Chiefs Veach Report: Hitchens is #80 on PPF

BlackOp · 11-27-2018, 09:33 PM

Hitchens is currently the #80th ranked LB on PFF. His listing is "below average".

This was Veach's first big FA acquisition...and it's looking like a bust. Bleacher Report listed the signing as the worst of 2018. His $9 million per is the 6th highest of all LBers.

Why didn't Veach recognize that slow, hard hitting LBers were going to be obsolete with all these rule changes?

NFL will be trending to smaller, faster "sideline to sideline" players, who are better at coverage.

Would Dorsey have been ahead of this trend? KC has two slow-footed thumpers...and it's a big reason why the defense stinks.

I cant really remember one impact play that Hitchens has made...

OKchiefs · 11-27-2018, 09:37 PM

Something is just off. All of our inside linebackers have sucked. Hitchens was a well above average player a year ago. I'm not sure if it's Bob Sutton, our ILB coach, something about the scheme, or something else, but I find it hard to completely blame Hitchens.

Pitt Gorilla · 11-27-2018, 09:39 PM

He’s slow. That’s about it.

htismaqe · 11-27-2018, 09:39 PM

Hitchens isn't a slow, hard-hitter type at all. He was a coverage backer on the OUTSIDE in college and played both outside and inside weak in Dallas. His strength, before coming to KC, was exactly what you said - sideline to sideline and better at coverage.

**SAUTO** · 11-27-2018, 09:42 PM

Our ILBS don't attack. They wait on the play. It's a scheme thing. We've discussed it before.

Direckshun · 11-27-2018, 09:43 PM

He’s 5th in the NFL in tackles. And he missed a game.

Hitchens came in somewhat out of shape and new to the scheme. He’s also been playing with a rib injury.

There’s been widespread consensus on CP and elsewhere that he’s playing better. I think he’s better adjusted to the scheme and Sutton is using him better.

I think it’s a smart bet that he’s going to look a lot better and potentially lead the league in tackles next year after a full offseason of getting healthy and more fit.

I actually think Veach/Reid/Sutton are actually ahead of the curve (or at least on the curve) for ILB personnel. You need a pure thumper (Ragland), you need a pure athlete that can cover and play about 60-80% of the snaps (DOD), and you need a main guy that can do a lot of everything.

I’m bullish on Hitchens and I think he could reach Pro Bowl heights as early as next year.

BlackOp · 11-27-2018, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Hitchens isn't a slow, hard-hitter type at all. He was a coverage backer on the OUTSIDE in college and played both outside and inside weak in Dallas. His strength, before coming to KC, was exactly what you said - sideline to sideline and better at coverage.

Compared to pre-achilies DJ....Hitchens is slow.

Makes me wonder if signing Bowman would have been a better/cheaper alternative.

Watkins is currently #34 on PFF. He makes $200k less than Hopkins...and is the 6th most expensive WR in the NFL.

He also makes more than AJ Green and Julio Jones...

Veach has $25 million (per) tied up in the #34 and #80 players (at their position)...which he hand-picked.

I like Watkins...he helps the offense in invisible ways. KC did score 51 points without him vs. the Rams though. He has missed 25% of the games so far...if he's held out of the Raiders game.

**RealSNR** · 11-27-2018, 10:08 PM

PPF?

Pro Poopy Focus?

Deberg_1990 · 11-27-2018, 10:18 PM

Dallas D sucked with him on it. Now they are really good.

pugsnotdrugs19 · 11-27-2018, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Dallas D sucked with him on it. Now they are really good.

Really bad take if you’re suggesting Hitchens is the reason why.

RunKC · 11-27-2018, 10:30 PM

Idk what has happened but he’s been rock solid since the Cleveland game.

pugsnotdrugs19 · 11-27-2018, 10:34 PM

When he plays without thinking and relies on instincts, he’s looked really good. He’s blown up some plays when he attacks.

I still think for whatever reason, they’ve got the ILBs all thinking too much. Ragland and him both have generally looked a lot worse than they did a year ago and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

BlackOp · 11-27-2018, 10:34 PM

Being ranked #80...hypothetically means he's the 3rd best LBer on every team in the NFL and 4th on nearly half.

Not good for $9,000,000

Ragland is #67....so he, too, would be the 3rd best LB on every team. (32x2=64)

'Hamas' Jenkins · 11-27-2018, 10:43 PM

Are linebackers now obsolete in the NFL? Seems to me that you'd be better off loading your LB corps with guys that are the size of strong safeties so that you can cover the increasingly athletic TEs and backs. Of course, ILB types would still have value in short yardage packages, but for the most part, a team with four safety-sized defenders daring the opposing team to run on them seems like the best way to design a defense.

mcaj22 · 11-27-2018, 10:44 PM

It's the scheme. 4-3 LBer into a 3-4 sometimes just doesn't work out.

If they changed to a 4-3 he would probably look 10x better.

11-27-2018, 09:33 PM
BlackOp MVP Join Date: Oct 2012 Casino cash: $5845267	Veach Report: Hitchens is #80 on PPF Hitchens is currently the #80th ranked LB on PFF. His listing is "below average". This was Veach's first big FA acquisition...and it's looking like a bust. Bleacher Report listed the signing as the worst of 2018. His $9 million per is the 6th highest of all LBers. Why didn't Veach recognize that slow, hard hitting LBers were going to be obsolete with all these rule changes? NFL will be trending to smaller, faster "sideline to sideline" players, who are better at coverage. Would Dorsey have been ahead of this trend? KC has two slow-footed thumpers...and it's a big reason why the defense stinks. I cant really remember one impact play that Hitchens has made...
Posts: 17,754

11-27-2018, 09:39 PM	#3
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $2620194	He’s slow. That’s about it. __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
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11-27-2018, 09:39 PM	#4
htismaqe 'Tis my eye! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Chiefsplanet Casino cash: $10269900	Hitchens isn't a slow, hard-hitter type at all. He was a coverage backer on the OUTSIDE in college and played both outside and inside weak in Dallas. His strength, before coming to KC, was exactly what you said - sideline to sideline and better at coverage.
Posts: 100,022

11-27-2018, 09:42 PM	#5
SAUTO Shit Join Date: Jun 2008 Casino cash: $10039067	Our ILBS don't attack. They wait on the play. It's a scheme thing. We've discussed it before.
Posts: 55,715	1 0

11-27-2018, 10:18 PM	#9
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3624454	Dallas D sucked with him on it. Now they are really good. __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
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11-27-2018, 09:43 PM	#6
Direckshun __ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $4163447	He’s 5th in the NFL in tackles. And he missed a game. Hitchens came in somewhat out of shape and new to the scheme. He’s also been playing with a rib injury. There’s been widespread consensus on CP and elsewhere that he’s playing better. I think he’s better adjusted to the scheme and Sutton is using him better. I think it’s a smart bet that he’s going to look a lot better and potentially lead the league in tackles next year after a full offseason of getting healthy and more fit. I actually think Veach/Reid/Sutton are actually ahead of the curve (or at least on the curve) for ILB personnel. You need a pure thumper (Ragland), you need a pure athlete that can cover and play about 60-80% of the snaps (DOD), and you need a main guy that can do a lot of everything. I’m bullish on Hitchens and I think he could reach Pro Bowl heights as early as next year.
Posts: 59,314

11-27-2018, 10:30 PM	#11
RunKC Andy Reid Supporter Join Date: Apr 2012 Casino cash: $1869611	Idk what has happened but he’s been rock solid since the Cleveland game. __________________ Mike Greenberg@Espngreeny I can’t fathom what it must be like to be a fan of the #Chiefs. Adopt a Chief: Jared Wiley
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11-27-2018, 10:34 PM	#12
pugsnotdrugs19 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS Join Date: Aug 2013 Casino cash: $9099447	When he plays without thinking and relies on instincts, he’s looked really good. He’s blown up some plays when he attacks. I still think for whatever reason, they’ve got the ILBs all thinking too much. Ragland and him both have generally looked a lot worse than they did a year ago and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Posts: 26,381

11-27-2018, 10:43 PM	#14
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $7939572	Are linebackers now obsolete in the NFL? Seems to me that you'd be better off loading your LB corps with guys that are the size of strong safeties so that you can cover the increasingly athletic TEs and backs. Of course, ILB types would still have value in short yardage packages, but for the most part, a team with four safety-sized defenders daring the opposing team to run on them seems like the best way to design a defense. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
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11-27-2018, 10:44 PM	#15
mcaj22 MVP Join Date: Feb 2010 Casino cash: $10014454	It's the scheme. 4-3 LBer into a 3-4 sometimes just doesn't work out. If they changed to a 4-3 he would probably look 10x better.
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