Film Room: Gholston in Action
Posted on September 1st, 2009 by Bassett
In case you missed it (like I did) Saturday night, here’s two of Gholston’s plays that had tongues wagging from the Giants game.
Now granted, Gholston went in entirely unblocked, so more credit to the scheme (or the missed pickup) on that one, but those are the type of plays (sans penalties) that Ryan can and will try to create for him to get him acclimated and confident in the game.
Hat tip to Green Lantern for the suggestion.
Filed under: Film Room, Main Page
HE KILLED him.
This video makes me want to pull a Terry Tate..
Nice job!!!
damn he really crushed carr…damn you helmet to helmet., I really hope he can take that and see what he can do and start progressing.
He was unblocked and had to run maybe 5 feet to meet QB, who wasn’t expecting him. If he beat a man to get there, I might be impressed, but this was a blown coverage, nothing else. And I hate that helmet-to-helmet call. It was a beautiful form tackle. Not below the waste, not above the shoulder pads – they need to go to Arthur Murray to learn how to tackle these days.
I dont care if he was unblocked or got flagged. It showed for the first time in over a year that VG had a pulse.
There is no question he wanted to really hurt him there…look at the way hes clapping it up even after he got the penalty. I think we are all better served (Vernon most of all) if we start to support the kid. I mean at point will he no longer be a bust? What is it going to take for him to shed that title? I don’t no what the answers to those questions are, but I do know that everyone bashing him (fans, media) will do nothing to resolve the situation. We NEED him for 4 important games. At the very least we could give him some sort of physiological edge. Players know what we say… no matter what they say, they care…I bet you some even read this blog. I know I would if I was a player.
So in order not to be considered a bust, the sole requirement is that he have a pulse? That’s a pretty low bar. Considering he was the 6th overall pick, he better have a Suggs-like turnaround.
For all the criticism, he is unbelievably fast in the three point stance. Now if he could only shed with his hands…
Great so when Kellen Clemens takes a sack it’s his fault but when Gholston does the same thing to someone else he’s not good enough and it was too easy.
Sometimes I don’t know if bloggers here are actually Jets fans.
He got there extra fast because he is extra fast.
He took a bad angle on Carr it wasn’t a speed issue there and he’ll learn hopefully.
I still think he’s improving albeit slowly.
RKNYC… totally agree with you. Lets assume for a second that Carr got the ball off before Gholston got there, we would be totally creaming Gholston for not getting there in time, for not being hungry enough, for having no passion. He makes a nice looking hit and people are doing the same things anyway… it was 5 feet, he was unblocked. Us Jets fans are so psychologically bruised by whats been going on the past 40 years we aren’t going to even know what a Jets Super Bowl team is until it hits us smack in the face. For gods sake could we at least pretend we are on the right path. Supporting all of your players is the first step. Labeling them busts does nothing.
Gholston certainly didn’t let up at all and that’s good because younger players have a tendency to ease up on having such an easy shot at the quarterback!
Lets just call it what it was…. a unblocked fast OLB knocking a QB on his ass…..the call was BS but nobody really cares about the penalty.
VG will not lose the “bust” label until he starts to dominate games….which is far away from doing.
I will take a few flash plays a game and continued inprovement at this point…..as would every Jet fan.
It was the first time I have seen VG actually run thru a QB or ball carrier…..maybe ever!
I think little snippets like this highlight the gap between the promise/expectation and the reality. I have a stopped clock at home, and I don’t get excited when it’s right twice a day – nor should I.
On balance, the reality is that Gholston had a terrible game against the Giants. He was targeted on both running and screen plays and had no positive impact what so ever.
No doubt, though, if he stays out there long enough, he’s bound to get a sack and maybe even a forced fumble/INT at some stage – law of averages, really. He’ll be targeted, though, constantly.
For the record I am not a Gholston hater and refuse to use the “bust” label. I think the first play actually makes vern look bad. He took a bad angle and should have been able to make the play – Carr ended up running for a first down – wheres the positives on that play? On the second play it was good to see him get to the QB but his tackle was the definition of helmet to helmet and the Refs were right in throwing a flag. If someone tackled my QB like that and there was no flag I would be furious. Thats a penalty that can change the outcome of a game, need to be smarter.
I understand the concern but I don’t understand the hyperbole.
Calling him a bust, just like fans called D’Brick a bust, is just annoying. It may eventually be true but people who just say things so in 3 years can say “I told you so” are a pain in the ass.
Busts often mail it in. I don’t think that is the rub on VG. As a matter of fact they say he works extremely hard and is going the extra mile to try to get better. While people question his desire and drive on the field that is not a problem when it comes to striving to improve.
He is a bit undersized still so when he’s got the biggies coming down on him it’s going to be a little rough but he is getting better and he is getting experience. Let him see a little more of these pros and maybe when he says to himself “I didn’t get embarrassed; I can do this” is when he will start wiping his butt with people.
By the end of this season I think fans will be saying “he showed me something” other than he’s a broken clock.
Clocks can be fixed by the way. You may want to look into that Davo.
MBI you are one of the only people that think that was a “definition of helmet to helmet” as his facemask was not facing Carrs and during a slow mo replay he clearly put his helmet on the side of Carr’s but it was so loud the ref got over excited and pulled out his hanky cause pooow wittle QBs can’t have their wittle pwides hurt.
RKNYC
I wanted Gholston and will not call him a bust yet…. But Brick was “wrongly” callled a bust. He was at least a decent starting LT as a rookie. Same for maio Williams.
The problem is if Pace was suspended. VG wouldnt sniff the field.
The jump from what he is to what we would hoped he would be is enormous.
The roughing the QB call was BS. He didn’t lead with his head. He tackled him with body and arms, and their helmets touched a little.
I’m just happy to see him hit someone, and not hesitate.
He should have had 2 sacks on the backup QB. That’s two more should have’s than before so I guess that’s improvement..
Unbelievable that a missed sack (that turns into a first down!) and a stupid penalty are “highlights.” Against backups in a preseason game no less. The bar is so low it is underground.
dont hate, just to hate
he showed something for the first time, which is a positive.
he is not calvin pace, but he fits the olb role well and is getting better and better
also, they are protecting the QB way to much this year. everytime you touch the QB there is a flag.
Is anyone else seeing this
I think I read somewhere they made some changes to rules. You can’t even touch someones helmet during a tackle. I read it on some blog.
NFL.com has some rulebook…. but it seems very basic and lacking a lot.
More like Gholston inaction…
Understandibly all players develop at a different pace..But 6th pick in the draft and a cap value of 2.9 million dollars this year its time for Vernon to shine..If not we will get crushed cap wise if he is released so it may be wise if he doesn’t produce this year to put him in a packaged trade for a shutdown corner or #1 wideout next season.I think this year should be the judgement year for Gholston produce or be gone….
Bottom line – for all his measurables, VG gets pushed around a lot. I know some of that is because the light bub hasn’t gone off yet, but with his physical gifts, he should “luck” into some plays out there, and it hasn’t happened. Look, I’d love him to succeed, but to date, he has been extremely disappointing. I surely hope that he’s a “decent” player by the end of the year, but to accomplish even that, he needs to show steady progress. An unimpeded path to the QB doesn’t show me any progress. He needs to make a couple of plays when someone actually lays a hand on him to show me some progress.
umm, ganggreen…how exactly do you expect him to be a part of a trade? If he doesn’t perform this year what person in their right mind would trade for his increasing cap number? Trading Gholston is not an option.
QB’s won’t get much more sympathy if Favre keeps chop blocking ;-) That was nasty.
If this is what gets us excited about Vernon Gholston then he is going to amount to nothing. On both plays he goes completely unblocked. Congrats he can run in a straight line when unblocked and hit something. Any NFL player could do that.
And to make matters worse, the first one he couldn’t even tackle David Carr and the second time he got a 15 yard penalty to negate anything good he did.
I hope he actually gives us something worthwhile to be excited about this season and not two plays where he was unblocked and still managed to mess it up.
You guys are crazy, you can’t trade a top 10 pick who is not meeting his expectations. The only choice you have is to give him time to come around.
You can keep bashing the guy, but if anything, you’re just making it harder on him, and yourself, since you’re a jets fan.
This is pretty much like his 1st year. Mangini sucks at using players to their strengths, forcing them to play to his vision of what football should be.
Rex supposedly plays to their strengths. It’s still preseason, let the kid play more, and get some experience.
Still a VG backer.
I agree that the roughness call was perhaps a little overprotective (it’s preseason so they’re trying to protect players I imagine). There have been instances in the past where people did more and didn’t get flagged for helmet-to-helmet.
The thing that intrigues me most is he didn’t really “explode” into his tackle, he sort of just ran into Carr (although he still managing to hit Carr with an amazing amount of force and create a potential fumble). If he breaks down, lowers his center of gravity and uses his legs to propel himself into the passer, he can A) avoid helmet-to-helmets and B) drive even MORE force into the passer.
I’m comforted by the fact he wraps up his tackles, which will help him as a run stopper, and is showing better burst off the snap.
Agree with RKNYC completely. He is learning and getting better. He came out as a junior and missed a lot of camp last year because of Ohio State rules – this confuses the hell out of me: if he came out early why did he care about the last Ohio State final exams he took? Or am I missing something there.
Anyway, give him a chance, if Pace or Thomas did the same thing on that play we’d all be clapping.
NYC PE..
I think its a NFL rule that players (seniors or not)cannot report to OTA’s until the schools semester is over. It wasn’t his choice.
We will be waiting for a long time for VG to make real impact. You can see it in his whole body language. He is lost and confused because his football knowledge is completely absent. He ran around and thru college players (he had one sack against a top OL in Jake Long) for 1.5 years and was drafted on his raw skills and potential.
It dosent matter that he was a junior it matters that he didnt start playing football until late in high school and became a man child in the gym which helped him “excel” at OSU.
I watched this kid in college. There were too many games i never saw him make a play. but then there were games where he had 3 or 4 sacks.
We have to understand that he will never be what we want him to be. I dont think he can be that player…. especially not this year.
if gholston comes clean like that against the pats or dolphins and lays a hit on brady or penny, then all you haters would shut up
i dont give a F that he got flagged on that hit or that he was unblocked. he absolutely destroyed carr on that play and showed me something.
also, i guarantee if bart scott made that play everyone in here wouldnt mention that he was unblocked. we would all be talking about how vicious of a hit that was
So he finally sheds a block (by a back up TE who was not blocking on the play) and he completely misses sacking a QB (who ended up getting a first down) and it is a positive?
I still think it is too early to call him a bust, but he is not looking any less passive and just looks like a guy that hates contact.
Passive and not liking contact aren’t traits that you will find in a successful football player.
Helmet to Helmet penaltes are some of the stupidest ****ing penalties in football. I understand the knee protection penalties,but the guys are wearing protection of their heads. it’s so dumb. They really are limiting where you can hit the QB this year
Guys, stop saying that this is like his 1st year. Even if Mangini didn’t use him right, he sure as heck threw an absolute BOAT-LOAD of information and knowledge at Gholston about how to play the OLB position.
Yes, Rex Ryan does his defense a whole lot differently than Mangini does, but that doesn’t mean his OLB’s aren’t asked to make the same or similar reads of the offensive line or drop into various types of pass coverage (when not committed to a run or pass blitz).
He had a full year to learn about how to play the OLB position in a 3-4, even if under a different coach. If anything, he should find Ryan’s system is quite a bit easier, since we all praise Rexy for being willing to put Gholston in situations where he can just use his raw athleticism rather than be asked to do all the things Mangini asked him to do.
So in summary, he had a first year where a boatload of information was thrown at him about how to play OLB in Mangini’s system (which asked him to do more analysis pre and post-snap rather than be in attack mode), and now things are made simpler for him. Playing under Mangini for a year should probably be considered a bigger help than if he were in Ryan’s system last year, as he is being asked to do less mentally now (although I of course prefer Ryan’s attacking system).
Rob Y – How can you say he doesn’t like contact? I like how all these fans just speak for VG as if they’ve had in depth analysis of his psyche. He didn’t seem to have a problem with contact driving Carr into the turf, or chasing down Ahmad Bradshaw, or driving Brandon Jacobs (a beast in his own right) right into Eli on a 3 step drop to cause Harris’ INT.
To say he’s still as bad as last season is just plain incorrect. For people that understand the baby steps that need to be taken before he can make giant strides, he is showing a lot of improvement.
The one thing I need to see from him is more of a pass-rush move arsenal. He has the bull rush, speed rush, and he does have a little rip move he throws in there (but it’s raw and it’s more him just trying to throw the blocker off him), but those 3 moves alone are not going to be enough.
the kid just turned 23. im willing to give him some time. he is only going to get bigger/stronger/faster as he matures and learns the system.
Dsmiz I agree that he has had some time to learn and also realize that when a team pays someone that kind of money they expect them to produce. Fans want what the Jets wanted when they took him. It may take another year if it happens at all so even if he turns into a Pro-Bowler it is just not happening overnight. It didn’t happen overnight for Mario Williams, who got 4 sacks in his first year but was also in every single game; and it didn’t happen for Calvin Pace right away either who, in my opinion, is a great OLB and is Pro Bowl quality.
But he is getting his first full on NFL experience now. It is preseason but last year he was used intermittently and exclusively as OLB which is like a RB trying to become a QB.
I am not high on VG. I am not saying he will be great or good. I’m just saying he clearly needs time and he needs experience. He can’t get that riding on the bench.
He also needs more weight to help him stand his ground because he is facing big OL.
At some point his teammates are going to tear into him if he doesn’t do his job and if that’s what it takes for him to “get it” it will happen sooner than later.
I will make one guarantee and that is if he isn’t helping this team by the end of the year he will not see the field anymore. I think Rex thinks more of him and so do the players or at least they are saying that to keep him positive about his abilities which is sometimes what a person needs.
This is getting pretty ridiculous. None of us have any idea whether this kid will develop into a stud or a dud but in typical Jet fan tradition we must declare him a bust based on what we have seen so far which is very, very little.
What we do know is he was late to pick up football and he spent his career at OSU as a hand in the dirt pass rusher. He was drafted by the Jets as a potential OLB (not that he was given a choice in the matter) and because of an arcane NFL rule was barred from OTA’s his rookie year unlike all other rookies so he as even further back in his development than other rookies and even UDFAs. Hw was slotted to play behind an equally highly paid Calvin Pace who just happened to be as highly touted as Gholston was coming to the Jets and who was 5 years ahead of him in experience.
Pace was also labeled a bust his first two years in the league and now people here have there panties in a twist because he isn’t playing the first 4 games. Let’s go back and look at Calvin Pace’s first 3 years in the league after getting drafted in the first round:
2003: 14 starts 32 tackles 1 sack
2004: 0 starts 9 tackles 41/2 sacks
2005: 5 games played and season ended after he cut his arm during the bye week
Anybody still calling Pace a bust? Yea, I didn’t think so.
How about we just let the kid play a little bit and see how he develops. It’s not like he’s going to get any better with all his supposed fans calling him a bust before he even gets a chance.
RK- Gholston doesn’t need to add weight. He’s a solid 265 and is more powerful than the 300 pounders that he has to deal with, once he locks down his technique and can more efficiently use his strength he’ll make that abundantly clear. As it stands, I’ve already seen send a few lineman for a ride this preseason, one of which being who is a mountain at 6′6 330 lbs.
guys – i’m a big jet fan but at the same time i’m sitting here laughing at the fact that people are even considering this sack to be any type of play by gholston. i read some things about people being excited he didn’t hesitate. i mean, you are a football player and you have a straight, unblocked line to the QB who doesn’t even see you. what the hell else is the guy going to do? i don’t see anything positive or negative from the play. he blitzed the QB unblocked. big f-ing deal!
what’s worse is he couldn’t run down david carr and nearly tripped on his own two feet trying to do it! i think this play is much more negative than the free run to the QB was positive.
i’m not looking to beatup VG and quite frankly i wish people would just drop the subject. who gives a sh&t if he’s a bust? it is what it is. we have much more to be hopeful about than focusing on whether VG is a bust or not.
Sorry that last sentence should read “As it stands, I’ve already seen him send a few lineman for a ride this preseason, one of which being Kareem Mckenzie, who is a mountain at 6′6 330 lbs.
AKA Jack:
So you think it will help the JETS if we wait until Gholston develops, pay him tens of millions of dollars during that process, and then once he develops, another team can sign him?
Clarification:
AKA Jack, that’s essentially what happened with Pace on the Cardinals. The JETS reaped all the benefits.
DSmizzle
What exactly would you do? He’s untradable right now so that’s out. We could cut him but he would still get paid and that would count against our salary cap so that’s out. So are options are to hope he continues to improve and maybe encourage him or just bang our sippy cups and scream.
If he does pull a Calvin Pace on us and develops into one of the most coveted free agents a couple years down the road do you think he is more likely to resign here or move on if he takes 4 years of abuse for not living up to some mythical expectation that is put on him?
We’ve got plenty of time to hammer him if he doesn’t show improvement by the end of the year. Post after post about him being a bust 3 games into his second pre-season while he’s learning yet another position under yet another coach seems a bit premature.
when i watched tht on TV i lauged my butt off. Don’t know why but he freakin drilled him.
Don’t know why? Maybe because he’s a pass rushing specialist and had a free chance to crush a QB (I’m sure all the criticism he’s had to deal with since he was drafted has something to do with it).
AKA Jack, I know its beaten to death, but its also one of the more interesting stories in JETS-Land.
His development is also of monumental importance to the success of the team, this year and next. That’s why we keep talking about it and the JETS Blog keeps posting about it – because people care about it.
In fairness to Gholston, we have to go into as much detail as possible. That’s only been to his benefit on this site, as his supporters have pointed out some slight improvements that he has made.
Thanks for posting this Bassett..I posted this for two reasons Justin.tv was acting weird when it happened and to show Gholston had another chance at a Sack but someone got in his way and in a way chop blocked his own teammate.
Also Rhodes and Revis said it the Best he needs support right now not the Bust label thrown in his face.
If you guys are true Jet fans you would encourage rather give him the Bust label.
Brendan I disagree.
Having more weight gives you more inertia and momentum. This will help him move people, keep him from being moved, and prevent him from wearing down and allow him to wear the opposing player down.
I think the reduction in speed will not be as significant as his benefit from adding the weight.
Not that the weight he is at is an issue and certainly it isn’t his biggest worry but I still think it would help.
His weight gain may not affect his strait-line speed, but his agility would surely be negatively affected. and it’s not like he’s getting bowled over all game long, he’s just getting stuck on blocks at the point of contact. Weight gain is the last thing he should be worrying about, he’ll tack on 5 pounds or so per offseason for a few years as is the case for most players going from college to the pros.
One the 1st play he got beat to the outside and looked un-athletic in his recovery. If his hips are that stiff on every play and his change of direction is that poor, then he better bulk up to 290 lbs and learn to play 3-4 DE.
There is nothing special about coming in unblocked… there are a lot of guys that will be cut that could make that play.
That is kind of my point…that with time and age and experience it will happen and help as he is playing with his hand down frequently now. He definitely is not getting bowled over and I’ve said as much talking about him taking on double teams as well.
I am not trying to rush him like others although I can’t argue that I’d like to see something more already because everyone would.
I think he does have problems coming off of blocks but I honestly think he’s been held a lot. I am hoping that he will get some calls some day too. Not making excuses but if he does get calls it will help him get free more often.
Learning how to come off blocks is something he can learn though and angle of attack and pursuit as well.
I wish he would absorb, retain and react on what he is learning as much as everyone else. Better to see him doing something than standing on the sideline especially during the preseason against other teams.
Is it realistic to expect him to “bulk up”? I mean, is he not already as “bulked up” as he’s going to get? Or are we just saying put him on the midnight pizza diet and fatten him up, because if he loses a bit of speed, that’s less important for a 3-4 end?
This is a genuine question – I know some of our readers know about this stuff.
Personally, when I talk about the improvements VG has made since this time last year, I’m not talking about this play (although I understand that sacks and forced fumbles are what we all hope(d?) to one day see from him on a regular basis). I’m more impressed with his play against the run and in the trenches. He still has a long way to go to be a full time contributor, but as long as he’s improving, he’s heading in the right direction.
im sure he could add more muscle. the kid is only 23.
Yes Bent I mean he does need more bulk not muscle if he’s going to be a 3-point stance guy. Midnight pizza, ice cream, chocolate cake, cookies, Doritos or fried candy bars like you Brits like.
Mainly because of the OL being so heavy but if he remains as OLB than it’s better to just gradually gain weight.
It’s just that I’ve seen him lining up at NT and being inside like that it has to help to be a tub. Jenks is pretty damned bulky.
Jenks can literally throw people though. There is one play as I reviewed the last game where he lifted and tossed the Giant center (I think it was O’Hara but not sure) with one arm. And that wasn’t the encroachment play.
But if he’s lining up as an interior lineman than I think adding bulk is important.
Bent,
I haven’t really seen any improvement. He still looks like a big, strong athlete that is trying to learn how to be a football player. His bad open field play on Carr tells me more about his progress than an unblocked (and IMO legal) hit on the QB.
Plus, I am supporting everyone who wants to label VG a “bust” because this blog was overwhelmingly in support of drafting the “beast” VG who was going to be the answer to the Jets pass rush problems. I also heard how if we didn’t take him, BB would and we’d watch VG play himself into the HOF. As I recall, seanmac, Bent and I all had severe reservations about the “beast” who looked like a workout warrior without any football IQ. Bent has been kind and given VG a 2-year window to show himself. I think that you’re seeing what VG is…he’s a strong, fast guy that has to make a Herculean commitment to become an adequate or better NFL player. If he puts in that work and we all lower the bar of our expectations, maybe he’ll be adequate. Problem is that “adequate” isn’t what you want from a no. 6 pick with a huge cap #.
“this blog was overwhelmingly in support of drafting the “beast” VG who was going to be the answer to the Jets pass rush problems.”
There was plenty of support for taking him for sure, but there were plenty more people with serious reservations than just the three of us.
If anything, it seemed to me that another site (JetNation) was the one that was “overwhelmingly” in support of taking him, whereas I think McFadden was the more popular choice here (another guy I didn’t want!). If you’re talking about after the draft when everyone talked themselves into the pick, that’s human nature, but the way I remember it, the majority seemed to doubt Gholston and compare him to a workout warrior.
Incidentally, over at JetNation, they’ve been killing him even worse than we are now.
Plenty of guys have looked the way Gholston does at this stage of their career. Some made it, some didn’t.
In conclusion, I conclude that the results are inconclusive.
Bent,
My recollection is somewhat different and I believe when Bassett posted a poll here, VG was the overwhelming choice for the Jets’ 2008 pick. In any event, who is your model for a no. 6 pick making the transition to 3-4 OLB who was a non-entity his rookie season but ended up being worth the high pick and money? I’ll bet that the number of players who made it after having a lost season like VG’s is somewhere between 0-3. Not good odds.
I’d say a lot of people wanted Gholston but I wouldnt call it overwhelming. There was certainly a lot of support for McFadden, including myself.
At this point people need to stop calling him a bust, because no matter how bad a player looks after 1 full season in the NFL they cannot be labeled a bust because it is still way too early. Plenty of good players struggle in their first few seasons,.
I feel the Jets will struggle this year and finish anywhere between 6-10 and 10-6, so it wont hurt to deal with some growing pains in order to get VG playing time. The more experience he gets the better, and lets not forget, he’s a college D-End trying to play OLB in the NFL, which is not an easy transition, plus hes not a very smart guy to begin with.
I think people are worrying too much, Gholston got no experience last year and this year should warrant him much more playing time thus much more experience. If by the end of next season he is still not producing, then the bust label is much more appropraite.
Sack, it may be hard to find a list of #6 overall picks making the transition to 3-4 OLB who wee non-entity’s in their rookie season but ended up bein worth the high pick and money, but you could compile a notebook full of players who struggled early in their careers and still went on to be good or great players. Dozens of WR’s, plenty of QB’s, pass rushers, corners, offensive lineman and with the exception of RB, pretty much all postions.
Lets have a little faith here!
VG was the overwhelming choice for the Jets’ 2008 pick. In any event, who is your model for a no. 6 pick making the transition to 3-4 OLB who was a non-entity his rookie season but ended up being worth the high pick and money? I’ll bet that the number of players who made it after having a lost season like VG’s is somewhere between 0-3. Not good odds.
I don’t remember the poll, but I’ll see what I can find out.
Not good odds, no, but there are similar guys (raw and athletic) that were picked later than that that took a while to develop into someone who would be worth the pick and the money and those guys are the reason he was picked that early (if that makes sense). Combining his rawness with his lack of experience puts him even further behind such guys (which is why I give him the two years).
You’re forgetting I am a proponent of the Wile E. Coyote theory – just because something hasn’t worked before, doesn’t mean it was a bad idea!
Sack -
Okay the poll is gone but this is hardly the most supportive response to the VG pick:
http://www.thejetsblog.com/2008/04/26/jets-made-pick/
http://www.thejetsblog.com/2008/04/26/with-the-sixth-pick/
Some liked it, some feared he could bust, some felt they didn’t have much other choice. Didn’t seem overwhelming. Maybe at one stage they were and it cooled (or the buzz picked up once we drafted him), but I just remember going to JN and being blown away by how much more they all wanted him compared with TJB.
All these comments based on one player that started and played almost the whole game and in the fourth quarter made a single play that resulted in negative 15 yards. Guys… here’s a telegram… he’s not very good.
Bent,
I actually thought this entry was interesting:
http://www.thejetsblog.com/2008/04/14/film-room-espn-jets-on-the-clock-413/
What would’ve happened if Mangini/Tanny had made the bold move last year and traded up for Ryan? I also think it’s interesting that the Jets addressed the offense this year in a weaker draft, IMO, for offense. In any event, I loved the Keller pick and the Jets finally addressed the QB position this year. I like Sanchez a lot but I’d be lying if I said that I have the same level of optimism for Sanchez as I did for Ryan. But, the reason I liked Ryan (besides measurables) was because he had to deal with inferior talent and more difficult game situations than Sanchez. But, Mark has shown a lot of flair and ability to handle the rush…I just wish he had an extra inch or 2 and another 10-20 lbs of bulk.
SackDance,
I don’t think anything the Jets could have offered short of a pick exodus of Ditka proportions could have propelled the Jets in front of the Falcons. The Dolphins wanted desperately to rebuild their Oline with the Jake Long pick and St. Louis had fallen in love with Chris Long’s abilities and pedigree. Every draft board had 5 elite players and a steep drop off after that which devalued the Jets’ 6th.