Trouble is, that was his best play. I agree with everyone who says we need to see how he comes on in his second year, but there's no doubt that was one of the most disappointing rookie seasons I've ever seen from a Jet. He looked bafflingly slow, like he was having to consciously tell each foot when it was its turn to move.
When you are struggling with the basics of speed and tackling, I don't think that has anything to do with coaching.
That's my take as well sometimes there are slow bloomers in the NFL, Brees took 3 years before he became good and I am sure there are other examples of a player doing nothing in the 1st year and blossomed in the 2nd year
Don't get me started on this guy again... Why is his a blossoming star? ...because he has 4 INTs and a defensive TD? Look I know that he has legit size, a great 40 time, and a amazing vertical...who cares? DRC gets DESTROYED by fast receivers. DeSean Jackson, Bernard Berrian, Steve Smith, and Santana Moss all burned him deep and scored long TDs on him. He gambles WAY too much and it hurts him. The Cardinals pass defense was in the bottom half of the league, I think they're ranked 21, which isn't that bad, but it's not good either...a big part of that is on their corners, Hood and DRC. Hood has played better of the two. I'm not saying DRC won't get better, but he's far from being a shutdown corner. I Interceptions don't mean a thing - the league's best corner Nnamdi Asomough has had 1 pick in each of the last two season...you know why? because no one wants to throw at him. I said this before when everyone wanted to draft DRC - NO ONE IS AFRAID TO THROW AT DRC...not even in I-AA football. He's not a shutdown corner. He's just tall and fast.
In most circumstances, I'd agree with you- because there often is a learning curve, and most rookies hit several bumps in the road along the way. Even still, many rookies gradually come into their own over their first couple of seasons. However, what we saw out of Gholston this season was disgraceful by any standards. I'm not saying it's impossible for him to improve, but he looked exactly like he did in college, except playing against much, much better competition. That's worrisome, because one would assume a player like that would become more nuanced over the course of training camp, four preseason games, and 15 regular season games. But up until the very end of the season, his play was consistently the same. Decent straight-ahead speed (as displayed in his college tapes, and by the fact that he did get down the field relatively fast on STs), absolutely dreadful speed in pursuit, a lot of attempted arm tackles (which made him look like a stud in college, but simply do not work in the pros), complete lack of ball awareness, and an inability to do anything remotely close to getting off a block. I'll be thrilled if he changes over the offseason, but he looked as bad as any rookie I've ever seen, and I'm not at all hesitant to say that he was easily the worst football player on our 53 man roster this past season. There is no doubt in my mind that if he had been a 2nd day pick or worse, he would have been cut very early on.
Gholston looked like he did in college? You mean minus the 23 sacks in 18 starts? Where do people even get this stuff...the best thing is you're not wrong here...not cause you're right...but cause it'd take too much time to argue against such an extreme view that you're only right about in your head cause he didn't dominate the season. Whatever. Alot of people here are more into being right than anything anyway.
From actually watching his college play. I've done this before. If you go through even tape compilations of his best plays, his tendencies were exactly the same as they were this season. The only difference was that in college, he was the best athlete on the field. His straight ahead bull rush often knocked the O-linemen on their asses. It doesn't work that way in the pros. He used the same 'technique' to get off of blocks, except in the pros, he got his ass kicked by bigger, stronger, more refined OL. In college, he could ride a block with one arm, never really getting off of it or shedding it, stretching outside run plays to the sideline and making arm tackles (sometimes with one arm). In the pros, if you don't get off a block, you give the runners cut-back lanes, which they take advantage of. If you try to arm tackle, they run through your arms. We saw him try that plenty this season (especially on STs) and it failed miserably. In college, getting after the QB, he still looked slow. The difference was, that on many of his sacks, the QBs were foolish enough to retreat backwards. Even the slowest pursuit will catch someone backpeddling. In the pros, the QBs know not to do that, and Gholston ends up looking like he is. Watching tape of every one of his sacks, I counted three where he took the QB down without arm-tackling him. It worked great at OSU- but it just doesn't work that way in the pros. If you can't get your body on a ball-carrier, nine times out of ten, you don't take him down. This is something I think you really struggle to understand. The game, on the field, is a lot more complicated than statistics indicate. That's what scouting is all about- looking at a player's college performance, and translating it to the pro game. Numbers are relatively insignificant in that regard.
So....you missed the sacks then? And stop telling me I don't understand the game on the field. Fuck off with that shit. It's just cause I don't make shit up on the spot and run with it as truth...the only reason you can hold your head all high on this shit is becaues he did play poorly this season. Numbers don't fucking tell the truth...lol...it's fucking sack numbers...what'd they do give him a few cause he's a nice guy? Cause he flexed for them? 10 bucks says you didn't even watch Gholston in college. In college he looked slow...lol....yea thats why everyone and their mother would have taken him at 6 if they were in the same spot we were. How do you go from he was the best athlete on the field to he looked slow anyway.... This is fucking nuts. How do you argue with people who've convinced themselves they're so right about shit that they feel 0 need to not make shit up?
^ Unfortunately, the guys who lived across the hall from me the last couple years are from Columbus and ridiculous OSU fans. So yeah, I saw him play every time those idiots stormed my apartment on a Saturday to watch the game... And again, go back, and watch his sacks (I think German Jets Fan has a highlight tape in his sig). And instead of getting aroused by the fact that he got to the QB or made a tackle, watch his play, and think about how it would translate to the NFL. Watch WHAT HE DOES, and what the players around him do. Think about whether or not opposing players would play the same way his college competition did. And then think about what you saw from him this season. It's the same player, except now he's no longer the dominant physical presence he was in college. For reference, here's a post I made a while back, breaking down 24 plays on a VG highlight film. Watch the highlights, read the evaluation, and try to tell me you disagree. http://forums.theganggreen.com/showpost.php?p=1054935&postcount=11
If Gholston couldn't work his way onto the field with our defense, how would he have ever cracked the lineup of an "elite" defense ?
Very impressive posts. You didn't even lose your temper when challenged. But tell me (a Dolphins fan) what do you think of Jake Long then? Because Gholston did beat Long in college, and Long is clearly strong enough for the NFL.
Dude, I watched Gholston play too. He played fast and strong in college. If you're fool enough to buy that he just flexed, everyone in the NFL got a boner, and felt the need to draft him in the top 10...then go right ahead. Fact is, he would have been gone one pick after us to our largest rival, he fit a need, and he was the most worthy of being the pick at 6. And that amazing breakdown you did could be done for any pass rusher at any level of football. So yes, I disagree. Lol...there's one where you say he tosses the LT aside and gets the sack but he uses "just power" like being that fucking strong as a pass rusher is a bad thing. You think I'd buy such biased analysis? The whole thing was done to belittle every play in that highlight reel, which is something anyone with a computer and an immense bias can do. So excuse me if I, once again, call bullshit. Oh, and why didn't you just kick them out of the room?
Ha, Gholston wouldnt have sniffed the field on an elite defense like that, do you really think he would have got PT over james Harrison or Lamarr Woodley?? This also speaks to hope that Gholston will develop, as rookies, guys like Woodley did not contribute much because he was adjusing to the pro game. But gholston gives very little reason to hope, he looked not only lost, but just outmatched out there, he just simply couldnt get off a block
The point is that a guy who weighs around 260 is not going to be able to overpower NFL offensive linemen that easily. When he rarely utilizes something as elementary as a swim move throughout his college career, you begin to wonder if he can get through blockers who are more powerful than he is. In the NFL, more often than not, the OL that he faces will be powerful enough, and fundamentally sound enough to defeat a simple bull rush from a 260lb OLB who doesn't even bother with hand-fighting. Oh, and those guys were/are good friends of mine. I definitely don't care for their taste in sports teams though (Cavs, Browns, Buckeyes and Indians). On Jake Long- I think that a prospect with impeccable technique and a great head for the game, like Long, is more likely to make the transition to the pros successfully than a player with great physical tools and poor fundamentals. In my mind, almost anybody can gain strength/size if needed, and learn how to get better leverage so as to hold their ground better. But instincts are impossible to teach, and technique is something that doesn't come easily to a lot of guys.
Jake Long has the perfect LT biuld, and while his feet aren't as fast as D'Brick, he's still very athletic. We're going to see alot of project picks like Gholston in the draft. Hell, we HAVE seen project picks like Gholston in the draft in the past few years. We'll see alot more in this years draft. I'm a little worried by Gholston's first season, but I'm nowhere near as deadset as some here on this guy failing. And I still don't buy you watched him that much in college. Gholston was pretty damn exciting as a college player. Gholston's strong as hell, lets see how he does with using that power as he learns more about the game. He definitely pushed back and anchored blockers at times when he tried to just bullrush here, maybe when he gets a little bit more going. If he busts...well he busts. I guess you guys handle that however you handle it. But otherwise, he was a rookie to me. Sure a highly drafted rookie, but a rookie. Shit happens, life moves on, he'll play again, hopefully he's driven to play better.
The bottom line is it's way too early to label him a bust. We are in the right when we complain about his rookie season, but there's no way you give up on the guy already. I am expecting him to see the field regularly next year and make plays.
