Vernon Gholston Thread:

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 25, 2008 10:26 AM PST in News

here is a link to the O-Zone: http://www.theozone.net/
With every step, lift and jump Vernon Gholston is showing that he belongs in the "elite athlete" class at the combine.

He tied Jake Long for the lead in the bench press by pressing 225 pounds, 37 times.

Not only did he tie Jake long, BUT, he is the only player since Jake Long's Freshman year to register a sack against the "Mountain" that is Jake Long.

Check out this abuse that he put on the Wolverine's pass protection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yot9ClPvZDg&NR=1

His 35.5 inch vert has him in 12th place amongst ALL of the participants to date.

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/vernon-gholston?id=756

Not ONLY is he VERY strong for a 258 pound player, he runs fast too. He ran a 4.67 forty, which was good for 3rd among the D-Linemen.

After watching as much on him as I can, I can definitely say that he is THE PERFECT player for the Oakland Defense.

He can move around and rush from anywhere on the line and can also play in pass coverage.

We don't need a "special" defensive tackle in order to stop the other teams, we need good defensive tackle play that frees up our playmakers on the edges.

Clemons, Burgess and Gholston can have opposing offenses hurrying to get plays off.

China Bob, I think I found your guy!!!

Like I stated yesterday, IF Mario Henderson is the answer at LT, then let's go for Gholston and Laws...What better player for the Raider Nation than "The Ghost"?

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I thought our biggest need was DT...

It seems that we have decent guys (Burgess, Clemons, Kelly) to play DE... Who cares if we can get sacks if the other team is just going to run the ball? I think that the strongest need for this team is to grab a huge defensive tackle.

by misterbrister on Feb 25, 2008 10:45 AM PST reply actions

true that

I've always said the AFC West is the biggest running back division. If you can't stop the run here, you can't stop anything.

Get us a line plugger first and a whole lot of things will fall into place.

The Raider Nation is the only Nation.

by oaklandSMASH on Feb 25, 2008 11:05 AM PST up reply actions

I don't think that Laws is THAT far behind Ellis

or Dorsey.

By grabbing Laws in the 2nd round, the DT position will be handled.

The key here is that Vernon Gholston may be the best defensive player in this draft...Period.

If Kelly and Warren stay healthy, Terdell Sands remembers that he gets payed to play the game and we add Laws and a BEAST like Gholston to the middle AND outside of the defense it will be markedly better.

Have you seen the guy? He is a SERIOUS BEAST!!! AND he is only 21!!!

My other guy, Wesley Woodyard is killing it at the combine as we speak.

IF he is there in the 4th, then the defense will have NO excuse NOT to be dominant in 2008. Woodyard, my choice for SS, just ran a 4.47 forty and he is a beast of a tackler.

Then I can only hope that Dexter Jackson or Marcus Monk is there in the 6th.

I am more excited about him than ANY defensive player in the draft.

Pride And Poise!!!

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 25, 2008 11:05 AM PST up reply actions

Hearing your thoughts on Laws helps clarify...

But its pretty risky to relegate your largest (and by a large margin too) need to the second round. If we pick up Gholston (or Jake Long for that matter) with the first pick, we pin our hopes for next year on some other team NOT picking Laws.

I like Gholston too, but he looks like too much of a tweener to be a decent run stuffer. Maybe a better strategy is to grab Ellis/Dorsey first and look for a freak athlete DE in the 2nd?

by misterbrister on Feb 25, 2008 11:24 AM PST up reply actions

I'd look for a linebacker or wideout:

IF Laws, Balmer and Dre Moore are gone then we take a wide-out (Hardy, Bowman, Manningham, Doucett, Thomas) or Jamaal Charles, if he is available.

Dre Moore is a bit of a reach, but Laws OR Balmer would be GREAT, so would any of those offensive players.

Pride And Poise!!!

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 25, 2008 2:16 PM PST up reply actions

He looks like a linebacker to me

but is he the 4th best player in the draft? I have repeatedly said that this teams needs a dominant linebacker and if that is Gholston, then that is fine with me, I will trust the guys who make that decision. I remember last year when Cleveland drafted Joe Thomas at #4 and everyone said that was a stretch but as it turned out it was not. Get the best player available. When I watch football games I notice the LB's more than anybody else, they are the difference makers, they are the ones who create havoc all over the field, and Oakland does not have one. Morrison and Howard are athletic and solid but no team plays Oakland and fears either of those two guys. When we play SD we fear Merriman, he disrupts our entire offense. For sentimental reasons I would like to see Chris Long drafted by the Raiders but will he be measurably better than Clemons or Richardson? Will Dorsey be as disruptive as Sapp was? Besides I think Sapp will return. Whether it is Henderson or Jake Long we have to replace Sims. How much of a difference will that make? Saint, you can talk me into Gholston if he is as good as I think Rey will be next year.

by chinabob on Feb 25, 2008 12:32 PM PST reply actions

Merriman is great, but...

How often do we actually blitz our linebackers? This could be a chicken-egg question; we don't blitz bc our backers can't get to the QB. Drafting Gholston fourth overall to cover TE's and play zone D would be a huge waste of a top-5 pick. I think you have to draft the guy that best fits your biggest hole. For us, that is either OT or DT.

by misterbrister on Feb 25, 2008 1:02 PM PST up reply actions

That is a GREAT point:

Will the Raiders allow a player like Gholston to play all over the field?

When you look at the dominant defenses in the NFL, they all have a Gholstonlike player. A fast and powerful linebacker that can ring your bell and also make plays that force turnovers.

Pride And Poise!!!

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 25, 2008 2:10 PM PST up reply actions

Unfortunately that doesn't seem like AD's style

He seems to prefer 4 down linemen, with man coverage on the corners... I agree that a playmaker coupled with even respectable lineplay would be awesome. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

by misterbrister on Feb 25, 2008 2:54 PM PST up reply actions

Can you imagine, Gholston, Howard and Morrison

wreaking havoc from the LB position?

Trevor Laws tying up the middle of the field and allowing Burgess and Clemons to get free.

Then, If we get Woodyard, we can have Woodyard covering the tight end and making plays against the run. The kid is a great tackler.

That leaves the 6th and 7th round to get a receiver.

Pride And Poise!!!

by Raymond St. Martin (Saint) on Feb 25, 2008 3:02 PM PST up reply actions

Therein lies the problem

The Oakland defense is too vanilla, and I think you are right, that is Al's philosophy and no coach of the Raiders coaches against Al's philosophy. I look at the really good defenses and none of them lineup the same way every time. I love the Philly defense, they are bringing guys all the time from all different positions. Certainly you can get burned doing that, but the good plays outnumber the bad. In this league you cannot allow a QB to get comfortable in the pocket. If you do, bad things will happen and all your defensive weaknesses will be exposed.

by chinabob on Feb 25, 2008 3:37 PM PST up reply actions