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Vilma Looks Tentative (1 Viewer)

Sigmund Bloom

Sigmund Bloom

Footballguy
Staff
Has anyone else noticed this in the Saints preseason games? It seems like he's mainly been that guy who arrives at the pile right as the whistle is blowing. He's mostly thinking out there instead of reacting, and I just don't see it, nothing resembling Vilma pre-Mangini. I will not be the one to take Vilma in the top 15-20 LBs in my drafts on the hopes that he returns to form. Thoughts?

 
It's only preseason. I don't think he's trying to prove anything out there. No need in re-injuring that knee. I see it as a smart thing considering all the injuries I've seen in the past 2 preseasons.

 
He's also getting re-aquainted to a different defensive scheme. I don't care if you've played the scheme before, if you've been away from it for a couple of years, you are not going to react as you would when your comfortable. That, plus having faith that his knee will hold up. It wouldn't surprise me if Vilma gets off to a slow start to the season, I think he'll start putting up his pre-Mangini numbers by week 3 or 4.

caution: these views might be slightly biased as I own him in a dynasty league...

 
Sigmund Bloom said:
Has anyone else noticed this in the Saints preseason games? It seems like he's mainly been that guy who arrives at the pile right as the whistle is blowing. He's mostly thinking out there instead of reacting, and I just don't see it, nothing resembling Vilma pre-Mangini. I will not be the one to take Vilma in the top 15-20 LBs in my drafts on the hopes that he returns to form. Thoughts?
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My first thought is you're saying this to mess with me! :lmao: My second thought was that it does look like he's tentative, but it's not something I'm willing to get worked up about right now. I'm sure he has some trepidation about not getting hurt in the pre-season. I wouldn't really blame him, it's been a long road back. I'm keeping him ranked at the bottom of my Top 10 or just outside of it.
 
It's not like he's fighting for a starting or roster spot, I wouldn't be too concerned at this point. However the injuries up front to tackles are on concern.
 
The speed is there. He had a couple big hits against the Bengals so I don't think he's necessarily scared to mix it up. Maybe he's just saving it up for when the games count.

Also, keep in mind the Saints' defensive scheme IS read-and-react, or at least it has been the last few years. They rarely attack with the linebackers because the secondary needs all the help it can get.

I would certainly agree he hasn't been as aggressive as I expected but he's still going to get a ton of tackles. If he makes even half the plays that Simoneau missed last year he's easily over 100.

 
obxlegends said:
I'm keeping him ranked at the bottom of my Top 10 or just outside of it.
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Dang. He sits steady at about LB #25 on my list.Ive been waiting to move him up when he started to show some life, but he hasnt.
 
Tentative is one word for it, but I usually say he is soft. Whatever that was in 2005, we've seen nothing of the sort since and I'm not blaming Mangini or scheme because I'm not talking about stats. The level of his post 05 play pre and post injury has been soft. His body even looks soft.

 
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This will be an interesting year to see what he does. If he doesn't do anything, well I didn't invest that much in him anyway. If he's a top 5 LB :shark:

 
Not a believer in him this year, or possibly the rest of the career.

Sorry, but what's done is done - and Vilma may never return to what he once was. There's a lot more to his knee injury than many let on - and his preseason play is proving out that point.

I wonder how he passed the physical in NO - or if they were just that desperate.

 
Jeff Pasquino said:
Not a believer in him this year, or possibly the rest of the career.Sorry, but what's done is done - and Vilma may never return to what he once was. There's a lot more to his knee injury than many let on - and his preseason play is proving out that point.I wonder how he passed the physical in NO - or if they were just that desperate.
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I'll wait for a few games with him on the bench for now.
 
Michael Fox said:
Good to see that Vilma continues to be a good "buy low" candidate. :construction:
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Thats because he is a terrible "buy high" candidiate.He is being rated and getting drafted in the top 10-15 of LBs.Where will you get the "buy low" value from? Not because a (sharky) owner or two in each draft is avoiding him and placing in LB3 range.
 
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BigSteelThrill said:
Michael Fox said:
Good to see that Vilma continues to be a good "buy low" candidate. :lmao:
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Thats because he is a terrible "buy high" candidiate.He is being rated and getting drafted in the top 10-15 of LBs.Where will you get the "buy low" value from? Not because a (sharky) owner or two in each draft is avoiding him and placing in LB3 range.
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In my leagues nobody wants him, so he's been a tremendous value. :lmao:His downside is LB3, his upside is LB1. So when I've seen him going in the 25-30 range, he's a great value. The real problem is that in dynasty leagues, only "Vilma believers" currently have him stashed......but some of the comments I see on this board suggest that Vilma is still dismissed by most.
 
Jeff Pasquino said:
Not a believer in him this year, or possibly the rest of the career.

Sorry, but what's done is done - and Vilma may never return to what he once was. There's a lot more to his knee injury than many let on - and his preseason play is proving out that point.

I wonder how he passed the physical in NO - or if they were just that desperate.
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Do you still feel this way Jeff? Did anyone watch the Saints yesterday? How did Vilma look on the field?

 
I was watching it out of the corner of my eye just to see how Vilma would do (former U player and all). to be honest i didn't notice him very often and was surprised to see his numbers at the end of the day. granted i missed some plays, but the one's i saw he was either being blocked or around the ball. he had a big hit on Garcia, but it wasn't a sack. i think he's getting used to being back in the middle of a 4-3 still.

 
Michael Fox said:
Jeff Pasquino said:
Not a believer in him this year, or possibly the rest of the career.

Sorry, but what's done is done - and Vilma may never return to what he once was. There's a lot more to his knee injury than many let on - and his preseason play is proving out that point.

I wonder how he passed the physical in NO - or if they were just that desperate.
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Do you still feel this way Jeff? Did anyone watch the Saints yesterday? How did Vilma look on the field?
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Looked really good. I saw no signs of him being tentative at all. He stuck his nose in the pile several times, got in a scuffle after one play, laid a huge hit on Garcia on the blitz.I think he's going to be very good, maybe not elite but definitely a guy people will want on their roster.

 
Looking at Vilma's schedule, he's going to play a lot of teams who are going to want to run the ball.

Vilma easily over 100 tackles this year. Book it :kicksrock:

 
BigSteelThrill said:
Michael Fox said:
does he still look tentative?
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His stat line sure doesn't.
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he was active against Washington, although a lot of his tackles were the downfield as the player (usually Portis) was going past him variety. UDFA rookie Jo-Lonn DUnbar (who is not known for his speed) honestly looked faster out there reacting than Vilma. I suppose his stat lines will continue to be fat, but he doesnt look like old Vilma to me... yet.
 
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Did anyone see Vilma today? 1 solo is pretty weak, what happened? He should have had some good opportunities...

 
I figured this to be a bad matchup for Vilma, but started him anyway. Should've trusted my gut. It seems that 4-3 MLBs you want them against run-heavy teams. Den is not a run-heavy team right now. Vilma has better matchups going forward.

 
Vilma had only 2 solo's today, what happened? The Falcons ran the ball ALOT, this was a very juicy matchup for him. The box score doesn't tell the story, did anybody see the game?

 
I wonder if he was injured or something? I was trying to find him on the field and never really saw him after the first half...

 
I watched part of the game and Vilma was on the field every play I saw. Unless he got hurt late in the game, I would chalk this one up to randomness despite the opportunity and slight time of possession edge for the Falcons (31:12 - 28:48).

One factor bears watching however... Scott Fujita (who's healthy now) had 12 tackles (11 solos).

 
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Bump....

OK, what is the deal with Vilma? He sucked last week, and this weekend he posts 1 solo tackle. Fujita has blown him away 2 weeks in a row, does anybody know what is going on? I unfortunately haven't seen their game for 2 weeks now, any insight?

The guy was a BEAST in the first half, what's up?

 
Bdub said:
Bump....OK, what is the deal with Vilma? He sucked last week, and this weekend he posts 1 solo tackle. Fujita has blown him away 2 weeks in a row, does anybody know what is going on? I unfortunately haven't seen their game for 2 weeks now, any insight? The guy was a BEAST in the first half, what's up?
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Kansas City has been running their unusual "spread" offense. I didn't bother starting Vilma this week because of it. Figured he wouldn't get many tackle opportunities.I wouldn't worry about it. Most teams will run on the Saints...since NO tends to play from behind a bunch.
 
Before the week 9 bye:

Vilma - 7-4, 6-1, 9-0

Fujita - 0-1, 4-0, 2-1

Since the week 9 bye:

Vilma - 2-1, 1-3

Fujita - 11-1, 8-1

Did these guys change uniforms during the bye? Seriously though, have their roles changed?

 
Diamond said:
Before the week 9 bye:

Vilma - 7-4, 6-1, 9-0

Fujita - 0-1, 4-0, 2-1

Since the week 9 bye:

Vilma - 2-1, 1-3

Fujita - 11-1, 8-1

Did these guys change uniforms during the bye? Seriously though, have their roles changed?
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My take from this week's Reading the Defense column:Jonathan Vilma (1 solo, 3 assists) - Vilma has been a tough guy to read this season. During the preseason and early in the regular season, his instincts appeared off and the burst to the ball we saw in 2005 was lacking. Yet he had no difficulty racking up solo tackles through the first eight games, finishing with less than six solos only once. Over the past two weeks, however, Vilma has managed only three solos against what were reasonably favorable matchups. Don't dismiss Vilma too quickly, however. He seemed to be facing a higher than usual number of offensive line blocks last week against the Chiefs. Our guru John Norton took that analysis a step further in our podcast this week, noting that the Kansas City blocking scheme appeared to be focusing on Vilma in particular, blocking down on him specifically. That can be taken two ways. First, it's possible that teams may try to copy the Kansas City gameplan, which could continue to hurt Vilma's numbers. It's also possible that this will be a one week aberration and Vilma will be back to form against the Packers this week. The second scenario is more likely, making Vilma a reasonable risk this week.

Norton's extended take during the podcast this week is a good listen if you get the chance.

 
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Jene Bramel said:
The second scenario is more likely, making Vilma a reasonable risk this week.
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Reasonable risk seems accurate but I'd feel comfortable rolling with Vilma this week. The Packers had success running the ball last week against the Bears and it makes sense that they would attempt to duplicate that against the Saints on MNF. The Saints are a high octane offense and it would be in Green Bay's best interest to keep them off the field. I anticipate a real effort being put into Ryan Grant moving the chains this week...which should lead to tackle opportunities for NO LB's...which could lead to decent numbers for Vilma.Stretch by me? Possible but I think Vilma ends on the positive side of that 'reasonable risk' this week.

 
Another thing to note was the way the Saints used Roman Harper last week.

He was up to the line of scrimmage in a hurry last week and ended up with 9-1. I don't think he was even honoring the pass at all on a few plays.

I'd keep in eye on how they use Harper this week as well. Maybe they figure that since he doesn't really play pass defense anyway this year (5 PD's, 0 INT's) they should just make him a 4th linebacker.

 
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