Look at Bart Scott, is he an ILB or an OLB....officilly hes listed as an ILB, but spends alot of time on the outside, perfect example of not pigeon holing a player
How ironic, cause the Saints are going to some 3-4 looks and Vilma is dong just fine. We in NOLA couldn't " Thank You" enough for letting Vilma go. He's been an HUGE addition to our team and my Fantasy Football Squad.
there is probobly not a coach in the nfl that wouldnt label vilma their "kind of guy". kind of a pointless article.
Vilma is great in a 3-4 if you need an LB to tackle guys 5-7 yards past the los. He just isn't stout/tough enough to shed a guard or a good blocking TE or in general to play near the line, like Harris or even Scott. If you can figure out a way to allow him to roam free and delay blitz like they are doing with Eric Smith then yes he can be useful. So yeah he can most likely fit Ryan's version of a defense. However, the difference between Vilma and Harris is like night and day. Harris has the potential to be the absolute best ILB in the league. Vilma's upside is a very good one. They aren't even in the same ball park. Harris is a big play machine whenever he is on the field, Vilma nfw. I do not miss Vilma one bit...... I wish him luck in New Orleans, not this week though.
Steelers, Cowboys, Ravens, and the Chargers when Merriman is healthy have better linebackers than us.
I'll tell you what, I always said that Vilma would have been beast next to Harris but the fact is that people can't think outside the box so it's sensless to argue with them. I never wanted Vilam to go and just like so Many other JETS players it's sad to see when JETS fans turn on one of their own. Is Vilma GREAT? NO. But just like Farrior, we let them go way too early and didn't give them a chance. I always said that you don't put SQ pegs in Round holes. You have to adjust your scheme to fit the players you have. FINALLY we have a coach that can do that.
Last year Vilma seemed to have a hand on every tackle for us. The dude just plays with incredible passion, and that can go a long way by itself. He's not standing out as much this year because Williams has the whole D fired up, but that can only be a good thing. Vilma tipped the ball last week that led to Will Smith's first interception so he's still making plays... not to mention he's got the radio in his helm and the smarts to handle that responsibility. I think the Saints got a very good deal on him!
in a traditional 3-4, the responsibility of the ILBs are usually split out - one ILB is more of a run stuffer while the other covers the shallow middle. I just don't see why Vilma couldn't thrive in 3-4, as Harris could have filled up the run stuffing role, allowing Vilma to roam free. Is that a bad thing? Ask Rex - he didn't have that versatility either back in Baltimore. - he couldn't swap Bart and Lewis like he does here in NY. Didn't have a problem setting up one of the nastiest defenses in decades though. What Mangini did is to use Vilma as the run stuffer - bad, bad fit. We all saw how we missed him down the stretch last year, when teams decided to kill the Jets D with short passing attacks. Jets LBs were not getting to the playmakers quick enough, neither were they getting to the QB. Typical Mangini fuckup. Now that I think of it, having Eric Smith and Vilma in Rex's scheme would have been devastating. Short passing attacks are pretty much taken away, runs are more than likely stuffed, etc etc... ad nauseum. You really get to appreciate the value of Mangini - a tub of tepid lard.
This is the difference between Mangina and Rex That glorified ballboy had no idea how to adapt to anything, be they shifts in strategy or the skills of his personnel. I would feel bad for Browns fans... but they chose to live in Cleveland.
Take heart fellow fans. The way we "let" Vilma go is the same way Carolina "let" Jenkins go - to us. In my mind, it was Vilma for Jenkins which I'll take. I know that wasn't the actual deal, but it was sort of in the minds of Tangini.
Ok.. How so? Thomas-Scott-Harris-Pace VS. Woodley-Timmons-Farrior-Harrison VS Johnson-Lewis-Gooden-Suggs VS Phillips-Cooper-Burnett-Merriman You are smoking dope. Thomas is the weakest link at LB. The only one of those teams with an argument is Pitt. The Jets LB group is the best in the NFL..
Id take the Jets LBs for the future, but if I had to play 1 game, I would take BAL LBs due to the experience. But you guys should be really good for a long time, yall have all the pieces in place. A true #1 WR is the only glaring need to me, an outsider looking in.
And I hope he realizes that and never leaves us. But I have a feeling if he turns our D to a top 10 D for 2 yeasr straight, he will have multiple HC offers.
This is true the only thing the Jets group lacks is the dynastic pass rush of the old Merriman (who so far sucks and isn't even as good as Gholston), Suggs or Harrison. However, that is more than made up by how good our ILB's are.
I thought someone slipped something in my coffee when I read this. Have you seen a JET game this year? The Cowboys & the Chargers? Merriman is not close to what he was & he might never be ---- he cant stay on the field & that injury he had last year looks like its got longterm effects. Cowboys???? ----- C'mon man........D. Ware & thats it. I'd take our LB corp over the Ravens in a heartbeat -- Suggs is clearly coasting now that he got his big fat contract. How many years does Lewis have? Same w/the Steelers -- Farrior is dropping off fast, & Timmons can't stay healthy. Woodley & Harrison are great, but as a unit they are falling behind us. I'd take Pace -- D. Harris -- B. Scott -- B. Thomas (even Gholston) every day of the week. Always healthy, & the future is bright.
