The Chiefs Defense Used Four Big Safeties To Get To The Super Bowl

[HOUSE]

This is a great link for a break down of strategy by the Chiefs, open the link for more....

 

There were four of those big safeties on most plays: Tyrann Mathieu, Juan Thornhill, Daniel Sorensen and L’Jarius Sneed. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter, when Mahomes and the Chiefs had taken a commanding 31-15 lead, that Spagnuolo ultimately switched to a more aggressive three-cornerback/three-safety form of coverage designed almost exclusively to stop the pass.

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-chiefs-defense-used-four-big-safeties-to-get-to-the-super-bowl/

Edited January 28, 2021 by HOUSE

[Zerovoltz]

Given the metrics of what KC does best and what the Bills do best....Spagnuolo correctly utilized and leveraged the KC defense to optimally defend against Buffalo's powerful passing attack that ran 3 and 4 wide fromations as much or more  than any other team.  This allowed KC to keep its crappy coverage LB's on the bench.  The Bills need to add a TE that is a threat and/or some RB's that are feauterd as pass catchers.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Zerovoltz
1st post was condescending and kind of douche like...this one more to the point wihtout the d baggery

[Scott7975]

2 minutes ago, Zerovoltz said:

.....uh......wait what?  <brag mode on>  So they did what I told you they would do against the Bills....and that it was the optimal defense KC could put on the field......against a Buffalo team that goes 3 and 4 wide as much or more than anyone else and that it was a bad matchup for the Bills.....hmmmm.

You are generally a good visiting poster here. Please don't start being a dick. 

[Big Turk]

Sneed is a CB. He plays the slot normally and Mathieu isn't exactly "big". 

[Zerovoltz]

Just now, Scott7975 said:

You are generally a good visiting poster here. Please don't start being a dick. 

sorry.....you are right.....that came off kind of douch canoe ish.  I will ammend it.

[Big Turk]

4 minutes ago, Zerovoltz said:

.....uh......wait what?  <brag mode on>  So they did what I told you they would do against the Bills....and that it was the optimal defense KC could put on the field......against a Buffalo team that goes 3 and 4 wide as much or more than anyone else and that it was a bad matchup for the Bills.....hmmmm.

 

The plan was to dare the refs to call defensive holding and illegal contact like the Legion of Boom used to do and do it every play knowing the refs can only call it so much. In this case much like the other playoff games they swallowed the whistles. Fair play to them, the Bills should have adjusted to it better.

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

I’ll have to watch the game again and see how they were used. The NFL needs to try and officiate games the same way from regular season to playoffs to super bowl. The way KC was holding on the O-Line and in the secondary was criminal. The delayed flag when Diggs basically got suplexed was comical. If these safeties are allowed to grab and hold WR’s in the playoffs then every team should be coping this strategy.

[SWATeam]

The main factor was the health of our WR’s.  Amazingly every last one of them was banged up.

 

This would be like congratulating our scheme if we limited a hobbled Kelce and Hill.

 

getting lucky with health is huge.

Edited January 28, 2021 by SWATeam

[SCBills]

6 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

The main factor was the health of our WR’s.  Amazingly every last one of them was banged up.

 

This would be like congratulating our scheme if we limited a hobbled Kelce and Hill.

 

getting lucky with health is huge.

Sure, but KC is paying Watkins and he apparently never plays. 
 

Their corners, Breeland & Fenton, were on the injury report as well.  
 

Absolutely, the health of our WR’s played some part in our ineffectiveness, but when you only have one pitch... and it’s not working.. that’s what happens.   Couple that with a complete defensive meltdown and you get what happened on Sunday. 

[SoCal Deek]

The biggest difference in the Chiefs game was the lack of time Josh had to find an open receiver. I recall games this year where he seemed to stand back there for what seemed like hours. Not true on Sunday. If the opponents secondary is going to commit their resources to plastering your receivers then there’s an expectation that they’ll do it at the detriment of their pass rush. Unfortunately, the Chiefs were able to do both on Sunday and the result was disastrous.

[SWATeam]

3 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Sure, but KC is paying Watkins and he apparently never plays. 
 

Their corners, Breeland & Fenton, were on the injury report as well.  
 

Absolutely, the health of our WR’s played some part in our ineffectiveness, but when you only have one pitch... and it’s not working.. that’s what happens.   Couple that with a complete defensive meltdown and you get what happened on Sunday. 

Sure, but our injury situation was a bit extreme- IMO.

 

Not sure how a passing team can have success with no healthy receivers 

[BearNorth]

We gave up a huge play to Hill, a huge play to Hardman, and they've been running  the shovel pass to Kelce on the goal line for a while, and our defense was clueless. Just Saying.  This wasn't all on the offense.

[BuffaloRebound]

32 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

Sneed is a CB. He plays the slot normally and Mathieu isn't exactly "big". 

Article lost all credibility for me when 5’9” 190lb Matthieu is referred to as a big safety.  He’s awesome but he ain’t big.  

[zow2]

31 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

The plan was to dare the refs to call defensive holding and illegal contact like the Legion of Boom used to do and do it every play knowing the refs can only call it so much. In this case much like the other playoff games they swallowed the whistles. Fair play to them, the Bills should have adjusted to it better.

 

Yep.  I heard an interview with one of the Tampa Bay DB's yesterday.  He said the same thing. He was playing edgy against Green Bay receivers,,doing a lot of grabbing, hand checking, anything to ruin the WR's timing and it worked.  The refs pretty much let everything go.  So we'll see in the Super Bowl if the refs start calling it on both clubs.

Meanwhile the Bills just play 5-7 yards off the receivers and that's our strategy in a big playoff game. SMH.

[H2o]

The only reason they could do this is because we don't have an effective running game. They don't have to respect it. They played to stop the pass, our three main guys were all hobbled to some extent, and it was a flawless move by Spagnuolo. Lets not forget that he was the DC for those Giants teams that stopped Tom Brady in two SB's. One of those was the #3 scoring offense of all time, calling a game that held them to 14 pts. He's an excellent DC. Always has been. We just need to be more balanced so that people have to account for everything and know that they can't stop us if they eliminate one aspect. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by H2o

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

If we could run the football that probably would’ve brought those LB’s back into the game. Next season we need a more balanced attack. 

[BuffaloRebound]

7 minutes ago, Call_Of_Ktulu said:

If we could run the football that probably would’ve brought those LB’s back into the game. Next season we need a more balanced attack. 

Can’t be a 1 trick pony and win championships. You’re gonna come up against a team that’s gonna take away what you do best.  Even though Singletary was a draft miss, not sure why the coaching staff has a Peterman-like affinity for him.  Coaching staff preaches no entitlement.  If we had a RB who could’ve run with some power/violence, there was 5-7 yards a pop minimum.  

[Royale with Cheese]

This is why we need to be able to run the ball and maybe this is the one game where we run a lot of two TE sets.  

[Logic]

Hmm...

The Bills ride an elite passing offense to a 13-3 record, only to see the opposition sell out to stop the pass by deploying six defensive backs in the biggest game of the year.

Where have I heard this one before? 

Oh, right. Super Bowl XXV.

History repeats. Only this time, unlike the '90 team, the Bills aren't even ABLE to run the ball well when dared to do so. 

This is what we mean when we say the Bills need to be able to run the ball. Not that they need to run it more often, but that they need to be able to run it EFFECTIVELY when the game calls for it. Unless and until they can run the ball well, this is just going to keep happening.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Logic

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

Just now, Logic said:

Hmm...

The Bills ride an elite passing offense to a 13-3 record, only to see the opposition sell out to stop the pass by deploying six defensive backs in the biggest game of the year.

Where have I heard this one before? 

Oh, right. Super Bowl XXV.

History repeats. Only this time, unlike the '90 team, the Bills aren't even ABLE to run the ball well when dared to do so. 

This is what we mean when we say the Bills need to be able to run the ball. Not that they need to run it more often, but that they need to be able to run it EFFECTIVELY when the game calls for it. Unless and until they can run the ball well, this is just going to keep happening.

 

Agreed.  

25 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Can’t be a 1 trick pony and win championships. You’re gonna come up against a team that’s gonna take away what you do best.  Even though Singletary was a draft miss, not sure why the coaching staff has a Peterman-like affinity for him.  Coaching staff preaches no entitlement.  If we had a RB who could’ve run with some power/violence, there was 5-7 yards a pop minimum.  

 

Because it isn't just him - its daboll, its allen, its the offensive line.  Bad call - play blown up.  Bad check - play blown up.  Bad Blocking - play blown up.  People act like having speed is going to fix the running game somehow. 

 

I'd personally start with the offensive line.  I think some changes need to be made, and an attempt needs to be made to find premier talent.  It helps both passing and rushing offenses.  Buffalo had some pro-bowlers on the line with wood (1x), and Incognito (3x).  But as of right now the unit is not particularly good.

[Livinginthepast]

17 minutes ago, Logic said:

Hmm...

The Bills ride an elite passing offense to a 13-3 record, only to see the opposition sell out to stop the pass by deploying six defensive backs in the biggest game of the year.

Where have I heard this one before? 

Oh, right. Super Bowl XXV.

History repeats. Only this time, unlike the '90 team, the Bills aren't even ABLE to run the ball well when dared to do so. 

This is what we mean when we say the Bills need to be able to run the ball. Not that they need to run it more often, but that they need to be able to run it EFFECTIVELY when the game calls for it. Unless and until they can run the ball well, this is just going to keep happening.

Exactly what I thought during the game and before it. How many times have we seen high flying pass oriented offenses humbled by defensive schemes that arent pretty but very effective in the playoffs? its happened forever in the NFL if the coaches are good enough. Our biggest failure was giving up on the run too soon. If they knew Singletary was not up to it they should have dressed Antonio Williams. In the game they should have kept plugging away with Yeldon. But they waited too long and the game got away from them!

[BuffaloRebound]

23 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Agreed.  

 

Because it isn't just him - its daboll, its allen, its the offensive line.  Bad call - play blown up.  Bad check - play blown up.  Bad Blocking - play blown up.  People act like having speed is going to fix the running game somehow. 

 

I'd personally start with the offensive line.  I think some changes need to be made, and an attempt needs to be made to find premier talent.  It helps both passing and rushing offenses.  Buffalo had some pro-bowlers on the line with wood (1x), and Incognito (3x).  But as of right now the unit is not particularly good.

Maybe but why blow up the OL when for the most part they were excellent giving Josh time to throw and he put up the best passing numbers in team history.  Much easier to find a more violent powerful back who can get tough yards and move the chains.  I’d settle for a RB who can fall forward for an extra 1-2 yards when tackled.  Singletary leaves so many yards on the field.  

23 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

23 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by BuffaloRebound

[Not at the table Karlos]

1 hour ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Article lost all credibility for me when 5’9” 190lb Matthieu is referred to as a big safety.  He’s awesome but he ain’t big.  

Sorenson is prob the only one I would call big at 6’2” 208. He’s the same height and weight I was in high school at same position. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Not at the table Karlos

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

41 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Maybe but why blow up the OL when for the most part they were excellent giving Josh time to throw and he put up the best passing numbers in team history.  Much easier to find a more violent powerful back who can get tough yards and move the chains.  I’d settle for a RB who can fall forward for an extra 1-2 yards when tackled.  Singletary leaves so many yards on the field.  

 

Because that doesn't help when you get hit 2 yards behind the LOS.  They were fine in pass pro for the most part - until the playoffs basically. 

[noacls]

I would say it's more Daboll getting outcoached by Spagnuolo

[Royale with Cheese]

It's what I believe the Pats did to the Rams in the Super Bowl 20 years ago.

[Philly McButterpants]

2 hours ago, Logic said:

Hmm...

The Bills ride an elite passing offense to a 13-3 record, only to see the opposition sell out to stop the pass by deploying six defensive backs in the biggest game of the year.

Where have I heard this one before? 

Oh, right. Super Bowl XXV.

History repeats. Only this time, unlike the '90 team, the Bills aren't even ABLE to run the ball well when dared to do so. 

This is what we mean when we say the Bills need to be able to run the ball. Not that they need to run it more often, but that they need to be able to run it EFFECTIVELY when the game calls for it. Unless and until they can run the ball well, this is just going to keep happening.

 

The difference being that the 90 Bills could and did run against that defense.  They just didn't do it enough.  And that game was lost on 3rd and 13 when 5 different players had a chance to make a tackle.  

 

[John from Riverside]

So another words if we had a running game we could’ve forced KC into a different scheme

 

Oh well there’s always next year

 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

5 hours ago, Zerovoltz said:

Given the metrics of what KC does best and what the Bills do best....Spagnuolo correctly utilized and leveraged the KC defense to optimally defend against Buffalo's powerful passing attack that ran 3 and 4 wide fromations as much or more  than any other team.  This allowed KC to keep its crappy coverage LB's on the bench.  The Bills need to add a TE that is a threat and/or some RB's that are feauterd as pass catchers.

If ever there was a need for Thurman-esque hands/movement out of the backfield, this would've been it. Singletary might still be running had his fingers not been coated in buttered grease . 

4 hours ago, H2o said:

The only reason they could do this is because we don't have an effective running game. They don't have to respect it. They played to stop the pass, our three main guys were all hobbled to some extent, and it was a flawless move by Spagnuolo. Lets not forget that he was the DC for those Giants teams that stopped Tom Brady in two SB's. One of those was the #3 scoring offense of all time, calling a game that held them to 14 pts. He's an excellent DC. Always has been. We just need to be more balanced so that people have to account for everything and know that they can't stop us if they eliminate one aspect. 

Agreed! Only small nitpick is that the Giants' 2nd Pats dragon slaying team featured Perry Fewell as the DC, but your point still stands. 

[H2o]

25 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Agreed! Only small nitpick is that the Giants' 2nd Pats dragon slaying team featured Perry Fewell as the DC, but your point still stands. 

You're absolutely right. I forgot he had left for the Rams as head coach in '09. I was thinking it was after the 2nd SB victory. 

[LABILLBACKER]

7 hours ago, Zerovoltz said:

Given the metrics of what KC does best and what the Bills do best....Spagnuolo correctly utilized and leveraged the KC defense to optimally defend against Buffalo's powerful passing attack that ran 3 and 4 wide fromations as much or more  than any other team.  This allowed KC to keep its crappy coverage LB's on the bench.  The Bills need to add a TE that is a threat and/or some RB's that are feauterd as pass catchers.

An elite TE &/or RB would do wonders to keep defenses honest. Especially the Chiefs. Daboll failed miserably not developing a better run attack as the season progressed. He got so caught up in Josh's video game numbers that he basically just abandoned it in the 2nd half of the season. Moss getting hurt only amplified that. Andy was probably licking his chops.

[NewEra]

8 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

The plan was to dare the refs to call defensive holding and illegal contact like the Legion of Boom used to do and do it every play knowing the refs can only call it so much. In this case much like the other playoff games they swallowed the whistles. Fair play to them, the Bills should have adjusted to it better.

I agree with this 💯 

 

what are your thoughts on this @Zerovoltz?

 

smart strategy considering how the refs are calling things these days. If they let you cheat, then by golly, we should be cheating too.  Too bad our DBs were 5-20 yards off of their WRs/TE

 

i absolutely feel we should be chilling and holding Kelce off the snap next season if the refs are again allowing teams to get away with the smaller stuff

[Zerovoltz]

4 hours ago, NewEra said:

I agree with this 💯 

 

what are your thoughts on this @Zerovoltz?

 

smart strategy considering how the refs are calling things these days. If they let you cheat, then by golly, we should be cheating too.  Too bad our DBs were 5-20 yards off of their WRs/TE

 

i absolutely feel we should be chilling and holding Kelce off the snap next season if the refs are again allowing teams to get away with the smaller stuff

The chiefs corners are pretty physical.  I’d have to watch it again to pay attention to see the grabbing etc.  I’m sure there was some.  KC doesn’t play a lot of off coverage.  Spags will put them in man more often than you’d probably think.  They press well.  
 

My thought wouldn’t change much though.....present KC with a TE or RB threat out of backfield, you get the bad LB corps on the field and exploit that.  Apparently our LB aren’t nearly as good at doing whatever the DBs are doing in coverage.

[Meatloaf63]

On 1/28/2021 at 9:43 AM, Logic said:

Hmm...

The Bills ride an elite passing offense to a 13-3 record, only to see the opposition sell out to stop the pass by deploying six defensive backs in the biggest game of the year.

Where have I heard this one before? 

Oh, right. Super Bowl XXV.

History repeats. Only this time, unlike the '90 team, the Bills aren't even ABLE to run the ball well when dared to do so. 

This is what we mean when we say the Bills need to be able to run the ball. Not that they need to run it more often, but that they need to be able to run it EFFECTIVELY when the game calls for it. Unless and until they can run the ball well, this is just going to keep happening.

This, post of the year👍So tired of hearing we don’t need a good running back or running game...

[Dukestreetking]

On 1/28/2021 at 10:20 AM, Not at the table Karlos said:

Sorenson is prob the only one I would call big at 6’2” 208. He’s the same height and weight I was in high school at same position. 

Holy crap... glad I didn't play WR against you in high school!

 

Or, at least I don't think I did. Maybe you and your FS malachi-crunched me so bad I don't remember.