Who Leads the Chiefs in Sacks?

[EMAW_KSU]

20 hours ago, onejayhawk said:

If there are only three down linemen, then one LB rushing is not a blitz. I suspect that is the way Chenal most often rushes. 

One thing about Chenal that Gay should both have is suddenness. That's the ability to get in close before the OL has a chance to set up his feet and  anchor. Given that, I am surprised Willie Gay has not rushed more often. 

Gay not rushing/blitzing more is the most shocking thing in his tenure this far in KC.  I just can’t understand it.

[onejayhawk]

Getting Gay to play at all has been a saga. Tons of talent but also tons of issues.

Perhaps fortunately, I expect the defense will be simplified to help all the new faces adjust. A more straightforward attacking scheme suits the incoming talents. For certain theu have the necessary physicality for knocking some heads.

[onejayhawk]

This article poses the key question. Will the 2022 team produce more sacks than in 2021. The obvious answer is yes, but it's because the total from 2021 was so poor. 
https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2022/7/12/23204767/is-the-chiefs-defense-likely-to-improve-its-2021-sack-totals

The facts
Last season, the Chiefs ended the regular season with 31 sacks — the fourth-fewest of all NFL teams. However, according to Pro Football Reference, they finished with the fifth-highest pressure rate by creating pressure on 26.4% of their snaps. They also knocked down the quarterback on 9.7% of opposing pass attempts, which was the league’s eighth-highest rate.

Defensive lineman Chris Jones led the team with nine sacks, while defensive end Frank Clark finished second with 4.5. No other player had more than three.

Jones was primarily a defensive end for the first six games of his season, playing only 17% of his total snaps from the interior. But from Week 9 on, Jones lined up as a defensive tackle for 63% of his snaps. Six of his nine sacks came after the transition, while a similar percentage (nearly 65%) of the team’s regular-season sacks also happened after Week 9.

The logic
The discrepancy between the sack total and the pressure numbers is a reminder about how volatile sack production can be.

We should never forget that a sack is also a tackle. Pressure is good, but converting sacks is important. 

 

[onejayhawk]

Now that Carlos Dunlap has signed, we need to revisit this.

Just sayin'.

[Jakuvious]

1 hour ago, onejayhawk said:

Now that Carlos Dunlap has signed, we need to revisit this.

Just sayin'.

It still should be Jones. If Dunlap gets enough snaps to top him, someone probably got hurt. Or we put Jones at DE again.

[kingseanjohn]

37 minutes ago, Jakuvious said:

It still should be Jones. If Dunlap gets enough snaps to top him, someone probably got hurt. Or we put Jones at DE again.

Jones is likely still the answer. I still think GK could push for it though considering he’s likely to see the least focus by offenses. 

[RedGold]

Yeah I’m still going with Jones.  DE’s will be rotating more on pass rush downs, Jones should see the majority inside.

[onejayhawk]

4 hours ago, Jakuvious said:

It still should be Jones. If Dunlap gets enough snaps to top him, someone probably got hurt. Or we put Jones at DE again.

Last season Dunlap had 8.5 sacks in only 38% of the defensive snaps. Jones had twice that many even with the injuries.

[Jakuvious]

43 minutes ago, onejayhawk said:

Last season Dunlap had 8.5 sacks in only 38% of the defensive snaps. Jones had twice that many even with the injuries.

Correct. But I would expect those snap counts to be similar this year.

[onejayhawk]

1 hour ago, Jakuvious said:

Correct. But I would expect those snap counts to be similar this year.

I would expect a few more for Dunlap and possibly a few less for Jones. In any event, it ought to be close unless Jones goes off.

[EMAW_KSU]

My hope is, with more pressure coming around the outside QBs have to step up into Jones territory.

[onejayhawk]

Still no one taking the, "Someone not on the 1 June 2022 roster." option. With the Dunlap signing, I would have expected at least one person to pick that one.

[EMAW_KSU]

2 hours ago, onejayhawk said:

Still no one taking the, "Someone not on the 1 June 2022 roster." option. With the Dunlap signing, I would have expected at least one person to pick that one.

It’s certainly an option, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him be number two.  I just think at this point is his career the better the guys on the outside are the better it is for Jones, and there’s nobody we would have brought in through FA that would have changed Jones’ spot as our number one DL.