Chiefs' Mauga ready to prove he's learned his lessons -- and learned them well
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Fun fact: Only nine other inside linebackers logged more defensive snaps last fall than Josh Mauga's 1,028 with the Kansas City Chiefs. His previous high in an NFL season had been just 145, back in 2011. So perhaps we chalk up some of those arm tackles and bad angles that cropped up in November and December to basic fatigue.
Then again, maybe not.
"Definitely, (it was) the technique," said Mauga, who led the Chiefs in tackles last fall (103) after being pressed into starting duty by Derrick Johnson's Week 1 Achilles tear.
"I tried to change things up last year, instead of just being my normal self. So this year I'm going to go back to playing my technique to get the job done."
And let's be clear: Big 90 wasn't bad. He just wasn't perfect. Or rather, he wasn't DJ. Which wasn't his fault, necessarily. Only so many Sinatras to go around.
Although this didn't help: ProFootballFocus.com credited Mauga, a first-time NFL first-teamer, with 21 missed tackles, one off the high by an NFL inside 'backer all season, and 13 misses on run plays, most of any NFL starter in his position group. Because when the middle of the defense wobbles, the rest of the table starts to go, too: The Chiefs' rush defense ranked 28th in the loop in 2014, surrendering 127.3 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry.
"It wasn't being me," Mauga said Wednesday as the Chiefs continued their third week of organized team activities. "That's not something that I'm used to doing and I wasn't happy with myself after that. But it's definitely on my mind and I want to improve this year."
The Chiefs certainly feel he will, or else they wouldn't have inked him to a three-year, $8.24 million contract, with $2.25 million of that reportedly guaranteed.
"I think everybody was really pleased with his performances last year after the way he stepped up," defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said, "and like I said, to go from being a quality backup guy to being a guy that didn't leave the field in base or sub, (it) speaks well of him. You know he's a really good athlete for a big man, and I just really think he's going to get better and better."
While general manager John Dorsey drafted a pair of linebackers in Ramik Wilson and D.J. Alexander for depth and special teams, from a competition standpoint, the first alternatives to DJ -- whose spirit is willing but legs remain an unknown -- are pretty much the same now as they were eight months ago: Mauga and James-Michael Johnson.
Which sure as hell says something about Mauga. Or what the Chiefs think of that ceiling. Or both.
"It means a lot (to be re-signed)," Mauga said. "The coaches here are very excellent in picking out players that fit this defense. And you know, for them to bring me back here and want me back here, it's just a great feeling and honor. And I'm going to do everything I can to do my job."
All of which should be easier if he's got Johnson to run beside, Johnson to lean on, Johnson to steer this bad boy while he rides shotgun.
"Actually, with DJ coming back, (I) get to take a little bit of weight off my shoulders," Mauga said. "To have a veteran like him out here and a playmaker, it helps out. It makes our defense a lot stronger and guys can rally around him and make plays on our own."
Last June, Mauga was just happy to be here, signed off the street after pectoral and back issues marred his last two seasons with the Jets, earmarked for special teams. But the fates can play havoc with even the best-laid plans. Joe Mays got hurt, then DJ, and the rest is roller-coaster history.
Now Big 90 has run the marathon, a quiet man playing a loud position, seen the gauntlet up close. There's no substitute for learning on the fly, as long as you can weather the hard lessons, too.
"Well, I think he's done a great job," Sutton said. "He came here last year and it was a situation where he was going to provide us depth, you know, and like every guy on our team, we always tell them, 'In one play, you go from the guy providing depth to being the starter.' And he was a guy that really never left the field almost the entire year. And so I think that coming off an injury the season before, we got him and I had got him in New York as well, I've just thought (that) he does a really good job.
"He's always been a really smart football player, be able to play multiple positions and do a really good job that way. And I think he's just going to get better and better, and like anybody, the more playing time you have. That experience, and how you deal with just the little things."
Technique. Arm tackles. Angles. Trust. And not just in the guys next to you. In yourself.
"Absolutely, we do that every down," Mauga said. "Yeah, (it) seemed like people said, DJ was out and (defensive end) Mike DeVito, and they said we couldn't play without them. So we did take that (as) offensive and went out there every day to try and prove them wrong."
And here we go again. Same song. New verse.
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You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
