Sticking with the 3-4 defense...... DE's : D.Rob & F.A. (free-agent) or Draft Pick NT : (2 Needed) F.A.'s or Draft. Not on Current Roster. ILB's : Harris & Hobson. OLB's : 2 new OLB's....not yet on roster. Thru draft or F.A. CB's : Revis & New CB...Not on roster. Draft Or F.A. FS : Rhodes SS : Elam or an upgrade thru...F.A. or Draft. Every player not named as starter will provide good depth for defense. Well...This is my design for the Jets' 2008 Defense. Lets' see yours.
I would switch back to the 4-3, with Moseley and Robertson inside. I'd put Harris in the middle, Vilma on the weak side, and Hobson on the strong side. I'd draft a pass rusher. This would be the simplest fix but it's probably not going to happen. Mangini is married to the scheme. -X-
Wishfully thinking DE's : D-Rob and (Dre Moore,in 08) NT : (B.J. Raji,in 09) ILB's : Harris & Vilma OLB's : (Groves or Gholston, in 08) CB's : Revis & (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie,in 08) FS : Rhodes SS : Gibril Wilson(FA)
Will this be Rob Ryan's defense? Looks like Lane will bring in his father If it's not obvious that Rob Ryan will be out in a few weeks, it's abundantly clear he has not built a contending defense. Though he's knowledgeable and demonstrative, with a great mop of distinctive hair, Robo's four-year run as DC has been largely ineffective. http://www.insidebayarea.com/turn2/ci_7736922 Ryan coached the LB's for the Pats under BB Lane Kiffin's plans for 2008 probably include asking Al Davis to replace defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was on staff when Kiffin was hired and Ryan has the loyalty of the defensive players. I think Ryan's a very good defensive coach. But Kiffin was never crazy about inheriting Ryan and might not be too pleased with Ryan's schemes, because Kiffin's dad, Monte, runs a very different defense at Tampa Bay. http://www.mercurynews.com/timkawakami/ci_7767447?nclick_check=1
It also wouldn't look that amazing. Moseley and Pouha don't and haven't taken enough snaps to actually make anyone believe they could be legit, full time starters. Vilma's best position is as a 4-3 MLB where he can roam free and play sideline to sideline. Harris doesn't fit the 4-3 as well as he does the 3-4. It's not a "simple fix" at all. I'd rather stick to the 3-4, I don't get the 4-3 fetish fans have. It's nowhere near as fun as the 3-4 is, and it's not like either one is easy to build an elite defense out of. Most of this kind of stuff seems to come from fans who had little to no idea of what a 3-4 was until Mangini came in and switched the D. And I would hope the guy would be married to his scheme. It's not like 2006 and 2007 teams would look great in either a 3-4 or a 4-3...and 1. most 3-4 teams show alot of 4-3 fronts 2. most of the good defenses in the league (Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Cowboys) play with a 3-4 base....I can only think of one truly dominant straight up 4-3 unit (the Jags) 3. The 3-4 is more flexible than the 4-3 because most 4-3 teams will give you a 4-3 base every single down. 3-4 teams tend to move parts around alot more and be more confusing. I'd rather draft one of the DE/OLBs in the draft...one or maybe even two of Gholston, Groves, Ellis, Brown, Robertson, Crable, Blake...you get the point. Draft is loaded with these guys this year. Hopefully we somehow draft one of Balmer or Moore. If not then Langord, Norwell, Pressley, Hayden...someone for DE depth. Frank Morton for NT depth. I'm hoping we go DL (Randy Starks, Tommy Kelly, Haynesworth) and OL in FA though. Maybe even go balls out and sign Dansby or Suggs.
DEs- Ellis, Robertson NT- '08 draft or free agency OLB- Suggs (PLEASE) ILB- Vilma ILB- Harris OLB- Groves (2nd Rd '08 draft) CB- Revis CB- Miller (jump on me if you want to, but I think he can be good) FS- Rhodes SS- Ken Hamlin (free agent) Either way, we need help. Mangini and co. have done good in the draft but piss poor in free agency. We should definitely make a push for both Suggs and Hamlin in FA this offseason.
The Ravens D was VERY dominant in 2000 when they ran the 4-3. Ray lewis had a serious problem with the switch to a 3-4. This year, the 4-3 defenses are actually better. Look at the rankings of the following defenses that run the 4-3 (Tampa Bay, Indy, Seattle, Jacksonville, Tennessee, etc) The fact is, your defense should fit your players. Mangini is trying to build this 3-4, but he is getting there very slowly and trying to fit players in spots they don't belong. Hobson and Bryan Thomas shouldn't be starters in this league and Barton needs to move on. His stats are way down he is not good enough anymore. Robertson is not a nose tackle, Ellis needs more breaks between plays, K Coleman is a backup, and the list goes on. We have 5 talented players on this defense, Harris, Vilma, Rhodes, Revis, and Dyson (when healthy). Everyone else can go IMO and its time to work around these guys.
I'd take the Ravens (run D), Pats, and Steelers D over all of those D's but the Jags. And if you look at the guys you listed that don't fit...none of them were drafted by Mangini. I'm not sure where the Coleman hate has come from...I agree he's a backup and so on...but he came highly recommended by Bill Parcells and he's been OK for us. We need to upgrade, but he's a big upgrade over last seasons RDE. I'm not completely 100% sure...but I think the Ravens in 2000 ran a similar flex 4-3/3-4 D. The problem for Lewis was the big DT blocking for him was missing for a little while.
I don't hate Coleman and he is def better than Kimo..I just think he is a backup thats all. The 2000 Ravens ran a base 4-3 defense, with the key being the massive DT combo of Pro-bowler Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa. That allowed Ray Lewis to run free and be the defensive MVP. Don't forget about the Tamba Bay cover 2 defense that dominated in their Super Bowl season a couple years ago. All I am saying is that a great defense depends more on the players that a team has. I just don't think Mangini is playing the right defense, and if he really wants to stay with the 3-4, he HAS to get more aggressive for bigger players in free agency. We can't re-build a Tampa Bay cover-2 to a New England 3-4 by drafting 2 players per year. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCL/is_9_30/ai_72684375 Just a little article I found on the Ravens in case anyone was interested.
I'm feel'n u on this one. Free agency will determine draft moves. Alot of DL available in F.A. Not much in OL in F.A. So I say go heavy in defense in F.A. & draft hard in OL in draft. NT's & DE's abound in free agents.
Funny....I forgot about Miller. I likee Miller as SS, with Rhodes as FS. I also hope Jets' keep Vilma. I also have to see this Groves guy. Ihaven't seen him yet. Will check him out in his bowl game.
Good point about the big NT being mising. When Vilma was wrecking things at the U, he had that big NT (Wilfork) in front of him. I'm starting to realize that if Jets' get that big NT gere, Vilma will be spectacular again. Vilma & Harris will do big things.
Good point about the big NT being mising. When Vilma was wrecking things at the U, he had that big NT (Wilfork) in front of him. I'm starting to realize that if Jets' get that big NT here, Vilma will be spectacular again. Vilma & Harris will do big things in the middle.
DE: Kenyon Coleman NT: Sione Pouha DE: Kentwan Balmer (2nd Round pick) OLB: Vernon Gholston (1st Round pick) ILB: David Harris ILB: J Leman (4th Round pick) or Jonathan Vilma if he is not traded OLB: Bryan Thomas CB: Darrell Revis CB: Randal Gay S: Kerry Rhodes S: Abram Elam
Personally, I don't think Coleman is athletic enough. Again, we would be trying to find a player that didn't fit the mold for what we need.
This would work for me - although I don't know much about Leman. It would be alot to start 3 rooks on D. I would be satisfied if Hobson or Barton started in the middle alongside Harris.
Unfortunately, the NT market looks fairly bleak in '08 either in FA or the draft. That said, and given the fact that we have had extreme difficulty stopping the run, it would make a lot of sense to adopt a 4-3 scheme until we can get that monsta in the middle of our line. DRob and Puoha would do fine and backed up buy TJ Mosley. Keep Ellis on the end an bring in Haynesworth or possibly draft Chris Long if available. To me, it is a no brainer to abandon the 3-4 for the '08 season.
For DE, I would use a rotation of Robertson .. Ellis.. and Coleman For NT, obviously they are hard to find. Possibly Haynesworth, however, I can see the titans throwing the tag on him... Draft possibly ? OLB = Thomas (shit...) and FA / draft (Suggs anyone?) ILB = rotation of hobson vilma and harris (hobson the non starter) CB = Revis and FA / draft again S = Rhodes and i dont mind elam.. i think our other saftey spot is kinda the least of our worries at this point. Let Eric Smith, Coleman and Elam battle it out in TC. obvioulsy upgrading the front 7 should be the top priority along with the oline. The effects would certainly be felt in the secondary with an improved pass rush.