Shifting the defense.

    So this has been a wild offseason so far guys. I am sure that I won't have to present who they Chiefs signed, and drafted, as well as who left. You probably already know that because you have been following the Chiefs closely these last few months. What I can present to you however, is how this offseason affects the defense.
    The 4-3 Debacle
 So I am not sure who started this rumor, but Sutton is not changing to a 4-3 defense. Not shifting to that kind of defense actually helps the defense work. First of all, players like Ragland fit very well into this defense already. Another thing about this defense is the fact that the line backers can make a qb's job harder. Linebackers can man cover, zone cover, rush the passer, and be a qb spy on any given play. This makes diagnosing the defense significantly harder if there is one more linebacker on the field. This isn't to say that a lineman can't do this work, but linemen have other complicated stuff to work on. There will however be a huge shift on this defense.
             Then where's the shift?
  The shift actually lies in the philosophy of how this defense is run. The "bend but don't break defense" broke too much last year. That was pretty evident. It also is not a great winning formula when it comes to defense (to learn more about this click here ). The defense philosophy will start being a run first thinking.
                How does this line of thinking help us?
Well as the fans have seen the last few years, the Achilles heel of this defense was the lack of run defense. That is how teams like Pittsburgh and Tennessee, have made comebacks, and won close games. Running out the clock. When the defense can't stop a running back, the whole team maybe in trouble. This run first thinking however, works several fold. This team will stop the run, and limit clock time. This will also create more third and long situations for opposing offenses. As we all know, third and longs are great for a defense. The give pass rushers more time to get a sack, they make a corner's job relatively easier, and they help the defense get off the field. So sack numbers and pressure will go up, and first downs given should go down. This all depends on if this defense will operate well.
                 How do we know this is where they are headed defensively?
 Look at the player acquisitions first. Hitchen's primary quality in Dallas was his ability to run stuff. Ragland is also a thumper inside linebacker who loves taking down running backs. Xavier Williams was a fairly decent run stuffer in Arizona. Derrick Nadi is primarily known as a better, younger, Bennie Logan, who is a great run stuffer when given the chance. Next look at what the lineman look to do. Williams is a penetrater. Ragland and Hitchens are penetraters.  They aren't gonna two gap, they aren't gonna wait for the back to reach them. They are gonna get through those gaps, into the backfield, to make a tackle for loss. Finally, you have to look at what the corners are being asked to do. Press Coverage. This means that in most cases, they should stay closer to the line of scrimmage, which would help against clean up tackles, and against short yardage throws line screens. Put this all together and it equals that new philosophy.