NFL play by play: Any Given Sunday

[gabhorror]

https://theathletic.com/5224800/2024/01 ... ed-article

Articolo epico su Spags

[demetrius]

.... sarebbe bello poterlo leggere tutto :-(

[gabhorror]

‘Spags is a wizard’: How Steve Spagnuolo turned Chiefs defense into one of NFL’s best
Nate Taylor
Jan 26, 2024
92

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Update: The Chiefs beat the Ravens 17-10 to earn a trip to the Super Bowl

Steve Spagnuolo had 10 minutes.

In the first half of last week’s AFC divisional playoff game, the Buffalo Bills offense controlled the tempo, scoring 17 points and keeping the Kansas City Chiefs defense on the field for 41 plays. Kansas City failed to limit Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen’s scrambling ability, recording only one quarterback hit and allowing the Bills to gain first down after first down.

Standing next to a whiteboard, Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, started his halftime address with a simple question.

“You guys ready?”

Spagnuolo changed the rushing lanes for the defensive linemen, a move designed to keep Allen in the pocket. He had the secondary play more zone coverage than usual to keep its collective eye on the quarterback and his pass catchers. Spagnualo used his linebackers in simulated pressures and called more run blitzes on first down.

“We made some (pre-snap) checks that we never practiced,” safety Justin Reid said. “We put them in at halftime and went out and executed them on the field. It made all the difference.”

“We fixed the things that needed to be fixed,” linebacker Drue Tranquill said.

go-deeper
GO DEEPER

Chiefs revel in road victory in front of raucous Bills fans: 'The environment was crazy'

In a major twist, the defense has been the most productive part of a Chiefs team that finds itself back in the AFC Championship Game for a sixth consecutive season. No opponent has scored 30 points on Spagnuolo’s unit, which allowed the fewest second-half points (126) in the league. The Chiefs finished the regular season allowing just 17.3 points per game, second-fewest in the NFL.

Allen, one of the league’s most talented quarterbacks, had just two games this season in which he averaged 5.5 yards per pass attempt or fewer. Both came against the Chiefs. In Sunday’s elimination game, Allen and the Bills didn’t score in the fourth quarter of Kansas City’s 27-24 victory.

“He’s a headache,” Spagnuolo said of Allen after the game, his voice filled with relief.

The reason the Chiefs defense could make so many alterations at halftime, Spagnuolo said, was because his players can help solve schematic problems alongside him.

“They love playing together,” Spagnuolo said. “I love the chemistry, and it shows on the field. When you get into games like this, chemistry, cohesiveness and guys having confidence in being really bold, is really, really important.

“It’s just been beautiful watching these guys jell together.”


Second-half adjustments helped the Chiefs slow Josh Allen and the Bills offense in their divisional-round playoff game on Sunday. (Perry Knotts / Getty Images)
Spagnuolo, whose NFL coaching career began with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999 and included three years as head coach of the St. Louis Rams, has a longstanding reputation.

He wants to break down the opposing offense’s pass-protection rules, then exploit those rules. He wants to call unorthodox plays, too, gambles he hopes are as shocking as they are effective.

“Spags is a wizard, man,” defensive end Mike Danna said. “He’s got tons of blitzes, and he knows how to get after a quarterback.”

Led by defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end George Karlaftis (10 1/2 sacks each), the Chiefs sacked the opposing quarterback 57 times in the regular season, the second most in the league.

Spagnuolo leaned into his reputation, creating havoc for the quarterback while not surrendering long completions. The Chiefs blitzed on third down at the fifth-highest rate in the league (39.3 percent), plays that produced the third-highest pressure rate (64.3 percent), according to Next Gen Stats.

When a defensive back was part of Kansas City’s blitzes, the unit produced nine sacks, the third most in the league, according to TruMedia. On such snaps, the Chiefs grabbed two interceptions and allowed just two touchdown passes, and the longest completion they surrendered was just 26 yards. Even while employing simulated pressures, the Chiefs had the most sacks from players in the secondary (nine).

“They get to the quarterback without having great personnel to do so, with Chris Jones being the exception,” said Aaron Schatz, the chief analytics officer of FTN Network and inventor of DVOA. “They led the league in adjusted sack rate, which is sacks per pass play. The Ravens have more sacks (60), but the Chiefs faced fewer pass plays, which I think is a testament to Spagnuolo’s scheme.”

At age 64, Spagnuolo’s goal each week is simple: Create as many blitzes as possible. The hope, Justin Reid said, is that the quarterback or opposing play caller won’t know which type of blitz is coming at a pivotal moment.

“Nobody cares about if plays are made for them or not,” Reid said. “It’s about playing winning defense. It’s about creating the opening for the next man to get the sack, getting on your man long enough that the next guy can make the play.”

Spagnuolo’s players understand that many of his blitzes are designed to collapse the pocket, requiring the defensive ends — Karlaftis, Danna and Charles Omenihu — and Jones, from the interior, to rush from the correct angle and with proper eye discipline so the quarterback cannot escape the trap.

The results? The Chiefs led the league with 73 unblocked pressures.

“Sometimes, there are some things that we do — and I know it when I call it — that can be a little risky,” Spagnuolo said with a smile last month. “But it’s a risk-reward, right?”

Spagnuolo’s best blend of producing an effective pass rush, exceptional coverage and timely blitzes occurs when he employs dime personnel — six defensive backs, one linebacker and four linemen, a personnel grouping he used most in the league (185 snaps), according to TruMedia.

“We get to dime, you don’t know what you’re going to get from Coach Spags,” defensive line coach Joe Cullen said in “Time’s Yours 2,” an NFL Films documentary released in September. “He does a great job of mixing it up. We could be bringing overload pressure, a strong safety coming or maybe the corner coming.”

The Chiefs’ dime personnel generated a league-leading 27 sacks and 92 “splash” plays (such as a turnover, sack, negative-yardage play or a pass breakup.)

“I really would not want to play our defense,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “We have great players all around, every single level. You have depth, guys that can rotate in and can do it all. And then you have Spags and his scheme. All the guys are so well-coached in the scheme that they use it to their advantage.

“It’s hard to (get) a bead on what they’re doing. That’s why I knew in training camp. I was like, ‘Man, I’m glad I don’t have to play those guys.'”

Spagnuolo remembers his main objective when he joined the Chiefs: Just give head coach Andy Reid, Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs’ potent offense competency on defense.

In 2019, Spagnuolo was tasked with improving a unit that ranked 31st in total defense and surrendered 26.3 points per game. He installed his 4-3 under base system, a major change from the 3-4 defense used under former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, and began overhauling the unit with general manager Brett Veach.

Spagnuolo and Veach acquired proven veterans, such as safety Tyrann Mathieu, linebacker Damien Wilson, cornerback Bashaud Breeland and defensive ends Frank Clark, Alex Okafor and Terrell Suggs. All were instrumental in Spagnuolo elevating the Chiefs to 12th in defensive DVOA.

Kansas City ended that season as Super Bowl LIV champions, hoisting the franchise’s first Vince Lombardi Trophy in 50 years. Spagnuolo became the first defensive coordinator in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with two franchises after winning his first with the New York Giants.


Steve Spagnuolo, right, had a modest goal when he joined the Chiefs in 2019: Give coach Andy Reid, left, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes a competent defense. (Denny Medley / USA Today)
But time moves quickly in the NFL, and in March 2022 the Chiefs began rebuilding their defense again, this time starting with a blockbuster trade. Receiver Tyreek Hill, the league’s fastest player and the perfect game-changing deep threat for Mahomes, was sent to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks.

The deal was a calculated gamble to balance the team’s roster. With two first-round picks in the 2022 draft, the Chiefs selected cornerback Trent McDuffie (a first-team All-Pro this season) and Karlaftis. The next four defenders the Chiefs selected in the draft — safety Bryan Cook, linebacker Leo Chenal and cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson — became either reliable starters or rotational contributors.

This past offseason, Veach continued to invest in the defense. Three of the Chiefs’ four biggest acquisitions in free agency were Omenihu, Tranquill and safety Mike Edwards. The team created $9.6 million in salary-cap space by converting $12 million of Mahomes’ $34.4 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. The Chiefs then used most of that to acquire Tranquill and Edwards and re-sign defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi.

In their first season with the Chiefs, the trio of Omenihu, Tranquill and Edwards have all played multiple positions, versatility that has given Spagnuolo the largest group of interchangeable players of his career. Omenihu collected a career-high seven sacks, Tranquill started eight games when Nick Bolton was injured and Edwards helped generate the Chiefs’ two defensive touchdowns.

“With those three guys, the credit goes to Brett Veach and his (personnel staff),” Spagnuolo said. “That’s one at each level. If you could bank on doing that every year in free agency, wouldn’t that make a huge difference, right? What they’ve done stepping in speaks volumes to how important they’ve been.”

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Featuring eight starters drafted since 2020, the Chiefs finished the regular season ranked fifth in defensive EPA per play and seventh in defensive DVOA, the best marks during Spagnuolo’s tenure. When this season started, the average age of the Chiefs’ 12 projected defensive starters, (including nickel cornerback) was 24.8, the youngest in the league, according to Schatz.

“It’s pretty surreal, the talent of the young guys around us now,” said defensive tackle Mike Pennel, a 10-year veteran who was a member of the 2019 team. “This is the greatest defense that I’ve been a part of.”

The defensive rookie who has played the most is Chamarri Conner, a safety the Chiefs moved up 15 spots to draft in the fourth round. In college, Conner played almost every position in Virginia Tech’s secondary. Dave Merritt, the Chiefs’ secondary coach, said Conner is the first rookie he’s had in his 27 years in the NFL who has played four positions — free safety, strong safety, nickel and the third safety in the dime package.

“In OTAs, I was like, ‘Man, this guy stinks; he can’t go into (the) slot, there’s no way,'” Merritt said of Conner. “Then, all of a sudden, he started climbing. He’s growing where we would like him to grow.”

Against the Bills, Conner played 76 of the Chiefs’ 77 defensive snaps while replacing Edwards, who sustained a concussion on the game’s second play. Conner finished with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. In coverage, he allowed just 25 yards as the nearest defender, earning him a 90.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest of any safety who played in the divisional round.

As Spagnuolo walked off the field at Highmark Stadium, he wrapped his left arm around Conner, who smiled.

Spagnuolo’s group doesn’t have a nickname. The Chiefs defenders are not flashy. The secondary doesn’t have a ballhawk.

Several defenders have acknowledged that they don’t freelance as much as some of their peers who are looking to create a critical takeaway. Kansas City had just 17 takeaways in the regular season, tied for the fifth-fewest in the league. But Chiefs defenders are just as happy getting a third- or fourth-down stop as they are generating turnovers because of one reason: They have Mahomes, the league’s best quarterback.

“The ability to get stops and prevent first downs is more predictive than the ability to get takeaways,” Schatz said. “Takeaways are hugely important, but they’re not as predictive. If what you want is consistent defense, being able to get stops is more important.”

Earlier this month, when the defense had its first meeting ahead of the team’s wild-card round game against the Dolphins, Spagnuolo informed his players that he would add more wrinkles to the game plan — new plays, blitzes and pre-snap checks — because he appreciated their collective intelligence.

“(Bolton) doesn’t want vanilla, same with (Tranquill) and (Reid),” Spagnuolo said. “They want to be challenged mentally and they want to challenge the opponent’s offense. Not all guys are like that. These guys are great that way.”

During training camp last summer, L’Jarius Sneed told Spagnuolo he wanted to be the Chiefs’ shadow cornerback — the defender who covers the opponent’s best receiver — because he knew McDuffie could excel as the nickel defender. Sneed was correct. As the nearest defender in coverage on 90 targets in the regular season, Sneed didn’t surrender a touchdown.

Operating from the slot, McDuffie led the Chiefs with five forced fumbles, in addition to recording seven pass breakups, three sacks and nine quarterback hits. He led all defensive backs with 14 unblocked pressures.

“Spags trusts us and I love that,” McDuffie said. “I keep telling the coaches all the time, ‘If you need me at safety, I can always do it.’ I love when Spags gets to mess with the (opposing) offense. It’s such a mind game with this defense. I’ve had a lot of fun.”


Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, left, helped cornerback Trent McDuffie develop into an All-Pro in just his second NFL season. (Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Chiefs’ most memorable defensive highlight of the regular season came in a win over the Dolphins — and was ignited by McDuffie. When Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a short pass to Hill behind the line of scrimmage, McDuffie recognized the play’s design from film study and popped Hill a split-second after he caught the ball. Instead of recording a tackle for loss, McDuffie ripped the ball out of Hill’s hands.

The ball rolled away from Hill and to Edwards, who knew he had no chance to sprint away from Hill. Edwards lateraled the ball to Cook, then protected his teammate by blocking tight end Durham Smythe. Cook went untouched 59 yards for a touchdown.

In the wild-card rematch against the Dolphins, the Chiefs’ secondary played seven coverages, according to McDuffie, including one with him starting in his usual nickel spot before backpedaling to be one of the deep safeties.

The game featured one of Spagnuolo’s best-disguised coverages. Edwards and Conner showed two-high coverage before rotating to a single-high look, with Conner as the deepest defender, before the snap. But after the snap, Edwards and Conner continued to rotate, switching back to two-high coverage. The play ended with Edwards intercepting Tagovailoa’s intermediate pass.

In the second half, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel voiced his frustration while watching the Chiefs defense limit his offense, which averaged 29.2 points on the season, to just seven.

“We can’t do s—, man,” McDaniel said.

Last week, Spagnuolo altered his tactics and his players responded. Almost every major contributor produced a winning play.

Jones was most disruptive as a defensive end, creating enough pressure to affect Allen’s final two pass attempts, both of which fell incomplete. Karlaftis stopped one of the Bills’ drives with a batted pass on third down. Allen’s deepest pass of the game, with the ball traveling 52 yards past the line of scrimmage, fell incomplete because Reid was in the proper spot covering receiver Stefon Diggs.

Conner had his best performance of the season, five players recorded a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and the Bills never had a play of 20 or more yards.

Of course, Spagnuolo knew late Sunday night that the Chiefs were going from celebrating defeating one headache of an opposing quarterback in Allen to quickly preparing to face another in Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens’ leader and this year’s presumptive NFL MVP. Hoping to counterattack Jackson’s rare skills, Spagnuolo’s players expect his game plan — and his potential adjustments — will be his most complex of the season.

“Every week, there’s something new,” McDuffie said.

[Rasheed]

Interessante

Beh ricordiamoci come inizia del resto la Dinastia dei Chiefs
Con la telecronaca di Tony Romo


Reid e Mahomes sono due GOAT Candidates ovviamente

Ma si gioca in 22 coi coordinatori

[gabhorror]

Infatti il fooball tra tutti gli sport è quello che meno si presta a narrative da uomini soli al comando, c'è troppa tattica, troppo studio, troppi giocatori in campo.

[Rasheed]

Sport di genii

Veri

Ovviamente derubricato a gente che si mena dagli imbecilli per motivi ovvi

[demetrius]

Sport di genii

Veri

Ovviamente derubricato a gente che si mena dagli imbecilli per motivi ovvi

stra quoto e basta ascoltare tutti gli analyst del gioco (siano essi ex giocatori, coach, ass coach)
gente stra preparata e davvero di intelligenza superiore.

[paolonardi]

Io mio figlio tendenzialmente non lo farei giocare (poi certo, se lui vuole a tutti i costi)... ma concordo al 100%.

[paolonardi]

Ora, l'MVP e' andato come ci si aspettava... ammetto di non avere seguito per molti anni, quindi magari la mia domanda potra' sembrare strana. Ma come e' possibile che l'MVP sia un QB e un giocatore diverso dal suddetto vinca l'offensive player of the year, visto che il QB non gioca ne' in difesa, ne' negli special team?

[hollywood77]

Ci siamo.

[Rasheed]

Vince sempre lui

che Fenomeno

Dio del Football

[Rasheed]

P.S.: suggerimento a Shanahan...

evitasse di rivederlo...e di rivedere quello che ha chiamato su tutti i terzi down dal secondo tempo in poi...

[demetrius]

Vince sempre lui

che Fenomeno

Dio del Football

pazzesco
fenomeno

[Belinelli84]

P.S.: suggerimento a Shanahan...

evitasse di rivederlo...e di rivedere quello che ha chiamato su tutti i terzi down dal secondo tempo in poi...

Poi tra quel fumble stupido e il calcio sbagliato han completato l'opera quelli in campo

[hollywood77]

Peccato.
Difesa commovente.
Dopo Hufanga perso pure Greenlaw....hanno fatto il massimo contro i Chiefs.
Ultimi 2 downs sulle 10 dei Chiefs nell'OT giocati di merda...KS si dimostra il solito cagasotto...osa solo se costretto altrimenti conservativo e lo prende nel culo.
CMC ha fatto quello che ha fatto solo perché è un mostro...Kansas con la solita D monstre l'aveva preparata benissimo su di lui.
Per il resto onore a PM che sembrava in giornata no ma se gli dai la possibilità, se gli concedi l'ultimo drive....la partita in un modo o nell'altro te la vince pochi cazzi.
Già ero pessimista, poi sulla palla persa sul quel punt receiving era evidente su come sarebbe andata.

[skiptomylou]

SB non bellissimo ma tirato e piacevole. La differenza dei fenomeni in certi momenti, ormai è Dinasty!
Vi dico la mia, tutti mettono giustamente sotto i riflettori la conversione da 1 mancata, per me l'avrebbe comunque vinta KC con l'ultimo drive, sono andati comodi per pareggiare.

Sul drive dell'Overtime che dire, è andato liscio come tutti si aspettavano. La difesa di SF che aveva iniziato in maniera perfetta, ne aveva sempre meno. Per me anche generoso l'holding che di fatto ha portato a segnare i 49ers nell' OT...
Gran partita di Jennings, Purdy con quella faccia li non mi ispira mai nulla.

Come dice Ginola, gli hanno ceduto il miglior ricevitore della lega e l'anno dopo Orlando Jr. (pezzo comunque importante nella OL) e ha vinto 2 Superbowl.

[Rasheed]

Ieri ha giocato senza la RG titolare peraltro

Motivo per cui la pressione su di lui funzionava meglio del solito

E il C,di solito perfetto,gli ha sbagliato 1/4 degli snap

[skiptomylou]

Quotone sugli snap del C

Comunque manca troppo alla prossima stagione, come si fa?

[Winston]

vista in differita evitando pure gli spoiler ... grandissima la difesa di KC, allenata benissimo, ma quel livello ce l'hai per tutta la partita ANCHE perché sai che in attacco hai uno che, se continui a dargli l'occasione, poi trova il modo di vincertela.

[Rasheed]

Spagnuolo comunque 4 SB

Cosi...

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