Maybe some of you didn't get what I said...im not saying Vilma is the ONLY problem on this defense. I don't think Vilma is a major problem to begin with, but when was the last time this supposed star made a play? I cannot remember. If you call his QB pressure..."making a play"...then you are delusional.
If Vilma was around the ball alot yesterday then where was his Forced fumble? Tackle for a loss? Big hit? He hasn't done any of the above for a long while on a consistent basis.
Vilma is playing the 3-4 as if he is still playing the 4-3. He tries to slip blocks instead of taking them on and shedding like the 2-gap defense calls for. It's not his fault; he's simply not strong or big enough to be taking on guards snap after snap. That second he takes to slip the block can be the difference between a 1-3 and 5-7 yards run. Vilma may not be the biggest problem on defense but he is a problem nonetheless. Personally I think the problems go in this order: 1. Hobson - The 3-4 is geared for your OLBs to create pressure and get sacks especially the ROLB (i.e., Merriman, Suggs, Colvin, Wimbley, Lawson...etc). Although Hobson is not playing poorly, he provides ablsolutely no pass rush. 2. Robertson - For most this is the #1 area for concern but not me. Although Robertson is a poor fit, his back-up Pouha is not. Because we have a player on the roster that can play the position the way it is supposed to be played, it is a close second. 3. Barrett - he's just awful. 4. Vilma - read above. Just like the case with Robertson, we have a player on the roster who may not be a better player but a better fit for the scheme. 5. E. Coleman - Like Hobson, he's not playing terribly but we could certainly use an upgrade.
I see a lot of Vilma is not a good fit for the 3 – 4 and D-Rob not a good fit for the 3 – 4…have you noticed that no one on this team is really a good fit for the 3 – 4? Don’t worry – Mannottoobright will get that square peg working in that round hole. Manballboy was the coordinator over the worst defenses in the Bellicheat era and this is looking like one of the worst defenses I’ve seen in Jets uniforms in I can’t remember when. I feel further away from the Pats than ever…and don’t give me the we beat them last year story – they completely and effortlessly whipped our asses three times and will do it again in December – only in December, Randy Moss will probably rub his ass on our defensive line after he scores. Trent Green looked good yesterday…just think about that…TRENT GREEN LOOKED GOOD.
no one said anything about crowning him, but Harris is much more stout and much more of a run stuffer then Vilma, which is what we need at the 3-4 ILB position....JV needs to be able to run around in open space to make plays...he needs 4 lineman in front of him to be able to do this ( more often )...but I wouldn't expect JI reject to know this
11 starters per team. 32 teams. 32 x 11 = 352 players. 44 / 352 = not half bad. Actually, not even a quarter. His number of tackles is better than 1 out of every 8 guys on defense in the league. And that's for just this season. How about the fact that over the past two years, one of which was supposedly him playing poorly adjusting to the Mangini 3-4, he's been in the top 5 in tackles?
If we wanna compare stats then lets do that, Bruschi had 3 tackles yesterday with no sacks, ints, etc to bring his total up to 12 tackles on the season with no sacks or ints (9 behind Vilma btw). His league averages have been 5.5 tackles per game over his career in games he has started..Vilma's career avg is 8.1 tackles per game (inflated due to 12 tackles per game in 2005 when our defense was on the field for 75-80% of the game) and 7.31 per game in the 3-4. Granted, he has to make more big plays, but he averages 2 tackles more game in the 3-4 than Bruschi does. Vilma is not our problem, undersized or not, he plays hard and gets to the ball. He flew all over the field yesterday and is always there to clean up other peoples responsibilities. Another 3-4 "great" ILB is James Farrior whos averaged 5.85 tackes. 3-4 is a one-gap system and everyone has a responsibility. We have weak players at kep positions who lose their responsibility, VIlma is not one of him..he mans his plus a few next to him. The more troubling stat is this right here: Teams runnig the 3-4 and OLBs (2006 stats) Chargers: Merriman (17 sacks) Shaun Phillips (11.5 sacks)= 28.5 Ravens: Suggs (9.5 sacks) A. Thomas (11)= 20.5 Dallas: Ware (11.5) G. Ellis (4 but hurt halfway)= 15.5 Steelers: Porter (7) Foote (4) this was a weakness so they drafted Woodley who already has 2 sacks Browns: Wimbley (11) McGinest (4)= 15 Jets: Thomas (8.5) Hobson (6)=14.5 All I am trying to say that our lack of a pass rush since Abe left has been horrible. Other teams game plan around Merriman, Vrabel, Wimbley, Porter, J Taylor (if you want to say he plays in the 3-4), Ware etc...Teams do NOT gameplan for thomas or even pay him extra attention. He never even gets double teamed. These guys get double teams all the time and still put up numbers. This is our major problem..I dont know how a lot of you look at how much time every opposing QB has back there and then wants to blame Vilma for our defensive problems. We give up WAY more passing yards in comparison. And once they open the field on us, it gets pretty easy to run the ball.
I know he's not supposed to put up huge numbers at that position... but if he could make a single game changing play it would be awesome
i agree..but who around him is doing any of that. Defense is a team effort..teams can throw away from him and make peopel like Barrett make plays. It says something to me when a QB passes for 320 yards and 3 of our Dbs lead the team in tackles for the day..Barrett, Revis and Coleman combined for 28 tackles. The entire game was played in our secondary.
You can look at it with as many fractions as you want, but the way I look at it, there are 32 teams. And if Vilma is #44, then there are (theoretically) 11 teams with multiple players with more tackles than our "star" player. And I don't know where you are getting this top 5 bullshit. According to the research I've done (which basically includes going to the NFL.com stats page), Vilma was 19th in tackles last season. http://www.nfl.com/stats/categoryst...Type=REG&experience=null&tabSeq=0&Submit=Find
If I was running a 4/3 I'd give a 2nd rounder for Vilma in a heartbeat. The guy is entering his prime, he will be a beast in the right scheme.
My only gripe is what exactly are we going to get for him. I would hate to see him go to another team and absoloueltey beast and just say, man he was on our team...Look at that guy.... Cant we just run a 4-3..
Vilma has been playing well. I love the fact that he can manage to get his hands on a RB after being thrown to the ground. Who has a burst when they're on their belly. I swear I have seen him catch an ankle from 5 yards away in a prone position in every game so far. He never quits. I love that about the guy. Not for nothing, but he's 5th in the league in tackles since he was drafted. You don't trade DROY for a draft pick just because he doesn't fit THIS system perfectly. Sutton has done nothing to wow me in any way, and could be gone sooner rather than later. Maybe Vilma would fit in a different 3-4 system. You never know.
Past two years not including the one that just started. Come on man. You saw the first post that specifically said it was since 2005. The 2005 and 2006 seasons were the past two years. As I originally stated, and as has been repeated a few times by others since, in the time period from 2005 to now, he is 5th in the entire league in tackles. BTW: In his 44th in the league right now, he's actually got a few Jets ahead of him. Sadly, those guys play in our secondary. He's got more tackles than anyone else in the front 7 so far. Vilma's not the problem, no matter how much people around here want him to be.
