Forewarning: This post may seem like common knowledge at first to some of you but I'm an avid Jets fan and didn't really know these things until recently so I am sure there is some good info for a lot of people. I have been doing some research about the specific duties of the two ILBs in the 3-4 defense. I originally assumed they are basically the same position but I found there is a little bit of variance based on strong side/weak side positioning. The 34 strong side ILB plays somewhat of a mix between a 43 MLB + 43 Strong LB and likewise the 34 weak side ILB plays a combo of a 43 MLB + 43 Weak LB. This may be relatively obvious, but it lead me to research further to figure out what position Vilma would be better at in the 3-4 and what he actually was playing before his injury. 4-3 SLBs are required to be stronger and more physical at the line of scrimmage while being able to shed blocks. The 4-3 WLB must be the fastest LB because he is usually chasing the play from the backside and maneuvering through traffic. Also, the WLB is often called upon in pass coverage and less often will take on interior lineman. Obviously Vilma is better suited for a WLB position rather than an SLB position which means he should be playing ILB on the weak side of our 3-4 defense. Now before Harris started, Barton and Vilma were the two ILBs. Vilma obviously has the edge as the better 43 MLB, but as 34 ILBs they are probably equal. In other words, they both equally suck at shedding blocks but are good in pursuit. This leads me to believe there was no clear cut strong side or weak side ILB during the 2006 and first half of 2007 seasons. I even found a 2006 depth chart on Jetnation.com that says Vilma was the Strong ILB, however that may not be very accurate. Also, after watching some highlights of the early 2007 games, I noticed that Vilma usually played the strong side position when Barton was in and the weak side when Harris was in. Either way, now that Harris has proven to be a quality starting LB he has locked down the the strong side position. Now we put Vilma in the more appropriate spot on the weak side and we should have Harris playing very well at his best fit position and Vilma playing better than when he was forced to play the strong side. When Vilma and Harris were on the field together at the beginning of the season, Harris was still very raw and had not broken out yet. Now with some experience, we should have an exceptional ILB duo. Now I'm not sure if Vilma playing on the strong side was actually the reason he sucked but it certainly makes sense that the ILBs as a whole didn't do well at first because no one had a set position until Harris emerged as a great strong side ILB. If anyone can add to the specifics of the ILB positions that would be great. On a side note to the Vilma situation. As much as I'd love for him to stay, I am really not against trading him. I'm sure we can find someone to replace him as he is obviously not THAT great in the 3-4 defense. By this post I was just trying to explain why his skills may not have been maximized. If we keep him however, I still think he has potential to be a great player in our scheme. Look at Stephen Cooper from San Diego. He has almost identical size to Vilma and has been an excellent player in Vilma's position. I'm not saying their styles of play are the same just that the lack of size may not be the biggest of issues.
Very good analysis. Another example of what you are describing is Donnie Edwards, formerly of the Chargers I believe. I'm pretty sure he was a smaller LB but was successful in the 3-4 as well. With better personnel around Vilma, he will be less likely to be focused on when the defense is on the field. It was very easy for teams to target him before his injury.
This really wasn't that obvious to me. Thanks for posting. I hope they keep Vilma just because I don't think we will get a fair return on him. Plus nevermind his on the field play but the guy is a leader.
Great Read and i Agree with you With the emergence of Harris we gotta keep Vilma around and see how he plays in his more appropriate LB Position.
I believe strong side is the shorter part of the hash meaning less room from sideline to hash and weak side is the wider part of the hash....if ur on the left hash, the strong side from a quarterback would be the left side and weak side would be the right and vice verse with the inside backers....i also believe it is the side with more players on it..... im play runningback so thats how we refer to it at my high school and at wagner where im playin next year...i havent played defense since my freshman year...four years ago
I'm glad you posted this, great analysis, the key is that D-Line, specifically NT has gotta to improve. We need Isaac Sopoaga, he's got the ability to be a decent NT, and if they draft a guy like Dre Moore in the second round we should be set. Then D-Rob and Ellis can be used in different packages.
This thread is an excellent read for me. I would like to point out that the NYJ defense has played a lot of different variations of fronts and switched assignments during the latter half of Mangini's two seasons. I suspect that the hybridization of the 3-4 to 4-3 to mush will continue as the NYJ defense gets more comfortable. We should really keep Vilma and Harris though, for sure.
Great post, great post! Iv been saying this whole offseason that Vilma will complement Harris in the 3-4 in so many ways, Harris is the strong aggressive ILB who take take blocks and make tackles behind the LOS while Vilma is Smart, Quick, Fast and can make plays Revis, Rhodes, Vilma, Harris... Thats 2 impact players in the secondary and 2 impact players in the front 7, all we need to do is draft V.Gholston to apply pressure on the QB, and we then have 3 impact players in the front 7 and it would just be a great addition to spend the money and go after A.Samuel to add a 3rd impact player in the secondary... If we had Rhodes, Samuel, Revis, Harris Vilma, and Gholston... Thats 6 impact players starting on Defense out of 11 positions, thats not bad at all... We would have a SOLID D that can keep us in alot of games.
yeah that was great I love football I didnt even know that. But yeah I think that I we should actually wait till the trading deadline. I think now Harris will be demanding a little more of a double team he had 5 sacks last year so he will probably be more of pass rusher than Vilma but I still think that even having Harris and Vilma would make an interesting duo we would have both a run stuffer and a blitzer like Harris but at the same time have a speed coverage linebacker like Vilma I think it would be interesting
I may be one of the few people who think Vilma will revive his career next year playing next to Harris. If we draft Gholston we would have one of the most talented LB cores in AFC with Gholston-Harris-Vilma-Thomas... Don't forget we could land a better NT and more dline depth as well.
Great post man Fakterx, very informative. I'm hoping the Jets hold onto Vilma though. I think next year could be a very good one for him, and I don't think his we can get his real value in trade this offseason.
Fakter X another great post. I found the part of Vilma having to constantly shed blocks and sucking at it being the most telling of how this team needs a true 3-4 nose tackle. Space eaters in the 3-4 usually take on the line so that a linebacker like Vilma would have even less pressure of taking on blocks on the weak side. My thought on the subject is, get a pass rusher and find a true nose...this can be a very very good defense regardless of whether we get Asante or not.
who was the lb the giants moved around the line of scrimmage that really fkd brady up? and could harris or vilma be that guy for us?
Don't wanna seem like I'm jumping on the bandwagon, but this WAS a VERY informative post. I had no idea seeing as I'm STILL trying to figure out the 34 all I know is ANY D, that allows Vilma to do what he does best and roam the field and pursuit is a good thing. I'd like to see what he can do as a WIL Back next season and with a dominant NT see how the D will hold up with Vilma reeking havoc when he DOES NOT have to worry about shedding 300lb linemen. I still think he needs to hit the weight room during the offseason. I think he can add 5 - 10lbs more muscle weight without sacrificing his quickness. GOOD POST!
Yeah Donnie Edwards is about 6-2 225 or so and Vilma has some size on him. It's definately more than possible for Vilma to succeed in the 3-4
First time poster after lurking for a while. I was at the University of Miami along with Vilma and thought he was excellent in pass coverage and one of the faster linebackers Miami had at the time. He was almost always on the field in nickel and dime situations. I'm not sure how the injury is going to affect his pass coverage, but I just thought I'd throw it out there.
Before reading this i was really hoping Vilma would be traded before another sub-par year further decreased his value, however now i definately think he should be given one more shot and really do believe he will excell
Get a big ass NT in front of Vilma and I think he plays alot better. I think personally I'd be more comfortable trading him and getting a more stout player...but similar and even less talented players have had success in the 3-4 behind a big DL and other talent around them. Really, theres no point in trading him unless he absolutely can't play in the 3-4 OR we get something really nice for him.
