Rut-Row. Another aged defensive player in denial.



http://www.kffl.com/team/22/NFL

JT, I love you man, and I'll never question your ability...

But the man needs to be a situational pass rusher at this point.

Give him a shot. Its not like he hasn't earned that much. JT is a proud individual but hes not full of himself. He just wants a few extra snaps this season & maybe the title of being called "the starter". If he gets in the way of the team winning, I'll bet he'll be the first to see it

I look at this the same as I would any other player. If you are the best player at the position, you start; if your not, you don't (or split time).
If he wants to be the full time starter, he can earn it just like the next guy.

Let him compete for the starting job, he played well on a shoulder that needed arthroscopic surgery last year, especially when you consider his game is based on leverage and movement.

It's not that simple anymore. What if one guy is clearly better at setting the edge, and another clearly better at rushing the passer? I get the sense that "starters" are a false notion with this staff which looks more for "role players."

Almost every position is set up that way from QB all the way down the roster.

Whether it stays that way as we get more talent to fill out the roster remains to be seen.

JT is pretty good in pass coverage, run stopping and pass rushing. If he wants an every down role, he certainly has the skills to fill it, unlike JP. However, this organization has been consistent on snap counts and working every player into the mix. Sparano has a formula for how many snaps each player gets per game, and the snaps decrease with age. With JT being an old player, I don;t see him getting every snap on the defense on this team.

JT still is a formidable pass rusher. As far as run stopper I think that is where he lacks. Pass rushers tend to over pursue the run & offenses tend to run at them because of that. I think that is where JT is at. Obviously you bring him back at the right price but to play every down I dont think that will happen.

Do we have any full time starters anymore?? It seems we swap packages so often they could all be considered starters

I don't know if he is an every down player anymore, but just remember that Joey Porter was playing on the weakside, Jason natural position, and with Joey gone soon Jason could switch back to his natural side.

It sounds like he wants more money than he got last year, so I am not sure how this works out, but he can still contribute as a pass rusher.

Bingo put him on the weak side. Unless he completely regresses he still can play.

JT significantly improved his run stopping ability this year. I've never seen him do a lot of the things he did this year. Including setting the edge.

I agree. JT, at his age, is still one of the best. That being said, I don't think this team has everydown players. Heck, not even our QB has been an every down player.

Hate to say it but JT is not an every down player at this point. He seems injury prone and is getting older. I think he should develop more into a pass rushing specialist like Trace Armstrong at the end of his career.

Injury prone? Out of 13 seasons played he's misssed 7 games. He played a full 16 games this season, missed 3 last season with the skins, and before that the last time he missed a game was in 1999. So while he may be getting older, he is definitely not injury prone.

Its not to say he hasn't been a healthy player over the course of his career. Just that at this point the collisions have started to catch up with him a little bit and he is a little more susceptible to injury. Don't read too much into what I said. JT is a tough player and a productive player for a long time.

We have so many holes to fill on defense that I don't see why they wouldn't consider giving JT more snaps. Do I think he will be an every down player, probably not, but he is effective and as someone pointed out he will go back to playing his natural position.
JT is a team player and I think offering him a more prominent role although not necessarily the evry down he is asking for will be enough to get him to stay and regardless of his age, having a player that can perform at his level is always worth it. IMO JT is an asset not only on the field but also in the locker room and if we had more talent it might be different but we need him