The Magnificent Front Seven
The Chiefs Defense is terrible. It has been terrible for so long that the Chiefs Offense has gone from terrible to great and back to terrible again in the same span. They were bad when Jarred Allen was here. They were bad for Greg Robinson. Bad for Gunther Cunningham.
This year was no different, right? The Chiefs gave up big days on the ground some weeks and other weeks, big games through the air. Sometimes, they combined them for a truly horrific day. It seemed there was no end in site to the defensive ineptness.
I’m here today to say that I think, as long as a couple calculated moves are made this offseason, that the Chiefs defensive troubles may soon be over.
The Chiefs have a chance to be very good up front. Dorsey and Jackson at the Ends are both top 5 picks. Dorsey is entering his 3rds season but only his 2nd season at his new position. Jackson is entering his 2nd season. Both *should* continue to get better. If I were Romeo Crennel, I would be absolutely giddy to have two top 5 picks on my line. There is a lot of raw athletic ability there and Crennel needs to figure out how to get these guys to take the next step. If he does, look out.
The next thing that needs to happen, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will, is the Chiefs need a beast of a Nose Tackle. I like Ron Edwards and all but he is not the right kind of guy to play the Nose. When Romeo Crennel was coaching in Cleveland, one of the things he did was bring in Shawn Rodgers from Detroit. The results? Rodgers had his best year since his rookie season (81 tackles, 3 sacks) recording 76 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Keep in mind that Rodgers hadn’t recorded more than 39 tackles in the previous 3 seasons. He flourished under Crennel. Expect the Chiefs to get a big, nasty guy to clog up the middle.
I can’t really stress enough how important it is that the Chiefs replace Ron Edwards. Let me illustrate the point for you. Ron Edwards had 29 tackles this year. 29. Imagine how much better the Chiefs run defense would be if they had someone like Shawn Rodgers putting up 47 more tackles up the middle? A true nose will help both Dorsey and Jackson immensely. He will also help the Inside Linebackers.
Which brings us to Linebacker. Tamba Hali is fine. He is here to stay. The Chiefs will likely try to resign Mike Vrabel, especially since he has played under Crennel in the past. Also expect to see a lot more of Andy Studebaker. I don’t think OLB to be a high priority for the Chiefs but they certainly need more help over the middle.
Look, I like Demorrio Williams and Corey Mays. Both these guys played their butts off all season. Williams had over 100 tackles and both guys showed uncredible hustled. I think Todd Haley admired their hustle so much that he relegated D.J. to a backup role. Both are very fast and do well sideline to sideline. I would like to see both Demorrio and Mays back next year, just not as starters. Neither of them is particularly large, nor are they good in coverage. They could be useful in the situational type defense Crennel plans to run and could give him some nice speed on certain plays.
But what the Chiefs need is a dominating force over the middle. They need their own Ray Lewis. Williams and Mays aren’t going to intimidate anyone. To put it bluntly, the Chiefs need a scary SOB patrolling the middle of their field. If they can add that, plus resign Derrick Johnson, I think they will be suddenly very deep at LB. I think D.J. needs to start and I think he will, along side the “mystery MLB.” They’d have Williams, Mays and Belcher for depth. Not too shabby.
I truly believe the Chiefs front seven is only 2 players away from being quite good.
Let’s review:
1. Coach up Dorsey and Jackson. Continue their improvement. Make them better by adding…
2. A Big, Nasty, Nose Tackle to clog the middle and open up blitzing lanes for…
3. A scary SOB Middle Linebacker to play alongside DJ, Hali and Vrabel/Studebaker…
4. Backed up by Williams, Mays and Belcher…
Other than that, the only other thing I think the Chiefs need on D is a Safety, which I will address at a later time.
What do you think Addicts? If the Chiefs fix the middle can they have a Magnificent Front Seven?