Kip Dynamite
Footballguy
I know that he doesn't like how he is being used but come on no tackles!
Seriously though, if you gave up say Jason Taylor and Donnie Edwards before the season started for this log you'd have thought you were getting a great deal.Guy freakin' killed me in the playoffs.To think I stole the guy in the trade by trading away an aging stud LB and stud DE to get Vilma. If I had not done the deal, I would not been here writing this.
I doubt Vilma will be going anywhere. The Jet coaching staff and front office loves him and he's signed through 2008. There have been multiple reports over the past month suggesting that he's got a better understanding of his responsibilities and has taken ownership of the "coach on the field" role Mangini wants out of him.Vilma just needs a change of scenery. Primo buy low candidate who could be with another team next year (the Jet have a very pro-active front office) and certainly in 2008.
Rovers is being modest. He was all over Vilma's poor season, before it happened! He took a lot of heat in August for suggesting Vilma wouldn't be close to the same impact. As a Vilma owner I recall reading his theory and worrying about my investment. The shame is I could've moved him for top offensive talent but couldn't bring myself to do so. I'll pay attention next time Rovers, I promise!There were plenty who had tempered expectations on this board (including some staffers) for Vilma as early as April. Personally, I didn't feel there was any way that Vilma would approach the solo tackle stats he had in 2005 but he was so far ahead of the pack (20 more solos than anyone other than Donnie Edwards) that I thought he'd still finish among the top backers in the league.
What we didn't know until Week 2 was that Vilma wouldn't be used in the more productive LILB (strong side) position in the 3-4 scheme. Even the most detailed posts on the Jet message board discussing the scheme change didn't mention that. And with the well documented useless depth chart the team website has continued to put out, it's still not clearly evident who plays where unless you watch a game.
It'd be nice if the Jets had a NT to keep blockers off Vilma -- but that's not really been the problem. Vilma is the D'Qwell Jackson to Andra Davis, the 2006 Tedy Bruschi to Junior Seau in the same scheme. Davis and Seau (and Bruschi in prior years) have finished in the upper ranks of LB tacklers. In hindsight, maybe it makes sense to put the smaller, quicker backer on the weak side of the formation. In the pre-season, it made more sense to most that the Jets would put their stud tackler in the best position to make tackles.
Still, I wouldn't give up on Vilma just yet. Who knows what changes the offseason will bring.
I remember thinking the same thing while reading Rovers posts. I thought geesh this makes sense but Vilma was the best so I better hold onto him. This is what I love about FBG though the information is there from various posters it's just a matter of reading through it.Rovers is being modest. He was all over Vilma's poor season, before it happened! He took a lot of heat in August for suggesting Vilma wouldn't be close to the same impact. As a Vilma owner I recall reading his theory and worrying about my investment. The shame is I could've moved him for top offensive talent but couldn't bring myself to do so. I'll pay attention next time Rovers, I promise!There were plenty who had tempered expectations on this board (including some staffers) for Vilma as early as April. Personally, I didn't feel there was any way that Vilma would approach the solo tackle stats he had in 2005 but he was so far ahead of the pack (20 more solos than anyone other than Donnie Edwards) that I thought he'd still finish among the top backers in the league.
What we didn't know until Week 2 was that Vilma wouldn't be used in the more productive LILB (strong side) position in the 3-4 scheme. Even the most detailed posts on the Jet message board discussing the scheme change didn't mention that. And with the well documented useless depth chart the team website has continued to put out, it's still not clearly evident who plays where unless you watch a game.
It'd be nice if the Jets had a NT to keep blockers off Vilma -- but that's not really been the problem. Vilma is the D'Qwell Jackson to Andra Davis, the 2006 Tedy Bruschi to Junior Seau in the same scheme. Davis and Seau (and Bruschi in prior years) have finished in the upper ranks of LB tacklers. In hindsight, maybe it makes sense to put the smaller, quicker backer on the weak side of the formation. In the pre-season, it made more sense to most that the Jets would put their stud tackler in the best position to make tackles.
Still, I wouldn't give up on Vilma just yet. Who knows what changes the offseason will bring.