Already, after a sackless rookie year, the wolves have come out for former 6^th overall pick Vernon Gholston. And they’re howling “bust” into the full moon. Drafted to be the answer to the Jets’ pass rushing woes, Gholston never got to the quarterback in his first season in green white, though the Jets did improve on the previous year’s sack nonetheless (up to 41 in 2008 from 29 in 2007). Gholston played mostly on special teams, never starting, and hit a low point in week 16 when he was deactivated against Seattle. He finished the season with only 13 tackles, 5 of which were solo. His nickname of Goliath, a play off his name attributed to his impressive physique, was dropped, and replaced with a more dubious version: Ghost, an unflattering take off his surname attributed to the fact that he was never really visible on the field.

However, before we condemn the young man from Ohio State, we should in fact look at several things from the past year. One is that Eric Mangini’s defensive scheme called for very little heavy blitzing; he preferred to create pressure by manufacturing a pass rush through schemes rather than relying on a pass rush specialist, like Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. In fact, the Jets’ leading sacker, Shaun Ellis, registered only 8 QB takedowns on the year. The defense called for a lot of read and react playing, requiring players like Gholston to drop into coverage a lot more. The problem with this is that Gholston was trying to make the switch from college end to pro outside linebacker, and Mangini tried to baptize him by fire by throwing him into coverage a lot of the time, rather than just letting him chase the quarterback, something that couldn’t have been easy for a rookie whose head was undoubtedly already swimming.

Another argument to keep the wolves at bay, at least for now, can be found in Gholston’s outside-linebacking counterparts. Free agent pickup Calvin Pace and homegrown Bryan Thomas were both first round picks, like Gholston. And they both struggled mightily early in their careers. Pace was drafted 17^th overall in 2003 by the Arizona Cardinals, and amassed a whopping one sack his rookie year. In fact, three out of his first four years in the league he only picked up one sack. It has only been in the last two years that he has found a groove, registering 6.5 sacks in his final year in Arizona, and 7 sacks last year with the Jets.

Bryan Thomas was no better. The Alabama-Birmingham product was drafted 22nd overall in 2002 by the Jets, and finished his rookie campaign with a total of 9 tackles (5 solo) and only half a sack, and that while playing as a defensive end that never had to spend time dropping into coverage. And like Gholston, Thomas played in only 15 games his rookie year, starting none of them. His first three years he averaged only sack per season, and picked up multiple sacks for the first time in his fourth year, when he sacked the quarterback 3.5 times.

At this point, confidence has to be an issue for Gholston. He’s playing a city that has high expectations, and he is coming off a disappointing rookie year. While that may be weighing heavily on his mind, he does now have the benefit of playing under pass rush genius Rex Ryan, whose new defensive scheme will allow Gholston to use his pass rushing talents more. Speaking of confidence, Gholston registered his first sack against Philadelphia in the final preseason game of 2009 (though unofficially, as it was just an exhibition matchup). When asked about it, Gholston replied with a smile, “It’s just the first of many.”