Nick Bolton wins NFL defensive rookie of the month
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month! (October)<a href="https://twitter.com/ohthatsNajee22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ohthatsNajee22</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/_nickbolton2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_nickbolton2</a> <a href="https://t.co/GiVZaAXUK8">pic.twitter.com/GiVZaAXUK8</a></p>&mdash; NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1456237542064500750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Well earned!

I enjoy watching him stonewall guys.

Perfect timing.

I just posted in another thread that I am worried about Hitch coming back and taking the Mike position.

Hopefully Spags keeps Bolton at Mike.

Could Hitch take Niemans role? Would it make sense to move Hitch?

Yeah! To Antarctica!!!!!

Hitch played mostly Will when he was in Dallas, IIRC.

But he’s lost a step since then so it’s hard to know if he could still manage it.

But yeah, they should absolutely try.

Hitch or no Hitch, if Bolton ever leaves the field Spags should be kicked in the nuts.

There's no way you take Bolton off the Mike position right now unless you're a total buffoon. I really couldn't care less how nice of a guy and leader Hitchens is. He isn't a very good football player at this point and our coaches need to start understanding that pretty much overrides any silly little lunch pail qualities they like to use as excuses for playing some of these guys over younger, more talented options.

Hitch could lose 6 steps and still be 25 steps better then Nieman

I have no idea what they'll do, but I would put Hitch at SAM in base with Bolton at MIKE and Gay at WILL

I think those three are our best option right now as long as Bolton keeps the Mike.

Can you explain why you would put them in those positions?

Niemann has steps?

Henry Ruggs wins prison rookie of the year

This guys been a killer as a rookie! He and Gay looked pretty sharp for young guys. They give a little hope for the future.

I just think Gay's athleticism plays best at Will.

I agree, I was just wondering if there was something you see in Hitch that makes him fit the Sam or if hes just better than the other options and goes in by default.

No no no, it's Gay at SAM, Hitchens at MIKE, and Bolton at WILL. While we're at it Sorenson and Niemann need more playing time /Spags

default.

:D

Hitch has some physicality, but is terrible in coverage of course. SAM is probably what he's best suited to at the moment, although that's probably still average at best.

I wouldn't have him on the field in subs, but they seem to insist on playing Niemann in subs which is frustrating. I mean, if he's smarter than Gay but can't physically get where he needs to go is that really better? Or is he better in coverage than Bolton? Because I don't believe so. So I don't know why he's in there at all. I wouldn't have him take defensive snaps unless Bolton, Gay, or Hitchens is injured at all.

And I wouldn't have Sorensen in there either, ever. I'd play a mix of Watts and D'OD instead because depending on what you want to focus on either would be better.

But what do I know?

LB went from a weakness to a strength fast.

This!

I'd say simply by default.

AFC South rookie of the year if he broke Henry's foot.

Very nice! He seems to be coming along nicely and getting better every week. Really hope Hitch can get healthy soon so we can have a LB core of Hitch Gay and Bolton. anything for the terrible two to get off the field...

Amazing what happens when you play young guys and ask them to do what they're good at.

Just put him in the middle and leave him with Gay on the weakside and let Willie run around and make plays. Put Hitch at the Sam and let him play the run and blitz a little.

I think a lot of coaches feel that being a step slow but in the right spot will cost you 5-6 yards and leave you something for your teammates to clean up at worst. Whereas being in the wrong place altogether creates a coverage breakdown that costs you 6 points.

But I also think there's a thresshold level of athleticism required for playability. I don't think Hitchens has fallen below that level so I'd be happy to have him back and let him round out that LB corps.

But Sorensen has fallen below that level. When national broadcasts are pointing him out and talking about how teams are just locating and attacking him, it's pretty bad. You've got Riddick and Manning specifically noting that teams are finding him and going after him. Writers for national sites are tweeting out "The Packers have 5 days to teach Jordan Love who Daniel Sorensen is..."

It's just beyond satire at this point. He just can't do the job. He's not an NFL player anymore.

We've ignored our LBs for far too long, good to see returns on those investments. Now to work on our secondary...

Impressive considering it is one of the worst Ds in NFL history.

Just another example of how bad the Chiefs have been with personnel decisions. You lose one of the highest paid defenders and the defense looks the same if not even better without him.

They used to always say how much value Hitchens added in getting the defense lined up, but there's been no change there without him in either.

Not anymore. Chiefs have quietly improved to 25th. So eat shit.

yeah, I mean, I understand that, but if you're just going to get killed I'd rather at least get killed with the young athletic players who potentially learn as opposed to the guys who just can't get it done no matter what.

a blown coverage pisses me off way less than the Sorensen **** ups.

Hell someone on Twitter (I think it was) even pointed out other teams are scheming their offensive play calling specifically to get us into dime JUST to get Sorenson on the field to exploit him. Then they run hurry up so we can't sub him out.

You're right about the satire....if it were any team other than ours it would be freaking hilarious, but it's not so it isn't at all.

For me the answer's easy - Bolton isn't someone who's going to get orders of magnitude more athletic. This is who he is athletically. So if you plan on him being your Mike long-term, you need him to be at least credible in coverage.

Well that's not gonna happen through getting faster. It can EASILY happen by getting smarter, though. And Bolton's a damn intuitive player - always has been going back to his Mizzou days (full disclosure: I've been a stan since his sophomore year when he took over for Terez Hall without missing a beat).

And the way that's going to happen is with reps. With his football savvy, it's going to come faster than some people think. We'd see substantial development there in-season, IMO.

So Bolton's a 3-down guy for me unless you're in a Dime or a 3rd and long. Gay is my other Nickel backer because he's such a unicorn athletically. Sure, he'll make some mistakes. He may ALWAYS make some mistakes. But he's a freak so you let him play through those.

Hitch becomes the base Sam in the same way Damien Wilson was last season. And to be completely honest, this team misses Damien Wilson in a big way. He was a damn solid player for us. If Bolton can replace what Hitchens gave us last season (when he was a good player) and you can shell game Hitchens into what Wilson gave us with Gay replacing Niemann's contributions (when he was actually fairly decent in 2020) then you have a damn nice LB corps.

It doesn't seem terribly complicated to me.

Humphrey - Bolton - Smith

3 absolute homerun picks.

Gay is getting there.

If the front 4 starts and or continues playing how they did Monday night, yeah, the defense gets a whole lot better.

Wish I didn’t have to fear that Bolton and/or Gay are going to the bench in favor of Hitchens/Niemann.

Bolton is gonna end up being one of those dudes that got passed over because of his testing numbers, but just has the football acumen to be an ass kicker.

I liked him at first, then got turned off by the numbers. Whiff so far by me.

He reminds me a lot of Dont'a Hightower...just a smaller version.

He honestly reminds me a lot of Hitchens.

And that's fine. Hitchens would've been a strong player here had he been drafted into this system and not lost a step. His 2018 season was a bit of a washout due to a lack of familiarity with the system and his role but in '19 and '20 he was a solid player even as his athleticism continued to decline.

So take the younger version of him when he was a step faster and have him more familiar with the system the whole time and you'd have had a nice player.

Bolton's ceiling is a little higher than that because I think he's a tick more athletic than Hitchens was at his best and a tick more intuitive. He's just a little bit better at all the things Hitchens was good at when he was at his best. So he can be a slightly better player.

And that would be a godsent in the middle of this LB corps.

Mizzou fans (here) are brutally honest about players that come out in the draft. ****ers shoulda known.

It's better actually. Same thing you see with Sorenson. It's why i have mistrust with what spags does. He seems to play guys that aren't the best players just dudes he likes or thinks are better. Every down he trots sorenson out is an example of this. Like another poster mentioned before, its a national joke at this point. Everyone keeps pointing it out. At this point he has a free pass to stick another guy out there and if it doesn't work fine, because you are a literal laughing stock.

So when hitch goes out and it forces him to play our new LBs and they are making play after play. Just seems like he is a stubborn dumbass. I still saw neiman and sorenson in there on 3rd down situations and also goal line.

No value in a player with his skill set/Mecca

Veach sucks guys. Absolute shit amirite?

Felt the same.

He’s just a really high energy guy who always finds his way to the ball.

Last week was a great preview of how Bolton and Gay can work together. Hopefully getting this award makes it too difficult for Spags to handcuff his own defense.

And why am I worried that Hitch is going back to MLB?

Yea, id bet on it. Spags things.

sometimes guys are just good football players.

:banghead:

Because you're a big pussy who likes to bitch.

Bolton was green dot last week. They're not moving him off that.

The entire point of giving him the green dot was to see if he can replace Hitchens doing that.

Otherwise they'd have given it to Niemann.

Reid should retire and we should trade Hill. Those are your pussy ass friends.

We will see....


It's not like we haven't seen spags stubbornly loyal to under performing players or anything......

Believe me I've been slapping them around for awhile on these issues. ROFL

Bolton is currently a huge liability in pass coverage. I believe he has the skill set to get much better in coverage, but he is not very good at this point.

Also, folks bitching about the OBJ trade... Who would you give up, Bolton or Humphries. That trade was fine.

Not sure if you're talking about the terrible signing of Hitchens or the good drafting of Bolton.

Why would you have had to give up one of those ?

You wouldnt have the second second rounder, but could have had those guys in the first and needed a left tackle i guess.

Obviously Bolton, but your argument doesn't make any sense. Don't have to trade for OBJ to get those 2, could have taken one of them in the first, or possibly the 3rd?

If you're asking if I would be happier with a trash left tackle but a decent MLB, as opposed to a good left tackle but a trash MLB, then you're insane.

And you also made me break my personal rule about not arguing with people who can't even get the name of starters right, go you.

In no way is Orlando Brown a “trash LT”.

You're right, that was hastily typed - it's more like the trade was trash. Brown is probably an average LT, but not worth trading a 1st round pick and then what, having to let him walk or over pay him?

Brown is an elite run blocking LT who is developing as a pass blocker within a new scheme.

You guys need to pump the brakes. JFC.

We traded a first round pick for Orlando Brown and Nick Bolton. I think that is worth it easily.

MIZ!!!!!!


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I think he’s better than “average” too.

He has a 74.3 grade on PFF. I know it’s PFF, but you don’t get grades like that being trash or even average.

At worst he’s above average, and if his play this year allows us to get him at a discount, I’m not against re-signing him either.

To give you perspective, Eric Fisher has a 63.1.

Give us the pass blocking grades for the OL bud.

Bottom line: Bolton, Humphrey and Smith is a ****ing A+ draft. Veach killed this draft

I was told by you that there was no way that Veach could match his 2020 draft…

:)

I have no idea how Hitchens or Niemann ever sees the field except to give Gay and Bolton a quick rest or if one of them is plugged in as a 3rd LB. The difference in playmaking ability couldn't be more obvious when Bolton and Gay are on the field.

It's almost as if Spags thinks this is the NCAAA and he's afraid of burning their redshirt seasons if Gay and Bolton play more than a certain number of snaps.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Steve Spagnuolo on the Chiefs&#39; LB plans as Anthony Hitchens returns: &quot;Hitch, to me, he&#39;s the guy that smooths everything out.&quot; Says they&#39;ll both be in at times, can play together, etc. Says &quot;I don&#39;t know if we&#39;ll go that route&quot; when asked if Hitchens could play SAM.</p>&mdash; Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) <a href="https://twitter.com/jbbrisco/status/1456305245089370115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Again - the math doesn't check out here.

We gave up a 1st and a 3rd, we got a 2nd and Brown. 2 'players' in, 2 players out.

The players in were Brown and Bolton. The players out is subject to some conjecture but let's give this argument the benefit of the doubt and say its two solid players:

Joe Tryon to address our need at DE and, I dunno, Elijah Molden to backfill for losing Breeland.

So the trade at that point becomes:

Brown, Bolton and about $6 million in cap space (because without Brown we need to bring back Fisher) for Tryon and Molden.

How's this a bad trade again? This version of fisher is WORSE than Brown. By a fair amount. And without Bolten this defense would be fuuuuuuucked even moreso than it already is. Additionally, that $6 million in cap space is almost exactly what it cost to sign Reed and trade for Ingram. Now Reed's disappointed thus far but the book isn't written yet there and at worst he's allowed some rotational depth.

The Chiefs could let Brown walk for a comp pick after this season and not have lost this deal. If they tag him and THEN let him walk for a comp pick, it's a clear win. If they sign him long-term to a reasonable deal and get an above average LT for 5 years, it's a friggen home run.

This deal has essentially zero chance to be a 'bad' trade. It's nothing like the Clark deal (and trust me, I have NO problem calling out Veach for a bad move).

I just cannot understand how people are still upset about this trade.

Hitch made the team because he makes the vet minimum. Oh wait...

It’s coming….

ZOU!!!

I hate how these coaches play favorites. Niemann, Dieter, Dirty Dan, and now add Hitch to the list. Bolton has been what Hitch was suppose to be and some. Wish Tim Ward would have been higher up on the favorites list! :cuss::banghead:

Well for one, they aren’t even capable of looking at the alternatives.

Trent Williams has been in an out of the starting lineup.

Eric Fisher has been below average.

There aren’t any stud day 1 rookie LT’s that were available.

Left to Right (OBJ, Thuney, Humphrey, Smith, Niang)

70.8 -- 81.4 -- 70.6 -- 66.5 -- 58.2

Brown's right around the top 20 of full time starting tackles, some of whom are RTs. To whatever extent you care about PFF, he's in the same tier as guys like Garrett Boles, Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Taylor Lewan, Isaiah Wynn, Cam Robinson and Taylor Moton.

He's been fine. Maybe a little above average, maybe a little below average - whatever the case may be, he's firmly in the 'solid veteran LT' tier. He's had some bad snaps and some good ones.

There's an interesting alternative option in Samuel Cosmi who I really liked in this draft. The Chiefs could've taken him with their 1st rounder instead of dealing it for Brown and he's had a solid season thus far. But really, they'd have probably gone with Teven Jenkins and he's already showing back problems (bad bad bad news for young OL). Setting aside the long-term ramifications, the near term impact of that is running Niang out there at LT this year and I just don't know how we can say that's prefereable to what we've seen with Brown.

This is just a non-starter of an argument. There's no rational basis to conclude that Brown's been a bad player or that this was a bad trade.

Trent Williams wasn't an alternative. He was Option A and he elected not to sign here.

Both parties gotta sign the deal, brah. Health issues or no, he elected to stay in SF. It is what it is.

Yea I shouldn’t have referred to him as an “alternative”, but many on CP don’t seem to understand the concept of free agents making their own choices (see Melvin Ingram).

But point is, in hindsight, I don’t know how I’d feel about that Trent Williams contract if he were showing signs of his body breaking down 8 games into it.

Not too hard now seeing that Clyde sucks

Damn, Smith really dropped off recently.

About what I figured. Niang showed improvement last game.

I think obviously a healthy Trent Williams would have been better than what we got, but that doesn't seem to be going well for the 9ers. Sometimes the best deals are the ones taht don't get made.

I haven't been tracking it week over week, but my memory has been that Smith's been making his PFF bones in the run game all season.