Tomlin Benches 1st Round Draft Pick, LB Jarvis Jones

[Get it shawtaay]

The guy with marginal athletic ability who gets by with a hot motor isn't adjusting well to the NFL? No way.

Seriously though, I never understood the appeal of this guy. Undersized edge rushers like Joey Porter or Clay Matthews are good because they are crazy explosive. Strange pick by Pittsburgh.

And I don't see the Aaron Curry comparison either. Curry's expectations were through the roof compared to Jones (or basically anyone) and he profiled differently.

 

[lillloyd]

I was really surprised when they decided to start Jones. They just don't start rookies on D in Pitt, due to the complexity of the defense.

That said I think it's way too early to render any judgement on Jones. (Troy Polamalu was bashed as "Bustamalu" his rookie year FWIW...he looked just as lost). He clearly needs to get stronger, and he needs to keep his feet better (he's probably missed 2-3 sacks this year by diving when he didn't have to). He looks like he's playing too fast, if that makes sense.

I also think you need to judge the players beyond just raw stats. I really like Bell -- he's shown good quickness and power, and is a patient runner. He has good hands as well. I think he's a keeper. He's just playing behind an awful line.

Overall I like the draft class. I think Wheaton and Thomas look promising, and Vince Williams has been surprisingly good as a rookie starter. But the bottom line is that we shouldn't be evaluating classes a few weeks in...give it a few years. So I wouldn't read much into Jones' benching...the reality is, the snap distribution between Worlids and Jones probably won't even change that much.

 

[Huckleberry1]

But the bottom line is that we shouldn't be evaluating classes a few weeks in...give it a few years.

You don't come here often do you.

 

[Rob0729]

Preachin' to the choir man. People were calling DeCastro a bust earlier this season too, then he went on to be the 4th best guard in the NFL (second in the AFC) by PFF and he's started 10 games in the NFL to this point.

I guess the overreaction to picks is a universal fan thing.

I will not address that bogus site in PFF, but I am not labeling Jones a bust. I am labeling him a major disappointment thus far. He was deemed arguably the most NFL ready defensive player in this year's draft by a lot of people. People said he was a perfect fit for the Steelers' defense. He was predicted to be DROY of the year in a lot of circles. That was my only point of the original post.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I will not address that bogus site in PFF, but I am not labeling Jones a bust. I am labeling him a major disappointment thus far. He was deemed arguably the most NFL ready defensive player in this year's draft by a lot of people. People said he was a perfect fit for the Steelers' defense. He was predicted to be DROY of the year in a lot of circles. That was my only point of the original post.

Although he dropped for a variety of reasons Jones was clearly touted as an elite prospect by the draft magazines and sites leading up to the draft. It is too much to expect that he could step right in and know how run in all of LeBeau's defenses,and it will take a ton of work on his part to get to the point where he can. Passing judgement on him at this point would be idiotic.

The draft magazines and sites are useful, but ultimately they don't come close to the amount of information scouting departments and GM's etc.. digest to prepare for the draft.

 

[Kontradiction]

Although he dropped for a variety of reasons Jones was clearly touted as an elite prospect by the draft magazines and sites leading up to the draft. It is too much to expect that he could step right in and know how run in all of LeBeau's defenses,and it will take a ton of work on his part to get to the point where he can. Passing judgement on him at this point would be idiotic.

The draft magazines and sites are useful, but ultimately they don't come close to the amount of information scouting departments and GM's etc.. digest to prepare for the draft.

Agree with this. Jones is coming in from a completely different defense than he played at Georgia. LeBeau has a complex scheme that would be hard for any rookie to master. Rob, if the situation were reversed and Steeler fans were here calling out one of our rookies, you'd be saying that it's way too early (and rightfully so).

 

[lillloyd]

You don't come here often do you.

LOL this is true on ALL forums. Believe me there are threads like this on the Steelers boards as well...

 

[Rob0729]

Agree with this. Jones is coming in from a completely different defense than he played at Georgia. LeBeau has a complex scheme that would be hard for any rookie to master. Rob, if the situation were reversed and Steeler fans were here calling out one of our rookies, you'd be saying that it's way too early (and rightfully so).

I am not saying that people should give up on him or he is a bust. I am stating how all the pre-season, pre-draft, post draft prostications is a bunch of BS. Jones is a major disappointment based on expectations. Doesn't mean he won't be a Pro Bowler some day though.

 

[lillloyd]

I will not address that bogus site in PFF, but I am not labeling Jones a bust. I am labeling him a major disappointment thus far. He was deemed arguably the most NFL ready defensive player in this year's draft by a lot of people. People said he was a perfect fit for the Steelers' defense. He was predicted to be DROY of the year in a lot of circles. That was my only point of the original post.

I think that DROY stuff was mostly predicted by national writers who don't know the teams in much detail. The fact is, Steelers rookies rarely play on defense (and we've had some great players under LeBeau!) For people to predict massive first year success for Jones is pretty much to completely ignore Steelers history...it says as much about the people making the predictions as it does about Jones.

Frankly I didn't think he would see many snaps this year--I thought he'd get worked in later on in the season, but that the vet (Worlids) would start most of the year. That's been the typical approach.

 

[lillloyd]

The guy with marginal athletic ability who gets by with a hot motor isn't adjusting well to the NFL? No way.

Seriously though, I never understood the appeal of this guy. Undersized edge rushers like Joey Porter or Clay Matthews are good because they are crazy explosive. Strange pick by Pittsburgh.

And I don't see the Aaron Curry comparison either. Curry's expectations were through the roof compared to Jones (or basically anyone) and he profiled differently.

I actually disagree -- I think Jones is an explosive and athletic player. He didn't time well in the 40, but he's very quick and sudden in his movements in small (i.e. football real-world) spaces. So I don't think athleticism per se is the issue.

I worry that he may not have the build to get strong enough to really hold the point of attack against the run (he is light years away from JH in this regard). He also has an annoying habit of losing his feet unnecessarily--he plays out of control/balance too frequently. And he clearly doesn't know his assignments well enough (or at least, isn't disciplined enough in them) to be starting. I think *these* are the issues he has to sort out if he's going to be a good player...40 time aside, I really don't think raw athleticism or suddenness is an issue. (IMHO)

 

[SteelersCanada]

I am not saying that people should give up on him or he is a bust. I am stating how all the pre-season, pre-draft, post draft prostications is a bunch of BS. Jones is a major disappointment based on expectations. Doesn't mean he won't be a Pro Bowler some day though.

I think the expectations for Steelers fans were tempered though. We knew that he needed time to adjust. Sure, George ran a 3-4 scheme but we use our OLBs in a completely different fashion than Georgia does. Everyone assumed that he'd pick up the playbook and be an instantaneous one-man wrecking ball for reasons that I'm still not sure of.

People forget that Polamalu struggled early in his career as well. Some people just need time to adjust, especially to a LeBeau defense.

 

[Kontradiction]

I am not saying that people should give up on him or he is a bust. I am stating how all the pre-season, pre-draft, post draft prostications is a bunch of BS. Jones is a major disappointment based on expectations. Doesn't mean he won't be a Pro Bowler some day though.

Eh, don't bet the farm on that either.

 

[Deus Irae]

I am not saying that people should give up on him or he is a bust. I am stating how all the pre-season, pre-draft, post draft prostications is a bunch of BS. Jones is a major disappointment based on expectations. Doesn't mean he won't be a Pro Bowler some day though.

It's not, though. Not getting everything right is not the same as being a bunch of B.S.. It's sort of like looking at combine numbers. They don't tell you a whole lot, but they do tell you some things.