Chiefs LB Nick Bolton makes strong statement about the defense in 2023
The Kansas City Chiefs' captain is tired of the disrespect and is coming for it all on the defensive side of the ball. Honestly, I think we all see where Nick Bolton is coming from with what seemed to be frustration. He's upset that the defense doesn't get enough credit, not just this year or […]
The Kansas City Chiefs' captain is tired of the disrespect and is coming for it all on the defensive side of the ball.
Honestly, I think we all see where Nick Bolton is coming from with what seemed to be frustration. He's upset that the defense doesn't get enough credit, not just this year or last year, but the last few years.
And thinking back, it does feel like the group doesn't get talked about enough. Now, that could be largely because of the polarizing figures that are Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. But also, the Chiefs have a guy that's polarizing in Chris Jones.
Nick Bolton wants the disrespect to stop. So much so, he is sending out a message to the league, warning them that the Chiefs' defense is coming.
"I know our defense, we are definitely going to be hungry," Bolton told reporters on Wednesday. "We don't get the respect that we deserve. Over the years, the 3-4 years I've been here and I've been watching the Chiefs. It [the defense] doesn't get the recognition that it deserves. Myself included. So, I can say I'm hungry as ever."
Hungry as ever is a statement that the rest of the league should be scared of. Think about it this way:
The Chiefs have one of, but I'd go out on a limb and say the best offense of all time. No other offense has been able to touch what the Chiefs have done in the last five years. But the defense? They have not been that elite.
The defense has been good, besides 2018 when Bob Sutton was the defensive coordinator, it was awful. Since then, Steve Spagnuolo has had the group ready to play every week. But imagine the all-time offense the Chiefs have and match that with an elite or great defense even. That's scary.
If this team ever gets a great defense, it is over with for the rest of the league, which is why Bolton's statement is so strong. Before that happens though, there are still some things the defense needs to clean up.
"I feel like, we kind of have had missed opportunities whether it be interceptions, sacks and just kind of getting hands on balls, contesting catches a little bit better," Bolton continued. "The first, I think six games, we don't think as a defense we weren't as gelled as we wanted to be and the back half kind of picked up. So we kind of want to start there, start at the beginning of the season, the first six games, like the last six and I just kind of see that take us throughout the season."
I think this year the defense can be better than it has been any of the five years this core group has been together, which, as I said, is scary for the rest of the league. The Chiefs are coming for it all, and as Bolton said, they are hungry.
