Justin Miller is younger, faster, a better returner, better hitter, and more experienced than almost every CB we could get at #25 in the draft. I really feel that Hall and Revis are the only one's worth the pick, Houston will flop, McCauely has boom or bust potential (is it worth the risk), Ross had one good season (is it worth the pick), and the rest of the guys aren't even close to worth the pick or have character problems. So my question becomes is it better to give up a 1st round pick for someone who may not give us that much right now, we are a team on the rise and we need players now. I honestly feel that with some pressure on the QB (which there was non of last year) Miller could be a good #2 Cb, he has a ton of tackles, PBUs and he hits like a truck, he doesn't get beat very often deep, his major problem is short routes, which he can work on. The transition form coach to coach can be hard for any player expecially a 2nd year player. I feel that using the #25 pick on someone other than Justin Blalock or Anthony Spencer would be a waste. Even Olsen would be a waste when we never throw to our TE anyway. Our problem was pass rush not pass coverage, when you have time to throw you can make good throws. This offseason in my opinion we need to up grade: #1Run D (we did already with the loss of Kimo), #2 Pass Rush (we did with the addition of Bowens, and hopefully Woodley in the 2nd, #3 O-line (pass and more important run) we can do this with Blalock! Give Miller one more shot I think the kid has something, CB's take time to develop What do you think?
nice post. IMO cornerback is a first DAY need on draft day, not necessarily a round 1 need. Both Miller and OT Adrian Jones have showed so little at their positions that Mangini has them penciled in as career backups at best--for whatever it is worth I agree with that--I think Miller is nothing but a KR and Jones lacks the POWER to move bodies on the line.
I agree with almost everything you say for the last line. I think if Miller actually had something in terms of being a good corner he would have showed us by now. He is terrible in coverage, commits many penalties, and doesn't know to properly tackle.
I feel that Miller has shown alot actually, 52 tackles and 6 pass break ups last year, kid has potential and with some help from the guys up front getting the QB and forcing some off balanced throws I feel Miller could be a good CB not a pro bowler but a good CB, and that's fine, we don't need pro bowlers at every position, Rhodes and Vilma and Ellis can take it on D. But i agree 100% on Jones. The kid is a good athlete but nothing more than that.
I wouldnt go that far. Miller has shown plenty of talent for the CB position. But 2 different style coaches in his first 2 years have not helped his development. In TC he was performing right up there w/ Rhodes and Vilma. He just needs to perform on gameday. It'd be foolish to give up on a 23 year old CB w/ as much talent as he has, who just made the pro bowl for his returning ability.
I agree that OL and pass rush come before CB for us. As to Miller, I think it is too early. Kurt made a good point about the difficulty 2 schemes in 2 years. There is no doubt that JM is a very talented athlete but I think he is a little spacey at times. It seems he sometimes loses concentration, plus he is a little short fused that can result in stupid penalties. I am hoping these things reslove with some more maturity and experience. If they can, based on his physical tools he can be very good.
I have less concern about Miller's physical ability and ability to pick up schemes and plays than I do with the murmers about his attitude in the classroom and the obvious lack of discipline on the field and how they affect his ability to pick up schemes and plays. You can blame Ty Law for cutting up in the classroom with him 2 years ago but he is an adult and a professional athlete and there comes a point when you have to place the blame squarely on his shoulders for lack of a professional attitude. Mangini seemed to see enough of him to keep him out of the starting rotation most of last season and he's shopping around for corners visibly (i.e. Gay), and you can write that off as smoke and mirrors if you like, but where there's smoke, there's usually at least some burning embers. For more on the discussion of the need for CB: http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=20487
Samuel gives the Pats 3 1st rd picks in this draft, and 2 next year. So why would the Jets need a DB when its rather more important to fix the pass rush, which is proven to take pressure off of the secondary.
Yeah the Jets are definitely looking at corners this offseason, although not with a lot of intensity. Mangini may well be looking at his options a year out if Miller still has not come through and Barrett is gone. This is one of those areas where I have no clue from his actions whether or not he leans Belichik or Parcells in his philosophy. Belichik will throw just about anybody with decent speed out there and then coach them up to be acceptable. Parcells always wanted at least one blue-chip cover guy back there who could play on an island all day if he had too. That's why Aaron Glenn got such a nice contract out of him.
Jets' definitely need to add more talent to there DB's position. I just don't feel a need to do it with there 1st round pick...:up:
It's refreshing to have the feeling that there is actually a plan in place and reasons for what happens in the draft, instead of hoping there is, and finding out afterwards that draft picks were made on the passing whimsy of an uncaring HC and his uncaring GM. I almost hope Mangini is leaning toward the former of your scenarios and planning to go heavy on the front 7 before addressing the secondary with any large chuck of priority. I like the idea of a strong man-cover corner, but we haven't had a strong + consistant pass rush for a while, and I would like to know what that feels like again. And when I say strong + consistant, I mean players that show up every game, no matter who is blocking them, and no matter whether it's the postseason or game 1. Ellis, as much as I've defended him, needs to have his job placed in jeopardy. Being embarrassed about your performance is one thing. Being scared to be fired and have your value on the open market decreased is quite another. Some of these guys only feel true pain in their wallets.
The problem I have with the "throw anybody out there and coach them up" option is that Mangini is definitely not in Belichik's class as a defensive backfield coach. Not in terms of ability to teach or evaluation of talent back there. That's Belichik's roots and you better believe that when it comes to the defensive backs there is nobody in NFL history who has ever known more than him. I'm hoping he leans Parcells and is looking actively for one guy he can absolutely depend on so the Jets can scheme to cover other people's deficiencies.