Kawika Mitchell, LB (1 Viewer)

[Otter]

Kawika is the MLB in a 4/3 at Kansas City, who, you'd think would rack up tackles. Every week (for the most part), FBG has had him ranked fairly high overall on the cheatsheets as follows:

Week 1: Ranked #9

Week 2: Ranked #2

Week 3: Bye week

Week 4: Ranked #26

Week 5: Ranked #14

This guy hasn't really done anything all year (in terms of tackles, etc.). I thought he'd be HUGE this year, but his numbers are far less than stellar. I assume he's in all 3 downs, but I only saw the KC/Cin game, and can't really recall.

What's the deal with this guy and why does he not have many tackles for a MLB in a 4/3. I know KCs defense is better this year, but I thought he'd rack up a lot more points. It's not like the other KC LBs are tearing it up, either.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Kawika is the MLB in a 4/3 at Kansas City, who, you'd think would rack up tackles. Every week (for the most part), FBG has had him ranked fairly high overall on the cheatsheets as follows:Week 1: Ranked #9Week 2: Ranked #2Week 3: Bye weekWeek 4: Ranked #26Week 5: Ranked #14 This guy hasn't really done anything all year (in terms of tackles, etc.). I thought he'd be HUGE this year, but his numbers are far less than stellar. I assume he's in all 3 downs, but I only saw the KC/Cin game, and can't really recall.What's the deal with this guy and why does he not have many tackles for a MLB in a 4/3. I know KCs defense is better this year, but I thought he'd rack up a lot more points. It's not like the other KC LBs are tearing it up, either.

I don't have the answer either. The Chiefs certainly faced enough rushing attempts in the first two weeks for Mitchell to do better in the boxscores. Like you, I've only seen the KC/CIN game, and he was in on most passing downs and he looked like he was playing well to me. Maybe QTip or one of the other KC homers can check in here, but I'm not aware of any major scheme change or minor injury that can be blamed here.Kendrell Bell is tackling a little better, Derrick Johnson is going to be better this season with a season under his belt, and Keyaron Fox has seen time in nickel packages so I suppose that combination could be hurting Mitchell a little, but there's probably a piece of this story we're still missing.I don't know that it's time to write him off just yet -- I still think he's a good buy-low candidate -- but the trend is becoming concerning.

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

I too have been a big Mitchell fan since last year when I picked him up. This year I was fully expecting him to assume a top 10 if not a top 5 status. So far he has fallen woefully short of this anticipation.

Right now I have him and leMar Marshall as bye week fillers for Ryans, Peterson and Witherspoon. Frankly, of those 5 I have a hard time justifying starting Mitchell over Marshall over the next several weeks until he proves his worth.

 

[Chaos Commish]

He was pulled for much of the 4th quarter in the shut out last week if that helps explain a little. As were several other starters.

11 solos, 3 assists, a sack, a pass defended-- three games at MLB. Not good.

Given his postition, scheme, athletic ability, the nature of that defense, the schedule, and even the slow start, I think you have to be patient with him a little longer. Since the numbers are hard to explain, maybe they'll also be self-adjusting, he'll move closer to an average we all expected, and that means some above average weeks are upcoming.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

I drafted him fairly high and thought myself lucky to get him (at the time). It is understandably hard to be patient. Every year, (at all positions), there are busts and surprises. While one hangs in there with a roster spot for somebody like Mitchell, an emerging player with actual stats, like Chris Hope for example, gets noticed, and stays available on the WW for just a very short time. Tough call.

 

[cr8f]

He was pulled for much of the 4th quarter in the shut out last week if that helps explain a little. As were several other starters. 11 solos, 3 assists, a sack, a pass defended-- three games at MLB. Not good.Given his postition, scheme, athletic ability, the nature of that defense, the schedule, and even the slow start, I think you have to be patient with him a little longer. Since the numbers are hard to explain, maybe they'll also be self-adjusting, he'll move closer to an average we all expected, and that means some above average weeks are upcoming.

Let's hope so. I have him, Fletcher and Hawk starting this week.

 

[MacArtist]

I just dropped him for Cato June.

 

[Otter]

Week 5 stats: 2 solos, 3 assists.

He SUCKS. It is official.

 

[Slinger]

It's frustrating because the Chiefs are 7th in the NFL in tackles: link

And he's still not getting his as the starting MLB.

 

[-arcK-]

It's frustrating because the Chiefs are 7th in the NFL in tackles: link

And he's still not getting his as the starting MLB.

You sure? If I'm correctly sorting the data from that link, it looks like as a team the Chiefs are 28th in tackles with only 204.

 

[Slinger]

It's frustrating because the Chiefs are 7th in the NFL in tackles: link

And he's still not getting his as the starting MLB.

You sure? If I'm correctly sorting the data from that link, it looks like as a team the Chiefs are 28th in tackles with only 204.

You would be correct. Notice that I haven't given up my day job.

 

[houndirish]

I've never been a fan of Mitchell but after seeing him come on in the latter half of '05 I drank the Kool-aid and signed up. Needless to say, I've been less than thrilled. I dropped him last week for Eric Barton and couldn't be happier at this point.

 

[IAMCANADIAN]

Bump...

Still only having had one game with over 5 Solo's, and 10 Overall Tackles (same game)... and yet Norton seems to still have confidence in him. This week he's projecting him to break those two barriers for the 2nd time this year.

I'm watching this guy closely, as he's become waiver fodder in my main league, and I could consider dropping a similar "under-producing" player Tillman/Bears, who may just now be breaking out in his own right.

Any recent thoughts/insights on Kawika?

 

[Jene Bramel]

Bump...Still only having had one game with over 5 Solo's, and 10 Overall Tackles (same game)... and yet Norton seems to still have confidence in him. This week he's projecting him to break those two barriers for the 2nd time this year.I'm watching this guy closely, as he's become waiver fodder in my main league, and I could consider dropping a similar "under-producing" player Tillman/Bears, who may just now be breaking out in his own right.Any recent thoughts/insights on Kawika?

Nope. He's bugging me, tother than an ongoing issue with missed tackles in the three games I've seen, he looks like the same player. Around the ball, in position, decent in coverage. He's just not finishing in the boxscore. I was ready to jump back on the bandwagon after the Pittsburgh game, but a 3-0-0 against the Chargers is just silly. I haven't seen the last two games, though, and it's possible that Kendrell Bell's last two game performance is an indication that Bell has earned some nickel playing time over Mitchell. I've nothing to back that up, though. It's purely speculation.

 

[bonscott]

Bump...Still only having had one game with over 5 Solo's, and 10 Overall Tackles (same game)... and yet Norton seems to still have confidence in him. This week he's projecting him to break those two barriers for the 2nd time this year.I'm watching this guy closely, as he's become waiver fodder in my main league, and I could consider dropping a similar "under-producing" player Tillman/Bears, who may just now be breaking out in his own right.Any recent thoughts/insights on Kawika?

Nope. He's bugging me, tother than an ongoing issue with missed tackles in the three games I've seen, he looks like the same player. Around the ball, in position, decent in coverage. He's just not finishing in the boxscore. I was ready to jump back on the bandwagon after the Pittsburgh game, but a 3-0-0 against the Chargers is just silly. I haven't seen the last two games, though, and it's possible that Kendrell Bell's last two game performance is an indication that Bell has earned some nickel playing time over Mitchell. I've nothing to back that up, though. It's purely speculation.

What I saw in the Chargers game out of Mitchell is a lot of what I've seen out of Urlacher this year. He's always around the play but not actually in the pile. I can't tell you how many times I've yelled at Urlacher to actually get in the pile vs. arriving a second too late. Same thing with Mitchell. I don't really see it as him being blocked out. Perhaps the play running away from him a bit. Could also be the DL in front of him and the LB's to his side are picking up their game. I think that's what's happening with Urlacher this year, the entire defense is so much better he's not dong all the work as in the past.It's about all I got on the situation.

 

[stevegamer]

Bump...Still only having had one game with over 5 Solo's, and 10 Overall Tackles (same game)... and yet Norton seems to still have confidence in him. This week he's projecting him to break those two barriers for the 2nd time this year.I'm watching this guy closely, as he's become waiver fodder in my main league, and I could consider dropping a similar "under-producing" player Tillman/Bears, who may just now be breaking out in his own right.Any recent thoughts/insights on Kawika?

Nope. He's bugging me, tother than an ongoing issue with missed tackles in the three games I've seen, he looks like the same player. Around the ball, in position, decent in coverage. He's just not finishing in the boxscore. I was ready to jump back on the bandwagon after the Pittsburgh game, but a 3-0-0 against the Chargers is just silly. I haven't seen the last two games, though, and it's possible that Kendrell Bell's last two game performance is an indication that Bell has earned some nickel playing time over Mitchell. I've nothing to back that up, though. It's purely speculation.

What I saw in the Chargers game out of Mitchell is a lot of what I've seen out of Urlacher this year. He's always around the play but not actually in the pile. I can't tell you how many times I've yelled at Urlacher to actually get in the pile vs. arriving a second too late. Same thing with Mitchell. I don't really see it as him being blocked out. Perhaps the play running away from him a bit. Could also be the DL in front of him and the LB's to his side are picking up their game. I think that's what's happening with Urlacher this year, the entire defense is so much better he's not dong all the work as in the past.It's about all I got on the situation.

I saw the same thing, and it's annoying, but I think he's a hold if you have room. He's not playing significantly worse that I can see, still there, but someone else just makes the stop. It could be that he was more about opportunity than talent, and a marginal change in surrounding talent decreased opportunity, but he's still got the rest of the season on my roster for evaluation. I won't be playing him, thouhg, barring injuries.

 

[IAMCANADIAN]

Considering this recent news:

"Johnson, Kansas City's best tackler and top playmaker at linebacker, hurt his ankle in the victory over the Rams and has not practiced all week."

I'd think it'd be reasonable to assume the situation to be similar to that of Buffalo's, where when Spikes was out, we saw Crowell excel.

Let's see if Kawika continues to improve upon his 8-0 effort from last week...