Yeah, or he'll be moving around a lot and wind up rushing often from where he rushed last year. Rex uses a lot of 3-3-5 and 3-2-6. If Coples is in the front in those alignments it isn't really going to matter whether he's listed as an OLB or DT because the big guys in those fronts usually have their hand on the ground at the snap. Rex actually used only 2 down linemen by snap counts at times last year. Pace and the other LB's often had their hand on the ground in those fronts.
I'm with you on that, I don't really see the logic in this. You could be taking away from the ability of one of your biggest impact players to make way for a rookie that you don't know if he'll be able to contribute as much. I dunno, it seems like a bad idea to me but it could end up being a genius move. If Coples can adjust and Richardson is what some people seem to think he can be. My two cents: should have just drafted an OLB instead and then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Seems like half of our picks this draft have drama and distractions around them. Milliner: Revis replacement who will be be ripped apart for not being as good as Revis day one. Richardson: forces Coples to the OLB position which could cause problems Smith: Obvious Campbell: a mediocre pick being moved to the other side of the ball Bohanon: A FB, enough said. Bonus round: trade for Ivory who is a RB with injury concerns and some people think we gave up more than we should have for a guy that far down NO's depth chart Not saying all of that is accurate just saying that is the dramatic perception of a few of our picks.
Here's a decent article from TOJ pointing out how we ran a bunch a different defensive alignments last year and how Coples has already played snaps as a stand-up edge rusher. "Coples to OLB" simply isn't that different from how he's already been utilized. http://turnonthejets.com/2013/05/new-york-jets-stop-with-3-4-labels/ An excerpt:
I don't understand why so many folks are so absolutist with this. He's not going to exclusively play OLB. Rex changes up his fronts quite a lot, most likely he'll bounce around where he's needed and also based on the development of players like Richardson and Ellis. People act like he's going to just go to OLB and stay there all game without any change. Ya'll should know better. This is a Rex Ryan defense, and having players that can fill multiple positions up front makes it easier to disguise coverage. I think Coples will be just fine in that role. Worse comes to worst he doesn't do that well and we move him back to DE/DT. It's not going to destroy him. The kid is young, he can take it. It's not like switching somebody who's already played 3 years in the league to a completely different position ala Joe McKnight.
People seem to think this is a knee jerk reaction due to drafting Richardson, while not drafting an OLB. While Coples is agile and athletic, i never saw him as a run stuffing 3-4 DE. He gets swallowed up against double teams, and often pushed back. Most of his success was on subpackages, where i couldn't really even describe what the position was. It is quite possible with his athleticism he can set the edge against the run. I doubt he'll have much success in coverage, but none of our OLB's ever really have either. Setting the edge is key. On subpackages, like last year, he may line up in a variety of places. It will be interesting to see what type of hybrid fronts they come out with, and how they line up differnet personell. it will be tough for offenses to read, that's for sure.
Here is Coples on his pro day. You can see him doing coverage drills @ 2:46 and 5:46. He's not exactly fluid, but still he moves pretty well for a guy his size. [YOUTUBE]QQmysrkRd3o[/YOUTUBE]
Dramatic as shit, Anyone that actually believes that needs to shove some tampons down their throat, stfu, and go watch Grey's anatomy instead of the draft.
Exactly. The whole pass rusher thing with Rex has always been a good approach. Basically stand a bunch of guys up and make you guess who's coming. The challenge, IMO, has been that there hasn't been anyone with the speed/skill to get there in time and Rex just sends more and more.
Rex has been sending the kitchen sink when he needs pressure on the QB. I'm hoping that the heavy emphasis on the DL the last few years has been to get sufficient pressure out of the front to avoid having to blitz 6 and 7 guys. Having Darrelle Revis allowed Rex to send crowd blitzes. That doesn't mean it was the most desirable way to do business.
Coples won't have any trouble rushing the passer or setting the edge. His problem, as he said, will be tackling in space. When the drafted SRich I thought 4-3 was the likely base defense. I wanted to see Mo and SRich inside, Coples at LDE and McIntyre at RE. Rex knows defense so I'm sure he has a good plan.
It just seems to me Rex is going to be toying around even more, which is fine, he's a defensive wizard obviously. He might just be shifting from 3-4, to 4-3 throughout the course of a game depending on what set he thinks will work best. Coples is versatile enough to shift from 3-point to standing up. There was short article on NFL.com about the hybridization of 3-4, 4-3 with draft-picks like Coples last year and Dion Jordan this year.
I see Coples role at OLB fairly limited to passing downs. I don't see Sheldon Richardson starting from Week 1. Wilkerson and Coples didn't start until later in their rookie years as it takes a while to get acclimated to Rex's defense. I see Richardson coming in on 3rd down passing situations to provide a quick inside pass rush, playing right to his strengths, and Coples will stand up in those situations. Rex loves versatility on his defense and he's never seemed like a guy to try and force a square peg into a round hole ala Mangini with Gholston. Don't expect him to drop into coverage very much at all. How often do Demarcus Ware or Clay Matthews drop into coverage?
Video Interview w/Coples http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/art...t-at-OLB/8893c18f-bff6-418d-a010-bec93045ab2d
Coples and Wilkerson should be able to push the pocket back, but this also depends on Kendrick Ellis and Shelden Richardson to stay healthy and develop quickly in order to just send 4 and keep everyone else in coverage. We will be leaning heavily on our defensive line this year in my opinion, we do have Cro out at CB, but the safeties are questionable and Dee Milliner is unproven.
Certainly not near as knowledgable as many of you folks but I would say how Coples is utilized will be the least of our problems. I suspect if there is a guy that will get the most out of every player on our D is Rex. Coples I would guess will be far from a full time OLB, but rather a hybrid DE/DT lining up all over the field with part time OLB duties. BTW, he said it himself, he is at the right weight right now, comfortable playing between 280-285.
