Lets get nasty: Chiefs’ Jeff Allen aids chippier O-line

It was a 1-yard loss. A sack. One of many that Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has taken this season.

But what came next late in the second half of the Chiefs’ 45-10 win over the Detroit Lions in London was a new occurrence. When Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah shoved Smith after the play, offensive lineman Jeff Allen immediately rushed to Smith’s defense.

Allen, a mild-mannered sort for most of his career, grabbed Ansah, pointed his finger and jawed at him. And when Lions defensive end Jason Jones gave him a quick one-handed shove, Allen pushed back and was whistled for a personal-foul penalty.

“Just got a little heated, got to give him a little shove after the play,” said Allen, who declined to get into specifics about what he said. “I didn’t appreciate it, so I just gave him a few words. Probably should have kept my cool a little bit.”

Maybe. But the penalty was moot. Only 32 seconds remained in the half, and the Chiefs led 24-3 at that point. If there was a time to sacrifice some yards for the greater good — to defend your guy — that was it.

“It’s part of the game,” Allen said. “Our job is to protect our QB. I was just standing up for him.”

It was an example of the increased chippiness the Chiefs’ offensive line has played with the last two games, both victories for the Chiefs, who now are 3-5 in their bye week.

“You don’t want to be the guy getting bullied,” Allen said. “You’ve got to kind of take on that personality. You’ve got to protect each other. Not to say you go out there and be dirty or anything, but you’ve got to go out there and impose your will and let guys know that you’re not going anywhere and it’s going to be a physical game.”

That’s what Chiefs offensive-line coach Andy Heck has been trying to instill since Day 1, even as KC has allowed 29 sacks, the third-most in the league.

“Our job as offensive lineman — we always talk about ‘protect the quarterback, protect the football, and protect our brothers,’ and at the same time make your presence felt,” Heck said. “The defense has got to feel you every single play and so if it gets a little bit chippy, within the rules of the game, we want to make sure we’re the aggressor in every situation.”

But the line has looked better in recent weeks, and it’s hard not to link that, at least somewhat, to Allen’s addition to the starting lineup.

Since his insertion into the starting group against Pittsburgh on Oct. 25, Allen (who has started 30 career games) has helped steady a group that has struggled to pick up stunts and blitzes.

He has also played with the kind of edginess you might expect from a lineman playing in a contract year who was largely forced to watch from the sidelines the first six weeks of the season.

“I waited patiently, I’ve been hurt, all that type of stuff,” Allen said. “A lot of contributing factors. Some things I can’t control.

But Allen is taking it out on opponents, and the Chiefs like it.

“Well, Jeff by nature has a little bit of an edge to him, and it’s stuff that you like to see an offensive lineman play with,” Heck said. “He’s finishing to the echo of the whistle. We try to make sure that we’re making the guys on defense feel our presence every play and he’s a guy that really brings that.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Allen has always had these leadership traits, but noted his lack of playing time the first six weeks — when the Chiefs started 1-5 — was tied to his health.

“You saw, actually, the first couple plays — it’s different in there,” Reid said. “Everything’s a little faster, you got that leg that’s been bothering him. You’ve got to really trust the support on that.

“The first couple pass rushes, he was getting pushed back, and then he got more and more trust in that and he just stuck it in the ground and was able to hold his own in there at that spot. It was kind of working through that part of it.”

Allen said his newfound chippiness is the result of him trying to fill a necessary role up front.

“I just felt like it’s needed,” Allen said. “That’s the personality we’ve got to take on as a group. So I feel like if I go out there and I do my part, guys are following suit and everyone feeds off that type of energy.”

Reid thinks it is.

“He’s always had a certain amount of leadership and he’s not afraid to let that part of his personality show,” Reid said. “You know, he got carried away on one of the plays there but … you’d rather have it that way than to tune him up.

“Yeah, I do think that’s contagious. It brings it out in people around him.”

Take left tackle Eric Fisher. Against the Steelers, Fisher was assessed a 15-yard taunting penalty for what he did after running over to safety Mike Mitchell, who was twisting on running back Charcandrick West’s leg well after an 11-yard run was blown dead. Fisher got there, hovered over Mitchell and yelled something the official didn’t like.

“The whistle was blowing, and I saw a defender cranking on my running back’s knee,” Fisher said. “And I can’t have that.”

It says plenty that Reid, who has consistently mentioned the need for his linemen to remain composed in situations like that, essentially absolved Fisher for the penalty following the game, and West later expressed his gratitude.

“We’re family, man,” West said. “We expect that from each other.”

It also says plenty that Reid, that same day, admitted the line wasn’t enough playing with enough attitude up front before the Pittsburgh game.

It appears that’s not a problem now.

“We’re just coming with an attitude,” Fisher said. “We weren’t happy with as much as Alex was getting hit early on, and that all falls on us. So we’ve just got to come with that attitude every week. That’s what every O-line strives for.”

Chances are, they will need more of it in their next game. On Nov. 15, the Chiefs travel to Denver to face a Broncos team that has owned them since Reid arrived before the 2013 season. The Chiefs are 0-5 against the Broncos since then, and in their last game — a 31-24 heartbreaker that kick-started a five-game losing streak — the Broncos set the tone early.

In the first half alone, the Broncos were flagged for four personal-foul penalties, including two on the same drive. Allen was asked if the Broncos, who lead the AFC West at 7-0, were trying to set the tone and/or send a message.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s why they’re a good team,” Allen said. “And any time you’re going to be a good team, you’re going to be dominant team in the NFL, you’ve got to have a dominant personality. You’ve got to be an alpha dog.”

So Allen knows what kind of attitude the Broncos will bring to the field next Sunday. He also knows the Chiefs are eager to match it.

“It’s a challenge, man, but you’ve got to appreciate it,” Allen said. “You’ve got to know what the challenge is and you’ve got to meet their intensity.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 8:21 AM with the headline "Lets get nasty: Chiefs’ Jeff Allen aids chippier O-line."