*FAN SUBMISSION by Kameron Towle of Dover, NH.*
Courtesy: CBS Sports
The Buffalo Bills have been breaking the hearts of their fans for a long time now, and when the news broke out that Kiko Alonso would be out for the year with a torn ACL, it was more of the same. Last year in his rookie campaign for the Bills, Kiko Alonso totaled 159 tackles, good for third in the NFL, as well as nabbing four interceptions and coming in second for Defensive Rookie of the Year. In their list of the top ten inside linebackers of 2013, Yardbarker.com ranked Alonso the fourth best inside linebacker in the NFL, only trailing Navorro Bowman, Luke Keuchly, and Patrick Willis. Thinking that Alonso’s athleticism and pass coverage ability would benefit more on the outside, newly acquired Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz had stated this off season that Kiko would be moved to weak-side linebacker.
It seemed as if the Bills, whose defense ranked 10th in total yards and 4th in pass defense last year, had found a leader for their up-and-coming defense. That came to a screeching halt when their potential Pro-Bowler tore his ACL while working out on his own time in Oregon. Finding a way to replace Alonso is a daunting task and it will serve as the first test that Schwartz will have to face as Buffalo’s Defensive Coordinator. I will break down the potential replacements and depth chart rearrangements that could take place as Schwartz tries to find a way to patch up a gaping hole in the Bills’ D and ultimately the hole in the hearts of Bills’ fans.
The most realistic replacement for Kiko Alonso’s starting position would have to be the third year outside linebacker Nigel Bradham. A 6’2’’, 240 pounder, who, in his first two seasons, totaled 108 tackles and 13 starts out of 32 games played. He’s a solid player who can effectively help the struggling Bills’ run defense, and also has some speed and athleticism, running a time of 4.56 at the forty yard dash at the 2012 NFL Combine. Bradham has a chance to breakout as a sideline-to-sideline backer in Schwartz’ 4-3 system, much like Alonso did last season under Mike Pettine. Although Bradham is the most likely candidate to replace Kiko’s spot in the lineup, you could see Keith Rivers take over Alonso’s destined weak-side spot and Bradham play the strong-side. Rivers is a veteran linebacker that the Bills brought in this offseason from the New York Giants who has a lot of weak and strong-side experience and Bradham has been the team’s second team strong-side backer for the past two seasons. Keith Rivers and Nigel Bradham, surrounding Brandon Spikes at the middle linebacker spot, no matter what sides they play on, will make for a solid line backing core. However, if Jim Schwartz wants to make an impression on his new Bills’ fans and turn this team around, they must produce significantly on defense, and this might take something more creative than just subbing in Nigel Bradham for the injured Kiko Alonso.
A more creative option for Schwartz would be to move Manny Lawson from his new role at defensive end back to his original spot at linebacker. The Bills made the switch this offseason because of the depth at linebacker, but things have changed drastically now that their best backer has gone down. Lawson recorded 73 tackles, 4 sacks, and an interception for the Bills last season as a hybrid linebacker in Mike Pettine’s 3-4 scheme, mostly rushing the passer and stuffing the run. Schwartz has the option to go with him at strong-side linebacker because he’s a versatile veteran and putting him across from either Rivers or Bradham would enhance the Bills rush defense significantly, which ranked 28th in the NFL last year.
An innovative move by Schwartz that would help sustain the Bills’ pass defense success of last year would be to move Da’Norris Searcy from his spot at strong safety to a hybrid weak-side linebacker. Searcy is set to replace star player Jairus Byrd in the box safety spot opposite of Pro-Bowler Aaron Williams, but he may have to replace another Bills star in Alonso. Searcy, the 5’11”, 216 lb. safety, had 71 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception for a TD for the Bills last year. On this topic, Brian Galliford of BuffaloRumblings.com wrote that, “The Bills may need to compensate in nickel and dime packages by shifting safeties down into linebacker roles. They have done that for years – with Bryan Scott first, and then more recently with the now more valuable Da’Norris Searcy – and may continue the trend further.” He went on to say, “Searcy might be the biggest playing time beneficiary of the Alonso injury, and he could wind up being the closest approximation to that every-down player around which the team transitions between base and sub-package defenses.” Searcy appeared in every game for Buffalo last year and started their first five at safety while Byrd was recovering from injury, and filled in smoothly for the All-Pro. Searcy has displayed reliability to the Bills coaching staff, including his 16-tackle game in one of which he didn’t even start in week six in Cincinnati. He has the flexibility and size to fit in at the weak-side spot, and he put that to the test last year, being both beneficial and productive at the safety spot and the hybrid-linebacker spot at times.
With Searcy listed as a starting safety right now, you may be asking who will fill in his role at that position if he were to make the switch. However, Schwartz has a couple viable options to fill that role. One is Duke Williams. Williams is a second year player who’s come into his own this offseason. He has trained under All-Pro’s Jairus Byrd and Aaron Williams and is now giving Searcy a run for his money at his spot at safety. The other option would be Corey Graham. Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings also shared insight on Graham. He stated that, “When the Bills handed Buffalo native Corey Graham a four-year, $16 million contract (that could ultimately be worth up to $19 million) in March, they did so knowing that Graham spent the overwhelming majority of his first seven seasons in the NFL at cornerback. They touted his Pro Bowl ability as a special teams player, and articles were written about how the Bills were doubling down on slot corners – pairing Graham with second-year pro Nickell Robey – to better match up with New England. Then came the owners’ meetings in March, when head coach Doug Marrone made an almost offhand remark that while Graham would obviously factor in at cornerback, he could also ultimately be in the mix at safety following the free agent departure of two-time second team All-Pro Jairus Byrd.”
Graham is a gutty veteran who came over from Baltimore this off season who could fit into the strong safety spot nicely. He is sort of Jairus Byrd- like in the way the he ball hawks, and the transition from Byrd to him could be a very smooth one for the Bills’ defense. Plus, with the two starting cornerbacks in place, that being the up-and-coming Stephon Gilmore and Leodis Mckelvin, the nickel back taken care of by Nickell Robey who played that spot extremely well for Buffalo last season, and with the Bills going with CB Ross Cockrell out of Duke in this year’s draft, there may not be a spot for Graham at corner. Graham and Searcy’s position switches would be a bold move by Schwartz but they could pay off with big dividends.
Courtesy: CBS Local Boston
There are many intriguing moves that Schwartz could make to the Bills defense following this devastating loss of Kiko Alonso, but the Bills staff has already made a huge move this offseason, picking up inside- linebacker Preston Brown of Louisville in the third round of the draft. Brown is known as a north and south run stopper, much like Brandon Spikes, but his athletic ability has been slept on by most scouts and coaches, and this could allow him to take on a huge role in the Bills’ defense in 2014. Mike Rodak of ESPN wrote that, “You can sense that the Bills already have a comfort level with Brown running their defense. Brown, a third-round pick from Louisville, began OTAs as the third ‘Mike’ on the field, behind Brandon Spikes and Ty Powell. Yet when Spikes missed two practices, it was Brown who stepped in with the first team. He didn’t look out of place. Asked last week to point out strengths and weaknesses of his defense, coordinator Jim Schwartz named Brown, without prompting, as a “really good young player” who has “done a really nice job through this.”
Brown would be another interesting option for Schwartz, in hopes of having another rookie compete like Kiko Alonso did for Buffalo last season. He’s a guy who, even if he doesn’t step into a starting role after Kiko’s season-ending injury, could make a major impact on their defense by adding quality linebacker depth, most likely at strong-side backer.
So I’ve thrown some options that the Bills have out there. The Bills have already came out and said that they believe they have enough roster depth to replace Kiko’s spot and will not pursue a veteran free agent. That being said, Jim Schwartz is left with the options of Nigel Bradham, Preston Brown, Keith rivers, Manny Lawson, and Da’ Norris Searcy. Personally, I believe the Bills should shake things up and move around some puzzle pieces, with those pieces being Da’Norris Searcy and Corey Graham. I believe that with Searcy being moved to a hybrid linebacker, both rushing the passer and dropping back into coverage, and Graham moving to the strong safety position, a spot where his 200-lb frame and cornerback playmaking ability could thrive, this will produce the best option for Jim Schwartz to replace Kiko Alonso’s playmaking ability and gift of covering ground. Who do you believe will fill in for Kiko Alonso?
For Jim Schwartz, it’s time to figure out this burning question. This will be his first bump in the road as Buffalo’s Defensive Coordinator out of possibly many more. So only time will tell when Schwartz makes his adjustments to ultimately try to get over this bumpy road and lead his defense to a smooth path of success in 2014.
