Chiefs’ secondary avoiding a repeat of last year's aerial circus

One of the enduring images of the Chiefs’ 22-17 loss to San Francisco last week was 49ers receiver Brandon Lloyd’s soaring 29-yard catch over Sean Smith in the fourth quarter.

Yet, it must be said that while the catch was majestic — it made many highlight reels after the game — it was also notable due to its rarity. After the Chiefs routinely got worked over on deep passes last season, they have quietly turned into one of the league’s best teams at eliminating big passing plays.

“Shhhh,” head coach Andy Reid recently said in a humorous attempt to avoid a jinx.

Yet it’s clear by the numbers that the Chiefs’ dedication to eradicating the deep ball was no laughing matter. Last year, they allowed 63 passes of 20-plus yards — second in the league and only two fewer than woeful Jacksonville — and 16 passes of 40-plus yards, also the second-most in the league.

But entering the bye week this season, the Chiefs had allowed only 11 passes over 20 yards and two passes over 40 yards. At that pace, they’ll finish with 35 and six, a drop off of 45 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

“We’ve talked about this,” Reid later conceded. “In this league, big plays add up on you. You want to minimize the big plays against you. ... I think our secondary has done a nice job with that to this point.”

Reid made that clear during the offseason, secondary coach Emmitt Thomas said.

“During the offseason, everybody self-scouts themselves,” Thomas said. “Coach Reid and Bob Sutton, the defensive coordinator, sat down and talked about it. We almost led the league in deep balls (allowed) last year, so that was an offseason cry, an OTA cry and a season cry, to prevent the deep ball and live to see another day.”

Players and coaches say that a different play-calling philosophy by Sutton and improved technique by the cornerbacks are part of an active effort to take away the deep ball, which wasn’t always the case the last season when the Chiefs repeatedly lined up in aggressive, press-man coverage on the outside.

“The guys are a bit more aware of staying on top of the routes,” Thomas said. “They know they can’t stop everything that’s thrown at them, but we should be able to stop the deep ball.”

Smith, who is in the midst of a strong start this season, said the entire secondary has benefited from this philosophical shift, which has helped take away digs, posts and fades that tortured them last season.

“I think we’re a little more aware,” Smith said. “We’ve played a full season. We see how teams are going to adjust to our type of defense. The fade ball is a legit check for them, and teams were saying ‘You know what? If they’re going to do one-on-one, we’re just going to throw it up there and give our guys a shot.”

The Chiefs’ focus on staying on top of receivers’ routes has opened up other things, however. You can’t cover everything, which means short passes — the slants and curls — are sometimes open, a minor-yet-necessary annoyance for competitive corners like Smith.

“You force them to dink-and-dunk you down the field, and sometimes you’ve got to check your ego at the door,” Smith said. “You’re giving up these little short passes and from a man-to-man corner standpoint, no one wants to sit there and let you guys continue to catch the ball.”

That’s why Thomas says the group needs to continue to work on its ball-hawking ways. After racking up 21 interceptions last year, the third-most in the league, the Chiefs only have two interceptions this year, which puts them on pace for a paltry six.

“So far we’ve been sort of fortunate to keep it in front of us,” Thomas said. “But we don’t want them to just keep catching it in front of us. We want to be able to defend the short and the deep ball.”

The return of aggressive Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry, who missed the last three games with a high-ankle sprain, could help with that. Thomas said his replacement, Ron Parker, has fared well in his stead, and will be in position to help in one way or another when Berry returns.

“There are very few downs where we don’t have five or six or seven DBs on the field,” Thomas said. “So it’s enough for everybody.”

Smith noted that the entire secondary had embraced the challenge of stepping up with Berry out.

“It’s kind of hard to believe I’m actually saying this, but the absence of Eric Berry has opened up some eyes around here about the kind of talent we have,” Smith said. “Eric Berry brings a lot to the table, and not one guy can just go back there and replace him. So everybody’s trying to step in and fill the void, and by doing that, it’s helped us as a unit.”

There is still room to improve, however. The Chiefs were playing press-man on two of the three occasions the 49ers managed to complete passes over 20 yards last week — including Lloyd’s big catch over Smith.

“I know it sounds simple, but that starts with technique, whether it’s hand placement or footwork,” Sutton said. “If you get in trouble low, it’s hard to make up on some of these guys, because sometimes it’s just a matter of pure speed. If you add speed with accuracy, the deep ball is still the hardest ball to throw.”

The 49ers came away with points— 13, in all — on all three of the drives they had a completion over 20 yards.

For the Chiefs, it served as a not-so-subtle reminder of the “explosion” plays that killed them last season and the necessity of stamping them out going forward.

“That’s important,” Reid said, “that we stay on top of that.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2014 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ secondary avoiding a repeat of last year's aerial circus."