The Bills linebacker problem

[ChanOverChin]

I expect the Bills to sign LB B. Spikes after 5-12-15 (because if they sign him before then they will likely forfeit one of the comp. picks that they expect to obtain for next year.

 

I also expect them to wait to sign S L. Landry until that time for the same reason.

 

The Bills are thin at coverage LB, but not at LB overall, not in Ryan's scheme.

 

I expect Ryan to draft hybrid guys to play outside (i.e. OLB/DE types). At least one, maybe two.

 

He will definitely draft a CB, but the Bills don't have to reach for one in R2 since they already have Gilmore/McKelvin/Graham/Robey (4 solid corners) plus Brooks and Cockrell to work with.

[C.Biscuit97]

Also, when you have the best defensive line in the NFL, every LB who plays behind them looks much better.

 

Guys like Kiko and Bradham are not the same players on a team with a bad d line. Our defensive line makes LBs.

[YoloinOhio]

This is a good breakdown of our personnel with Rex's Defensive fronts

 

http://billsmafia.com/2015/04/07/inside-the-buffalo-bills-playbook-breaking-down-rex-ryans-46-and-under-fronts/

[NoSaint]

The Bills do need depth at MLB, I am hoping that once May 12th passes they can sign up Spikes and still get a comp pick. Also signing Landry to add depth to the back end of the secondary wouldn't be a bad idea either.

waiting to sign spikes does nothing. the only way he effects our calculation is if someone else signs him before the 12th.

[Chuck Wagon]

Also, when you have the best defensive line in the NFL, every LB who plays behind them looks much better.

 

Guys like Kiko and Bradham are not the same players on a team with a bad d line. Our defensive line makes LBs.

 

 

I'm really interested to see how Kiko does in Philly, although if he plays poorly I imagine his injury will be blamed well before people will mention the line he was playing behind here.

[NoSaint]

I expect the Bills to sign LB B. Spikes after 5-12-15 (because if they sign him before then they will likely forfeit one of the comp. picks that they expect to obtain for next year.

 

ill echo it again, spikes only counts as a qualified loss if he is a qualified signing by another team. Signing him now just makes it so another team couldnt sign him before the 12th to become a loss.

[C.Biscuit97]

 

 

I'm really interested to see how Kiko does in Philly, although if he plays poorly I imagine his injury will be blamed well before people will mention the line he was playing behind here.

Kiko is a great athlete and is a playmaker. His first 5 games was one of the best stretches of defensive play I have seen from a defensive player on the Bills. But it kinda stopped after the 5th game. If you met Kiko, he looks more like a receiver than a LB. Towards the end of 2013, he was pretty awful against the run.

 

IF you make a scheme where he can run around free and just cover people, he will be fine. But I think teams will run at him when he is on the field because he isn't built for that. I love the guy but he got overrated here.

[seadog]

I really like the way bradham played last year. He played with chip on his shoulder and hit as hard as any linebacker ive seen in awhile. We can only hope brown and bradham can play to that level again. Maybe having a vet like spikes to play next to helped them also. I think they will resign spikes aswell. I think lawson is very underrated also. Every time i see him on the field which isnt enough he is around the ball and making plays. Love his wingspan and he can somewhat cover a te or back because of his long arms he is not so good against the though.

[Kelly the Dog]

Kiko is a great athlete and is a playmaker. His first 5 games was one of the best stretches of defensive play I have seen from a defensive player on the Bills. But it kinda stopped after the 5th game. If you met Kiko, he looks more like a receiver than a LB. Towards the end of 2013, he was pretty awful against the run.

 

IF you make a scheme where he can run around free and just cover people, he will be fine. But I think teams will run at him when he is on the field because he isn't built for that. I love the guy but he got overrated here.

That may be only because he was playing MLB when he should have been playing OLB where he wouldn't have to take on so many huge guys right off the snap. I agree that the first stretch was incredible and that he wore down. The Bills were of course planning on moving him outside as soon as the season ended in 2013 and of course had Spikes to play the middle on run downs in 2014. If we kept him this year he wouldn't have been asked to play that middle position which was the main reason for the breakdown.

[C.Biscuit97]

I really like the way bradham played last year. He played with chip on his shoulder and hit as hard as any linebacker ive seen in awhile. We can only hope brown and bradham can play to that level again. Maybe having a vet like spikes to play next to helped them also. I think they will resign spikes aswell. I think lawson is very underrated also. Every time i see him on the field which isnt enough he is around the ball and making plays. Love his wingspan and he can somewhat cover a te or back because of his long arms he is not so good against the though.

I actually thought Lawson was worse last year. I really liked him in 2013. Maybe going back to the Ryan defense will help him.

I think a Shaq Thompson (ie Kam Chancellor) type guy is what we need.

 

 

We'll likely be in nickle most of the time, with Williams-Williams-Dareus-Hughes up front (call Mario & Hughes OLB if you want, they'll be primarily rushers/edge contain) with Bradham / Brown in the linebackers spot and Gilmore / Graham / Leodis / Williams in the secondary. That leaves 1 spot, a guy like Thompson, who is a hybrid LB/SS type, would be nice to allow us to basically play nickle and a base 43 (or 34) with the same personnel.

Love, love Shaq. He would be a monster for Rex. I'd take him in a second if he was available at 50.

That may be only because he was playing MLB when he should have been playing OLB where he wouldn't have to take on so many huge guys right off the snap. I agree that the first stretch was incredible and that he wore down. The Bills were of course planning on moving him outside as soon as the season ended in 2013 and of course had Spikes to play the middle on run downs in 2014. If we kept him this year he wouldn't have been asked to play that middle position which was the main reason for the breakdown.

True. It will be interesting to see how he does in Philly without Dareus and Williams (Cox is very good for them) freeing him up.

 

As with running backs, your LBs are as good as the line in front of them.

[BillsVet]

By the end of the season Brown was excellent in coverage. That is one of the main reasons for Kiko being expendable.

Brown certainly improved, but Kiko wasn't expendable because of Brown. Kiko was expendable because he doesn't fit Rex's defense, plain and simple.

 

More specifically, 235# LB's aren't big enough to play the scheme. And I'm sure you'll compare weight of Kiko to Bradham, but that raw data doesn't include the players themselves. Kiko wore down in 2013 and may not be as durable like Brown and Bradham appear to be.

[thebandit27]

Brown certainly improved, but Kiko wasn't expendable because of Brown. Kiko was expendable because he doesn't fit Rex's defense, plain and simple.

 

More specifically, 235# LB's aren't big enough to play the scheme. And I'm sure you'll compare weight of Kiko to Bradham, but that raw data doesn't include the players themselves. Kiko wore down in 2013 and may not be as durable like Brown and Bradham appear to be.

 

Demario Davis has played the better part of 3 seasons at ILB for Rex, and he's 236 lbs.

Or 239, depending upon whose website you use...

[billykaykay]

Kiko is a great athlete and is a playmaker. His first 5 games was one of the best stretches of defensive play I have seen from a defensive player on the Bills. But it kinda stopped after the 5th game. If you met Kiko, he looks more like a receiver than a LB. Towards the end of 2013, he was pretty awful against the run.

 

IF you make a scheme where he can run around free and just cover people, he will be fine. But I think teams will run at him when he is on the field because he isn't built for that. I love the guy but he got overrated here.

The one thing Kiko was great at was covering RBs on swing passes behind the line of scrimmage. He was quick to diagnose & was fast to the runner.

[Mr. WEO]

Seemed OK back there last year...

[Kelly the Dog]

Brown certainly improved, but Kiko wasn't expendable because of Brown. Kiko was expendable because he doesn't fit Rex's defense, plain and simple.

 

More specifically, 235# LB's aren't big enough to play the scheme. And I'm sure you'll compare weight of Kiko to Bradham, but that raw data doesn't include the players themselves. Kiko wore down in 2013 and may not be as durable like Brown and Bradham appear to be.

Rex all but said it was because of Brown. Kiko surely fits Rex's and basically anyone's system. Bandit mentioned Davis. Rex absolutely loves instinctive, aggressive linebackers with a nose for the ball as soon as it is snapped. That's Kiko. He just didn't need him because the Bills defense was awesome without him, and you would be wasting one of three big talents on virtually every play because we had three guys for two positions and all of them should be starters. When you have the opportunity to trade one of them for Shady McCoy it's a no brainer.

[John from Riverside]

It doesnt really need saying but what makes our D go is the dominance of our D line......it makes up for a lot of weaknesses in other areas (not that there is much)

 

I am not gonna bash Kiko.....he is was a playmaker...he is going to be a playmaker for the Eagles.

 

I just think that Rex knows how to make it all work......between his understanding of run stop (something Pettine didnt understand) and his mix of exotic blitz (which schwartz seldom used) this D has a chance to be special because it is a perfect blend of coaching AND great talent at all the positions TO INCLUDE DEPTH

 

THat is why I dont want to see D players at 50.....we need to get this offense moving.

[Kelly the Dog]

It doesnt really need saying but what makes our D go is the dominance of our D line......it makes up for a lot of weaknesses in other areas (not that there is much)

 

I am not gonna bash Kiko.....he is was a playmaker...he is going to be a playmaker for the Eagles.

 

I just think that Rex knows how to make it all work......between his understanding of run stop (something Pettine didnt understand) and his mix of exotic blitz (which schwartz seldom used) this D has a chance to be special because it is a perfect blend of coaching AND great talent at all the positions TO INCLUDE DEPTH

 

THat is why I dont want to see D players at 50.....we need to get this offense moving.

While Pettine is a little more reckless I guess, we would have been able to stop the run in 2013 if we had the 2014 Bradham and the 2014 Spikes, like the 2014 Schwartz defense had (not to mention Preston Brown).

[dave mcbride]

Brown certainly improved, but Kiko wasn't expendable because of Brown. Kiko was expendable because he doesn't fit Rex's defense, plain and simple.

 

More specifically, 235# LB's aren't big enough to play the scheme. And I'm sure you'll compare weight of Kiko to Bradham, but that raw data doesn't include the players themselves. Kiko wore down in 2013 and may not be as durable like Brown and Bradham appear to be.

Except for the INTs, Alonso's numbers were fairly consistent over the course of the season. He had his second highest combined tackle/assist total in the season's final game, actually: http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/gamelog/_/id/15819/kiko-alonso. Also, note that in the second last game -- against Miami -- that although he had low tackle numbers, Miami only ran 52 plays (the Bills dominated them, 19-0).

Rex all but said it was because of Brown. Kiko surely fits Rex's and basically anyone's system. Bandit mentioned Davis. Rex absolutely loves instinctive, aggressive linebackers with a nose for the ball as soon as it is snapped. That's Kiko. He just didn't need him because the Bills defense was awesome without him, and you would be wasting one of three big talents on virtually every play because we had three guys for two positions and all of them should be starters. When you have the opportunity to trade one of them for Shady McCoy it's a no brainer.

I think that's right. it's not like they shipped him to the curb like a pile of trash. They had to give up something good and valuable to get something good and valuable. And let's not forget that the guy on the other side of the deal valued Alonso and knows a thing or three about winning football games.

[The Jokeman]

As of right now, the Bills have five linebackers on the team, and only two are credible NFL players: Preston Brown and Nigel Bradham. The others are Jimmy Gaines, Ty Powell, and Randell Johnson. One could argue that Manny Lawson is a linebacker, but he really isn't one at this point in his career and he isn't listed as one in any case. He's a DE. I don't see Spikes coming back either. I suspect the undrafted Gaines is on the team because despite going to Miami, he's a local - from Getzville and a Canisius HS grad. Both Powell and Johnson were seventh round picks (Powell was drafted by Seattle) and presumably fit for the ST squad only.

 

I could see the Bills going LB with the 50th pick or 81st pick. They have a clear and definite need.

Look at some of the "LBs" on the Jets, Calvin Pace, Quitnton Coples, Jason Babin. All three of them played DE in college. I think Mario and Hughes will be in the mix for LB. I wouldn't be shocked if we draft someone for depth but we might also be more apt to draft a DE prospect like Henry Anderson to play the Branch role in our front 7.

[goldenboy81]

Randell Johnson...the kid is gonna be good