Seriously this Lee pick is worth than Hackenberg (because they play him all the time and he stinks ). 1) Beaten in coverage for TD today. 2) On another long play he could not even tackle the RB or even push him out of bounds (jets got a gift from the ref) 3) Both Saints' running TDs came rights thru his gap which he never seals. On the last TD run by Ingram the FB absolutely knocked Lee 5 yards out of the play and Ingram basically ran untouched to a TD. Are we going watch this lightweight for 3 more years struggle to play ILB ? Bowles or Mac will NEVER admit they made a huge mistake taking this micro-LB with a first round pick. This team needs a new GM in addition to coach and then clean out all the wasted MacCagnan high picks like Lee, Hackenberg, Devin Smith, Mauldin etc.
He looked really bad today but I think he's gotten better this season. He's undersized and at times, there will be players that make him look like its men against boys. Macc picked him thinking he could be the one to match up with rb's and te's which is obviously still a failed project. Is he a first round linebacker? Probably not, so i get the concern and overall sentiment. i'll see what he is next season and if he can get any better
Lee plays because he’s the best option at MLB besides Davis. There isn’t many LB’s that are getting off a block from an OL neither. He was bad yesterday but hop off as he’s made strides.
Bad game yesterday, but don't forget that he had been playing a lot better during the middle of the season than the first few games. Even with the bad games,he's still better than last year. There's no reason to give up on Lee yet. As I always remind, this guy was only a redshirt sophomore coming out of school and unexpectedly got the starting ILB job earlier than expected.. There are countless examples of players who were bad or unimpressive through their early seasons and went on to have great careers. Let's see if he can take a big leap next year. On a positive note at ILB, Demario Davis continues to be a force. Trading Pryor for Davis was some excellent work by Mac. Also, have people been noticing Julian Stanford at ILB either when Davis was benched or when he's in the game? I'm curious if he at least looks like a role player, but haven't watched him closely
He's constantly getting caught out of position and his instincts SUCK. He simply doesn't have any instincts? It's like he needed to be taught to defend the run like he'd never played the game before? Objectively speaking and I've said this many times now, he's improved into a decent run support guy and that's it. However, he was NOT a good run support guy yesterday. The fact is he sucked yesterday. He's had like 3 horrible games in a row now. He's almost reverted back to what he was in the Raiders game? Make no mistake about it, the Saints did their homework on the Jets defense. They KNEW going into the game that Darron Lee was the weak link in the defense. They went after him right from the first snap. It worked the entire game and so they never left that strategy. There's NO way anyone can justify this little twit being taken in the 1st round. Like I said, Jordan Jenkins is a much better player overall and he was taken in the 3rd round. So what does that make Lee? A 4th rounder at best?
Well , my opinion, if it wasn't for that last run by Ingram Jets held them to roughly 85 yrds rushing. The Saints were 5th in rushing with 135. Shit happens.....why micro-nit pick something that happened less than 2 minutes in the game - they were doomed anyway. Just fu&king move on, Lee and the rest are going to get better - the Defensive coordinator sucks..
I have questions about this guy. I also have a lot of reservations about Bowles, but if they retain him, I hope he considers a new DC.
Bottom line, if you're a first round draft choice you should be playing at a high level from day one. This is year two, and I'm still seeing him getting seal blocked off the running lane at the LOS too often. Sorry, this has not been a good pick. He'd have to make all pro next year to change my opinion of him.
So should we discount every big run against the jets just so we can make an excuse for what we want the stats to be? That's unacceptable and you as a football fan know it, the fact is that good teams will look at the tape and continue to attack their weakness at the LB position. I do agree that the scheme is poor and I have been on record saying that, but it does not take away from the type of player Lee is not.
Is he too small to play Mike in a 3-4? That's debatable. Is he too small to play LB behind a 3 man front that 1 gaps? No doubt. The defensive scheme SUCKS. No wonder all our blue chip DL have gone to shit. I don't care how good your DL talent is...outside of perhaps a play call here or there...3 Down doing 3T is a recipe for failure & great way to piss off the big uglies. I thought Lee could play 3-4 Mike in a traditional 2 gap scheme coming out of college. It was borderline but thought he had the quickness, closing ability & hands to shed blockers & avoid constant contact. If he's not getting any protection from the front it's a lost cause however, He's truly best suited for a 4-3. Either Mike in a 2 gap or Will in a 4-3 under. Thought Bowles was going to transition to a 4-3..but that hasn't materialized.
He is a below average starting LB on a bad team. On most teams, he's a reserve. A specialist of sorts. What his specialty would be, I'm not sure, since as you stated, he routinely screws up against the run and we know he can't cover a TE or RB 95% of the time.
The scheme to me is what makes or breaks a teams ability to overcome an offensive juggernaut like the Saints. To entirely blame Darren Lee on the failings of 1 or more plays or even the last play , well, Jenkins and Martin had horrible games also. It's all about team. Not to mention that Williams was out. The OP is just trying to make all the issues with the Jets D go away on 1 player, when it is in fact the sum of the parts. That's my issue with all this. Lee can be a very good player at times, and other times he's an enigma. It just requires the right leadership with coaching to find his groove. Look how much the D line has changed with Mo out and Richardson gone - Williams being out on a concussion protocol... it's all about continuity. Jets don't have the depth to overcome such obstacles.
Another case in point: How quickly were many here a few years back buying tickets for Dimario Davis' exit only to realize now upon his return, he's the Jets best defensive player with a very good chance at being in the Pro-Bowl? You think if Lee or Jenkins were given some time to work out their issues, these 2 couldn't mirror Davis? Jets have all the time because they simply have no QB to hurry the process along.
You bet your ass blah, blah, blah. You're reading the same shit from everyone in this thread and I didn't start the thread to begin with. So let me guess you really HATE hearing any criticism from me about Lee because you know damn well that I was his most outspoken critic since the very day he was drafted. Guess I should apologize for being right? NOT A FUCKING CHANCE.
Davis was a 3rd round pick. Lee was a first round pick which is pretty rare company for a LB. Hes a complete bust.
The Saints offense used that wheel route to perfection. We had supposedly solved that deficiency when we drafted Lee. Oh well.........
