Game Thread: AFC Divisional round part 2: Pittsburgh vs Kansas City

[Clayton]

Good post, KC has always been known for stellar ST play, and a ballhawking DEF, but to just line up and go toe to toe has not been their MO.

Run defense has been an issue all season and even more so after losing Johnson...baffling with a 3 down stud like Poe in the middle, and a stud to be in Chris Jones, but you need run stoppers behind them.

IMO Schwartz was the weak link on the Browns otherwise pretty solid OL...not good, not terrible, but probably will never make a pro bowl...pairing him with Fisher, maybe they don't have the best OL they could have.

Mitchell Schwartz was 2nd team All pro this year.

Its their Guard play. They have some athletes but no studs. Combine that with Alex Smith and Spencer Ware and its hard to make the Super Bowl with that little up the middle.

Steelers athletes in their front 7 are underrated imo

 

[Clayton]

In terms of the Chiefs oline, Fisher in pass blocking is definitely the worst of the bunch, actually, but again that lends itself to the issue with a team led by Alex Smith and Spencer Ware trying to beat a team led by Big Ben and Bell on the other end. You basically need the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers oline to pull that off and the Chiefs is very middle of the pack.

 

[bksballer89]

In terms of the Chiefs oline, Fisher in pass blocking is definitely the worst of the bunch, actually, but again that lends itself to the issue with a team led by Alex Smith and Spencer Ware trying to beat a team led by Big Ben and Bell on the other end. You basically need the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers oline to pull that off and the Chiefs is very middle of the pack.

I actually forgot that Fisher was the #1 overall pick lol.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Mitchell Schwartz was 2nd team All pro this year.

Its their Guard play. They have some athletes but no studs. Combine that with Alex Smith and Spencer Ware and its hard to make the Super Bowl with that little up the middle.

Steelers athletes in their front 7 are underrated imo

Shame on me for not knowing that, huge leap forward for Schwartz then, never saw him as an All Pro guy either...kudos.

Smith is a a tough call...he's right in the middle.

Steelers...You're right, most people that know much about the Steelers know Heyward who was lost for the yr. He's the captain, and largely considered the DEF player. Not many people know the other DE, Tuitt, he's come on strong. The ageless wonder Harrison was smartly preserved by Tomlin...he didn't start until about week 9...platoon him for the 1st half of the season. Dupree is an athletic freak but just learning the position. Shazier is starting to get acknowledged...Timmons I hope is brought back next year and the rookie NT Hargrave I think is going to be a good one...he can play 4-3 DT, 3-4 NT and quick enough to play some 3-4 DE.

The DEF in general has gone from one of the oldest and slowest to one of the fastest and youngest....they gotta find another edge rusher next year, but the turnover is almost complete.