Against the San Diego Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs only had one offensive line starter from the last time the team saw the field against the New England Patriots in the 2015 NFL Playoffs, left tackle, New England Patriots in the 2015 NFL Playoffs, left tackle, Eric Fisher. The rest of the offensive line for week one of the 2016 season was rookie left guard Parker Ehringer, second-year center Mitch Morse, second-year right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and former Cleveland Brown Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle. Still, this line up is considered to be an improvement over last years offensive line, particularly at the right tackle position. The unit seemed to struggle against the Chargers in the first half, but not everything was necessarily the fault of the hogs up front. Let’s take a look at the game against the Chargers and look ahead to week two against the Houston Texans to see where the Kansas City Chiefs week two focus should be.
Kansas City Chiefs Week Two Focus
First Quarter – Spencer Ware Runs For No Gain
As you can see, the Chargers line up in a three-man front with two outside linebackers. They are in the nickel defense, with an extra defensive back on the field. At the snap, the nose tackle, who was lined up to the right of center Mitch Morse, engages both Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The left defensive end performs a stunt move, coming behind the nose tackle, running free into the backfield.
In this image, you can see the left defensive end with a clear path to running back Spencer Ware. Morse dropped his head and missed the end coming around on the stunt. The result of this play was a gain of zero, putting the Chiefs in a 2nd and 10.
First Quarter – Alex Smith Fumble, Eric Fisher Holding Penalty (Both Negated)
On this play, the Chargers again showed two down defensive linemen and an outside linebacker with his hand in the dirt. At the snap, the two linemen performed a stunt, crossing paths, trying to create a free run to the quarterback.
As you can see, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Mitch Morse do a great job trading off their rushers and stopping the stunt in its tracks. Unfortunately, on this play, Eric Fisher was beaten by the outside linebacker on his play (due in part to a poor attempt at a chip block by Albert Wilson), which forced Smith to move up in the pocket, where he was hit and fumbled the ball. The Chargers recovered, but the play was negated thanks to a defensive holding penalty by the Chargers.
Second Quarter – Charcandick West, Loss of Five Yards
This play is highlighted for a couple of reasons, both of them negatives. Before Alex Smith can even hand the ball off, this play is over. Ehringer gets beat off the snap by the nose tackle, who crosses his face from his right. To make things worse for West, Duvernay-Tardif fails to pick up the blitzing linebacker, who has a clear path to the back field. Plays like this are what got the Chiefs in third and longs throughout most of the first half.
Second Quarter – Alex Smith Incomplete Pass
It didn’t take long to see that the young guys were understanding what they were missing. Here, the two down linemen cross, trying to confuse Duvernay-Tardif. However, the right defensive end is correctly passed to Morse and Ehringer while Duvernay-Tardif takes on the stunting lineman from the other side.
Third quarter – Alex Smith to Spencer Ware 45-yard Pass
Eric Fisher and the rookie Parker Ehringer correctly handle this stunt and give Smith enough time to find Ware on an angle route across the middle. This was a 45 yard gain, which really started to turn the momentum in Kansas City’s favor. You will notice in the second picture that Fisher may have gotten away with hands to the face.
As the game progressed, it was clear that the line was getting better at recognizing the stunts and reacting to them as they needed to. Blitz pickups were handled well, allowing Smith to move around in the pocket and throw to his targets down the field. If not for the quick improvement by the offensive line, the comeback in Sunday’s game may not have happened.
The Houston Texans
In week two, the Chiefs face a much more daunting task. The Houston Texans are much more talented in their front seven than the San Diego Chargers. Their defensive line is composed of All-Pro end J.J. Watt, former first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney and perennial pro bowler Vince Wilfork. The Texans don’t necessarily use a lot of stunts to provide pressure, as it’s not needed with the speed of their front seven. Let’s now take a look at some of the looks and blitzes the Texans ran in the season-opening win against the Chicago Bears.
Exotic Looks
What you see here is one of the many exotic looks that Texans’ defensive coordinator (and former Chiefs head coach) Romeo Crennel will throw at you. From left to right, you have a defensive end, a nickel cornerback, an inside linebacker, an outside linebacker, another outside linebacker, and a defensive end. Certainly, the offensive line has sort of an idea who they are going to block at the snap. Presumably, they take the man lined up across from them, and work their way through stunts as they happen. But here is what happens when the ball is snapped:
The inside linebacker and nickel corner drop into coverage, the right defensive end, and outside linebacker perform a stunt, which is only done to try to occupy blockers and free up the blitzing cornerback, who was previously not in the picture. The Bears do a very good job of picking up everything that was thrown at them on this play. The result was a 13-yard gain.
Blitzing Linebackers
Romeo Crennel knows how to use his players. At the snap, Vince Wilfork crashes down the line, completely taking all of the center’s attention. Because of this, the two inside linebackers are free to rush the A-gap, completely killing any chance for play development. The full-back has no time to get to the block. Here, the center should have let the right guard handle Wilfork and focused on the first linebacker through the gap.
This was a play action pass that was over as quickly as it began. Jay Cutler was able to throw it away to avoid a sack, preserving nine yards in the process.
Romeo, Oh Romeo….
Romeo Crennel sure likes to mix things up. This is a front very similar to the one we’ve already seen. But you can never expect the same two things from a Crennel run defense.
Here, we see the middle and left linebackers perform a stunt to create a path to the quarterback. Similarly, the right outside linebacker engages, then tries to circle around the already engaged defensive end, trying to come around the edge to the quarterback as well.
On Sunday, the Chiefs can expect much of the same from the Texans’ defense. It’s worth noting that the plays shown above all came within the first nine minutes of the football game.
Throughout, Crennel brought pressure with linebackers, corners, and safeties. With the speed coming off of the edge and the more talented players in the middle, it will be a much larger test for the young Kansas City offensive line. Expect to see the Texans focus their attacks on the less experienced interior, particularly the two young guards in Duvernay-Tardif and Ehringer. The Chiefs may consider keeping an extra tight end in to block to help with the speed of the Texans’ front seven.
BONUS PLAY: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Block on Jahleel Addae
Jahleel Addae has earned a bit of a reputation among Chiefs fans as a dirty headhunter. You might recall games last year where he hit Alex Smith late on a couple of different quarter back slides or the fact that Addae was responsible for De’Anthony Thomas’ concussion that cost him almost half of a season. This past Sunday, Addae was flagged for a helmet to helmet hit on wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, which will surely draw a fine from the league office. During the game, however, Addae was absolutely destroyed by Chiefs right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Check out the sequence below:
Duvernay-Tardif lines Addae up
Contact initiated
Addae is pancaked while Tyreek Hill walks into the end zone
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