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When the Kansas City Chiefs next take to the field, it will be roughly one month since they last sacked a quarterback. The Chiefs led the league in sacks for much of the season so far, but finished Week 11 in second place with 36 sacks, one behind the Carolina Panthers' 37. Despite no longer leading the league in that statistical category, the fact that they have gone two full games without registering a single sack and are still just one off the top tells you how dominant the Chiefs pass rush has been this year.
Now, it'd be easy to suggest that the pass rush has simply fallen off. That Tamba Hali isn't as relentless as he was previously. That Justin Houston isn't making fools out of offensive tackles anymore. That Dontari Poe has been found out. That Bob Sutton's creativity has reached its limit.
However, what's easy is often inaccurate and this is a great example of that.
Against the Buffalo Bills three weks ago, the Chiefs faced an offense that prioritized protecting its quarterback. With Jeff Tuel under center, the Bills focused on running the ball in the first half and limited Tuel to quick throws and screens for the most part. Even his deep touchdown pass to Marquis Goodwin saw him get rid of the ball relatively quickly. Not getting the sacks in that game wasn't an issue because the defense as a whole put on pressure to score two touchdowns.
On Sunday night in the biggest game of the regular season to this point, the Chiefs couldn't sack Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos. Manning threw the ball 40 times, so logically the Chiefs should have had plenty of opportunities. However, logic doesn't always apply when you're playing Peyton Manning. On those 40 drop backs, there were very few plays when Manning held the ball long enough for any defensive lineman to reach him even if they went unblocked.
After going through each pass attempt and applying a primary reason for the quarterback successfully letting the ball go, I found these results: Five plays were successful screen passes, three were against three man rushes, one saw the Broncos roll the pocket to one side of the field, one saw the Broncos stop rushing, instead looking to deflect any potential pass, only three times did the pass protection hold up for an extended period against at least a four man rush and only once did the pass rush really pressure Manning because he hesitated after the snap.
An incredible 26 potential pass rush attempts were neutralized by Manning's movement in the pocket or his quick release.
The Broncos offensive line didn't need to protect their quarterback, they just needed to be in a position to make the Chiefs pass rushers move slightly off course. When they did that, Manning had enough time to comfortably get rid of the football. Even when the Chiefs blitzed and the offensive line failed to pick up a defender at all, Manning was still qucik enough to get rid of the ball with ease.
His consistency and ability in these situations is incredible. When he threw for seven touchdown passes against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 of this season, Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs dominated the Broncos' offensive tackles. They both sacked Manning just once, while he was obviously able to take over during the rest of the game.
Sometimes, to understand the perceived failings of one player, you have to look at that player's teammates or the opposition he faces. For the Chiefs' defensive front, we have to focus on what Manning did to explain why this defense should return to being dominant against all but the very best offenses in the NFL.
Very early in the game, on the first drive in fact, Manning shows off all of the physical traits that make him almost impossible to consistently pressure. The Broncos come out with three receivers to the right, bunched, a tight end to the left and a running back to Manning's left. The Chiefs are showing a four man front in their nickel package with both outside linebackers in pass rushing positions.
Justin Houston draws a double-team to the top of the screen, leaving left tackle Chris Clark one-on-one with Tamba Hali at the bottom of the screen. Hali is immediately pushing his way past Clark at the snap and even though Clark is attached to him, he is only slowing him down rather than stopping his attempts to get to Manning.
Even though Manning isn't looking at the pass rush, he feels Hali's presence and subtly slips forward into the space ahead of him. This helps Clark to battle Hali better, but Hali is so strong that he is still able to work back into a position that should allow him to swat at the ball when Manning begins his throwing motion.
Hali doesn't beat Clark, but he is in a position to swat at Manning if the quarterback hesitates or has an elongated throwing motion. Even before Manning starts to throw the ball, he pulls his right shoulder forward somewhat to change the angle that he will throw the ball from. This takes Hali out of the picture, but even after this stage he makes sure Hali won't get to the ball with his throwing mechanics.
When most quarterbacks throw the ball, they have to push it back before they bring it forward. With Manning, his throwing motion is so tight that his arm basically just goes upwards instead of going back. This makes it exceptionally difficult for anyone to knock the ball out of his hands from behind.
Therefore, while the Chiefs offense may have been exposed as a subpar unit in Denver, nobody should be questioning the ability of the defense. Could Marcus Cooper have had a better game in the secondary and could Eric Berry shut down Julius Thomas when they play again in a few weeks? Sure, but the consistency of the Chiefs defense is based on the quality of its front. Nobody will be getting anything easy against this defense moving forward, regardless of what happened in Denver.
Percy Harvin's Return
Percy Harvin only played in a limited role, but both of his targets suggested that he isn't suffering any ill-effects from his hip injury. His first didn't see him catch the ball, but he beat the defensive back trying to track him running down the seam before drawing a pass interference penalty.
The Seahawks didn't get the benefit of that penalty because of a holding call on the offensive line, but a few plays later Harvin showed off his incredible talent with a one-handed reception against tight coverage for a first down.
Even though Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin have performed more than adequately in Harvin and Sidney Rice's absence, this late season addition to Pete Carroll's offense could have a huge impact.
Tate and Baldwin did more than enough when the ball was thrown to them, but it's Harvin's impact on the offense and defense as a whole that separates him from them. With Harvin on the field, the Seahawks now have a receiver who is talented enough to terrify even the best of NFL cornerbacks. His presence will make teams very reluctant to ever shift coverage to either side of the field or zone in on Baldwin or Tate with their best cover corner.
Both Tate and Baldwin are more than good enough to repeatedly beat the better second and third choice cornerbacks in the NFL, while Jermaine Kearse's ability to make big plays down the field against single coverage could become even more of a threat with Harvin drawing the attention of the defense.
That is what happened on Sunday for Baldwin's touchdown.
Harvin lined up in the slot to the right, with Baldwin outside of him. Both receivers run routes parallel to the sideline, so Harvin attacks the seam while Baldwin is five yards from the sideline. The Vikings play a Tampa-2 style coverage on the back-end with both safeties deep and a linebacker dropping deep in the middle of the field.
Harvin gets behind the initial defender in his face very quickly, which draws the attention of the deep safety, Andrew Sendejo. Sendejo is distracted by Harvin even as Russell Wilson is releasing the ball in the pocket.
This moment's delay gives Wilson a tiny window to throw into.
It takes a perfect throw from Wilson and an outstanding catch from Baldwin, but without Harvin's speed downfield even that tiny window is never there. Without Harvin's impact on this play, the touchdown doesn't occur. This is the real value in adding Harvin to the Seahawks offense, he's not just Sidney Rice, he's a legitimately terrifying talent who can make those around him much better players.
However, that's not all that will boost the Seahawks offense for the remainder of the regular season and beyond. Harvin's presence on the field should also make teams less willing to blitz Wilson or focus exclusively on Marshawn Lynch.
Harvin's ability to turn quick passes into the flat into huge gains will help Wilson on hot reads, while his ability on screen passes can be used to slow down the pass rush. Wilson has played most of this season under duress behind a very leaky offensive line. He has been helped by the dominant running of Lynch, but that help will be nothing compared to combining Lynch with Harvin and adding left tackle Russell Okung back into the mix.
The Seahawks offense may be about to elevate itself to previously unforeseen levels of efficiency.
Revisiting Stafford and Dalton
After Andy Dalton threw for five touchdown passes against the New York Jets, I warned that he wasn't likely to consistently produce on an incisive offense:
One play in a game where he throws five touchdown passes isn't enough to overshadow the rest of Dalton's work, but it is a worrying sign that this incisive version of the Bengals offense may not be sustainable because of the quarterback position.
Ever since that game, Dalton's production has fallen off a cliff and many more are beginning to question his actual ability. Dalton's displays don't vary that much from game to game, he is just too reliant on those around him to make him look better than he actually is. Expecting him to turn it around is unlikely, he will probably have more good games, but if you're looking for consistent production then Dalton is definitely not your man.
On the other hand, after Matthew Stafford's game against the Cleveland Browns earlier this season, I fell into the trap of thinking one game of consistency suggested he had turned a corner:
Stafford showed that he could adjust to play without a fully fit Calvin Johnson. That should stand to him for the remainder of the season so he can make more plays without focusing on his star receiver.
Stafford was on track to break the record for passing yards in a single game after the first half of the Detroit Lions game with the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend, but he struggled on the field from start to finish. Stafford was able to put up those huge numbers primarily because of how overwhelmed Ike Taylor was against Calvin Johnson. Stafford made some terrible decisions and some very inaccurate passes that should have been punished but weren't by the Steelers.
He should have had more than his one interception, and if the Steelers had been sharper in reacting to some of his passes they could have had five or maybe more.
It's this kind of display that makes so many question Stafford's true standing aginst other quarterbacks in the NFL. He still put up relatively big numbers, over 300 yards and two touchdowns, but much of that comes from playing with a historically good wide receiver who dramatically alters the whole game.
Benching Case Keenum Was Inexcusable
Outside of blind loyalty, there is no logically explanation for Gary Kubiak's decision to withdraw Case Keenum from their game with the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Keenum wasn't playing perfectly, his inability to adjust to blitzes remains an issue, but he did make a number of big plays and was overall more consistent than Schaub had been earlier in the year or when he came in relief on Sunday.
When Schaub was on the field, he focused too much on Andre Johnson, something he has done throughout his career, and wasn't consistent at all. Keenum wasn't injured and is expected to start next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He should be a strong option so long as Kubiak doesn't look to randomly pull him from the game again.
Holding Matt McGloin
Although he had many breaks with good field position and a few easy throws, Matt McGloin made a strong case to challenge Terrelle Pryor for playing time. McGloin showed off good anticipation, poise and accuracy throwing the ball. He's not mobile like Pryor and didn't face any real adversity in his first start, but he showed enough talent to suggest that he could succeed at this level as a starter.
McGloin was aggressive pushing the ball down the field. On more than one occasion, he pushed the ball down the field to Andre Holmes to try and make big plays. Holmes came down with one pass, but was unfortunate not to come down with another. He is a big, physically gifted receiver who could prove to be a matchup nightmare for defenses moving forward.
