Well, it has been a long run but, only the outlooks on the defensive backs and offensive lineman remain .... And with that I will be finishing up my half of the outlooks with the defensive lineman. The line has been upgraded to keep up with the changing of the team as a whole and also to get rid of the disappointing Dwayne Robertson. Come to think of it, the D-line started this whole snowball of signings and trades for New York.
Kareem Brown: Well, here is yet another name not spoken in a Jet fans vocab too often but, he is around. Brown who was another player taken from the Patriots recently joined the Jets last season. (No wonder why no one gets in trouble from the Giants of Jets he mastered in criminology). Before coming to the NFL, Brown played DT at Miami, recording 20.5 sacks, 11th-most in the school's histoy.
He was selected in the fourth round by the Pats in the 07' draft and was inactive for eleven games before being waived by the team. The Jets then picked him up and he made his first NFL debut week seventeen against the Cheifs but, didn't record any stats. It is hard to tell what Brown can do for New York since he hasn't done much my guess is mop up duty until we really get to know what he can do.
Kenyon Coleman: Coleman has been active in the defensive lineup yet another name that you don't see or hear too often. Coleman was a student of the 02' draft who in college posted 138 tackles, 16.5 sacks and 34 TFL at UCLA. In 02' he was picked up by Oakland where he traveled to Super Bowl XXXVII with Raiders but was inactive for game and made NFL debut in Week 5 at BUF, recording one solo tackle. Afterwards Dallas recieved Coleman where he stayed for three years in 2003 recieving his first sack for safety which came against QB, Jeff Blake, in 04' he recorded one sack in Week 11 at Baltimore and then in 05' seemed to gain more 'momentum' where he recorded four tackles and half sack in Week 4 at Oakland and made his first NFL start and recorded two tackles in Week 1 at the Chargers.
In his final season with the Cowboys Kenyon notched five tackles, his most as a Cowboy, and one sack in Week 15 at Atlanta and tallied a sack in Week 7 vs. the Giants and posted three tackles and one sack in Week 2 vs. the Redskins. When he came to the Jets, Kenyon Coleman made an imdiate impact recording career highs of 12 tackles and eight solos in first game as a Jet in 2007 season opener vs. New England and led Jets D-linemen in 2007 with career-high 90 tackles and established personal best with 14 starts in first season as full-time starter. I see Coleman getting a big role this season after putting up such good numbers last season, I expect to see more production from him during this season.
Mike DeVito: You can check out Mike's profile at Yahoo Sports. There isn't a lot of evidence of what Mike can do, he was here last season but, didn't do a lot to prove himself in the organization, I expect Mangini to either keep him for insurence and mop up or get rid of him by the time the 53 man roster cut needs to be established.
Shaun Ellis: Ellis is another anchor to our defense that has always been there since the Herm Edwards reign and came with Chad Pennington, John Abraham and Anthony Becht. But before declaring for the 00' draft, Ellis finished collegiate career with 105 tackles, 12.5 sacks, three FF, a FR and an INT, which he returned 90 yards for a TD. And in his rookie season, Shaun was determined to make his mark, by leading all the Jets DL in sacks, next in 2003 he had a great year and was chosen for the Pro Bowl and throughout the seasons has been an asset to the team.
Fast forwarding to last season, he was selected defensive captain by his teammates, with the sack of Tom Brady on 12/16 increased his career total to 53.5 sacks, enabling him to surpass Mo Lewis and tie John Abraham for fourth place all-time in franchise history, he also tied for team lead in with five sacks and led defense with 12 QB hurries and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for first time in career after recording two sacks, FF and FR vs. Pittsburgh. Ellis who has been with New York the longest along with Chad Pennington shows no signs of slowing down and I expect him to continue his great performances into this season and beyond.
Kris Jenkins: When you only have to trade a few draft picks for a guy like Jenkins you know you have hit the jackpot. Now granted he did come with some weight problems but, according to many sources he has kept off the weight and could even be the anchor to New York's defense. Jenkins is a member of the 01' draft whom the Panthers picked up in the second round. Before the NFL he finished with 9.5 sacks and 154 tackles at UMCP. With the Panthers his rookie season started slowly but, by season two he was full blast gaining entrance to the Pro Bowl the year after he was drafted and went two straight when he got a Pro Bowl entrance in 03' he also recieved an All-Pro selection in 02' and 03' as well. In 2004-05' his career was full of injuries which hinder him.
But in 2006 he came back stronger than ever and recieved a Pro Bowl entrance once again. Jenkins had a rocky 2007 season with the Panthers after duking it out with Coach Fox. Afterwards when the Jets caught wind of him wanting out they literally pounced on him giving up a third and fifth round draft pick and signing him to a five year, $ 35 million contract. Even with his 07' season rocky I expect Jenkins to have a great performance this year because he is happy where he is, he isn't getting much heat and will help this ailing defense and possibly even become the anchor the Jets have been looking for at this position (NT).
Thomas Johnson: To find out more about Thomas Johnson you can check out some of his stats here. Not much was found on Mr. Johnson but, again I'm seeing mop up duty unless he is just here until the 53 man roster chop.
Bryan Mattison: New York recently signed Mattison. While in college he was named one of the top 50 players in the State of Indiana by the Indiana Football Coaches Association and was also an Associated Press first team all-state selection. As a senior, he collected 70 tackles, seven sacks and 16 tackles for loss en route to leading his team to a Class 5-A sectional championship.
I can't say for sure what Bryan will be used for this season considering we haven't even seen him in action in the big league so it will certainly be interesting to see what the Jets do with him. At best I see him as a backup, Mangini could keep him though but, let's not jump to conclusions.
Calvin "C.J." Mosley: Aquiring C.J. Mosley from the Vikings in exchange for Brooks Bollinger was the best deal the Jets could have done, they got a good player and got rid of a horrible one. Mosley came out of the 05' draft after Minnesota took him in the sixth round. Before he began his career in the NFL, Mosley was twice named Missouri's Defensive Lineman of the Year and recorded 167 tackles (111 solo) with 15.5 sacks, 38 TFL, two FR, two FF, three PD and a blocked kick at Missouri. When he got to Minnesota, C.J. had seven tackles, two sacks and one FF in Week 12, made his first career start in Week 13 and recorded three tackles, one sack and first PD of career and finally in Week 14 recorded four tackles.
When the Jets traded off Bollinger for Mosley at first in 06' he had a quiet season with a total of five tackles and one sack. Then in 2007 he broke out, showing pass-rush potential when he swarmed to three sacks and forced two fumbles vs. A.J. Feeley and Eagles, all during one first-quarter drive, in final '07 preseason game, notched 2.5 sacks in three-game span in second half of last season and made his first start in Week 14. Even forcing a fumble against Miami which he recovered. Mosley shows he has great skills and can get to the quarterback with ease. I expect Mosley to get his role cut by other players like Kris Jenkins but, don't count him out because he will definatly be out there to get down and dirty.
Ropati Pitoitua: There is not much information on Pitoitua however my best guess would be that he will be used for mop up work when I looked around no college stats were to be found, so I can only think that he will be here until the cutdown to the 53 man roster or as a back up in case someone else from the position gets cut instead.
Sione Pouha: Although not a household name yet, Pouha has begun to make a name for himself. Before he was drafted by New York in the 05' draft, Pouha earned All-Mountain West Conference first-team honors and was named USA Today All-America honorable mention as Utah senior after starting 10 games, recording 36 tackles, four PDs and one INT, and helped lead Utes to 2005 Fiesta Bowl as part of the BCS.
When he came to New York in 2005, Pouha was credited with his first solo tackle week seventeen against Buffalo and got one tackle in the season opener against Kansas City in his NFL debut. Sione came back strong in 2007 when he returned after spending 2006 season on injured reserve to generate career-high 39 tackles (32 solos) while playing in all 16 games in 2007. Even with the addition of Kris Jenkins I see Pouha having a fairly big sized role this season after he was able to make good on his comeback in 07'.
***
Check some new stories that have popped up about New York ....
Mangini pumped about addition of Callahan, PSL PR Not Going Well, Training Camp Dates and Times, Erik Ainge: The Education of a Rookie QB.
Faces at the U.S. Open



Comments (0)
Add a comment
Remember to keep it clean. Bad words will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed. More Guidelines