Very discouraging to say the least. I'm not totally buying this transition excuse either; he has looked just as terrible when he is lined up as an end in a 4 man line and was just asked to rush the passer. He has no moves whatsoever and simply tries to out muscle and bull rush each play. That doesn't work well in the NFL. Fans have every right to be concerned about the 6th pick overall showing absolutely nothing so far. As with many people here, I've been watching football for a long time and you can usually tell a football player from JAG. I'm not seeing it with VG. Will he improve? Of course he will, because of his draft status and monies paid, the team will give him the best coaching available and every opportunity to succeed, but so far he doesn't look like his ceiling will be too high. By the way, he must be one of the happiest people on the planet that the Jets brought Favre on board. Imagine the criticism if he was even further under the microscope, besides just from us nuts who spend all our time on the message boards. Time will tell, and I hope I am eating crow on this one, but not impressed at all...
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! OK this is going to sound contrary to Jets history, but we Jets fans have been spoiled by our drafts lately. D'Brick- instant starter. Mangold- instant starter, best center drafted in years. Revis- instant starter, best corner on our team, our division. Harris- not an instant starter, but probably should have been. Keller- not an instant starter, but give it a month. Eventually, gang, we were gonna draft a guy the first day who needed JUST A LITTLE more time to develop than one off-season. It doesn't mean he's a bust. Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears were pretty mediocre their first season, right? Now they're Cowboy fixtures. The Jets Draft Day Highlight Reel is a thing of the past. We draft better than the majority of the NFL. We're a healthy team and we can risk a project. Chill out. And now to totally contradict what I just said... (tongue-in-cheek, I assure you) Isn't it funny how we drafted Bryan Thomas, a guy accused of taking plays off, tried to convert him from his more natural 3-4 linebacker position into a 4-3 end, only to convert him back under the new regime? ...And then we draft Vernon Gholston, a guy accused of taking plays off, tried to convert him from his more natural 4-3 defensive end position into a 3-4 linebacker, only to... ah, nevermind. :smile:
Again, he should know how to tackle and have more moves in his arsenal than just a bullrush. Can this stuff develop? Maybe he can learn some pass rush moves. One thing I will give him is he does have good power.
And if he proves to be a bust by the end of the season, then what? Why even bother trying to defend him now until you see how he turns out. So far there is no reason at all to have anything positive to say about him.
These things should have been obvious to see on film coming out of school. If they weren't why was he picked that high? If he showed he can do tese things (which I believe), then why aren't they getting this out of him now? It's not yet time to panic, but you have to be concerned. At the very least, I expected some natural pass rushing ability.
He is a workout warrior that had bust written all over him. We should have drafted a Cb or Defensive End with the first pick. That guy was invisible in alot of games in college and had Laurinitis beside him so there were no double teams. He has a few awesome games and a bunch of blahhhhhhhhhh!
Great post. Gholston has a long road ahead..although i can see him having some success as a situational pass rusher early. The only thing I disagree w/ is the notion that we shouldnt have drafted him. The way the draft went down...he was by far the BPA who also fit the scheme. After all the FA moves we made..we could afford to take a "project". One who happened to have the most potential in the entire draft. He made sense on alot of levels. people are just gonna hafta be patient.
How can a guy who owns the all time sack record at one of the most prestigious college football programs in the country be a workout warrior? Laurinitis is not known for being a good blitzer/pass rusher..so I'm not sure how Gholston benefitted from Laurinitis double teams. He maybe a RAW talent...w/ alot of developing to do...but the workout warrior notion is just bogus,
I'm a die hard Pats fan and would love it if the Jets picked another major Bust, but one pre-season isn't enough to call anyone a bust. Disapointing sure.
While it's far too soon to be calling him a bust, on the other hand if you think he's going to give you anything close to that as a rookie your not watching the right player.
I'm not ready to give up on Gholston yet. However, seeing how well he played in the previous 2 games to how he played last night was unexplainable. The guy looks slow, whiffs on tackles and looks like he's playing two-hand-touch football out there. That's not even taking into account how he's failing in his coverage assignments and technique. I know people say we should use him as a situational pass rusher on certain plays, but isn't that just going to telegraph our defensive plays to the offense on critical downs? The only thing I can see them using Gholston on key 3rd downs is on those plays where no one lines up on the defensive line and Gholston roams the line. But we only run those plays once every 3-4 games. Even then, nothing is guaranteed because his timing just seems off when rushing. I do hope this kid can show glimpses of something by mid/late-season.
This thread sucks my left nut. How can you possibly say someone is regressing after their 4th pre-season game?
I didn't say we shouldn't have drafted him..... At least I didn't mean that. What I meant was that all the Hype pre-draft needed to be in perspective..... I liked Gholston but, I was reserved about it and knew he was a project... Some people look at a top 5 pick and assume that it means INSTANT STARTER... If you feel that way then you shouldn't be on message boards pumping up a Pass Rusher being converted to OLB not matter what his biceps look like.... Next year I think people will learn and be a little more reserved about it and take into account players changing postition..... I didn't love Jerrod Mayo at that spot but, a Pats fan friend of mine said "I be ya Mayo has a better season than VG"..... FOOLS BET - of course he will, the guy is playing the same spot he always has and he will be apieces of a very good established defense... HOPEFULLY VG has a higher ceiling. I have a feeling we can go back and look at draft threads we'll see alot of the same people that went Ballistic for VG now screaming BUST..... I've got patience - Guy should show flashes as the year progresses and look 10 times better next offseason - Next offseason he'll be laughing at how much was thrown on his plate and how his rookie year was just a year of his head spinning...
Most Jet fans have been totally unrealistic w/ Gholston. He was never going to come in here and be an impact player right away. he's a bit of a project even though we drafted him in the top 5. We have good players ahead of him, let's just allowe him to develop at his own pace and hopefully be ready to step up next year. I expect some flashes this year, earning more PT as the season goes along and next year I expect him to at least push for a starting job.
Come on man, do I have to put disclaimers on all my posts? Do I have to put the definition of sarcasm as well? I will if need be.
As I've said before, these football players we draft have a little more to them than "tout quotes" printed on the cards you guys like to shuffle restlessly. Gholston comes across as a quiet guy who likes to know what he's doing so that he does it right. That tends to look a lot like 'perfectionism' when the player is given a lot of new variable tasks, each with its own dependencies that he has to learn not just with his mind but with his body as well. Physical understanding takes every athlete a certain number of reps to teach his body to react with a physical protocol and not search for "what-to-do-NOW?!" Maybe you card shufflers haven't ever had to fight through physical memory (did you ever break your right arm, and have to learn how to eat from your plate with your left hand?) before. This Gholston is highly motivated, getting better encouragement than most, and not expected to jump skyscrapers this morning in a single bound (except perhaps on this "message board"). He has a better than even chance of figuring it all out and showing up. Just not by 1 p.m. today...
