Category: Film Studies

Chiefs special teams review at the bye and rest of season outlook

How have the #Chiefs’ special teams subunits performed through 8 weeks? @WesleyRoesch takes a look.

The Chiefs have had some mishaps on special teams through the first eight weeks of the season, but overall the unit has been successful in 2022.

Pro Football Focus has the Chiefs graded as the 10th-best special teams unit in the league, while Football Outsiders‘ DVOA ratings rank Kansas City at No. 2 in punt coverage and No. 12 in kickoff coverage.

Of course, while the unit has been solid as a whole, each subunit has performed a bit differently. I’ve been reviewing the Chiefs’ special teams unit every week in 2022 and have found some good and some bad, with plenty of room for improvement. I have also tracked special teams stats and snap counts and have assigned grades for individual players each week.

Since the Chiefs were on a bye in Week 8, I’ve decided to do an overview of each special teams subunit to see how they’ve performed thus far, and to see which areas can be improved throughout the remainder of the season.

Chiefs special teams film review, Week 6: Rough week for the return game

Our @WesleyRoesch goes to the tape to see what went wrong with the #Chiefs’ kick return unit in Week 6.

One overlooked downside to injuries in football is their effect on special teams.

Of course, injuries hurt the offense and defense as well, but special teams can sometimes suffer even more. Why? Because, much of the time, players who fill in on offense and defense have received significant — albeit not starter-level — snaps. Meanwhile, players who fill in on special teams are often inexperienced practice squad players who have barely seen the field.

That inexperience can lead to rough results. It definitely did during the Chiefs’ 24-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6. With safety Bryan Cook out due to concussion symptoms, Zayne Anderson filled in on special teams. The results were not great.

However, that lack of depth can make way for new players to shine. That happened in Week 6 as well. We’ll discuss that, plus review how injuries have hurt the Chiefs’ kick return subunit this whole year, not just in Week 6. Additionally, my special teams stats, snap counts and grades for individual players are available via Google Sheets.

Chiefs special teams film review, Week 4: Isiah Pacheco’s got the juice

Our @WesleyRoesch breaks down the #Chiefs’ bounce-back performance on special teams in Week 4.

What a way to bounce back.

After a rough Week 3 that saw the Chiefs’ special teams crew commit egregious error after error, coordinator Dave Toub’s unit rebounded the best way possible: by punching the opponent in the mouth early.

The Chiefs’ Week 4 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started off with a Chris Lammons-forced fumble on kickoff coverage, with Elijah Lee getting the scoop. Two plays later Kansas City was up seven and never gave up the lead.

That’s how you do it. Last week we talked about how Toub was partially to blame for the team’s special teams woes, but also how he should be judged less on one bad week and more on how he can get his unit back on track. Like good coaches do, Toub not only got his squad back on track — he turned it back into a strength.

This week we’ll focus on just one subunit since the punt coverage and punt return teams didn’t see much action, and nine of the game’s 14 total kickoffs resulted in touchbacks or a kick out of bounds. The focus will be on Isiah Pacheco and the Chiefs’ kick return subunit, with some other notes to round things out.

As always, my snap counts and grades for individual players are available via Google Sheets.

Chiefs special teams film review, Week 3: What the heck happened?

Special teams was an abject disaster for the #Chiefs on Sunday. Our @WesleyRoesch takes a closer look at what went wrong:

If you need an example of why special teams matters, look no further than the Kansas City Chiefs’ embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Chiefs’ special teams unit had about as bad of a day as one could have. A missed field goal, a missed extra point, a muffed punt, a nonsensical fake FG that failed miserably, and a kick returner who simply fell over mid-return all played a part in the story that was the 20-17 loss to a much inferior opponent on paper.

By default, much of the blame goes directly toward special teams coordinator Dave Toub. We’ll talk more about him later, but Chiefs fans must remember that Toub remains one of the best special teams coordinators in the league. Every coach has bad weeks. Chiefs coach Andy Reid will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day and even he has bad games (Week 3 among them). Toub is dealing with a young, inexperienced crew, so he should be judged less on one bad game and more on whether he can set up his players for success moving forward.

This week we’ll highlight the punt and kick return subunits, and go over some quick notes on other subunits as well. My snap counts and grades for individual players are available via Google Sheets, though charting for Week 3 won’t be available until later this week.*

*Sorry! I’m running a little behind this week. Expect snaps and grades to be late after Week 4 as well given the late game coming up Sunday night.

Chiefs special teams film review, Week 2

Our @WesleyRoesch continues to dive into the #Chiefs’ special teams unit with his review of Week 2 vs. the #Chargers

The Kansas City Chiefs had five more special teams snaps in Week 2 than they did in Week 1, yet the action in that phase was sparse overall in the win over the Los Angeles Chargers compared to the previous week.

Why is that? It could be that eight of the 11 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks, or that five of the 12 punts resulted in fair catches. There were also more extra points (six) than field goals (three) — and let’s face it — players tend to try much harder blocking field goals than extra points.

That all adds up to almost 60 percent of special teams plays being, well, uneventful. Those weeks will happen. When it comes to special teams, there are usually just a handful of plays that have a game-swinging impact. And when those plays come, you’ll be thankful to have a prepared squad and a good special teams coordinator like Dave Toub.

This week I have just one particular play to highlight, plus several notes about other special teams subunits. I also finished charting the snaps for each subunit and assigned grades to each player and play. You can find my snap counts and grades here via Google Sheets.

Chiefs rookie LB Willie Gay Jr. making a case for more snaps

Willie Gay Jr. has played in just 25.2% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps this season.

The Kansas City Chiefs have seldom used rookie LB Willie Gay Jr. this season, with just 25.2% of the snaps through the first 11 weeks. His utilization so far this season only seems to come when the Chiefs are in their base defense, with three linebackers on the field. Traditionally speaking, this is one of the least used defensive formations for Kansas City, with the nickel and dime sub-packages much more prevalent.

When the rookie linebacker has had the chance to play, Gay Jr. has shown that the game isn’t too big for him. He’s also been one of the Chiefs’ most productive linebackers. In the three games where Gay Jr. has played in more than 30 snaps, he’s recorded 15 total tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one QB hit and two passes defended.

It’s not just the stat sheet that is impressive with Gay Jr. either. His play speed is noticeably different compared to other linebackers on the field. He has an extra gear that they simply don’t have. It’s not surprising given his athletic profile and the fact that he earned the nickname “Turbo” from his teammates earlier this offseason.

There wasn’t a lot of good to take away from the Chiefs’ defensive performance in Week 11. They gave up a lot of catches, first downs and points in Las Vegas. One of the few bright spots was Gay Jr. coming out and proving once again that he can play at a high level when called upon. He’s making plays in the passing game and in the run game. He’s affecting the quarterback — something the Chiefs aren’t doing enough of this season.

The problem is that Gay Jr. hasn’t been called upon nearly enough to this point of the season. He has just three games with 30 or more snaps, two coming against the Raiders and the third coming against the Broncos. With the bye week behind us and six weeks left in the season, it’s time to unleash the rookie and see what he’s capable of outside of the snaps he’s getting in the base defense.

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What Chiefs are getting in new C Daniel Kilgore in 3 plays

Get to know the newest offensive linemen for the Kansas City Chiefs with these three plays.

The Kansas City Chiefs have added a new center to the mix, signing veteran center Daniel Kilgore to the roster on Thursday. The team continues to add salty veterans to the offensive line, adding nearly 4,000 snaps of experience over the span of nine seasons with Kilgore.

The team went through plenty of attrition along the offensive line in 2019 on their way to Super Bowl LIV. Having a number of veterans in the fold provides the team with plug and play options throughout the grueling season.

Here’s a look at three plays that show what exactly the Chiefs are getting in their newest player:

Solid awareness

I wanted to point to a play, like with my Adrian Colbert review, where Kilgore indirectly helped the Chiefs by making a good play. This was two plays prior to the Mike Gesicki touchdown for the Dolphins that gave them the lead over the New England Patriots in Week 17 in 2019. Kilgore is playing center, wearing No. 67 for Miami.

I’ve noticed that Kilgore is always ready for whatever tricks the defense tries to throw at him in pass protection. He makes good IDs on blitzes, twists and stunts. I was really impressed with how he passes off the nose tackle and picked up the blitzing Dont’a Hightower here. He gives Ryan Fitzpatrick just enough time to make the throw to former Chiefs WR Albert Wilson.

It might seem like a really ordinary play from Kilgore, but when you consider the types of pressure looks that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense will see this year, it’s important to play on your toes.

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What Chiefs are getting in new DB Adrian Colbert in 3 plays

Three plays that describe the type of player the Kansas City Chiefs are getting with Adrian Colbert.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to add a new safety to the mix, agreeing to sign DB Adrian Colbert once he passes his mandatory COVID-19 screening. The team seems to want to add some more competition to the mix at the safety position, even with Juan Thornhill returning to practice for Kansas City.

It’s crucial for the Chiefs to have three safeties that can play on the field together in their big nickel package. They utilized it often last year, even late in the year after Thornhill had suffered his knee injury. It’s also important that Kansas City has enough bodies at training camp. With the amount of passing they do, safeties are doing a lot of running in practice and guys can get worn down quickly.

Here’s a look at three plays that show what exactly the Chiefs are getting in their newest player:

Good instincts

This is one of my favorite plays from Colbert because he wasn’t even credited for an assist on the play, but he absolutely makes the play happen. He’s lined up as the single-high safety — No. 36 for the Dolphins — the furthest from the play. He’s the last line of defense for his team.

You’ll notice that Bengals RB Joe Mixon gets every defender moving to their right, but Colbert sees what is about to happen. Mixon cuts it back and the defensive end loses backside contain. Instead of waiting for Mixon to come to him, Colbert crashes down and fills. Now Colbert misses the tackle, over-running the play slightly, but he also forced Mixon back inside where there are a number of friendly jersey’s ready to wrap him up.

It’s not perfectly executed, but the end result is a one-yard gain for the Bengals when it could have been much more. It came down to a good heads-up play by Colbert and an attacking mentality from the safety. That type of mentality and awareness will mesh well with the group that Kansas City currently has at the safety position.

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What Chiefs are getting in new OG Kelechi Osemele in 4 plays

Four plays that describe the type of player the Kansas City Chiefs are getting with Kelechi Osemele.

The Kansas City Chiefs added a new guard into the fold, agreeing to terms with free-agent OG Kelechi Osemele on Saturday evening. To the naked eye, the proximity to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s opt-out decision suggests that Osemele might be an option at right guard. However, the eight-year veteran has practically played left guard for the entirety of his career. No matter where he plays, the Chiefs are getting a veteran offensive lineman — who when healthy — is quite effective.

Here’s a look at four plays that show what exactly the Chiefs are getting in their newest player:

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

A player who is always looking for work

It didn’t take long for me to find a standout play from Osemele from the 2019 season. I started with his first preseason game for the New York Jets and three plays into it he’d already impressed me. Osemele is an enforcer in pass protection. He doesn’t just sit back and wait for the play to come to him. Instead, he’s always looking for ways that he can impact the play, even if that means going beyond his initial assignment within the framework of the play.

Here Osemele peels off of his assignment and delivers a finishing blow to New York Giants defensive end Lorenzo Carter, who is engaged with the left tackle. This isn’t a one-time occurrence for Osemele either, look back at 2016 when the Chiefs played in Oakland. You’ll find a near-identical play against Chiefs ROLB Tamba Hali where Osemele disengages his blocker and flattens Hali. This is exactly the type of effort that you want to see from a guy tasked with protecting Patrick Mahomes when he drops back to throw.

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