Who overrates him? Most just blindly call him a bust. He's a young O-lineman w/ alot of potential who has started his first 2 years w/ mixed results. Nothing more..nothing less. However..if you don't think he has the POTENTIAL to be a pro bowler...you're kidding yourself.
It's not so much as many anyone look good. But more than any other unit on the field, the Oline needs to function and be cohesive as a unit in order to suceed. A really crappy player, aka Clarke and Clement, has a domino effect down the line. The other lineman have to cover other people's assignments, and thereby miss their own. Great Olineman can only live up to their potential when they play in a good, or at least solid, offensive line unit. When you evaluate OL you can't look at them individually on an island, without looking at who they played next to. It just doesn't work that way. Anyone who has played football, on any level, knows this. I mean I played defense in high school, but it was easy even for me to see on the field. Faneca should definitely help Brick and Mangold reach their potential. If for nothing else they don't have to worry about the person next to them anymore. Then again the right side is still a question mark with Woody and Moore. But hopefully Callahan will help that situation out some.
Quote: "...Faneca should definitely help Brick and Mangold reach their potential. If for nothing else they don't have to worry about the person next to them anymore. Then again the right side is still a question mark with Woody and Moore. But hopefully Callahan will help that situation out some...." dabrowsk1, I'm sure hoping you are right. I saw a picture of a NYJ seven on seven play the other day and there was Callahan charging up only a step back between the center and the guard with his mouth wide open (yelling something?). I can only hope they are listening to him.
well whatever side your on, you must admit that this year is put or shut up. Year 1 he was a rookie and last year He had a traffic cone at lg. This year he has no excuses
That's fine. That is the positive mentality that some fans choose to go when they say he has a ton of potential and what not. That is fine with me, I just choose to go the realistic route in what I see. What I see is a guy that has struggled greatly in becoming a solid left tackle in the NFL. Exactly how I feel. This guy was the #4 overall pick. He shouldn't have had to rely on the left guard to make him look good last season, it should have been the other way around. Each of the past two seasons, he has given up double digit sacks. Blame it on the rotation at left guard the past two seasons or whatever you want, it's still no excuse after being a top five pick. I have absolutely no problem in giving him this year. The excuse for the past two years has been because of poor left guard play. I don't want to hear that excuse when his sack total says 12.0 at the end of the 2008 season.
but you completely forget to give him any credit for shutting down guys like jason taylor... which he did last year. he was not all bad and did have some very good games against some very good de. i also believe i am a realist and in reality i dont think that he has played badly.
Don't even bother man. Some people blindly look at the spot the given player was drafted at..and nothing else matters. In other words..unless you're Joe Namath..it's pretty much a death sentence to be jets selection in the top 10.
Being the #4 overall pick is irrelevent. Have you ever played ball? Because if you did you would know that is just not how the Oline works. It is not about trying to make anyone "look good." More than any other unit, in order for the "stars" to shine on the line, the rest of the olineman must do their job. If the guy next to you misses his assigment or gets beat, you have to help. So it has a domino affect all the way down the line. Do you think Mangold sucks too? Because his play dropped off significantly last year. The reason for that is because everyone had to cover for the crappy play of Clarke and Clement. In order for players like Mangold and Brick to shine the rest of the line has to do their jobs. It is just the way it works.
I disagree about him being the #4 overall pick irrelevant. He has shown me no signs of being worthy of a third-round pick let alone a top five pick. I'm highly against drafting lineman in the first-round for this very reason. Yes...and I stated that in a previous post. Like I said though, there is no excuse for him this year. I don't want to hear it at the end of the year if this guy is still getting beat all the time.
And what do we do when he just keeps playing like he did the last two years? He will still be our LT next year.
I agree. This blind negativity towards Brick is ridiculous. I have seen him shut down some pass rushers and get beat by others...but overall I think he's been pretty good.
Its like the met fans wanting to trade Pelfrey at 24 years old and a 95 mph fast ball. It takes these guys -- a few years to figure it out. PLUS -- unless you grade out a lineman on every play its virtually IMPOSSIBLE to know how he really is playing.
QFMFT. Faneca is going to do to D'Brick and Mangold what Steinbach did to Thomas and Fraley. The only difference of course is that Thomas had Steinbach as a rookie, therefore Thomas is the best thing to ever happen to the LT position. Jets fandom aside, D'Brick was slightly better as a prospect and I think his physical upside overshadows all of the recently drafted LTs. This guy is going to be a beast for a long time...I mean by the time he's 25 he'll have almost 3 full seasons at the NFL level. He's young, talented, he's got talent around him, and his biggest problem in his pro career has been a fast metabolism. D'Brick kicks ass. I'm gonna buy his jersey.
You do realize he's...right...right? Like...totally 100% right too... Unless of course...you were a Mets fan preaching about the bust that was Mike Pelfrey up until he started throwing like he did in college (minus the decent curveball heh heh). That's just wack...
I'm sorry...to....make him look good? I mean nice spin and all...but Faneca is here because the guys next to D'Brick couldn't do their job...not to make our other guys like good. I'm not going to ask if you've played O-line cause I never did either...but dude you're old enough (I assume) and smart enough to know that an O-line is a unit. If one guy can't do his job, everyones getting at least a little bit fucked. It's common sense really... Walter Jones had his best seasons with Hutch and his worst without...Jason Peters has Dockery...Thomas has Steinbach...Light has Mankins...McNeill has Goff or Dielman (can't remember)...McKinney has Hutch now... Another question: WTF does being the 4th overall pick have to do with having someone who can play next to you? Like...it doesn't give you powers or anything...it just means you were the 4th best player (in w/e staffs opinion) in that given draft...theres still 10 other guys on the field with him...4 other guys working with him so that the other 6 can do their thing...iunno maybe my football logic is retarded.
^ Being 4th overall is just the expectations of being an excellent player quickly. The things going for Brick are this: 3rd year, which means mentally he's had enough time to adjust to the NFL and is ready to dominate. Added bulk will give him more leverage against technically sound DEs. I also want to point out that Brick hasn't blocked next to the same Left Guard in back to back years. Each year he's had a new LG to work with, and in 06 and 07 the talent declined. That will hurt your progress. Now that the talent is of the elite, I feel the "Brick sucks" or "is on an island" talk will now cease and this year we can truly judge if he is an elite Left Tackle or an above average one. He is slightly above average now. This year is the year to judge him on. I will not hold his rookie and sophomore seasons against him.
I don't think being the 4th overall is irrelevant until you can make an accurate assessment of the player's ability and measure whether or not they vindicated the risk the team took to get them with that draft position. You have your expectations and then you have the results. Most people seem to agree that 3 years is some sort of cut-off for player evaluation is around 3 seasons from the draft, but I think that is a load of crap. As long as you take into consideration the circumstances, you can make an evaluation at any point. I think I would like to see Brick show more aggression off the snap, I would like to see him get his feet into place more quickly, and I would like to see him get some leverage on bull rushers that bowl him over with a lower center of gravity. Two of those are technique and the first is something that just has to come from within. He doesn't seem to have a killer instinct, and last year his technique was subpar, and that's not what I want to see from the guy that's getting our QB's blindside. I understand the idea that you can't judge them completely due to lack of supporting unit personnel, but to write off an entire 2 years of performance to learning and unit cohesion is absolutely ludicrous. I will never understand that enabling line of thinking, although I have fallen victim to it and probably will again.
I added bulk around the midsection this off season and my skiny ass and legs haven't made me any sturdier.
