Some of the posters who complainn about Vlad sound like the wife who just complains and piles it on when the fact is that things arent so bad. Vlad is improving, the JETS knew he was a project when they took him. He will see some time this year in games in spot situations and will make some mistakes. Vlad is young, from a small school, and has the misfortune of a disrupted training camp/off season. Vlad has made some plays, if he were that bad, he'd be cut. High draft picks from the past like Rick Terry, Doran Boose, Reggie Rembert, and Scott Frost who contributed nothing to the JETS deserve threads like this. I have read this (type) of thread a 1000 times before. You could just plug in the names: Sean Ellis, Brad Smith, Eric Smith, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, or Mark Sanchez. All were players who did not produce immediatly and were considered "busts," then went on to be pretty good players.
Regardless of Vlad's situation, the Jets probably need to pick up a veteran o-lineman. They'll probably wait until after week 1 so the salary isn't guaranteed.
Small school argument is bullshit. Plenty of players have graduated from "small" schools and gone on to great things. Ellis did fairly well in his rookie season, Brad Smith had dogshit hands and route running until just recently, Eric Smith still should not be a starter, Brick showed flashes which at least proved to you that he was progressing and Sanchez was never a "bust" consideration.
The Jets should not waste a roster spot on a player that is going to take years to develop into a servicable backup.
Or a second round pick. Compared to Badway and keeping in mind successes like Revis and Harris, I am mostly a Mikey T fan, but Vlad is a net negative, so far, and based on where he should be, likely to stay there, even if Vlad sticks. Best I can do.
Is he really improving? The argument that the Jets knew he was a project is overblown. They thought he was raw but they knew they'd only have him under contract for about four years so they must have though he'd develop into a real contributor pretty early on. Does anyone believe they spend a second on a guard/tackle who wouldn't even be a competent backup until year three at the earliest? He's clearly developing much, much more slowly than they had hoped.
I don't see any progress at RT, he looks ok at rg but if we have to put him in a RT he is going to get Sanchez killed. A speed rush beats him everytime. Last night it was just backups he was facing, If those were starters it would have been the same as tree weeks ago. Turnstyle is the right word for it. The Jets may be able to spend a roster spot on an extra backup linemen to cover for him but if not they should replace him because they would just be risking too much with him in there.
This is a perfect way to look at it, so the Jets might get 1 good year out of him during that entire 4 years. That sounds like a waste of a pick and a high pick at that along with a roster spot.
It might have been a bad pick but it's not a waste of a roster spot. Good teams keep a developmental lineman or two on the 53 man roster-your Ropati Pitoituas or a young Brandon Moore. Would you rather have Zane Taylor as your developmental lineman?
A developmental lineman is all well and good, ONLY WHEN you have suitable backups around him should a starter go down. When you're counting on your developmental 2nd round pick to be your 6th lineman, and he's surrounded by piles of suck, you have a big problem.
I'm not here to defend Vlad, he needs work. Very few O-Lineman in the NFL are instant starters and play very well. D-Brick struggled his first year and didn't shine till year 3. Mangold was an exception and still didn't play outstanding till year 2. The problem with Vlad he has been exposed in the passing game. Vlad's run blocking has been very good, he really gets a push and is effective. As of right now, I only see Vlad as a back-up guard and Bill C needs to develop his pass blocking skills. If Bill C can't make Vlad better, no one will. Vlad's problem is between his ears, he has a huge amount of physical talent. The year will be the turning point for Vlad, he he makes it or is gone next season.
I'd agree with that, but just because they hoped he would develop quicker doesn't mean it was out of the realm of possibilities that this would happen. I refuse to kill this guy until he actually gets a full NFL offseason under his belt. I know the vultures don't care that he missed out on the most important part of developing him so far but I do.
I think you should always have about two solid backup offensive lineman (a tackle and an interior guy) as well as a developmental guy on the 53. (You can carry nine of twn if you happen to find some real talent). The problem is that Ducasse is still that developmental guy, so we still need the two solid backups. Turner was one, maybe Fexlis is one, but we still need one more, preferably somebody who can play tackle.
Its clear Tanny will sign someone off waivers he always mainpulates the final3 or 4 names on the roster . i trust hiim implicitly and know he will get this done BTW Felix is wank..
