Well his play in the 4-3 the 1st 2 years under the germ reflect the same stopping plays 5 or more DF so I am sorry I do not go along with U on your theroy of a huge NT making all the difference in front of JV. I actually think what Coker said about him that he is to small & will be pushed around is ringing truer & truer every time he plays. Also since mammoth NT just do not drop out of the skies into our hands we have to played the hand we are dealt which is DeW for at least another year so the question is what do we do with JV without the monster NT in front of him to so call "protect" him?
Sounds like some were saying for DeW. Hopefully you are aware mammoth NT do not normally fall out of the sky so it maybe years until we secure one. Does that mean we keep a inefficent MLB until then?
POUHA is a monster and finally healthy! Vilma made many plays in the 4-3. The guy is virtually the same size as RAY LEWIS and he does not get pushed around when he has a widebody for protection. DROB is nott stout enoygh. Mangini knows that. A widebody will be signed or drafted. OKOYE of Louisville is an up and coming NT! He is at 317 and ready to pack more weight on. He can carry it and maintain his speed and tremendous strength. DROB is strong but not NT strong! He gets pushed around a lot or is on the ground. A widebody will keep bigger bodies off JV and allow him to use his speed, sideline to sideline ala RAY LEWIS post-Ngata!
Vilma played like absolute garbage this year, he had no impact whatsoever. However, he did his part mentally making sure everyone was in right spots and esentially was the on-field coach of the defense. I believe that this year was more of a learning year for him getting to know the knowledge for the scheme and that next year will be where his smarts translate into execution. I fully believe Vilma will return to pro-bowl level.
This is a very good post. Especially the first paragraph. Hopefully you will be correct with the second paragraph.
I agree with everything you said but I wouldn't go as far and say he played like garbage. I thought he did okay. He built up expectations that he didn't acheive this year, but I don't think he played horribly.
This thread contains some of the most ridiculous football analysis ive ever seen. Vilma makes every defensive call, so if we had one of the leagues lowest scoring D's the 2nd half of the year, then he did pretty well. Its absurd how people think that posting a criticism of a popular player and then getting shot down a million times makes them a visionary who can see what all us cant. Meanwhile, everyone in the NFL regards him as one of the best LB's in the league. The NT excuse isnt strong, but the 100+ tackles in a 3-4 system shows something. And great rookie season? he showed flashes, and was a nice player, but had 53 tackles 1 sack and 1 pick. He was great last year with 173, 1 and 1. He was good this year, but not outstanding. But to sell one of your teams few really good players under the bus like this is disgusting. I just hope that when the thread comes out saying this shit about Coles, Rhodes, Cotchery, Mangold, and Dyson, people dont take it this seriously
Well I hope U R correct in your assessment of Poula & he turns out to be our world beater NT but not having seen him very much I will withhold my judgement of him until I see him play in regular season games if he is not cut before then. MHO is you could get Godzilla at NT & JV will not benefit as he does have the FB smarts needed to see what is going on fast enough that is the real reason he is NEVER at the point of attack & makes all his tackles 5 or more yds down the field. To me that is totally unacceptable & hopefully that is the same for U/.
Well if you accept that almost all his tackles are NOT at the point of attack but 5 or more yds downfield then you have to have very, very low standards for our players. You do in remember in Herms 4-3 (you remember him do U not) JV tackles ALSO were 5 or more yds downfield. To me a MLB that cannot stop the other side at the POA has to be UPGRADED if we R ever going to reach the promised land.
What cracks me up about 90% of the posts in threads like these is that they allow for no middle ground. Vilma's either great and just needs time and D line help to shine in the 3-4 or he is vastly overrated and plays like crap. As usuall the truth is somewhere in between. Some truth about Vilma: 1. It is true that most of his tackles this year and last were more than 3 yds from the los. 2. It is true that he is a bit undersized for a 3-4 ILB. 3. It is true that the D Line struggled early in the year. 4. It is also true that I believe Vilma's tackle numbers diminished as the D line improved. If you think about it this makes perfect sense. The more plays they are making the fewer plays get to Vilma's level. 5. It is true that Vilma is one of the smartest players in the league and that he calls the Defensive plays and the adjustments for the front 7. Therefore, if the D improved, as it did, he has to be given some credit for that. 6. It is also true that the 3-4 system doesnt require its ILBs to be the playmakers that the 4-3 requires of the MLB so expecting Vilma to put up huge numbers might be unreasonable. If the defense improves, what difference does it make to us, as fans, if an individual players numbers go down. 7. It is true that defenders who play on bad teams and bad defenses will make more plays for the simple reason that they are on the field more. By the numbers Northwestern's Tim McGarigle should have been the most valuable LB in last years draft because he racked up 150+ tackles. But the truth is he played on the nations worst D and was on the field more than almost any other LB (notice that he was drafted in the 7th round)Vilma's numbers this season were down because the defense was better. The bottom line is this. Vilma is at minimum a very intellegent and gifted Linebacker, who can be successful in any scheme. However, one day (soon?) the Jets might still move him because his value to them in a trade exceeds his value to them on the field. That wont be an indictment of his talent or his character, but a business decision.
Don't give me anything about his size being the problem. Look at Donnie Edwards who plays in San Diego's 3-4. He's about 6-2 227 I believe. Vilma is what, 6-2 230? The difference is Donnie Edwards has a 350+ pound NT in Jamaal Williams in front of him.
Sorry guy while I think your post is terrific as this moment in time JV value in the market place IMHO is zero. Also IMHO the time to have moved him along was before the beginning of last season when he did have some value, Because once the season began his stock dropped like rock into the a pond which is real fast
