Nick Bolton had a terrific game vs ATL
The Chiefs LB bounced back, and deserves credit where it's due.
The Nick Bolton discourse was starting to get out of hand.
As I wrote when discussing Bolton’s brutal Week 1 outing, the tendency for us to develop tunnel vision as well as treat every scenario as black and white has a negative impact on how NFL players (and teams, and concepts) get discussed. This is enhanced by the full week to talk about each and every game. It’s interesting watching the pendulum swing as players go from overrated to underrated (or vice versa) overnight following the latest action in the league.
Bolton is no exception. When I wrote that piece on his struggles in Week 1, the double-sided blowback was predictable and unfortunate. One “side” believed I was being unfair and attacking a player who is great, the other “side” believed that it was proof positive that said player is terrible. And the more rational middle ground (that Bolton is a very useful player with specific strengths and weaknesses who had a really bad performance that highlighted some of those weaknesses) went generally unnoticed, even though it appears to be the majority opinion (there’s probably a politics joke there somewhere).
I’m not unaware of the role my own writing can play in all this. While I’m a teeny, tiny (borderline insignificant) corner of Chiefs coverage, any analysis that confirms a prior is going to get utilized a certain way. It can be used and abused to try and prove a broader point it isn’t meant to prove. I try to stay cognizant of that when I write things that critique (or praise) a relatively controversial player. And that requires balance.
Which brings us to Bolton, who had a TERRIFIC game on Sunday against the Falcons, and it’s only fair that we talk about it. Because while what most people will remember from that game is the final stuff of Atlanta on 4th and 1 to close out the game, that actually wasn’t his best (or second best, or third best) play of the day. Bolton had multiple snaps in which he helped stuff the Falcons’ rush attack at the line of scrimmage, as well as several solid (and crucial) reps against the pass that helped the defense hold the line.
Let’s talk about Bolton’s big day, and how he was utilized in a way that let him be at his best throughout the game on a day the defense needed to be exceptional for the Chiefs to pull off a win.