The headline is just stupid, I guess they need some visits at NJ.com. Anyway, I agree with Joe for the most part. I think he's a little off with "two of the best linebackers in the league". Harris and DD are solid, that's about it. Maybe he meant "two of the better linebackers in the league". I agree with him on Geno though, that was spot on. Not sure where he's ripping Geno, not sure what that the clown who wrote that saw. RE: The Defense RE: Geno http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/20..._jets_defense_can_b.html#incart_story_package
Disagree with him also there. The amount of heat he's getting from Joe. I think this all goes back to the one incident in his rookie year where Coples was "caught" not lifting as hard or heavy or whatever they were doing in the weight room as he should have. It's pretty ridiculous if that's true, you gotta drop it at some point. Plus he was a 1st round pick. So you combine those two and you'll get a negative reaction either way from one of the oldschool type players who were known for working hard and giving 110% effort each day/snap, and maybe not being hight draft choices as well. I don't see any difference when it comes to playing hard or giving 100% effort with any of our players. Mo was known for taking plays off in college, I don't really see it in the NFL. Same with Coples and the rest of the guys. The only guy really who sticks out and plays like his hair is on fire is Sheldon and I think Joe said a bunch of times already how much he loves watching Sheldon play. But other than that, the rest of the guys play hard...I think.
Klecko was a great player, but he is a horrible analyst and has taken one too many hits to the head. He comes across as that slurring drunk at the end of the bar who drones on about kicking the Germans asses after they bombed Pearl Harbor.
Yeah, his style of play isn't like Sheldon or even Mo - it's like a super talented guy going through the motions at times, I think that bothers Klecko more than anything. I hope we see him going after the QB more this season - that prob will shut Klecko up.
Coples could be a big problem if he played with the same intensity every play like Wilk and Sheldon do.
Nice ad hominem attack on one of the greatest Jet players ever. Do you have any evidence that Klecko is suffering from real brain damage? Why not focus on the substance of what he said rather than making personal attacks? I interpreted what he said as that Coples has not yet shown by his play that he is playing as well as should be expected of a first round pick. That and that if the Jets get better play out of the linebackers (which I assume he expects from Davis's continuing development and from Harris not dropping off) that this could be a No. 1 defense in the league. His comments about Smith are not the least bit controversial to anyone but Smith Fans. So what's the problem?
I'll go on record agreeing with everything he said about Coples and Smith. It's not like he's the only one who perceives Coples as underperforming.
Klecko is right, Coples has the physical ability of a dominant player and the drive of a player that knows how to use it to get by and not much else. People have been saying that the reason he didn't get great numbers is because he was used so much to chip receivers but I have a hard time believing he was used in that capacity THAT much, I remember a lot of times where he would overpursue and take himself out of plays and other times where he just didn't get penetration. He's frustrating to watch because when he does play hard you can see flashes of just how good he could be if he played hard all the time.
Yeah, I keep hoping Coples is going to upgrade his performance. It would be huge if he did. So far, he has been a disappointment.
Coples IMO compared to his draft peers [Melvin Ingram; Bruce Irvin] - I think Coples is the best out of the 3.
It's almost like there is a physical restriction on Coples. Some guys don't have the killer instinct, just like some guys don't run a 4.25. He hasn't been great but he hasn't been bad. He's been a serviceable player whom is very good against the run. Just because a player isn't Michael Strahan doesn't mean they can't be Greg Ellis.
I think "disappointment" is the best thing one can say about his body of work. Assuming he plays to the level of 2014 which was his best year, I expect his playing time to go down as I foresee Leonard, snacks, sheldon, and mo getting lots of reps. If he regresses at all, I can see his playing time reduced dramatically.
I don't think its a stretch with Davis. I personally feel he is going to be huge in Bowles' D and is a great young modern LB. Harris though? yeah Idk about that
Yes, I think you're right. Joe doesn't hate Coples. I think he's just frustrated by Coples. Coples has been good, but everyone wants to see him erupt, be great. Including Joe The one thing is, I believe he plays hard. I don't believe he takes plays off. BUT, he doesn't play angry. He's a very easy going guy, kinda of a happy go lucky relaxed character. He's the kinda guy Bill Parcells would of worked psychologically....piss him off and get him angry...fire him up. He did that with Jason Ferguson who was similar in nature to Coples and turned out to be a good NT. I'm hoping Bowles can maybe push the right buttons with him and maybe put him in a better position to succeed also
I hadn't thought of that but you could be right, I think it could be an issue of personality. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was saying he takes plays off, he just doesn't come out with the same level of intensity every play and it affects the results of the play. I think we all know he is capable of playing with bad intentions (anger) after seeing him crush Jones-Drew and another RB which I can't remember ATM, if they could get him to play like that for at least half a game he'd probably be a Pro Bowl player.
