Can you imagine how scary our defense would be with Jerry or Hood and Mathis and Freeney AND Sanders????

WOW. Just. wow.

He uses great bull rushing technique on every one of those highlight plays. He does stand up a bit, but does so while penetrating into the backfield and he always has an eye for the ball. I like him a lot.

meant to include that. For one raw-sacks overrated the Indy D (I’m thinking it was all the 3rd and mid-long conversions).

The language thing is an interesting for someone who doesn’t like pottymouths. Is disrespectful language acceptable if it’s being used to stop and (in the future) discourage disrespectful actions.

since they have more viable UTs than NTs (Foster and Dawson > Muir and Antonio).

play him at UT just in heavy Ds, when a team is just going to try to grind it out and play keep away from Peyton.

Ziggy rates more as strictly a UT. Jerry can play NT whereas Ziggy might have problems. Jerry won’t be the best in the league at NT, but he’d be good enough for us and much better than what we had. I’m actually thinking that, yes I know this is crazy, the Colts should go for both a NT and a UT if they don’t get Jerry. Jerry can play UT next to Muir during running situations and slide over to NT and have Foster come in on pass situations. Sort of like they do with Brock and Mathis now.

That said, and this is really taking potential into consideration, we’d have arguably the best line in football if we took Jerry and Jarron Gilbert. The pressure would be insane. It’d also the size and speed of the middle of the line significantly. Tell me how a 300 lb 4.9ish 300 lb DT and a 6’5 4.8 35’5" vertical with insane explosiveness sounds next to Freeney and Mathis. Jarron Gilbert COULD fall to us in the second. In fact, he’s quickly becoming my darkhorse 1st round pick. I like him that much. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Hood, but I’m starting to really have a hard time not thinking Jarron Gilbert would be a better fit for our system.

Why am I so high on him? Think about Freeney and Mathis for a second. Now think about the pass rush ability those two brings and now add this guy to the line :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK_SxTr4jZs

And he’s 6’5 290 right now. He’s straight muscle too. He could easily put another 10-15 lbs on without effecting his burst, but I honestly don’t this he has to. His wingspan is crazy, and he’s so strong that if he gets his arm on you, you’re going down. He grips people and yanks them towards him while he’s going forward.

Here’s an example of his strength (remember, he’s doing these squats at 6’5, that’s a long ways to go and effects his max just like long arms do in the bench)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAqc85MT_-0&feature=related

That’s a 630 lb squat and a 650 lb dead lift for someone that’s 6’5. Want an example of his explosiveness?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXDSPbZ_OUw&feature=related

Do you realize how impressive that is? The dude’s a freak. He’s the DT to Dwight Freeney’s 268 lb 4.39 40 yard dash version of a DE. Jarron Gilbert screams Colt to me. The Colts defensive system, and the T2 in general, requires such a rare and specific type of player that’s it’s extremely hard to find them. Especially since alot of teams think the players are interchangeable. Just look at Leigh Bodden (great press corner who sucked in a T2) or DeAngello Hall (great cover corner who sucked as a man corner). Some team will probably be gunning for him as a 3-4 DE and he’ll do alright, but I think his career as a T2 DT would be far superior. Especially on a team with a Dwight Freeney and a Robert Mathis. That’d be devastating.

This is a guy that Polian and the Colts could consider as the 1st round DT they haven’t seen come along. Which is great because he should be there by our pick. The Bills need a DE more than a DT and wouldn’t take him that high, Detroit is moving away from a T2 along with KC, I doubt the Vikings take him and if they take a DT it’ll probably be Jerry or Hood and they need a DB and a WR more anyway, and Carolina doesn’t have a first round pick. I think if we don’t take him Carolina might with their pick in the 2nd. Especially if they lose Peppers.

And would he be considered a reach? Actually probably not anymore. He’s moved up a ton. I’ve actually seen a couple drafts starting to put him in the mid 2nd and the mock on Sirius with Pat Kirwin and Tim Ryan as being taken by the Steelers in the 1st. Now I think they could use Mack more, but he might’ve been gone. Either way, several drafts have him as a 2nd round pick that could be a fringe first round one now. And he may be rated even higher by the Colts considering his playstyle and potential.

Anyway, I’m going to stop glowing over him because they’ll probably take Hood or a kicker or something anyway. But I think it’d be a great sleeper pick that I’m almost certain we stand a good chance of pulling off. I’m almost positive Jerry doesn’t fall to us, but there’s a slight chance. And if Jerry goes high, Hood may be gone too. But I don’t see 4 DTs going before our pick, and if they do, someone may reach for Brace before him.

Here’s a scouting report on him. Tell me where you’ve heard “lacked a true position at the NFL level” before? I’m pretty sure the majority of players on our defense had that claim coming out of college placed on them.

"San Jose State DT Jarron Gilbert Scouting Report
Height: 6-5, Weight: 288, 40 Yard Dash: 4.87

Strengths: Large frame with the ability to add even more bulk…rare quickness for a man his size…shows explosion of the snap…high motor player…natural athlete with a ton of upside…long arms that he uses pretty well…very productive senior season…great range for his size…exhibits good awareness…good lineage…showed good long speed and can chase plays down from the backside…

Weaknesses: May lack a true position at the next level…plays too high at times…allows blockers to reach his body…a one year wonder?…part of a very aggressive defensive scheme that may have padded his numbers…maybe a better athlete than a football player…needs to add some bulk if he is going to stay inside full time…

Overall: Jarron Gilbert has gained acclaim for the footage of him jumping out of a hotel pool, but his 2008 game footage is even more impressive. Gilbert finished with 22 TFL, good for first the FCS, and 9.5 sacks. He is a bit of a DE/DT tweener that could play end on early downs and then kick inside on passing downs, much like Justin Tuck. There are some concerns about his maturity level and what position he translates best to at the NFL level, but he is a rising player with a ton of upside. Gilbert is a high-risk, high-reward player that likely will be selected on the first day."

And by the way shake, you might want to tell Dan at Mocking the draft that his scouting report is wrong, very wrong. “Only had one sack as a senior.”

Gilbert had 9.5 sacks, 22 TFL, 2 forced fumbles, 3 passes broken up, 5 hurries, and 52 tackles (36 solo). The dude had 5 sacks, 2 hurries, and 6 passes broken up his freshman year. So I also think his analysis of “Gilbert can be considered, at this point, more of an athlete than a football player.” and “Still, there are questions about his level of competition and ability as a pass rusher.” Maybe level of competition, but I think he’s pretty solid in his pass rushing ability. That’s by far the best statline out of any of the DTs in the draft and quite a few of the DEs.

http://cfbstats.com/2008/player/630/71426/index.html

Anyway, make your own judgement of him, I’m sure someone will disagree and state why, but I’m not arguing RB, WR, yadda yadda, I’m just saying I think this guy would be perfect for us. And would adamantly defend him if we picked him in the first over several other players people have man crushes on. Remember, BPA to Polian is BPA for our system. I’m not saying I like him more than Jerry or Hood mind you. They each have different strengths and weaknesses. I just like how I vision him in our system.

Get you some Jarron Gilbert.

P.S. – Sorry for going so far off your post man. Couldn’t help myself once I got on a roll. At least I responded with a paragraph in the beginning.

I like where your head’s at with this one. So is the vibe you are getting that Gilbert is 1st or 2nd round potential or 1st round? With the signing of Seward, it seems like LB is going to be much less of a concern on day 1 and more of a 4th or 5th round or even UFA opportunity for the Colts. That leaves WR, RB and NT and/or UT as main priorities in the first couple rounds.

I like Moreno as a RB but I am not sold on any others as a 1st round pick (don’t think he will be available at 27). I like Harvin (probably not available either) and Nicks and possibly Britt as potential 1st rounders, but I am not sold on others for the 1st round. DT now becomes the biggest need IMO, and I like Jerry OR Hood about the same. If either of those two are available I would be very happy if they took either one at 27.

Do you think Gilbert would be available at the end of the 2nd round?

Also, what is the vibe with Terrance Taylor? Does he have the potential to be there in the 4th round still or would his value be high enough to get into the 3rd round? Do you or does anyone know about the interest around the league in Taylor? I think he would be a great fit in the Colts system as a NT.

In the end, I don’t think Polian will go with a WR in the 1st round as the team already has top level talent (Wayne, Gonzo and Clark) and a good amount of depth at WR as well. And one final thought, while the Colts had a near dream team of WR talent on the field in 03 and 04, they didn’t actually get to and win the SB until the defense improved and the key contributors on offense in the greatest game ever played (06 AFCCG in my opinion) were Aaron Moorehead and Bryan Fletcher, hardly stars of the NFL.

will he ever see a double team?

I don’t like it that people keep saying this…if the Colts are so built around playing from the front, then the pressure is always on Manning to be nearly perfect every game. If he isn’t, the chances are we lose and the defense is already given an excuse by fans, coaching staff and front office.

To me, upgrading the defense is most important because it gives the offense more opportunities to score, keeps games close without the need for Peyton’s heroics, and gives the team more balance. It is clear to me that the offense thrives off of good defensive play just as the defense thrives when the offense is clicking.

I would rather have a team with all around balance and a HOF quarterback who sees the field a couple more times a game than a HOF sitting on the bench waiting through another 8:00 drive so he can try to run another 2-minute drill to tie a game or try to take the lead back.