Arsenal?s Position by Position Analysis (Linebackers) [Part 2]

Arsenal?s Position by Position Analysis (Linebackers) [Part 2]

This is my second installment on the NY Jets LB corps. I discussed Jon Vilma, Brad Kassell and Bryan Thomas with that post. Here was the premise for my previous post.

There is no position harder on defense to learn than the LB position. With the inherent move to the 3-4 defense, some of our players will have a tough time to make a transition. The advantage however is that the NY Jets come into this season with more depth at the LB position than ever before.

After being our strength for the past two seasons, the law firm of Tannenbaum and Mangini fortified that position for good with the additions of Brad Kassell, Matt Chatham, Alonzo Jackson and Anthony Schlegel. This along with the former: Jonathan Vilma, Eric Barton, Victor Hobson, Mondoe Davis, Darrell McClover, Bryan Thomas, Trevor Johnson and Ryan Myers create a dynamic group capable of playing both in the 4-3 defense and the 3-4 defense.

So far as per camp reports this is the breakdown on starters and competitors:

3-4 Defense

First Team

OLB: Bryan Thomas
ILB: Jonathan Vilma
ILB: Eric Barton
OLB: Brad Kassell/Victor Hobson

Second Team

OLB: Victor Hobson/Brad Kassell
ILB: Anthony Schlegel
ILB: Matt Chatham
OLB: Trevor Johnson

(I am not sure about Alonzo Jackson but I am sure he is getting in the mix with the second team)

4-3 Defense

First Team

?Sam? LB: Victor Hobson/Brad Kassell
?Mike? LB: Jonathan Vilma
?Will? SLB: Eric Barton

Second Team

?Sam? LB: Victor Hobson/Brad Kassell
?Mike? LB: Anthony Schlegel
?Will? SLB: Matt Chatham

At least that is what my assumption is based on their past experiences. I see Trevor Johnson as a pass rushing LB used for substitution situations in the past few weeks.

Now, that second team is pretty damn good for a 4-12 team which was, what?!?, 28th in the league in rushing defense. Furthermore, we now have a whole medley of different players for different situations. I can?t help but to be excited about this situation we have in New York. Here is my analysis on every single player we have right now:

Victor Hobson:


Victor Hobson has been quite a disappointment out of The University of Michigan. He has never amassed over 75 tackles in a season and has only two picks and three sacks in his career. Furthermore, he was benched in his second season for Mark Brown. He is still and intriguing prospect who has to deal with constant changes at defensive coordinator as well as learn the hardest position on the field.

Coming out of Michigan, Hobson was a two way threat at both MLB and OLB. He usually plays strong side OLB and is one of the best tacklers on the team. He has great form and explodes into ball carriers laying wood on them. He was an OLB on three LB sets while moving to the middle on nickel situations. He was a team leader with Michigan but at this point he is too young to be extremely vocal, especially when there are players close to ten years older than him. We can worry about that later. He is interesting again because I feel Mangini is using him in the wrong area and space. He is lining up at OLB in the 3-4 when I feel he can best be utilized in the ILB spot. He is not afraid to engage with offensive lineman and certainly knocks some heads out there. He is also not afraid to shed away from blockers and attack the ball.

He has weaknesses? similar to Kassell. He has weak hips does not turn well. He has bad instincts when the ball is in the air as well as the ground. He cannot be counted upon in pass coverage as he does not have the speed to stay with premier players nor the skill to attack the ball for picks. He runs around a 4.8, not slow but not fast. He is not smooth and is choppy in his running style. He reminds of a weaker version of Kassell. His pass anticipation is what hurts him. He can be a great substitution run stopper LB in SY/GL situations and replace Vilma. The one small thing he has going for him is his short area burst. He can really gain power with a step into a tackle. This is also useful when blitzing and you get to attack the ball. He rarely blitzed from the strong side during the Edward?s era and he has this step over Kassell. He has a very thick chest, and is just dense in muscle terms. Very fit IMO.

He had 11 sacks in his last two seasons at Michigan, not bad for a SSLB.

Eric Barton:


Barton was and still is our most instinctive linebacker. He has terrific awareness and rarely gets lost in play action and draws. He is a solid tackler, not overly fast, but is fluid in his movements. He can engage and disengage well and is a solid blitzer. He is also very good at pass coverage. He is just a very polished player who is not great at anything but is good at everything. I can see him in the outside as well as the inside. He played MLB in Maryland and does play as the nickel LB for the Jets.

He is our second best cover LB behind Jon Vilma. I can see him at OLB because it will be his responsibility to cover the TE and all the strong side runs. He will also expect to be called on for blitzing the QB. All these facets of the game require a very complete player. I see Eric Barton as that complete player.

Alonzo Jackson:

Jackson is an interesting player as he was a former rush linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He never really got an opportunity at Pittsburgh and I haven?t heard much about him and where he is lining up. Jackson reminds me of Thomas in a lot of respects. He is a pass rusher and is extremely fit. He runs around a 4.7-4.8 but his change of direction is very good. He will not be good at chasing ball carriers but he tackles extremely well. If he gets to the QB, no matter who it is, he is going down. Has very good balance and moves smoothly in his rushing movements. Does a good job of keeping blockers away from his chest, but if a long armed OT latches onto him he is out, the play is over. He fits the prototypical size for a 3-4 OLB with a 6?4? 266 pound frame.

Jackson will make the team for one reason, his pass rush. Other than Bryan Thomas there is no pure OLB in the 3-4 defense. Jackson can fill that void and come into play on 3rd and long and on an all out blitz.

I hope you liked this installment and please tell me if you disagree, agree, or have a question.

Thanks

 

Note: Part 3 coming tommorow....

 

Intersting stuff folks. I feel like Hobson was not even good at his role on defense. He rarely helped Vilma as Vilma always made tackles 7 yards down the field on defense, that goes hand in hand with the fact Kassell has done more in his career leads me to believe Hobson is getting cut

 

I have what I would do in the Part 3, thread....BTW your avatar is DA BOMB