JN: Where to Line Up Gholston?
On this week’s SNY’s Jets Nation, Brian Custer asked Buttle & Lucas where he would play Gholston, noting that he’d seen him lining up strong-side.
Greg Buttle’s thoughts
“To me it would be simple, because the game is simple to me. [Custer and Lucas laughing]
“That is you take him, put him on the weakside, mark it with and X. ‘This is where you stand, at the snap of the ball, you go get that guy … called the quarterback and don’t stop until you get him every single down.’ I’d have him blitzing and the next thing you know you’d have to split in half, because somebody is going to have to pick him up.”
Ray Lucas’ thoughts
“We can’t all be Greg Buttle. I would [line him up] with his hand down, his hand up. I would move him all over the field and make mistmatches for any offensive lineman [and give them] nightmares for the rest of their career. You put the kid anywhere but I agree with Greg, he will definitely be attacking the quarterback.”
I can’t wait. Again after a long time, I think it’s going to be fun to watch this defense.
18 Responses to JN: Where to Line Up Gholston?
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Bent says: I think more likely that they see him coming off the bench in pass rushing situations and then he could be more effective from the strong side because he would be facing a RT, where his speed is more likely to be effective. Maybe they see him as a bit raw to take on most of the top LTs in the league at this stage. Ultimately, I think he will become the starter on the weakside, but for now, BT is probably pencilled in as the starter there, with Pace on the strongside.
As noted, in his signature performance against Michigan, he did virtually all of his damage on the strongside (as DE).
However, the Jets do not always necessarily follow logic with their LB alignments. I expected Hobson to be a better fit inside (size and lack of speed), Barton on the strongside (only effective when playing in space) and Thomas on the weakside (natural pass rushing ability) and last year they didn’t use any of them like that.
I do expect a lot of moving guys about.
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hank/naples says:
Bassett:
You are dead on. Its going to be awsome. I predict close to if not a club sack record. I”m as excited as I was during the “sack exchange”. -
PS. Can’t understand the pessimism. This club is light years away from 2006.
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Correction: 2007
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will says:
Brad Smith. I’d like to see him emerge this year as a more complete WR threat. Coles, Keller, Cotchery and Brad Smith seems like a nice set of receiving threats. Baker, Thomas Jones and Neon Leon as secondary threats.
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ramble914 says:
Gholston should play primarily at weak side LB his first year. They should make it as simple as possible for him, and not have him take on the TE. At WSLB he could just concentrate on blitzing the QB and use his instincts and natural abilaity. Calvin Pace, as a more experienced player should play strong side, but he should also be sent to get the QB on passing situations so VG is not doubled teamed all the time. This also does not predicate the Jets from also sending one of the MLB’s and possibly K. Rhodes on blitz packages.
Another question to consider is what to do with B. Thomas? I think he still has some value as a LB. Could we line him up next to D. Harris? BT is a rather large guy, 6-5 and 260 lbs., so maybe he could play MLB. What about using Pace as a MLB and putting BT opposite VG at OLB?
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18andOne says:
I think the purpose of the Pace signing, the Jenkins trade, and drafting Gholston is to not only get better players, but also get players with the ability to play numerous roles on our defense. Mangini knows that you have to mix up your rush and your blitz to be effective. The new guys on defense give you the ability to run all sorts of different defensive schemes to target the other teams weakness. I expect that Gholston will be a big part of that, and he’ll be used as a decoy from time to time to free up other LB’s and DB’s. Expect to see Rhodes blitz more now that Gholston and Pace can do some of the coverage responsibilities.
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I remember back in 2000 and 2001when it seemed like the Jets put John Abraham at a different position almost every down. Other teams had to come to the line and adjust their play to where Abraham was standing.
I agree that putting him in one position is a diservice to the defense as a whole. It seems like the Jet’s D has done a lot of reacting the past couple years, well this is their chance to make the offense react to what they want to do. -
SackDance99 says:
Ultimately, Gholston will be the weak side OLB, but this season I see him coming in on passing downs for a 4-3 look, lining up wherever there’s a weakness, like Tuck does for the Giants or Green for the Pats.
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“Crush the castle and kill the king!” – Herm Edwards
I like Vernon living on the Edge and putting Sack back in the Sack Exchange. If he can handle Jake Long, he can handle NFL Offensive Left Tackle vets.
With Vernon Gholston and Kris Jenkins, everyone on the line should improve!
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Bent says:
Can he handle Jake Long though? He beat him once in that much discussed performance last year and otherwise Long pretty much owned him (although they only lined up opposite each other about 10-12 times).
Also, I would not assume Long will be in the upper echelon of pass protectors. He should be adequate as a pass protector, but make no mistake, he was drafted for his run blocking. Giving up few sacks in college is a distinction many poor NFL tackles share.
With Gholston’s build, perhaps it should be “The Stacked Exchange”.
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billvv says:
I agree that VG will probably start on passing down and expand to other roles as the season goes on. I think the idea of him playing in the 3-4 or the 4-3 will come early on as well.
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Harvlis says:
I agree with 18andOne. Well said. For this defense to dominate, they will have to be flexible. The one thing that we must do is rush the QB, at all times. As our outside backers have speed, they must all be able to drop into coverage. Gholston, having outstanding speed, could learn to shut down the better receiving TE’s. That would be a huge plus. It will be up to our coaching staff, to game plan all this talent. I can’t wait for the hitting to begin.
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My Pet Goat says:
He should line up in SackDance’s driveway and tackle him whenever he takes out the trash.
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J. says:
This is a no-brainer: weak side. You don’t pay him top-6 money to cover a tight end.
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dakar says:
i think he’ll catch on faster than most think…but thats just my thoughts…
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Mike G says:
Put him in whatever spot you want and just tell him to go get the quarterback, dont tell him anything else, just say “Vernon, go get the quarterback and hit him very hard” Dont ask him to do anything else this year. Then reward him for sacks by feeding him raw beef, cuz gholstens an animal
I completely agree with them on this one just have the guy blitz on passing down and stop the run on running downs. He should not be dropping back for passes until year 2. Dropping back to defend against the pass will take some time and he can get better used rushing the quarterback.