Kansas City Chiefs: Monday Morning (Armchair) Quarterback
Author’s Note:
Some weeks when I sit down to write this weekly blog post I have a well crafted and well researched main idea that I want to focus on. Then there are weeks where I use this post to purge my brain of all the Chiefs related thoughts that are bouncing around in there. This is one of those weeks. As someone who grew up admiring the writing of Peter King (say what you will about his bias towards the league, the guy can write) I basically use these weeks to “play King” and thus I present you with a Kansas City Chiefs version of the Monday Morning (Armchair) Quarterback.
When the Chiefs took the field on Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks in their second preseason game of the season I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was once again ecstatic just to see the Chiefs in action, but on the other hand, I was a little nervous about how the game would play out. That was largely because the Chiefs were going up against one of the premier defenses in all of football with a starting offensive line that was essentially being held together with duct tape and Canadian medical students. The week before, KC’s first string had been slightly outplayed by the Arizona Cardinals but the Chiefs second and third string players dominated and lead them on to victory. With Seattle possessing a deeper roster would the Chiefs be able to keep pace even with the game being in the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium?
The answer was yes. While it wasn’t always pretty the starters and reserves held their own and the Chiefs walked away with their second preseason win over a team that won double digit games and made the playoffs last season.
Here are my defensive game notes from Friday:
* Perhaps the most exciting thing I have seen this preseason is how evident it is that Derrick Johnson is 100% back from his torn achilles. I commented on this last week as well, but there were two more plays this week that drove this point home. On one play DJ not only filled the gap, but accelerated into it to bring the ball carrier down in the backfield. On another, he showed great sideline to sideline speed/range as he brought another ball carrier down at the far sideline. If DJ had played like a typical aging linebacker coming off of an achilles injury the guy could have easily turned the corner and picked up big yards. Having DJ back to Pro Bowl form will be a HUGE boost to the 2015 defense.
* Allen Bailey and Mike Catapano are studs. These two are so physically impressive that I actually feel sorry for offensive lines that have to deal with them. If you add a healthy Dontari Poe to the mix along with Mike DeVito and Jaye Howard the Chiefs can roll five deep with legit NFL starting caliber talent on their defensive line. I was especially happy to see Catapano play so well after missing all of last season and having to sit out last week as well. While the Chiefs need a healthy Dontari Poe to be at their absolute best, the defensive line is in good hands while he is out with Bailey, Howard, DeVito, and Catapano all contributing.
* Two of KC’s young corners made great pass break ups while playing with the starting defense Friday. Phillip Gaines made a great play while lining up as the nickleback and first round pick Marcus Peters had a great play of his own on the outside when he showed fantastic instincts to drive on the ball and bat down a pass. If Gaines can stay healthy and Peters can cut down on some of the mental mistakes that come with starting as a rookie the Chiefs could find themselves with one of the best young corner duos in all the NFL.
* Speaking of first round picks, Dee Ford looked the best I have ever seen him while playing in place of Tamba Hali (who presumably just got the night off). Not only was he lightning quick off the line, but he showed more strength than he had previously. That is until he got absolutely destroyed on a chip block that injured his ribs. Hopefully he heals up quick because he looked like he could be a factor for the Chiefs defense before that happened.
* Final defensive thought…At this point I’m sold on Loni Fangupo being the extra defensive lineman that the Chiefs carry if Poe misses any regular season games. While he is inconsistent, he’s shown some power at the line of scrimmage and even gotten some push now and then. Plus, he’s really the only traditional run-plugging defensive tackle that the Chiefs have with Poe out. While Bailey, DeVito, Howard, and Catapano can fill in most of the time, I like the idea of having the stoutly built Fangupo in on short yardage or goal line plays more than I do guys like Nick Williams or David Irving that are built more like defensive ends and aren’t as strong up front.
Next up, my offensive notes…
Next: My Offensive Notes