Barton is about the right size you want in a 3-4 ILB. It's such a unique position since the job of the linebacker in that defense is to go north south and clog holes where as in a 4-3 the linebacker flows side to side. I think getting a true 2 gap nose tackle would make all of our linebackers look a lot better.
every year where the jets could make advancements we take steps back if we got key players here such as barton why let him go. when we could add depth to our team and be solid for years to come and maybe go on our own little champagne campaign dynasty run.
I agree that the NT is more important than either of the current ILB's in the Jets current front. Barton has the size and hitter's instincts to fill a gap for the Jets. I'm still not sold on Vilma though in the scheme. He's got to have issues when he hits a gap at 230 lbs and finds a 290 lb guard there in front of him. As you point out having a 2 gap NT tying up a couple of people in front of him is probably absolutely necessary for him to have any impact in the system. One thing that I'm still not sure about is that D-Rob gets his role in a 3-4 defense. Here are the tackle numbers for the 3-4 NT's last season: D-Rob - 62 tackles Casey Hampton - 41 tackles Vince Wilfork - 50 tackles Ted Washington - 52 tackles Jamaal Williams - 69 tackles Jason Ferguson - 46 tackles Adams/Sopoaga - 42 tackles With the exception of Jamaal Williams D-Rob had a bunch more tackles than any of the established NT's, including Hampton, Wilfork and Washington who are the class of the league at NT right now. The numbers on Jamaal Williams seem high also, although I can't pick up why that would have happened this year. Last year he had only 53 tackles, which is much more in line for a starting NT in the NFL.
