How to get Bob Sutton’s defense clicking in 2018

The Chiefs have a lot of work to do if they want their defense to be back in the top five of points allowed. It will be a true test for Bob Sutton in 2018.

Since before the Kansas City Chiefs season ended in another embarrassing playoff comeback loss, fans have been calling for jobs. The most common name thrown around is defensive coordinator Bob Sutton. Against the fans’ wishes, head coach Andy Reid made it clear earlier this week that Sutton would be retained in 2018.

If you have any kind of social media and discuss Chiefs football, you’ve seen the backlash this has brought in Kansas City. Once upon a time, this group carried the Chiefs for multiple seasons. Unfortunately, they endured their worst year since Reid and Sutton came to town. Chiefs fans may not like it, but they will have to make it through at least one more year with Sutton commanding the defense.

There was a time that Sutton’s defense worked, and we complained about the offense not getting the job done. Considering we don’t have much of a choice, I figured we would look at how the Chiefs can get the defense back to what it once was. The best year in my opinion for the defense was 2015.

In 2015, the Chiefs defense ranked 3rd in points per game (PPG), 8th in rushing yards given up per game, and 9th in passing yards given up per game. It was the only year that the defense has success against both the run and pass. Outside of 2015, the Chiefs defense ranked 22nd and worse on rushing yards given up per game.

In this five year span, 2015 was also the year that the Chiefs forced the most turnovers (35) and tied their most sacks (47). The defense was executing on all levels.

Bob Sutton lacked creativity

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After safety Eric Berry and linebacker Dee Ford were lost for the season due to injuries, Sutton failed to adjust. He left safety Daniel Sorensen to be exposed for far too long in multiple situations, regularly lining him up as an inside linebacker to help the run game. He also failed to find anyone that could generate pressure from the opposite side of outside linebacker Justin Houston.

Obviously, injuries are not Sutton’s fault and the depth the Chiefs had behind Ford was limited. The problem is that Sutton’s defense relies heavily on pressuring quarterbacks and forcing them to make mistakes. While Ford wasn’t very productive in his little playtime in 2017, he was a better pass rusher than outside linebacker Frank Zombo.

Regardless of who was opposite Houston, the job wasn’t getting done. When your outside rushers are not getting pressure in a system that needs a pass rush, Sutton needed to get creative and call blitz packages that send pressure between the tackles. Whether it be linebackers or secondary members, Sutton refused to blitz and was one of the least blitzing defenses in the league in 2017.

Let’s take a look back at 2015 sack numbers.

Justin Houston: 7.5
Tamba Hali: 6.5
Jaye Howard: 5.5
Ron Parker: 5
Allen Bailey: 4.5
Derrick Johnson: 4
Dee Ford: 4
Frank Zombo: 3
Mike DeVito: 3

Something that you might notice is that there was pressure coming from every part of the defense. Whether it was the defensive line getting the job done on the inside, the linebackers from both inside and out, or the secondary with Parker. There was constant pressure on the quarterback and it was a huge reason why the defense was successful in 2015. Now, look at the sack numbers from 2017.

Justin Houston: 9.5
Chris Jones: 6.5
Allen Bailey: 2
Tanoh Kpassagnon: 2
Dee Ford: 2
Daniel Sorensen: 1.5

Everyone else that had a sack in 2017 had one or fewer. There was absolutely no pressure most of the season and while you can put some of that on the talent of the players, you also have to put that on the coordinator for not drawing up some creativity to generate pressure. The defense ranked toward the bottom of the league with a dreadful 31 sacks.

The secondary positions need help

Kansas City Chiefs

Another observation from 2015 is the talent at the secondary positions. Sutton’s defense had two strong cornerbacks on the outside with Marcus Peters and Sean Smith. The safety positions had great depth with Eric Berry, Ron Parker, Husain Abdullah, and Tyvon Branch. The defense didn’t have this luxury in 2017.

With Berry getting hurt in week one and instead of Abdullah or Branch, the Chiefs had Sorensen to step up. They also struggled to find a second cornerback to play opposite of Peters without getting burned on a consistent basis. They even brought in veteran cornerback Darrelle Revis to help stop the bleeding late in the season.

The Chiefs are going to have their work cut out for them going into the offseason as they must find someone that can play that second cornerback position. They can either draft a young cornerback and hope he can step in and make an impact immediately, which will be tough considering the Chiefs first pick is late in the second round, or look to free agency. I made a list of a few guys the Chiefs can look at in free agency here.

Sutton’s scheme is built around one-on-one matchups in man coverage. On top of quarterback pressure, the Chiefs need players that can play at an elite level in the secondary and cover their receivers long enough to give the front line time to collapse the pocket. It also relies on making plays on the ball and creating turnovers.

The Chiefs’ defense was scarce in this category for much of the season. With a total of 16 interceptions, 8 of them came in the last five games including the playoffs. They will need to find another cornerback and hope Berry stays healthy in 2018 to be successful.

Become more willing to adjust

Sutton took way too long in 2017 to adjust in multiple situations whether that be in game or over the course of the season. As mentioned above, Sorensen was left playing big roles as if he were Berry exposing his weaknesses. The most noticeable flaw was his ability to play a hybrid linebacker in the box to stuff the run.

Sorensen found himself getting push out of the play when playing in the box for the first half of the season. It wasn’t until week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys that Sutton started playing two inside linebackers and it worked keeping elite rushers like Ezekiel Elliott to short runs.

An in-game adjustment that Sutton should have made was against the Oakland Raiders in week 7 when he left second-year safety Eric Murray guarding tight end Jared Cook all night. Murray was getting burned all night including in the final drive by the Raiders to get the victory over the Chiefs. The matchup was so uneven that quarterback Derek Carr just had to throw an alley-oop type pass to Cook and it was an easy catch. Murray is listed at 5’11 and 199 pounds whereas Cook is 6’5 and 254 pounds.

There are going to be injuries every season and Sutton is going to have to adjust when they happen if this defense is going to succeed. He needs to play his backups to their strengths and not the strengths of the starters.

What is needed for success?

Sutton is an average at best coordinator that should be getting the boot but instead is getting another chance for reasons unknown to us. Reid is putting his personal feelings ahead of the team and that’s what started the breakdown in Philadelphia. Regardless, Sutton has had success before but it will take a lot to get back to that success.

The Chiefs are going to have to bulk up the defense with members from free agency and the draft. With the amount of one-on-one matchups that Sutton’s defense requires, the Chiefs are going to need some big names for it to work. Another shutdown corner, more defensive line help, and an outside linebacker/edge rusher.

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The last thing is Sutton is going to have to become more creative. The defense lacked creativity the last couple years and became very predictable. Sutton will have to move players around, show new formations, and bring new blitz packages to throw off offenses. He will also have to adjust when things begin to break down and not wait too long to make those adjustments.

If Sutton can do all of these things, the defense can get back to a top five defense in the NFL.