Sacks to be in short supply against Jags

gustoonarmy · Oct 5, 2006

Thats some good Oline..

Ellis trying to jump-start Jets' pass rush

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer
October 5, 2006

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- Shaun Ellis zipped past a blocker and pursued Peyton Manning like a man possessed.

The New York Jets defensive end caught up to the Indianapolis quarterback, grabbed hold of his jersey and planted him into the Meadowlands turf for a 12-yard loss and the first of two big sacks last Sunday.

Ellis, usually quiet and reserved in the locker room, celebrated with some hootin' and hollerin'. After three games of frustration, being able to finally reach the quarterback brought out the wild side from one of the Jets' best pass rushers.

"I'm a D-lineman, so that's what we want to get," Ellis said Thursday. "Every D-lineman wants to get sacks. You just have to go out and put any amount of pressure you can, whether it's getting a sack or getting into his face. It comes. You can do it a number of ways, but the icing on the cake is when you actually get him and he has the ball."

The Jets' lack of a consistent pass rush has been a source of criticism, especially Sunday when Manning led two scoring drives in the last 8 minutes without facing much heat from New York's defensive line.

"That was one thing we knew we had to go into the game with, put pressure on Peyton -- try to get up in his face and get him rattled a little bit," Ellis said. "It worked out for the most part, but when we needed it, we just didn't come through with it. We just need to get better."

And they'll have to be Sunday, when they take on a Jacksonville team that's allowed quarterback Byron Leftwich to be sacked only seven times in four games.

A lot of blame has been placed on the switch to a 3-4 defensive scheme from the 4-3 they used in previous seasons. Others point to the loss of Pro Bowler John Abraham, who was traded to Atlanta in the offseason after being one of the NFL's top pass rushers when healthy.

Ellis, who considers Abraham a close friend and speaks to him often by phone, was disappointed when the Jets traded his partner on the defensive line.

"But you also have to keep in the back of your mind that this is a business and the team was just going in another direction," said the soft-spoken Ellis, who has looked a little more intimidating in recent weeks as he's allowed his chin hair to grow a few inches.

"I was hoping he would stay, but things worked out better for him," he added. "He got what he wanted and the Jets went in another direction."

They brought in veteran Kimo von Oelhoffen to combine with Ellis, Bryan Thomas and Dewayne Robertson to start on the Jets' new four-man line. They have shown glimpses of being a decent unit this season, but have just three sacks -- Ellis' two last week and one by Thomas.

That's not nearly good enough, especially when safety Kerry Rhodes leads the team with three.

"I think it's always good to be able to generate the pass rush with three or four (players)," coach Eric Mangini said. "That's a big asset."

Despite the slow start, Ellis knows quite a bit about getting to quarterbacks. He has 45 1/2 in his six-plus seasons with the Jets, and was a Pro Bowler in 2003 when he had a career-high 12 1/2 . He was drafted in the first round out of Tennessee in 2000 with the No. 12 pick, and New York took Abraham with the very next selection, giving them two potential dominant pass rushers.

Both players developed into exactly what was expected, but Ellis slumped to the lowest sack total of his career last year with only 2 1/2 -- and that was with Abraham on the other end of the defensive line. He also missed the last three weeks of the season with a strained hamstring.

Now with Abraham gone, the man called "Big Katt" by his friends and teammates has been double-teamed often as teams are putting tight ends on him and stifling his lanes.

"I don't worry about that," Ellis said. "I just try to go out there and play. They were doing that to both of us when we were both in there at the same time, so it's something I've been facing the past couple of years."

Mangini is impressed by the strength of the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Ellis, who has been able to outmuscle and outthink bigger and sometimes stronger offensive linemen.

"He's a powerful man when he plays with good leverage and good angles," Mangini said. "Yesterday, he almost broke somebody's back in practice."

Ellis entered the season as a team captain, named by his teammates to be a leader on the defense. While linebacker Jonathan Vilma might be the Jets' most high-profile defensive player, Ellis is one of the guys Mangini relies on to keep things smooth in the locker room.

"You've just got to go out and lead by example, work hard everyday and show your teammates they can count on you," Ellis said. "It's motivation. You want to keep earning their respect."
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GSourJr · Oct 5, 2006

Whether they're looking for Rhodes or not, they got to send him this week.

GreyhoundJet · Oct 5, 2006

I agree.. we have to send people on blitzes this week in order to be effective.. i think if we can take away their run game we have a gread chance to win this game

Green_Monster · Oct 5, 2006

are any of u worried about the size of the jags WR's?

GreyhoundJet · Oct 5, 2006

well Matt Jones probably won't play.. so that will help

Green_Monster · Oct 5, 2006

yeah well they still have reggie williams and woolford i think thats how u spell his name lol, is lewis the TE playin in this game?

SOWELLisGOD · Oct 5, 2006

GSourJr said:

Whether they're looking for Rhodes or not, they got to send him this week.
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i agree, but i think we need to see some other guys blitz too...i noticed coleman a few times vs. indy, but were at the linebackers? i know mangini doesn't run a 3-4 like those "blitzburgh" steeler teams, but bryan thomas should get some chances to rush the qb, and i think maybe all the linebackers deserve a few runs at the qb too, maybe mix it up and what not...i've said many times that maybe we need to use vilma's speed to let him get after it a few times

ThunderbirdJet · Oct 5, 2006

I have been very disappointed in Thomas when he's been sent after the QB this year. He has great straight line speed, but he has no moves at all. He'll hook up with a blocker, and play patty cake. Unless he doesn't get picked up by a blocker, he can't get anywhere near the QB. He has no bull rush, no outside speed move and no spin move. In short, he isn't a pass rusher.

I'll say it again... I'd like to see Vilma on the outside in some passing situations, and let him go after the QB. He has the speed for the outside speed rush, and can bull rush better than Thomas. At the very least, i'd like to see Vilma blitz even from his ILB spot more often. Hobson has proven to be a better pass rusher than Thomas so far. Very disappointing.

gustoonarmy · Oct 6, 2006

SOWELLisGOD said:

i agree, but i think we need to see some other guys blitz too...i noticed coleman a few times vs. indy, but were at the linebackers? i know mangini doesn't run a 3-4 like those "blitzburgh" steeler teams, but bryan thomas should get some chances to rush the qb, and i think maybe all the linebackers deserve a few runs at the qb too, maybe mix it up and what not...i've said many times that maybe we need to use vilma's speed to let him get after it a few times
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If we send a blitzer hes going to have to be a big guy. I've seen Lefty shake off would be sack artistes all too easily , or still manage to get a decent throw off.

jets&rushfan · Oct 6, 2006

Screw the Jags, I am looking forward to a Fish-fry next week, there is only one thing I hate worse than a prostrate exam and that is the boys in Aquablue marine with red highlights, too many days of Dan gone by, ultimate buzzkiller, Peyton was mild last week compared to some of the losses endured, though the MNM was redemption at it's finest!

GreyhoundJet · Oct 6, 2006

jets&rushfan said:

Screw the Jags, I am looking forward to a Fish-fry next week, there is only one thing I hate worse than a prostrate exam and that is the boys in Aquablue marine with red highlights, too many days of Dan gone by, ultimate buzzkiller, Peyton was mild last week compared to some of the losses endured, though the MNM was redemption at it's finest!
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Sacks to be in short supply against Jags

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Sacks to be in short supply against Jags

gustoonarmy 2006-2007 TGG.com Best International Poster of the

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