F.Chowds Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 When Rex Ryan took over as New York Jets head coach, his general attitude toward pass-rusher Vernon Gholston was bullish. Ryan thought if he couldn't develop Gholston, then nobody could. After three NFL seasons and two under Ryan, the Jets released Gholston in March. The sixth overall draft choice in 2008 never got it. He started five games, was a healthy scratch three times and recorded zero sacks. Vernon Gholston was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft. At the NFL owners meeting in New Orleans a couple weeks ago, I had a chance to speak to Ryan for the first time since the Jets cut Gholston. Ryan was little defensive about not being able to mold Gholston into an effective player. Ryan claimed circumstances got in the way. Gholston went from 4-3 defensive end at Ohio State to 3-4 outside linebacker with the Jets under previous head coach Eric Mangini to 3-4 defensive end last year under Ryan. The Jets also added Trevor Pryce during the season, an acquisition Ryan said hurt Gholston's snap count. "I think Vernon improved," Ryan said. "Last year, I thought he gained strides. Unfortunately, I never knew this when we picked up Trevor and he played well for us, but that took a little away from Vernon. We had Shaun Ellis, so it was kind of hard to get [Gholston] more reps. "But the guy is an excellent teammate. He did what was asked and he got better." Even so, the Jets dumped him. Ryan spent a lot of time talking up Gholston to reporters and expressing optimism he would become a productive defender. Given that, I asked Ryan if he failed when it came to Gholston. "Well, then I failed as far as the numbers go," Ryan said. "But I thought he got better, though. We'll see what happens to him. He's not done playing. "I think I've had a long list of guys I've developed in my coaching career. Some guys develop faster than others. But I'll put how I coach up against anybody in this league when it comes to defense and technique." Gholston will go down as one of the biggest draft busts in Jets history and a rare miss in recent years. The pick hurts even more because pass rushing is one of the Jets' biggest weaknesses. Mangini was head coach and had influence when the Jets drafted Gholston. He's gone now, but general manager Mike Tannenbaum and vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales remain in place. "I think Vernon still has the chance to have a productive NFL career," Tannenbaum said in New Orleans. "Obviously, he didn't play to the level of the sixth pick in the draft, but he's a great kid. His career is far from over. "We'll have to look at our scouting process and have to see what we can learn from that experience." http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/39162/rex-ryan-revisits-vernon-gholston-failure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 No comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Tanny the draft guru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbatesman Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Tanny the draft guru. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 LOL I was hoping you'd have posted excerpts from Belichick's List of Personal Gholstons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I like that Rex is sort of defensive about not developing him. Most coaches blame the old regime for a bad draft pick. Rex puts it on himself and seems mad it didn't work. That's pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity28 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I like that Rex is sort of defensive about not developing him. Most coaches blame the old regime for a bad draft pick. Rex puts it on himself and seems mad it didn't work. That's pretty cool. I agree. But at the end of the day... players play, coaches coach, Rex eats, Mangini mumbles and Gholston sucks. I'm ready for a new storyline. This one blows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I agree. But at the end of the day... players play, coaches coach, Rex eats, Mangini mumbles and Gholston sucks. I'm ready for a new storyline. This one blows. here here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New York Mick Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 At least Blair Thomas is happy about the Jets drafting VG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mistermuckle Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I think we need to stay away from the prospects who are not football players first. If you remember, a big warning sign was VG's highlight pkg from Ohio State: it consisted of 2 or 3 plays!! Stop drafting on POTENTIAL, and stick to players who have shown proven RESULTS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I think we need to stay away from the prospects who are not football players first. If you remember, a big warning sign was VG's highlight pkg from Ohio State: it consisted of 2 or 3 plays!! Stop drafting on POTENTIAL, and stick to players who have shown proven RESULTS... Somewhere in between Mangini's style of going for scrappy, smart team captains and drafting workout wonders is a great blueprint for success. I think you nailed it, let's take some guys that have shown consistent results. Gholston had some decent numbers but there he went much higher because of his off the field numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I think we need to stay away from the prospects who are not football players first. If you remember, a big warning sign was VG's highlight pkg from Ohio State: it consisted of 2 or 3 plays!! Stop drafting on POTENTIAL, and stick to players who have shown proven RESULTS... Thanks for jumping in and posting btw! Welcome aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Somewhere in between Mangini's style of going for scrappy, smart team captains and drafting workout wonders is a great blueprint for success. I think you nailed it, let's take some guys that have shown consistent results. Gholston had some decent numbers but there he went much higher because of his off the field numbers. He started for three years in college, was an All-American, 2006 Second Team All Big Ten and 2007 First Team All Big-Ten and was the 2007 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year. He produced. Duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 He started for three years in college, was an All-American, 2006 Second Team All Big Ten and 2007 First Team All Big-Ten and was the 2007 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year. He produced. Duh. Did he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Did he? The dude said Gholston was drafted despite a lack of collegiate production, to which you agreed (no doubt to ease him into your world of Internet lechery). He's right that the Combine elevated Gholston in the eyes of some douche scouts that also thought Dewayne Robertson was great, but Gholston already had a significant body of work at the collegiate level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 The dude said Gholston was drafted despite a lack of collegiate production, to which you agreed (no doubt to ease him into your world of Internet lechery). He's right that the Combine elevated Gholston in the eyes of some douche scouts that also thought Dewayne Robertson was great, but Gholston already had a significant body of work at the collegiate level. Did I? Did he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kleckineau Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Did I? Did he? Did who? Why stop with the partial conjugation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Did who? Why stop with the partial conjugation? I left out the did who because that question has no basis here. TomShane is always the one that did it, kind of goes without saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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