Kiko Alonso – May 30, 2018
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Wednesday, May 30, 2018
LB Kiko Alonso
(What’s it like working with a rookie – LB Raekwon McMillan – that’s really not a rookie in the middle?) – “It’s great. It’s good to have ‘Kwon’ (Raekwon McMillan) back. It’s been good out there.”
(What does LB Raekwon McMillan add to this defense?) – “He’s a playmaker. He flies around. (He’s a) high-energy guy. I look forward to working with him.”
(The defensive line, obviously, without DT Ndamukong Suh, how do you figure they get better? Is this a numbers game or do two or three guys have to fill that void? How do you look at it?) – “We added some guys. Obviously, we’ve got the two rooks from last year (Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor) and Jordan (Phillips). We’ve got some guys in there that are going to make me and ‘Kwon’ (Raekwon McMillan) and the other linebacker’s job a lot easier.”
(After you’ve had some time away from the season now, how would you evaluate how the year went for you last year?) – “I’m not really worried about that right now. Right now I’m just focused on this year.”
(Why do you think this year will be better for you?) – “Why do you think it’ll be better?”
(Yes.) – “Because I’m working.”
(You had a little bit of interaction with some of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas football players. How much do you think they really enjoyed it? Going back to your high school days, to be able to meet a football player like yourself, an NFL player.) – “It looks like they were enjoying it a lot. I never got to opportunity to do something like that, but I know that it’s probably a great experience for them. We loved having them out there. I think it’s awesome having them out there.”
(What are your early thoughts about LB Jerome Baker?) – “My early thoughts? He’s athletic. He flies around and looks good.”
(LB Jerome Baker says he’s always heard people saying that he’s too small. Does he seem like he can handle that?) – “I think that nowadays it’s not really … Nowadays it’s all about, ‘Can you run?’ So, I really don’t think … You see what (the) linebacker position is nowadays. It’s getting smaller and smaller.”
(How much has it changed from when you started in the league in terms of the evolution of the position?) – “Even then it was still kind of like … But it’s still, like you said it’s … Even more now, it’s about running. Going back when I was back in the offseason talking to high school kids, you’ll see some big, big high school kids; but it doesn’t really matter how big you are. It’s just all about running.”
(Do you think now it’s more important for a linebacker to back-peddle as opposed to going and filling the gap?) – “No. I think you’ve got to be able to do everything. You’ve got to be able to fill the gap just as well as you can play coverage because if a team thinks you can’t play the run, then obviously they’re going to take advantage of that.”
(The coaches have said they’ve made it a point, particularly in the draft, to get faster on defense. Did lack of team speed hurt you guys a little bit last year and have you seen a faster group now?) – “It’s always good to have speed on defense, because obviously offenses are getting a lot more pass oriented. You gain a lot more threats coming out of the backfield at the tight end positon, so you’ve got to have a lot of speed to be able to match all the speed that the offense is bringing.”
(How much of a headache do you think your offense is going to be with a guy like WR Albert Wilson and RB Kenyan Drake coming out of the backfield, a guy like WR Danny Amendola, who’s so crafty? How much of a handful have they been so far?) – “They are a handful. Between those guys, DeVante (Parker) Kenny (Stills) and then you’ve got Ryan (Tannehill) that can run as well. It’s definitely going to be a handful as a defense. It’s going to make us, going up against them every day, better.”
(How about covering TE Mike Gesicki, the rookie tight end? You guys didn’t really have a body like that at tight end last year. What’s that been like so far?) – “He’s an athletic guy and a playmaker.”
(What is it going to be like now with LB Raekwon McMillan back, a little bit of the burden or making those calls are off your plate. Is that going to free you up to do other things?) – “No. At the end of the day, it’s good to have ‘Kwon’ (Raekwon McMillan) back. He’s a hell of a player. We’re just going to go out there and play some ball.”
(What do you want out of yourself this year? Do you have personal goals, anything that you want to shoot for?) – “I’m just trying to … Every time I go out there, I just give it everything I’ve got.”
(Is there any Pro Bowl, number of tackles, interceptions, anything like that, that you have?) – “I just want to give it everything I’ve got.”
(Has it been LB Stephone Anthony mostly with you and LB Raekwon McMillan in base? And what’s his biggest strength do you think?) – “Stephone is another guy that he can do it all. He can drop into coverage, play the run. (He’s a) high-energy guy. He’s another guy that (is) a playmaker.”
(It seemed like you guys got good push against the offensive line today on the defensive side, the defensive line. What have you liked about the defensive line unit so far?) – “They’re attacking. They’re attacking downhill. They’re holding on to those double teams, which is freeing up the linebackers.”
(I saw recently that you went back to Puerto Rico to contribute to the hurricane efforts. What is it like down there and is it getting better?) – “It’s getting a little better. It’s really just … There’s still a lot of people still without water and light and that’s since Maria, which was before Irma, right? Yes. So they haven’t had it since like September. It’s really a lot of people in the rural areas like up in the mountains and stuff; but they’re still working. It’s going to be a long process. It’s not anything that’s going to get done in the course of a couple weeks. Obviously, it’s coming up on a year here.”
(What can Americans do to improve the situation?) – “I think right now, water and light is important. A lot of people lost their houses. A lot of people don’t have roofs. If you fly over there, you can see it flying in. There’s a lot of blue tarps all … You see blue tarps everywhere. I think just supplies, food, water and light is important. At the same time, a lot of people lost their homes. They lost everything.”
(Do you think more needs to be done? Do you think it’s been slower than you would have expected in terms of recovery or about the same speed as you expected?) – “It’s hard to see. When you see people out there that haven’t had water and light for seven or eight months, yes you would like to see more get done. We’ve just got to keep doing all we can to help out.”
