gnuolo might do in 2019."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Kansas City Chiefs NewsOpen ThreadsFull ArchiveLibrary Community GuidelinesContact InformationOdds Shop About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub 鉁昑he Chiefs’ move to Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator is less about scheme and more about styleNew Travis Kelce Jersey ,55commentsWednesday’s press conference gave a look into what Spagnuolo might do in 2019.CSTShareTweetShareShareThe Chiefs’ move to Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator is less about scheme and more about styleDenny Medley-USA TODAY SportsSince rumors started swirling that Steve Spagnuolo was becoming the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator, many of us have dissected the switch from Bob Sutton’s 3-4 base defense to Spagnuolo’s hybrid-front 4-3 Under defense. I posted an insta-reaction to where the Chiefs personnel fit after the Spagnuolo hire, and I dissected Brett Veach’s conference call from a couple weeks back as to how he thinks players fit in the scheme.However, a comment from Spagnuolo this week shed some light on what he thought about the current personnel. When asked if he thought the current Chiefs front seven were versatile enough to play in his scheme, he responded with the following:While the prevalence of sub packages in the defense isn’t something new—Sutton ran his nickel and dime defenses 78.72 percent of the time in 2018, per my charting—there are a couple of Spagnuolo quotes that have me excited for his hybrid scheme.One of my biggest complaints about Sutton was the rigidity of his scheme. I felt like Sutton would too often sacrifice a player’s natural fit to fill a specific role that he needed on the defense. Instead of putting the player in his best position to succeed, he would find spots in which players were marginal fits and tried to make it work. An example — Jordan Lucas.Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY SportsLucas was the Chiefs’ rangiest safety on the back end in 2018, but he found himself as a box safety for a number of weeks while the Chiefs’ obvious lack of deep speed was exposed. Rather than finding what his personnel did best, it appeared Sutton did what he felt fit his scheme best.Spagnuolo wasn’t throwing any shade Sutton’s way with his comment in the above quote. He went on to praise Sutton as a coach and a man. However, while many have been focused on the switch to the 4-3 Tyreek Hill Jersey , perhaps the most significant change occurring this year will be a coaching staff that’s going to tune its scheme to the strengths of the Chiefs’ personnel.Installing a new scheme in year one is typically a tough ask. It’s hard to overhaul personnel to get players that fit the roles that you want. It’s even harder to construct a scheme around a group of existing players, unless you’re willing to be extremely flexible — which it sounds like Spagnuolo will be in 2019.None of this is more obvious than evaluating his coaching hires for his front seven players. The New England Patriots are the kings of hybrid fronts, switching to match personnel and opponent tendencies. The Chiefs hired the Patriots’ defensive line coach, Brendan Daly, to coach multiple fronts and be the primary coordinator of their run defense. New Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House ran shifting, hybrid fronts as the Kentucky defensive coordinator, moving players around at will to get the best matchups and maximize his players’ potentials. He’s used to having a regular rotation of players each year and having to match his scheme to the guys on the field.While there’s still a lot to do between now and the start of the season — and Spagnuolo definitely has his work cut out for him — I’m ecstatic at the thought of the multiple fronts the Chiefs defense could employ this year. While we’ve been piecing together the personnel to try to make his 4-3 Under front work for the last month, Spagnuolo appears to be evaluating the flexibility and fit of players in an evolving front.For Chiefs fans that may have been frustrated with a rigid, stubborn scheme for the past few years, Spagnuolo’s comments and coaching staff could offer a welcome respite in 2019 and beyond. At the least Carlos Hyde Jersey , we can feel comfortable knowing that the staff is looking for ways to best fit the scheme to the players this year, rather than the other way around. NEW YORK 鈥?Patrick Mahomes and three other Kansas City Chiefs players made The Associated Press 2018 NFL All-Pro Team on Friday. They were joined by the first rookie teammates since 1965 鈥?Colts guard left Quenton Nelson and linebacker Darius Leonard.More Packers coveragePhotos of the Week: 1/6/19 – 1/12/19Packers confirm Pettine returning as defensive coordinatorPackers believe they’ve found the ‘perfect candidate’ in Matt LaFleurPackers make it official, hire LaFleur as head coachStaTuesday: How first-year Packers coaches have faredRams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was the only unanimous choice in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league.“That’s surreal,” Donald said. “It’s a blessing. Wow! You see the hard work pay off.“A lot of credit to my teammates and my coaches for pushing me and helping me.”Mahomes, Kansas City’s second-year sensation, drew 45 votes at quarterback and was joined by teammates Travis Kelce at tight end, Tyreek Hill as the flex player and Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle.Nelson and Leonard are among four rookies on the squad, a first for the AP team. Seahawks punter Michael Dickson and Chargers safety Derwin James also made it. The last time rookies from the same team were All-Pros was 1965. And that was not a bad combo: Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, both Hall of Famers.“These are the kind of guys who have the DNA, the makeup of everything that we are looking for Juan Thornhill white jersey ,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “All the intangibles, all the character qualities, everything about them. It’s a really hard filter to get through to get marked that way and both Quenton and Darius had that on their card. So that says something about their maturity and how fast we think they will develop.”And already have developed.Chicago also had four All-Pros: edge rusher Khalil Mack, cornerback Kyle Fuller, safety Eddie Jackson and punt returner Tarik Cohen.Two players made All-Pro for the fifth time: Houston edge rusher J.J. Watt and Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly.“It means a lot to get back to the top level of the game,” said Watt, who missed most of the 2016 and ’17 seasons with major injuries. “Obviously, it’s an extreme honor to be a first-team All-Pro, especially after what I’ve been through the last two years and hearing the things that people were saying and questioning myself at times.“To be able to get back to the top level of the game and know that I still have things to improve on and things that I want to get even better at, it’s exciting.”Brothers also were voted to the squad: Travis Kelce of the Chiefs and Eagles center Jason Kelce.“For me and my brother to both get it Juan Thornhill Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , it’s that much more special because I still remember us in the backyard fighting with each other, playing football growing up and we envisioned each other competing at the highest level, competing against the best players,” Jason said. “And for both of us to be recognized as one of those guys is pretty special.”The All-Pro team had a split of 14 AFC and 14 NFC members. There were 16 newcomers: Mahomes; Schwartz; Fuller; Jackson; Cohen; Saints receiver Michael Thomas; Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari; Eagles interior defensive lineman Fletcher Cox; Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore; Chargers defensive back Desmond King and special teamer Adrian Phillips; Jets kick returner Andre Roberts; and the four rookies.Players with previous All-Pro honors who made the 2018 team included Donald and Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner, each for the fourth time; Mack, Dallas right guard Zack Martin and Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, each for the third time; Hill; Rams running back Todd Gurley; and Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins.“I think I really took a lot of pride in leadership,” said Wagner, who got 49 votes. “I knew that was going to be big if we were going to be successful. I knew I was going to have to up my role in that, up my mindfulness in that. I was really conscious of that and just making sure I was Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , when it came to getting back to the defense I looked at it from a different lens.”Hopkins got the most votes on offense with 46.“This is validation,” Hopkins said. “I feel like these people are the people who actually know football, who study football, who have been around football for years, so do be on this list and to be first team is a great feeling. But it makes me want to work harder and continue to be on that list.”AP Pro Football Writers Rob Maaddi and Dennis Waszak Jr., and Sports Writers Mike Marot, Kristie Rieken and Greg Beacham contributed to this report.