FanHouse Safeties

Defensive Ends:
Simply outstanding. They have been difference makers. Tamba Hali was an absolute steal in the first round of the draft, and Jared Allen is having a pro bowl caliber season. Allen gets his share of sacks, but he is extremely underrated in his ability to strip the football and force turnovers. Watch him tackle a quarterback – he practically integrates a strip into his tackle. Allen would likely have more sacks if it weren't for all those darn forced fumbles. Hopefully, pro bowl voters can look past the sometimes overrated sacks statistic, even though Allen has more than his share. Hali has also been outstanding. He's generated pretty decent pressure, but he is also all over the field and is a critical piece to the Chiefs' run defense. It was almost painful to watch Eric Hicks stand in for Tamba Hali--you could just tell how much Tamba Hali impacts this football team. I almost feel like an injured Hali would have gotten more pressure than Hicks. Jimmy Wilkerson has been a solid rotational DE. He has played his way into a roster spot for next season; I can't say the same for Hicks.
Grade: A

Defensive Tackles:
In short, they get the job done. Nothing more, nothing less. We've certainly seen the pocket collapse a lot more than we have in years past. That's really all you can hope for from your tackles. The tackles have been ordinary; then again, they haven't been awful. There's really not a whole lot to say about them, except that Ryan Sims may have eaten his way out of the Chiefs for next season.
Grade: B-


Linebackers:
It's surprising how little recognition Derrick Johnson is getting this season, but he is on pace to rack up 100 tackles and 9 sacks.

Everyone seems to have a theory as to why the Chargers blew the lead and lost the game to the Ravens this past Sunday. You can blame the self-inflicted wounds of penalties and turnovers; you can blame Marty Ball and the Chargers being content to protecting a small lead instead of trying to increase it. You can blame mistakes and miscues in the kicking game; you can blame the defense that couldn't stop the Ravens from scoring in the final minute. You can even blame the inexperienced Quarterback.

Regardless, the wins and losses are earned by the team on the field and the players that perform - or fail to do so.

In this case, I'd like to shine some light on a sore problem with the Chargers defense, namely the Safety position.

Marlon McCree was brought in to help shore up a secondary and provide the type of consistency at the safety position that this team lacked for years after Rodney Harrison went to the Patriots. Unfortunately, for as well as he has played, he only plays one of the two Safety positions. Marlon McCree has been tremendous for the team, bringing playmaking skills, experience, and leadership to the secondary. As of now, he is playing Free Safety and the Chargers have problems at the other safety spot. Terrance Kiel started the season as the first team Strong Safety. But he has since had his run-in with the law and his future is uncertain. Bhawoh Jue has tremendous talent but can't stay healthy. When he is healthy and on the field, he can make plays and has great size. But he needs to be on the field and he is out with a knee injury. Clinton Hart started at Strong Safety and was ineffective. Both Ravens touchdowns were caught by Tight Ends. Todd Heap finished the game with 4 catches, 60 yards, and 1 TD. This game reminded me a lot of last year's home game against the Steelers, where Heath Miller caught a 16 yard pass for a score. Both games featured a power run game with defenses who fought hard. However, the Chargers ended up losing both games by 3 points or less. Until this team can get some consistency at Safety, we will continue to be vulnerable to Tight Ends.

If you go back and watch the Ravens game, you will see Chargers linebackers forced into covering tight ends instead of pressuring the QB. The Chargers Defensive line can provide pressure on the QB, but as Steve McNair and Ben Roethlisberger have shown, if the QB can move around and there are no linebackers in there to contain him, we can be beat downfield. The Chargers face Pittsburg in San Diego, this sunday night on national television.

Having Randall Godfrey and Shawne Merriman 10-15 yards downfield covering Tight Ends instead of pressuring the Quarterback is not a recipe for success. Teams that employ multiple Tight End sets will prove to be tough challenges for the San Diego 3-4 defense because we do not have a Strong Safety that can be trusted to cover the TE downfield.

Here is what I mean:

• On the Ravens first touchdown, TE Daniel Wilcox beat both Charger Safeties and scored on a 5 yard catch and run.
• Later in the game, TE Todd Heap caught a pass for a big gain on a crossing route, totally outrunning Godfrey and picking up a crucial first down.
• In the Ravens game-winning drive, with linebackers downfield in coverage instead of pressuring QB Steve McNair, McNair was able to scramble for 12 yards and pick up a big first down.
• Finally, on 2nd and goal from the 10, when all the Chargers needed to do was stop the Ravens from scoring a touchdown, McNair hits TE Heap for 10 yards and the winning touchdown. 3 Chargers linebackers were covering him, with OLB Shawne Merriman unable to make the preventative tackle.

In my opinion, with the health of S Bhawoh Jue as a concern and the future of S Terrence Kiel unknown at this time, the Chargers should be looking to make a trade for a starting Safety to pair with Marlon McCree. This from FOXSports.com

ETC: Remember last week when Colts safety Mike Doss became hero for a day for a victory-sealing interception of a Byron Leftwich pass. Good thing nobody took the Colts up on recent advances. What are we talking about? Several teams told FOXSports.com they recently heard from the Colts who have been offering up their safety in trade talks. Obviously, nobody has bitten as of yet ...

Frankly, the round-robin the team has pulled for the past few years is getting old, and some solidification is desperately needed; especially considering the prominent role Tight Ends have grown into in an NFL offensive attack. No longer can the safety position be overlooked - the San Diego Chargers need starters there so that the Linebackers can be free to fly to the ball and provide never-ending pressure on the QB.

So much attention was put on Trent Green's absence from the first game against the Benglas that nobody seemed to notice when another familiar veteran headed for the bench: Sammy Knight. However, unlike Green, Knight didn't have an excuse. He wasn't subbed in for; he was replaced.

The writing was on the wall throughout training camp. At least, it should have been for those who follow the Chiefs. Knight had to have smelled pressure all around him. Do you think he might have taken notice when the Chiefs drafted not one, but two safeties in the draft? Do you think he might have taken notice when the Chiefs, according to many draft experts, reached to nab Bernard Pollard in the second round to assure that they got a good, young safety? Do you think he might have taken notice when every report out of training camp indicated that Pollard and Jarrad Page were making the most waves with their play on the field?

I have long contended that Knight was a liability last year. He was a great addition to this team, because he was instrumental in molding Kawika Mitchell into the player he is today. However, Knight made some big mistakes last year. He missed key tackles. He was virtually worthless covering tight ends. He almost had a bullseye on his back when he looked like he was going to slip into coverage. The first game against the Bengals, it seemed like more of the same. Carson Palmer seemed to look immediately in Knight's direction on every play.

But Herm saw it from day 1. Knight's job was in jeopardy the minute Herm Edwards assumed the role of head coach. Edwards, a brilliant coach of defensive backs, seemed to be eagerly anticipating the day he could slip one of his rookies into a starting role. Do you think Knight took notice? My simple response: yes, he finally did. Knight was never around the ball in any preseason game or against the Bengals. He seemed more like the player the Chiefs expected him to be against the Broncos. He was disrupting plays. A few times, his instinct led him to the ball well before the play developed.

Still, for as well as Knight played, there are still questions that need to be answered. Namely, is he becoming a liability in the passing game? He certainly was against Cincinnati; he wasn't against Denver. Then again, Denver didn't seem to throw downfield much of the game. And for as well as Knight has played, Jarrad Page has played absolutely outstanding.
Page, like Knight, has a nose for the ball, but Page can get there so much quicker. And Bernard Pollard has to be knocking on the door as well. Point being, Knight had a good game against Denver, but he will need to be that good throughout the season or else he may be out of a job.

One wonders how much longer Knight will last. He was never fast to begin with, but lately he seems to have lost even more speed on top of that. He seems to be trudging by on instincts which, amazingly, have been surprisingly inconsistent since he became a Chief. To me, Knight is like that old trusty car you have that's on its last leg. You know you can do better. But how can you dump something that's been so reliable for so long? It's only a matter of time before Pollard or Page assumes the starting role for the Chiefs. It's all a matter of how much more quality mileage Knight can get out of his tank. Unlike last year, the Chiefs have a new car waiting for them. If Knight sputters even for a split-second, Herm Edwards will not hesitate to take his new players for a spin.