An open apology to Frank Clark and Kansas City Chiefs defense

Expectations were at an all-time high when the Kansas City Chiefs started the season in September. Coming off of two straight Super Bowl appearances, fans and experts alike expected the Chiefs to dominate offensively and make yet another deep playoff run. While the games were entertaining to begin, it became abundantly clear that the defense was on pace to be historically bad.

The Chiefs seemed out of sorts, out of position, and out of grace. Ben Niemann was a starter at linebacker. Daniel Sorensen was a starting safety. Chris Jones was primarily playing defensive end.

Kansas City was communicating very poorly and looked lost pre-snap. The Chiefs were gashed in the running game and then destroyed on long passes due to bad coverage and a lack of a pass rush. Tensions seemed high on the field, social media, and press conferences. The fan base was ready to fire everyone on defense.

Now, everything has changed.

After early criticism, it is time we own up to our mistake and apologize to Frank Clark and the Chiefs defense.

The Kansas City Chiefs currently have one of the best performing defenses in the entire league. Steve Spagnuolo has made something of the once disgraced group. The team added Melvin Ingram at the deadline and moved Jones back to defensive end. Willie Gay became a starter at linebacker, and Juan Thornhill took over the safety role beside Tyrann Mathieu. Spagnuolo made the correct adjustments with personnel and scheme and somehow the Chiefs have only allowed one 20+ point game in their last seven games. That game, of course, was against the Chargers, in which the Chiefs were without a key starter at every level of the defense.

The Chiefs have orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history. It is time that we apologize for our lack of faith that the Chiefs were competent and talented enough to make this happen. So here it goes:

Dear Chiefs defense (Especially Frank Clark),

I sincerely apologize for all of the stuff that I said when I was unhappy with our overall performance. You are a very talented group and you are well-coached. While I believed you to be the reason that the Chiefs would miss the playoffs, I can now see that you are the reason that I am as confident as ever that the team is headed to a third straight Super Bowl. I will never doubt your talent, leadership, or swagger again.

Sincerely,

Grant Tuttle