River Falls, Wis. – It seemed unusual, even laughable to some, that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan would pin his hopes for last season on a defensive line imported from the woeful Cleveland Browns. But it worked. And don’t think people around the NFL didn’t notice.
The Kansas City Chiefs, for example.
“Those guys played well,” Chiefs defensive end Eric Hicks said. “They were castoffs from the Browns, but they had talent. Sometimes it just takes a new philosophy to get people to react a little better. It worked for them and hopefully it will work for us.”
The Chiefs have a new philosophy, all right, not to mention a new defensive-oriented coach and a couple of new defensive starters. What, you thought they would tinker with the league’s No. 1-ranked offense, the unit that turned former backup tailback Larry Johnson into a yardage-eating machine? Not a chance.
With the Chiefs, it’s always about trying to improve their defense. Their offense has been among the best in the business in recent seasons, but they’ve made the playoffs once in the 21st century.
“It’s old,” middle linebacker Kawika Mitchell said. “It’s been old for a couple of years now. We’ve made improvement in the past, but nobody recognizes it. We’re going to get to the point where people see results, a top-five defense or something like that. Once that happens, everybody will shut up.”
A top-five defense, huh? The Chiefs were 25th last season. In 2004, they allowed a staggering 435 points, the most in the league. No wonder new coach Herm Edwards’ first order of business was to change the mind-set of the Chiefs’ defensive players.
“They’ve always had the feeling that they were the reason this team hasn’t achieved a lot of things they set out to do,” Edwards said. “So much emphasis is put on our offense, the defense feels like: ‘You know, maybe no matter what we do, in the end it’s going to come down to our offense. We can count on our offense because we know we’re going to score this amount of points.’
“I told them we’re going to play a little bit different. There are going to be some situations where we’re going to have to win 10-6. I’m used to playing like that. In Tampa, we might have scored 17 points in three games, but we’d win all three. I don’t want to get to that, because we’ve got a very powerful offense. But it has to be able to help the defense.”
Keeping the defense fresh
Edwards is intent on playing more of a ball-control, move-the-chains offense than the Chiefs employed under his predecessor, Dick Vermeil. For proof, we give you the Chiefs’ new offensive coordinator. Instead of hiring a big-name coordinator to replace the departed Al Saunders, Edwards promoted Mike Solari, the Chiefs’ offensive line coach for the past nine seasons.
The change in strategy is designed to keep the defense fresh. Or, in a perfect world, off the field.
“We have to learn to play together as an offense and a defense,” Edwards said. “There are certain things you do to play together, and there are certain things you do when you’re playing for stats. We’re not going to play for stats. We’re going to play to win games, to protect each other.”
Case in point: Edwards wants to to run the ball and milk the clock when the Chiefs are leading in the fourth quarter. In years past, they would keep throwing in anticipation of the defense struggling when it got on the field.
“We’re still going to try to score 30 points, but at times we’re going to have to take the air out of the ball,” Edwards said. “If there are four minutes left and they don’t have any timeouts, we shouldn’t have to throw a pass. We should be able to run the ball past the two-minute warning and then take a knee.”
Law sure to help
While there’s no denying the Chiefs’ defensive issues, they have made strides under defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham. They allowed 325 points last season, 110 fewer than they had in 2004. They were seventh in the league vs. the rush, a major upgrade from as recently as 2003, when they ranked 30th. They also were ninth in the league in red-zone defense and seventh in takeaways.
Makes sense, given some of the Chiefs’ recent personnel moves. Before last season, they signed free-agent linebacker Kendrell Bell, traded for cornerback Patrick Surtain and used their No. 1 draft choice on Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson. In April, they used their first-rounder on Penn State defensive end Tamba Hali, who figures to start as a rookie, and their No. 2 pick on Purdue strong safety Bernard Pollard, who has future star written all over him.
Add future Hall of Fame candidate Ty Law, an 11th-hour free-agent signee, to the mix and the Chiefs’ hopes of turning the corner seem considerably more realistic than in recent seasons.
“There’s no secret to what we’ve been doing,” Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said. “Our emphasis the past two or three years has been on the defensive side of the ball. When I look at what Gunther has done the last couple of years, I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll be better.
“It’s an old, trite cliché, but it’s true: Offense sells tickets and defense gets you to championships. Unfortunately, we’ve proved that the last few years. What we’re trying to do is find a balance.”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
Home-field advantage
The Kansas City Chiefs were two different teams during the Dick Vermeil era. During his five seasons, the Chiefs finished 16-24 on the road and 28-12 at home. Why the disparity? For one thing, the Chiefs’ defense allowed 26.3 points a game on the road and 19.6 at Arrowhead Stadium. Here’s a look at the Chiefs’ year-by-year record under Vermeil.
Year / Home / Road
2001 / 3-5 / 3-5
2002 / 6-2 / 2-6
2003 / 8-0 / 5-3
2004 / 4-4 / 3-5
2005 / 7-1 / 3-5
