Oh Romeo!

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It's semi-old news that Shaun Rogers came to Kansas City this week to meet with the Chiefs organization. He was released earlier in the week and is one of the only players that has warranted any attention. This is because he is a 350 lb nose tackle.

Some say that Rogers will most likely end up in Kansas City because Rogers had his best season under Romeo Crennel when both were still with the Cleveland Browns. That familiarity, plus the fact that the Chiefs could use that big of a nose tackle (which might save them from drafting one this year, at least early on that is), equals a fair possibility.

Now, I am going to go back to what I just said in the previous paragraph: "had his best season under Romeo Crennel." I had heard that statement so many times when reading about Shaun Rogers. Then I started thinking, "join the club."

After Crennel became our defensive coordinator last offseason, he has made the Chiefs defense respectable again. We improved all over that side of the ball, and the stats can prove it.

But how does a team improve so much? The answer is the players.

Several Chiefs players had their best seasons under Crennel this season without a doubt. For simplicity, I am going to stick with the starters; and for common sense, I am not going to include rookies. They are:
        Derrick Johnson: 121 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 touchdown
        Tamba Hali: 52 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 14.5 sacks
        Glenn Dorsey: 69 tackles, 2 sacks
        Jovan Belcher: 84 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 sack
        Brandon Carr: 57 tackles, 1 interception, 25 pass deflections (the true testament)

Several Chiefs players had one of their best years under Crennel this season:
        Ron Edwards: 26 tackles, 2 sacks
        Shaun Smith: 56 tackles, 1 sack (best season since 2007 when he was with Crennel in Cleveland)

Now, should these statistics be due more to the fact that most of the players are young and developing? Perhaps, but it just seems like these numbers lead to a conclusion that seems to be too consistent to be coincidence. The conclusion is that Romeo Crennel is one heck of a defensive coordinator and he has assembled a great staff of coaches. I'm glad he coaches for us, and I hope the defense can continue its improvement.