Comments on: Link: Familiar Faces Return

By: Joe A

Joe A — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:04:15 +0000

He’s a very good player but for our defense i prefer Harris

By: LoX

LoX — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:44:34 +0000

I posted this in a thread way back in March.

I was lucky enough to hang out with Jon Vilma at Tao nightclub in Las Vegas. By chance, my table was directly next to his. My buddies knowing that I am a huge Jets fan pointed him out and I proceeded to introduce myself to him. He was an absolute class act. Great great guy – actually helped me close a girl that night. Hah!

He had nothing but good things to say about NY Jet fans. Said he missed playing here. He did have a negative opinion on Mangini. Shocking! I wrapped up the night with an awesome picture of me and him.
He was and still is one of my favorite Jets. Still have his U jersey in my closet.

By: Sarge

Sarge — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:31:01 +0000

Vilma was such a high quality player that he can succeed in any defense, regardless of formation. The whole “he can’t play in the 3-4″ was garbage. The real reason he was getting owned as an ILB in the 3-4 was because we had no nose tackle to protect him. Vilma was fast, had great instincts for the play and the ball, and should never have been traded unless we got a 1st or 2nd round pick in return. What a joke.

By: Bent

Bent — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:25:48 +0000

“I always considered Vilma too small for MLB, and always wondered why we never used him as a Strong Safety.”

They kind of did, in 2006, but just didn’t tell anyone. Rhodes would come to the line of scrimmage and Vilma would drop into coverage. That was the perfect way of masking JV’s ineffectiveness in the 3-4. Teams saw it coming in 2007 though and just picked on him in coverage until he hurt his knee, which might be why he was never switched to SS full time, because his coverage skills, although decent for a LB were obviously slightly substandard for a DB.

But, (sorry Garrett), he’s still about 40 pounds too light to play OLB in Rex’s scheme (or any other scheme with a 3-man front.

By: Brett Justin

Brett Justin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:05:25 +0000

i LOVED VILMA!! i was hoping for him when we drafted him his rookie season and was so excited for his future and was surprised it came to an end so quickly for us but i htink with his talent he would of been great in rex ryans system…

By: ramble914

ramble914 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:49:01 +0000

I always considered Vilma too small for MLB, and always wondered why we never used him as a Strong Safety. I believe he was fast enough and was plenty bid enough for that position. He would have been like Steve Atwater, who I remember as being 6-2 and 225lbs. Vilma would have had to drop a few pounds, but that would have helped his speed.

By: garrett

garrett — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:31:50 +0000

Switch him out side linebacker or safety and he would dominate in Ryans D

By: Vinny Interceptaverde

Vinny Interceptaverde — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:30:03 +0000

I always liked Vilma, but he’s not by any means a great MLB. Sure, he can run and he’s athletic, but he doesn’t make many big impact plays like sacks, ints, or fumbles. More importantly, he can be blocked and taken out of the play easily. Also, he isn’t physical enough as ball carriers frequently carry him for a yard or two. Everytime Vilma makes a tackle he’s falls on his stomach or his side because he’s not strong enough to make a stick and punish the ball carrier. This is opposed to somone like Harris, who usually punishes the ball carrier on immediate impact.

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:24:28 +0000

I do miss Vilma’s awesome athleticism, and I think he would fit in Rex’s D. I still think he would’ve been fine in Mangini’s defense too, with David Harris blitzing/picking up tackles in the middle and Vilma dropping back in coverage/tackling runners who bounce outside. The only reason Vilma didn’t work out as well was because we had an atrocious D-line when he was around. No one could play well consistently with Dewayne Robertson as their nose tackle. Oh well, at least we got the overpaid but still awesome Bart Scott.

By: ESD

ESD — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:02:10 +0000

I think it remains to be seen if Chad, John, and Justin are healthy by the time they meet with the Jets.

I liked all of these guys when they were healthy. But It’s tough when your top performers are hindered by nagging injuries.

It looks like Abraham gets injured for more than half a season every three years, and this is the the third year after two healthy years.