Eagles All-22: The Struggles of Kiko Alonso

Why is the Philadelphia Eagles’ linebacker struggling?

Kiko Alonso was supposed to be the Eagles next big defensive star. At least, that is what should be expected when he was the return Chip Kelly got in exchange for the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, LeSean McCoy.

But as Alonso’s first season as an Eagle is beginning to wind down, he has left fans bitter and disappointed, thanks to his troublesome knee and inconsistent play. Alonso has never been the smartest or most cerebral of football players, instead he relies on his killer instinct to be a playmaker in the middle of the defense.

Alonso has looked rusty all season as he continues to work his way back from a torn ACL and a sprained knee, but there have been some good signs that point to him returning to the level of play that got him named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013.

A STEP TOO SLOW

Despite being back in the lineup for the past five weeks, Alonso has been on a relatively strict snap count for most of those games. It’s pretty simple to presume that his balky knee is still not at full-strength, which can put him at a disadvantage when trying to cover.

On this play, taken from the fourth quarter of the Patriots game, Alonso lines up on the line of scrimmage over the running back, showing blitz. Once he realizes that James White is not blocking, but instead running a route to the flat, Alonso is unable to change directions quickly and allows the short completion.

His change of direction isn’t sudden and he runs a very rounded route to the ball, possibly indicating he isn’t 100 percent confident in his surgically repaired knee yet.

But on this play against the Bills last week, Alonso showed what he capable of doing when he has proper position from the snap.

He is lined up against McCoy, who is split out wide to the bottom of the picture, and the Bills run a simple go route. Alonso starts with almost eight yards of cushion and does a good job of cutting McCoy off at the top of his route, not letting him get behind him and make a play on the ball.

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But like I said earlier, Alonso has been a very good zone coverage linebacker in his short career, excelling when he can read the quarterback and trust his instincts, and not have to worry about chasing a receiver all over the field.

He settles into the zone and reads Matt Ryan‘s eyes, then makes a spectacular play on a throw that was anything but, to end the drive. That is Alonso at his best in the passing game.

HERE COMES THE BOOM

Where Alonso has really struggled this season is against the run game, especially in the Eagles’ loss to the Buccaneers. Alonso lives for big hits. In fact, it was the main reason he started playing football in the first place. However, that aggressiveness has led him to make poor decisions, like on this play:

Alonso is in perfect position to stop Doug Martin after just five yards, but instead tries to lay a big hit on the lead blocker, springing Martin into the secondary and eventually 83 yards down the field.

Chances are, if Alonso was fully healthy for the last year-and-a-half, he would have been able to make the correct read and bring down the ball carrier. Luckily, he did make a few good plays in the run game against the Bills last week like this tackle:

Alonso reads the play immediately and comes across the entire formation then makes an impressive tackle of McCoy in the open field.

The way Alonso plays the game, a lot of his success is based on him trusting his instincts and taking chances to make big plays, a lot like Mychal Kendricks.  With the flashes of success Alonso has shown over the past two weeks against New England and Buffalo, it is safe to believe that a lot of his struggles were him just being rusty and out of shape from not playing football.

But it is also worth wondering how good Alonso actually was in Buffalo. A look at the stats will tell you he had 87 solo tackles to go along with two sacks and four interceptions, but when you look at this account from a guy who watched him play that season, things become a bit cloudier:

That tweet came after Alonso overran an angle and left a hole wide open that led to a long touchdown run. Maybe his success was a fluke, but that is the kind of player he is. He’s not a solid, three-down linebacker who can quarterback a defense and always make the sure play. He’s a gamebreaker, a big play linebacker that uses his athleticism to create turnovers and wreak havoc.

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So expect those flashes of competence become more and more common, but don’t expect him to be the rock in the middle of the defense because that just isn’t who he is.