Saints trade for Kiko Alonso (3 Viewers)

[Saints 318]

oh how i miss the arguments on here

 

[NOLove]

I'll just end with this.

I'm not defending him, because I don't know him personally, nor do I feel he needs to be defended.

I'm defending the position that this is not just another Meh trade that adds veteran depth to a stacked position like you and many others have stated.

Rather, this is a Great signing that significantly upgrades the LB position not occupied by DD and was had by trading a 3rd year backup LB who was 4th or 5th on the depth chart.

Why anyone is poo-pooing this is mind boggling.

Just for the record, I'm not "poo-pooing" the trade. We won the trade and I'm glad we got the guy. I think he's exactly what we needed at the position, but I'm not expecting him to provide much more than solid veteran depth. Some here seem to look at his stats only and think that he's going to be an impact player, ignoring all the negatives. My comment was more on all the chatter about Alonso and the trade. It wasn't a "great" trade, it was a solid trade. It's what championship teams do to solidify their depth. But looking back at the thread I realized that most of it is just arguing. Now I feel silly because I actually added to the very thing I had issues with. Lol

 

[Kyle brister]

So, I don't know what to make of this trade after all. Is this guy going to be a starter for us?

 

[WhoDat_SB44]

Man I’m still pumped we got this guy. You really don’t acquire starting caliber players a week before the season too often. It’s a position that could use some competition at SAM as well. If Klein struggles at making tackles & plays early on, we got a guy that can come in to get those tackles for sure. Dude is a tackling machine. I love this move! The Texans and us are extremely happy that the Dolphins are already looking to next year!!

 

[dutar76]

So, I don't know what to make of this trade after all. Is this guy going to be a starter for us?

Biegel fit's the 3-4 defense that Miami is going to, and Kiko fits the 4-3 defense that we run.
With the difference in talent, experience, and proven NFL success... Saints clearly won this trade and it's not even close.

As for being a starter, Rev and EJW made a very good point on the Whodat Confessional podcast tonight. They put
down that if you combined Kiko and Anzalone, you'd have an elite MLB. Kiko is a monster run defender that struggles
in coverage and Anzalone is excellent in coverage, but isn't all that impressive vs the run. So maybe we will use Kiko on
early downs and Thor in passing situations.

Ellias also put down that this would minimize Anzalone's injury risk. His overall snap count would go down, and he
wouldn't be in so many of those head-on collisions that tend to happen more frequently near the LOS.

I agree with this logic.

We all want to know what the "plan" is, and I'm thinking there may not be one at the moment. This is a pure talent
acquisition move. Get as many good football players on your team as you can, and figure out the best way to line
them up to get the most out of the talent available.

 

[dutar76]

...you combine Kiko and Anzalone, and you have Kiko Anzalone...

which is pretty close to Kiko's name already.

 

[FootballLady]

So, I don't know what to make of this trade after all. Is this guy going to be a starter for us?

Is he better than Vince Beigel? If yes, then think the trade was a net positive. If no, then think it a net negative. Everything else is wait and see.

 

[Saint_Ward]

I get lost in these discussions. ha.

Superbowl? Or awful season because of this?

 

[Kyle brister]

What are the odds this guy takes Klein's job? Klein has had plenty of opportunities to impress & is not close to the player Davis is. And it is more obvious every game.

 

[kennydfresh]

Plain and simple I spoke to my Command Master Chief today and he is a huge Dolphins fan. Office full of Dolphins merch. He said that we got a great player and he will be a good player for us, if a fan of the OP team says that I'm good.

 

[FootballLady]

What are the odds this guy takes Klein's job? Klein has had plenty of opportunities to impress & is not close to the player Davis is. And it is more obvious every game.

Why isn't it enough that he makes our LB corps better?

 

[Slaw]

Been waiting for that example...

Only, it doesn't really hold water because he did it once. One season. That's it.

If Kiko would have been DROY and then never got back over 100 tackles or any turnovers or any of the other stats, then I could absolutely agree with you that the tackles stat would be 100% worthless for evaluating that player.

But when the player records 110+ tackles every season for multiple seasons the stat becomes legitimate. Again, it's the job of the position. LB's make tackles. They also play coverage and rush the passer at times, but their primary job play in and play out, is to make tackles. Add in the fact that he has forced multiple turnovers and TFL in those same seasons and it further elevates the tackle stat. It shows he's a complete player. And now you can't just call the tackle stat useless.

Whatever. I'm done arguing. Let's revisit this thread during the bye week and we'll see how which view point was more accurate.

The point is Anthony wasn't a good player, even as a rookie. Yet he still had over 100 tackles. There are a ton of examples of players not playing well and having 100 tackles. I do like his durability and knack for forcing turnovers. But he hasn't been a Demario Davis level player at all.

 

[dutar76]

Why isn't it enough that he makes our LB corps better?

Are you trying to say that just because a player is not elite doesn't mean they're garbage?

 

[WhoDat_SB44]

Does he have a shot to take AJ Klein’s starting spot? I think he may have a slight chance, but I thought Craig Robertson should of got a lot more playing time than he did last year. So no I seriously doubt he will anytime soon. The year before Craig graded out as one of the better 4-3 outside linebackers yet he didn’t get hardly any of the playing time I thought he deserved. But Craig isn’t a fit at SAM and they liked where Davis & Anzalone played in the base defense. Now Alonso could essentially play all 3 linebacker spots and I think that will likely be the reason they would rather him come off the bench, especially early on with Craig presumably listed as day to day. If Klein or even Anzalone struggles early on or are dealt with injuries, I think we could see Alonso start some games. I’m not the biggest AJ Klein fan and wanted to see Craig Robertson as the starting WILL last year with Demario Davis at MIKE & Alex Anzalone at SAM, so yes I hope he eventually is the starting SAM.

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

It's not the end all, be all. But anything is better than tackling stats.

Have you read the entire thread? There's an entire chapter on the merits, or lack thereof, for PFF ratings.