From todays NYPOST: If the Jets hire either Steve Spagnuolo or Rex Ryan - the defensive gurus of the Giants and Ravens, respectively - Gang Green's roster figures to need a major adjustment. "The Jets' personnel does not fit either one of these coordinators' schemes," said ESPN football analyst Merril Hoge. "That's the biggest problem for these guys. You can only do so much." The fired Eric Mangini spent three years tailoring his personnel to a 3-4 defense, notably getting rid of Jonathan Vilma. Ryan runs a 3-4 in Baltimore, but Spagnuolo operates out of the 4-3 he learned in Philadelphia under Jim Johnson. The bigger problem, though, is that neither Justin Tuck nor Ed Reed is coming with either of these guys. "The Ravens, what makes them go is they have two of the most intelligent football players in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed," Hoge said. "All of the linebackers are flexible and smart. [The Jets] don't have those kind of people at linebacker or defensive back that it would require to run Ryan's blitzes." The Jets thought they were drafting a disruptive pass rusher last year with Vernon Gholston at the No. 6 pick. Instead, he was a non-factor, finishing with one solo tackle and no sacks, and he was inactive against Buffalo in December. "Why they drafted the kid from Ohio State, that's a mystery in itself," Hoge said. "We get film of the top 30 players before the draft. I watched him and thought he may be the worst football player of the 30 I saw. Being a good athlete doesn't mean you're a good football player. "There's a lot of good athletes. I want a good football player. I've never seen a more clueless player who completely lacks instincts." It's easy to bash Gholston after a disappointing rookie year. But the worst part about this article was him saying we lack the personnel to have an effective 3-4. He said we don't have the type of people who can blitz out of the LB spot or secondary. Calvin Pace? Kerry Rhodes? It goes to show these clowns only really know the name players too, and don't really pay attention to the lesser known players in the NFL who are still effective.
Rhodes is a bitch. Deion Sanders jr. HEs got to be the weakest hitting saftey. He needs to hit the gym and stop looking pretty.
Wow, wow, wow. Not like I needed more reasons to hate the Gholston pick. This one's gonna haunt us for years fellas.
Well he's right about the linebackers. They generated absolutely NO pass rush towards the end of the year. Whether that was due to coaching or not having the right players we have yet to see.
Most of what he says is true there. I don't see why anybody would argue with it. We don't have the players that NY or Baltimore has and Gholson is most definitely a dolt.
the lack of a pass rush from the LBs and Rhodes could be attributed to the rumors that mangini panicked after the Denver loss and tried to redo the defense on the fly. Rhodes was rarely put in a position to be an impact player this season, pace was used in coverage too much, and we rushed 3 way too much
Why would anybody suggest that we do have the players to run an effective 3-4 when we didn't manage to do so for more than a few games in a row at any time in the last three seasons? Seriously, when Hoge says that we lack the personnel to run an effective 3-4 he's just looking at our results and delivering a prognosis. Does Cleveland have the players to run an effective 3-4 right now? They've been trying for a year longer than the Jets at this point with no real success either.
I wouldn't go as far as to say Gholsten will be a Bust with future ramifications. Do we all remember Marvin Jones blowing his knee out two years in a row and then coming back to be a solid player. It also seems he had no chance with Mangini throwing the play book out the window and probably not having the time and patience to wean him in. Mario Williams also had a rough first season , where he was questioned about being up to his draft spot. all things will work themselves out!!
I love how these experts tell fans of teams what players they have. Merril Hodge is a Steelers fan! How often is he watching the Jets? He watches film, excellent! Lets give up all hope because Merril Hodge says so.
I didn't like how he made it seem like just because we didn't have Tuck and Reed, it couldn't be done. Sure, we could use a more impact pass rusher, but Pace is one guy who can get it done. David Harris too, perhaps? I'm not sure if that's really ever going to be his niche, though. We definitely need Gholston to step up cause I don't see any help for Pace coming from anywhere else. Barton and Thomas just aren't great blitzing types. Thomas isn't great at anything anymore.
PRIME TIME was not a safety, and yes ur right he didn't like to hit but he is the best CB to EVER play the game...PERIOD
I have said this before, we have the personel. We just didn't have a competent coaching staff to use it properly. Jenkins showed he can be a dominant 3-4 NT. Harris, Pace, Bowens, Thomas all showed they are capable (Pace and Harris MORE than capable). Rhodes, Revis and Lowery are all very good (we just have no DBs beyond these guys ). The defense played great at the start of the year going to 8-3. Then the whole team went into the shitter. That tells me the coaching sucked horse balls and Mangini paniced (which is what the reports are saying now). Players don't all of a sudden lose their talent half way through a season.
Also, it's hard for the LB's to generate any pass rush when they're not rushing the passer. We sent three players after the QB way too often to be successful.
how can you not like to hit and be considered the best cornerback ever? hitting is part of the position. It's like being a QB but only liking to hand the ball off, and not like passing.
UH NO.. he got burnt up this year. I would take a Guy like Victor Green was any day over sissy Rhodes. Did you ever see Rhodes lay out anyone? No one fears him. Hes overrated. He gets juked out his shoes. Big deal he had a few picks. I know Deion Was a CB im comparing his tackling skills.
OH DEion was a cb?? Oh wow I didnt know that. Come on man no crap he was a cb. What I was comparing him to was his weak tackling skills. Deion was not the best cb ever in the game give me a break. Ill put Champ Bailey, Rod Woodson, Ronde Barber, Ty Law,Darrell Green , mel blount,mike haynes, Lester Hayes, Will Brown, Everson walls,Eric Allen... then Deion
Here's what you need to run a normal effective 3-4 (e.g. A Parcells variant 3-4, which is as close to standard as you get right now): 1. A clog the middle NT who is workman-like and keeps the center and the onside guard occupied most of the time. He does not need to be great, he just needs to sit in the middle and not get moved out very often. The example player in this class is Jason Ferguson, who Parcells has now had on the nose at 3 different stops (NYJ, Dallas, Miami) Not great, not huge, just effective at staying in the middle. 2. A fast and strong ROLB who has pass-rushing skills and can get to the QB with some regularity. He rushes on 75% of passing downs because he's good enough to justify using him that way. The example player in this class is DeMarcus Ware, because there's no point making an example out of the best LB of all time. 3. A strong RILB who can cover for #2 above and flex to the outside easily when needed. He also has to be an excellent run defender who is capable of standing a guard up when he needs to. The example player in this class is Harry Carson who stood next to Lawrence Taylor for a bunch of years and kept the constant blitzing from turning into a weakness. 4. A tough cover safety who can cover for #2 and #3 above and handle the short patterns across the middle that inevitably come free when you have two linebackers doing what the ROLB and RILB do in this system. The example player here would be Terry Kinard, however there have been many Parcells safeties picked early in the draft in his many incarnations. Safeties Parcells has picked in the 1st or 2nd round include Terry Kinard, Lawyer Milloy and Roy Williams. 5. Everybody else just needs to be durable and maintain their position and the Parcells 3-4 clicks like clockwork. It really comes down to 4 very good players and a bunch of roleplayers in most of the schemes he has set up. To run the Belichik variant of the 3-4 you need to have: 1. Two guys capable of playing on the nose when the situation warrants, ideally three. Belichik's 3-4 does a lot of shifting depending on how the offense lines up and frequently goes into a likely passing down with only 2 down linemen and a linebacker on one side or the other and the lineman in the middle needs to be able to pull his weight when this happens. The example class here are Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren and Richard Seymour all of whom were drafted to play the nose and got a lot of work there their first season to learn how the position works. Wilfork is the Patriot's NT but on any given down you might see Seymour or Warren lined up in the middle. This also makes the Patriot's 3-4 somewhat less vulnerable to injuries because even if Wilfork went down they'd have a way to cover somewhat effectively with a starting player or two rotating to cover the duties. 2. A big linebacker corps capable of standing up the opposing team's guards and creating mismatches along the line of scrimmage. Belichik doesn't subscribe to the quick ROLB strategy that Parcells likes, and while he will rush the ROLB he will also drop him back in coverage and come from a different angle. Mike Vrabel has been the most consistent sacker for the Pats in Belichik's tenure there and he has played every LB position, shifting from year to year depending on what the Pats need. All four linebackers need to be able to cover a slot receiver short or a back releasing out of the backfield. None of them get a free pass by being given a freelancing role to go after the QB. 3. A head-hunting safety to keep the middle clear. Lawyer Milloy was that kind of guy but Belichik wanted an upgrade so he let Milloy go and signed Rodney Harrison to dominate the middle of the field. Both Parcells and Belichik want the safety as their capper on the defense, the guy who makes getting through the front 7 just the tip of the iceberg. The Jets don't have the personnel right now to play either a Parcells or Belichik 3-4. They're missing the pass-rushing LB that Parcells has to have, and the talented bulk that Belichik needs. The only piece that the Jets have is Kerry Rhodes and they need to get a lot more talented around him or he's not going to be able to play the enforcing safety role.
