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Late last week, the Jets signed former CFL defensive end Freddie Bishop. He signed a two-year contract. Let’s take a closer look . . .
What piqued the interest of the Jets, and several other NFL teams, was his 11-sack performance last year for the Calgary Stampeders.
He’s worth a shot, but don’t assume he’s the panacea for the Jets’ pass rush.
Obviously NFL offensive tackles are much better than CFL offensive tackles, so his sacks came against lesser competition.
It remains to be seen if he can do the same in football’s toughest league.
NFL teams are so desperate to find guys who can get to the quarterback, seven teams were interested in signing him.
The Jets had took a flyer on CFL pass rusher Ricky Foley in 2010, after he was released by Seattle in training camp, but they didn’t keep him around very long.
Yes, Cameron Wake came across the border and did well with the Miami Dolphins.
But for every Wake, there are a lot more guys like Foley, who find out it’s much harder to do it here than there.
And while Bishop had a break-out season last year, he wasn’t a big sack guy before that.
His first year in the CFL he had only had three sacks.
As a senior at Western Michigan, he only had four sacks, and was only named Third-Team All-MAC. That isn’t a great conference.
At his Pro Day at WMU, he ran a 4.88 forty and had a 4.52 short shuttle.
That is obviously pedestrian speed, but you can be a very good pass rusher with a bad forty. So much of the job has to do with short area quickness, bursting off the edge to get to the quarterback. Obviously you need other moves, but you need to burst off the edge to help sell the other stuff.
So with that being said, the short shuttle time, tells us a lot about short area quickness and the burst of a player.
This drill measures change-of-direction speed, burst, and hip flexibility, all important parts to rushing the quarterback.
Terrell Suggs, the great pass rusher for Baltimore, also ran a 4.88 forty coming out of college, but he had a 4.33 short shuttle
Anything under 4.4 isn’t great for pass rushers, so Bishop’s 4.52 is far from ideal, and is a sign of some athletic stiffness.
Look, I’m not looking to beat up Bishop.
Maybe he will help the Jets a great deal.
That remains to be seen.
But usually good pass rushers put up a lot bigger sack numbers in college. Getting four as a senior at Western Michigan, in one of the worst division one conferences, is not a great sign.
Also, you need to be wary of guys who had just one standout season.
Calvin Pace had 10 sacks in 2013. He never had a double-digit sack season before or after that.
Sometimes the stars align just right for sacks to come to a player – whether it’s double teams on other players, or blown blocking assignments.
Signing Bishop was a smart move by the Jets.
Throw him into the hopper at outside linebacker and see if it works out.
But they still need to draft a couple of pass rushers.
February 10, 2016
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