Satisfied with Jason Ferguson's performance?

[Nightshade]

My impression of Ferguson last year was that he was just mediocre at best. Far from being the anchor that this defense required. Now that the offensive line has been so thoroughtly addressed and the LB core has been shored up, why is there so little concern that Ferguson is our only starting calibre NT when the backup is an un-drafted FA. Is Willie Blade our only alternative if these two don't work out?

I think Ngata or Watson would be unbelievable picks if they were available all the way at 18.

But the main point of my post is to find out what people thought of Ferguson's play last year in our 3-4.

 

[zrinkill]

I think the position is hard to judge without game tape ...... Nose tackle isnt a big noise position .....

 

[Bob Sacamano]

answer: Ferguson is making a shhhload of cash, can't afford to pay his backup big money, which is ensured of a 1st round pick, and you don't use 1st rounders on backups

 

[ravidubey]

Ferguson is by far the weakest link on the DL and that's sad considering what Dallas paid for him and that he is being compared to two nigh-rookies.

Thanks to injuries for much of the year, our "great" FA haul was a big, fat zero.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Thanks to injuries for much of the year, our "great" FA haul was a big, fat zero.

Bledsoe and Aaron Glenn worked out for us, I wouldn't call it a zero...

 

[Eskimo]

Bledsoe and Aaron Glenn worked out for us, I wouldn't call it a zero...

Henry was also good up until the injury.

I think the general lesson is be wary of paying solid vets over 30 big money. Save that money for young guys or older impact players who have been healthy and showing no evidence of declining production.

Glenn and Bledsoe were good vet pickups because they were solid players signed for bargain contracts. Ferguson and Rivera were not bad pickups per se, they were just overpaid and thus we are disappointed with their production on the field.

I think the pattern will continue this year where we will agree that Kosier and Ayodele were good pickups because of youth and cost. Fabini was a good stopgap at a reasonable price. TO and Vanderjagt gave us elite type performers at positions of weakness and were worth paying top dollar for.

Overall, this has been BP & JJ's best FA thus far.

 

[Nightshade]

answer: Ferguson is making a shhhload of cash, can't afford to pay his backup big money, which is ensured of a 1st round pick, and you don't use 1st rounders on backups

Glover was making a shhhload of cash and we brought in Ferguson. I think the main thing is that Ferguson is Bill's guy so we're going to hope for the best at the position. But I remember, how valuable Woodson said Blade was to the defense a couple of years ago. Said that the stud NT changed the entire dynamic of the defense and gave Blade's presence enormous credit for the number one rating we had that year.

this position is a definite concern, because it's a position that usually has a lot of rotation to rest the big guy's that hold it down. The Jets didn't think Ferguson was worth the big contract. I'm wondering if they knew something that Bill's ego wouldn't allow him to countenance.

Again, drafting Watson wouldn't bother me one iota or is that Ngata. :

 

[Portland Fanatic]

We need a young rotation NT...this is the key to this defense. This is a critical poisiton to have starting quality players there. If we landed Watson with a trade down I would be fine with that...it's that important to have two players....

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I thought Ferguson was okay. His injury didn't help and in the end, he was far better than La'Roi who wasn't getting manhandled by week 8. They'll almost definitely draft a NG and probably in day one. My hope is that Ferguson stays healthy and plays reasonably well. That will allow for the rookie NG to develop and allow for Pepper Johnson to be come a Ty Warren type who is best suited as a 3-4 DE, but can play some 3-4 NG.


Rich.............

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Willie Blade is no longer on the team.

Right now I think the only guys we got that might fill in from time to time is "Pepper Johnson" and Ratliff.

I would be surprised if we did not address the NT position in the draft at some point.

 

[Nightshade]

I thought Ferguson was okay. His injury didn't help and in the end, he was far better than La'Roi who wasn't getting manhandled by week 8. They'll almost definitely draft a NG and probably in day one.

After Watson the quality drops significantly. Who would you suggest would be an upgrade in this draft after Watson?

 

[Mavs Man]

The only problem with drafting a DT on the first day is that, because of the scarcity at this position, they tend to leave the board much earlier than they were projected to.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Henry was also good up until the injury.

I think the general lesson is be wary of paying solid vets over 30 big money. Save that money for young guys or older impact players who have been healthy and showing no evidence of declining production.

Glenn and Bledsoe were good vet pickups because they were solid players signed for bargain contracts. Ferguson and Rivera were not bad pickups per se, they were just overpaid and thus we are disappointed with their production on the field.

I think the pattern will continue this year where we will agree that Kosier and Ayodele were good pickups because of youth and cost. Fabini was a good stopgap at a reasonable price. TO and Vanderjagt gave us elite type performers at positions of weakness and were worth paying top dollar for.

Overall, this has been BP & JJ's best FA thus far.

and if memory serves me correct, we had to overpay for Rivera and Ferguson, in fact, we outbid the Jets by just 1 mil in signing bonus money for Ferguson, and Detroit was offering the same type of deal to Rivera

 

[Bob Sacamano]

The only problem with drafting a DT on the first day is that, because of the scarcity at this position, they tend to leave the board much earlier than they were projected to.

you can always find a suitable NT, esp. a backup, in the later rounds

Ferguson himself was a 7th round pick

 

[Eddie]

The only problem with drafting a DT on the first day is that, because of the scarcity at this position, they tend to leave the board much earlier than they were projected to.

Agreed, same can be said for DE and OT. Most teams reach for those positions.

Deepest positions are LB's and Safeties. They're a dime a dozen, and you can get high quality on the 2nd day.

 

[Justis]

Ferguson did pretty darn well. Obviously he wasn't a force in the pass rush. But I believe he forced at least two blockers to deal with him on nearly every down.

 

[Clove]

We need to get a youngster to backup Ferguson. Someone who can take over after this year, unless Ferguson plans on bulking up and playing at a bigger weight, or just flat out playing better.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Glover was making a shhhload of cash and we brought in Ferguson.

because Ferguson fit the 3-4, GLover didn't, and which is why Glover is not on the team anymore, we're not looking for Ferguson's immediate successor

 

[Bob Sacamano]

We need to get a youngster to backup Ferguson. Someone who can take over after this year, unless Ferguson plans on bulking up and playing at a bigger weight, or just flat out playing better.

you can do that on the 2nd day, plus we still have Pepper to figure out...

 

[Justis]

We need to get a youngster to backup Ferguson. Someone who can take over after this year, unless Ferguson plans on bulking up and playing at a bigger weight, or just flat out playing better.

I don't think you understand Ferguson. His talent as an NT is his high motor. Not his weight. I prefer 310 pounders that engage as opposed to the 340 pound tackles that get in the way. And once again, his performance was just what one would ask for out of a good NT.