Article on Alonso's potential impact...also tidbits on EJ3

[GaryPinC]

 

 

Kiko will be the Bills passing downs linebacker. Mark these words. He will start from day one.

 

He also has long arms and active hands and does not get wired to blockers very easily. He stays clean compared to most linebackers but also appears to stack and shed well. In spite of his seemingly reckless and forward style Kiko is more of a wrap tackler than he is an impact tackler. He's pretty sure handed and gets the ballcarrier on the ground even when it's not a direct hit.

 

Once in awhile he takes a bad pursuit angle but that's the same with all linebackers. In Kiko's case I think he was coached to use an inside-out leverage so in spite of his fast playing speed, his errors usually happen when he loses outside containment (can't get outside fast enough). This doesn't happen very often though.

 

As with Conlan, my main concern with Kiko is his reckless playing style. He throws his body around a lot, going airborne numerous times a game.

 

It looks to me like similar to Conlan, that Kiko will be injury-prone and have a short career. Just a guess.

 

But make no mistake, this guy is an outstanding football player.

 

Took a look at the links you provided and the stanford game. I see the similarities between Conlan and Kiko but I think Conlan was far more of an impact hitter but had overall less range than Kiko. Both have a nose for the ball and really zero in on it quickly and Kiko is a very good cover backer too.

 

The only opinion I'd have to disagree with you on is that he appears to stack and shed well. If Kiko has room to get around a lineman or the lineman is lazy and doesn't drive into him Kiko does shed well, but most plays where a lineman locks in on him he gets stood up, run over or moved out of the way. On short yardage plays he was useless unless he could find a space to fit through which didn't happen very often. When it comes to trying to stack a blocker he plays much lighter than his weight IMO. Kiko seems to rely on slipping around and between people.

 

That's ok but it'll be interesting to see how he fares at the bigger, faster NFL level. Certainly he has a lot of talent, I'd like to see him coached up to meet the point of attack better and out-leverage 2nd level linemen. I find myself hoping he puts on 15 pounds or so and worry how his injury history will factor in...

[Max997]

 

 

Now if we were saying EJIII you might be on to something...

 

Don't see the difference...either way its a ripoff of another players nickname which is extremely weak and I'm hoping idoesn't catch on

[rstencel]

This game shows some of his best/worst as SJBS mentioned:

 

Notice how at times he slips blocks but rarely is taking them on. I think Pettine in particular is done with the Bart Scott "Stuntman" MLB and will sacrifice a little power for more speed?

After watching this film, I'm actually less optimistic about the LB pick. He seemed to take himself out of over half the run plays, and guess wrong very often. Tough to tell how much was by design of play, and how much was his instincts, but wow, he ran right to the blockers way more than to the hole. He did have some penetration plays which is nice, but also saw allot of big plays go to where he vacated. Honestly, he looked like the 3rd best LB on the team to me watching that film.

[eball]

After watching this film, I'm actually less optimistic about the LB pick. He seemed to take himself out of over half the run plays, and guess wrong very often. Tough to tell how much was by design of play, and how much was his instincts, but wow, he ran right to the blockers way more than to the hole. He did have some penetration plays which is nice, but also saw allot of big plays go to where he vacated. Honestly, he looked like the 3rd best LB on the team to me watching that film.

 

I'm glad you don't analyze film for the Bills.

[billsrcursed]

After watching this film, I'm actually less optimistic about the LB pick. He seemed to take himself out of over half the run plays, and guess wrong very often. Tough to tell how much was by design of play, and how much was his instincts, but wow, he ran right to the blockers way more than to the hole. He did have some penetration plays which is nice, but also saw allot of big plays go to where he vacated. Honestly, he looked like the 3rd best LB on the team to me watching that film.

 

Perhaps you were watching the wrong guy, or maybe you don't fully understand the role of his position...

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Took a look at the links you provided and the stanford game. I see the similarities between Conlan and Kiko but I think Conlan was far more of an impact hitter but had overall less range than Kiko. Both have a nose for the ball and really zero in on it quickly and Kiko is a very good cover backer too.

 

The only opinion I'd have to disagree with you on is that he appears to stack and shed well. If Kiko has room to get around a lineman or the lineman is lazy and doesn't drive into him Kiko does shed well, but most plays where a lineman locks in on him he gets stood up, run over or moved out of the way. On short yardage plays he was useless unless he could find a space to fit through which didn't happen very often. When it comes to trying to stack a blocker he plays much lighter than his weight IMO. Kiko seems to rely on slipping around and between people.

 

That's ok but it'll be interesting to see how he fares at the bigger, faster NFL level. Certainly he has a lot of talent, I'd like to see him coached up to meet the point of attack better and out-leverage 2nd level linemen. I find myself hoping he puts on 15 pounds or so and worry how his injury history will factor in...

 

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

 

You'll notice I didn't say Kiko was a physical player because ultimately in spite of playing fast and hard, he's not really a "take-on" linebacker. A lot if not most linebackers (and I think this also depends on what techniques they're getting coached) fill hard and sacrifice their body to get into their fit and stalemate the blocker. Kiko definitely doesn't do this as like you said, he'll go through and around people. Again that could be how he was coached. Lavonte David who I think is excellent played a similar game in college using speed and guile to get to the ball carrier ahead of the blocking.

 

When you look at photos of him it's clear he needs to fill out and get bigger and I think that's a given that will happen. I think you'll see him play a bit more stout and in control as a pro as he fills out and his play is polished up a bit.

 

But what a nice LBing talent for Pettine to mold.

 

This kid is amazing in space.

[Bill from NYC]

Is it like "wasting" a #9 pick on CJ Spiller? So it's not enough to draft good players anymore.

PTR

 

No it is not, and I think that many Bills fans are starting to see this. The idea is to win football games. What difference does it make if a player is "good" if your team is losing game after game?

 

That said, I am actually pleased with this draft. If we are going to miss (which is possible), let's miss while trying to get a quarterback. And, they gained a second round pick while doing so.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Bill from NYC

[GaryPinC]

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

 

You'll notice I didn't say Kiko was a physical player because ultimately in spite of playing fast and hard, he's not really a "take-on" linebacker. A lot if not most linebackers (and I think this also depends on what techniques they're getting coached) fill hard and sacrifice their body to get into their fit and stalemate the blocker. Kiko definitely doesn't do this as like you said, he'll go through and around people. Again that could be how he was coached. Lavonte David who I think is excellent played a similar game in college using speed and guile to get to the ball carrier ahead of the blocking.

 

When you look at photos of him it's clear he needs to fill out and get bigger and I think that's a given that will happen. I think you'll see him play a bit more stout and in control as a pro as he fills out and his play is polished up a bit.

 

But what a nice LBing talent for Pettine to mold.

 

This kid is amazing in space.

 

I hear ya, it is amazing watching him accelerate to home in on the ball. Especially for a guy who really wasn't blessed with a lot of top-end speed. It'll be fun to follow him and see how he develops. And Nix/coaches are on the line because using a second round pick means they feel he can be developed through his weaknesses. He's 238 lbs now, hope he hits training camp @ just over 250. And I hope the weight's added to legs and core!

[BuffaloBill]

Thanks for posting, just more proof that considering everyone knew what the Bills were going to do they probably played the selection of Manuel about as well as you could. Arguably a bit of a reach but had to get him. If EJ doesn't pan out I still respect their methods.

 

Agreed they buffered the pick some by getting the additional second rounder. If they hit on bth this could go down as one of the greatest drafts in Bills history.

[Captain Hindsight]

I believe the justification for calling EJ a reach is that we could have gotten more than an extra second and seventh round pick if we would have slid down even further, may be to 20.

 

We used our first round pick (#8) on the quarterback of our choosing (after as thorough a search and evaluation process as this franchise has ever conducted), a linebacker with starting potential and a project tight end. I'm baffled that some fans can criticize the allocation of that pick by saying we might have gotten more.

Don't use facts! We should be pissed off we didnt get another 6th too!