Chiefs' defense getting a ton of attention from Jets' HC Robert Saleh
We talk about it all of the time, the Kansas City Chiefs and their historic offense over the last few years – but they are now a defensive team, too, and the rest of the NFL is starting to realize it. The New York Jets will get their own taste of that on Sunday Night […]
We talk about it all of the time, the Kansas City Chiefs and their historic offense over the last few years – but they are now a defensive team, too, and the rest of the NFL is starting to realize it. The New York Jets will get their own taste of that on Sunday Night Football.
Last year was huge in terms of getting to where the Chiefs are now defensively. They took seven defensive rookies in 2022. Those guys showed out their rookie year and made plays all season long, including in the postseason.
The defense has only improved, and most of that is credited to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who is just doing a masterful job coaching this defense.
"This is year five for Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), a lot of respect for Spags as a coordinator and a play caller," Jets head coach Robert Saleh said. "You can tell the group is playing at a high level, a lot of efficiency; they've been together for a while now.
"Their linebacker crew has gotten a heck of a lot better; they're sticky in coverage, they're very disruptive, their blitz packages are really, really tight because they can blitz and cover usually with that type of system. You might find some holes, but they're very sticky. So, like I said, they're very in tune to their responsibility, they play very, very fast, and Spags has a really good grasp of his personnel, and they use it wisely."
On Sunday, the Chiefs will be without their best linebacker and the leader of the defense, Nick Bolton. However, they didn't have him last week. Bolton, who is normally the green dot, had a headset on, helping Drue Tranquill, his backup.
But they do have Chris Jones, who is a game wrecker. They also have Trent McDuffie, one of the best cornerbacks in the league, and several other great pieces around those guys. Oh, and they have one of the best defensive coordinators in the league now, only he is finally getting some of the praise he deserves.
