Why the Kansas City Chiefs Secondary improved and what was the X Factor in 2010-2011
There is no question the Kansas City Chiefs made a drastic improvement on secondary, but the main question is who deserves the credit?
Does Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crenell deserve credit the credit for being the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator?
Does the Kansas City Chiefs 3-4 rush linebacker at the 3-4 right outside linebacker position in Tamba Hali deserve props? Hali was 2nd in sacks in the NFL recording 14.5 sacks and led the AFC in sacks with 14.5 sacks he did not need a complimentary linebacker and he did not resort to cheap shot hits like James Harrison which resulted in constant fines. Plus Hali’s ability to pass rush along with Mike Vrabel’s ability to pass rush while stuffing the run effectively caused the secondary to have an easier time reacting to potential interceptions. As the Chiefs secondary was covering well. The pass rushing by Hali along with the secondary’s coverage forced the opposing quarterback that the Kansas City Chiefs faced into numerous coverage.
Did the presence of 201o first round pick Eric Berry allow more interception opportunites for corners who had yet to prove themselves? Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, and Javier Arenas who now make a #1 corner, #2 corner, nickel corner rotation in this Chiefs secondary were not all that before this year. Was Eric Berry’s ability in coverage the main reason why quarterbacks dared these corners to make big plays?
Were the Chiefs secondary players tired of hearing how weak their secondary is? Did that motivate them to perform better?
Did Brandon Flowers finally blossom and live up to his potential with the supporting corners making big plays as well?
Was former Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard a cancer to Kansas City’s locker room?
Did Kansas City play well by working hard and preparing themselves back in January of 2010 after having a poor year in the 2009-2010 season?
All of these questions can be used as valid reasons to why the Chiefs secondary emerged this season. The Kansas City Chiefs went from 25th to 17th in pass defense with this pass defense and with the defensive chemistry returning with another year of experience I can honestly see this pass defense only getting better. If they draft another pass rusher they have an outside shot of being a top 10 team in pass defense.
The bottom line is the Chiefs made major strides on secondary and if the secondary does not finish in the top half of the league in pass defense meaning their 16th or higher in fewest passing yards allowed it means they need to bring in a new secondary coach or draft a second safety to compliment Eric Berry in 2012.
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I hate to point this out, but you do realize the Chiefs once again were in the playoffs solely because of their schedule? The only team that had a winning record of any team they beat was San Diego at 9-7 (the first game of the season, they lost to them later in the year). The next best was Jacksonville at 8-8. Oakland was 6-0 against the AFC West, beating the Chiefs twice. Wonder why the Chiefs lost in the first game of the playoffs? The NFL has to make the schedule fair, not make one team play a tougher schedule than another then try to compare the two teams against each other. How can you say the Chiefs were a better team than Oakland if they didn’t both play the same teams? If the Chiefs were a better team, how did Oakland beat them twice? And based on the teams the Chiefs played, you can’t say their secondary improved over last year considering the strength of schedule. I say the NFL needs to even the playing field, each team within a division plays the same teams, then lets see who wins the division.
Eric the schedulers do this every year, some team always gets a favorable schedule, but good teams bet the lesser teams as they say and they did