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NFL's worst defense is distant memory for Chiefs
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
DENVER -- If you're the kind of person who would believe the Chiefs and Broncos could play football for 65 minutes and not score a touchdown, you'd probably buy the Chiefs defense being -- dare we say it? -- good.
Before making such a leap, it is important to note that through two weeks the Chiefs have defended one team (Cincinnati) which was fighting a rainstorm and another (Denver) which wrapped its disaster-prone quarterback in such a straight jacket that on third-and-8, trailing by three, in the fourth quarter, it ran a sweep.
Nonetheless, the Chiefs have allowed just 32 points in two games. Carson Palmer and Jake Plummer threw for a combined 300 yards against Kansas City. Opponents have rushed for 3.7 per carry.
The 32 Defense (as in 32nd in the NFL), it seems, is as distant a memory as the No. 1 offense. The Chiefs sit at No. 8 in total defense after two weeks.
"(Sunday) was a game of the defense really dominating," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "The defense played really well in the red zone."
On a day that Kansas City's red zone offensive play likely cost the Chiefs the game, their red zone defense gave Kansas City a chance.
On a 7-minute, fourth-quarter drive, Denver twice had first downs inside the Chiefs 10 -- at the 6, and again at the 1 -- but could not find the end zone. On first-and-goal at the 6, rookie defensive end Tamba Hali stuffed Mike Bell's run, but grabbed his facemask in the process, giving the Broncos first-and-goal at the 1. Safety Sammy Knight dropped Bell for a loss of three on first down. Plummer overthrew Tony Scheffler on a second-down fade pattern. On third down at the 4, Plummer floated a pass to nobody in particular, forcing the Broncos to settle for Jason Elam's game-tying 22-yard field goal.
Kansas City shut out Denver in the first half for the first time ever, which doubled as the first time the Broncos had been shut out in the first half since moving to Invesco Field in 2001. Even a defensive performance like Sunday's, cornerback Patrick Surtain said, was not good enough.
"It doesn't matter how many points the offense scores," he said. "The field goals they got, they shouldn't have got on us. We can take some pride in holding them to nine points, but the fact is that we lost the game."
Go figure.
A franchise that has spent the last five years with a defense that made winning a game feel less like football than trying to lose Steve McQueen in a car chase is now lamenting an opponent's nine-point day.
For 60 minutes, the Broncos slammed running backs into non-existent holes and air mailed passes to receivers who had left the zip code. They couldn't even run a bootleg. But in overtime, the Chiefs defense finally gave way, giving up a 20-yard cutback run to Mike Bell that put Denver at midfield, then a 24-yard competion to a well-covered Javon Walker that got the Broncos in field goal range.
Game.
"The defense played as well as you could ask for," guard Brian Waters said. "It was a good effort, but not good enough to win."
http://cjonline.com/stories/091906/chi_defense.shtml
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
DENVER -- If you're the kind of person who would believe the Chiefs and Broncos could play football for 65 minutes and not score a touchdown, you'd probably buy the Chiefs defense being -- dare we say it? -- good.
Before making such a leap, it is important to note that through two weeks the Chiefs have defended one team (Cincinnati) which was fighting a rainstorm and another (Denver) which wrapped its disaster-prone quarterback in such a straight jacket that on third-and-8, trailing by three, in the fourth quarter, it ran a sweep.
Nonetheless, the Chiefs have allowed just 32 points in two games. Carson Palmer and Jake Plummer threw for a combined 300 yards against Kansas City. Opponents have rushed for 3.7 per carry.
The 32 Defense (as in 32nd in the NFL), it seems, is as distant a memory as the No. 1 offense. The Chiefs sit at No. 8 in total defense after two weeks.
"(Sunday) was a game of the defense really dominating," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "The defense played really well in the red zone."
On a day that Kansas City's red zone offensive play likely cost the Chiefs the game, their red zone defense gave Kansas City a chance.
On a 7-minute, fourth-quarter drive, Denver twice had first downs inside the Chiefs 10 -- at the 6, and again at the 1 -- but could not find the end zone. On first-and-goal at the 6, rookie defensive end Tamba Hali stuffed Mike Bell's run, but grabbed his facemask in the process, giving the Broncos first-and-goal at the 1. Safety Sammy Knight dropped Bell for a loss of three on first down. Plummer overthrew Tony Scheffler on a second-down fade pattern. On third down at the 4, Plummer floated a pass to nobody in particular, forcing the Broncos to settle for Jason Elam's game-tying 22-yard field goal.
Kansas City shut out Denver in the first half for the first time ever, which doubled as the first time the Broncos had been shut out in the first half since moving to Invesco Field in 2001. Even a defensive performance like Sunday's, cornerback Patrick Surtain said, was not good enough.
"It doesn't matter how many points the offense scores," he said. "The field goals they got, they shouldn't have got on us. We can take some pride in holding them to nine points, but the fact is that we lost the game."
Go figure.
A franchise that has spent the last five years with a defense that made winning a game feel less like football than trying to lose Steve McQueen in a car chase is now lamenting an opponent's nine-point day.
For 60 minutes, the Broncos slammed running backs into non-existent holes and air mailed passes to receivers who had left the zip code. They couldn't even run a bootleg. But in overtime, the Chiefs defense finally gave way, giving up a 20-yard cutback run to Mike Bell that put Denver at midfield, then a 24-yard competion to a well-covered Javon Walker that got the Broncos in field goal range.
Game.
"The defense played as well as you could ask for," guard Brian Waters said. "It was a good effort, but not good enough to win."
http://cjonline.com/stories/091906/chi_defense.shtml