I'd be pretty much in exact agreeance with you on Brick. He did well against the leagues best finesse rushers because of his technique and reach. He struggled against power rushers, even ones that aren't start players, because he still needs weight and strength. Still, this is no reason to write him off the way many already have.
Our left side sure does have its work cut out for them in the first two weeks. I just hope D'Brick is ready and able to keep A. Thomas away from Chad and Bender doesn't lose focus on fat boy Wilfork and the LB's who will be looking to confuse the shit out of him, knowing he is a rookie. All in all, I think we're okay as long as we don't get beat up off the ball - our pass blocking has to be protected by a strong running game and vice versa. Every NFL Primetime Analyst Predicted that we have more losses than wins this year and I just hope we once again, prove everyone wrong.
i thought about all the tight ends we've kept. we could help out brick and bender by just lining up sean ryan right next to them, he's a pretty good blocker. brick and ryan take care of that DE while bender gets some help from mangold double teaming the DT. leon washington is a great blocker as well.
That's not a bad idea at all. It could hurt us for the fact that he'd be an eligable recevier, which would take away from someone else (JMAC, Smith) being on the field, but if it means giving Chad more time and mixing it up, who knows. As you mentioned Leon, maybe he goes to the left after the snap or in motion to help and then releases to be open as a check down.
rofl, had no clue. thanks for correcting me. well from what ive seen about bender, yeah his pass blocking obviously lacks. a couple plays were just him simply not getting out of his stance fast enough so he could see whether his man was going to rush inside or outside and left them unblocked. but i remember seeing him on a few plays get down field and make next level blocks in the run game. to be honest we dont have any other choice, and id rather our pass blocking suffer a little if hes able to contribute to the run game.
I have only heard that since Kendall was traded and Chad looked bad in the preseason. Before preseason games started they all had us at 8-10 wins...so screw those guys.... They won't be impressed and Jets fans won't stop complaining until Chad is throwing 2 TDs and 250 yards/game and Jones is running for at least 100 yards and a TD per game ...and the D gets 3 sacks and a pick every game an allows less than 17 points...
@NYJ 13A Agreed. Quite frankly, Bender can't be THAT bad. We can help him out by just using one of the tight ends and fullbacks/running backs we have on our team right now in some situations, but he should be able to block somebody 1 on 1 as well, otherwise Mangini would not have inserted him in there. I don't think Brick needs help from a TE to block a DE, but if the DE tries to put a speed rush on him (to run around him) he could help Bender block the DT while Ryan and Washington take care of the DE. We will be fine.
You're talking about the Giants game I assume? This is what I saw too, but I've read that he did much better in pass protection against the Eagles after he was quoted as having worked on pass protection technique all week. From what I saw in that game (Giants) it seemed like he could improve his pass protection quite a bit by simply engaging his responsibility as if he were run blocking rather than waiting for the guy to come to him. Obviously he can't drive the guy downfield too far when passing, but when he is the one initiating the blow he seems to do very well controlling them.
Quite a while. The Jets are the only team in the AFC that chose to keep just 8 offensive linemen. The Panthers chose to keep 8 in the NFC.
It's a lot harder to help a guard with a TE or FB than it is to help a tackle....you can line up right beside the tackle and help at the point of attack whereas helping a guard means the defensive player already has penetration.
This will be a year of growing pains for Bender. What is encouraging (besides the fact that Mangini sees potential) is that it is alot easier to teach a player pass blocking technique then it is to teach a player how to be big, strong, mean, and determined which are the traits of good road grading run blockers.
If he starts as it seems in week 1, Mangini saw something. He comes from a school that ran the football. Our OL was horrible at run blocking last season. Bender will screw up some pass blocking assignments, but for every screw up, he'll blow up 10 LB's on running plays.
The only problem w/ this statement, is part of Brick's problem IS his technique. His footwork has improved but he still alot of times struggles w/ his weight transfer which causes him to get pushed backwards. He also hasnt learned how to use his long arms to create seperation. THIS is why I believe he will one day improve into a all pro type player. He's currently getting by solely on physical attributes(when he's not getting bull rushed) and once he learns better balance, hand placement and arm extension..look out!
I kind of get the opposite take on D'Brick at the moment. He's getting pro level coaching and following the appropriate techniques but his body has not rounded out into the physical development required to use those techniques effectively. He's currently listed at 6'6" and 312 lbs. From the limited exposure he's had in the exhibition season I think the 312 is wishful thinking. He looks more like 300 to me, although that might just be his extreme angularity. For him to be a good NFL left tackle he's going to have to play at a solid 325 lbs, maybe 330. So I'm thinking his physical development is a huge key to whether or not he becomes a good tackle and I'm also thinking that he might well take 2 or 3 years to grow into that weight and become good.
He's a year away from being a bonafied quality LT. Odds are we're both somewhere in the middle in regards to his development. The reason I question his technique is he never gets full arm extension(which should be his # 1 priority given his strengths) and he rarely shows proper knee bend, which contributes to his struggles w/ the bull rush(along w/ his size). Despite what many believed, he WAS a project out of college. He had alot of success in college, but it was painfully obvious he needed to add upper body strength and needed to refine his bull rush technique. He survived last year starting 16 games at blindside duty on a playoff team and was far from a liability. He recieved a bit of help from RB's and TE's in pass protection as any young OT in his position would. Now he's being asked to take another step and be put on an island in pass protection. There will be growing pains, but based on what I saw in TC...he's well on his way.
Heck, I think 280 would be a reach. He looks MUCH lighter than he did at this point last season. He looks like a TE, almost indistinguishable from Baker other than his jersey number. I hated the pick when we made it. He looks like the skinny kid that gets picked on compared to the top 5 LT's in the league. I think he can manage at LT, but he will never live up to his draft pick status.
