Vilma is a great player and will be amazing for the Saints. If the defense doesn't perform to expectations I'm assuming there's going to be a lot of angry people over what I expect to be a top 5 LB performance from Vilma this year. I miss him but understand he wasn't the right fit for this system.
Yeah, we made the right call. You've got to respect Vilma for giving it his all but you've really got to respect Mangini and Tannenbaum for staying focused on what we're trying to accomplish and for making the tough call that they had to make. Couldn't have been an easy decision. I really love this CS/FO.
I'm not sure of what the exact stipulation for the 2nd or 3rd round conditional pick for Vilma's performance clause... In the following article (and I've read this elsewhere) states the following: I'm not sure what loopholes the Saints could find to exploit that part but if there is one I would bet we do not walk away from the table with higher than a third round pick if that. I hope he does well either way, because he had a very positive effect on many of our young players. He may not have fit the scheme but the guy is a consummate professional on and off the field.
We have to hope his knee holds up and he remains injury free. If the knee blows out again, the 4th will look mighty sweet.
Vilma is/was overratred. Sure he had a lot of tackles... 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Big deal. Glad he's gone, and glad we now have a stud in his place. But I do hope he has a monster year in NO. Lots of tackles 5 yards deep.
that's exactly what i was getting at in what i'll miss about him. mentally, he's everything you want in a player.
are you a bench warmer in football knowledge to? vilma had a lot of tackles, so thats bad? and for 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, and thats a bad thing? im sure you meant 5 yards after the line of scrimmage. rookie of the year, a pro bowler his 2nd year, i dont think thats overrated
If all the players we traded for 2009 draft picks (Vilma, Robertson, Kendall?) perform as well as possible and get as much playing time as possible, how many first-day picks can we expect next year? It could be a huge draft!
I hate when people say a certain person is overrated when they are not. Like when people say Derek Jeter is overrated. Have you seen this guy play? I mean really!
My point is, unless we change the system back, he did not fit in here. You miss him? Good for you. I don't because he was wasted in the 3-4. The D-Rob excuse is valid, but only so much. Harris had a much better time playing behind an out of position NT. I don't think we could have held on to him much longer because he did not like playing in the 3-4. Was he a good person and teamate? Sure. He's also an ex-Jet and I'm only really interested in his play because it gives us something back if he's good this year. Its not as if we don't have a good deal of other skilled players who seem to be good people to cheer for this year. I'll be happily rooting for Harris and Rhodes to have mosnter years and hopefully make the pro bowl instead of lamenting a guy who is not in town.
This is a VERY valid point and hard for any Vilma lover who believes it was all Robertson's fault to refute. I also think the knee injury helped make up Tangini's minds. You can't discount that fitting into making the decision. Our luck we would have kept him and he blows it out against the Dolphins. Now we have nothing. No, it was the right choice and we're moving on.
He is an easy guy to miss, he had great character, and played his ass off for us every play. I said it before he will be the steal of this years off season if he is 100%. Hopefully he is the second biggest steal behind...... Jenkins!
Look, I had this conversation when Vilma was a Jet, and I am glad the FO finally saw the light. Vilma is just like Penny. One good season does not make a career. Oh, and I said "behind" instead of "after", so you MUST be much smarter than I am. Funny how you knew what i was talking about though! Vilma had one good season when he was protected by Ferguson. Everyone trashed Fergy when he left, but he did his job, and our run D suffered when he left. Vilma has one thing, speed. He is like playing an oversized saftey as a MLB/ILB. He can run down a play sideline to sideline, but by the time he gets there the ball carier has already gained 4 yards. And if you run right at him, he gets eaten up in the wash. He is not big/tough enough to fight through blocks to get to a ball carrier. Yes he made the pro-bowl in his second season. He had the most tackles in the leauge that year, but the Jets ranked 29th against the run, giving up an average of 136.6 yards per game. That was in the 4-3 under Herm. So let's see, most tackles, 136.6 yards per game... Hmmm... where do you think most of those tacklse were? In the backfield? Close to the line of scrimmage? It doesn't look like it, now does it. And as far as the pro-bowl goes, that is a popularity contest. He got that based on his rookie year. The bottom line is, after Furgeson left, Vilma was exposed for what he is. A small, fast linebacker who is weak against the run. Thank goodness I don't have to watch him on Sundays any more. Good job Eric! http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/stati...eamrush&pos=def&league=nfl&season=2&year=2005
You can make the same argument for Ferguson that season. The only time I can remember Ferg truly doing his job was when he was surrounded by 1st round picks on the line and was finally healthy enough to do his job, and had a scheme he could flourish in. I felt the same way about Ferguson when he left that you do about Vilma now. Neither was a gamebreaker that could shine in any scheme no matter their supporting cast. For Vilma, that is a detriment because of where he was drafted, and it may mean he is overrated by many Jets fans, but I think he still brought a lot to the table. This is a team sport, and shouldn't be ruled by individual stats and have scheme changes ignored. He is an excellent linebacker when he is put in position to succeed, i.e. for his individual skillset. He just sucks as a 3-4 backer.
While somewhat true above- I also think there's truth that he's also a tad overrated by many... I don't agree AT ALL about the 4-3 being better - even in the 4-3 we lacked inside Beef so, Drob was pretty much overpriced in either defense. The 3-4 gives the defense flexibility and the elemnt of surprise and confusion - it allows coaches to coach... For Herm, yeah, the 4-3 was cool. I think a lot of Vilmas stats were due to the lack of a NT as well as a horrible offense at times that dictated opponents run.. right at Vilma.
You may be right, but Jason was a 7th round pick. Vilma was the 12th player selected in 2004. Slightly different expectations. And Bill Parcells seems to disagree with you. He took Ferguson to Dallas, and now Miami. I'd say Parcells is a pretty good recommendation on a resume.
pray that he is. it only means a better draft pick, for us. Harris is way to good for me to miss Vilma.
Parcells selects players he is familiar with, guys who know his schemes. I don't agree with all of his player picks anywhere and especially didn't when he coached the Jets, although as a UNIT they seem to work together. BTW, Ferguson, while he played decent for us for one full season and decent for Parcells at times in Dallas, didn't do squat for the Jets during Parcells' tenure. Bill Parcells is far from infallible when it comes to player selection, especially in the draft. I agree with you on the draft position argument, but at some point you have to look at the player and not the draft pick. There isn't a high frequency of 1st round booms over the years.
