This is a guy that had been a rock for us in the middle the last 2 years. He was one of the best run stopping NT's in the league, ranked 3rd in 2010 and 2nd in 2011 by PFF in stopping the run. This year he's getting pushed around and is playing poorly against the run. As of right now PFF has him ranked 44th against the run. That makes him not even the best NT on the Jets against the run with Ellis ranked 17th even after a terrible performance against the run vs. SF. Now I know the guy is coming off injury, so maybe that's part of the problem. He's also 33 years old and probably beginning a natural decline in his skills. The good news is that outside of the Niners game, Ellis has played pretty damn well against the run. He also gives us more in terms of a pass rush than Pouha ever did. Seems to me that Ellis should be getting the majority of the snaps there. At least for now. Hopefully this is one of the changes the coaches are looking at.
The Jets had to re-sign Pouha this offseason because they did not know what they were getting with Ellis because for whatever reason they didn't deem him NFL ready in 2011. Now that they have, age and his back injury, are effecting his play and I think it's safe to say that due to the cap problems we face next season, Pouha will be released after the season and Ellis will become the full-time NT in 2013.
Pouha's been a good player for us. That said Ellis definitely needs to be part of the youth movement on defense and agree that he should get the majority of snaps to see if he's the long term solution there.
This leads to my biggest gripe with Rex so far. He needs to let the young guys play over the vets when play dictates it. Guys like Davis, Coples, and Ellis on defense are only going to get better with more snaps and the vets are not doing the job. We need to rotate them in more if not be starting them.
This season really should be a youth movement on defense at this point. The vets are awful so it can't hurt. We're basically fucked this season anyway.
I agree and it doesn't help that they've done a poor job incorporating the young guys in the defense with the vets. They need to find ways to get Coples and Davis on the field at all times.
Devito has been struggling as well. I've wondered since the acquisition of Dunbar as DL coach if Rex is trying to run a one gap DL now, which could explain why two very solid 2-gap players are suddenly struggling.
I really wanna see more Wilkerson-Ellis-Coples than Wilkerson-Pouha-DeVito. While I don't think the D-line has been the problem, it sure hasn't been the answer. The only player on the D-line who has been disruptive is Wilkerson. Pouha has not played up to par and DeVito doesn't exactly get pushed around, but he is terrible getting off of blocks.
Can Ryan afford to do that? I've been reading other posts here, as well the national media suggesting that he's coaching for his job at this point. Is it that he just doesn't feel comfortable turning it over to the rooks yet!
There is no way he should be coaching for his job with a roster like this, especially after losing his best offensive and defensive players. Rex Ryan is a great coach.
Agree 100% here LTJF. I dont understand what it is going to take for Rex to actually have confidence in his young player. If they are the best player at the position, then they deserve to start or play the majority of the snaps. He is loyal to a fault with some players. I think Pouha is out this week so hopefully Ellis will show even more and earn a lot more playing time.
Regardless of whether his job is at stake or not, which is highly debatable, does it make sense to continue play veteran players when they aren't producing just because they have played well in past seasons? Especially when you have young, highly drafted talent behind them playing better in limited snaps? The Jets defense has looked bad, especially against the run this year.
last I checked nobody on TGG has the authority or influence to fire Rex. you can make the argument that the media has the influence, but I haven't read any credible arguments against Rex so again that is a moot point. there is nothing to indicate his job is in jeopardy, so he should be coaching to develop.
Rex is coaching for his job. There's no question about that. A bad season for the Jets will get him pushed out the door in a general purge at the end of the season. You don't lose the locker room in a down season and then follow that up with a bad season and keep your job. Especially not with Woody who is very perception oriented. That said, playing the young guys is the way to save his job. He's not going to miraculously turn the over-30's into better players. He can do that with the early to mid 20's guys though. Coples should be on the field almost every snap. Davis should be on the field more often and by mid-season at the latest for almost every snap. That's just what you do when you have young guys available that you have invested in and the vets are not performing. Unless you want to lose your job.
I agree. I'm not saying that because we lost last week and may this week, the team has not played well for several games this year and last, changes have to be made.
Pouha has a valuble role with the Jets, but not as a starter. He is getting pushed around as an everydown player, but should do well in 4-3 fronts as a rotational player. Ellis was getting man handled last week, but he was also fighting double teams with chips the whole time. Our starting 3-4 should be Coples, Ellis, Wilkerson, and our 4-3 Thomas, Coples, Ellis, Wilkerson. All IMO.
I don't believe he is coaching his job this year, after 2 straight AFC Championship runs, however, I could see him on the hot seat next year.
It's everyone. I saw it last year, eagles game. To me that was the death nail. Watching that game, was the first time I said ut oh. They got their asses handed to them. I'd like to see new guys too. But I wouldn't blame just one, we got a bad d line. And worse at linebacker imo. "Analysis: Pretty bad run defense across the board. The perimeter, in particular, was exposed. Of their 245 yards, the 49ers produced 149 outside the tackles, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It was the second-highest single game total of any team since the start of 2011 ... This was a particularly rough game for the usually solid Harris, who missed at least three tackles. Pace also had a couple of big misses ... What went wrong? A lot of things: Poor tackling. Poor gap control. Slow pursuit (at times, it looked like players were stuck in quicksand). Also credit the 49ers for near flawless execution, using an inside-outside running attack that had the Jets completely off balance ... Perhaps the most embarrassing moment occurred in the fourth quarter, when Ellis was driven back five yards and pancaked by LT Joe Staley. If he wanted to, Staley could've re-enacted the scene from "The Blind Side," blocking him off the field and pushing him over a fence."
This isn't about blaming one player for everything. For some reason whenever you point out someone doing something right or wrong on this forum people always seem to exaggerate it all the way to the end of the spectrum like you just did. I'm not giving you a hard time, just making a general observation. This is about a huge drop-off in one players production and the fact that his backup is performing better.
