People would run up the middle all day. In a 3-4 it is ideal to have one fast, athletic playmaker and one bigger LB who can take up blocks.
We need a legitimate pass-rusher, big time. I don't know who that is, but that's the one position we need very, very badly. Eli Manning, as inconsitent as he was Friday night, had time to post messages on this board if he had had a laptop out on the field with him. Our LB's and DB's are fairly good, but not good enough when the QB has that kind of time. We were just damned lucky Manning was being Manning. Tom Brady, for example, will be another story with that kind of time and he'll absolutely carve us up like a turkey in our first meeting in September. The passing game will then turn into a ball-controlled running attack in the 3rd and 4th quarters, after the score gets to be something like 27-7. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but we are so screwed in this department, you have no idea. The second biggest positional need is a QB with an arm. I love Penny and everything he's sacrificed for the team, but his dink-and-dunk, hang-'em-out-to-dry bloopers are going to lead to many, many 3rd and outs and INTs, not to mention how much this bullshit cripples the running game. You could have OJ Simpson in his prime, in the middle of his 2,000-yard season out there and you still won't have a running game because the opposing DEF never has to prepare for the long ball. Well, okay... long ball... a 40-yard "bomb" which is more of a short Hail Mary and up for grabs by anyone, including a few fans who actually have the time to put down their beer and run out onto the field to make the catch. Actually, we have the solution in-house to problem #2. Kellen Clemens is the answer and we just may see him when the pain gets to be too much (1-5 or so). I also think he has a chance to get in there because the way Penny has been tossed around in preseason, he's one hard landing away from another visit to the surgeon's office. But the pass rush (the lack of it) is going to absolutely kill us this year.
Good post. I do agree that we'll be killed without any pressure and a nasty pass rusher would help but ... dropping all the LB's into coverage was probably a scheme specifically for Eli Manning. It's rare to not see at least one LB blitzing in the 3-4. Against Brady, we would surely bring more pressure. It's also preseason so we don't want to show too much with our defense in terms of how we're going to generate pressure.
Casey Hampton - I would like a big beefy NT that can raise havoc! The blitz will have a much better chance of getting to the QB and the running d would be vastly improved
its got to be LT.....227 I was surprised to see you say a passs rusher would be first on your list....obvioulsy we need one, dont get me wrong.....but we also had a helleva pass rusher last year......didnt help.....if you want to pick a defensive player as our biggest need, i would think a run stopper is the place to start
Linemen........ Underated are many players in the Big12. What the Big12 does in RB's, QB's, LB's, and such is always eclipsed by their programs involving Offensive Linemen. ........ Wish I had the available list for ex-Big12 linemen.
Very good question. My pick is Reggie Bush because he's so dynamic and bring so many things to the table. 1. He woul'd solve our RB problem. 2. He'd solve our lack of playmakers problem. 3. It can be argued that he would be our best WR, certainly our 2nd best. 4. He would improve the other players on offense. The linemen don't have to hold their blocks for too long. If they miss a block Bush has the ability to make that player miss. He garners so much attention that the other skill players should see more one on one coverage. The QBs have a dump off option that can take a 2 yard pass and turn it to a 60 yard pass play. 5. He'd improve our punt return team. 6. He'd help attendance and Jets marketing. 6. He would do all of the above for the next 10 years, since he's very young.
They can pass against us easier than they can run against us. You could see that Friday night with the 1's on 1's, although Tiki Barber had a nice outing running the ball too. Manning was his typical, tentative, rookie-like self, otherwise he could have cleaned our clock on the pass. Our LB's come up and fill the voids on the run. But given time, any decent QB is going to pick up apart like a spring chicken. A corner can only do so much.
Jay Cutler without a doubt. He is the best young QB in the league & will be one of the tops for the next 10+ years........ L. Maroney at RB, good power, speed & excellent field sense.....another winner who will shine for years....... Wait a minute, we could of had these two....Na, I must be dreaming!!!!!
