BuffaloBill Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I thought he was a good but not great pick up in the offseason last year. I would describe him as a solid starter and an upgrade for the Bills (not saying much) but not a game changer. He was really only an impact player in the Bolts game. I'm curious to hear what others think about him.
Alphadawg7 Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Well he won the Bolts game for us, so he got us at least one additional win...lol. I think he was a good pickup and he was more effective before Schobel went down. The impact of not having Schobel allowed teams to key on Stroud which made the interior line less effective, which then makes life much harder on our LB's as well. I am glad he is a bill, he's a smart player, plays hard, and we are better team with him on it.
Magox Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Fantastic Pickup!!!!! Definitely our most disruptive defensive player we had this year!! Especially for the $$ paid on his contract. I'm glad he is a BILL
Huuuge Bills Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 For five years and 17 million, he's about what you would expect. I wish they would have him blitz more often, and drop into coverage a lot less. But with our current coaches, that's not very likely.
TheLynchTrain Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 When we signed him, Giants fans told me he was a great pickup. And we got him for what...3 mil a year? I also figured that he didn't have to be any better than our third best LB (Poz and Crowell). I think the absence of Crow hurt him, and obviously the rest of the D. He also seems to be a hot/cold player. When he's hot (KC, Denver, Jax), yeah he was unstoppable. But he did have some terrible games, terrible quarters, and terrible plays where he over committed, missed his assignment, or just had a poor tackle. I think he'll be a better player with another year in the system, Poz having another year, and hopefully an upgrade in our LB corps so that he can go back to his original role of being the third best LB.
Captain Quint Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I thought that he did his job well in the run game as well as a decent job of pass rushing. However, when in coverage, he wasn't good. I don't know enough about him when he was with NYG to say that he regressed in that area, but he was downright bad this year. One of the factors was probably a lack of pass rush from the front 4 when he was in coverage, but regardless, he needs to get better in this aspect. I'd agree with your assessment that he was a solid starter this year and an upgrade from last year, but I'd like to see him work on pass coverage this offseason.
H2o Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I like having the guy on our team. I think it was a good pick-up for the money. He does seem to be more effective on blitzes than any of our other players. I too wish they would use him more in that aspect of the game, but our defensive coordinator has a lack of imagination in coming up with blitz packages altogether. I'd give him a B, maybe B+ rating at the position he played this year.
Tortured Soul Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 For five years and 17 million, he's about what you would expect. I wish they would have him blitz more often, and drop into coverage a lot less. But with our current coaches, that's not very likely. Especially when you factor in the premium of getting from the SB champs to a perennial loser in a small market.
CFLstyle Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Yes, outstanding pickup. He brings heart, leadership, playmaking ability, and most importantly, experience to the team. I don't think we have another starter on this team who's even been close to the superbowl.
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I thought he was a good but not great pick up in the offseason last year. I would describe him as a solid starter and an upgrade for the Bills (not saying much) but not a game changer. He was really only an impact player in the Bolts game. I'm curious to hear what others think about him. I started a thread a few months ago commenting on how slow Mitchell looked at times. He seemed to whiff on a lot of tackles. But as others have said, he looked better blitzing than playing in coverage. I think he's an average player, not an elite one. It would be nice to have at least one stud at every level of the defense--line, LB, and secondary. We have mostly average players at those spots (though McKelvin has star potential).
el Tigre Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I think he was an excellent pick up. He plays physical and with heart. We need more players like him. He would be even better if he was allowed to play to his strengths more often.
colin Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 if we add back crow and another play maker or two to the front 7 (maybe forcing poz to compete and possibly sit) then mitch might be an even better player for us. he was very good at times, but not great too much of the time. as a unit our dline isn't good at pass rushing, is good against the run, and our lb's kinda stink
Kingfish Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 He was a pretty good player this year and basically played the way I expected him to.
bill in Livonia Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I thought he played pretty good. He made some big plays. I think he is our 2nd or 3rd best LB.
Yasin's BILLS Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I think Kawika was a key pick up, he's got a heavy heart, I think if crowell would have played this year, we'd probably be in the playoffs, with Kawika, Poz, and Angelo. But our line backer core, diminished when Aaron Schobel went out, since the cardinals spanked us. I don't know how Chris Kelsay was awarded, the captain roll. I think Aaron Schobel is the true captain, of that defense and with out him, our pass rush just disappeared the whole year. Stroud didn't provide much either, when Schobel went down. But in the topic of Kawika, I thought it was a great pick up.
Beerball Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I think Kawika was a key pick up, he's got a heavy heart, Do you really mean that he is sad, or do you mean that he has a really big heart?
rackemrack Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 love him, he's got a real high motor and great for the locker room
Yasin's BILLS Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 Do you really mean that he is sad, or do you mean that he has a really big heart? Well moving from K.C., New York, and Buffalo in 2 years, I'd be sad. But I mean he's got the the biggest heart, to play the game of football. He's a great contributor.
Fewell733 Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 good pickup. didn't light it up each week, but was a force some other times. Clearly was our best linebacker this year.
BuffaloBill Posted January 17, 2009 Author Posted January 17, 2009 good pickup. didn't light it up each week, but was a force some other times. Clearly was our best linebacker this year. I'm not sure he was better than Poz. Problem I have in evaluating any of these guys is that Tampa - suck defense minimizes LB play and abilities especially the middle LB.
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