Kansas City Chiefs: Will Frank Clark be the difference-maker?
The Kansas City Chiefs are moving to a 4-3 defense. And the team gave up a lot in many ways to obtain defensive end Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks.
This past season, the Kansas City Chiefs were the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and featured the NFL’s top-ranked offense. Second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the league’s MVP and the club’s 565 points were the third highest single-season total in the NFL annals. Of course, Andy Reid‘s team also ranked 31st in the league when it came to total yards and passing yards allowed per contest.
Only eight teams allowed more points per game and each of those clubs finished with losing records. Keep in mind that the Chiefs faced the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots twice in 2018, including the conference championship game. Reid’s club scored 40 and 31 points, respectively, in those outings and lost both.
So it was goodbye to defensive coordinator Bob Sutton and hello to Steve Spagnuolo. He and Reid go back to the duo’s time with the Philadelphia Eagles. With his arrival comes to move from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3.
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This offseason, the Chiefs parted ways with outside linebackers Justin Houston and Dee Ford. The duo combined for 22 of the team’s 52 sacks. Meanwhile, the former was released and wound up with the Indianapolis Colts and Ford was dealt to the San Francisco 49ers.
Speaking of trades, that’s the big news in Kansas City with the 2019 NFL Draft two days away. The Chiefs have obtained defensive end Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks and he didn’t come cheap.
He is one of many new faces when it comes to the reigning AFC West champions. Other veteran additions include defensive ends Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah, outside linebackers Damien Wilson and Jeremiah Attaochu, cornerback Bashaud Breeland and safety Tyrann Mathieu. But what does all of this mean for Spagnuolo and Reid in terms of stopping the other teams this season?
Clark finished tied for seventh in the NFL with 13 sacks in 2018. Ironically, it’s the same amount of quarterback traps totaled by Dee Ford this past year.
Those aforementioned 52 sacks by the Chiefs was tied for the most in the league this past season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reid’s club forced 27 turnovers in the regular season. And still the team allowed 49 offensive touchdowns this past season and couldn’t stop the Patriots when it counted most in the playoffs.
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Will this deal and the switch to a 4-3 defense add up to big things for Reid and company? Frankly (pun intended), it looks like a lateral move for a team that couldn’t take advantage of a big-time pass rush in 2018. All told, it will be very interesting indeed to see if all these moves pay off for a franchise that looks to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1969 season.