DE Leo Williams.. most impressive player in camp, ready to dominate ~ ~ ~ (MERGED)

[kelly]

 -- Buster Skrine was watching practice tape on Saturday morning with the rest of his defensive teammates when he noticed the big dude in the middle of the defensive line, tossing bodies around.

"Leo was manhandling people up front the whole practice," said Skrine, who wasn't the only person in the meeting room that noticed.

Leo is Leonard Williams, who might be the most impressive player so far in theNew York Jets' training camp. After a solid rookie season, he's ready to graduate to a new level. In the preseason opener, he wrecked a potential touchdown drive with a third-down sack deep in Jets' territory, welcoming Jacksonville Jaguarsquarterback Blake Bortles to New Jersey."Second year in the defense, second year in the conference, I think he's going to dominate this year," Skrine said. "I think he can be a Pro Bowl guy. People know about him now, but with the weapons we've got on the D-line, if you're going to block him as a single ... "

Skrine shook his head.

"I don't see it," he said, finishing the thought.

Unless something crazy happens, the Jets should have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. It may take some time, with Muhammad Wilkerson coming off a broken leg and Sheldon Richardson bracing for a one-game suspension to start the season, but this line will be scary good.The 6-foot-5, 302-pound Williams is growing up before their eyes, becoming more assertive and showing more vocal leadership on the field than his rookie year. He's still learning how to read blocking schemes and use his hands to defeat blockers, but he has improved in those areas.The talent is there. General manager Mike Maccagnan and his scouts almost broke out the hats and noisemakers when Williams fell to them with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft.

"When you have a guy that big and that fast and that flexible, you see the raw talent," said veteran Jarvis Jenkins, who joined the defensive-line fraternity as a free agent. "To see him match the intensity of Mo and Sheldon ... man, he's going to be special."As a rookie, Williams was "pretty steady," defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said. "Now we kind of need him to make big plays."Williams acknowledged he "didn't have huge numbers that pop out on the stat sheet" -- three sacks, no forced fumbles during his rookie season-- but he was happy with the way he defended the run and took on blockers to help free up teammates. In other words, he did the blue-collar work, knowing that true football insiders appreciated his work.

In the offseason, he trained with his former line coach at USC, hoping to improve his explosiveness. Does he have the ability to improve on three sacks? Let's put it this way: Does Michael Phelps know how to swim?"When I was in college and high school, I always got lot of sacks," said Williams, who made 35.5 sacks in three years at USC. "I'm not comparing that to the NFL, but I have high expectations every year and I'm looking forward to improving those numbers."

>      http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/62205/jets-de-leo-williams-most-impressive-player-in-camp-ready-to-dominate

[Gas2No99]

Jets DE Leo Williams most impressive player in camp, ready to dominate

"Man, he's going to be special," teammate Jarvis Jenkins said of Leonard Williams. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswear

 

• 
  Richard SodyminiESPN Staff Writer

 

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Buster Skrine was watching practice tape on Saturday morning with the rest of his defensive teammates when he noticed the big dude in the middle of the defensive line, tossing bodies around.

"Leo was manhandling people up front the whole practice," said Skrine, who wasn't the only person in the meeting room that noticed.

Leo is Leonard Williams, who might be the most impressive player so far in the New York Jets' training camp. After a solid rookie season, he's ready to graduate to a new level. In the preseason opener, he wrecked a potential touchdown drive with a third-down sack deep in Jets' territory, welcoming Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles to New Jersey.

"Second year in the defense, second year in the conference, I think he's going to dominate this year," Skrine said. "I think he can be a Pro Bowl guy. People know about him now, but with the weapons we've got on the D-line, if you're going to block him as a single ... "

Skrine shook his head.

"I don't see it," he said, finishing the thought.

Unless something crazy happens, the Jets should have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. It may take some time, with Muhammad Wilkerson coming off a broken leg and Sheldon Richardson bracing for a one-game suspension to start the season, but this line will be scary good.

The 6-foot-5, 302-pound Williams is growing up before their eyes, becoming more assertive and showing more vocal leadership on the field than his rookie year. He's still learning how to read blocking schemes and use his hands to defeat blockers, but he has improved in those areas.

The talent is there. General manager Mike Maccagnan and his scouts almost broke out the hats and noisemakers when Williams fell to them with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft.

"When you have a guy that big and that fast and that flexible, you see the raw talent," said veteran Jarvis Jenkins, who joined the defensive-line fraternity as a free agent. "To see him match the intensity of Mo and Sheldon ... man, he's going to be special."

As a rookie, Williams was "pretty steady," defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said. "Now we kind of need him to make big plays."

Williams acknowledged he "didn't have huge numbers that pop out on the stat sheet" -- three sacks, no forced fumbles during his rookie season-- but he was happy with the way he defended the run and took on blockers to help free up teammates. In other words, he did the blue-collar work, knowing that true football insiders appreciated his work.

In the offseason, he trained with his former line coach at USC, hoping to improve his explosiveness. Does he have the ability to improve on three sacks? Let's put it this way: Does Michael Phelps know how to swim?

"When I was in college and high school, I always got lot of sacks," said Williams, who made 35.5 sacks in three years at USC. "I'm not comparing that to the NFL, but I have high expectations every year and I'm looking forward to improving those numbers."

 

 

[Gas2No99]

It's rather satisfying that Leo is already starting to shine in his 2nd year. To all the dopes that criticized the pick a year ago because it was ANOTHER D-Lineman, EAT CROW! 

We got the BEST player in the 2015 draft and have a GM who had the BALLS to take him despite what the naysayers whined and admonished about. 

[PepPep]

7 minutes ago, Gas2No99 said:

It's rather satisfying that Leo is already starting to shine in his 2nd year. To all the dopes that criticized the pick a year ago because it was ANOTHER D-Lineman, EAT CROW! 

We got the BEST player in the 2015 draft and have a GM who had the BALLS to take him despite what the naysayers whined and admonished about. 

Yes, yes, the Jets made the right move taking L.Williams. I agree. He will be a beast this year and barring injury, for years to come. 

Having said that. THESE are the top 5 players from the 2015 draft RIGHT NOW- according to the impact they made as rookies and their rookie stats:

1. Gurley

2. Cooper

3. Winston

4. L.Williams

5. M.Mariota

Then you have K.White and D.Fowler, guys who could have very well had big rookie campaigns if not for their season ending injuries.  

[Jetster]

You can't put all of those ahead of Leo because the Jets were not in position to draft them other than Gurley.

So we'll watch Gurley, Fowler & Whites careers & see how it all plays out. Leo has already proven he's a stud so he's already leading the pack along with Gurley.

[Jet Nut]

1 hour ago, Gas2No99 said:

It's rather satisfying that Leo is already starting to shine in his 2nd year. To all the dopes that criticized the pick a year ago because it was ANOTHER D-Lineman, EAT CROW! 

We got the BEST player in the 2015 draft and have a GM who had the BALLS to take him despite what the naysayers whined and admonished about. 

Dopes don't eat crow.  They're too dopey

[Jet Nut]

9 minutes ago, Jetster said:

You can't put all of those ahead of Leo because the Jets were not in position to draft them other than Gurley.

So we'll watch Gurley, Fowler & Whites careers & see how it all plays out. Leo has already proven he's a stud so he's already leading the pack along with Gurley.

Williams will be a force while Gurley is fading at 30 or do years of age.

[Integrity28]

I said it in the last ~~kelly~~ thread... Williams is going to end up being the best player on our D, starting this year.

[nycdan]

2 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

I said it in the last ~~kelly~~ thread... Williams is going to end up being the best player on our D, starting this year.

 

At least he's not tiny.

[Gas2No99]

1 hour ago, PepPep said:

Yes, yes, the Jets made the right move taking L.Williams. I agree. He will be a beast this year and barring injury, for years to come. 

Having said that. THESE are the top 5 players from the 2015 draft RIGHT NOW- according to the impact they made as rookies and their rookie stats:

1. Gurley

2. Cooper

3. Winston

4. L.Williams

5. M.Mariota

Then you have K.White and D.Fowler, guys who could have very well had big rookie campaigns if not for their season ending injuries.  

All offensive players who were DRAFTED AHEAD of #6 except for Gurley who was coming off a shredded knee. Yeah! . . .. ok!

Your post is purely subjective conjecture at this point and he's the only position on that list that DOESN'T get to touch the ball and build stats with touches. 

[PepPep]

4 minutes ago, Gas2No99 said:

All offensive players who were DRAFTED AHEAD of #6 except for Gurley who was coming off a shredded knee. Yeah! . . .. ok!

Your post is purely subjective conjecture at this point and he's the only position on that list that DOESN'T get to touch the ball and build stats with touches. 

Ha! All of these posts are just subjective conjecture, lol.

I'm just saying, let's not anoint him the best player of the 2015 draft yet. When, in fact, touches or not, regardless of where they were picked, there's guys from that same rookie class that had very good rookie seasons and could easily end up just as good if not better than Big Cat.  

[Big Blocker]

Yes, looking forward to seeing how much better Leo will be in his second season.  The DL should be awesome.

[detectivekimble]

2 hours ago, PepPep said:

Yes, yes, the Jets made the right move taking L.Williams. I agree. He will be a beast this year and barring injury, for years to come. 

Having said that. THESE are the top 5 players from the 2015 draft RIGHT NOW- according to the impact they made as rookies and their rookie stats:

1. Gurley

2. Cooper

3. Winston

4. L.Williams

5. M.Mariota

Then you have K.White and D.Fowler, guys who could have very well had big rookie campaigns if not for their season ending injuries.  

Peters? Darby?  Terrible list.

[detectivekimble]

1 hour ago, Integrity28 said:

I said it in the last ~~kelly~~ thread... Williams is going to end up being the best player on our D, starting this year.

Might be.  He has elite power and length.  To come in and be that stout against the run at age 21 is impressive.  He doesn't have the explosion that Richardson has, but he put a lot of work into his get off during the offseason.

[PepPep]

52 minutes ago, detectivekimble said:

Peters? Darby?  Terrible list.

Ok, if my list is so terrible, let's see yours. No Cooper? No Winston? No Gurley?  

No, seriously, lets see it. Peters had a great year, I would def. put him up there. Is Darby on top of your list?  

[Jetdawgg]

Great choice by the Jets here. He is still learning no showed just how much he has been coached up already last week.

[Jetster]

1 hour ago, Jetdawgg said:

Great choice by the Jets here. He is still learning no showed just how much he has been coached up already last week.

He was a freaking no brainer for Macc. Guarantee you when Skins took Scherf the entire Jets draft room went bat sh*t crazy.

Ive said this before. Right before the draft I heard Gil Brandt talking about Leo on NFL Sirius radio. He stated, "I think Leonard Williams is the only can't miss in this draft, he's a man child who will only get bigger & stronger in the NFL. I've talked to a lot of people who watch film & they say he's so far more advanced sliding off blocks and making plays then they'd ever seen at that age". Seriously, I was like "wow, this dude must be something" & I didn't give another thought because I'm thinking we have no shot at this guy picking 6th. Then I sit down to watch the draft & im like "holy sh*t, this dude Brandt was raving about is only 2 players away! Then the Skins took the Olineman & I'm going crazy even though I don't follow college ball.

it seemed Williams was always gone in any mock draft I looked at. Jets fortunes might be changing finally. I think our "Tiny Linebacker" is gonna be a special player too, lol. Now we got the "THE BIG CAT" & "THE TINY KITTY".

[kelly]

9 hours ago, Gas2No99 said:

It's rather satisfying that Leo is already starting to shine in his 2nd year. To all the dopes that criticized the pick a year ago because it was ANOTHER D-Lineman, EAT CROW! 

We got the BEST player in the 2015 draft and have a GM who had the BALLS to take him despite what the naysayers whined and admonished about. 

i Luved the pick.. still do   

 

 

cheers ~ ~ 

[Integrity28]

4 hours ago, Jetster said:

He was a freaking no brainer for Macc. Guarantee you when Skins took Scherf the entire Jets draft room went bat sh*t crazy.

Ive said this before. Right before the draft I heard Gil Brandt talking about Leo on NFL Sirius radio. He stated, "I think Leonard Williams is the only can't miss in this draft, he's a man child who will only get bigger & stronger in the NFL. I've talked to a lot of people who watch film & they say he's so far more advanced sliding off blocks and making plays then they'd ever seen at that age". Seriously, I was like "wow, this dude must be something" & I didn't give another thought because I'm thinking we have no shot at this guy picking 6th. Then I sit down to watch the draft & im like "holy sh*t, this dude Brandt was raving about is only 2 players away! Then the Skins took the Olineman & I'm going crazy even though I don't follow college ball.

it seemed Williams was always gone in any mock draft I looked at. Jets fortunes might be changing finally. I think our "Tiny Linebacker" is gonna be a special player too, lol. Now we got the "THE BIG CAT" & "THE TINY KITTY".

It was so unexpected, I almost wonder if they were scrambling to find out what everyone else knew that they didn't. LOL

Good fortune rarely hits for the Jets.

[detectivekimble]

1 hour ago, Integrity28 said:

It was so unexpected, I almost wonder if they were scrambling to find out what everyone else knew that they didn't. LOL

Good fortune rarely hits for the Jets.

 

“Well I’ve seen him do it before (in practice), nothing new to me,” Richardson said. “Him doing it and being successful at it, it’s the regularly scheduled program. We had a few reps where he actually did (get) some production against Nick Mangold, so I’ve seen it before.”

“He’s trying to be elite,” Richardson added. “I’ve got full faith in him, he is going to be elite.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/sheldon-richardson-raves-jets-teammate-leonard-williams-article-1.2750177

[FloridaJetsFan]

1 hour ago, Integrity28 said:

It was so unexpected, I almost wonder if they were scrambling to find out what everyone else knew that they didn't. LOL

Good fortune rarely hits for the Jets.

"It was so unexpected ..." AS unexpected as Kelly being a MAN BABY?!?! Sorry - had to throw some Austin Powers in there.

[Mogglez]

Funny. 2 people here told me he would be an average to "good" player and nothing more because his SPARQ scorezzzz weren't that great. 

Hm. ?☕

[Jetster]

On that same show I heard Brandt stated that if the 2 quarterbacks weren't there Leonard Williams would be the 1st off the board. While Cooper looks like a stud everyone knows it's much, much easier to find a good WR or Offensive Guard in free agency. 

No one gives up stud Dlineman or Edge rushers. This was a huge coup for the Jets. Luckiest thing to happen to them in the draft for years. Remember Gholston was a #6 pick too.

[Jetsfan80]

17 hours ago, PepPep said:

Ok, if my list is so terrible, let's see yours. No Cooper? No Winston? No Gurley? 

Leonard Williams will be a dominant DT for the next decade.  Gurley will be a flash in the pan who might not even still be great by the time his rookie deal expires, because that's what RB's in the NFL do unless you're a cyborg like Adrian Peterson.  This is a passing league.

Cooper is the next Roddy White, so I can't make a strong argument against him if you want to put him there.  Winston?  Nope.  Not yet anyways.  We KNOW Williams is very good already.  We don't quite know what Winston is yet.

[PepPep]

3 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Leonard Williams will be a dominant DT for the next decade.  Gurley will be a flash in the pan who might not even still be great by the time his rookie deal expires, because that's what RB's in the NFL do unless you're a cyborg like Adrian Peterson.  This is a passing league.

Cooper is the next Roddy White, so I can't make a strong argument against him if you want to put him there.  Winston?  Nope.  Not yet anyways.  We KNOW Williams is very good already.  We don't quite know what Winston is yet.

I disagree, we don't know anything about any of these guys yet. We don't know if Gurley will be a flash in the pan or if he will be the next AP, we don't know if L.Williams will be a dominant DT for the next decade or if he will have a career ending injury tom., etc. 

What we do know is what we saw from them their rookie seasons. That's what I am going off of. And I def. should have put Peters on there b/c he had a great season, I just forgot about him. 

[Jetsfan80]

1 hour ago, PepPep said:

I disagree, we don't know anything about any of these guys yet. We don't know if Gurley will be a flash in the pan or if he will be the next AP, we don't know if L.Williams will be a dominant DT for the next decade or if he will have a career ending injury tom., etc.

I'll rephrase.  Odds are, a DT can dominate for a lot longer than a RB, and stay healthier than a RB, all other things being equal.  Therefore Williams was the right pick.  Elite DT >>> Elite RB.

Now, if it becomes clear Gurley is elite and Williams is not, we can discuss this again.  But neither of us know that at this point.  And it's particularly stupid to just look at a stat sheet to say Gurley is better.

[kelly]

Wired for Sound : Leonard Williams

Second-Year DL Wears a Mic at Practice

 

>      http://www.newyorkjets.com/videos/videos/Wired-for-Sound-Leonard-Williams/bc57f613-cebb-4cc0-b634-a843efc6a1ac

[kelly]

When a player graduates from the challenging unknown of a rookie campaign, things usually begin to slow down.  The game  itself appears to decelerate, but that old axiom is not the case for Jets defensive lineman Leonard Williams .“Everything is speeding up for me actually. I don’t have to  play  slow anymore or think as much,” he said after a recent training camp practice. “I’m just more comfortable with this defense, more comfortable with my teammates, coaches, the system, everything. It’s just a lot faster.”

Faster, in this case, is a good thing for the 6’5’’, 302-pounder. During the first quarter of the Jets’ 17-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Thursday, Williams recorded the team’s first summer sack as he wrapped up Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles for a six-yard loss.“Getting to the quarterback is just about a matter of seconds in this league. That’s why I had a lot of QB hits last year, but I wasn’t quite getting to the sack,” Williams said. “I need to get off the ball and disengage from the  offensive linemen  as quickly as possible by reading tendencies and stuff like that.”

The soft-spoken Williams, who prefers to go by “Leo,” wants to turn his team-leading 32 QB hits from last season into more sacks. The No. 6 overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft has been  working  on exploding off the ball with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson.“Last year I had a lot of hits on the quarterback, but this offseason I’ve been trying to figure out what makes a difference between a hit and a sack,” he said. “Sacks are definitely one of the numbers that I want to increase this year.”

>    http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-7/The-‘Big-Cat’-Accelerates-into-Year-2/2d2149b5-f8b7-4003-a0ad-8742f4f233a8

[MaxAF]

I really like this kid. Powerful, nasty, gets a good push off the line. Still learning but he's a force to be reckoned with. Can't double team everydody. Should open up the Blitz game for the faster LB's. And Bowles loves to Blitz. Jets D has to be in the top 3 this year. Alot of weapons.

[drdetroit]

Dude is going beast for us for next several years

[kelly]

— In the Jets' first preseason game against the Jaguars, and several times vs. Washington Friday, the defense deployed a unique look. 

Sheldon Richardson and Jarvis Jenkins lined up as the two defensive ends. That was normal. But in the middle of those two was last year's first-round pick Leonard Williams. A 3-4 defensive end by nature, Williams was playing nose tackle. 

A weird wrinkle? Exotic look? Funky front? No, no and no. The Jets, believe it or not, like the idea of having Williams anchoring the middle of their defense. 

"We talked about doing that in the offseason," defensive line coach Pepper Johnson said on Monday. "[Williams] was ready for it. He's the ultimate team guy. It didn't bother him. He's not selfish."For the last three years, Damon Harrison had been the Jets' nose tackle. A 6-4, 350-pound mammoth of a man, Harrison fit the role perfectly. His size and strength made him a force against the run. He was able to clog the middle of the defense and allow the Jets' two middle linebackers to play sideline to sideline. 

Harrison signed with the Giants as a free agent in the offseason. That left a vacancy on the Jets' defense. Williams — along with Steve McLendon and Deon Simon — is one of the players in the mix to fill it."He has played more nose than defensive end or tackle [this offseason]," Johnson said. "That has been a position we've talked about him playing. We wanted to get him a few reps."If this were Madden, Williams switching to nose tackle would be as easy as two clicks in the depth chart menu. In real life, things aren't as simple. Johnson said there's a vast difference between defensive end (Williams' natural position) and nose. 

Things get significantly faster the more you work inside on the defensive line. You only need to worry about one player (offensive tackle) as a defensive end. As a defensive tackle, you need to worry about two —the offensive tackle and offensive guard. As a nose tackle, though, you need to worry about three players — both guards and the center. Williams may not have the prototypical build of a nose tackle (he stands 6-5 and weighs a light 291), but he's fast, which Johnson believes will help him inside.  

"People look at the 3-technique and 5-technique as the same, but it's so different," Johnson said. "The blocks are so much different because they come in faster. If you're too tight on the ball, all kinds of stuff can go on." Ever since the Jets activated Muhammad Wilkerson off the physically unable to perform list, they've experimented with a wide variety of fronts. On Monday, the team deployed a four-man front featuring Richardson and Wilkerson at defensive ends, and Williams and McLendon at defensive tackle. Head coach Todd Bowles and defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers are expanding their minds, thinking of the best ways to get their best players on the field. 

When they find something that works, they build on it. And that's exactly why Williams, as unconventional as it may seem, is getting reps at nose tackle. "What Coach Bowles has on his white board in his room has yet to be revealed," Johnson said. "I like what Todd and Kacy are doing because the scheme revolves around the players. He's not just calling a defensive that anyone can go out there and do. 

"All of our guys have to be versatile. With Todd, the more you can do, the more you're worth, and the better this defense can function."

>     http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2016/08/is_leonard_williams_the_jets_new_nose_tackle.html#incart_river_index