DeVito played great yesterday. He is absolutely not the problem with the run D. I think we're going to see some more sets with an extra D-Lineman in there, including Ellis, because Westerman sucks against the run and can't be counted on.
I remember this kind of whiny bullshit when Shonn Greene wasn't active until Week 4 back in 2009. ...and when he was activated, he didn't get more than 4 carries until a Week 7 blowout win. That came with more whiny bullshit. Why isn't anyone bitching about Bilal Powell? Oh, that's right...because we have three perfectly healthy, capable backs ahead of him. The depth at running back kind of reminds me of our depth on the defensive line...but instead of three perfectly healthy, capable players there's five.
Definitely. DeVito wasn't the problem. He played a damn good game matched up against one of the league's best offensive linemen. The loss of Bryan Thomas is what hurt our run defense. He was so incredibly underrated as a run defender. I do like what Maybin and Westerman bring to the table, but they are downgrades against the run.
Agree totally. An 624, that part from BGA I agree with, and it's why I'm not ready to give up on Ducasse. We can't go into next year with him as our #1 backup unless he makes significant improvements, but the raw tools are there. We need to get bigger on the offensive line to run ground and pound IMO, and Ducasse would help a lot with that if he played to his potential. It might never happen, but the guy was raw coming out of school and missing an entire offseason was more hurtful to him than it would be for most players. Ellis is somewhat comparable because he's a big dude from a small school, but his learning curve shouldn't be as steep since the offensive line is so much more important that you don't screw up.
Absolutely agree.. Mangold ragdolled Mankins on several occasions yesterday. He is a beast against the run. I'm shocked at how many Jets fans dislike Bryan Thomas and don't realize what he does (or did) for our defense. He did so much of the dirty work taking on blockers, setting the edge on the outside, blowing up blockers, things that don't go in the stat sheet. I like what Westerman and Maybin bring to the table too as pass rushers and 3rd down players. They give us an element we pretty much haven't had. But agains the run, they are simply not good. When they are out there, they will be targeted and attacked in the run game. We're going to see more 4 man sets, and Ellis can be a rotational player for us going forward for sure.
This is a good post, man. I've seen Kenrick Ellis make SEC offensive linemen look like rag dolls. He's got incredible strength. People see that he played at Hampton and think he was just a small school talent - this was kid that had the potential to be one of the best defensive tackles in the best conference in the world. His off-the-field issues derailed that possibility. At Hampton, he dominated because he was a man among boys. This kid is definitely capable of playing at an extremely high level. It may take a while to get him back to speed, but late in the year, he'll provide quite a punch. I believe my comparison to Mount Cody is very fair. The Ravens used him sparingly last season because he just wasn't ready. He was a big contributor late in his rookie season and he's now doing extremely well as Kelly Gregg's replacement.
Maybe they want to see if he goes to jail or gets deported before they let him play. His trial has now been postponed to February so if that's the case don't expect to see him this year.
Another note on Ellis: with Thomas's injury, I could see us using more d-linemen to try and stop the run. Against a team like New England, you keep the DBs active and keep them on the field (until they're trying to run the clock down). I could see Ellis being active more in future weeks without Thomas as we play more with 4 down linemen.
Yep, this is what I've been saying too.. he's definitely going to be part of 4 man fronts that we're more likely to see going forward with BT out. Comparing him to Ducasse is ridiculous. This is a guy who played at a big time school and only ended up against lower competition because of off the field issues. Ducasse went to a low level school because he basically just started playing football and was a total project player. He's still a huge project player who can't even fill in for a team that has gaping holes on their o-line early this season. There are no gaping holes on the DL for Ellis to fill that the Jets are just skipping him over for.
Good points. I'm excited for when he finally starts playing and gets into a groove. I think he'll be a nice run clogger like Jenks was.
RE: The Thomas injury crippling our run defense. What do you guys think about moving Bart Scott to OLB? I think his position should be easier to replace than OLB in this defense.
I'm not worried about it. The D-line is deep and Ellis will take some time to shape into an NFL-calibre player. I would be worried if he's still inactive come week 14.
David Harris' play would decline without Bart Scott inside. It's not a good idea to move him outside.
I know that Bart is basically the fullback for Harris on defense, but it seems like that is an easier position to replace than the guy setting the edge at OLB. Is Bart Scott really THAT good at what he does that we'd have a huge dropoff if we replaced him with someone else? I know Bart isn't an OLB by title, but he has played OLB for Rex before, and has even spent time there this year.
