If we were talking about a rex Ryan defense, I would tend to agree with you MJ. But I don't think Bowles is so reliant on a dominant run-stuffing nose. To me his defense is predicated on guys who offer more flexibility. To the extent that we may have to use a typical NT against certain teams, then Simon may fit the bill. Is that worth what we would have had to spend to keep Snacks; I don't think so. JMO.
From a money standpoint I agree with you completely. He got a lot of money from the Giants. But Todd Bowles made a name for himself in Arizona with that up front trap where two DE's will cut in as they get into the backfield and shrink the pocket. The ONLY way that works is if you have a NT that can hold his ground. Snacks was great at specific scheme.
I am also pretty excited about what Deon Simon has to offer, but I'm sorry this guy is NO ready to replace Snacks Harrison at the drop of a hat.
In fact, I hear Simon has been labeled as being "LAZY" about learning his job. So here you have a guy that has NOT seen the field much at all since being drafted. He's way behind the learning curve for his job. He's also been labeled as lazy.
What I just mentioned does not fix itself over night. There's work to be done with Deon Simon to get him working and understanding what his responsibilities are.
Hence the reason I say we have a GIGANTIC, gaping hole at NT right now or at least for however long it's going to take for Deon Simon to show his value, because the fact is he's NOTHING right now other than a very strong kid that has never seen the field.
