It will be a lot harder this year than last. With these two on the field (hopefully on three downs) brady will pee himself when things aren't open like he expects pre snap. If we tighten up the ten yards that he exploits successfully most of every game, he will be forced to stand in the pocket. His offensive line is great but so is Chris Jones. Get in his face and he's not the GOAT; he's a swimming duck. Cover Gronk and the back and he is in trouble. Also, don't breathe on a receiver downfield or him in the pocket or he will receive freebies, hopefully not to the extent of SBLV. It is my hope that these two are ready for the role by then even if the bucs aren't the opponent.
And with these two young 2nd round LBers in place, along with a completed offensive line, the draft is open for sexier picks for multiple years. I will admit I was "selling" after the Tennessee game and saw a bleak outcome to this season. Hats off to Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo for the resurgence of this squad. The defense is better than last year by a good margin and the offense will find itself. Patrick has been over thinking IMO and will watch the film and realize he just needs to trust his instincts and more importantly, his guys. No drops two weeks in a row and 14 weeks with his new offensive line. Go Chiefs, let's do this!
And my take after seeing Tyreek and Travis jointly do all the offensive heavy lifting Thursday, we HAVE to draft a top notch second receiver. And a third while we’re at it! Get that pipeline filled for now and the future.
Drake London or Olave would be 🔥 in this offense. It’s way early, but I’ve seen them mocked to us. Hopefully no one else takes a shot on London’s broken ankle and he drops to us at 32
I personally think it would be more difficult to exploit those two than the other linebackers on the Chiefs roster.
Gay is the best linebacker on the team, and Bolton has come a long ways (at least from what we can see in this game). Both are superior vs the Run to their counterparts.
Having not seen the game in its entirety yet (stupid work), all I had to go on was the box score which was pretty impressive by itself. Thanks to your breakdown, it's obvious that he's come a long way in a short time. His recognition is exceptional in the majority of your examples and bodes well for him being trusted in a larger role moving forward. An awesome development as far as this Chiefs fan is concerned.
I love the physicality Bolton brings; he’s as close to a big hitter as the modern NFL will allow. In some ways he’s the opposite of Gay, who is wildly athletic but needs to learn to process better. Bolton has some physical limitations but at this point is smarter and faster to read the play. If they both progress even a little bit from where they are, and if they can stay healthy the linebacker group could become a strength instead of the liability it has been since DJ left.
4.46, 4.60, 4.74, 4.75. Anyone wanna guess which 40 times go with Gay, Hitchens, Bolton and Nieman? Gay is the obvious pick for the 4.46, but would you be surprised to know who posted the second best time of that group? That's right, Nick Bolton. Nieman posted the slowest time at 4.75. So why on God's green earth would Spags want to play Nieman over Bolton (yes, I get the experience angle)? Here's to hoping this game put all doubts to rest on this kid. He is a play-maker, and every snap he isn't on the field he doesn't have a chance to make a potentially significant impact.
P.S. - Seth, Bolton seems pretty fast to me in these videos. He is keeping up with the receivers and Ekler from what I can see. I guess I don't get all the "speed limitation" talk, but I will defer to your judgement. What is considered a good 40 time for a LB?
I think it's important to look past 40 time. Bolton's times in the stuff measuring lateral agility and quickness were quite poor. He's good going downhill, but change of direction is not his strong suit and he got taken advantage of for it earlier in the season. I do think he's more athletic than Hitchens and Niemann, to be sure, but the 40 time alone doesn't quite tell the story.
I think the smart play is Gay as the 'backer who is on the field for every snap, with Bolton seeing the majority as well.
Imo, the difference between his speed and Gay's is most noticeable when he needs to head someone off out of bounds, like in that video above. Gay doesn't even need to take an angle, allowing them extra yards down the sideline, he just gets there and blows it up or forces them out. To your point though, I don't really see a difference between his speed and Niemann's/Hitch's. I always see those two jogging after guys as they blow by them down the sideline to the first down.
"The coaches have clearly seen that step forward mentally as well, given that they went with him over a pair of players they’ve consistently trusted in those roles in previous games."
Are we sure this is what that means? I hope so, but our coaching staff seems allergic to giving young guys more snaps over vets, even when they've exhibited those steps. I wouldn't be shocked to see his snap count go back down to normal next week in favor of Hitch and Niemann, with this week just being part of the game plan or something.
That could certainly happen, to be sure, so perhaps the use of the word "clearly" is too strong. However, it was a large deviation from their previous MO.
I would be more likely to agree with you if Bolton were just playing the snaps that Willie Gay has been playing, but that wasn't really how it happened Thursday. Excluding garbage time in a couple of games, I don't think Bolton has ever been the dime linebacker or even on the field in nickel situations. Those snaps had been going to Nieman, and he was available. It could be a one game blip because of a particular match-up with Ekeler, but especially since he had his best game of the season, I would expect it more.
seth you keep delivering insightful and informative articles, just wish i would have known about your articles sooner. glad i ran across you on RGR football. thanks again for the great articles and keep them coming brother. GO CHIEFS #1 seed yeah
I’m so glad you included the 3rd from the last play. I was telling someone about this play and how much it impressed me. It doesn’t belong on any highlight reels, but it’s the kind of thing that Bolton wasn’t trusted to do (because he wasn’t doing it) early in the season. Preventing big plays is the name of the game, and plays like that do just that.
Do you think a team like Tampa Bay (Tom Brady) could exploit two young guns like Gay and Bolton?
It will be a lot harder this year than last. With these two on the field (hopefully on three downs) brady will pee himself when things aren't open like he expects pre snap. If we tighten up the ten yards that he exploits successfully most of every game, he will be forced to stand in the pocket. His offensive line is great but so is Chris Jones. Get in his face and he's not the GOAT; he's a swimming duck. Cover Gronk and the back and he is in trouble. Also, don't breathe on a receiver downfield or him in the pocket or he will receive freebies, hopefully not to the extent of SBLV. It is my hope that these two are ready for the role by then even if the bucs aren't the opponent.
And with these two young 2nd round LBers in place, along with a completed offensive line, the draft is open for sexier picks for multiple years. I will admit I was "selling" after the Tennessee game and saw a bleak outcome to this season. Hats off to Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo for the resurgence of this squad. The defense is better than last year by a good margin and the offense will find itself. Patrick has been over thinking IMO and will watch the film and realize he just needs to trust his instincts and more importantly, his guys. No drops two weeks in a row and 14 weeks with his new offensive line. Go Chiefs, let's do this!
And my take after seeing Tyreek and Travis jointly do all the offensive heavy lifting Thursday, we HAVE to draft a top notch second receiver. And a third while we’re at it! Get that pipeline filled for now and the future.
Drake London or Olave would be 🔥 in this offense. It’s way early, but I’ve seen them mocked to us. Hopefully no one else takes a shot on London’s broken ankle and he drops to us at 32
Great question.
I personally think it would be more difficult to exploit those two than the other linebackers on the Chiefs roster.
Gay is the best linebacker on the team, and Bolton has come a long ways (at least from what we can see in this game). Both are superior vs the Run to their counterparts.
Awesome article Seth. If possible in this longer time between games I'd love to see how the pass rush looked.
Having not seen the game in its entirety yet (stupid work), all I had to go on was the box score which was pretty impressive by itself. Thanks to your breakdown, it's obvious that he's come a long way in a short time. His recognition is exceptional in the majority of your examples and bodes well for him being trusted in a larger role moving forward. An awesome development as far as this Chiefs fan is concerned.
I love the physicality Bolton brings; he’s as close to a big hitter as the modern NFL will allow. In some ways he’s the opposite of Gay, who is wildly athletic but needs to learn to process better. Bolton has some physical limitations but at this point is smarter and faster to read the play. If they both progress even a little bit from where they are, and if they can stay healthy the linebacker group could become a strength instead of the liability it has been since DJ left.
Another awesome article — straight forward with the pluses & minuses. Thanks!
I don't know where you're getting your sub sandwiches at but buddy, paying $12 for a foot-long is highway robbery. What has happened to Minnesota?
Dollar an inch, eh?
He's beginning to play like he did at Mizzou when he got comfortable with the system......he'll get better
4.46, 4.60, 4.74, 4.75. Anyone wanna guess which 40 times go with Gay, Hitchens, Bolton and Nieman? Gay is the obvious pick for the 4.46, but would you be surprised to know who posted the second best time of that group? That's right, Nick Bolton. Nieman posted the slowest time at 4.75. So why on God's green earth would Spags want to play Nieman over Bolton (yes, I get the experience angle)? Here's to hoping this game put all doubts to rest on this kid. He is a play-maker, and every snap he isn't on the field he doesn't have a chance to make a potentially significant impact.
P.S. - Seth, Bolton seems pretty fast to me in these videos. He is keeping up with the receivers and Ekler from what I can see. I guess I don't get all the "speed limitation" talk, but I will defer to your judgement. What is considered a good 40 time for a LB?
I think it's important to look past 40 time. Bolton's times in the stuff measuring lateral agility and quickness were quite poor. He's good going downhill, but change of direction is not his strong suit and he got taken advantage of for it earlier in the season. I do think he's more athletic than Hitchens and Niemann, to be sure, but the 40 time alone doesn't quite tell the story.
I think the smart play is Gay as the 'backer who is on the field for every snap, with Bolton seeing the majority as well.
Agreed!
Imo, the difference between his speed and Gay's is most noticeable when he needs to head someone off out of bounds, like in that video above. Gay doesn't even need to take an angle, allowing them extra yards down the sideline, he just gets there and blows it up or forces them out. To your point though, I don't really see a difference between his speed and Niemann's/Hitch's. I always see those two jogging after guys as they blow by them down the sideline to the first down.
"The coaches have clearly seen that step forward mentally as well, given that they went with him over a pair of players they’ve consistently trusted in those roles in previous games."
Are we sure this is what that means? I hope so, but our coaching staff seems allergic to giving young guys more snaps over vets, even when they've exhibited those steps. I wouldn't be shocked to see his snap count go back down to normal next week in favor of Hitch and Niemann, with this week just being part of the game plan or something.
That could certainly happen, to be sure, so perhaps the use of the word "clearly" is too strong. However, it was a large deviation from their previous MO.
I would be more likely to agree with you if Bolton were just playing the snaps that Willie Gay has been playing, but that wasn't really how it happened Thursday. Excluding garbage time in a couple of games, I don't think Bolton has ever been the dime linebacker or even on the field in nickel situations. Those snaps had been going to Nieman, and he was available. It could be a one game blip because of a particular match-up with Ekeler, but especially since he had his best game of the season, I would expect it more.
Solid point
Bolton is 26 tackles ahead of the next rookie (Parsons). What a great year for him.
seth you keep delivering insightful and informative articles, just wish i would have known about your articles sooner. glad i ran across you on RGR football. thanks again for the great articles and keep them coming brother. GO CHIEFS #1 seed yeah
I really appreciate you reading, and glad you enjoyed!
Good to see a player like this improving and developing for the Chiefs. They desperately needed it.
One thing we knew we'd get from Bolton: when he hits you, you stay hit. And it's an absolute joy to watch.
That's a highly important quality for sure, and it's noticeable in how it impacts gains. Saving a few yards matters a great deal in the aggregate.
I’m so glad you included the 3rd from the last play. I was telling someone about this play and how much it impressed me. It doesn’t belong on any highlight reels, but it’s the kind of thing that Bolton wasn’t trusted to do (because he wasn’t doing it) early in the season. Preventing big plays is the name of the game, and plays like that do just that.