here. I highly recommend clicking on all four links and reading them all. They are:
Three Years of Pass Rushing Productivity: Interior D-Line
In this three-year study (2009-2011), PFF looks at the total number of passing snaps the players were in for and then the number of hits, hurries and sacks that they created on those snaps. They use that information to come up with their pass rush productivity number. So it’s not about who had the biggest totals but who did the most with the snaps that they had.
The Results:
Tyson Jackson was rated the second least productive pass rushing interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Glenn Dorsey was rated the sixth least productive pass rushing interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
These guys are just flat out horrible at getting to the QB. Period.
Three Years of Tackling Efficiency: Interior Rushers
This is another 3 year study (2009-2011) where PFF looks at how many tackles to missed tackles defensive linemen have to come up with their tackling efficiency rating. Again, it’s not about totals, but efficiency with the chances they had.
The Results:
Tyson Jackson was rated the 10th most efficient tackling interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Glenn Dorsey was rated the 15th most efficient tackling interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
With 32 teams in the NFL, one team having two DL rated in the top 15 is pretty impressive. Washington was the only other team to do so. So basically, when Dorsey and Jackson have a chance to make a tackle, they almost always do.
2011 Run Stop Percentage: 3-4 Defensive Ends
In this study over just the 2011 season PFF looked only at 3-4 DEs and the number of run snaps that they were in for and how many stops they made on those snaps. Then they simply ranked the players based on the highest percentage of stops per snaps.
The Results:
Tyson Jackson was the #1 3-4 DE in the NFL in both total run stops and run stop percentage.
Glenn Dorsey was ranked #2 in total run stops and #6 in run stop percentage.
So not only did Jackson and Dorsey make more stops than any other 3-4 DEs, but their percentage of stops per run snaps were also at the top of the list.
When you combine these last two studies what it tells you is that Dorsey and Jackson are two of the most effective run stoppers in all the NFL.
Secret Superstar: Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey, DEs, Kansas City Chiefs
Finally, this article is from a series at PFF where they identified a player (or players) from each team that were “secret superstars” in that they were great at what they do, but not many people notice. Here is a direct quote from the article.
"It’s not often you’ll get somebody trying to tell you that a pair of Top 5 draft picks are a secret, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do in this article. Most people, and even some Chiefs fans, will tell you that both Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey have been colossal failures. They have been, at best, mediocre players when nothing less than studs would have been acceptable for such a huge outlay in the draft, but the truth is a little more complex than that.When most teams look to the defensive line at the top of the draft, they’re searching for impact pass rushers; guys that can rack-up sacks and bring the heat on opposing quarterbacks. The Chiefs’ defensive scheme isn’t quite like that, and what they want from their linemen is stout play against the run. They’ve found exactly that from these two players, but people are so fixated on their failures in terms of pass rushing that nobody seems to have noticed."
I think that quote sums up Dorsey and Jackson perfectly. They are horrible at rushing the passer. They are great at stopping the run. The debate comes when the discussion shifts to which of the two is more important. Some argue that it’s a passing league, so pass rushing is the most important. Others argue that in the KC scheme, it’s all about stopping the run. So what should KC do with these two? Dorsey is set to become a free agent at the end of this coming season and even though Jackson has one more year left on his contract after this season, his salary for 2013 is so huge that something will have to be done before that. So basically the Chiefs must decide the fate of both of their starting 3-4 DEs in the next calendar year.
Now it’s time for you to tell everyone what you would do with these two if you ran the Chiefs.
Here are the options as I see them.
1. Pay whatever it takes to re-sign both Dorsey and Jackson long term. They are worth every penny even if they never get to the QB.
2. Re-sign both of these players but only if they will sign contracts that are team friendly. Pass rushers get the big dollars, run stoppers don’t.
3. Re-sign Jackson, but not Dorsey. Jackson is younger and had the better season last year. Dorsey is a better fit as a 4-3 DT.
4. Re-sign Dorsey, but not Jackson. Dorsey has been more consistent than Jackson. Plus, I have never gotten over the frustration of the Chiefs taking Jackson at #3 overall and would like to move on.
5. Get rid of both Dorsey and Jackson and get a couple of 3-4 DEs that can get some pressure on the QB. It’s a passing league now and run stopping is over-rated.
Okay, Addicts, now it’s up to you. What would you do with these two if you ran the Chiefs? Post your answer in the comments below. Don’t feel like you have to go with one of these five choices either. If you have an original idea, that’s even better. I look forward to seeing what Chiefs Nation thinks we should do with these two former top 5 picks.
Come back next week for the third and final piece of the series where you’ll tell everyone exactly what you would do at the QB position if you ran the Chiefs.
As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!