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Bringing back Damien Woody and Shaun Elllis are clearly no-brainers. These topics are explored in-depth in a July 4th edition of Dan’s Website Whispers.
Damien Woody is moving along nicely in his rehab from an Achilles tendon injury.
I had a funny exchange with him on twitter today.
Here it is – Damien Woody – “Damn, as big as I am I get into a full sprint when a bee comes around.
NFL Whispers – “Doing full sprints? Good sign for your Achilles rehab.”
Damien Woody – “Haha…sure is!”
If Woody is healthy, he is the Jets best option for Week One at right tackle, not Vlad Ducasse, who missed an off-season, he couldn’t afford to miss, due to the lockout.
Ducasse would be better off with a different kind of promotion this year – taking Wayne Hunter’s spot as the backup swing tackle, and extra lineman in certain running downs. This would allow him to get on the field quite a bit, and get a feel for live action.
But it’s highly unlikely the Jets will want to have Woody on the roster in Week One, and have to guarantee his salary for the rest of the season. Unless the NFL changes that rule. Remember, under the old CBA, a vested veteran is guaranteed his entire salary for the whole season if he’s on the roster Week One. If you join a team in Week Two, your salary is week-to-week, and you can get cut at any time, and the team isn’t forced to pay for an entire season.
But if Woody is healthy, the Jets should definitely bring him back, and maybe Sanchez can re-work his contract (he’s overpaid in 2011), to get “Big Wood” back to Florham Park. It would be in Sanchez’s best interest . . .
I just did an extensive study of Shaun Ellis’ 2010 season. And there is no question, if the Jets are as committed to winning, as they constantly say there are, then they bring him back.
I did a show on Sirius NFL Radio this morning with Howard David, and the topic of Ellis came up with a caller.
The caller asked if he should be back. It was a very timely call for me to answer because I just finished this feature, for the next issue of Jets Confidential Magazine.
“Absolutely,” was my answer to the caller.
Howard pointed out that his 2010 stats weren’t great – 36 tackles and 4.5 sacks. I understand how somebody from a national perspective, like my partner, could see it that way. The stats aren’t gaudy.
But remember, he’s a 3-4 end, and the position isn’t one that produces flashy stats. There is a lot of dirty work in the job. But as you will see in the next issue, he made a lot happen last year, and so often, it was plays that didn’t show up on the stat sheet, like blowing up a run, and forcing the runner into another player’s hands, or QB pressures (and he had a bunch).
I’m not going to go over his entire season, but his outing in the playoffs against New England, was one of the best performances I’ve seen by a Jets defensive lineman in all of my years covering the Jets.
Ellis played one of the best game of his 11-year career. The Jets played a “coverage” approach most of this game, often just rushing three, and Ellis got consistent pressure, even though he was often dealing with double teams.
On the first play of the Patriots’ second possession, Ellis blew by guard Dan Connolly, and sacked Tom Brady.
Ellis had two outstanding plays in a row on a late third quarter drive. First, on the play after TE Rob Gronkowski’s 37-yard reception, Ellis stopped a Woodhead rushing attempt on the line. Then on the next play, he steamrolled Woodhead, attempting to block him, and this forced Brady to throw the ball away.
More great plays by Ellis. In the middle of the fourth, he blew by Connolly again, and stopped Woodhead for no gain. Aside from torching Connolly on this play, Ellis did a great job of bending his knees and staying real low to take to deal with the squatty Woodhead. On the next play, Ellis beat Connolly again, and got into Brady’s face, and the quarterback got out of Shaun’s way, but ran into the arms of Sione Pouha. Ellis created this mess, and Pouha cleaned it up.
Of all of Ellis’ outstanding plays, the one that stands out the most to me was late in the first half. He displayed an indomitable will, shedding the double team of Connolly and center Dan Koppen, and sacked Brady, forcing a field goal.
Are you kidding me? It’s a no-brainer to bring this guy back. Especially considering how raw both Mo Wilkerson and Ken Ellis are.
