Gholston VS. Westerman....vs. Murrell?

tomdeb · Aug 28, 2009

Fakterx said: ↑

I have the game on my DVR so I took a close look at all 3 players individually.

Gholston got about 15-20 plays, Westerman got around 5, and Murrell got at most 5 plays. One thing I clarified for myself that I wasn't sure about before was what position each player was competing for exactly.

It seems that Gholston and Westerman are competing for the backup Rush-OLB position behind Bryan Thomas. On the official depth chart Westerman is shown as the back up to Harris but Ryan has said he wants him to know all the LB positions. I believe Murrell is strictly Calvin Pace's backup (strongside OLB) because he only got playing time after Pace sat down for the first time in the 4th quarter.

Onto the good stuff:

Gholston - The most glaring issue with Gholston is that he has not developed any pass rush moves whatsoever. He does not use his hands at all which is often times what makes a pass rusher great. He literally runs straight into the blocker and unsuccessfully tries to over power him. We have all seen this by now and it is really discouraging considering one would think pass rush technique can be taught. One thing that is nice though is that he is getting opportunities from all over the field both standing up and with his hand in the dirt.

Gholston does have one thing going for him though. I think he grasps the system pretty well and understands his role. When he's called upon to contain he does so pretty adequately while holding blockers at the point. His awareness has improved; he stopped a would be TD after Mcgahee broke several tackles. Also, in coverage he seemed to know his zone and where he is supposed to be. He has the fake blitz/drop into coverage technique down pretty well too which seems to be used often in this defense.

WESTERMAN - Right off the bat you see how much more instinctive and aggressive he is than Gholston. He actually looks like a football player out there whereas Gholston looks the opposite a lot of the time.

Play #1- Gets a Tackle For Loss on his first play of the game.
#2 - Would have had a TFL but there was a flag on the play.
#3 - Showed a quick burst and made a tackle from behind to hold the runner to a short gain.
#4 - Showed unawareness and was completely faked out on a QB option that went for a 1st down.

Two other times he was dropped into coverage. He blew one assignment but was successful in the other. I like what I see out of him but he might not be ready to start.

Bottom line on Gholston Vs Westerman: Although he didn't make any big plays, he didn't mess up at all and showed he is capable of filling the role. Not very encouraging really but it's better than last year. Westerman definitely flashed which was great to see but in his limited play time he made some errors and could get exposed vs. starters.

For those of you that want to cut Gholston right now; that would not be the right move. I think he is the best option behind Thomas and Pace because he has some much needed experience in a complicated system.

MURRELL - Looked GREAT in very limited action. Used his hands very well to shed blockers and looked a lot like Calvin Pace. Plays with aggression and even had a TFL. Pace is supposed to sit more on Saturday so I hope I'll get a better look at him.

I'll post again on this topic after the Giants game.
Click to expand...

nice post-thanks

julani · Aug 29, 2009

I'm about winning now and so should be the Jets. So if Gholston isn't performing after the first game I'd say it's now Westerman's position.

624 · Aug 29, 2009

I don't know if this was a coincidence but I just got a sack with Gholston on Madden and Colinsworth said "That's a surprise."

Green Hurricane · Aug 29, 2009

nyjets624 said: ↑

I don't know if this was a coincidence but I just got a sack with Gholston on Madden and Colinsworth said "That's a surprise."
Click to expand...

If virtual Cris Collinsworth is ripping you, then maybe you should think about a career change.

julani · Aug 29, 2009

LOL I gotta see if that happens when I play.

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