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RUMOR: Vilma out for the season with a knee injury (1 Viewer)

Jene Bramel

Jene Bramel

Footballguy
From Rich Cimini and the NY Daily News

Inside linebacker Jonathan Vilma, their defensive leader, has sustained a "significant" knee injury, the Daily News has learned.

The prognosis wasn't immediately known, but the mere fact that it was termed significant means that Vilma probably needs surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

When he suffered the injury is a bit of a mystery -- and a controversy. Vilma was removed for a handful of plays in the second half of Sunday's loss in Cincinnati; he rarely comes off the field. On Monday, coach Eric Mangini said Vilma's performance was "dramatically affected" by an injury that he declined to specify.

On Monday, Vilma, appearing on his weekly WFAN spot, contradicted Mangini's claim. Vilma claimed he wasn't injured and that he was removed because of a "coach's decision."

Vilma evidently went for an MRI exam later Monday, after his radio show, and received the sobering news. Today, Vilma was excused from practice because he underwent "some more tests," Mangini said.

Vilma never has missed a game in three-plus seasons. He's the "quarterback" of the defense, responsible for making the calls. He had been struggling in Mangini's 3-4 defense, but had shown signs in recent weeks of playing up to his usual standard.

He will be replaced by rookie David Harris, a second-round pick from Michigan.

 
What a bizarre turn of events.

He sounded so convincing that he was not hurt, and blamed the coaches for benching him.

If he is hurt, i lose a lot of respect for him. He could have answered the hurt question by saying he can't talk about injuries.

 
wow... sounds like Vilma won't be a Jet next yr... I wonder; If Herm is still heading the Cheifs, he might make a play for him next season... that would be a great fit.

 
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It'll be interesting. The trend, which doesn't follow from the playbook necessarily, has been that these Belichick hybrids favor the LILB somewhat in the tackle column. Harris has been rotating at LILB, but played RILB when Vilma was out last week. If Barton gets the bulk of the snaps at LILB and stays out of rotation with Brad Kassell, he put up 47-18 as an every down LILB during the first eight games of 2006. It won't be surprising, however, to find that the Jets rotate Kassell in and kill that potential. Harris, therefore, is probably the best bet, but may not have huge value if the trends hold.

 
This is getting sillier by the hour...

Mangini refused to say which of Jonathan Vilma's knees is the one that is injured. Perhaps he felt he gave up too much information already when he announced that Chad would be the starting QB on Wednesday. A coach has to have SOME secrets.

But he was asked directly, and I'm paraphrasing here, what the big cockamamee deal is which knee it is. Here, for the record, is his answer:

"Historically whenever you have an awareness of an injury, and opponents have an awareness of an injury, that is something you take into account when you're running routes, when you're running plays, the directions that you run plays. How a guy can cut or not cut. Where they're going to be quicker. What may be effected, that does come into the decision-making. What kind of routes you;re going to run against them. Whatthe liklihood of being able to take advantage of a slowed-down player might be."

Mangini was told that if Vilma returns to the field with a huge brace on his knee, it'll be obvious at that point.

"Maybe we'll put a huge brace on both knees," he said.

 
Jene Bramel said:
Mangini was told that if Vilma returns to the field with a huge brace on his knee, it'll be obvious at that point.

"Maybe we'll put a huge brace on both knees," he said.
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This made me chuckle.Reminiscent of Parcells-style patronization of the press...

 
All I have to say is...those who have held, or bought low on Vilma will reap the rewards as early as next year. I can't imagine him being a Jet next year. Some forget he was the top LB a couple of short years ago.

I know as a Lions fan, I would love to see the Lions try to get him.

 
I'm actually beginning to enjoy this...

Vilma done for the year?

NY Daily News (updated 10/26 0400)

However, the Jets are expected to place Vilma on season-ending injured reserved in the coming days.

Vilma, a fourth-year linebacker out of Miami, was not in the locker room during yesterday's media session, and it appeared he had not even been to his locker - his stool hung upside down inside his stall.

Teammates talked as if they were bracing for life without Vilma the rest of this season.

Nah, he might just play this week....riiiight.

Scout.com (10/26 afternoon)

"I think with any injury, each guy is different," said Mangini. "Sometimes you really expect someone to play, and they just can't do it when you come down to Sunday. Other guys that you think there's really not shot of playing, do. So that is why we go through the full week, take a look at it."

So Eric, you haven't ruled Vilma out?

"Don't rule anybody out in terms of injuries," said Mangini. "It's different person by person. So you always go through the full process.

:no:

 
9-5 and 1 sk for Harris at the start of the 4th and he looks good.

 
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J Giles Band said:
Smizzy said:
9-5 and 1 sk for Harris at the start of the 4th and he looks good.
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Harris finished with 17 total tackles and 1 sack. I'd say he was good... :cry: Jene - do you sprint out and pick this guy up or was this more of an opportunity situation???
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He should have already been picked up in all but the shallowest of leagues.It's not a fluke. The kid was productive in limited time and had proven from the combine forward that any concerns about his speed and coverage ability. I wish I was able to see this game but didn't and won't. I'll be anxious to hear from Rovers this week with regard to how he lined up and how Eric Barton was used. It'll be interesting to know if the Jets used any 4-3 and to which side each ILB aligned in the 3-4.There's no question that he saw premium opportunity -- 35 rushing attempts and 52 total tackle opportunities -- but the Jets held the Bills running game to a 3.1 ypc average with a long run of ten yards. The Jets had previously been allowing 4.2 ypc, and while the Bills ypc numbers weren't great, Marshawn Lynch has been a very solid talent. It certainly appears that Harris dominated in-the-box based on those numbers. Put another way, in a statistic that I'm fond of that the Football Outsiders guys publish in their annual book, Harris had a hand in 18 of the 62 offensive plays the Bills ran. That's 29% of this week's plays. While that's obviously not sustainable, the most active LBs in recent years hover around the 18-20% range.You guys in leagues where only 12 LBs are rostered are going to have a decision to make.And Harris is about to give us another strong data point in the LILB vs RILB debate in the Belichick hybrid scheme. The gamebook suggests that Harris was aligned at LILB, which has been the position of value for reasons unclear based on the history of the 3-4. That would be different that what was expected pre-game, which was that Harris would take Vilma's RILB slot and Barton would remain at the LILB spot.If someone confirms that Harris has in fact landed the LILB role, he's immediately a top 10 player in my eyes. If not, it becomes a much harder decision but a key situation to follow for future projections in this scheme. :thumbup: x infinity.ETA that Harris played RILB and Barton LILB on the early downs against the Bengals last week.
 
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Jene Bramel said:
J Giles Band said:
Smizzy said:
9-5 and 1 sk for Harris at the start of the 4th and he looks good.
Click to expand...
Harris finished with 17 total tackles and 1 sack. I'd say he was good... :thumbdown: Jene - do you sprint out and pick this guy up or was this more of an opportunity situation???
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He should have already been picked up in all but the shallowest of leagues.It's not a fluke. The kid was productive in limited time and had proven from the combine forward that any concerns about his speed and coverage ability. I wish I was able to see this game but didn't and won't. I'll be anxious to hear from Rovers this week with regard to how he lined up and how Eric Barton was used. It'll be interesting to know if the Jets used any 4-3 and to which side each ILB aligned in the 3-4.There's no question that he saw premium opportunity -- 35 rushing attempts and 52 total tackle opportunities -- but the Jets held the Bills running game to a 3.1 ypc average with a long run of ten yards. The Jets had previously been allowing 4.2 ypc, and while the Bills ypc numbers weren't great, Marshawn Lynch has been a very solid talent. It certainly appears that Harris dominated in-the-box based on those numbers. Put another way, in a statistic that I'm fond of that the Football Outsiders guys publish in their annual book, Harris had a hand in 18 of the 62 offensive plays the Bills ran. That's 29% of this week's plays. While that's obviously not sustainable, the most active LBs in recent years hover around the 18-20% range.You guys in leagues where only 12 LBs are rostered are going to have a decision to make.And Harris is about to give us another strong data point in the LILB vs RILB debate in the Belichick hybrid scheme. The gamebook suggests that Harris was aligned at LILB, which has been the position of value for reasons unclear based on the history of the 3-4. That would be different that what was expected pre-game, which was that Harris would take Vilma's RILB slot and Barton would remain at the LILB spot.If someone confirms that Harris has in fact landed the LILB role, he's immediately a top 10 player in my eyes. If not, it becomes a much harder decision but a key situation to follow for future projections in this scheme. :goodposting: x infinity.
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Great post Jene. Thanks for staying on top of this. Also curious to hear from Rovers.
 
Jene Bramel said:
He should have already been picked up in all but the shallowest of leagues.It's not a fluke. The kid was productive in limited time and had proven from the combine forward that any concerns about his speed and coverage ability. I wish I was able to see this game but didn't and won't. I'll be anxious to hear from Rovers this week with regard to how he lined up and how Eric Barton was used. It'll be interesting to know if the Jets used any 4-3 and to which side each ILB aligned in the 3-4.There's no question that he saw premium opportunity -- 35 rushing attempts and 52 total tackle opportunities -- but the Jets held the Bills running game to a 3.1 ypc average with a long run of ten yards. The Jets had previously been allowing 4.2 ypc, and while the Bills ypc numbers weren't great, Marshawn Lynch has been a very solid talent. It certainly appears that Harris dominated in-the-box based on those numbers. Put another way, in a statistic that I'm fond of that the Football Outsiders guys publish in their annual book, Harris had a hand in 18 of the 62 offensive plays the Bills ran. That's 29% of this week's plays. While that's obviously not sustainable, the most active LBs in recent years hover around the 18-20% range.You guys in leagues where only 12 LBs are rostered are going to have a decision to make.And Harris is about to give us another strong data point in the LILB vs RILB debate in the Belichick hybrid scheme. The gamebook suggests that Harris was aligned at LILB, which has been the position of value for reasons unclear based on the history of the 3-4. That would be different that what was expected pre-game, which was that Harris would take Vilma's RILB slot and Barton would remain at the LILB spot.If someone confirms that Harris has in fact landed the LILB role, he's immediately a top 10 player in my eyes. If not, it becomes a much harder decision but a key situation to follow for future projections in this scheme. :goodposting: x infinity.ETA that Harris played RILB and Barton LILB on the early downs against the Bengals last week.
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:thumbup: Great analysis Jene. I'll be interested to read the follow-up this week. I fall squarely in that 12 LB's rostered category and have been suffering through Bulluck's down year.Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts going forward... :goodposting:
 
NYRAGE said:
I can't confirm the whole game, but he was playing LILB for a good part of it.
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If the left side was the strong side, my position is that the historical trends would argue fairly strongly that you can add Harris to the list of well above average 3-4 ILB.
 
I'm going to give up my beloved adalius thomas for harris...this is breaking my heart.....

cutting your guys to score a couple extra points doesn't make you mercenary, does it?

if only the pats offense wasn't so damn good.

 
OK, here are my observations on Harris. He was lined up in Vilma's spot, what the Jets call MILB, with Barton at WILB. That means Harris was lined up between the center and RG. Barton and Harris did switch off some, but about 75% of Harris' snaps came in Vilma's spot. Harris played in every package.

The more interesting thing was that Harris was always, from either spot, always moving towards the line of scrimmage, while Barton tended to hold ground or even drop off a bit. Having said that, Harris did also drop into coverage at times, but also blitzed, both run and pass rush blitzes. It looked to me like Harris is the designated run stopper, cheating towards the line of scrimmage on just about every snap. He is gap shooting, but they are changing up which gap, based on the D play call and Harris' reads. That is my take on what I saw.

Harris seems to attack more aggressively that Vilma ever did. Is that a scheme change? I don't know, but if it isn't Harris has a better grasp on the scheme than Vilma did. Vilma often laid back, while Harris attacks and looks to make plays in the offensive backfield. This is a small sample, and only against one team, so much remains to be determined in terms of trends here I think. Based on just this ONE game, Harris may be one of those special ILB's in a 3-4 that can put up numbers ala Donnie Edwards. It would be more than a stretch to make any claim like that after one game, but the possibility and upside is there.

I'd say Harris is a great buy low (if it isn't too late already ) candidate. He seems comfortable in this scheme, while Vilma never did.

Editted for accuracy (mistakenly said Hobson instead of Barton, sorry about that, and thanks, Jene)

 
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I watched the game here in NY and I can tell you that Harris was making plays all over the field - very aggressive like Rovers said. Thanks Jene for the advice on assistant coach - I picked him up last week week and started him. He's my Brooking replacement for now!

 
Rovers said:
OK, here are my observations on Harris. He was lined up in Vilma's spot, what the Jets call MILB, with Hobson at WILB. That means Harris was lined up between the center and RG. Hobson and Harris did switch off some, but about 75% of Harris' snaps came in Vilma's spot. Harris played in every package. The more interesting thing was that Harris was always, from either spot, always moving towards the line of scrimmage, while Hobson tended to hold ground or even drop off a bit. Having said that, Harris did also drop into coverage at times, but also blitzed, both run and pass rush blitzes. It looked to me like Harris is the designated run stopper, cheating towards the line of scrimmage on just about every snap. He is gap shooting, but they are changing up which gap, based on the D play call and Harris' reads. That is my take on what I saw. Harris seems to attack more aggressively that Vilma ever did. Is that a scheme change? I don't know, but if it isn't Harris has a better grasp on the scheme than Vilma did. Vilma often laid back, while Harris attacks and looks to make plays in the offensive backfield. This is a small sample, and only against one team, so much remains to be determined in terms of trends here I think. Based on just this ONE game, Harris may be one of those special ILB's in a 3-4 that can put up numbers ala Donnie Edwards. It would be more than a stretch to make any claim like that after one game, but the possibility and upside is there. I'd say Harris is a great buy low (if it isn't too late already ) candidate. He seems comfortable in this scheme, while Vilma never did.
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Thanks Rovers.I'm a little confused, though. My recollection of the Jets scheme before this week was:SOLB/LOLB Bryan ThomasSILB/LILB Eric BartonWILB/RILB Jonathan VilmaWOLB/ROLB Victor HobsonI think you meant to type Barton instead of Hobson in the first paragraph, unless the Jets played a bunch of 4-3 last week which would also be major news. If that's the case, knowing that there's all kinds of different playbook nomenclature for the two ILB and that some teams call the WILB the "Mike" and others call the SILB the "Mike", I'm still not sure where the two aligned. The Crennel playbook, which I'm going to assume is the Belichick and Mangini playbook for now, does indeed appear to call the LILB/SILB the "Mike" if the gamebooks are to be believed. Still, I thought Vilma was the WILB/RILB in the past and Barton the SILB. If Harris played the Mike/LILB, that's a switch from what happened against Cincinnati the week before. I'm still hoping to catch a play or two on a highlight show on the DVR...
 
Warning: One play sample size here. :blackdot:

The Jets suck so horribly (sorry Jet fans) that I can find only one Jet defensive play on my recorded highlights -- the Lee Evans TD pass. There was no motion on this play and a simple two back, two reciever set in an I formation with TE right. David Harris aligned to the strong side. That jives with Rovers' note on his usual alignment (often over what would usually be the strong side A gap). Rovers and I disagree on this to some extent, but I think that's highly significant based on historical trends and would project Harris to continue on a mid LB2 pace with even better upside.

Acquire and start him with confidence.

 
WFAN radio interview, 10/30/07

Admits he was hurt.

Didn't really bother him until Monday.

Believed he could play through the injury.

Still refusing to disclose nature of injury; won't even say which knee it is.

"Don't want to talk about it", when asked if Mangini told him not to talk about injury.

He tried talking Mangini out of putting him on IR because "I'm a competitor".

When asked why he sounds so happy for a guy who never missed a snap, he replied "I didn't know i was supposed to act so sad".

WFAN: "I almost get the sense that this is the end of the road for you and the Jets"

JV: "This is your way to put it out there because you know I won't answer this question. You did a good job at putting it out there."

WFAN: "Do you feel you could play before the year is over if you didn't go on IR"

JV: "No"

Ugh, they are going in circles!!!

JV: "I can understand the fans and media getting agitated that we don't put info out there. But at the same time, we have to worry about the 16 games we play in a season and we don't want to give out crucial information."

WFAN: "Are you and Mangini seeing eye-to-eye?"

JV: "Perception is not the reality. I never said the 3-4 was bad."

Says he's gonna be a Jet in 2008. Hogwash. That's just radio talk.

WFAN: "Did it bother you that David Harris played like a demon?"

JV: "No, and he played a different spot. I play the Will and he plays the Mike."

Um, what? I didn't know there was a Mike in the 3-4.

Says he'll be on the air next week. Joking around at the end.

 
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Yes Jene, I typed Hobson but meant Barton. Harris was at the mike, lined up on the offense's right guard, but he and Barton did switch spots some of the time. Looking at the D from the offensive side of the ball it was from left to right, Hobson, Barton, Harris and Thomas. Prior to Vilma's injury, Harris was listed as playing behind Barton at the will, but he started in Vilma's spot, the mike. Sounds like Vilma didn't even watch the game.

 
Jene Bramel said:
Warning: One play sample size here. :shrug:The Jets suck so horribly (sorry Jet fans) that I can find only one Jet defensive play on my recorded highlights -- the Lee Evans TD pass. There was no motion on this play and a simple two back, two reciever set in an I formation with TE right. David Harris aligned to the strong side. That jives with Rovers' note on his usual alignment (often over what would usually be the strong side A gap). Rovers and I disagree on this to some extent, but I think that's highly significant based on historical trends and would project Harris to continue on a mid LB2 pace with even better upside.Acquire and start him with confidence.
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:wall: Jene - so if your league only rosters 12 LB's (1 starter per team), I'd assume from your post that Harris would still be on the lower end of recommended starters, correct?
 
I don't even think hes injuried too bad... if at all. Hes clearly not fit for the coaches system and their shutting him down and getting rid of him...

 
Okay, I'm an idiot, but I'm just realizing that NFL.com has 3 minute highlight reels of every game available. And I know many of you think I read way too much into this scheme and alignment stuff, but I think it's significant. Just skip this post and pick up Harris, who's a better player anyway, if you don't buy into the scheme affects IDP business. :pickle:

And I freely admit I'm not going to be able to explain the Mike/Will designation, as I've got all kinds of conflicting information including playbooks, coach comments and Vilma himself.

But here's what I'm seeing over the past month:

Against the Giants, Eagles and Bengals, Jonathan Vilma was the weak inside linebacker. Unless there was a TE in motion late on the play, he was aligned away from the run blocking TE/offset FB/slot WR at the snap of the ball. Against the Bengals, the alignment was Harris (strong) -- Vilma (weak) in the nickel and Barton (strong) -- Harris (weak) on base downs last week.

I've now seen six plays from the Bills game. There was one play where David Harris was aligned to the weak side of the offensive formation at the snap and that occurred when the Bills sent a TE in motion late. Harris was aligned to the strong side pre-snap and at the snap on every play.

It seems clear to me that, regardless of the Mike/Will talk, Harris is playing a different position than Vilma. There are some things that I've yet to reconcile to my satisfaction with regard to the two gap 3-4 defense, but the trend for the NYJ and CLE Belichick variations (I'm throwing out the NEP stats because there are so many variations and substitutions it's impossible to reliably interpret) is that the strong side ILB out-tackles the weak side ILB.

In now three full and two half player seasons in NY and CLE, the strong side ILB has a projected average of 101 solos while the weak side ILB has a projected average of 78. That's despite a valid argument that D'Qwell Jackson and Jonathan Vilma are more talented than Andra Davis and Eric Barton.

Make of that what you will. Personally, I'm becoming more intrigued by the Vilma and Jackson injuries by the day. These data points are going to be extremely helpful if the league continues to trend toward a 3-4 league. IDP owners had better be able to reliably project which backer will outproduce the other.

This will be the focus of this week's subscriber column, BTW.

 
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Jene Bramel said:
Okay, I'm an idiot, but I'm just realizing that NFL.com has 3 minute highlight reels of every game available. And I know many of you think I read way too much into this scheme and alignment stuff, but I think it's significant. Just skip this post and pick up Harris, who's a better player anyway, if you don't buy into the scheme affects IDP business. :goodposting:
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Thank you - even if I don't know what you said - Thank you :goodposting: Teach me master - The whole post is great information for some of us new IDP guys.
 
JOBOOZOSO said:
WFAN: "Did it bother you that David Harris played like a demon?"JV: "No, and he played a different spot. I play the Will and he plays the Mike."Um, what? I didn't know there was a Mike in the 3-4.
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Thanks Jene. Im glad that it was vilma and not the voices in my head that said this.
 
Jene Bramel said:
Okay, I'm an idiot, but I'm just realizing that NFL.com has 3 minute highlight reels of every game available. And I know many of you think I read way too much into this scheme and alignment stuff, but I think it's significant. Just skip this post and pick up Harris, who's a better player anyway, if you don't buy into the scheme affects IDP business. :thumbup:And I freely admit I'm not going to be able to explain the Mike/Will designation, as I've got all kinds of conflicting information including playbooks, coach comments and Vilma himself.But here's what I'm seeing over the past month:Against the Giants, Eagles and Bengals, Jonathan Vilma was the weak inside linebacker. Unless there was a TE in motion late on the play, he was aligned away from the run blocking TE/offset FB/slot WR at the snap of the ball. Against the Bengals, the alignment was Harris (strong) -- Vilma (weak) in the nickel and Barton (strong) -- Harris (weak) on base downs last week.I've now seen six plays from the Bills game. There was one play where David Harris was aligned to the weak side of the offensive formation at the snap and that occurred when the Bills sent a TE in motion late. Harris was aligned to the strong side pre-snap and at the snap on every play. It seems clear to me that, regardless of the Mike/Will talk, Harris is playing a different position than Vilma. There are some things that I've yet to reconcile to my satisfaction with regard to the two gap 3-4 defense, but the trend for the NYJ and CLE Belichick variations (I'm throwing out the NEP stats because there are so many variations and substitutions it's impossible to reliably interpret) is that the strong side ILB out-tackles the weak side ILB.In now three full and two half player seasons in NY and CLE, the strong side ILB has a projected average of 101 solos while the weak side ILB has a projected average of 78. That's despite a valid argument that D'Qwell Jackson and Jonathan Vilma are more talented than Andra Davis and Eric Barton.Make of that what you will. Personally, I'm becoming more intrigued by the Vilma and Jackson injuries by the day. These data points are going to be extremely helpful if the league continues to trend toward a 3-4 league. IDP owners had better be able to reliably project which backer will outproduce the other.This will be the focus of this week's subscriber column, BTW.
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:popcorn: Great info Jene... now I'm completely lost. Two questions to clarify:1 - Does it appear Harris is primarily playing the SILB spot?2 - More importantly, is Harris a top-10 LB going forward?
 
J Giles Band said:
1 - Does it appear Harris is primarily playing the SILB spot?2 - More importantly, is Harris a top-10 LB going forward?
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Yes, I think Harris is the strong side ILB. I think he has an excellent chance at producing LB1 quality numbers given the opportunity he's going to get. Realistically, though, mid-LB2+ is likely what we'll see.
 
Jene, I went back and looked at the Philly game. Vilma lines up off the right guard, just like Harris did this Sunday. What may be confusing is that the Eagles ran a good number of strong left side formations, so Vilma was on the weak side in the base package when they did that. The Jets don't swap spots depending on which is the strong side on any given play. While both Harris and Vilma have lined up on the left guard on occassion, that doesn't seem to be based on the offense's formation, but rather a defensive play call.

Against Philly Vilma often played off the left guard in the nickel and dime, but in the base package, he stayed on his side, lined up on the right guard. Pretty much the same way Harris was used against the Bills. I don't have the Giants game TIVO'd, but I can go look at week 5 if you'd like, but I am sure I will see the same thing.

As far as how the Jets use the terminology, it's simple... the ILB that lines up on the ORG is the called the mike. The Ilb lined up on the OLG is called the will. The ILB's don't swap which side they line up on based on the offensive formation. They will occassionally swap spots, but it is a defensive play call, not an automatic re-alignment based on what the offense shows. This is an accurate depth chart at the Jets' site:

http://www.newyorkjets.com/team/depth_charts/

Well, it was accurate until Vilma's injury.... this is why Vilma said that Harris doesn't play his position, the mike.... he was officially Barton's backup at the will. Put Harris in Vilma's old spot now, and it's accurate. The difference is in how aggresively Harris plays.... he crowds the los, he shoots gaps, and seems to make reads better in the 3-4 that Vilma does. Bottom line, Vilma doesn't like to shed tackles, he wants to be an MLB in a 4-3, no lineman to fend off, while Harris almost seems to like taking on O linemen, he is pretty wreckless in that respect.

Bottom line, Vilma does not like the 3-4, and will never be anything more than average in this defensive scheme. He always hedged his comments on the 3-4. He hates it. His value should return once he gets traded to a 4-3 team, which I think now looks very likely. He is talking his way out of NY right now.

 
Excellent stuff Jene and Rovers. :popcorn:

Harris played just like he did at Michigan. Attack mode. Harris just seems to have a nose for the ball. The good thing is the 3-4 hides his supposed lack of speed. He seems to be a perfect fit in that defense. And he is a great tackler as well.

Vilma is a great buy low as I stated in my article. He will be an elite 4-3 MLB for someone, likely next year. He sure would look great in the middle of the Lions defense (sorry Guru and Jene, you can have someone else for the Bengals middle). :excited:

 
Jene Bramel said:
J Giles Band said:
1 - Does it appear Harris is primarily playing the SILB spot?2 - More importantly, is Harris a top-10 LB going forward?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think Harris is the strong side ILB. I think he has an excellent chance at producing LB1 quality numbers given the opportunity he's going to get. Realistically, though, mid-LB2+ is likely what we'll see.
Click to expand...
8 solo tackles, 2 assists in the 1st half. Looks like Harris will continue producing.
 
Michael J Fox said:
Jene Bramel said:
J Giles Band said:
1 - Does it appear Harris is primarily playing the SILB spot?2 - More importantly, is Harris a top-10 LB going forward?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think Harris is the strong side ILB. I think he has an excellent chance at producing LB1 quality numbers given the opportunity he's going to get. Realistically, though, mid-LB2+ is likely what we'll see.
Click to expand...
8 solo tackles, 2 assists in the 1st half. Looks like Harris will continue producing.
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20 solo and 4 assist to finish the game.David Harris has arrived.
 
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