OLB/DE dept. : jets to bid on ~ ~ ~ Another unheralded free agent generating a lot of interest is OLB/DE Calvin Pace. After being shuttled back and forth between outside linebacker and defensive end during his first four seasons as a pro, Pace finally displayed the pass-rushing skills that made him the Cardinals' first round selection in 2003. Pace finished the season with six-and-a-half sacks and is held in high regard due to his motor and versatility. Teams envision him blossoming into a double-digit sack artist in the right scheme. Expect the Cardinals to make a strong attempt to re-sign him, but look for the Jets , Titans and Patriots to be among the bidders if he hits the open market. > http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ue.buzz/1.html
sounds like we have someone like that already.Some one who suddenly turned it on during a 3-4 switch and contract year coughs "Bryan Thomas" coughs
Seems to be a guy that was playing out of position. Drafted 18th in 2003 as a 4-3 DE, but generally considered a bust until 2007 when the Cards moved toward a 3-4. Hurt his arm in his 3rd year. He's listed 6'4" , 272 with 98 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 2007. From what I can gather he's playing the Harris ILB position (or strong OLB when in more of a 4-3) right now, but many may want to try him at 3-4 OLB as well. Interesting either way. Have to agree with the similarity to the Thomas situation though.
Bucky Brooks of SI.com has some buzz from around the league, which includes a bit on the Jets interest in free agent DE/OLB Calvin Pace. Pace was a first-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2003. In addition to the Jets, the Patriots and Titans have also expressed interest in the 27-year old pass rusher if he hits the open market. Arizona will likely make a strong push to re-sign him. Under Ken Whisenhunt with the Cardinals, Pace recorded 98 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception. Brooks states that he is held in high regard due to his motor and versatility. Teams are envisioning him blossoming into a ?double-digit sack artist? in the right scheme. Pace stats: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/6354 What do you all think? He's already a 3-4 OLB and would fill a major need immediately.
We need all the quality young pass rushers we can get, but Pace might be a bit risky moneywise for his production. A Bryan Thomas type. He's better than Thomas, but I don't know that he'd really fill the need. We need a slam dunk type of guy. -X-
I think, there all ready is a thread on Pace... Also I don't think he is any better than Bryan Thomas, drafted to be a 4-3 end, is useless until a switch to the 3-4 OLB in his contract year. I'm sure we all remember thomas's production level after he got a big deal...
This seems to me like someone the Jets would go after. Whether that's a good think or not, I don't know yet
That's exactly what I thought... I hope we learned our lesson after rewarding Thomas for one decent (by 3-4 passrushing OLB standards) season after a lousy start to his career. How about we pursue somebody who is a known commodity as a passrusher, instead of a "maybe he'll break out and be good" kind of guy?
Thomas would've had a fine year this year if he wasn't moved to the SLB. I'm still not sure why he and Hobson were switched. You probably have to pass on Pace, just because the body of work isn't overwhelming enough to give him all the money he's going to get from some team.
Spot on. I'm sick of 'Mangini' guys and multi-taskers. get players in who excel in at least their own position , if they can do anything else , bonus. See Brad Smith
for some reason i do NOT feel comfortable with all the money that may be potentially tied up in coleman, thomas, and possibly now pace. if they do pursue pace you can kiss vilma goodbye and rhodes will likely get franchised when his deal is up. of course i am expecting them to also add gholston to the mix so at the LB spot you are gonna have thomas, harris, pace, gholston and whoever. thats alot of day one expensive talent. no wonder hobson is gone...if thomas lays another egg this year he will likely get cut next offseason jil
Now that the Cards have F-Tagged Dansby, this elevates Pace as one of the premier remaining FA in his position. I hope that the money he will be making does not spoil him.
Last season when Bryan Thomas finally broke out, he was playing on the weak side while Hobson was playing on the strong side. This worked well because Thomas was able to use his speed as an edge rusher and Hobson was able to use his strength to contain the pocket and occasionally pick up sacks. I have no idea why there was a switch this season but it obviously didn't work well at all. With Hobson likely gone this offseason, Thomas should be able to move back to the weak side leaving a TRUE strong side OLB as one of our bigger needs. I'd say Calvin Pace's IDEAL position is exactly that (3-4 SOLB) because he has played as a down lineman as a 43 DE and even as a strong OLB in the 4-3. If he can play both those positions, then I'm sure he'd be great at a combination of both of those in our system.
Pass rushers outside of Quarterbacks are the most valued position on the field and we are not going to be able to find a proven pass rusher to fit our system in Free Agency. We will have to take a chance on a guy like Calvin Pace, who will be an upgrade over Victor Hobson. Combine that with potentially upgrading the CB opposite of Darrelle, and all of a sudden we can afford to take more a BPA approach towards the draft. Even though we might have to pay a bit more than a lot of people would like on this site would like, our cap room is there to be spent, and not just sit idly by.
I don't get why everyone thinks Thomas declined solely because of his contract. Thomas also spent most of this season dropping back into coverage...and it doesn't help that Hobson sucks ass so teams could key in on him. That said, I don't want Pace even though he and Thomas probably wouldn't be all that bad together. The talent at 3-4 OLB is too good in this years draft for me to be in love with any FA at the position.
Yeah - I don't understand the hate against BT either. Last season I feel like he took one step back so that he can take two forward this year. Our coaches philosphy is to have guys who can be versatile and play anywhere. Spending most of last season dropping back in coverage last season BT is now a much more polished player. I expect him to be a very solid contributor to our team this year and would complement Pace very well. What the pairing of Pace/BT also does is open up the option of drafting a pure pass rusher who can come on just on 3rd down and wreak havoc. There won't be as much of a need to draft a 'complete' player at OLB.
Draft Gholston and use FA for oline we dont need this guy who "miraculously" turns it on in a contract year.
Or draft McFadden and Cherlius and use FA on a OLB who finally came into his own. Whether or not that happened to be a contract year has nothing to do with and any accusation of the such is an assumption and a falacious argument. I say we get him. Pace would fit perfectly with our team and would give us the opportunity to build on other aspects of the team that need help.
