Where will the Chiefs rank in 2015?

In 2014, the Chiefs’ defence was ranked 20th overall (according to football outsiders, who use an in-depth system called DVOA that measure a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent), this may be surprising to many fans who feel that the defence ranked in the top 5 for multiple categories. The front office have made strides to improve the unit even with a tough salary cap situation. With a mixture of new acquisitions and old faces it’s an exciting time for Chiefs’ fans. In this article I will be briefly outlining how the defence looks going into the upcoming training camp.

Going into free agency and the draft, there was no doubt that the Chiefs secondary needed strengthening. They only had 6 interceptions all season (3 by Kurt Coleman) which is abysmal to say the least. One of the main needs was at cornerback, and the Chiefs filled that void using their first round pick to take Marcus Peters. This now means that Ron Parker can stay at safety where he proved to be a better fit last season, Peters, who many thought to be the best cornerback in the draft, will help solidify that position group. He will play just across from Sean Smith and third round pick Steve Nelson to give the Chiefs a well-feared secondary.

It is common knowledge that the Chiefs have one of, if not the best, outside linebacker duo with Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. The feared pair will be hoping to tear up the league once again this year and there should be no reason why not. Both talents should easily attain 15+ sacks and last year’s sack leader, Houston, will be looking to regain his crown. The inside linebacker position is a different story, with their inability to stop the run (ranked 26th according to football outsiders) they will struggle especially with the return of the running game coming into play for many franchisers. The return of pro-bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson after a torn Achilles in week one will no doubt boost their production. However, they still needed help and will be hoping that their 4th round selection Ramik Wilson will help to bulk up the line and eradicate their run problems. They also re-signed Josh Mauga and the front office will be hoping that their tackle mission (led the team with 87 solo tackles) will continue to perform in the coming years.

The defensive line is pretty much unchanged from where it was last season; outstanding defensive tackle Dontari Poe leads the attack with Mike DeVito and Allen Bailey completing the three headed monster. Bailey was the un-sung hero last season, disrupting the play and getting to the quarterback on a consistent basis led to him finishing with 41 tackles and 5 sacks. Bailey can definitely push on this year and get as close to double digit sacks as possible. An interesting story this year will be whether Mike DeVito can regain his form after injury, DeVito, who is going into the final year of his contract will have a point to prove and maybe that can be the force that irons out some of the mistakes he has made in the past. The addition of Rakeem Nunez-Roches will add depth and hopefully he can learn something from Poe and make a difference in the future. The defensive line could go two ways however, they definitely have the potential to be very good.

Overall, the Chiefs defence has improved; especially in the secondary. Marcus Peters could be the missing piece and could turn them from a good unit to a great unit. All the pieces are now in place and the window could be closing with an ageing roster. It’s now or never for the Chiefs’ defence.