Tag: L’Jarius Sneed

Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed hitting his stride for final stretch of regular season

#Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed hasn’t been perfect this season, but our @TheJohnDillon feels the defense plays its best when Sneed plays his best.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

When the Kansas City Chiefs selected cornerback L’Jarius Sneed in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, they couldn’t have imagined their investment would pay off as quickly as it has. The Louisiana Tech product has become one of the brightest defensive stars on the team, bolstering the Chiefs’ secondary as a chess piece for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to deploy in many different situations.

Sneed’s contributions have been integral in the Chiefs’ defensive turnaround, with his percent of defensive snaps played hovering in the high 90s in three of the team’s last four wins. He has 58 tackles in 11 games this season, which is good for second-most on the team and puts him on pace for almost 100 by the playoffs in January. Pro Football Focus has Sneed as the second-leading tackler among cornerbacks with 49 solo tackles and grades him favorably as a run defender.

His unique knack for getting after the quarterback hasn’t been as big a part of his game this season but remains his highest-graded defensive responsibility on PFF, clocking in at a 76.3 on 43 pass-rush snaps. A lone sack against the Eagles and two quarterback hits against the Titans and Raiders are his only statistical entries in the pass-rush, but both those numbers could be due to go up in the coming weeks.

Despite his solid tackling and upside as a blitzer, there remains work to be done in coverage for Sneed, who has been picked on at times this year. He has been targeted at the eleventh-highest rate in the NFL this season and has given up the second-most receptions of any other cornerback. There are signs of recent improvement, in the coverage department for Sneed. In three of the last four games for the Chiefs (all wins), Sneed has managed above-average coverage grades from PFF. His first interception of the 2021 campaign came against Green Bay, and he brought down another when he picked off Dak Prescott in Kansas City’s last win against Dallas.

What has become abundantly clear is that the defense plays well when Sneed is playing well. As the contenders start to separate themselves from the pretenders in the AFC, the Chiefs will rely on his steady play to stay squarely in the playoff picture with several tough matchups remaining on their schedule.

[listicle id=111361]

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates prior to Wednesday practice

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided injury updates ahead of practice on Wednesday, revealing a new injury to CB L’Jarius Sneed and insight into the right tackle situation.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The Kansas City Chiefs will have their first practice of the week ahead of their Week 10 game on “Sunday Night Football” against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Andy Reid gave his usual pre-practice injury briefing on Wednesday, updating reporters on some new absences and injuries that the Chiefs are currently dealing with. Two of the absences on Wednesday won’t be injury-related according to Reid.

“Chris Jones and Dorian O’Daniel have been excused for the day for personal reasons,” Reid began.

Both Jones and O’Daniel are expected back at practice later this week.

As for the injuries, Reid confirmed that both Lucas Niang and Mike Remmers would be held out to start the week. Niang suffered a rib injury during the Week 9 game against the Packers and Remmers has been dealing with a knee injury for the past two weeks.

“You know about (Lucas) Niang with the ribs and (Mike) Remmers with the knee,” Reid said. ” Those two won’t practice.”

As for who might replace Niang and Remmers in practice, Reid suggested the team has some flexibility. They could even see Kyle Long get some snaps there as he returns to practice.

“We have flexibility which is good,” Reid said. “I think it’s just important right now that he gets back in the swing and move around a little bit doing football. That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”

Reid also revealed one new injury today, with CB L’Jarius Sneed nursing an ankle injury following Week 9.

“The new one would be (L’Jarius) Sneed,” Reid said. “His ankle is bothering him, so we’re going to put him down today and he’ll be back here.”

The Chiefs protected CB Dicaprio Bootle on the practice squad on Tuesday, suggesting there might be an issue with Sneed. The second-year corner, who had one of the best games of his career in Week 9, left the game briefly with an injury before returning. We’ll see if he can get back on the practice field at some point this week. Typically, players need at least a limited practice in order to play on Sunday.

[listicle id=109870]

Andy Reid says Week 9 was L’Jarius Sneed’s best game with Chiefs

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid praised second-year CB L’Jarius Sneed on Monday, saying Week 9 was his best game a professional. The numbers seem to support that conclusion too.

[mm-video type=video id=01fm094vyqg0t3kpcjyq playlist_id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fm094vyqg0t3kpcjyq/01fm094vyqg0t3kpcjyq-c9a75fcd74d9878c381ba2d96adac956.jpg]

Kansas City Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed put together an impressive performance against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9.

Sneed hadn’t seen the same type of success this season as he had during his rookie year, but on Sunday he made an impressive return to form. It caught the attention of his head coach, who said the performance was as impressive as he’s seen during Sneed’s young career.

“Sneed had probably his best game as a young player coming in here as a Chief,” Andy Reid told reporters on Monday. “He had a big pass breakup down toward the end zone, a big interception going in there.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Sneed had nine passes thrown into his coverage by Packers QB Jordan Love. Of those nine passes, he allowed just five catches for 42 yards on the day. He managed two passes defended and had an impressive interception against the Packers’ top wideout Davante Adams.

“We know he is their go-to guy,” Sneed told reporters after the game. “Coach Spags was yelling at us all throughout the week to make sure to take him out and make sure he doesn’t catch the ball.”

Film study played a part in Sneed’s preparation this week too. On his interception, he knew exactly the type of play that was coming and where he needed to be in order to make a play on the ball.

“I knew it was coming because the wide receiver splits were that close.  It knew it was going to be a type of rub route, so I tried to make sure I stuck to him and got my head back around.”

The same thing goes for his pass defended that occurred a few plays later, Sneed knew exactly which route was coming because he saw the signal that Love gave to his receiver ahead of the snap.

“I knew that was coming too,” Sneed said. “I saw the signal he gave the receiver.”

Sneed allowed just a 28.2 passes rating when targeted on the day. His impressive performance was a subplot to an overall triumph by the Kansas City defense. While Sneed acknowledged there was a lot of work still to be done on that side of the ball, he also acknowledge the importance of their play in this game.

“It was very important,” Sneed explained. “We just have to keep doing it from here. We know what we can do and what this takes. We’ll keep doing it.”

[listicle id=108850]

WATCH: Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed records his first interception of 2021

#Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed’s first interception of the 2021 NFL season was an impressive grab over #Packers WR Davante Adams.

Kansas City Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed didn’t exactly pick up the 2021 NFL season where he left off as a rookie.

Sneed was one of the Chiefs’ most dominant cornerbacks in 2020, at one point leading the league in interceptions. A clavicle injury disrupted the middle of his season of for the rookie, but he came back playing an entirely different position. He was the Chiefs’ nickel corner and he thrived in the role, especially when it came to rushing the passer.

This season, Sneed has played mostly the nickel corner spot and he hasn’t been as productive. Against the Packers in Week 9, however, Sneed had himself a day. He had an early pass defended in the game, but his most impressive play came in coverage against Green Bay’s top offensive weapon, Davante Adams.

Sneed stayed overtop Adams on a red zone pass and elevated to make the interception over him.

Check it out:

This is exactly the type of play the Chiefs expected Sneed to make on the regular in his second season as a professional. He followed this one up with an impressive pass defended from the slot in the red zone as well. It feels like Sneed is just starting to hit his stride defensively, and it’s coming at exactly the right time for Kansas City.

[listicle id=108756]

Chiefs CB coach Sam Madison addresses L’Jarius Sneed’s sophomore slump

#Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed is having a rough sophomore season, but CB coach Sam Madison is confident he’ll turn things around. | from @EdEastonJr

[mm-video type=video id=01fhr435rx928528bphs playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fhr435rx928528bphs/01fhr435rx928528bphs-ef135736808937ccb1345832bf2247a8.jpg]

The rough days in the NFL happen too commonly for young players still trying to carve out a consistent path. Each season brings challenges and obstacles that can make or break players, a lesson quickly learned by Kansas City Chiefs second-year defensive back L’Jarius Sneed.

Sneed was a surprise budding star for the Chiefs during his rookie season, making impactful plays against some of the best quarterbacks and receivers in the league. However, he has been the target for opponents this season, and many Chiefs fans want answers regarding his decline. Chiefs cornerbacks coach Sam Madison was an elite defender in his playing career and he continues to be optimistic about Sneed’s future and improvement this season.

“Oh yeah, Sneed, just a different person,” Madison told reporters on Thursday. “When you’re in the NFL now, a majority of the time, 10-15-20 years ago you look at base – two tight ends, two wide receivers, you only have two corners on the football field. Now you have to have three corners on the football field pretty much 75 to 80 percent of the game. We brought him in, thought he’d be an able corner, had the injury, moved him and put him at nickel then we were like ‘oh he can really do this’. Transitioning, going back and forth and having the opportunity to really learn the nickel and master that.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Sneed’s effectiveness has dropped considerably from his rookie season to the first five weeks of 2021. Last season Sneed was a breakout star with three interceptions and two sacks as a rookie garnering a favorable grade of 72.9. This season’s rate currently sits at 52.2, allowing a 152.8 passer rating with 19 receptions on 23 targets. That’s the worst mark in the NFL by a corner with over 200 snaps on the year.

The only thing that has changed for Sneed, is that he’s playing both cornerback and nickel for Kansas City this year.

“I had the opportunity to play with (Patrick) Surtain who played here,” said Madison. “He played nickelback for five years before he even started playing corner. He mastered that and then he was able to go outside. So this is something (L’Jarius Sneed has) been able to do and he’s doing a really good job. But the little, small details of being able to move inside back to outside, he hasn’t really had the outside part of it. His mindset is built for it though, we’re able to have a smaller quicker guy in there yet people still run the ball in those situations and he’s able to go in there and make those tackles and be aggressive at it as well.”

Sneed has the continued support from Madison to eventually shake off the issues he’s had so far this season. He doesn’t feel his current role is too much for him to handle. Mastering his roles in the middle of the season will be a chore, but it’s necessary as the Chiefs seek to correct the problems on defense before it is too late.

[listicle id=105414]

Arizona Cardinals 2020 redraft doesn’t change every pick

We make the Cardinals’ 2020 draft selections with the benefit of hindsight.

A year later, we can look at the Arizona Cardinals’ draft class and wonder if they made the right selections. The Cardinals didn’t get many contributions from their rookie class. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons played a limited role. Running back Eno Benjamin was never active. Linebacker Evan Weaver spent the year on the practice squad. Tackle Josh Jones played very few snaps all season. Defensive linemen Leki Fotu and Rashard Lawrence missed time with injuries and got some playing time.

Should the Cardinals have made other selections?

Let’s go back to each pick in last year’s draft and do a redraft.