The only problem......Nicholls State primary offense was the "Triple Option". Think the Army/Navy game....not many passing attempts, but of course the quote is better than the alternative. I have to belive the Mangini / Tannenbaum see this guy as a guard, who is versatile enough to play the either OT position if necessary.
That depends where you look. NFLDraftCountdown.com had him going in rounds 3-5, and their grades were some of the most accurate I saw this draft. There's a difference between between being a "good" player at a small school and being a "dominant" player. Bender was dominant. No sacks given up in his senior year, and a stretch over his career of 1750+ snaps with only 1 sack. Guy also can play 4 positions on the line. If he went undrafted it would have been a sin.
He has a better shot at taking Clements job than he does Moore. Clements is a stop-gap and would be a better back-up at this stage of his career than a starter. Many people drastically under value Moore's contributions to this team. Personally he is my least favorite Jet. Based on what I've read throughout the off-season on these boards, I think he is the least favorite for many posters. However, the reason I dislike Moore has nothing to do with his performance on the field; he one of our best run blockers. My issue with Moore is the costly penalties he has game after game. The fact that this disciplined oriented coaching staff has not made attempt to replace him should give you an indication on how they feel about his play.
Gil Brandt on Sirius today said he thinks he will be our starting RT THIS YEAR. If that is true, this is an awesome pick. Would have loved 10 players like last year, but I love this draft and think it is really solid.
Wow those are very strong words. I'd love to see that b/c it sounds like he'd make a reat young pairing w/ Brick
Well, I think that's why I initially slated him to replace Moore. I'd say Jacob Bender is our attempt to replace him. That said, if Gil Brandt's right, I'll be happy too.
I agree with you 100% and that is a very good point you bring up about the coaching staff not going out and replacing him.
I could definitely see him being our starting guard this year, and that was my initial thought. This guy was an awesome 1AA player. I have no idea how he dropped, probably his lack of pass blocking experience, but he really could be the absolute steal of the draft. Brandt saying he could be the starting RT this year suprised me, because I expected him at guard, but it makes me think that he is definitely a player and an awesome pick.
The offense struggled in 2006, yet Bender went on to earn All-American, All-Louisiana and All-SLC honors. He had 87 knockdowns as the running attack accounted for 233.9 of the team's average of 291.6 yards in total offense per game. Bender did not allow a sack all season and produced eight touchdown-resulting blocks. Does anybody else find this a little odd? Yeah when a team is only averaging 60 yards passing a game the lineman aren't going to give up many sacks. Certainly though it looks like we may have found that OL that can open up holes for ours RBs which is something we did not have last year. I like the pick and if you wanna see how good he can be try to find video from the Nebraska/Nicholls St game when he held his own against Adam Carriker who went what 12th?
His inexperience pass blocking means that more likely than not he'd really only be able to help out at Guard, even though I think down the line he might be better off at tackle. Whats best about him is that they mention how great his feet are and also that he's more of a mauler type, which pretty much sets him up as the ideal Right Tackle. For the short term he can make his way at guard and learn to pass block, but once he gets the NFL Speed I'd like to see him outside.
I agree GH. I think that if you can plug him in at guard for a few years to let him learn the nuances of the game, he could eventually replace Clement on the outside, and yet could still be a replacement for Moore if it comes down to that. Or, based on other rumors, he could even replace Kendall, as much as I really don't see a point to getting rid of him.
Between A. Clark, N. Goddard, B. Moore and possibly E. Blanton and A. Jones, Bender's got quite a few hurdles to overcome before we even start slotting him for P. Kendall's spot.
