Frank Clark
Sports fans have such short memories. It seems like we are eons removed from watching our “Main man 5-5, who ain’t offsides” Frank Clark end postseason games with sack after sack just 11 months ago.
At this point, there are Chiefs fans far and wide who are wondering whether Frank Clark has the worst contract in team history. (He does not). My how quick we are to forget.
Look, please do not get me wrong here, Clark needs to be playing better in one month’s time for Kansas City. He needs to get consistent pressure on the quarterback, and he needs to wreak havoc in the backfield at will. He is definitely not doing those things right now.
However, he is doing some things well. He is leading the team in tackles for loss and quarterback pressures. He is also drawing regular holding penalties against tackles (though more should likely be called). And he’s also playing very well against the run.
But the Chiefs did not pay the Shark $100m to be an occasional backfield threat and a good run defender. They paid him to be a perennial double digit sack artist, a quarterback pressuring, nightmare rush end who anchored a devastating defensive line which also features one of the game’s best interior pass rushers. Clark has not been that.
When the calendar turned to crunch time in 2019, Clark balled out. There is an argument that over the last six regular season games and the playoffs, he was the best defender in all of football a season ago. Kansas City needs that player to return in time for the 2020 season’s end.