Steelers LB coach Joey Porter upping the pressure on Jarvis Jones

[papillon]

Exactly...... Personally I was scratching my head when he was graded as a mid first round pick.

I loved his pursuit but that's it!!

I don't follow college football at all other than to watch an occasional game. So, if the NFL talent evaluators describe a player as the most NFL ready player at his position and he falls to the Steelers, I'm happy about it, it's all I have to base anything on. Since he's been drafted injuries have limited his participation and production, that being said, since he was graded so highly I'm willing to give him a chance to be healthy and productive. You guys that questioned the pick could be right, that he just isn't all that and a bag of chips as he was described. On the other hand, this year should give us an idea of what the Steelers have in Jarvis Jones.

I'm hoping for an above average ROLB that is good against the run at a minimum and hopefully, the complete package of 16 sacks, 100 tackles, 6 FF, 4 INTs and 10 passes defensed for 8 years then we can all go to Canton when he retires.

Pappy

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

A key line in that article is "Jones says his wrist is fully healed". You can't always believe what a player says about his own injuries, but I hope it's true. IIRC, just a couple of months ago he was saying it wasn't 100%. Hope he picks up where he left off because I thought he was showing progress in those first few games last year.

That was something that jumped out at me as well. It will be nice to see him start the season ready to go, instead of still nursing an injury. It is the way to learn if he has it in him to lift his game, rather than "he could play better, but he isn't 100%". A wrist injury would effect an OLB trying to get off a block. If we have to wait another year until we get to see "what he will be able to do once healthy" then we end up watching Jason Worilds 2.0.

[Oviedo]

I don't follow college football at all other than to watch an occasional game. So, if the NFL talent evaluators describe a player as the most NFL ready player at his position and he falls to the Steelers, I'm happy about it, it's all I have to base anything on. Since he's been drafted injuries have limited his participation and production, that being said, since he was graded so highly I'm willing to give him a chance to be healthy and productive. You guys that questioned the pick could be right, that he just isn't all that and a bag of chips as he was described. On the other hand, this year should give us an idea of what the Steelers have in Jarvis Jones.

I'm hoping for an above average ROLB that is good against the run at a minimum and hopefully, the complete package of 16 sacks, 100 tackles, 6 FF, 4 INTs and 10 passes defensed for 8 years then we can all go to Canton when he retires.

Pappy

Let's hope he gets 13-15 sacks a year starting this year and he ends the debate with his performance on the field.

[Steelhere10]

If he get 9 sacks and some pressure, I would be happy. At least the bust label would be dropped.

[Shawn]

I might be one of the few that think JJ is going to be a good LBr in this league. I have seen flashes of greatness and hope to continue seeing growth in his consistency. Lets hope he stays healthy. I expect big things from him this year. With that said, I still think Moats turns out to be a force for us.

[phillyesq]

Completely disagree. He was drafted to man the most important pass rush position in our defense. If he isn't a 10+ sack guy on average every year, he was not a good pick for that position given we used a 1st round pick to get him.

You can get "above average and stout against the run" in the 3rd Round.

Those are lofty expectations. Here are Porter's sack totals in Pittsburgh:

2
10.5
9
9
5
7
10.5
7

Certainly less than an average of 10.

Jones isn't going to be James Harrison during his prime, but very few ever will.

[Shoe]

I understand that, but still, you shouldn't have that kind of attitude even if it becomes repetitive. Tendencies shouldn't stop him from beating his man. I guess my feeling is strength and quickness would mask any tendency he exhibits.

You're right, and I think you're right about him not being a dominant player. He seems to be a guy who will have to rely on the scheme to be effective. It does not mean he can't still be a heckuva player. A lot of great players are scheme-reliant... You couldn't just line Hines Ward as your x-WR and expect him to own folks. He was scheme reliant, in that you had to let him do what he did well. Same with Jones.

This is my own thing, but: anyone else notice how the #95 players have pretty much flopped since the original #95 hung it up. I only notice it because he was my favorite player. Mike Jones briefly had the number, I think Alonzo Jackson (whatever his name was from FSU) had it, I think some others wore it briefly... I think even Peezy wore it early on, then changed to 55. It's the curse of #95.

[RuthlessBurgher]

You're right, and I think you're right about him not being a dominant player. He seems to be a guy who will have to rely on the scheme to be effective. It does not mean he can't still be a heckuva player. A lot of great players are scheme-reliant... You couldn't just line Hines Ward as your x-WR and expect him to own folks. He was scheme reliant, in that you had to let him do what he did well. Same with Jones.

This is my own thing, but: anyone else notice how the #95 players have pretty much flopped since the original #95 hung it up. I only notice it because he was my favorite player. Mike Jones briefly had the number, I think Alonzo Jackson (whatever his name was from FSU) had it, I think some others wore it briefly... I think even Peezy wore it early on, then changed to 55. It's the curse of #95.

Mike Jones in 2002.
Alonzo Jackson in 2003-2004
Marquis Cooper and Richard Siegler in 2006
Ryan McBean in 2007
Donovan Woods in 2008-2009
Corbin Bryant in 2011
Alameda Ta'Amu in 2012
Jarvis Jones in 2013-2015

[papillon]

Let's hope he gets 13-15 sacks a year starting this year and he ends the debate with his performance on the field.

13-15 sacks is the standard now for 1st round linebackers, really? Hell, 8 years of that and you're looking at 104-120 sacks, how many 1st round LBs produce like that? That's HOF numbers, why does Jones have to be a HOFer to be an acceptable 1st round pick.

Exactly 7 players had 13 or more sacks in 2014; in 2013 there were exactly 4 that had 13 sacks or more and only one was a repeat in 2014; in 2012 there were exactly 5 players that had 13 or more and none of those repeated in 2013; in 2011 there were exactly 7 players with 13 or more sacks and none repeated into 2012; in 2010 there were exactly 5 players with 13 or more sacks and one repeated into 2011.

So, this is what you realistically believe that Jones should be producing? On average there were 380 players with sacks each year and an average of 5 players with 13 or more sacks, so Jones should be in the top 1.31% because he was drafted in the first round? The average number of sacks each year was a hair over 3, Jones played 3 games last year and had 2 sacks, he nearly hit the average in three games.

I'm not sure what your axe to grind is with this guy, but its incredible the animus you have for him. I could see if he was a bad egg, being deemed a slacker or not working at all, then I'd be on-board with you, but this guy seems to want to be good and is doing everything he can to be good. I just don't' get it.

Pappy

[Snatch98]

Jarvis Jones:

Rookie season: Lebeau defense, essentially thrown to the wolves
Second season: Broken wrist, essentially lost for the year despite coming back without a totally healed wrist
Third season: ?

Based on the above how the hell can anyone pass any sort of judgement? He certainly produced in college and for the most part that's all we have to go on. Yes we as Steeler fans have lofty expectations and we've had quite a few players really come on in their second year and obviously the third. Joey is 200% going to light a fire under Jarvis's ass because he knows how it is in Pittsburgh. He also probably knows how it feels to get a little discouraged. I haven't heard or read one bad thing about the guy in camp and actually quite the opposite especially after reading Ironcity's awesome recaps. People in here saying he's just going to be average or anything really are pulling at straws. We literally have almost next to nothing to go on. Let's let the kid play first.

[feltdizz]

Let's hope he gets 13-15 sacks a year starting this year and he ends the debate with his performance on the field.

anything less than 18 sacks a year is unacceptable

[steelsnis]

anything less than 18 sacks a year is unacceptable

If this season doesn't end with Brett Favre turtling up on the ground as Jarvis is closing in then what are we even talking about???

[Oviedo]

anything less than 18 sacks a year is unacceptable

10+ is pretty much the standard for an elite pass rusher in the NFL and let's not revert to revisionist history. Jones was drafted because he was supposedly an elite pass rusher who "was best prepared for the Steelers system" because of the defense he played in college and was dominant if the best conference in college football. Many on this board touted his "readiness" coming out of college but have since lowered the bar to only needing to be "better than average." I don't think the Steelers thought they were getting just "better than average" when they drafted him at the spot they drafted him at.

I agree 18 would be great but essentially impossible for Jones to ever achieve. Let's hope we get double digits and be happy with that.

[Slapstick]

And were double digit sacks to come to pass, there would be something else you didn't like...

And 18 sacks essentially impossible to achieve? Okay...considering fewer than 30 NFL players have ever equalled or surpassed 18 sacks in a season, I would tend to agree with you...

[Oviedo]

And were double digit sacks to come to pass, there would be something else you didn't like...

And 18 sacks essentially impossible to achieve? Okay...considering fewer than 30 NFL players have ever equalled or surpassed 18 sacks in a season, I would tend to agree with you...

Absolutely not. If he gets double digit sacks this season and can average that over the next few years I will gladly admit I've been wrong because the team wins. But you will continue to lower the standard to above average (whatever that is) and stout against the run (however you measure that in a meaningful way) to avoid making that same declaration.