Jerry Hughes Suggest Indy Didn't Give Him A "Fair Shot"

[The Fish]

I just remember a sack he got last year, where he didn't attempt to tackle, he just sorta ran into the QB. Raw doesn't begin to describe his game.

[ColtsHoosiersBB]

The guy sux.....good riddance.

[MCurtis32]

I agree with Hughes, he was not given a chance to prove anything. he played behind mathis and freeney. I mean seriously what shot would he get behind two future hall of famers??

Special teams was his and a lot of other guy's chance to shine. If he was any good, it would have showed on special teams.

[Superman]

Special teams was his and a lot of other guy's chance to shine. If he was any good, it would have showed on special teams.

That doesn't make any sense. He could have gone all out and been a special teams maven; we all wish he would have, because we haven't had one of those in a while. But being a great special teamer has little relevance to how you rush the passer. It would have showed effort, determination, heart, etc., but not pass rushing ability.

[John Dee]

Superman JH was a first rounder who could NOT make it on ST's.     And first rounders "generally" do not get assigned to ST.   But Jerry was ...  all season his rookie year.

 

He could NOT make the rotation as a backup DE.  

 

Jerry is a really nice guy, but he simply cannot play in the NFL.

 

 

If he could not make a DENT on the INDY D....    then who?

That doesn't make any sense. He could have gone all out and been a special teams maven; we all wish he would have, because we haven't had one of those in a while. But being a great special teamer has little relevance to how you rush the passer. It would have showed effort, determination, heart, etc., but not pass rushing ability.

[John Dee]

Makes total sense to me...   

Special teams was his and a lot of other guy's chance to shine. If he was any good, it would have showed on special teams.

[SOMDColtsfan]

Hughes saying "they didn't know what they had" sums it up IMO. He didn't hustle on special teams like he thought he was too good to be there. Seems like one of those "never my fault" types. Have fun in that Buffalo winter Jerry

[Superman]

Superman JH was a first rounder who could NOT make it on ST's.     And first rounders "generally" do not get assigned to ST.   But Jerry was ...  all season his rookie year.

 

He could NOT make the rotation as a backup DE.  

 

Jerry is a really nice guy, but he simply cannot play in the NFL.

 

 

If he could not make a DENT on the INDY D....    then who?

See, this is where we diverge on Jerry Hughes.

First, I don't think being a standout special teamer has anything to do with being a good defender. Playing special teams in the NFL is a rite of passage, earning your dues. But it isn't a tool for coaches to evaluate your talent at your intended position. The coaches don't put a pass rusher on special teams to see how he's going to do as a pass rusher.

Secondly, to the bolded, Jerry Hughes, while not remotely worth a first round pick, had a pretty good year for us last season as a rotational player. I believe he proved definitively that he CAN play in the NFL. He's not threatening to be a Pro Bowler or anything, but he had a decent season and looked much better than he did his first two years.

[John Dee]

What some of us are saying is..   JH was FORCED to play ST's as a rookie because he could not contribute anywhere else.

 

 

He cannot play.  EVERY single indy writer and sports guru nailed him form day one.    DD, JMV, Chap, PBW, Kravy...

 

 

I stuck up for him for the longest.     But reality sets in eventually. 

See, this is where we diverge on Jerry Hughes.

First, I don't think being a standout special teamer has anything to do with being a good defender. Playing special teams in the NFL is a rite of passage, earning your dues. But it isn't a tool for coaches to evaluate your talent at your intended position. The coaches don't put a pass rusher on special teams to see how he's going to do as a pass rusher.

Secondly, to the bolded, Jerry Hughes, while not remotely worth a first round pick, had a pretty good year for us last season as a rotational player. I believe he proved definitively that he CAN play in the NFL. He's not threatening to be a Pro Bowler or anything, but he had a decent season and looked much better than he did his first two years.

[Warhorse]

I backed the guy up the entire time he was here. Whatever the reasons were that he did not blossom in Indy, the fact is...

 

 

he didn't.

[Superman]

What some of us are saying is..   JH was FORCED to play ST's as a rookie because he could not contribute anywhere else.

 

 

He cannot play.  EVERY single indy writer and sports guru nailed him form day one.    DD, JMV, Chap, PBW, Kravy...

 

 

I stuck up for him for the longest.     But reality sets in eventually.

I think I'm on record as being someone who doesn't base their opinions on what everyone else thinks or says. People nailed him because he deserved it (and there was some Polian hatred in there as well, but in that regard, it was deserved also).

That said, Jerry Hughes proved that he CAN play last season. Not a star, but he's decent.

And I don't think Hughes was forced to play special teams because he wasn't good enough to play defense. Rookies play special teams, pretty much without exception. And he wasn't going to start without Freeney or Mathis getting hurt, so it only made sense that he'd be on special teams. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem is that he didn't make his mark on special teams.

[BrentMc11]

Bottom line:  Jerry had a chance to become bigger, stronger and faster (Quicker) in his time here.  He had one...possibly two future HOF players to learn from.  He had a chance to be a special teams nightmare.  He had a chance to 'set the edge' when starting for an injured Mathis.  Major runs followed.

 

Bottom line is......bad 1st round pick.  Three years to attempt to shine....If ANYONE feels he did not get his chance, that is vastly erroneous!  Enter one Chuck Pagano....he had the boys put on the helmets and hit each other.  He had 53 rookies/1 yr players playing their hearts out last year to make this Colt team!!!  He had his chance LAST year to show Pags and Grigs something....he did not effectively do that.....thus he is a Bill.

 

This is coming from someone who was willing to give him a chance, and not a Hughes basher...all Colts for me       !!!!

 

Just as I am willing to give Vaughn his chance to make a turnaround....and it DOES look as he is playing well so far!  More power to the Colt secondary!!!!      !!!

[AntonMcG]

Bottom line:  Jerry had a chance to become bigger, stronger and faster (Quicker) in his time here.  He had one...possibly two future HOF players to learn from.  He had a chance to be a special teams nightmare.  He had a chance to 'set the edge' when starting for an injured Mathis.  Major runs followed.

 

Bottom line is......bad 1st round pick.  Three years to attempt to shine....If ANYONE feels he did not get his chance, that is vastly erroneous!  Enter one Chuck Pagano....he had the boys put on the helmets and hit each other.  He had 53 rookies/1 yr players playing their hearts out last year to make this Colt team!!!  He had his chance LAST year to show Pags and Grigs something....he did not effectively do that.....thus he is a Bill.

 

This is coming from someone who was willing to give him a chance, and not a Hughes basher...all Colts for me       !!!!

 

Just as I am willing to give Vaughn his chance to make a turnaround....and it DOES look as he is playing well so far!  More power to the Colt secondary!!!!      !!!

 

Don't want to change the direction of this thread, but no, he only had one. ;)

[BrentMc11]

Don't want to change the direction of this thread, but no, he only had one. ;)

That could spark a huge debate  HA HA!!  

[In Luck We Trust]

Special teams was his and a lot of other guy's chance to shine. If he was any good, it would have showed on special teams.

explain to me how special teams show's how well a DEFENSIVE player can handle running and passing plays?? all special teams does is prevent a return that is what 4 or 5 times a game? 

[Jason_]

What some of us are saying is..   JH was FORCED to play ST's as a rookie because he could not contribute anywhere else.

 

 

He cannot play.  EVERY single indy writer and sports guru nailed him form day one.    DD, JMV, Chap, PBW, Kravy...

 

 

I stuck up for him for the longest.     But reality sets in eventually. 

 

 

Sorry but the bolded is just nonsense.  He clearly can play.  It doesn't have to be elite or nothing.  He probably never will be an elite player.  He may never be a pro bowler, but he proved last year he could play relatively effectively in a rotational role and he did so last year while learning a new position.

 

There are no facts whatsoever that support the notion that Hughes cannot play in the NFL.  Quite the contrary actually.  He can play as a backup or rotational player.  The jury is still out as to whether he can ever be a solid starter or playmaker.

[CR91]

What a piece of turd

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Well that's to bad he really didn't get an opportunity to play early I think he was drafted to take Mathis spot when he became a free agent & colts realized we needed Mathis. When he got to play he didn't play great he never looked comfortable to me. good luck to him and honestly what he said is more true than not,

[smittywerb]

Here's what was wrong with the jh situation:

- he was a first round pick. This made people expect him to perform like a first rounder, and that was not going To happen because of who he played behind and the rawness of his talent. Another downfall is that there were other players who were available and needed, and it didn't help that those players went on to be productive players.

- this was a tear jerk move. This was after the Super Bowl and polian felt that freeney being hurt was a big factor in our loss. I guess this pick was insurance for freeney.

[jamesie jr]

I actually liked Jerry Hughes and thought he would have had a very good year if it wasn't for him being traded or Werner/Walden being added to the team.

 

I think he was right as well. If you look at the last year he has had, he started less games than Dwight Freeney and only had 1 sack less. Now people say that Freeney had a tough time adjusting to the new scheme but Hughes also had to adjust to the scheme as well. Plus he was a 1st round pick, granted he hasn't really lived up to that yet but i really thought he would before he was traded.

 

Hope he does well for the Bills.

[oldunclemark]

Hughes had a chance when Dwight missed parts of games in 2010 and 2011

 

Freeny was out of postion in 2012...

 

The change to a 3-4 suited Jerry H.

 

He got a chance and we all rooted for him..

 

Why cant a guy just say "I didnt get it done with my old team and I am grateful for a second chance" ??

[Tark The Shark]

Hughes never made sense as a first round pick for us. 

 

He fit more with a style that the Ravens had, rather than the Colts. Also he had to play behind Freeney and Mathis so it was going to be a while before he could start.

 

I thought he played well as a back-up, still a very raw player. Certainly not surprised that we let him go, and at least we got Shepherd for Hughes to add depth at the ILB position.

 

I hope he does well in Buffalo, just like I hope Shepherd will be even better than Hughes.

[Rich Cannon]

Played well as a 3-4 LB, but to little to late.  Cover 2 wasnt the best fit for him.  Woudlnt have been mad if we would have kept him in a reserve olb spot. 

[MCurtis32]

explain to me how special teams show's how well a DEFENSIVE player can handle running and passing plays?? all special teams does is prevent a return that is what 4 or 5 times a game? 

It would show his passion to play and you would see if he could get off of blocks and tackle, which by the way he did neither.

[MCurtis32]

That doesn't make any sense. He could have gone all out and been a special teams maven; we all wish he would have, because we haven't had one of those in a while. But being a great special teamer has little relevance to how you rush the passer. It would have showed effort, determination, heart, etc., but not pass rushing ability.

If he had shown any of those traits, he would still be here. He was another Polian project that did not work.

[Dark Superman]

Can we please squash this conversation.. The guy doesn't even play for us anymore.. He doesn't even deserve a thread with his name on it.

[shakedownstreet]

Jerry Hughes Suggest Indy Didn't Give Him A "Fair Shot"

 

did we under fill the glass? 

 

 

[superrep1967]

You're right Jerry, absolutely right. You started to come in your own once the 3-4 defense change came. But by then, your time was up. Polian set you up for failure my friend. But it is what it is, wish you all the best in buffalo. I'll be rooting for you

Go Horned Frogs!

I agree!! He was always the odd man out on our defense. He never got the chance to really show he could really do. We are too quick for judgement just like Tim Jennings and if you don't watch the tape and really know what you're watching then really you have no clue. Sometimes if someone isn't doing their job it sometimes makes someone look really bad. But if someone is doing there job really well it can someone look really good. 

[Kyle]

umm...gulp... he looked pretty darn good against the vikings.   

 

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013081600/2013/PRE2/vikings@bills#menu=highlights&tab=analyze&analyze=boxscore

@ 1:00

@ 1:31

@ 1:50 "Jerry Hughes, that's his second one tonight. He was rushin all night long.  OOOooooohhh!!!!" Warren Sapp

[crazycolt1]

Hughes failed big time on special teams. A guy with his size and athleticism should have been a force on coverage, but he wasn't. That's his fault.

But you don't spend a first rounder on a guy and then tell him to prove his worth on special teams. We're going to put Bjoern Werner on the field on defense as a rookie, consistently, and we're going to put him in situations where he can utilize his skill. Werner might play special teams, but his worth comes as a member of the defense.

Mathis was a fifth rounder. The value of the investment to the team was not the same when he was a rookie. And still, Mathis got more opportunities to play defense as a rookie than Hughes did.

And that's the problem I have with the Jerry Hughes saga. He wasn't a good pick for our team, simply put. He wasn't going to get consistent opportunities to play on defense, and he really wasn't a good fit for our rigid defensive scheme. To use a first rounder on a player that would be judged on the basis of his special teams contributions turned out to be a huge mistake. We might as well have used that pick on a long snapper.

Don't insult Justin Snow now! 

[Stephen]

hughs looked very good versus Vikings. looks like bills got good player.

[Jason_]

Played well as a 3-4 LB, but to little to late. Cover 2 wasnt the best fit for him. Woudlnt have been mad if we would have kept him in a reserve olb spot.

Just curious, how was our cover / Tampa 2 not the right fit for him? He was basically a clone of Mathis coming out of TCU. Their scouting reports are near identical.

[Superman]

Just curious, how was our cover / Tampa 2 not the right fit for him? He was basically a clone of Mathis coming out of TCU. Their scouting reports are near identical.

 

Mathis is kind of the exception to the rule. He was considered a tweener coming out, which is part of the reason he dropped to the 5th round. But Mathis wasn't stuck behind two Pro Bowl defensive ends. And Mathis played with a lot more heart than Hughes did early on. He forced us to put him on the field, because he was able to make plays. He second year, he only started one game, but had 10.5 sacks. He went out and got it.

 

But well into his third year, there was discussion about whether he should be moved to linebacker. He was never the prototypical 4-3 end. 

[ruksak]

You're right Jerry, absolutely right. You started to come in your own once the 3-4 defense change came. But by then, your time was up. Polian set you up for failure my friend. But it is what it is, wish you all the best in buffalo. I'll be rooting for you

Go Horned Frogs!