Raiders’ Chip Kelly Dishes on Chiefs Challenge

 Q: What is the challenge of going against a Steve Spagnuolo defense? 

Coach Kelly: "I think with Stags [Steve Spagnuolo], is that he does everything and he does everything well. There are some people that try to dabble in everything, and they're not good at anything, but he has a way, in whatever his system is, that their players truly understand what they're doing. They work in sync all the time. Linebackers will drop as deep as defensive backs. Defensive backs will play up front. I think they can mix and match who's playing what positions. You'll see a linebacker as a D-lineman. It all fits together when you watch the tape of the 11 guys all working in unison. 

“But then when one of the things that struck us, when I'm just looking at the depth chart overall, is how many years everybody's been there with him. And [Nick] Bolton's been there for a while, [Drue] Tranquil has been there for a while at linebacker, [Leo] Chenal is playing really well at linebacker, Chris [Jones] has been there for a while, [George] Karlaftis, another Pro Bowl player at the other defensive end to go along with [Trent] McDuffie and the guys in the back end. So, it's really, really well coordinated. 

“They give you some Blitz Zero, but they don't do it all the time. They'll give you some Cover 2, they don't do it all the time. They'll give you middle close Cover 3, they don't do it all the time. They'll give you some man, but they don't do it all the time. They really give a lot of different looks and do them all very well. So, it's tough to say, 'Hey, when we get to this area of the field, this is all we're going to get,' because he's so varied in what he does in his approach. That's what makes it difficult, the variety of what he can come after you with. There's a lot of it. So, our guys got to be prepared for everything."