I'm pretty sure he's going to be, problem is I think he is a 3-tech guys which is were I'd like Jones to play.

They led the league in sacks and still had one of the worst defenses in the league. Damn near historically bad.

It looks to me like they think the pass rush can be good in a new setting while also allowing them to improve the other areas.

We'll see how it goes, I'll atleast wait until the offseason is played out to see what happens.

I'd love Crawford but I agree with you, Jones needs to play there.

Yeah, Jaylon is a monster in the middle. That's a spot I think the Chiefs are gonna have to find this offseason somewhere.

I think Jones would fit any scheme in that he's a elite ass player.

It's just a situation where a smart front office would pounce. Find some damn developed player on a team that isn't intending to pay them and go from there.

Similar to the Jags with Ramsey.

I agree offseason is going to be Key, just with our Cap Space I don't feel easy about it.

That's why Houston is probably gonna have to do something with his money or go elsewhere.

It's the shits of a salary capped league.

That cap space was going to be an issue regardless. That's the issue.

Agreed,

But I doubt he will be inclined to restructure. He could go out and get a huge deal still at his age.

Berrys contract is really butt ****ing us.

Yep.

This is where the coaching staff is going to have to come into play as well. You can't pay for everything. Develop some damn talent.

That's my biggest issue with Sutton. He played Parker all damn year with Lucas behind him. Same with Ward.

Look around at the best defenses in the league. Play some young guys and develop them because that allows you to not have to pay big money elsewhere.

I agree with BleedingRed. Cap casualty will be the main reason if one or both of Ford/Houston are not on the team next season, but the scheme change will play a part, unless they've been planning this change for longer then we know (which I kind of believe they have been

Let's be honest.....Houston isn't getting a HUGE deal if he hits the FA market. He's always nicked up and he hasn't topped 10 sacks since he hit 22 before he got paid.

I think he could get a good deal. I don't know about a "huge" one. With the injury history and age, that could be an issue.

We'll see. I think he likes it in KC a lot.

That's not to say that a team won't overpay him if they have a metric shit ton of cap....but he isn't signing a $100 million dollar deal.

I think they have been planning it for a while.

The cap was always the biggest issue. The scheme change is largely irrelevant when it comes to both Houston and Ford because these moves were going to have to be made (or at least tried) even if they kept Sutton and the entire defense intact.

That being said, I tend to agree with you. I think they've known for maybe a year that the 4-3 was coming and that's why they drafted some of the guys they did.

No team in their right mind would pay him close to what he's making now. I've said before the bar at 5 yrs $60m (big part of that being bonus) is about the bar.

I think they planned to hire Spagnuolo last offseason but he was just mentally shot after the McAdoo fiasco. The draft and Hitchens signings make more sense.

Solid theory IMHO.

It wouldn't surprise me. That and they didn't expect Mahomes to be this good....this early.

I was wondering the same thing, but I think you framed it perfectly.

Only theory that make sense to me mainly because of who they drafted tho. I have no clue why anyone thought Speaks could be a OLB.

I could be totally off base, and I have been millions of times before, but I think KPass has the build of a Justin Tuck in this defense.

Maybe,

but because of Scheme they played in I don't really have any tape on them to make a judgement on their "Skills" or lack of

He was okay for a rookie when he got his chance. Tanoh is the one who will benefit from this the most.

That guy is 6’7”. His body frame isn’t right for a 3-4 OLB at all.

I hope they can turn him into something. I'm still somewhat frustrated with that pick. Not only did it not make sense, they traded up to get him.

Mathias Kiwanuka? Wasn't he tall and lanky like that?

Kiwanuka - 6'5" 267 lbs
Tuck - 6'5" 265 lbs
KPass - 6'7" 289 lbs

Not sure if he's cut weight at all or not.

Interedasting.

Most of the DL coming into the league these days are just athletic freaks. Gone somewhat are the days of big space eaters taking up blockers up there.

Sure some of the defenses do it and do it well. But damn if I'm tired of looking for and having to draft those types.

I liked the Giants idea of how they built those DLs and I think it's easier to ID and draft those types. It's what the Seahawks did with Bennett and Avril as well.

More important for a DE is "Wing Span", you have to be able to hold tackles off your body.

I kind of wondered about that. It would have made a lot more sense. Plus we'd be in so much better spot now with having a year in that.

Doesn't KPass have freakishly long arms? It's so hard to remember all of his measurable since he disappeared the entire year.

Yup try to salvage this pick. I think this system is perfect for him.

35 5'8"

Eek, thats not great not horrible....


but give me some David Irving!

87 3/4-inch wingspan

JJ Watt - 34"
Michael Bennett - 33 5/8"

P.S. I'm being sarcastic, I just love David Irving (minus is freak divorce deal)

Irving would be great but his off the field issues are way too much to deal with.

Our guys literally fit the 4-3 better than they do a 3-4. We wouldn’t have brought in Hitchens, Speaks, O’Daniel and so on if they didn’t know this move was coming(Unless Veach just doesn’t know who fits his scheme). You’re worried about Ford and Houston not fitting???? Fords job will be the same, just with his hand in the dirt. 4-3 DE’s play OLB in the 3-4. These guys played DE in the 4-3 their whole lives before coming to the Chiefs.

Also you shouldn’t run a 3-4 unless you have an elite NT. It’s no coincidence our defense went to shit after losing Poe.

Trey Flowers is an interesting situation to watch. The Patriots generally don't pay big money to players....and as it stands right now....they only have around $21 million in cap space to work with. Looking through their roster....they only have Dwayne Allen to cut for significant cap space ($7 million in savings). I'm not sure they could afford to tag Flowers.

I think he is going through a seriously messy divorce, but there is a reason the Cowboys have hung on to him.

He could literally be the BEST DT in the NFL if his life ever gets right. He in limited snaps has been a game wrecker for them.

I would give Irving a 1 year prove it deal to see if he could clean his shit up but dude is a mess off the field. I wouldn't be surprised if the Chiefs wouldn't touch him.

He's gonna get paid a shit load. I would look to draft the next Flowers.

Oh he definitely is. He's the definition of a guy you pay a contract to though.

I'd like to see them load up on versatility on the line. I think ultimately that may be the thinking with Speaks and it certainly is with Jones. I like the idea of Spags running a 4-man front with all DE's like he did with the Giants. Stunts, blitzes, just mixing up everything and going crazy.

Yeah, I think that was the issue with the Chiefs vs the pats and in terms of the Chiefs pass rush this year.

It had 3 super ass talented individual rushers. But they won solely with talent for the most part. They weren't schemed into sacks very often. That's awesome to have as it's hard to defend, but as we saw with NE, it is possible when you pretty much know where guys are coming from.

You can chip and double guys. When they're stunting and moving guys around you can't.

I think that was Bobs issue. When his defense could line up and play they were really good, like against INDY.

When they needed to be schematic and versatile, they just couldn't adapt.

It's at least going to be fun to watch.....at least in my mind.

If I were going to pay big money to an outside free agent (I would hardly ever do that, it's so damn hard to determine fit and such) this year, it would be Clowney. If he hit the market.

I'd put him on the DL with Jones, Nnadi, and the rest of those athletes and just tell them to go tackle people.

Yup,

He strong point is playing the run too..... Which we need.

Absolutely. You could move him around in 3rd-down sets too.

If they trade Ford, a cheaper vet option for the LEO could be Bruce Irvin. He played there in Seattle and Atlanta (was out of position in Oakland, iirc). He's on the wrong side of 30 so isn't the future but he could hold the fort down in that position while the Chiefs got a rookie up to speed and then provide backup. It sounds like he may go back to Seattle but, if he wants a chance at another ring, he might consider KC.

If we let Houston and Ford go....then I'd throw some money at Brandon Graham. He'd fill the WDE spot nicely and give you a chance to bring up a rookie behind him.

And he had no concept of when we need to gamble to get a stop, or let them score quick to get the ball back. He just played his safeties 20 yards off the ball in those spots - even on freaking 3rd and 10 vs. a team with no deep threat.

The stupidity is just mind-boggling. Reid should have fired him during the game.

The were in single high a lot of the game with a safety in the box. They actually might have been BETTER OFF with safeties 20 years off the ball trying to stop the stuff over the middle.

Graham is going to be pretty expensive, isn't he?

I know this is an oversimplification, but doesn't the over scheme limit the critical importance of the wide 9 DE from stopping the run? Seems like the goal is to put him on the weak side away from the extra blockers, and make his main responsibility exploding off the line.

I'm pretty sure that the Chiefs defense gave up a ton of yards in 2016 WITH Poe. The difference is that they led the league in TOs if I recall correctly.

Poe was a shell by that time. He played a ridiculous amount of snaps in 2015.

Look up Art Still and his career..........

And teams will just run right at him.

You can minimize some of that damage with good safeties. Which I imagine is high high priority anyway. Seems this is a role that reduces his run responsibility which is a good thing. Less TE matchups. More need to seal the edge vs contain the run.

Dude, our defense was ugly enough last year. It doesn't need Bruce Irvin's horrific monster face.

They could give him one of those face shield things like DT always wore.

Guys, I’m sorry if this has been talked about, but does Shane Ray fit in this defense? Or would he be projected to fit here? It seems I recall seeing Denver declined his 5th year option.

I’ve got my eyes on him if they let Ford go for sure.

Ok, thanks. Maybe he could be an option here.

Derrick Nnadi prevents this. You won't be able to keep him off the field.

They won't be using him all the time on 3rd-down.

What does this even mean?

He will come off the field in subs and Speaks will slide inside.

Probably a cheap reclamation project. Worth taking a flyer on him.Seems like a Veach-y sort of move.

IF Spags has 4 aces to run his 4 aces package with.

right now it doesn't look like it, but we'll see after FA and the draft.

I like Nnadi a lot, though, and he was getting some push even as a rookie, so who knows?

It's going to be a lot of fun seeing what happens with the roster over the next 4 months or so.

So, I just read an article that claimed Brandon Graham would demand $15+million on the market. For a 6 sack guy. WTF? I says.
So I went over to Spotrac, and yep, that's what they estimate his market value is as well. So, I think the $15-$16 million estimate for Ford is a) probably going to be way too low and b) whatever it ends up being, will not be a deterrent for anyone looking for a pass rusher. In fact, I think it entirely probable if that's how these contracts are going to go, that we get a #1 for Ford.

We REALLY need to hit big time on this draft.

Veach should dump whoever Spags wants dumped. Cut the fat money. Bringing back the same guys is not good. They sucked.

Yup. This is a big offseason for Veach.

It just reinforces the need to tag Ford. He's going to get a ridiculous contract on the open market. The Chiefs would be foolish to sign him to Houston money, which seems to be a real possibility with your numbers there.

Yeah, I mean you just can't pay him that, not if you're KC. Tag and trade for ****ing sure, but I think you can get a 1st for him now, if that's how it's going to be. Your Clowney's and whatnot will all be re-signed or franchised with the intent to keep them.

Ford may be the biggest name on the market in Edge rushers, although he's stricly a 3-4 OLB so that limits his appeal a little, but I really think we might end up nabbing a #1 for him from a team that thinks they're a couple guys away.

You could franchise tag him, play him this year, tag and trade him next year

WHY?

There's no reason to at all, unless you just want to roll with the same defense we had last year. TAKE THE PICKS NOW.
Just pull the band-aid off, all at once, and get on with your lives.