Second Look: Defense vs. Denver

Over the previous two games, the Chiefs front seven had its problems. Against Denver, that group played much better football, particularly the linebackers Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams and Pat Thomas.

Through in improved play from DT Glenn Dorsey and continued good play by DT Tank Tyler and DE Turk McBride and those were the keys behind the Chiefs winning effort against Denver. Rookie DE Brian Johnston did some nice things in this game as well, consistently getting involved in the action.

In the secondary, Dimitri Patterson provided some aggressive tackling and rookie CBs Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr both played pretty well. Flowers had a fumble recovery, while Carr had a fumble recovery and an interception. Carr ended up spending most of the game covering Denver WR Brandon Marshall. There were several moments when Marshall got him, including at least three times when the Broncos receiver made the catch and Carr came up to tackle too much on the inside. That allowed Marshall to spin and get more yards after the catch to the outside. With help to his inside, Carr needs to protect that outside first. It’s something that will come with more playing time.

Another thing obvious from re-watching the game was the defensive hustle the unit showed. They always work in practice at running to the ball and that was very visible against the Broncos. That helped McBride cause the first turnover of the game as he ran 20 yards down field and knocked the ball away from WR Eddie Royal after a catch. It was visible on several other plays as the defense made tackles from behind, which means something was hustling down the line.

Yes, the Chiefs gave up 352 yards in passing, but 128 yards, or 36 percent of that total, came in the fourth quarter. The defense at that time was more concerned about protecting its end zone, than giving up a series o f short passes. Only one of those completions went for more than 12 yards.

For most of the game, Gunther Cunningham had his defense in their 3-3-5 alignment. That’s where a defensive tackle leaves the game and the nickel corner comes in; in this case Dimitri Patterson comes in to the defense. I charted 65 offensive snaps for Denver, all but the final possession when the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt. The Chiefs went 3-3-5 on more than half of those snaps.

In this defense for the previous three games, Cunningham had LB Williams lining up for the snap as a defensive end with his hand on the ground. In this game, Williams was again on the end of the line, but sometimes he remained standing. Several times during the game, Johnson and Thomas lined up next to each other, between the defensive end and tackle. In those cases, both linebackers came on the pass rush.

Still, despite facing 45 pass plays in those 65 snaps, the Chiefs came with four pass rushers 32 times and with just three rushers four times. On the other nine plays, the Chiefs sent five or six guys after Jay Cutler

Here’s a second look at some of the big plays in the game:

-The Chiefs only sack of the game came when they sent both Johnson and Thomas after Cutler. They provided pressure up the middle while DE Brian Johnston came around the end on Cutler’s right side. In all, that six-man rush was the only time the Chiefs got Cutler on the ground before he released the ball.

-Early in the second quarter Denver RB Michael Pittman took a short pass from Cutler on the left side. C Casey Wiegmann handled Dorsey, while WR Brandon Marshall cracked back on SS Bernard Pollard. Both Johnson and Thomas were blocked and Pittman was off, running for 40 yards before he was brought down. For the most part, the Broncos won this play with excellent execution.

-The Broncos were in the shotgun and Marshall went in motion and then stopped in the backfield. The Chiefs were in their 3-3-5 with both Williams and Thomas on the line of scrimmage. Cutler handed the ball to Marshall running to the left. But Johnson was unblocked and he reacted immediately, stopping the play in its tracks and he then ripped the ball from Marshall’s hands. The turnover eventually turned into a KC touchdown.

-In the 3-3-5 with Williams down on the left side, Cutler was in the shot gun. Williams pushed the right tackle back into Cutler’s area, forcing him to throw the ball and Johnson read the route and the throw and picked off the pass.

-Carr’s interception came out of the 3-3-5 defense. Cutler took the snap under center, faked a handoff to the right and then bootlegged to his left. Johnston got late pressure and forced the throw, one that Cutler hung in the air and Carr made the catch. Poor decision by Cutler, but his timing was forced by Johnston’s recovery from the bootleg.