Chiefs LBs Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill enable Steve Spagnuolo to have unusual but effective approach on defense
The Chiefs have a lot of intelligent players on defense.
Steve Spagnuolo has been a defensive coordinator for a long time, but offenses still struggle against his scheme.
His heavy and exotic blitzing nature is probably what Spagnuolo is most known for, but there’s much more to his system. The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense often allows points on the opening drive, and while that’s not the goal, it isn’t a big deal when it happens.
That’s because Spagnuolo is perhaps the greatest in-game adjuster the NFL has ever seen. He uses the opening drive to get a feel for what the opposing offense, then readjusts his gameplan. However, Spagnuolo can’t do it all alone.
Steve Spagnuolo credits LBs Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill for helping with in-game adjustments
Spagnuolo values intelligence just as much as he does physical skill in his players. Bolton and Tranquill have a nice combination of both, as the two have made a dynamic duo since Tranquill joined the Chiefs in 2023. While speaking to the media on Thursday, Spagnuolo credited them, among others, for identifying adjustments that need made as the game develops.
“I would put it right back on them,” Spagnuolo said of Bolton and Tranquill. “We’re very fortunate we have real cerebral guys. Drue’s right up there, Nick [as well]. They come over, they see things, feel things, hear things out there that I can’t hear, and they’re always relaying it. Brendan (Daly), Joe (Cullen), Dave (Merritt), and Matt (House) and all the (defensive) coaches get together. We do a good job with that. We hang our hat on that. Hope to do it every game. All these teams that script these (opening drives), it gets tough because there’s people moving all over the place, and it’s usually things that we haven’t seen or worked on, but our guys do a good job of settling in.”
Kansas City’s most recent game against the Detroit Lions is the perfect example of how Spagnuolo’s defense operates. It surrendered a field goal and a touchdown on Detroit’s first two drives, but allowed just one more score on the final six. Chiefs fans have learned not to panic if the defense seems to be struggling early, thanks to Spagnuolo and his cerebral cast of players.
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