How the Chiefs, Ravens defensive coordinators could shape Sunday's AFC Championship | The Exempt List
Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald and Marshall Newhouse preview Sunday's AFC Championship Game between the Ravens and Chiefs, including an eye on both defensive units. Hear the full conversation on “The Exempt List with Charles McDonald” - part of the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
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CHARLES MCDONALD: I think an interesting thing about this Chiefs-Ravens game that's coming up this weekend, both of these defensive coordinators are known for blitzing in terms of, like, how they're able to kind of manipulate protection plans to get free runners down the middle of the offensive line. You know, how are you guys preparing for that, and making sure you're on your P's and Q's going into the game?
MARSHALL NEWHOUSE: Yeah, again, and it comes down to situation. You know, Mike Macdonald, the defensive coordinator of Baltimore and, then Spags for Kansas City, they have certain areas where they like sending pressure, simulated pressure, more than others. And so we have to be attuned to that and try to, first, stay out of those situations by making smart decisions on first and second down, but then, you know, in those moments, like, all right, where does he like to send pressure from? Is it all from the same level, you know, where they walk guys up on the line of scrimmage, or if we have a condensed formation, do they like to disguise secondary pressure and stuff like that?
And so we're preparing all week for the specific type and the side they'll bring it from. We kind of earmark guys who were better off blitzers. So the guys who, almost, they're trying to hide and not having coverage on critical downs, where he's a better blitzer, we're thinking about, you know, who are our main rushers are on the defensive line, because sometimes they only have three real defensive linemen out there. So we're thinking big on big first, and then who are the other two after that?
And, so, from game to game, you know, Patrick Queen is a guy who is athletic enough to do both, but tendency-wise, something is born out in the stats. So they've got people who break that down. If we're just on the same page, Patrick and Lamar know where it's coming from and the receivers have their heads up, the answers can be there. And sometimes the answer is just a 4-yard route, where you get the ball in his hands, and then you hopefully get some YAC, you live to fight another down, but they just wasted a blitz. You know, they just put themselves in harm's way by having one on ones on the outside.
But they brought zero, and they've got man all the way across the board, that's a potential explosive if they one guy misses a tackle. And so there's risk and reward, and so we're just doing our best to be prepared for who are the most likely, and then, between us and the quarterback, you know, you emphasize where you'd like to go. If you're right-handed, you want to roll right, you want to bleed right, or in this instance, you want to bleed left, depending on the hash, depending on if we're in the red zone, low red, all that stuff.
So it can get really granular, and, you know, sometimes it feels overwhelming, but there's still patterns. There's still only so many calls you can make, and so we break down their tendencies, and we prepare for the most likely, and get ready for any adjustments they might make.