kcchief4lif 910 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 So for most of this season, Marcus Peters has been undeniably avoided by quarterbacks. This makes sense after a red-hot start in which Peters displayed his utterly uncanny knack for picking off passes (despite having a bad habit of getting beat deep occasionally). Basically, the analysis is simple: even if you manage to get a few completions (or even big plays) against Peters, you’re MUCH more likely to have the pass intercepted (or, you know, just ripped out of your WR’s hands) by throwing his way than anywhere else on the field. And so the rest of Kansas City’s corners have faced an increased workload game in and game out, seeing more targets as quarterbacks flee from Peters Peninsula. And the results, for the Chiefs, have been... mixed. Steven Nelson is having a fine second year and plays very physical, aggressive coverage. Beyond him though, it’s been a mixed bag for Chiefs corners. And unfortunately, in today’s NFL you need to be at least three deep at CB if you don’t want one guy to get mercilessly picked on. Phillip Gaines was supposed to step in once Sean Smith left in free agency, and I for one had high hopes for him. However, this season Gaines (for whatever reason, injury or no) hasn’t been as sticky in coverage as he was in previous years. This culminated in a really, really rough game against Denver, where Gaines gave up approximately 45 catches for a thousand yards. Enter Terrance Mitchell. Follow Seth Keysor @RealMNchiefsfan Mitchell played the game-winning pass breakup so well. Ran w/ WR, got his head turned around and hips flipped immediately, contested ball. 8:19 PM - 11 Dec 2016 1111 Retweets 4949 likes Mitchell has burst unto the scene the last several weeks, getting roughly half the defensive snaps against Atlanta, then seeing very nearly every snap against the Raiders on Thursday Night Football. It’s rare to see a player come out of nowhere, but that’s exactly what Mitchell has done after being promoted from the practice squad. Mitchell was drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 draft and has bounced around the league (with the Cowboys twice, the Bears and the Texans) before the Chiefs picked him up in September of this year (and released him on November 8th, then picked him back up on November 25th). Mitchell played a solid game against the Falcons in his first real action back, then proceeded to have what appeared (on the surface) to be an exceptional game against Derek Carr and the Raiders, including the above GIF in which Mitchell knocked down a pass to ice the game. READ MORE Terrance Mitchell is the Chiefs latest discovery The Kansas City Chiefs have been finding hidden gem after hidden gem. A few months ago it was the emergence of Ramik Wilson, a few weeks ago it was the emergence of Rakeem "Nacho" Nunez-Roches and... I probably received more requests to review Mitchell’s film than I’ve ever received about any player. I think that’s in part because he really did just appear out of seemingly thin air at a position of desperate need. But what does his tape look like? Well, let’s take a look at his work against the Raiders (if you want to know how I gauge corners, click here, I watch every snap in coverage and grade it as a win or loss. Neutral plays or zone plays I exclude) and see what we can see. A fair warning: gauging ANY player, particularly at cornerback, based on a single game is not a smart move. Context matters a great deal, and until you see a player perform over the course of multiple games you’re not going to have a good idea about who he really is. Frankly, Phillip Gaines should remind everyone of the danger in small sample sizes (Gaines had multiple games at corner where he looked exceptional in coverage, but we never saw more then 3-4 games at a time from him prior to this year. The results have been disappointing so far). So I write this not to say “this is who we know Mitchell is.” I write this to say “this is what Mitchell demonstrated against the Raiders.” Everything else is pure conjecture at this point. That said, let’s go to the numbers then talk about the film Successful Coverage: 23 Failed Coverage: 9 Success Rate: 71.9 percent Fail Rate: 28.1 percent Passes Defensed: 4 Targets: 9 Catches Allowed: 4 Yards Allowed: 24 (six yards per catch, or 2.7 yards per target) Mitchell, as you were able to observe during the course of the game, did a really nice job against the Raiders. Follow Seth Keysor @RealMNchiefsfan They went after Mitchell quite a bit. I like how he competed, played physical, and at times ran the WR's routes better than they did. 8:17 PM - 11 Dec 2016 77 Retweets 5050 likes Late in the second half Cris Collinsworth went on a bit of a diatribe that the Raiders had found a weakness in Mitchell to pick on. This was right after a pass interference was called against Mitchell (one that was a horrible call, but I digress) to set the Raiders up on the goal line. Collinsworth proved to lack the gift of prophecy as the game moved along, however, and the Raiders were consistently unable to get much going against Mitchell despite everything working against him (second game really playing with the defense, going up against solid receivers, etc). Mitchell knocked down as many passes as he allowed to be caught, and of the catches he DID allow, two of them were generally positive plays for the defense, one of them a three yard gain and the other being this play. Follow Seth Keysor @RealMNchiefsfan These semi-pick type plays have hurt the Chiefs all year. Good to see Mitchell's awareness, mirroring, closing and finishing. 6:52 PM - 11 Dec 2016 1212 Retweets 4444 likes This play is a great example why tracking catches vs. targets is a very incomplete way to gauge a corner. Sometimes it’s a good thing for the defense when a corner allows a catch, then immediately closes and tackles for a short gain. Here, Mitchell doesn’t allow the “pick” action from the other Oakland receiver to bother him, mirrors Cooper’s movement sideways beautifully, then makes the hit to prevent any YAC. It’s a really solid play by the young corner, on the type of route that’s given our defense trouble at times this season. I avoided reading any of Mitchell’s college scouting reports to avoid having preconceived notions when watching his film. What I saw was a player with a number of positive qualities. First and foremost, I really like Mitchell’s footwork mirroring routes. Follow Seth Keysor @RealMNchiefsfan When I see a CB handle WR fakes like this I think of non-Bombay coach in D3: The Mighty Ducks yelling "make him make the first move Conway!" 7:25 PM - 11 Dec 2016 1313 Retweets 3636 likes Mitchell generally didn’t bite on fakes by receivers and instead just matched their movements with his own without over-committing to one direction or the other. He also avoided flipping his hips to either side until a receiver had actually began to get into the route. This is a positive sign, and one to watch going forward. Another thing Mitchell does pretty well is aggressive, physical coverage. He has a good punch and did everything he could to hassle receivers while on their routes, especially if they were spending time using head fakes in front of him. I love that method of dealing with jukes: don’t just sit there and wait to get faked out, punch them in the mouth and use their lack of forward momentum against them to screw with their timing. Mitchell’s physicality doesn’t stop once the ball is in the air, either. As Chiefs fans saw on the last play of the game (and several plays before that), Mitchell is willing to fight for position and makes receivers earn every inch against him. Now, that may make him vulnerable to pass interference calls, but I definitely prefer that to a guy who just lets the receiver comes down with it. Mitchell is helped in this area by (at least against Oakland) his habit of getting his head around and locating the ball. This is a HUGE trait to find in a young corner (again, assuming he continues to do so moving forward), and one that can create opportunities to knock passes down or pick them off (it’s one of Marcus Peters’ best traits). Right now, Mitchell is the toast of the town and deservedly so. He played an exceptional game against the Raiders Now, Mitchell isn’t perfect, even if we’re gauging him on a game where he played very well. While his short-burst quickness appears very solid, I’m not too sure about his deep speed. There was one play in particular where Crabtree was able to beat him deep that made me question his ability to recover if he doesn’t win in the first five yards off the line of scrimmage. The problem with this is that if he loses at the line, he could be vulnerable to giving up big plays. This wasn’t an issue against Oakland because he did a good job maintaining his hips as well as creating some contact within five yards of the line of scrimmage, but he was also facing a relatively slow(-ish) receiver group. Throw him out there against a burner and I’d be concerned. Mitchell also looks a bit grabby in coverage as receivers are going through their route, including well past the allowed area. He’s going to rack up penalties with the wrong officiating crew if he’s not careful. This may be a compensation for his (apparent) lack of speed, and it’s something to watch for. Right now, though, Mitchell is the toast of the town and deservedly so. He played an exceptional game against the Raiders on a snap-by-snap basis (not just the routes he was targeted, but consistently throughout) and demonstrated some skills that may be tailor-made for Bob Sutton’s defensive scheme. We’ll have to wait and see what the next few weeks hold, but for right now Mitchell looks like a potentially promising, physical young corner who might fit well with what the Chiefs are doing (he doesn’t appear afraid to hit either, which I really did want to mention before finishing this piece). Let’s see what happens against Marcus Mariota and the Titans, but there’s a small possibility one of the Chiefs’ weak spots on defense has received some unexpected reinforcements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Mitchell was thought to be a third round pick, but fell to the 7th round to the Cowboys. He does not have ideal top end speed. His quick timed events at the combine were very good. In fact, his 3 cone, 20 and 60 shuttles were best in his class. He is very quick. The issue against him were tight hips (confusing since he was remarkable at events that penalized tight hips), short arms, small hands, and a 4.63 40 yard dash. For the Chiefs, corners have to cover underneath, and safeties have the speed to recover deep. Berry, and Parker have very good long speed. The Chiefs' defense utilizes their speed, but allowing them to cover the most distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhitter 1,424 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I'm not trying to stir the pot here...but truthfully, we have had guys step in before and look great for a game or two (you named one in Phillip Gaines. Marcus Cooper also comes to mind). But then game film and smart coaches and QB's catch up to them and the rest is history. Mitchell did a very nice job against Oakland. But then Carr looked off the whole night. How does a guy who is in the running for MVP consideration look worse than Matt Cassel on a bad day? Our emerging 7th round cornerback find? Probably many other factors contributed to that. It's all about consistency. If Mitchell continues to shine against other good QB's then maybe we can get excited. If he doesn't then it's more of the same old song and dance. As fans we need to give Mitchell a little time to see if he is the real deal. I hope that he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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