Re: Jets to Vilma: Find a trading partner
Whats the deal with Vilma and the 3-4?I've heard and read the remarks he doesnt play as well in the 3-4 as the other defensive formations,from any of you who have played or coached ,does this ring true?He cant learn a new system,or his skill set doesnt fit well?
Its not learning the system, its the ability to play it.
Vilma is a small, fast, instictive MLB. His skills are best used in a system that keeps blockers off of him, lets him read the play and run to it.
In OUR 3-4, his primary responsiblity would be to control the 2 gaps on either side of the G. His speed is less of an asset. His instinctiveness is less of an asset, but still a valuable one. The issue is that in our system he would spend the afternoon needing to take on Gs and shedding the blocks. He is very small for that.
His strengths are accentuated in a 4-3 scheme, and his weaknesses are not critical.
His weaknesses are accentuated in a 3-4, and his strengths are less important.
This is similar to the Zack Thomas argument. Thomas is not best suited to play 3-4 ILB. But he has a lot of skills that will help compensate for his weaknesses. He is not prototype, but would still get the job done.
I'm not ready to put Vilma in that class, because Thomas is as smart as LBs come, and Vilma to me is a track star who is a good tackler, so if you let him roam free he is good. I don't see the LB skills that Thomas has in Vilma.
