I see what you're saying but I don't really agree with any of it. For Rex staying to be a good thing he has to take his slightly less fat ass out of every single offensive decision because he's clueless about offensive game management AND this OC needs to be able to turn the philosophy and game management into an NFL offense on his own. If that can happen then I would want Rex to stay. The thing is that the defense is really in flux right now anyway. I seriously doubt that you couldn't fit Coples and Wilkerson into another HC/DC's scheme and they're all that really matters right now. Cromartie is going to be a very good corner for a while no matter what and Wilson makes it a passable CB unit regardless of system. We might lose a little utility on a guy like Demario Davis switching schemes but the defense sorely lacks a good young safety and OLB. You can't say Dion Jordan is going to be a top NFL OLB for Rex Ryan and nobody else. He's going to be a top OLB for anybody. Assuming he isn't there and we go offense in the 1st the GM should be selecting a well rounded defender in the 2nd to fit multiple schemes and bring this back to an elite defense in 2014.
We NEED to upgrade our offensive weapons NOW. Getting a WR like Hopkins in the 2nd would do just that. Holmes is coming off of injury and most likely won't be here in 2014. Hill is a big question mark. We NEED to upgrade our pass rush. Mingo does that. We don't NEED to add another interior DL.
There are about a million different ways to go about solving the teams problems over the next 2 years with an extra 1st round pick. I'm pretty sure that you picked one of the worst plans that someone could come up with after actually trying. Maybe you're right and it would work out amazingly. Luckily I'm pretty sure Idzik won't try anything like it so we won't have to find out.
Well, thanks for the immature response. There ARE a million different ways to go about solving the teams problems. And this is a legitimate way to begin solving those problems despite your short sightedness.
Coples is struggling to find a true starting spot in Rex's D for the reason that Rex defies the rigid standards of defense, and Coples for the most part is one-dimensional. Wilk is a good DT/DE hybrid, but would be better suited as a 3T. He is used as a 3T a lot in some of Rex's schemes, and that's when he does his best work. How would he be used in a more rigid 3-4 D? With a diffferent coach that stayed to one main philosophy? Cromartie absolutely sucks in zone defense. Are you telling me that if some Tampa 2 disciple showed up in Jetsville that he would continue to excel? I beg to differ. Defense is rigid. Unless you have a coach like Ryan that understands that it doesn't have to be. Look around the league and tell me how many defensive coaches are as fluid in philosophy as he is?
There would be a big hit to defense if Rex goes no matter what. Obviously he's on a short list for best defensive mind in the game but if he can't figure out a way to delegate to a legit offensive coordinator we're probably better off without him. Coples is another guy that was seen as just about the pick of the litter on defense last year if not for effort concerns and despite being a little bit one dimensional in his rookie year I expect him to develop into a good all around player considering the level of athlete he is. Besides it pissed me off to no end last year to watch Coples ride the bench...come in on some 2nd down and get a TFL or some other encouraging play then watch him get pulled out again for another 2 series on the very next play. It was a little ridiculous and if he really was that one dimensional or even will continue to be then any coordinator better figure out a way to let him go do his thing because the guy does damage. I'll agree on Cromartie so let's not run a Tampa 2 if Rex gets fired.
It was widely reported that Coples struggled to understand the defense early on. Just like an offensive player that struggles, say like Shonn Greene on third down running plays and short yardage plays in 2009, the DC will bring them along slowly. They give them a limited set of plays that they excel in, let them get some confidence, then learn some more. You can't just plug him into any play because he only knows nuances and assignments and audibles of certain plays. And you can't keep running the same play, because the offense will pick you apart. I'm hoping that some confidence has given Coples the ability to learn most of the plays, because the alternative is that he is completely one-dimensional and not worth what we gave up to get him.
Alright so look at it that way and he learns the defense and becomes one of the cores of Rex's defensive scheme and would still be a centerpiece for someone else although likely not as effective (like everyone else incidentally). There's no way that kid doesn't become a 3 down force in this league if he stays healthy. The patterns that you want to see were all there watching him get used more and more at the end of the year and becoming progressively more effective overall. I just thought they could have done more to get him playing time last year but it isn't really pertinent to the discussion at hand.
