Harris Wants Game to Come to Him

Thanks for the good read on Harris, Ecko.

I've been pretty pumped about Harris ever since the draft. After doing more research and knowing that he was coming from a stellar D in Michigan, we picked up a beast at the LB position. It's the 3-4 that Mangini loves and will run and it's nice to see the detail he described when talking to the inside linebacker's position. Usually he strays from talking that specific to what a player does. I was in Maryland, unfortunately, during the game and couldn't catch it because the stations were doubled up since the Redskins and Ravens played. Nonetheless, NFL Replay is being DVR'd today and I'll be able to get a look at the game for the first time tonight. Other than the O Line everyone is talking about, I'm looking forward to seeing the other guys play.

 

Vima to the cheifs for Tony Gonzalas!

 

I don't know, Ecko. Have you seen Tony's "partner" on Hard Knocks. She is keeping him YOUNG!

 

Let me ask a stupid question.

Why don't we move Vilma to outside LB? Is he too small to rush from the outside? He seems to get caught by the guards inside and this would free him up.

 

I've wonder the same thing.....if he's struggling that bad...y not

 

He's quick enough to move around the outside and cover the flats and midfield routes, it's a surpirse no one's seen him move out there. He's solid on pass coverage and would be able to murder RB's taking it to the outside. Is he lacking size to be out there and take on pulling linemen?

I think Herm makes a great secondary / defensive backs coach because he knows his stuff and he's a true players coach. But when it comes to an entire team and CS, it's not his place. "And when you get those doughnuts, boy. It's gotta say. IT'S GOTTA SAY HOT!!" hahaha when talking to Dwayne Bowe. Another good part was when the two guys were playing Madden and the one guy impersonates him, "It's OKAY! It's OKAY!"

 

I REALLY love Vilma, hell I'm an FSU fan but when we drafted him I almost jumped through my TV with joy. The guy is Ray Lewis'esque in a 4-3. Thats the problem though, trading him wouldnt be a problem to me as long as were getting top value.

we would HAVE to trade him to 4-3 team to do so. and I dont think waiting to find some miracle NT monster who will leave Vilma untouched will work.

we need an OL or a legit 3-4 DE. only problem what other 3-4 team would want him if we looked to trade for a DE.

so at this point we can really only trade him for OL or skill positions.

point in case, hes worth trading especially if Harris continues to progress at this rate.

 

We need to trade vilma, we have harris and barton.. This guy is not suited for this defense hes just not.. Unless We can get a bigger NT, which it doesnt look like well do because were content with robertson it seems. We can at least maybe get a 1st rounder for him from the higher seeded teams, hed be good in the colts...

eh I digress..

 

theyd be much better off moving vilma to hobsons spot and letting hobson solidify the run d. hes much better suited to engage blockers which is why hobson bullied some te's and rb's into a decent sack number last yr.

if were not gonna trade him like i said, we should at least switch hobson and vilma.

 

did you see crumpler put the smack down on that cincy LB???? it was like it was madden and he trucked that dude silly....knocked the defenders helet off and the guy looked like he didnt know if he was in a bathtub of on a football field! it was sweet!

on a side note...does anyone else find themselves sort of pulling for the falcons to have a good year now? i was never a big Vick fan, but as a fan it has to be devastating that you not only lose the starting QB but your teams biggest playmaker (even if he was mediocre reading and passing).

ive been a big warrick dunn guy since he was on tampa and i was living there. hes one of the true gentlemen in sports today, and a good person. so i root for him to do well...that said, id like to see the falcons perform well this year and see harrington finally get it right. petrino might be the best thing to harrington since he came into the NFL.

 

I'd like for the Falcons to do better than they ever have with Vick. Aside from that, no offense, I could care less as long as the JETS are playing well, of course. Did you Abraham was playing last night? Haha that will last until Week 5 when he gets hurt again.

People are praising and defending Vick already, yet he spoke for 4 1/2 minutes to apologize for 6 years of dogfighting. It's only the start but now this is becoming an NFL thread.

Back to Vilma; I don't think it could hurt to at least pull a switch on D and have him on the outside. Before we start talking trades, which obviously won't be happening this year, they have to find a solution for a guy that had the most tackles in the league two years ago; he had ZERO in two preseason games and there has to be something done to utilize his ability.

 

The problem Vilma has in the 3-4 is not really size related. It's his play style. He's always been a swarmer and mover who gets better if he gets 3 or 4 running steps in before he makes contact.

In the 3-4 an inside linebacker usually reads and reacts and makes a quick lateral or vertical move into a tackle. A lot of the time they're right on the NT's shoulder and helping form the channel that pushes the runner outside where the end, outside linebacker and corner will handle things. That's why it's so important for any 3-4 defender to maintain their lane. Freelancing like Vilma and D-Rob like to do (and are best at) just opens up big holes in the middle and the defense gets gashed.

This is not going to get resolved by the Jets. Vilma really is not suited for the 3-4 because it removes his greatest asset, his speed and nose for the ball, and replaces them with his greatest weakness, the inability to play in a defined lane and bring any kind of impact to the play.

 

:beer: :beer:

very true. no freelancing...no league leader of tackles. hes got an assignment, and thats where his responsibility is. breaking that will cause the defense to fail.

i still think mangini shouldnt have crowbared in the 3-4 after he looked at the roster and saw it wouldnt work well...

 

I don't know how Slowly he's pushing. Harris has looked nothing but good to great in the preseason. Yea, its only preseason but still, the kid stands out.

I'm not going to be the one to speculate who he replaces or who moves where, but i see him getting lots of playing time sooner rather than later.

 

I've been calling for that since Mangini's DAY ONE. Vilma has to be moved outside, I dont see how our coaching staff does not see this. Its mind boggling.

 

Because if you think he's undersized for a 3-4 ILB, then he's really undersized for a 3-4 OLB. They're usually at least 250+.

 

QFMFT.......... TY