Right now the way I see our LBs are OLB Thomas ILB Vilma (Kassell) ILB Barton (Hobson) OLB Chatham Im satisfied with our ILBs, Vilma and Barton is a superb tandem, and Kassell and Hobson offer nice depth. But I dont like our situation at OLB. Both OLBs have to be big, physical, versatile, and athletic guys that can blitz, drop back into coverage, or provide run support. I believe Thomas will be marginal as a starter, but I think Chatham would be better suited as a backup. And I do believe any of our ILBs would be playing out of position at OLB. I think we need to come out of this draft with at least one (preferably 2) OLBs. Not necessarily a Bobby Carpenter or Manny Lawson either. It would be nice, but not essential. But if we did get one of two, Id rather it be Carpenter. He more fits the profile of a 3-4 LB...not as quick or fast as Lawson, but bigger, has experience at LB, is a great blitzer, and has experience in coverage. Some mid round names (3rd/4th round) I think we should consider are Daryll Tapp (love this guy, and with a motor like his, he sounds like a typical Bellichek pickup), Stan McGlover, Victor Adeyanju (who weve already met with, I believe), Mark Anderson, Mike Kudla, and Ray Edwards. I dont see Hawk as a possibility either, I see him more as a 3-4 ILB
Kassell dosent fit in at 3-4 OLB as I said before. Unless you believe he can beat out Barton for the start, than I dont see him as anything more than a quality backup. You cant just put him at OLB and expect him to have success, not in this scheme
I think Kassel and Vilma will start inside, because they cómplement each other, with Vilma being the fast guy who's all over the field and Kassel being the bigger, more physical guy. I think Barton can play OLB, and Thomas,if he can make the transition, will just play occasionaly. Therefore the Jets need one OLB and I hope it will be Lawson
Lemme try again. Look up some 3-4 OLBs if you dont believe me. These guys are around 265/275 pounds. Im usually not a man impressed by numbers, but Bartons giving up 20/30 pounds to these guys. The ILBs primary focus is run stuffing and pass coverage, whereas the OLBs specialty is blitzing. Barton is a run stuffer, not a blitzer. I could understand him not having the size for it, if he made up for it with superior technique, but that is not the case. If Thomas starts, we need at least one starter capable of taking over the other side. But Id prefer two, just to provide Thomas with some competition, in case he cant make the transition
I agree with you 100%. At the minimum we need 1 OLB in our 1st three picks and possibly 2 on the 1st day. Right now OLB is our biggest need alongside an OT. The failure to address the OLB position leaves one to believe they have someone targetted with one of our 1st 3 draft picks. Whether it is Hawk, Lawson, Carpenter, Howard or someone else. I would not be surpised if kassel takes the starting job from Barton but either way bit Barton and Kassel will pay a lot if not situationally against the run and the pass.
There's a good chance the BPA at #29 could be an LB. Alot of people want Mangold for obvious reasons but if Tangini has another player rated higher then we will have to wait to see what falls to 35. I like our odds of adding a LB in the second or third round. I see it something like this after round 4. 2 - OL 1 - LB 1 - WR 1 - QB 1 - DB Which round will they fall in, who knows, but this would be a good grouping of top talent by position.
Kassell is not a compliment to Vilma. Kassell is a coverage linebacker, and for the most part, so is Vilma. Kassell is too small to play the strongside which is opposite Vilma. Barton and Hobson are perfect for the position being good blitzers and good tacklers.
What about Darrell McClover? He was amazing for us on special teams before he got hurt. You guys see him having a chance of starting?
I love the guy but he is very small, very very fast, I bet one of the fastest linebackers in the NFL, If he lost a bit of weight he could almost transition to safety, which may happen in Mangini's scheme, he would be great in run support, but that job may belong to Maddox, right now Rhodes and Coleman are both a bit on the small side and are both suited for pass
Barton weighs 3 pounds more than Kassell.Maybe I didn't get this right, but I thought he would compliment Vilma when I read this Grade 70 Expert's Take Kassell has marginal size to play in the middle, but he is a tough, downhill-to-the-ball type of player who will survive because he plays with good instincts and has good play recognition. He does a great job from tackle to tackle and is a leader in the sense that he makes sure everyone is lined up correctly to play the defense that is called. He has decent foot quickness and good lateral movement and shows he has good body control and change-of-direction skills. He is a classic overachiever who plays with a high level of intensity. He takes good angles to the ball in pursuit and is a very aggressive tackler who has the ability to uncoil and hit through a ball carrier. He does an excellent job on special teams and has a good nose for the ball. He lacks the speed to be a sideline-to-sideline player and is somewhat of a liability in definite passing situations. He has good awareness in coverage but just doesn't have the running ability to match up versus the faster backs and tight ends in man-to-man coverage. He can be engulfed by the bigger offensive linemen and does not use his hands real well to strike and shed blockers. He needs to beat you to the hole, and if he gets blocked he stays blocked. He is a situational player who plays the run well but you need to get him out in most passing situations.
People are overlooking Hobson, who's a perfect compliment to Vilma inside in the 3-4. Big guy, sure tackler, and he played 3-4 ILB in college. I'm thinking the lineup will be Barton, Hobson, Vilma, Chatham/Thomas, unless we draft someone else.
Nobody's overlooking Hobson. Vilma will play ILB, and the other slot at ILB will be a competition btwn Barton, Kassell, and Hobson. But these guys are ill suited at OLB. ILBs in a 3-4 are COMPLETELY different than the OLBs and have different skill sets. Hell, on lots of teams, the ILBs even practice seperately, and under a different coach, than the OLBs!!!
If you look at the most successful 3-4 team in the league, the Pittsburgh Steelers, they don't have any LB's over 250lbs. Farrior is 243, Foote is 239, Haggans is 243 and Porter is 250 (he's also the heaviest LB on their roster). All these being equal, you want the guys with size. But more importantly you need high motor guys that are smart.
Kassell is good but not great. I think he could be a great role player, but the Jets will look at the draft as the place to search for their starting olb
That is true, very good point about the Steelers. But then again, Haggans and Porter make up for their size with (or lack of, rather) with their superior technique. Porter and Hagans are both extremely proficient blitzers which allow them to make up for their lack of size. We have nobody like that. Thus, I still see us needing at least one OLB, preferably two
I definitely think they have to take a true pass rushing OLB in the first round. Whether that's Wimbely, Carpenter or Lawson, I don't really care. I'd like to grab a project like Stanley McGlover later, but at the same time I think they'll wait to see how the B. Thomas experiment works out. I do think that Vilma and Barton are a strong base though and I think we'll see Kassel and Hobson getting time on rushing downs.
Those are more or less my own views on the matter as well :up: I don know where Darryl Tapp fits in, but IMO he definitely fits the profile of what we should be looking for
