Will The Kansas City Chiefs Defense Feature The “Poe/Powe Brothers”?

The Kansas City Chiefs cleaned house this offseason. They have a new GM, a new head coach, new coordinators with new schemes on both sides of the ball, a new starting QB, etc. Whenever a team has that type of turnover, no player who was part of the old regime is safe. The Kansas City Chiefs have already parted ways with several players that old GM Scott Pioli brought to town. Former starting QB Matt Cassel was shown the door, as were other key players like Eric Winston and Javier Arenas. Once training camp comes and goes and the roster cuts begin, its very likely that KC fans will see other players from the old regime sent packing. Up until recently, I thought there was a good chance that Jerrell Powe might be one of those players.

Most Chiefs fans love Jerrell Powe. I’ll admit, I’m among them. What’s not to like? On a team that was desperate for a NT, he was a proven player from the SEC with the prototypical size/strength for the position. You add to that the personal story of perseverance that Powe has (he suffers from dyslexia and was deemed ineligible 3 straight years before finally becoming eligible for Ole Miss) and it’s almost impossible not to pull for the guy.

However, none of that changes the fact that Powe is a 6th round draft pick by the old regime that has only been active in 10 games over his first two seasons and recorded a whopping 6 career tackles. The selection of Dontari Poe at #11 overall pushed Jerrell down the depth chart and thus far he hasn’t been able to beat out Anthony Toribio either. Despite his status as a fan favorite, players with that resume shouldn’t exactly feel safe with their place on the roster, especially with a new regime in town. You add to that the fact that Powe is seen as more of a typical 3-4 run stuffing NT and the Chiefs are now going to be running more of an attacking style defense under defensive coordinator Bob Sutton and things look even less certain for Powe in KC.

However, on Sunday Chiefs Insider Reid Ferrin posted a piece on kcchiefs.com titled “Chiefs Defense “Buying Into” New System”. I almost didn’t read it. I figured it would just use some of the same quotes we’ve already heard from KC players saying that they’re really excited about the new “attacking” system and maybe some quotes from Sutton saying he’s happy with their progress so far. Some of that was in there, but to my pleasant surprise the middle section of the piece focused on the “Poe/Powe Brothers”.

It started with a quote from Sutton:

"The entire d-line, the Powe/Poe brothers (Jerrell and Dontari), both of them, Powe and Poe, they’ve both done a good job"

It didn’t stop there. It also included some quotes from other defensive linemen:

"The strong play of Chiefs DL Jerrell Powe and Chiefs NT Dontari Poe isn’t solely being recognized by the team’s coaches.“The Powe/Poe brothers,” Chiefs DT Daniel Muir said. “Both of them are extremely powerful; Dontari is a little bit quicker, but they’ll both be great against the run. Great, great defensive tackles against the run.”Fellow Chiefs DL Marcus Dixon also spoke to what the Powe/Poe brothers bring to the defensive line.“The Powe/Poe brothers mean a lot to this defense because they’re both very big and athletic,” Dixon said. “They’re definitely going to stop the run and also get to the quarterback.”"

Ferrin then asked each of the “Poe/Powe Brothers” what they thought about what their coach and teammates said about them. Dontari responded:

"“It’s good,” Poe said. “We’re both kind of young guys, but we both have a big part in the defense; so, we’re both ready to step in and do what we have to do for this “D”. I like it.”"

Then Jerrell added:

"“It makes me feel good,” Powe said. “Me and DP talked about it, kind of being similar as the Williams brothers, who played for the Minnesota Vikings; just trying to take on that role as being the dominant force up front, so, I think it’s cool, coach called us brothers.”"

In my opinion this is very good news for any KC fans that were hoping to see Jerrell Powe have an increased role in the Chiefs defense. Despite blogs like this one being full of comments about how the “Poe/Powe Brothers” will anchor the middle of the defense, this is the first time we’ve seen anything from the Chiefs that Jerrell may be in their long term plans. The fact that the new coordinator is not only complimenting the two of them, but referring to them as a pair is a good sign. The fact that some of the new players like Muir and Dixon who may be in competition with Powe for a roster spot are talking about his role in the defense is also a good sign. Dontari’s quote about them both “having a big part in the defense” really stood out to me.

I don’t know if KC’s “Poe/Powe Brothers” will ever perform on the field like the Vikings “Williams Brothers” (Pat and Kevin) that Jerrell Powe listed as role models. However, we at least now have confirmation from the team that both Poe/Powe(s) seem to be in their plans for this season. For fans that have been screaming for that to happen since both of these guys came to town that has to be good news. I know I’m pulling for both of them. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!