Rex Ryan is going to use the pieces he has on game day, regardless of their contract or how they were acquired. Maybe they're injured and slow, but I can only guess Rex Ryan knows more about fielding an elite NFL defense than both of us, so I trust his judgment over ours.
I've complained about what I think is a lack of talent on the Jets defense starting from the beginning of last year. But if there's one thing Rex is great at, its fielding great schematic defenses from overachieving players. I'll be thoroughly impressed if he can do that again this year with and older, slower group.
Name one position that we have gotten slower at? Even on offense? Please tell me insightful Bills fans. Im sure since you know a whole lot about the Jets, that you know that this defenses motto going into the offseason has been “one step faster”... So obviously they are going to be slower, right? Adding a top 7 talent at DE, an extremely athletic ILB, one of the most athletically gifted safeties in the league when healthy, Bart Scott losing weight, and the Bills fan’s favorite Aaron Maybin who is an extremely gifted athlete looking to step into a much bigger role at OLB. I would really like to know where the Jets defense got slower... or even worse for that matter. Now that the Bills have finally made a splash in the offseason, you feel like you can finally criticize the Jets for laying low and adding solid players at positions of need. This defense lost one starter from last season and added Landry, Bell, Coples and Davis to go along with that while retaining Pouha, Maybin and Bryan Thomas... But hey, we had a real shitty offseason.
First of all, you Jets fans need to calm down just because an outsider makes a legitimate criticism of your team. Its not all personal, you know. Just because a coach has a "motto" doesn't mean squat on the field. If that weren't true, every coach's motto would just be "Win the Super Bowl." What, you mean that obviously now they aren't going to win the super bowl, right? And I do think the Jets defense is old and slow. If Coples plays like he is capable of, he will certainly be an improvement and an upgrade. But Pouha, Pace, Thomas, and Scott are all old and slow. Bart can lose as much weight as he wants, he's still old and regressing by the minute. Davis certainly helps, but he's not going to take Scott's place right away this year, so this year should be much of the same. And I dont expect much from Landry. I dont know how healthy he is, but even if he is healthy (huge question mark), the guy spent so much time in the weight room I question whether he has the flexibility to even reach his arm back enough to wipe his ass. IMO, the only thing holding that defense together is Rex's ability to design and call great defenses. IMO, Coples is a big key for the Jets this year. If he plays to the level he is capable of, the Jets should have a better pass rush. If he doesn't, I think they're really in trouble. I love Wilkerson.
Improving the front seven will help out whoever is playing Safety. They did that, along with 4 new guys into the Safety rotation. It's not a "master plan" it's called making adjustments.
You have to consider the market and the amount of cap space the jets had this offseason. This was a very bad offseason for safety pickings. The draft was filled with mediocre prospects that were drafted higher than they should have been. The Jets did the right thing and went to fill other holes with the BPA. The free agency was filled with safeties who were asking a high price or were franchised by their current teams. The Jets also didn't have much money to throw around to boot. If they resign Leonhard, then they are merely doing the best with the cards they we dealt. No sense in pulling a Dan Synder trade, that's not how good teams are built.
I can handle a legitimate criticism, but frankly, I dont think your criticism has much substance. Spinning a team motto that says they want to be one step faster than last year is not even comparable to every team having a motto of “win the super bowl”. Mike Pettine has come out and said that the defense looked “dinosaurous” and that their main goal this offseason is to increase team speed, hence the motto “one step faster”. Sione Pouha may be 33, but the time he has been playing football doesnt reflect that. Im pretty sure he was drafted at age 27, so he’s only been playing in the NFL for about 6 years. His speed isnt a concern due to his position either. Thomas is going to be a role player that will set the edge on rushing downs, and as I said before, Scott lost about 8 lbs and has increased his speed. This isnt speculation, its reports, but believe what you want. Im glad you dont expect much from Landry, because then when he delivers a crushing blow to a Bills player, it will be a shock... His health is a major concern, but now we have decent depth at the position. Our defense, while being Dinosaurous, still finished 5th in the league. You add Coples, another year for Wilkerson, a healthy LB core, better safeties, and some weight on Maybin and I dont see one spot where we truly downgraded. I guess we’ll have to see week 1 though. Nick Barnett, George Wilson, Chris Kelsay, Dwan Edwards, Spencer Johnson, Bryan Scott are all over 30 and are big contributors to the Bills defense. So if I were you, I would worry a little bit about your own defense losing a step.
you dont come in and legitimately criticize. Just like Patsfantx what you "see" isn't reality it is more of what you want to see this season and you convince your peanut sized brain that what you think and predict of the season will actually come true. Bet you think that Mario Williams is gonna have 47 sacks (cue the oh no I dont think that comment just to try to respond and prove me wrong).
I disagree w/ this assessment. Jets are a talented group on both sides of the ball. Now their base D doesn't have alot of speed/athletes..It's a physical group built to stop the run first.I'm not sure how this is a bad thing. They're built the same way as Pittsburgh & Baltimore in that regard. But look at the sub packages. Jets have alot of younger players that fill specific sub package roles depending on the game day situation. Maybin,Davis, & Bush bring a speed/athleticism element for nickel situations. Mcintyre, Tevseau,Dixon, & Ballore are guys that fill different capacities.Are they full time starters? No...but they fill specific nitches that pay dividends on game day. It's not always about the starting 11. The Jets starting 11 can stop the run, & defend on 1st/2nd down...they also have small/fast & big/physical guys for situational play. All to go along w/ Sexy Rexy's scheme. Alot of people are gonna eat their words about this Jets team. Keep the hate coming.I would not bet against Rex & the talent pool of this team.
I still think Maybin is the perfect player to go Hybrid S/S -LB if he could learn to cover. He's as fast as the TE's NE fields, and if he was to play the Big Nickel guy, (and do it well) you could be in a position to have the Defense dictate to the offense....
He might well be able to transition to that position, but its much harder to find a guy that can get to the QB on a regular basis and we have been in dire need of one for ages. So its best he stays where he is.
Well at least I now know that you don't limit your trolling/ignorance to the bullshit forum. Maybin is still learning the pass rushing aspects of OLB. I hardly think that asking him to learn coverage assignments and go against Gronkowski is the best thing to throw at him right now. I guess the really easy point is that plenty of guys are the perfect player to go hybrid on many teams, if they could learn to cover. That whole "learning to cover" part is not as easy as you seem to casually throw that in there.
The problem with this rosy "big safety" scenario is that it assumes the safeties at least competent against the pass. Landry is minimally that if he's healthy, and there seems to be some question about that. Bell wasn't very good in pass coverage even when he was young and fast, and now he's old and slow. I agree with Bills Over Jets. This doesn't have the "smell" of any grand "plan". It's more like it has dawned on somebody that Landry is unlikely to be ready to go by TC, so they needed to sign somebody, almost literally anybody.
That was what I was alluding to, in the 'defense dictating' comment. Once Maybin starts lining up over the TE, then the Offense, is forced to consider what happens to the QB if the TE releases, and Maybin shoots upfield untouched.
Yeah, because they never take down linemen and convert them to 3-4 OLB's...never happens. Your first sentence says it all, you're basically an obnoxious douchebag, waiting to troll.
That doesn't make much sense to me considering Maybin is a liability against the run and only on the field in pass situations.
But we aren't talking about taking down linemen and converting them to 3-4 olbs. We are talking about taking a guy who was verging on being a bust until Rex was able to capitalize on his strengths and now you want to ask him to completely change positions basically. He is still learning how to become an every down player. And you want to take this guy who is bulking up to be a more complete 3-4 olb and now ask him to cover the league's most athletic tight ends? This is not madden.
The only reason Maybin is on the field is because of his pass rushing ability. He's a huge liability against the running game. But you want to move him to Hybrid SS to cover Gronkowski and Hernandez? Really, where do you guys come up with these things?
That's a valid point....But the guy is the single player, with the physical skills to learn the task. It's not like you're asking him to learn complex coverage packages, you'd be asking him to do one of two things, line up over the TE, and rush the passer as soon as the TE releases, or try to run down the field with him, when bringing the rush from somewhere else, in which case you can over/under the coverage. The point is not so much asking him to be Troy Polamalu but rather, to give the defense an edge to help negate the offenses advantage. A 6'4 speed guy underneath, with a bracketed over the top coverage, makes for a damn tough throw, if you can get pressure. And lets face it....the first couple times Maybin comes upfield untouched and face plants Buck Frady, because you dropped a real safety down to cover...they'll start thinking twice about not accounting for the defensive player, instead of the other way around. (P.S. I thought complete 3/4 OLB's were supposed to be able to cover TE's???, even the WOLB has to be able to assume some coverage in the case of a motioning TE, no?)
