I'm pretty much pulling for the Chiefs to win it all so Spags can cement his legacy and help the Walrus finally get the Monkey off his back.
He has taken a lot of flak for some bad defenses that were really devoid of talent in St Louis, in an unwinnable scenario with the worst QB situation in the NFL when he was there, and a team that gave up without their suspended leader (Sean Payton) in the wake of Bountygate.
But Spags showed again when he has some horses, he knows how to play-call and get a defense ready for a big challenge.
His defense limited Watson and the run game yesterday and really had Watson harassed and hurried all game, hitting Watson 8 times and sacking him 5 times.
Anyway, kudos to Spags for another job well done, I only wish the Giants were smart enough to know what they had after McAdoo was shown the door.
And Houston sort of did the same most of the game
Like many coordinators, Spags' statistical rankings have varied greatly depending on how much talent he has to work with and how effective the head coach is. His 2008 defense was better than his 2007 defense despite having less talent, but the whole team ran like a well-oiled machine for most of that year.
His defenses were historically bad when he had no talent to work with or when the whole team was badly coached (his run with the Saints where he couldn't actually speak to the head coach and his 2017 year with the Giants, for example).
Not a lot of coordinators can post top 10 offenses or defenses year in and year out. Most of the time, the talent level and stability of the organization plays a big role in the numbers. I think the success or failure of many coordinators comes down to intangibles that we as fans don't get to see.
Well, dippy, 7 of those points were the result of a blocked punt for a TD, and another 7 was the result of a muffed punt return that set Houston up at the KC 6 yard line with 1st and Goal.
But after that, here were the following Houston possessions:
FG on a drive that began on the Houston 49 yard line
Stopped a fake punt attempt for Turnover on Downs (well, kudos to ST coordinator here but the 4th down of course was created by the defense).
Forced a punt
Stopped the Chiefs forcing a long FG, which they missed
Forced another punt
Gave up a TD drive
Forced another Turnover on Downs
Forced ANOTHER Turnover on Downs
And finally Forced yet ANOTHER Turnover on Downs, effectively ending the game with a fitting sack of Watson for a loss of 17.
So after the initial 21 point flurry in which 14 of those points were directly attributed to Special Teams miscues on the part of KC, they allowed a FG on a drive that started at midfield, and a 75 yard TD drive on 9 possessions, and forced 5 Turnovers on Downs and 2 punts, against that DeShaun Watson-led team with all of their horses.
That's what I would call a great performance.
They did not play poorly, they were not bad, they harassed Watson all day and were aggressive, rightly getting hit with the occasional big play, which was the trade off by negating their run attack and limiting Watson on the ground and applying a lot of pressure to him.
You can't possibly argue that ST's caused that!
This sounds about right.
Texans would have had a better chance if they tried more fake punts. Because when successful they are guaranteed points...
It wasn't great. And it wasn't what won them the game.
It's like saying Seattle did a great job on D, except for giving up 3rd down conversions.
Out of all the things to take away from this weekend, KC's defense being described as great isn't even a thought.
You can't possibly argue that ST's caused that!
Yards aren't points.
When it comes down to it, you know you have Mahomes on the other side, you know you don't have to play scared defense. You can be aggressive because the pressure is on them to keep pace with Mahomes.
That's like saying Bill Belichick was terrible for allowing Thurman Thomas to go off for 190 yards on 20 touches in the Super Bowl. It was the right strategy though.
Plus there was a lot of garbage time yards when the game was essentially over in the 4th quarter.
I'll say it again...on 9 possessions following the 21 point flurry...they allowed 10 points. 3 of which came from a FG on a drive that started at the HOU 49 yard line.
FIVE Turnover on Downs, 2 punts. Five sacks on the day. And you don't think that's a good performance? Don't give me yards, FMiC. You're a smart guy. Yards don't win games unless you have a big lead and are grinding out ToP, which they weren't able to do when they had that big lead, because of Spags' defense.
In reality his defense gave up two TDs and a FG on a possession that began at midfield. 14 points were on Special Teams.
Spagnuolo has had a really bizarre career. He had historically bad (in the history of the entire NFL) bad defenses with two teams.
If it were not for 2007, I'm not sure he would even be a DC.
Look - KC won. It wasn't a great job by their D. And I'm not sure what would compel one to start a thread saying it was.
Now you'll have to excuse me, some guys are looking for my Dutch translation skills.....
And by the way, Spags didn't just coach here. He coached the defense that stopped the greatest offense in NFL history, the defense that prevented a perfect 19-0 season, the defense that massively contributed to one of (in my mind THE) greatest upset in Super Bowl history.
So to say I'm a fan of Spags, maybe a tiny bit biased...you bet, guilty. I'm pulling for him.
I will say, though, that virtually no one would have succeeded with that Saints defense. They weren't all that good to begin with, and many of the players admitted later on that they pretty much tanked the season out of anger about Williams being suspended.
Dial back the calls of greatness, or better yet, don't foist a thread like this on the board in the first place and nobody is "hating" anything.
Look - KC won. It wasn't a great job by their D. And I'm not sure what would compel one to start a thread saying it was.
Now you'll have to excuse me, some guys are looking for my Dutch translation skills.....
Stops are stops. Any drive that prevents points, regardless of yards, is a win for the defense, and you know this. Special Teams put them in a hole, and Spags defense put the clamps down and gave up 10 points, I direct you to my post directly above.
You can't possibly argue that ST's caused that!
Well giving up 600 yards of offense was enough to get some folks to want to hire Jim Schwartz, so...
.
This is my point.
Heck, I'm thinking you might start a thread talking about how great the Texans 1st quarter D was, except that Spags doesn't run it, so the motivation to manufacture a bad take didn't materialize.
All I'm saying...Spags deserves some credit, Chiefs' fans are rightly given him his even though some of you cannot.
IMO, Spags belongs in our ring of honor for 2007 alone.
You are saying the D played GREAT.
Spags deserves credit. KC won. Save the superlatives for when they actually fucking count.
You can also be wrong, despite being smart guys, which is puzzling why you're choosing to be wrong here, but that's your prerogative. I have no desire to wear you down with additional facts or repeating the same facts, which of course I could eventually do. I will instead wish you both a great Monday.
Do you not realize that's what people are arguing here?
You started a thread with a shitty premise and are clinging to it for whatever reason - it isn't clear to me.
Look, you've already called people "haters" and wrong, just for pointing out that KC's D did not play great.
This is a fact...both guys are still living off those crazy post-season runs.
I say good for them. But no one should confuse them for Jim Johnson or DIck LeBeau.
Ironically, Jim decided out of all the games played this weekend - to highlight the performance of the KC D as being great.
There was probably only one other team who played worse D - their opponent!
I'm sorry but I have to respond to this. Yes they played great. If your defense holds a DeShaun Watson-led offense with that group of receivers to 17 points, 3 of which on a FG with a short field, then yes, you did great. But the numbers more support my argument than yours. You want to talk about yards as if that's important. It's not. Stopping drives are what's important.
5-15 3rd Down efficiency allowed. 1-5 4th down efficiency allowed. The sacks, the pressures.
ToP was not a reflection of Spags defense, it was a reflection of KC scoring very fast repeatedly. They had a 59 second possession resulting in a TD, a 23 second possession resulting in a TD, a 1:25 possession resulting in a TD, a 1:32 possession resulting in a TD, a 2:03 possession resulting in a TD. That's not counting the possessions that didn't result in points, with ToP being the following: 1:53, 2:58, 0:32, and 1:04. Their longest possession was under 4 minutes, and they only had three possessions all game over 3 minutes.
Now imagine your defense having to go back on the field with that quick of a turnaround repeatedly and still hold up like they did...I guess you guys don't appreciate in-game nuances like that.
To top it off, his defense committed only 1 penalty all game. They were prepared and disciplined and didn't beat themselves, with the exception of one blown coverage assignment.
I will accept your retractions at any time. ;)
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Perry Fewell for DC and see if anyone posts aything complimentary.
Ironically, Jim decided out of all the games played this weekend - to highlight the performance of the KC D as being great.
There was probably only one other team who played worse D - their opponent!
Oh look, FMiC, I thought Tennessee's defense against Baltimore was spectacular. They did a helluva job. But their DC didn't use to be our DC who happened to be the DC on the winning side of XLII. I'm a Spags' fan, sue me, I guess? I'm sure Dean Pees is a great coordinator. Good luck, because he's got a tall order next week. Robert Saleh...great job. I think he's a talented guy. Also didn't coach in XLII.
But yeah, I like Fewell, it's just that XLII everyone had written the Giants off and it was more of a David vs Goliath scenario. And I liked Spags' defense more, which has always been aggressive and getting after the QB, a style I prefer.
Thank you, Jon. Yes, to some degree it is. But I do think it's worth recognizing he's 1 game from being back in the Super Bowl.
And I'll say it here first. I have a ton of respect for what Vrabel has done and for the man-beast that Derrick Henry is, he is incredibly fun to watch.
But K.C. is going to murder that Tennessee team. I don't expect that game to be close. I'd bet K.C. on a 16.5 spread and feel very confident. In fact, I wouldn't take Tennessee if they were getting 20.5. And no, I don't want to bet any of you...I'll place my bets the traditional way if I want to, thank you.
So yes, I'm going to enjoy watching Spags get another ring, if they are able to finish this thing by toppling the Packers or Niners.
/Thread.
They're not getting there because of his defense, that's for damned sure.
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31 points against. Another great Spags scheme. Right.
/Thread.
Except his defense didn't give up 31 points.
When you've got that offense, you really just need your defense to be barely average and they've gotten that and more. Mahomes wins them games, but the defense is no longer costing them wins like they did last season. Spags gets some credit in my book for his work as a whole this season. Just not sure yesterday would be the main point to support that. Let's see what he draws up for Derrick Henry
Big step up in class for them taking on Mahomes this week. I don't think they get many stops. Chiefs D just has to find a few here and there. Unfortunately for them they're much better against the run than the pass. I do think we could see a lot of points in that game
Henry should have another big game. Chiefs focus may just be finding a way to force field goal attempts in the red zone.
Let's talk again next Monday, Jonnyboy! ;)
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All I'm saying...Spags deserves some credit
You are saying the D played GREAT.
Spags deserves credit. KC won. Save the superlatives for when they actually fucking count.
Hey Fatman, where in the OP did he say "Great". Cut us some slack.
I could care less one way or another. I do thank Spags for 2007. Leave it at that and wish him well instead of pissing on the OPs pants. I suggest you check your excited bladder and you look at your own pants.
For me the biggest factor in the comeback was the Texans defense was a MASH unit. They came in with a gimped JJ Watt, numerous injuries to their back end and suffered more as the game ran it's course. They didn't have the talent to stay with the Chiefs.
I'd call this weeks AFC championship game a tossup. Chiefs D-line can't handle the Titans up front which means it's anyone's ballgame. Vrabel also won't make stupid decisions that hurt his chances like O'brien did.
just let him be a dc, it has taken him a long enough time to be successful there, and leave off the “great” and “legacy” talk and you’ll get a lot less blowback here.
just let him be a dc, it has taken him a long enough time to be successful there, and leave off the “great” and “legacy” talk and you’ll get a lot less blowback here.
Well that's a dumb fucking post.
The Chiefs have a complete QB. Huge difference. Tennessee has a VG defense, but they can't sit in the middle of the field and think that Mahomes won't beat them outside.