Chiefs: Being Good At The Wrong Thing?

At a football camp this summer I heard..."you have to decide what you want to be good at".  For the Chiefs they have shown the ability to be a very good base 3-4 run defense.  This particular aspect has been one of the few positives the last 3 years.  The unfortunate position this scheme is finding on a week to week basis is...there are not enough offensive schemes to justify the 3-4 as a base defense in Kansas City.

The thing is...when you pick a base defense...you draft for it...you scheme for it...you take repetitions for it.  Over the past two seasons come Sundays are "sub" is used about as often as our "base".  For me that poses GM Scott Pioli's biggest challenge as he develops the roster.  Essentially he has to draft for two different schemes.

The question I deal with in terms of this defense is...how relevant is the defensive philosophy in today's game?  I'm a fan of Tyson Jackson, and Glenn Dorsey...I rarely question their talent or ability.  The question I deal with in regards to these two players along with Javon Belcher is a question of relevancy.  Both Dorsey and Jackson are elite run defenders, but what they do is becoming less relevant vs. the style of play they see week to week.

If Pioli's vision was to have an elite run unit I believe he has accomplished that.  Problem I see with this...the run unit can't be elite on the sideline, and it is far from elite when defending the pass.  Make no mistake...Pioli built an elite defense.  Though I'm afraid he built one with so many one dimensional (albeit good dimension) players this defense lacks the versatility in personnel to be elite in other areas.

The execution by Pioli in building this team has been very good, it's the vision of what he is building that may be the issue.  A team that goes to OTA's, training camp, and preseason in a base they can't use week to week has a bigger issue than a bad season record.  Something like that is temporary, the vision isn't temporary.  That's the fear...the vision of Pioli is rooted in an scheme that is rendered obsolete for half the season.

The best days are yet to come for this defense because the I believe the best is yet to come for guys like Poe, Powe, Berry, Lewis, Houston, and Bailey.  They are essentially part of a "sub" unit that plays nearly as much as the base defense.  Time will tell if Romeo can pull these two scheme's off, or he can eventually field a 3-4 with more versatility.