There's a lot of talk now about who the Chiefs should've drafted, picked up, etc. over the last couple of years........especially on defense. There are some things people MUST understand.
You DO NOT simply pick up players because you see they are good. This goes back to the RIGHT 53 as opposed to gathering a bunch of "talent."
Listen.............
In a BASE 3-4 defense ONLY the weakside OLB rushes the passer along with the NT and the 2 DE's. In the BASE 3-4 the strongside DE becomes your other outside pass rusher. The strongside OLB is often in coverage and NOT..........I repeat...........NOT..............rushing the passer. When the Chiefs are in their nickle package, the strongside DE comes out and is replaced by the strongside OLB and THAT's when the strongside OLB rushes the passer. In that passer the Chiefs normally have good success rushing the passer because it's normally either Studebaker or Williams coming around that other side opposite Hali. The two DT's are normally 1-gapping in that scheme and that's when Gilberry can use his quickness to blow by blockers. Again the Chiefs normally get GOOD if not great pressure from that formation. So let's say the Chiefs picked up an Orakpo or Matthews. How does he impact the Chiefs??? Well...........either him or Hali would have to move to the strongside OLB. That would mean that their opportunities to rush the passer would be greatly diminished and thus so would their sack total. Neither is known to be great in coverage, so now in our base defense we're ourselves even more against the pass because we have what should be a weakside OLB playing the strongside. Either Hali or Matthews would be out of place playing that side and thus would be a hinderance to the defense...............not a help. Either may help a little more on third down with them BOTH rushing the passer then. But how much more production would either provide over a Studebaker or Williams??? A couple more sacks??? Does that little more production offset what you lose on base downs???
In all actuality the Chiefs need their strongside DE to become a dominant player ala Richard Seymour. Someone who can effectively play the run AND rush the passer. That's where Jackson comes along. Jackson is a rare player that has the height, size, physical, and athletic ability to be just as dominant as Seymour. He has the make up to be that player. That's what Pioli saw in Jackson when he drafted him. Now the Chiefs have to pull it out of him. They have to coach the kid up to that potential. Jackson has to WANT to be that player. If the light bulb ever goes on......WATCH OUT!!! There's been flashes of it, now he just needs to get consistent. It's the same with all of those LSU guys for some reason. But like Dwayne Bowe..........when the light goes on they can be GREAT players.
Nose Tackle wise, while true every good 3-4 defense a good NT let's not think the NT will solve the problem of the run between the tackles on our defense. The truth is the strongside ILB and NT play hand in hand in preventing the runs up the gut. Sure.........the NT must demand a double-team, BUT.........if that LB does not attack the LOS the way he should that double will be effective regardless if they move the NT or not. Simply put even if they don't move him, he can't make the play. If the LB attacks the LOS properly the guard will have to come off his double team to pick up the LB. This SHOULD take place at the LOS. If it does......the LOS is stacked and the RB has no where to go. If the LB is late, the NT either gets pushed out by the double team or held up by the double team. The LB being 1 to 2 yards off the LOS at that point creates gaps for the RB to explode through and pick up chunks of yardage. converseley, if the LB attacks the LOS properly the guard can't stay with the double team because he has to immediately come off and pick up the LB. That frees up the NT to make the play as well. Bottom line...........proper LB reads helps the DL. On site of a double team the LB should immediately attack the LOS at the point of the double team. That doesn't always happen with our LB's and we get hit with big runs. We need a strongside ILB that reads plays better. Belcher is a decent back up, but until he consistently reads defenses better he will hurt the guys in front of him.
The thing you always hear about GOOD 3-4 defenses is how aggressive the LB's are and how they attack. 3-4 LB's MUST play "downhill." Even if it's a "play action," come downhill, hit the RB, and smash the QB. "Read and React" in a 3-4 does not work. Our LB's our too often not attacking. They appear to often times be unsure of what it is they're seeing, ESPECIALLY when teams pass often on 1st and 2nd downs. It may be a matter of more time in the system and better understanding, then the better they will become. But only the coaches can ask the players "what are you seeing" and determine whther they're at least SEEING the right thing. If they see the right thing they can coach up pulling the trigger earlier when you see it. It's often a matter of trusting your instincts. But if the player is not even seeing the right thing, then you may not be able to coach that. But only the coaches know.
So please people, before we look at players we could've drafted or free agents and say "he could've helped our team," let's take a look at where we would've put him. Who's place would he have taken??? How much money would he have costed and would that take money away from signing our MANY pending free agents in the next couple of years??? Doesn't make sense to get a Clay Matthews if we have to move him or Tamba to the strongside OLB position. We've just hampered one of their abilities. It's better to stand pat with a Studebaker at that position and maybe upgrade at RT, C, or WR. If we can score more points it helps the defense just as much as a high priced LB would. We've got top 5 money invested in both DE spots. Doesn't make sense to give top dollar to a NT and tie up most of your money in the DL. What do you do when Hali and Flowers contracts come up??? We can stop the run, but now we can't rush the passer or shut down opposing WR's..........so how much better would we be???
Build on what you have, don't put yourself in a position where you have to tear it down. Plan to keep what you have now and build on it. We may have to spend big money somewhere, but not everywhere. We can't afford to pay our premium pass rusher, premium corner, top paid safety, nicely paid LB, soon to be nicely paid WR, nicely paid RB, soon to be nicely paid LT, AND pay a top flight NT, and top fllight WR. The Patriots never paid top money at a position they figured they could fill with maybe a lesser player, but the drop off isn't GREAT. They take the money saved and apply it to another part of the team. Therefore your TEAM never gets too lopsided talent wise on offense or defense like you see a LOT of other teams. The Steelers and Colts do the same. That's why they are PERENNIAL championship contenders.
