Vilma uncertain about his future with Jets BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com January 19, 2008 Article tools E-mail Share Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: Jonathan Vilma's knee is healthy enough for him to play football again - at least the two-hand-touch variety among sixth-graders in a middle-school gym. Oh, and he has to be the automatic quarterback because he's not ready to run yet. The Jets linebacker made a brief visit to Long Island Friday to participate in the NFL's Take a Player to School program. While he tossed the ball with the kids at Polk Street School in Franklin Square and signed dozens of number 51 Jets jerseys, Vilma knows there's a chance he may never wear that green and white shirt again. "That's outside of my control," he said of speculation that he could be traded this offseason. "All I can do is worry about my knee." It was the right knee that ended Vilma's season after seven games. He had surgery in November to remove bone chips from the joint, still walks with a limp and has not yet tried to run. He continues to rehab near his home in Miami. "I'm building back the muscle because I was on the crutches for so long," he said. "I can walk, I can move, but there's no rush to get into running, especially with such a long offseason. We're just taking it easy, taking the time to get it right." Vilma said he is unsure whether he will be physically ready to participate in OTAs or minicamps this spring. He said that is something the coaches will have to decide but added that it doesn't seem worth risking further injury or derailing his rehab progress to learn a defensive system he already knows. Vilma said he hasn't spoken with the organization about his future. He has two years remaining on his contract. Callahan hired In an effort to improve their running game, the Jets hired former Raiders and University of Nebraska coach Bill Callahan as their assistant head coach/offense. Callahan will work primarily with the offensive line while offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will retain his title. The Jets had two offensive line coaches in 2007. Tony Wise will not return next season - he is expected to join the University of Pittsburgh's staff - but Mike Devlin will be retained. "Bill brings valuable experience as an assistant coach and head coach on both the college and NFL levels," Eric Mangini said. "His expertise with the running game and with protections will be a big asset." http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets195544259jan19,0,3258574.story
"Bill brings valuable experience as an assistant coach and head coach on both the college and NFL levels," Eric Mangini said. "His expertise with the running game and with protections will be a big asset." Agreed! This is an area that suffered and the running back suffered along with the inability to seal off the holes that exsisted for about a second and then disappeared ;leaving the running back to find basically no room unless they cut it back and ran to the outside.
Vilma most likely will not be well enough to be traded on draft day due to the fact that he will not be able to pass a physical
He should stay and get healthy with us. We wont be worth what we want him to be if we did trade him before/on draft day that makes him upset.
If it was bone chips in the right knee then it is the condition he sustained in high school and his years at Miami. The condition involved potential micro-fractures in his right knee and the worry that they would become degenerative.
I don't think Vilma will be traded because of how bad his knee sounds right now. No team is looking to trade for players who are coming off a bad knee injury. It just doesn't generally happen. If we trade vilma this offseason I would be shocked. He is a bad fit for the 3-4 and probably will never become a good fit for it either. Jon Vilma really dissapointed me last year and prior to his injury this year too. I thought he would be better at the 3-4 than this. Think of how lucky we are to have David Harris. This kid is a great fit on the inside linebacker position. He made plays all over the field just like Vilma did in the 4-3. If we didn't have David Harris we would be looking pretty bad on defense without him.
OK, now it appears we have the brains in place to get our offense going; now we need the size, experience, and muscle.
Right, honestly it wasnt really expected that Vilma would be traded, and if we were able to trade him we wouldnt get anywhere what we should get for him. I honestly think that a Vilma-Harris combo in the middle is by far the best that we have to work with.
or maybe not kudos for shutting him down so quickly. if its a degenerative type injury this may have been something that had been affecting him for a bit longer than when he was shut down. i still dont really know much about his past knee problems but have to wonder if it impeding him getting around and especially through blocks. i have to wonder if the strength in the knee was good enough to take on an offensive lineman and stand his ground. so on the brighter side of things maybe he will heal up fully and be stronger than he was before the injury that may have been lingering around for the year and a half he played poorly. yeah i know i have rose colored glasses on that one. but its better than thinking about the fact he may never play again
