Mangini's answer to a reporter's question on VG being inactive. Not a ringing endoresment. Mangini had a great response to a question about Vernon Gholston being deactivated Sunday for the first time this season. "What I expect Vernon to do this week is come back that much harder and make a case for himself," Mangini said. "David Barrett's been up and down, active and inactive, Drew Coleman?" Then, interrupted by a reporter who seemed overly concerned that Gholston is somehow different than those players, the coach continued, "That's the way it is. We're going to take the best people to help us win that game. Whether your contract is $20 million, $50 million or $100 million, whether you were drafted first, 10th, 1,000th, if you're one of those players on the 45, we expect you to contribute. If you're not, we expect you to come back the next week and make a case for yourself."
i dunno if this is a smart move with a rookie that may not be all that stable in his game. i think this is going to be the death of gholston. he needs to be nurtured a bit and not have mangini let the other older guys take all the positions just becasue the earned them in practice. start earning it on the field, more one the field than off. i think he deserves a chance and mangini is expecting him to do it on the inactive list? or even before on special teams? whatever!
If its the death of Gholston, then the kid has no heart, and no pride....Better to find out now than say....in a playoff run ***cough cough***JohnAbraham***cough cough
I really like that answer... Jumping ahead to next year, Gholston for his own sake better begin contributing or he may become trade bait by his 3rd year.
This was a motivation ploy by Mangini. This could result in alittle spike In VG's play. We need his upside within our pass rush. If we works his way back on the active roster..it's a good sign. BTW, I'm wondering why the hell we don't just use him repeatedly on 3rd down. It's not like any of the other 3rd down rushers are any better(w/ the exception of Pace). He's made some SLIGHT strides in his pass rush the past few times he has gotten in. Let him work out the kinks, possibly get some confidence and earn his paycheck.The overall pass rush can't get any worse...why not give it a shot? I don't understand it.
i'm concerned with this kids mental state in the NFL... some kids can make the transition, others can't. I really think this game is too fast for him, and he doesn't have the killer instinct to want to be great. That is the hardest thing to measure in the NFL. Oh well.
I agree Kurt.....it wouldn't hurt, our pass rush sucks big time currently. I'd love to see VG sack Pennington. I'm not a huge VG fan, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
Despite what this board thinks...Gholston HAD his moments in TC( i witnessed them first hand). He had 2 sacks in the green -white scrimmage, and I saw him beat Woody on the left side a handful of times. It's no secret the guy is struggling mentally.Francesa made a great point tonight about VG. The CS is developing him as a COMPLETE outside linebacker...rather than perhaps keeping things simple year one and letting him rush the QB. OSU kept things pretty simple for him at OSU..granted they didn't have to make things complicated b/c he had such superior athleticism it didn't matter. But that's a tough transition for some guys. I just think maybe it's time they put the long term stuff aside, and let him concentrate on what he did best in college and perhaps HELP this team in a spot where he is desperately needed. Just sayin.
Tressel said he never had any effort related problems with Gholston. He specifically denied that Gholston took plays off, said the video clips where he didn't pursue from the backside were plays where he was assigned backside contain. This is an intelligent, hard working player. He just can't play LB, he is and always will be a DE.
I never thought Gholston was a bad player at OSU, in fact, he was an animal playing DE. My concern was always making the transition to OLB in the 3-4 and spending a 6th pick on him. At this point in time, Mangini should let him do what he does best.....rush the QB. IMO, VG will never be a good OLB. VG may have success as a DE in a 4-3 system. Vernon is a quiet guy that doesn't show alot of emotion and people take that as him being lazy or not liking Football. Gholston isn't lazy, he's a private person.
This would indicate that Gholston is not self-motivated. I'm sick of hearing about Gholston's emotional state. Either he can play NFL football or he can't. Obviously right now he cannot, so it's street clothes time for him. I really liked the way Chuck Noll went about his business. Here's a quote from Noll:
Well said. If Gholston isn't a bitch, he'll step his game up. His job depends on it. It's that's simple.
You don't think there's an element of motivation and "mind games" within coaching pro football? Sure maybe most of it is self motivation..but that doesnt mean that Mangini or any other coach for that matter isn't gonna try different ploys to get a message through to a player. As for Noll...Maybe he said that..but to some degree he DID care about player motivation and their mental state. Afterall..he's considered the first to emphasize significant research on player's off the field background and put value on football IQ and overall character when considering the draft and other personell decisions.
