Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp: Personnel Groupings to Watch For

Dec 8, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) runs with the ball as Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali (91) attempts to tackle in the second quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

3)      Dee Ford, Justin Houston, and Tamba Hali

Again, this is an obvious personnel grouping. Our first round pick is going to get on the field, and it’s in the best interest of the team if Justin Houston and Tamba Hali are on the field for a majority of the plays.

Obviously, these three are going to see the most time together in passing situations. Third and long, towards the end of the half, look for these three to wreak havoc on the quarterback together. However, Andy Reid and John Dorsey didn’t use our first round pick on a situational player. They believed that Dee Ford could be a three down outside linebacker for us. Because of that, look for him to work in early on some sub packages.

We could see Tamba put his hand on the ground and play more of a traditional DE while Houston and Dee Ford line up off the ball. Look for Bob Sutton to get these three working together early and often, to get after the quarterback but to also create more speed and mismatches on the field.

4)      Eric Berry, Sanders Commings, and Husain Abdullah

Safety has been one of the most (over) analyzed positions on the Chiefs’ roster this offseason. Eric Berry is a huge part of our defense, and is an absolute playmaker. His partner on the back end of our secondary is an important position, to allow for Eric Berry to do what he does best: make plays.

That’s where Sanders Commings and Husain Abdullah come into play.

While Commings is more of the traditional free safety, who would specialize in covering the deep ball, Husain Abdullah is extremely versatile, much like Berry. Last season, he lined up all over the place. In the slot, in the box as a linebacker, and even back deep. Watch for Sanders Commings to mainly play deep when this personnel set is in, but besides that, expect the unexpected. Abdullah will still line up in multiple positions, and Eric Berry can do so many different things on the field that it’s near impossible to guess where he will be. Bob Sutton will place him all over the field, and look for him Commings and Abdullah to be lined up to support #27.

There you have it, Addicts. Training camp is a great time for fans to get a taste of anything new the team is going to bring to the table. Besides position battles and seeing how the new talent fares, looking at new personnel groupings is another huge aspect of training camp. While roster spots will become more finalized during preseason, toying around with personnel grouping starts here. Are there any players you’d like to see grouped together, on either side of the ball? Leave a comment below with the grouping, and as always, Go Chiefs!