My one concern with Sneed is that he has missed a couple of third down tackles that would have gotten them off the field sooner and prevented points. They were good plays by the offensive player - they pay those guys, too!
One of the advantages of playing so much dime and blitzing with defensive backs is that then the blitzers could cope with the athleticism of Mayfield and Allen as they try to break out of the pocket. With Brady, that is much less of a concern.
This is a tricky match-up, which makes for a tasty Super Bowl. I do not want to work these next four days. I want to sit in front of game pass and get psyched.
I can only think of one that Sneed's missed tbh, and that was on a tough angle play. Generally speaking he's looked like a solid tackler, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
I might be confused here but it looks like the defense with Sneed gave up less pass EP and less AY/A than without Sneed. You say the opposite in the next paragraph, can you clarify?
My family LOVES Sneed. One of my favorite plays of his this year is when he took on (and completely owned) an O-Lineman on a run play against Denver. Would have been a dominant play from a LB... but was a ridiculous play for a rookie CB.
Both teams are better now than when they met in week 12 (which, amazingly, was two and a half months ago - the NFL season is loooooong!) KC has benefited from the ascension of Thornhill and Sneed, while TB has seen the return of Vita Vea and more coherence on offense.
Advanced stats say this is a pick 'em game, but I'll take Spags and his talent over the Bucs offense, and I likewise prefer Reid/Mahomes vs Bowles and the TB defense.
Sneed reminds me a lot of a current member of the Bucs' coaching staff, Kevin Ross. He, too, was thrust into the fire as a rookie, only he was roasted in his first game. We all know how it turned out because his name is on the Ring of Honor. Ross didn't possess the speed and athleticism of Sneed, but he more than made up for it with aggressiveness and sheer determination. Ross was also unheralded as a seventh-round pick, but made himself one of the Chiefs' all-time greats. I see that same determination and pit bull mentality in Sneed that made "The Rock" a legend in KC.
You mentioned Kendall Fuller as one of the other guys in your intro. I wonder if he is happy with his move to the WFT or wishes he stuck around for the runitback.
Im reading everything being written about this game, and eating it up. I get so stoked about how we match up well everywhere except out o line, and I'm confident that Reid and Mahomes can cover that weakness.
And then that old feeling hits, and I worry that I just jinxed, them with my cocky attitude. 😳
Great article Seth. I listened to Spags interview yesterday and he has high praise for Sneed as well. One thing that was interesting to hear from Spags was how impressed he was with Sneeds tape in college and he was asking other coaches if he was missing something. I presume this meant he was wondering why he was not rated higher in the draft and still available in the 4th round. Finding this kind of talent in the later rounds of the draft is certainly been key to the Chiefs success of late. Also key is having a coaching staff that can get the most out of the players they coach that have the potential of Sneed. He is certainly fun to watch and contributes on numerous plays each week. That play on Diggs with an assist from Thornhill was one of the most impressive defensive plays of the game against the Bill's. Looking forward to more of those this week against the Bucs!
Also, I think my biggest X-Factor this game is Tershawn. If he can beat his 1 on 1s a couple of times (thanks to Jones drawing the double team) I think he could cause a Brady pick if he doesn't pick up a sack. Nadi too to a degree, but Nadi doesn't possess the quickness of a Tershawn.
My one concern with Sneed is that he has missed a couple of third down tackles that would have gotten them off the field sooner and prevented points. They were good plays by the offensive player - they pay those guys, too!
One of the advantages of playing so much dime and blitzing with defensive backs is that then the blitzers could cope with the athleticism of Mayfield and Allen as they try to break out of the pocket. With Brady, that is much less of a concern.
This is a tricky match-up, which makes for a tasty Super Bowl. I do not want to work these next four days. I want to sit in front of game pass and get psyched.
I can only think of one that Sneed's missed tbh, and that was on a tough angle play. Generally speaking he's looked like a solid tackler, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
I might be confused here but it looks like the defense with Sneed gave up less pass EP and less AY/A than without Sneed. You say the opposite in the next paragraph, can you clarify?
Do the "with Sneed" and "without Sneed" boxes need to be switched?
LOLOLOL I switched them up. Just threw in an edit to clarify. You're hired as an editor!
My family LOVES Sneed. One of my favorite plays of his this year is when he took on (and completely owned) an O-Lineman on a run play against Denver. Would have been a dominant play from a LB... but was a ridiculous play for a rookie CB.
https://twitter.com/ricj27_/status/1335805833507201027?lang=en
By the way, my boys and I believe there are only two acceptable ways to say his name:
1) His full name, loudly, with a slight pause in between, or
2) Just his last name, but in the same style as Captain Hook says “Smeed”... loudly, and drawn out, with the pitch rising from beginning to end.
If you could get the word out on that, we’d appreciate it.
Dude can just PLAY, thanks for sharing that!
Both teams are better now than when they met in week 12 (which, amazingly, was two and a half months ago - the NFL season is loooooong!) KC has benefited from the ascension of Thornhill and Sneed, while TB has seen the return of Vita Vea and more coherence on offense.
Advanced stats say this is a pick 'em game, but I'll take Spags and his talent over the Bucs offense, and I likewise prefer Reid/Mahomes vs Bowles and the TB defense.
Sneed reminds me a lot of a current member of the Bucs' coaching staff, Kevin Ross. He, too, was thrust into the fire as a rookie, only he was roasted in his first game. We all know how it turned out because his name is on the Ring of Honor. Ross didn't possess the speed and athleticism of Sneed, but he more than made up for it with aggressiveness and sheer determination. Ross was also unheralded as a seventh-round pick, but made himself one of the Chiefs' all-time greats. I see that same determination and pit bull mentality in Sneed that made "The Rock" a legend in KC.
Kevin Ross has always been one of my favorite players. After he got lit up in that first game against the Steelers, he was a Rock!!
You mentioned Kendall Fuller as one of the other guys in your intro. I wonder if he is happy with his move to the WFT or wishes he stuck around for the runitback.
Im reading everything being written about this game, and eating it up. I get so stoked about how we match up well everywhere except out o line, and I'm confident that Reid and Mahomes can cover that weakness.
And then that old feeling hits, and I worry that I just jinxed, them with my cocky attitude. 😳
Great article Seth. I listened to Spags interview yesterday and he has high praise for Sneed as well. One thing that was interesting to hear from Spags was how impressed he was with Sneeds tape in college and he was asking other coaches if he was missing something. I presume this meant he was wondering why he was not rated higher in the draft and still available in the 4th round. Finding this kind of talent in the later rounds of the draft is certainly been key to the Chiefs success of late. Also key is having a coaching staff that can get the most out of the players they coach that have the potential of Sneed. He is certainly fun to watch and contributes on numerous plays each week. That play on Diggs with an assist from Thornhill was one of the most impressive defensive plays of the game against the Bill's. Looking forward to more of those this week against the Bucs!
Veach don't miss! If Sneed keeps this up, he may very well be Brett's best pick as the Chiefs GM.
Also, I think my biggest X-Factor this game is Tershawn. If he can beat his 1 on 1s a couple of times (thanks to Jones drawing the double team) I think he could cause a Brady pick if he doesn't pick up a sack. Nadi too to a degree, but Nadi doesn't possess the quickness of a Tershawn.