Pressure starts up front which is why its crucial to have guys who can take on blocks making it easier for our LB's and DB's blitzing Wilkerson-Pouha-DeVito is an above average 3-4 Line, I trusts Rex's instincts that he'll get whatever it is we need most in his eyes whether its a DE, LB or DB we have to trust what he does
I'm starting to think more and more that we'll take Dontari Poe if he's there. We've been scouting the 3-4 DE spot heavily for the 1st round (Coples, Brockers, Poe). Coples isn't a great fit as a 3-4 DE imo in our scheme, and if all three are avaiable Poe is still the most imposing and explosive physical specimen. Pettine and Rex come from Baltimore where they had Haloti Ngata as a 3-4 DE, and Poe offers that size and explosion. He isn't the polished player Ngata was coming out of Oregon, but he has that potential. Constantly doubled with the offense directing traffic away from him, Poe wasn't able to make consistently flashy plays. Teams won't be able to do that to him with Pouha and Ellis playing at NT and Wilkerson, who could breakout in his second season, in the opposite end as the other DE. Not to mention our OLBs like Pace, Maybin, and maybe a draftee rushing off the edge. We'll be able to get him in one-on-one situations against right tackles who he should be able to abuse. If he's there, I think he's ours.
Coples is tall enough to be a 3-4 DE but he's really not built for the position. He'd have been ok a decade ago but the tackles and guards keep getting bigger and bigger and even 295 is a stretch now. Add in the fact that the question mark is his motor and he becomes a scary project for the Jets. Too big to play OLB and not big enough or driven enough to play DE. Brockers would be a more natural fit at 3-4 DE with his ability to move around on the front and even inside at NT on passing downs. He's not an elite pass rusher but that's not what you look for from your 3-4 linemen. You look for guys that will push the pocket and have to be accounted for, leaving the edge rushers one-on-one and making the QB move in the pocket. He's also very young and extremely physical in his play style. He could well become a solid pass rusher as he gets more experience. Poe is a really tough call. He definitely has the ability to be a dominant 3-4 lineman and probably could play DE or NT or both. The question is whether Rex can get the most out of him and turn him into that dominant player or not. If Rex is on-board 100% with the pick then it's a good pick. If he's not, well the Jets can't afford any more hulking projects sitting on the sidelines at this point. They already have Ducasse and Ellis filling that role for them.
First off, Poe is not a 3-4 DE, hes a NT. I dont get where you see us "Scouting 3-4 DE's heavily". Coples would be able to play 3-4 OLB in this scheme, Poe hasnt visited the Jets all they did was go to his pro day, and Brockers is really the only top 3-4 DE that the Jets have had visit. Poe is extremely overrated. He blew up the combine and put up great numbers but what did he do in college? Not much. And please dont bring up Ngata, yes they had similar numbers but one played against great competition while the other played against the likes of East Carolina, Tulsa, Marshall, Southern Miss, etc (Didnt play Houston). Yes, Southern Miss was ranked in the top 25 but was known for their high powered offense. Looking back to their game against The Golden Eagles what did Poe do? Lets see, he racked up a total of 1 tackle, against the best team he versed all year. They lost 44-7. Lets look back at Poe's best two games last season: Against Arkansas State he had 5 Total Tackles, 2.5 TFL. Not bad but against less competition I want to see more. Against SMU he racked up a Total of 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL. He got a sack, hooray, but that isnt such an impressive stat line for being one of your best games. Now lets look back at a highly ranked DT from last year, Nick Fairley, a dominating force at Auburn yet had the same hype as the extremely less productive Poe. In 2010 Fairley racked up a total of 56 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 24.0 TFL. Now where was he selected? #13. His best games were against Alabama and LSU, the top 2 teams from this year, and highly ranked in 2010. His numbers? Against Bama: 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.0 TFL Against LSU: 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3.5 TFL Better stats against extremely better competition. What I am trying to get across here is Poe is very VERY overrated. Watch his games he was never dominating against higher competition or even his own conference. The Jets are picking at #16 this year, there will be many solid prospects available at our pick, maybe even a steal or two. A player like Poe is not worth a shot on "potential" when A) DLine is one of the few positions on this team that has depth and B) We need to acquire a player who provides immediate impact. Here is a few of his games, watch them, tell me where he looked like a dominating player. [YOUTUBE]AZxD_uV5kyk[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]g0IaNI-3sw4[/YOUTUBE]
Because we have worked out Coples and Brockers and sent a small army to attend Poe's pro day. I don't care about his size, you'd say Haloti Ngata is a 3-4 NT as well -- yet the Ravens use him at DE mainly. Poe could be used by Ryan and Pettine as the Jet's Ngata at DE. His production wasn't impressive this past season, but his play was solid. Like I said, the offenses he played against directed traffic away from him consistently to neutralize him since he was the only threat on Memphis' defense. He was also doubled consistently on top of that to remove him from having an impact. Teams won't be able to do that to him in the NFL unless they want to run directly to the likes of Wilkerson and leave Wilkerson and Pouha with one-on-ones, and blitzing LBs with insufficient blocking coverage. Like he did in offseason All-Star games and practices, Poe would dominate one-on-one situations. He is also a potential pick, since Rex and Pettine can coach him up. My personal preference, again, is to avoid DE in the 1st. I like 3rd round prospects like Kheeston Randall more for the talent and value, especially knowing we can't get a stud OLB or WR if we don't take one in the 1st. But if we go with Poe, I certainly won't be disappointed knowing what we'd have in store for him. We took Kenrick Ellis to be our NT, and we have Pouha at NT already. Poe would be the strongside DE like Ngata with Wilkerson as the weakside DE. The potential with that combo is astounding.
I actually like AJ Jenkins a lot, but more in the 3rd round then 2nd. I think he's got the potential to be a really good deep threat which is something the offense is lacking.
bsux - u just hit the NAIL on the head and reinforced my mantra since the days of parcells being here...... if u want a consistent top 5, SB caliber D, u must have a probowl guy in every group - linebackers, secondary, and D-line. in a perfect world of the 3-4 that would translate into a NT, OLB, and SS. shutting down 1/2 the field with a corner is nice but what good is it if u cannot collapse the pocket and have zero edge rush.
Chicken or the egg. What good is if if you get to a QB in 2 seconds if your corner can't cover a WR for 1? Everything plays off each other.
