FanHouse DefensiveLine

The next position that I'll evaluate is the defensive line.

Defensive End:
The Chiefs were pleasantly surprised by the production of their defensive ends. Jared Allen was terrific as usual and Tamba Hali, in my estimation, had every right to be Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The issue is what the Chiefs will do in Jared Allen's 4-game absence, as he finally serves time for his DUI. Right now, the Chiefs have Jimmy Wilkerson and Eric Hicks as his backup, but both of those options are a pretty big step down.

The Chiefs might...
Use a higher pick than expected on a defensive end. The Chiefs will almost certainly re-sign Jared Allen. You almost wonder if Carl Peterson will use his first round pick as leverage for contract negotiations with Allen (just as, in many peoples' minds, Peterson did when he drafted Larry Johnson with Priest Holmes in contract negotiations.) More than likely, the Chiefs will bite the bullet, sign Allen to a long-term deal, and settle for Wilkerson to start, unless some new blood comes in. I would venture to guess that Hicks will be cut (regardless of cap consequence) and the Chiefs will either bring in some new blood, or use an early second day pick to compete for the starting role in Allen's absence. Nothing earth-shattering.

This is a point that Sam and I disagree on, and he'll post a counterpoint later on, but here's the scenario for me. It's late in the fourth quarter, the Broncos are ahead by a score, and the other team has the ball with two minutes left. Sound familiar? It's the way we lost against Indy and San Diego, and the way we might have lost if the Bengals hadn't miffed an extra point. This years' Bronco defense is fairly good when offenses are in their normal sets. But when they get into their two minute drill, the defense has been powerless to stop teams all season long.

The reason is that our line gets no pressure on the quarterback, and Layer Coyer is too conservative to call blitzes late in the game. Once again on Sunday, Carson Palmer had all the time in the world to sit back and wait for his receivers to find an opening once the Bengals started their last drive from the Broncos' ten yard line. I don't care how good your secondary is - if you give a quarterback, and especially good receivers like Cincinatti has, that much time, they are going to beat you.

During that last sequence, Denver's defensive line didn't get anywhere near Carson Palmer. The key to disrupting a two minute drill is making the quarterback feel rushed - making him really feel the time winding down as he scrambles for his life. And most importantly, you have to get to the quarterback before his receivers find a way to exploit that soft zone, and make him wait to throw until the secondary can recover. But the Broncos haven't done it all season. In fact, they've been down right pitiful at getting to the quarterback, and it's cost the team several games already. It might have cost them this one, too, if Cincinatti hadn't been so self destructive.

In my opinion, this is the team's biggest weakness, and one of the first things Shanahan needs to address during the off-season, either by finding some new personnel or finding a defensive coordinator who's not so conservative late in games. Clearly, Shanny's Cleveland experiment is not working, so the Broncos need to find another way to patch up their D-line if they want to be a complete team next year.

This week's early Arrowhead Awards, as a Thanksgiving treat to me, were easy. The Chiefs' offensive and defensive lines dominated the game and gave the Chiefs just enough effort to beat a lackadaisical Broncos team.

Larry Johnson, once again, was a candidate, as were Patrick Surtain and Ty Law. Johnson simply wore the Broncos down to submission, while Surtain and Law prevented Denver from completing any intermediate or deep passes.

However, there is no doubt that the offensive and defensive lines were the difference. On offense, the return of Brian Waters sparked life into the rest of the line, because they not only opened holes for Johnson, they completely annihilated the Broncos' tackles and ends. Even in the passing game, Trent Green looked more confident in the pocket than at any time he ever dropped back behind a Willie Roaf-less line. Meanwhile, the defensive line attacked the Denver gaps more effectively and more often than at any time in recent memory. Ron Edwards was in Jake Plummer's face consistently, and Jared Allen and Tamba Hali put on juke moves even Allen Iverson would be jealous of.

The Thanksgiving night victory was as satisfying as Chiefs' fans have seen in some time, thanks in most part to dominant performances by both the offensive and defensive lines. It has been a long time since they have been able to say that; one can only hope it becomes so common as to become trivial.

Despite having arthroscopic knee surgery just a few days ago, Indianapolis Colts DT Corey Simon hopes to be on the field for the team's season opener.

According to the Colts Official Homepage, Simon hasn't practiced since August 4th. The injury came after Simon reported to camp 25 pounds less then he was last season. Coach Dungy had this to say...

"He's really targeting opening day," Dungy said Tuesday.

Simon is a major piece of the Colts defensive puzzle. He will play a large roll as a run stopping force on the line. Last year, Simon's main criticism was that he was too overweight. Now that he has slimmed down, he will be quicker on his feet, and will be a great asset to the Colts rotation style defensive line.

Keep in mind that just a year ago Simon was holding out with the Eagles and seemed to be about 30 pounds away from "football shape". This year Simon has come into camp proving to his teammates that he is ready to play and now seems determined to make a speedy return from his knee injury.