Ninkovich: Learning on the fly

[DaBruinz]

There were 2 plays that really stood out to me last night for Ninkovich.

On the first play, it was a running play to his side.. He shed the RT and made a beeline for the RB.. He missed and it was a huge running play..

Not too much later, the Jets ran the SAME PLAY. Ninkovich, again, shed his blocker.. This time, however, instead of beelining it for the RB, Ninkovich MIRRORED the RB with sidesteps, keeping him behind the line until more help arrived.. I thought it was a very good play by Ninkovich and showed how cerebral some of these guys are..

 

[aluminum seats]

Absolutely--I was going to mention this too. That first play was sort of frustrating, because athletically he was right there, but he failed to set the edge. But then he did it right the next time. Awesome.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

It's stuff like this that I missed even being at the game. Great post. Great observation.

 

[Froob]

Pats really need to get Vrabel back, having 2 vrabels would be awesome waiting for ninko to line up and catch a touchdown at the goal line. Would be funny if BB did it in the middle of a blowout.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Good catch. I missed the correction, having gotten further into celebratory mode by then. :eat2: I was frustrated at the first play because he blew-up the lead blocker but let his enthusiasm get the best of him and got far enough upfield that Green beat him to the corner. He's a smart kid. I'm sure he recognized his mistake as soon as he came up short on the attempted tackle.

 

[ballou0254]

He also made a great play in the red area on a brad smith 3rd & 4 rushing attempt.

 

[JMarr]

Glad you pointed this out. I missed the second play as well, but I was ready to go kneejerk after he got beat the first time. :bricks:

Ninko will probably never be a probowler, but since Mike Vrabel comparisons are being made, his intelligence and heart might just get him there some day.

 

[NEPats1]

The guy is improving and that's all you can ask for. He's making plays and along with Cunningham I'm feeling much more comfortable with them at OLB than at the beginning of the season with so many question marks.

But I can't be the only one who almost mistakes him for Vrabel every now and then.