The thing that scares me about the Ghost is that after watching the game over, I still didn't see anything that didn't remind me of his performance last year. It was the same old Vern all over again and that's simply not acceptable. There were better no-name guys on our defense during that game who are making alot less cash. Sanchez will be tested this week against Baltimore but with Faneca out, Ryan is going to have to see what the Kid can really do behind a patched up line if a truly informed decision about our QB situation can be made. There will be times in Sanchez's career when he'll have to play with less than top flight talent in front of him and I would like to think Ryan wouldn't put bums in front of a $50mil man. Let the kid play 1 full qtr next week against a top flight D. Then make the decision after the game. Honestly, I thought Ainge outplayed (showed more potential) than Clemens as well and really should be our #2 guy.
Blaming Mangini for Gholston's lack of success is pretty ignorant if you ask me. I don't even know where to begin with that comment. Gholston could just be a late bloomer in terms of playing at the NFL level. At this point, if Ryan and his coaching staff cannot get anything productive out of him this year then it's bustville for this kid. As for Sanchez... yes, it was only a preseason game. But he looked good in it even still. Had he tanked and looked horrible I can guarantee the bust birds would be crowing already. Still a lot of football to be played, but it is at least momentarily comforting to see him doing what we need him to do.
I think there was some small merit to questioning Mangini's tactics when it comes to personnel. During his 3 years here, he showed a very disappointing tendency to stick to a very rigid defensive philosophy when it came to how personnel was used in his scheme. Vilma and DRob were not good fits for his defense, and obviously suffered in the scheme. No changes were made to mask these deficiencies. That said, Gholston has done absolutely nothing so far to justify any excuses here. He plays during live snaps as if he were just going through the motions in a pre-game walkthrough.
Buttle did a decent analysis on Gholston during Jets Nation last night. The guy has no instincts, it seems like his first move is to hesitate. On his QB pressure he was hanging back for about 75% of that play which is kind of disturbing considering his closing speed. He needs to get some confidence in his play and then he could be dangerous. He has the physical tools.
So what's your point? Should we just release him? Completely ignore the fact that he's only a second year player that was primarily drafted for his long term potential? Have we all forgotten that the main concept of the NFL draft is to build for the FUTURE? 25 years ago it was unheard of for more than 5 or so rookies from a draft class having ANY impact beyond specical teams before at least 3 years in the league! I'm not defending the guy at all. I realize that thus far he hasnt lived up to expectations. But I'm just not gonna sit around and bitch about him night and day,knowing that player development is a waiting game. Yes, his salary-to-production is astronomically alarming. But we aren't alone. Far from it. Unfortunately that is the landscape of the current NFL CBA. What I'm seeing is a guy that may not have been the GM/scouting dept's first choice...and was a former head coach's first choice in the draft. The scouting dept. MAY have been right about alot of concerns w/ this guy. But that doesn't mean you give up on him! He's a 6'4 255 physical freak who set the single season sack record at ohio state. Doesn't that count for SOMETHING in the potential dept? We're stuck w/ the guy until further notice.He isn't gonna develop as quickly as we would like. All we can do is look for "Little" signs of improvement that hopefully will result in some long term productivity. But again, whats the point of bitching about something that cant be changed and frankly hasnt been completely determined?
That is a fair argument where the system or Mangini's implementing it is concerned. If he's a even an ounce of useful though I think we would have seen flashes of something from him here and there. While Vilma wasn't a great fit he had his moments in the system up until he got hurt. Look at Brian Thomas, they eventually squeezed something out of him... I think in t his case it is more the player. Hopefully he blooms under this group and system.
I would agree wholeheartedly about Mangini being very misguided w/ his personell usage. When he first arrived...I thought we'd see a scheme similar to what Rex is running now. Meaning, some 3-4 base..w/ some unique looks,blitzes, and gap responsibilities. I thought guys like Vilma and D rob(among others) would FLOURISH within sucha scheme b/c of their speed,quickness and unique attributes. What we got was the exact opposite. loose zoned, 2 gap, read and react defense. If that was his intention all along, Vilma, D rob, Barton, etc shouldve been traded long before he even showed up in Hempstead. The funny thing is,there are whispers that Mangini was the one who pushed for VG, when in reality Gholston is a HORRIBLE fit for that type of scheme. He doesnt have alot of instincts, which are needed for that type of philosophy. One reason why I hold out HOPE for him, is that I believe Rex's scheme are designed to let players play to their strengths...on an isolated play by play level. Gholston HAS some worthwhile attributes if things are kept simple. W/ his size,speed, and strength...if he's allowed to simply attack the LOS from different areas of the field...he's gonna do some good things for the overall success of the defense. I believe we saw some of that when he was in w/ the first team...which Rex cited in his PC. Ironically...Vilma and D rob wouldve been similar cases under Rex's guidance...at least IMO.
6'4" 255 physical FREAK! Who now plays like a fucking marshmallow. I've seen plenty of video of Gholston playing like he had a sack between his legs. Maybe that sack was boosted with artificial testosterone levels? They way he played at Ohio State means jack shit now. His sack record at Ohio State is worth a hill of beans. Because in college, he looked like he played with plenty of aggression. Now he plays like a pussy. I've seen plenty of rookies play with the same aggression that they had in college and they failed because they made mistakes. That's not the case with Gholston. He plays like he doesn't want to be there. He plays like it's his job to hold a block instead of trying to evade or break away from the block. Am I giving up on him? No. I'm expecting him to play better than his weak rookie performance. And I have seen nothing to make me think his rookie performance was a fluke... or even some enabling idea of 'waiting and seeing for a developmental player'. You 255 6'4" physical freak can't even beat the block of a backup LT. That is a suck performance, it's nothing to 'wait and see' about. The point of 'bitching' about something is to discuss the development - or lack thereof - of a guy that is eating up a roster spot and a ton of cap space. Whining about people discussing this is basically sticking your head in the sand and praying we don't have another pathetic bust like DRob on our hands.
It appears you and I just have a fundamental difference on how we view young players and the NFL draft. You look at it much more objectively...which is fine. "Is this player helping the team?" or "Was this player worth the #6 overall pick". I look at it much more subjectively..which yes...can bring up more questions than answers..but hey..to me..thats what NFL personell is all about. There are so many factors that go into scouting,drafting,paying,developing and than harnessing an NFL player that sometimes It's hard not to be "wishy washy" w/ overall assesments. The fact remains we both agree VG showed unqieu qualities in college. We both agree, that he hasnt shown nearly as many of those same qualities since joining the jets. Where we differ is I use the word "yet" in the latter inference. There's too much time, money, and wins/losses at stake to not hope for the best. You, among others,obviously see it differently...which i can understand and respect.
This is exactly the point I have been trying to make this week on this board. I'm sure in a footrace, Gholston could outrun Harris and Scott, but both of them look way faster than the Ghost. How could the guy be so tenative when going after the QB?
He plays confused when he plays standing up. When he has his hand on the ground he knows what to do. On Harris' sack he was playing DE on the strong side and took the guard 3-4 yard behind the line, helping to free up Harris. He is just way too cautious and lacks the instincts to play LB. That could change depending on what Rex/Pettine/Sutton(shudders) can do with him. I'll give him until week 1 before I start calling for his head but he needs to grow a pair and just get after the QB. He was holding back for most of the play when he got that one QB pressure which makes his closing speed all the more fascinating and sad. He has all the physical tools but he needs to learn a killer instinct. I'd much rather see him give up 5 yards on a dump off because he was charging the QB instead of hanging back. It was probably the smarter play in that situation but frustrating to see in the context of the rest of his thus far failure of a career.
From this afternoon's practice. This sounds a bit different from what I think we all thought the plan was. "4:33:21 pm Jets coach Rex Ryan said the team is moving linebackers around to give Bryan Thomas work on the strong side. "He's got to be ready to open up as our starting SAM and then we'll get Vernon (Gholston) over there at the rush spot.""
This could work if Gholston just crashes the line and gets in the QB's face. No reads, no need to hesitate. The QB drops back and the only thing Gholston has to do is fly to him.
I think Gholston is gonna end up being a situational pass rusher this year, we all hate Thomas but I think his football IQ is much higher than Gholston's at the OLB position. Not that there's anything wrong with Gholston being a pass rusher, as long as he produces (not necessarily just sack totals but getting free on a blitz, forcing the QB to throw it away/scramble, hit the QB while he's throwing, etc) I think it'll be fine. Also on Sanchez, since he was named the starter for the Ravens game he's been pretty poor in practice. I think that's more of a testament to the defense than to Sanchez since both QBs struggled mightily in practice before the Rams game and both guys looked fine during the game
I guess the point I was trying to make was that as of yesterday Gholson was supposed to be starting the first 4 weeks in place of Pace. Now it sounds like he isn't.
I think that he will catch on and bevcome a situational player to start, he may take a while to become a full timer, he could be called a bust due to this but hopefully he won't be a complete waste
Well he kinda has to....who else is gonna play OLB? Thomas has to play the other position regardless and I don't know if Rex is gonna wanna play a rookie like Westerman there week 1. In my earlier post I said I thought he was gonna be a situational player but out of necessity he's gonna have to start til Pace comes back
