The whole defense was playing more conservative than Bowles wanted because everyone was playing terribly. Sent from my KIW-L24 using Tapatalk
If we were a player or 2 away from a team that could put up so many points that we'd win 2/3 games in a shootout, I'd have questioned the pick. We're not.
ILB is not an easy first season position. Too much going on around you and too many different levels that you have to potentially play on. I think Lee was just doing the "who, what, where?" thing that a lot of rookies go through their first season. At least I hope that's what was happening. I still like the pick as being a strong pick in the middle of the field. Time will tell if he pays off or not but his ceiling is fairly high. The Jets do need to find a pounder to play next to him and take on the guards so he can do his thing.
I was disappointed with his coverage skills. I thought we'd see potential there and the problems would be getting off blockers in his rookie season. It was very much the opposite. He did better than expected dealing with the big uglies inside but was a liability in pass coverage.
There are reasons to have looked for offense in this draft, like being #27 in point production over the last two years and being in the middle of the NFL on defense, but I had no problem with Adams in round one. After that it seems like a few more picks on the production side would have been beneficial. I'll withhold any "superb" ratings until I see what they can do. Having said that, tell us what you mean by "true leaders in the secondary." Are they going to walk out there and lead the NFL in defense right off the bat or are they going to be team leaders in the locker room and on the field? What makes you think two rookies can walk into leadership positions?
The young safeties can start off by being leaders amongst their fellow rookies/younger players. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
W. the possibility of drafting Adams or even Hooker..I knew that they'd have to take a long look at safety again in round 2. This was an extremely high end safety class...while corner was even deeper...in any given year it's easier to find corners than it is to find high end safety prospects.The prime real estate for the safeties was in round 2... Maye is a great leader in his own right & a very good communicator...and there have been whispers that he was the glue that kept that elite gators secondary humming over the last 2 seasons. He has good range, closes well,tackles & has made big plays. Given a choice between 2 elite corners or 2 elite safeties...I'll take the safeties. Creating Big plays & preventing the big plays is #1 for defenses right now. Bowles will be able to be alot more exotic & creative w. blitzing if the back end is keeping big plays bottled up. I love that both of these guys are great communicators & leaders..alot of the Jets issues in the secondary last year was alignment/communication related..this should solve that.
Certainly you see the difference between "We will for once have leaders in the secondary" and "can start by being leaders amongst their fellow rookies..." Let's not be so quick to canonize and make them show what they are first.
Usually I wouldn't be quick to hand the leadership reigns to rookies but this defense has no leaders. Think of the guys on that defense, most of them are young players in their own right, or quiet personalities like Harris, Wilkerson or Williams. All Day Maye and Adams are vocal guys coming into a defense that desperately needs vocal leadership. Their play might need a learning curve but I see them stepping right into the vocal leadership role fairly easily, simply because no one else wants it
Do you really think the Jets need some loudmouth rookies coming in and telling veterans what to do? Again, let's allow them to get their feet wet before we sew the "C" on their jerseys.
Gotta agree with Raletard here, you don't let a couple of kids walk in and toss the coin when you have a lot of tenured players. That's a stupid idea. I like young strong minded players but just expecting them to take over the locker room is not realistic. They'll find their way. Don't make them struggle to find their way.
Leonard Williams is the leader of the defense now. He wants to take on that role. Adams and Maye will follow his lead until they are ready.
these are fair points but in my experience no authority "lets" anyone take over the leadership role. The reigns are grabbed by natural leaders. I'm just saying that this defense has no leaders so it's possible Maye and/or Adams will be the ones to grab it
This is very true.Leadership cannot be forced..and it is not easily earned. It's almost natural selection. That said...hearing Adams speak, play...and the things those around him have said...i have no doubt this guy will undergo natural selection.Maye was a big time leader in college..but his personality isn't as dynamic and overwhelming as Adams at first glance. We'll see how that plays out. Maye is a fantastic communicator...if he brings that to the table we'll be that much better off.
is he even going to be our ILB? Last year Mauldin got benched and Lee was playing OLB a lot. I thought he did pretty good at MLB. Led the team in tackles I believe... at least for a good portion of the season.
From S.I. com 3. Jets double down at safety. Woody Johnson’s comments over the past few days are proof positive that the Jets football braintrust has sold its owner on a teardown. And if you want to know why the Jets took two safeties in the first 40 picks last weekend, that’s a good place to start. The picks are indicative of a number of things in the way the team is internally mapping this out. First, they were the best players available. The Jets saw LSU’s Jamal Adams as a Top 3 player in the class, and Florida’s Marcus Maye as the top player not selected on Thursday. Second, and related to that, the double-dip acknowledges that the team knows it’s in no position to push needs now, given the state of its roster. Third, they reflect coach Todd Bowles carrying over to New York in earnest the player that defined his Arizona defenses—the hybrid. Maye is a better centerfielder than Adams, and Adams is more versatile overall and more comfortable closer to the line, but both can play in different spots, on different calls, and do different things. Tony Jefferson had that sort of adaptability for Bowles in Arizona, and it’s why the Jets went after him in March, with the idea that having two safeties, as one Bowles’ confidant describes it, that are “mirror images of one another so you have no idea where either is coming.” And fourth, and this shouldn’t be overlooked given the Sheldon Richardson and Mo Wilkerson situations, both guys were cultural fit. The Jets’ work showed that Maye and Jarrad Davis were the alpha dogs on a stingy Florida defense last fall, and Adams drew comparisons, from an intangible standpoint, to Chiefs All-Pro Eric Berry. Now, I can’t tell you that this is all going to work out, of course. But I can say that, in terms of how Mike Maccagnan and Co. see the total rebuild they’ve promised Johnson, last weekend went about as well as they could’ve hoped with their first two picks.
