An Offseason Priority: Improving the Pass Rush and Thus the D - The OLB Position

IMO one of the Jets biggest needs and weaknesses for at least 10 years has been their lack of a consistent pass rush. Even though the Jets run multiple fronts, their base D is the 3-4 alignment, and in the 3-4 alignment, the most important position is the OLB position. They are the primary playmakers in the front 7, and are responsible for stopping the run, rushing the QB and dropping into coverage. During this time the Jets have tried to adequately fill those positions with jags, journeymen and cast offs. The only time they’ve drafted one was Gholston. They haven’t even taken a flyer in the middle or lower rounds on someone they could try to develop. IMO it has completely undermined what Rex brings to the team, and if the Jets had a quality pass rushing OLB in 2009 and 2010, even with Sanchez at QB the Jets probably would have gone to a SB.

I wasn’t in favor of bringing back Calvin Pace last season. The Jets were stuck with both Thomas and Pace for far too long. They were effective on setting the edge, but mediocre rushing the passer and awful dropping into coverage. How many years have opposing teams gashed the Jets’ D right up the middle with short passes to RBs and TEs? That said, he surprised me last season. Even though I don’t think there’s any way he can repeat last season’s play, I think he should be brought back as depth and to help mentor a young OLB. Antwan Barnes was a nice addition as a situational pass rusher, but he isn’t anything more than a role player at this point in his career, and following his injury, we don’t know how healthy or effective he might be this season. Garrett McIntrye isn’t scaring anyone, either.

In short, the Jets must address the OLB position this offseason. There were two very good OLBs “available” for a while in Brian Orakpo and Jason Worrilds, but they’re no longer available. It’s probably just as well because I doubt if Idzik would have signed either. He believes in competition and building the team through the draft, and I don’t know if he would sign a “big name” player to a FA contract guaranteeing him a starting job. The same thing would apply to Shaun Philips, plus he is 32 and the Jets already have two older, slower OLBs, so he wouldn’t make any sense.

If he addresses the OLB position in a significant fashion, it will probably be in the draft. Fortunately, there are quite a few very good OLB prospects in this draft. That said, we know he likes to address needs in FA so he is free to go with the bpa in the draft. They’ll probably re-sign Pace, but may decide to bring in some more competition or go in a different direction. Therefore, I’m going to mention a couple of possible FA OLBs that Idzik might consider signing. We know he wants competition at every position and the depth also needs upgrading. The FAs I’m going to mention are probably more depth-type players, but who could contribute as role players, and possibly be an upgrade over McIntyre, Jermaine Cunningham, Tim Fugger, or whomever else the Jets presently have as backup OLBs.

The first player is Mike Neal. Neal is 26 and played for Green Bay. He’s 6’3 285 lbs, so imo, not the ideal size for an OLB, but was pretty effective in a limited role for Green Bay this past season. He started 10 games, had 47 combined tackles, 5 sacks, a pass defensed, an interception and a forced fumble. Last season he only appeared in 11 games, starting only 1, yet had 4.5 sacks. Following is a link to his profile.

http://www.nfl.com/player/mikeneal/496833/profile


The next player is Reggie Walker. Walker is 27 and played for San Diego. He’s 6’0, 244 lbs. He started 6 games last season, had 36 combined tackles, 3 sacks, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. Prior to that he had been a role player for the Cardinals.

http://www.nfl.com/player/reggiewalker/2507675/profile


Frank Zombo is the other player. Zombo is 26, three years younger than McIntyre and his stats compare favorably with McIntyre’s. He played last season for Kansas City, but was with Green Bay for his first three seasons. Zombo started 5 games last season, had 27 combined tackles, 2 sacks, 2 passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble. McIntyre has never had a pass defensed or an interception.

http://www.nfl.com/player/frankzombo/2507948/profile

I the draft I'd love to add either Jadaveon Clownery, Khalil Mack or Anthony Barr, but barring (no pun intended) a minor miracle, none of the three will be there at #18. Dee Ford is an exciting prospect with great speed, but he may be a bit of a reach at #18. Still, I'd be very excited if the Jets added him.

In the second round, Kyle Van Noy is another prospect who is intriguing. He has coverage skills that many others don't, but I'm a little concerned about his foot speed. Perhaps someone who has seen him play more can answer the questions there. Carl Bradford and Jeremiah Attaochu are intriguing prospects in the 2nd-third round area. I don't know much about Bradford, but like Attaochu a lot.

Trevor Reilly, Kony Ealy, Trent Murphy, Marcus Smith, Chris Smith, Kareem Martin, Adrian Hubbard, Morgan Breslin, Prince Shembo, Jordan Tripp, Devon Kennard, Tyler Starr, and Jonathan Newsome are other OLB prospects. One interesting thing is that with there being so many OLB prospects this year, there will probably be OLB prospects available in every round.

 

Yeah, I was really pissed that they passed on Houston. I almost had to give my car keys to a friend to keep me from driving to NJ and choking the shit out of Tanny. There are a LOT of good OLB prospects in this draft. There will be NO excuses for not drafting one.

OLB isn't an easy position to learn and it can take a young prospect a year or two to develop. There's no harm in that. He could be a situational pass rusher and play on STs to start and take over down the road.

 

All 3 players were listed as OLBs by NFL.com. I don't really know those players or where they play, only going by what the NFL lists them as. I don't really like any of them either, but there aren't any choices in FA aside from those 3. I just figure that Idzik might sign one to shore up the position as insurance and so he doesn't feel compelled to have to take one since he likes going bpa.

 

Are you serious? I understand not liking the showboating that some players do, but I can close my eyes or turn my head when they do that crap. He's a player and gets production/results. The Jets should be so lucky to have him at one of their OLB spots.

 

I couldn't possibly disagree with you more. The DL has certainly improved the pass rush greatly, but by no means do they get consistent pressure and force incompletions and TOs. Further, the team has a problem getting off the field on 3rd downs, RBs and TEs kill us over the middle, and the weak secondary is exposed because of the lack of pass rush. When opposing QBs have 4-5 seconds to find an open man, they will pick apart any D. Cut that to a second or two because you have a stud pass rusher, and it's an entirely different story. If you seriously think the pass rush isn't an issue and plan on counting on Coples, Pace and Barnes, you really haven't been paying attention, imo. Coples is miscast at OLB and will never be all that effective imo. Barnes is older, coming off a serious injury, may not be healthy or as fast, and is only a role player. Pace has no speed whatsoever. His sacks were coverage sacks. A strong pass rush has a tremendous impact on a team's passing defense. The Jets' pass defense wasn't awful just because of the secondary struggles.