Bradham Replacing Kiko ?

[Night Train]

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/bills-bradham-feels-blessed-20140722

Good for him. Opportunity knocks.

[YardRat]

Time to step up

[swiper]

A 4th round pick in 2012. Hasn't shown too much to date. I was a big fan of the pick. But, honestly, he has under-produced so far. Maybe Schwartz can make something out of him. If he just holds his own, I'll be happy.

He went from Wannstedt -> Pettine -> Schwartz.

[Typ0]

nobody can replace kiko.

[Night Train]

nobody can replace kiko.

Why ? Kiko never played 1 down for us at weakside LB.

[The King]

There might be some cuts elsewhere that help us in this transition but I am doubtful its Bradham.

[Fletch]

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/bills-bradham-feels-blessed-20140722

Good for him. Opportunity knocks.

In other news, Arthur Brown replaced Ray Lewis last year.

[Ed]

It will be interesting to see what he can do. I've always liked his ability and the way he plays. I think Bradham's development suffered from playing in a Pettine scheme that preferred using safeties more than LB's.

[stuckincincy]

Nick Barnett is a FA. Suffered a MCL strain with the 'Skins last year.

[better days]

There might be some cuts elsewhere that help us in this transition but I am doubtful its Bradham.

Marrone has praised Bradham all offseason talking about his commitment to playing football this year.

Bradham has size & is very athletic. No he is not Kiko, but he may well have a breakout year, not like Kiko's of course.

[better days]

Nick Barnett is a FA. Suffered a MCL strain with the 'Skins last year.

Barnett was too slow before last year. Bradham is a much better option.

[stuckincincy]

Barnett was too slow before last year. Bradham is a much better option.

Just a thought.

[Fletch]

It will be interesting to see what he can do. I've always liked his ability and the way he plays. I think Bradham's development suffered from playing in a Pettine scheme that preferred using safeties more than LB's.

Alright, I'll bite, but he wasn't playing under Pettine in 2012, he was under Wannstedt, who's more similar to the Schwartz. And if you recall all that we heard about him by our team was that he shoulda been a 1st or 2nd rounder and how we got a real steal.

So what happened in his rookie season?

He's had two seasons to show us something and he's failed. That steal doesn't appear to have materialized.

Having said that, if the third time's the charm, we can sure use a LB with above average pass D skills. Again, poor planning to have only Kiko on board with above average pass D skills.

[Fletch]

nobody can replace kiko.

We have nothing close. The quality of our LB group revolved largely around him.

[Fletch]

Marrone has praised Bradham all offseason talking about his commitment to playing football this year.

Come on, haven't you learned by now.

If the praise of our GMs and coaches meant more than the words they use then we'd be favorites to win another Super Bowl this season as returning champions.

[Typ0]

Why ? Kiko never played 1 down for us at weakside LB.

Seriously man ... the guy chased plays down from anywhere on the field. That's something special above and beyond a positional player we don't have to replace on this squad.

[swiper]

Seriously man ... the guy chased plays down from anywhere on the field. That's something special above and beyond a positional player we don't have to replace on this squad.

Agreed. The closest we've had in recent years was Posluszny. He tried to run side-to-side, running down plays. His failure was that he always got pushed out of the way, blocked or knocked down. LOL. Alonso too hard to replace. Like I said, we'll all be lucky if Bradham just holds his own.

[stuckincincy]

Agreed. The closest we've had in recent years was Posluszny. He tried to run side-to-side, running down plays. His failure was that he always got pushed out of the way, blocked or knocked down. LOL. Alonso too hard to replace. Like I said, we'll all be lucky if Bradham just holds his own.

Poz is prospering elsewhere.

http://www.nfl.com/player/paulposluszny/2495712/profile

[swiper]

Poz is prospering elsewhere.

http://www.nfl.com/player/paulposluszny/2495712/profile


Show me his TFL stats. That was always his problem.

[stuckincincy]

Show me his TFL stats. That was always his problem.

Same as London Fletcher.

The word "linebacker" means "backing the line." If you feel that tackles for loss is the key, forget having a MLB that scans the field to sniff out what the offense might be up to, flows to where help is needed, polices the edge, picks up receivers (Poz has 25 passed defended in his 3 years with JAX - that's a fine number).

Just have him blitz blitz. You will get your TFL numbers.

[Typ0]

I agree that TFL is a system thing too. Like I said prior that being a threat to the play anywhere on the field is very hard to find. It's not just speed and agility it's mental processing to be in the right place. I am thinking about that Gretzky quote "I skate to where the puck is going to be."

[better days]

Poz is prospering elsewhere.

http://www.nfl.com/player/paulposluszny/2495712/profile

Poz, Levitre, Byrd, Whitner, Clements, all good players that were WAY OVERPAID in FA.

[stuckincincy]

I agree that TFL is a system thing too. Like I said prior that being a threat to the play anywhere on the field is very hard to find. It's not just speed and agility it's mental processing to be in the right place. I am thinking about that Gretzky quote "I skate to where the puck is going to be."

Through the years, many top MLBs hardly qualified as physical specimens, although some have. A lot of them have been short and squat. Little speed.

A top MLB is a Field General. Your defensive QB.

The Gretsky quote is perfect.

I was one who worried about moving Alonso to OLB, because that would nail him down to specific responsibilities, and I think he doesn't have the physical skills. Alonso is no thumper, but he speeds to the action. I realize that NFL tackle and assist numbers are fantasy, but Alonso got a good number of stops, valid assists, and a stat not recognized, that of just being in the way of offensive players around the action. Valuable stuff.

His freak injury was a tremendous loss IMO.

[GingerP]

Same as London Fletcher.

The word "linebacker" means "backing the line." If you feel that tackles for loss is the key, forget having a MLB that scans the field to sniff out what the offense might be up to, flows to where help is needed, polices the edge, picks up receivers (Poz has 25 passed defended in his 3 years with JAX - that's a fine number).

Just have him blitz blitz. You will get your TFL numbers.

This is very true, and why 4-3 DL and 3-4 rush LB usually are TFL leaders. For instance, last season both Mario WIlliams (15) and Kyle Williams (14) had more TFL than Alonso (11). Jerry Hughes was right behind (9). It is more of a scheme-dependent stat than something that tells about how good a tackler someone may be.

[Ed]

Alright, I'll bite, but he wasn't playing under Pettine in 2012, he was under Wannstedt, who's more similar to the Schwartz. And if you recall all that we heard about him by our team was that he shoulda been a 1st or 2nd rounder and how we got a real steal.

So what happened in his rookie season?

He's had two seasons to show us something and he's failed. That steal doesn't appear to have materialized.

Having said that, if the third time's the charm, we can sure use a LB with above average pass D skills. Again, poor planning to have only Kiko on board with above average pass D skills.
I don't recall anyone ever saying that Bradham was a 1st or 2nd round talent. I'd be curious where you got that from. Either way though, I don't really judge any of our players, let alone a rookie, on how they played under Wannstedt. His scheme was garbage.

I'm not making any predictions about he'll do this year. I'm just interested to see how he does if he wins a starting role since his opportunities were so limited last year.

[stuckincincy]

This is very true, and why 4-3 DL and 3-4 rush LB usually are TFL leaders. For instance, last season both Mario WIlliams (15) and Kyle Williams (14) had more TFL than Alonso (11). Jerry Hughes was right behind (9). It is more of a scheme-dependent stat than something that tells about how good a tackler someone may be.

Here's a "Psst!" BUF should look to grabbing a couple of CIN LBs - CIN is dripping with talent, their PS has been raided routinely.

Keep an eye on Dontay Mock, Jayson DiManche, and J.K. Schaffer.

[swiper]

I agree that TFL is a system thing too. Like I said prior that being a threat to the play anywhere on the field is very hard to find. It's not just speed and agility it's mental processing to be in the right place. I am thinking about that Gretzky quote "I skate to where the puck is going to be."

More than just the system.. It's the game in general. The systems have adapted to the game in general. We had guys like Conlan, Paup, and Spielman who may have penetrated better, but the game has slowly changed. It was changing during London Fletcher's tenure in Buffalo.

[Mace]

Barnett was too slow before last year. Bradham is a much better option.

There's just no talking down Barnett, we used his aging self as pretty much the only linebacker and he did everything he was supposed to, being the only linebacker and aging. I'm talking snap counts. They used him stupid, he did his job.

Bradham....will be great if it works out, I still think he's a special teams body. Won't hurt my feelings any if he tears it up. He'd better do it soon though, he's on his 3rd year. They've given him a lot of chances to play and he's been a special teams body.

Gifted athlete, do something with it.

Really reminds me of Jerry Hughes. Would be good if it paid off here.

[TigerJ]

Bradham and Rivers are the best fits for weak side linebacker. Bradham didn't get a lot of playing time last season, but played pretty well when he got the chance. IMO he should be favored to win the spot.

[Mace]

Bradham and Rivers are the best fits for weak side linebacker. Bradham didn't get a lot of playing time last season, but played pretty well when he got the chance. IMO he should be favored to win the spot.

Just curious. What made you think he played pretty well when he got the chance if you were watching the same games I was.

He didn't play not well, would be a reach to get him to anything "average" though. He looked like a special teams lb that had to play defense.

[jimmifli]

Bradham was our best LB during the last quarter of the season. I expected him and Kiko to be our nickel LBs when Spikes came off the field. He can fill Kiko's spot without a massive dropoff.

So now we're going to rely on Rivers to help out in coverage. I don't know enough about him to have an opinion.

[better days]

Just curious. What made you think he played pretty well when he got the chance if you were watching the same games I was.

He didn't play not well, would be a reach to get him to anything "average" though. He looked like a special teams lb that had to play defense.

Marrone said Bradham played well last year & did not get enough credit for how well he played.