Pace is 33 and he's got 8 sacks in this front 7...only a career high. Barnes is 29 and just had a year off, he's not going to hit the wall. If Barnes played as many snaps as Pace has this year he would have been on pace to get at least 10 or 11 but probably higher since the front 7 has gotten better as the season has gone on. The front 7 isn't the problem, only the rest of the team is. Guess those aren't enough sacks for you, what would make you happy, 20? Usually about 1 guy in the league can do that and Wilkerson is already in the top 5 with Coples coming on strong. If the 2nd pick comes around and the BPA is clearly an OLB with no comparison at another position of need that's one thing, otherwise it's a no brainer to invest elsewhere. I'm all for taking shots with later picks on defense, but unless there's clearly huge value investments have to go to offense first, and safety before OLB. Chances are you're not going to land an elite passrushing OLB in the 2nd round in case you haven't figured it out. If you fall short of that there's no progress being made over Barnes. Then by being patient and not blowing it on half measures you can bring in the centerpiece in the 1st round the year after or maybe FA if that's a possibility.
^ agree with you 74Mangold.. Offense is the clear priority, and Safety a really big need. I love Reed, but he looks done. Landry is much better suited for a SS role, not playing deep. Allen and Jarrett also both better suited for SS, and i believe both are players with limitations. The secondary as a whole has been terrible. Safety should be on our draft radar. OLB is not the end all position for providing a pass rush. We've drafted Wilk, Coples, and Richardson for a reason, and the pass rush has come along greatly as a result. They are even making guys like Pace look good against single man blocking. Barnes and McIntire will be back. Pace could be had back at vet min if necessary. I love the idea of signing Worilds or another mid range FA as a potential starter in base packages. Wilk/Coples/Richardson/Barnes or Worilds is a very good 4 man pass rush front. Coples versatility allows us to kick him inside (where i think he's best) in the Nickel, and on the edge as OLB in base D. so i agree we need to do something at OLB...i just don't think it's a big priority considering other areas needing improvement.
i would love to sign Worilds. exactly the type of mid level signing i'd like to see which can improve the team. fwiw, i think the light switch coming on is the realization of the contract year. he hasn't historically been great against the run. However, it's been coming on strong as this season progresses. If he can set the edge, and potentially be a 3 down player, it would be a tremendous signing.
wilk and richardson play inside on sub packs now and that isnt changing... coples is doing fine on the outside.. forget about our base 3-4 that our depth chart says we run.. its a hybrid base that coples never plays OLB in..he rushes from both edges
Worilds would be a perfect signing he's 25 so he's still relatively young and i can't see how the Steelers resign him with just drafting Jarvis Jones and having that big contract with Woodley.
It's not just about sacks. It's about applying real, consistent pressure on opposing QBs, not giving them time to make reads and step into their throws, and forcing TOs. Coples is not an OLB, and we all know that his play is very spotty and inconsistent. Most of the time, he's invisible. I know the elite OLBs go high in the 1st round. In the 2nd round they could find a young guy with good speed who could be a situational pass rusher for a year or two and develop into a solid OLB. Most of them take a year or two to develop anyway. Still, I'm not advocating reaching or anything dumb like that. I'm just saying that the need is there. Think that Oakland RB would have broken off those long runs yesterday if the Jets had a real play-making OLB with some speed? I don't. Pace and Harris are just too slow. They leave a LOT of plays on the field. Barnes isn't a full-time player, either. Pace has had a career year and Barnes played very well, but there are no guarantees that they will be able to play at the same level next season, and as we saw, Barnes went down with a season-ending injury this year and the pass rush fell off. Wouldn't it be nice to have a younger guy they could plug in if Barnes or Pace were to get injured? For what it's worth, I agree that the Jets have a HUGE need at FS. The problem is that with the way Rex views safeties, if he remains HC, I don't see a true ball-hawking Safety taking the field. We all know that Rex likes his safeties to be identical and be more SS types who play in the box. If Idzik was to sign a younger OLB in FA (like Worrilds), then I'd be quite happy with him using the 2nd rounder on a very good FS prospect. I just think that if Rex is still HC, that FS prospect would seldom see the field.
Well, there's a good chance Rex's views on safeties change a year removed from having Revis and a healthy Cromartie......
i dont know why people are calling for another high pick at olb. cople has come along way since coming back from injury. i expect him to be a beast next year
Hasn't really shown up on the stat sheet, but if you watch the games, he looks like our best pass rusher. I love what Wilkerson has done, but Coples leads our team in QB hurries if I'm not mistaken. He's doing a really nice job in run support as well. He's come a long way as an OLB over the course of the season.
We need to dedicate the draft to the offense, Marty is a good offensive coach that has proven to create top 10 offenses. We do need to get rid of the wide receivers coach though. He has done nothing to help Hill even though Hill himself sucks Rex may need to be locked out of the draft war room come draft day, but they can let him back in rounds 5-7 ...
