This is exactly how I have always seen Ayers. The complimentary OLB. The guy who does the dirty work, the guy who can line up and cover TE's and play great run defense. Occasionally he will get to the QB for us. It's not what we want, or maybe even need right now, but we can definately use him. It's why I have been critical of Ayers, he isn't the type of OLB the Jets need. But I'm not an idiot, the Jets need both types, they need a guy like Ayers, and they need the dynamic pass rushing threat that will put our defense into freaking scary mode. We all wish the dynamic rusher could come first, but if we get the complimentary guy first, thats ok too. I have now started hoping that Ayers is there at 30 and Phil Taylor goes above us. I really don't want taylor on this team....
If he's on the board, I'm really hoping that he's the pick, barring unforeseen dropping of someone else. I think that he's absolutely going to be a steal if someone nabs him in the last 5-10 picks in the first and I think it's completely ridiculous that we can even be talking about him. Obviously the combine does have its purpose, but seeing players rise and fall so much just because they ran well on a particular day is absurd to me. The guy was a top half of the 1st round player up until he ran poorly at the combine.
http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?p=1695565&highlight=akeem+ayers#post1695565 That's all I'm saying. But really, if he's a Jet he'll likely be the future at ILB anyway when Scott goes, and in the mean time they'll just try and see what they can get out of his experience playing outside/end.
With the 30th pick of the NFL Draft the New York Jet select....Akeem Ayers. The kid is the definition of a 3-4 OLB and the JETS need a guy that can play in space and rush the passer.
Akeem strikes me as a soft, freelancing athlete. I kinda think Rex wants a hard-nosed, assignment-sound football player.
wish list 1)ayers 2)heyward 3)reed (i say this cause i expect all the other interesting options to be gone and Mike Mayock was saying this morning live from Radio City that his stock is going up as tonight approaches. he made the best point and would describe the jets scenario.) "if your board just gets blown up and you want to know your getting a solid player. you take brooks reed and put him in your back pocket"
Ayers would be a nice player for a bunch of years, but unless we're getting an elite rush linebacker, I'd rather get some youth on the D-Line than OLB, given the option. Unless someone can convince me Ayers is a great pass rusher, which doesn't seem to be the case. He's good, but I might rather get a Cam Heyward. I trust in Tannenbaum and our FO to do the right thing though. If they take Ayers, I won't be upset, I just wish he were more of a pure pass rusher. Then again, if he was, or if he ran a faster 40, we wouldn't be talking about him.
Akeem Ayers was a 4-3 linebacker at UCLA. It wasn't his job to get after the quarterback, so if you're just looking at his stats, it's going to look like he doesn't get sacks.
It's not even just stats. He's a speed rusher without great technique who runs a 4.8, and his senior year numbers dropped. If we didn't have Bryan Thomas or Calvin Pace on the roster, I'd be more inclined to take Ayers, but I feel Ayers reminds me of someone like Bryan Thomas: a guy who will be a good linebacker, who can do a lot of things, but none of them great. Now I wouldn't be upset if we got Ayers. There's enough people who know more than I do that like him, and I do love the idea of adding youth to linebacker. I do think he'll be a good player. But I don't know if he adds something new and different that we need, and I think a DL might help more than an all-around linebacker. In the end, I really don't know what I want. I'll find out around 10:30 or whenever tonight. Just giving my opinion basing on what I've read and the little I've seen.
If Ayers is there at 30 and Tanny pulls the trigger on him, it means that Rex and the scouts 100% believe he can come in and be a good pass rusher off the edge. I'm sure they aren't spending their 1st round pick to take an OLB who does "the little things" like Bryan Thomas. We already have that.. it would only be because they believe he can step in and rush the passer, and rush the passer very well.
I trust Tannenbaum. And I do want a pass rusher, so I wouldn't be upset with Ayers. The Thomas comparison is a little unfair because he's definitely a better cover guy at this stage. I probably shouldn't have said that. My overall point is he looks like a good all-around linebacker, can do a little bit of everything and may be a slightly better pass rusher. I admit though, I know far less about the draft than I usually do. And while I want to like Ayers a lot because it seems he's the consensus guy from the main draft guys, I'm a little underwhelmed reading about and watching videos of him.
If it's not the stats, then why bring up the drop in numbers. Let's take a look at those numbers: 2009: 75 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, and 4 INTs 2010: 68 total tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 INTs In my opinion, that's not much of a drop-off. Akeem Ayers is not a speed rusher. He's never been asked to rush the quarterback on a consistent basis. 40 times are overrated. Speed rushers don't work in Ryan's scheme - we saw how that worked out for Antwan Barnes. Suggs and Thomas were his best pass rushers - powerful, high motor guys. I don't know where you saw that his technique isn't great, but that's not right. He's very good at getting off blocks. As of right now, he might have a limited amount of pass-rushing moves, but that will change. He'll definitely have to learn this scheme and this position, but he's versatile enough to fit into any scheme. In the first round, I want a player that can make a difference. Ayers is a game-changer - you can't coach that.
That right there is a big reason why I want him in green & white. With Rex's multiple fronts and defensive schemes, you don't have to worry about a guy like Ayers only turning into a 2 down player or a situational rusher. I see him as being able to be on the field at all times in this D and effectively play any linebacking role that he's asked to do. There's obviously some uncertainty in his pass rushing skills since that wasn't his main task at school, but I truly believe that he'd be well out of our reach if he had played in a 3-4 front.
I think something a lot of of us are overlooking is that Ayers is terrific in pass coverage. Rex asks his olbs to cover TEs and slots guys, how many times did we see Jason Taylor get burned last year cause he couldn't cover.
Great post.. If he slips to 30 because he ran a slow 40 time, then that is awesome news for the Jets. Look how many great guys have dropped because of their 40 time (Suggs off the top of my head slipped to #10 because he had a bad combine, Brandon Spikes last year who ran over 5 flat in the 40), but were great football players and possessed skills that can't be measured by a stop watch. On the flip side, look how many guys have shot up boards (Gholston) because of their workout numbers, but weren't such good football players. Some team might take Brooks Reed over Ayers because of workout numbers, and I find that ridiculous. Ayers said himself the other day: "I don't run track. I play football." I couldn't agree more with that. He's a very good football player who can help in many ways. Like I said earlier, if the Jets take him, it means Rex and the scouts fully believe he can step in and rush the passer.
actually there was a quote from Tanny or Clinksales or someone just last week stating that Rex is looking for a pass rusher. He only expects his OLB to drop into coverage like 15% of the snaps.
What else is he gonna say? I think he is a good football player, but one who will be limited in the NFL, and I think he probably suspects that. He may not be slow, but he is slower than ideal. I can see him being a better Bryan Thomas due to his coverage ability, and as someone else said, I could see him sliding back inside in a year or two, unless he proves to be a much better pass rusher than expected. I have no doubts that if drafted, and he works hard, that Rex & Co. will get the most out of him. I still think that the pass rush is the major need, however, and I just don't see his having that big of an impact on that part of the game. If what Rex said the other day was true (about he wanted an OLB who could rush the QB, that he didn't care that much about coverage), then Ayers doesn't seem like the best fit for the Jets. In that case, if the Jets don't like Reed, Wilson, Sheard or Acho, then I think they probably ought to take Cameron Heyward, Taylor or Ellis to try to get more pressure from up front and make the rush lanes wider for blitzers.
I like Ayers as a player, but I don't think he'll ever be a consistent top pass rusher, which is what we really need. I wouldn't be angry with the pick because he should be a very solid complementary OLB with good coverage skills, but I don't know that he'll ever be a defensive centerpiece.
