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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 #.