Poll Results: Kansas City Chiefs fans are ready for defensive change

Our Tuesday Twitter poll asked Kansas City Chiefs fans if they wanted to change defensive schemes in 2018. The answer was a pretty strong “Yes”.

The 2018 NFL offseason needs to be all about change for the Kansas City Chiefs. A big change at quarterback, changing up the coaching staff, and even Brett Veach running the draft and free agency is a change. However, when we took to Twitter for this week’s poll, Chiefs fans told us they want a scheme change on defense as well.

The results of our poll weren’t particularly surprising. A lot of Kansas City fans have had enough of Bob Sutton and his defense. Not that it’s that terrible. Statistically, the Chiefs defense has been very impressive over the past few years. Of course, statistics can tell you just about anything you want them to.

What we’ve seen on the field has been a different matter altogether. In times where it has mattered the most, the Chiefs defense has buckled under pressure. Giving up late scoring drives, and failing to play with a sense of urgency to put the game out of reach has led to a certain amount of softness in the group.

It shows up in the worst possible ways.

The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back

Bob Sutton and the defense deserve a lot of the criticism for the Kansas City Chiefs most recent playoff debacle. While the offense did them no favors, you simply cannot excuse giving up a three-score lead in the second half of a playoff game. That is when the defense should be stepping up the most.

The Titans scored touchdowns on three of their final four possessions. The fourth, and final, possession was a series of kneel downs to end the game. There just isn’t any way that this can be considered acceptable. You can’t surrender a lead like this and be considered a strong defense.

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Let’s also not forget that this isn’t the first time this has happened. The Chiefs were on the wrong end of another historic collapse back in the 2013 NFL postseason. That game saw the Colts come back and score six touchdowns in the second half against KC. In a span of five years, Bob Sutton’s defense is responsible for two of the biggest playoff comebacks in NFL history.

The Time For Change Is Now

With the Kansas City Chiefs likely making the switch to Patrick Mahomes as the new quarterback, now is when they should make all other big changes. Expectations for KC will be lowered with a first-year starter at quarterback. So you might as well make whatever other major scheme changes are needed.

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It’s certainly not something you want to be doing when Patrick Mahomes is into year two or three as a starter. If the Chiefs want to continue being competitive, not to mention progressing, then they want the whole team on the same page. It’s better to make all the big changes at once, and then build from there.

The Chiefs have the ability to add quite a few resources this offseason. If this team takes a rebuild effort seriously, then they could come back even stronger. Taking a down year for long-term success and stability is not a bad trade off at all. It just takes someone with the determination to do what needs to be done.

Looking at you Brett Veach.

The 2018 Kansas City Chiefs offseason needs to be all about change. This organization is in danger of getting stagnant. Granted, they have made a big move at quarterback. However, we are seeing our defense falter and fall apart right before our eyes. It’s time to step in now and address the issue.