Four potentially scary outcomes for the Chiefs defense in 2023
Spags' personnel fixations persist
How many times have you found yourself yelling at your TV or down to the field over the past four seasons because of aspects of Steve Spagnuolo's job that you think he is completely missing? So many times it seems that the Chiefs' defense has come out blitzing in the first half and looked incredible then just dropped into base defense in the second half. How many times has zone coverage been working just fine then Spags decides to switch it up to man? But do you know what the most frustrating and inexplicable Spags nuance has been in his time in K.C.? Personnel fixations.
You may have to think for a second about this one, but when I elaborate you'll know what I'm talking about. Like Anthony Hitchens getting more playing time than Willie Gay in 2021. Or the fact that Daniel Sorensen continued to show up game after game and get more and more burnt each time he took the field when the Chiefs had a perfectly good Juan Thornhill that could have been playing right beside Tyrann Mathieu. Don't even make me mention the name Ben Niemann, whose name alone can raise my blood pressure to unhealthy levels.
Spags has as close to a loaded defense as he's going to get this season in Kansas City with the contracts and firepower that the offensive side has, and with that a litany of combinations that could make opposing offenses fall apart in nearly every scenario. But let's say Spags falls in love this season with Leo Chenal and decides to keep him on the field for passing downs when you have Drue Tranquill on the roster, you will be joining me in the high blood pressure club. Or if Charles Omenihu comes out and demolishes defenses on first and second down, then is swapped out for Mike Danna on an obvious passing third down. These things have happened before with different players, and if they happen again this year the defense could be a big time example of "could've, should've, would've". That result might also spell the end of the Spags era in Kansas City.