Name a team other than San Diego that didn't have a bad draft that year. It was just a terrible year for talent, it happens sometimes. Besides, as was said before, we still managed to come out of that draft with Kerry Rhodes and weren't stuck tying up big money in one of the numerous first round busts.
Thomas and D-Rob were the biggest Jets busts of all-time based on their pre-draft hype. Lam Jones was before I started watching the draft so I can't include him on my list but from all accounts I hear he is a contender for all-time bust as well. Both other guys were top 5 picks in the entire draft. Blair Thomas ran scared once he became a Jet. Reminded me of Shaun Alexander in his post MVP days. He would just run into the line and churn his legs while not sizing up the field at all and almost waiting for a defender to just tackle him and put him out of his misery. Thomas actually looked like he didn't want to be on the field. Made me sick to my stomach for years after we drafted him. I'll never forget when they were comparing D-Rob to other guys in his class like Kevin Williams and saying D-Rob was head and shoulders the better prospect. Oops! Just goes to show you what some of the so-called "experts" know.
I actually remember Blair Thomas' issue not being just running into a pack with his head down for no gain, but actually he would stop in the backfield and try to find a gap or hole and in the process would get tackled for a loss because the speed of the nfl was much faster than in college. In this scenario I would agree with the other poster that he ran tentatively.
Robertson was one of the best DTs in the NFL in 2004, he was hurt in '05 then mangini came in and changed schemes and altered his career.
If you seriously think that Robertson was EVER one of the best at his position in the NFL then give me some of what you're smoking. There are numerous guys in the NFL who get injured, change schemes, and if they're really the best at their position....they come back just as good as they were before all of that. D-Rob doesn't and will never fall into this category. Out of all the D Tackles in the league in 2004 I would be interested to see some of the names that you had D-Rob ahead of. And please don't give me specialization in terms of Nose Tackle because almost every D Tackle in the NFL could play Nose Tackle if their team required it. I could name 10 D Tackles off the top of my head that had a bigger impact on their D in '04 than Roberston ever had on the Jets.
3 pages long and not a mention of the disasterous 1984 draft.....about a month before the draft, Walton traded Todd to the Saints for a first round pick and then dealt Kenny Neil, a back-up DT to SD for a second round pick giving the Jets four out of the first 36 selections...what did that fruitful crop harvest? First rounders CB Russell Carter, a bigger bust of a pick than the likes of Dave Cadigan IMO, and Ron Faurot, a DE on a team with Lyons and Gastineau still in their prime, I don't think he lasted more than two years, complete bust. In the second round, the Jets did get Jim Sweeney (and didn't realize his talent until they switched him to center a few years later) but also drafted TE Glenn Dennison, a bigger flop than Mitchell, Brady, and Becht.....that's three out of four busts in the first round and a half, talk about a waste......
I think what junc is saying is that Robertson seemed to improve during 2004 and looked like he might not turn out to be a bad pick after all. I seem to remember him playing pretty well that year but in 2005 he completely shit the bed, whether it had anything to do with schemes or not I'm not sure.......in any event it's safe to say D-Rob was definately in the top 4 or 5 first round busts in Jets history.
I hear ya. Great strides in 2004, absolutely. However to be considered one of the best at your position in the league you have to do it for a sustained period of time. This is not and never was D-Rob.
From 2004 FIRST ROUND ONLY D rob was better than: William joseph Jonathan Sullivan Jimmy Kennedy And if you think any DT can play NT in a 3-4, I want some of what YOU are smoking. If that's the case, how come so many teams have struggled to find answers at the position? You think Warren Sapp could've effectively played that position? How bout the aforementioned Kevin Williams? Fact is, those guys are similar to what D rob was projected to be...which is a 3T DL in a cover 2 scheme. That is a COMPLETELY different position that requires COMPLETELY different skills/attributes than a 34 NT.
Blair Thomas was never the same after fumbling near the goal line in an MNF game against Chicago. He pooped the bed bigtime on national tv. Not that he had been doing great before then, but from then on he was worthless.
I could care less if he was better than those 3 scrubs that came out the same year as him. That's like saying he was the best of the worst. Doesn't make D-Rob look any better. Way to change the subject as that wasn't my argument. Now as I said, go through all 32 teams in the NFL in 2004 and tell me that D-Rob was one of the top 10 D Tackles in the league that year. This was my argument. The reason the whole defensive scheme issue always comes up is because not all 32 teams in the NFL have great defensive coaches. People forget that coaches need to be graded just like players are. Some are better at implementing their defenses and others not at all. To say that Warren Sapp wouldn't thrive in any defensive system he played in is pure BS plain and simple. Can you honestly say Warren Sapp, a future HOF'er, wouldn't have "effectively" played any position IN ANY defensive scheme on the D Line? You need to base player evaluations more on their production and less on what scheme they're in. Schemes change all the time. Players production doesn't unless they're really not as good as people thought they were. When they rate the best Defensive players in the league and select pro bowlers they don't say this guy was the best D Tackle in a 3-4 or a 4-3. They say he is the best based on his ability and production PERIOD.
He was easily top 10, probably top 5 in 2004 alone. He was a huge part of a top 5 D that nearly took us to the title game.
-Seymour -Stroud -John Henderson -Kevin Williams (yes the one we passed on for D-Bust in the '04 draft) -La'roi Glover -Shaun Rogers -Sam Adams -Ted Washington -Corey Simon -Pat Williams That's 10 better than D-Rob in 2004. So not easily Top 10 in '04. I could list more as well.
He was arguably the best player on our D throughout 04. Both Bill Cowher and Marty Schottenheimer(The coaches of the 2 teams we played against in the playoffs)were on record saying he was the best DT they faced all year. He never reached that level of play again....but the ridiculous bust talk is cocmpletely off base and just shows complete utter ignorance.
I would argue that Glover,Adams and Washington were all aging and were not on the same level as D rob.Corey Simon has been overrated his entire career. Is he solid? Yes. But he was not on the level of D rob that year.
You just referenced Warren Sapp playing in a 3-4 scheme. The truth is..he DID play in a 3-4 scheme for a horrid raiders team in which he played DE(Again a completely different position than 3T AND NT for that matter) and he was never the same player. If you truly believe that scheme doesnt drive certain players success and lackthereof, you have alot to learn about football. Basically you're saying that all DT's are the same, and that there are no varying styles, skillsets or gap assignments..which is completely and utterly false.
Besides, I wasn't talking about any other team. Rather, I was just pointing to the fact that it doesn't get much worse for the Jets than their 2005 draft which produced one above average starter. Since you asked... Cowboys Giants Patriots Packers Falcons Steelers
You can throw out 10 names who have had better careers but there's no way they were all better in 2004. Go back and watch tape, he was great in 2004 and the key to our top 5 D.
Wow, this is on the money, I had forgotten a lot of it except the Todd trade and Farout. That began the process of the team sliding because the core would eventually get old and nobody replaced them until the 90s.
