Chiefs vs. Jaguars: Frank Clark says pass rush has to do better

After putting up a big win in Jacksonville in Week 1, Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark says the pass rush has to get better going forward.

A win is a win. Let’s get that out of the way.

Even in the locker room after the Kansas City Chiefs opening win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Andy Reid told his players to take time and soak in the enjoyment of a win. The work will come in time. Reid’s own players echoed the same after the game, rejoicing in the fact that they were 1-0 while simultaneously acknowledging there’s work to be done.

Frank Clark was one such player. The team’s new star defensive end, imported to anchor the pass rush, spoke to reporters after the Week 1 win and stated that he wanted to appreciate the moment, but that he realizes the overall performance left some opportunities on the table.

“It was all right,” said Clark. “It wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but I mean, that’s that first game stuff. You know how that is. We’ve got 15 more games plus another three or four hopefully, you know what I mean? Whatever it is to that Super Bowl. That’s our goal, just to keep on getting better. We got film. Right now we’re gonna enjoy this victory, but as soon as we get back there in the lab, we gotta make those corrections and get back out there. We’ve got another game coming.”

In particular, the Jaguars presented an opportunity for the pass rush to really tee off. The Jags offensive line was dealing with injuries coming into the game, including the losses of Cedric Ogbuehi and Cam Robinson on the outside. In addition, the interior talent wasn’t great coming in, and the team was also forced to turn to sixth round rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew after Nick Foles went down.  Minshew completed 22 of 25 passes and operated in a surprisingly clean pocket early on.

Teams were doubling the Chiefs best pass rushers all game long, and Clark admitted that dealing with the constant chip blocks from Jags offensive linemen was a key point of adjustment for K.C.’s defense. The only official sack on the day belonged to rotational rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, and

“Me and Chris [Jones], we were talking it on the sidelines,” said Clark. “When you get to a certain level in your career, guys start to show you respect in those types of ways. That’s how I take it. That’s respect, at the end of the day. But we’ve gotta do better. We’ve gotta do better to get to the quarterback. We’ve gotta do better to make adjustments at halftime so that we can defeat those chips, ’cause there is a way to defeat it. You just gotta exploit it more.”

Clark did come away with an interception in the game, the second such moment of his career. Unfortunately, only those who saw the game live in Jacksonville will have the memory. The live broadcast of the game was cut off during that time thanks to technical difficulties on CBS’ part. Even Clark was hoping to see the highlight.

Clark and company will a chance to make slight adjustments and attack a division rival next week when they visit the Oakland Raiders in Week 2.