INDIANAPOLIS — Forget any speculation about the Jets using an uncapped year to rid themselves of the utter disaster that is Vernon Gholston.
Jets coach Rex Ryan said yesterday that he is prepared to give the underachieving defensive end another season to live up to his first-round draft billing.
Or, at the very least, record his first NFL sack.
“We need to give him more playing time,” Ryan said during a break in the scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. “I’ve had players that take a little time, but you know that he’s got it in him .¤.¤. so we will see what happens.”
Ryan did admit that 2010 is going to be a make-or-break season for Gholston, the No. 6 overall pick two years ago who has just 24 tackles in 24 NFL games.
“I think [make-or-break] is an accurate statement,” Ryan said. “Generally by the third year, you got to see a guy really making strides, and I expect Vernon to really make strides this year.”
The topic of Gholston was one of the few times Ryan turned serious during his 20-minute chat with a horde of reporters drawn to the news conference by his reputation for brash talk.
Ryan joked mostly about himself, particularly a much-publicized incident at an NHL game in North Carolina in which he was caught on video baring his — shall we say — prominent abdomen.
“Hey, I am working on those abs a little bit I think,” Ryan said jokingly. “I thought I had the fighting strap attached to the T-shirt. Apparently I didn’t. Big mistake. But I appreciate everybody having such a special interest in that.”
Ryan also took the blame for his much-publicized obscene gesture to fans at a mixed martial arts event in Miami during the Super Bowl, an incident that drew a $50,000 fine from the team. “I have made a bunch of mistakes in my life, there is no question about it, [so] just add that to a big list,” Ryan said.
As far as his team, Ryan said there will be no basking in the Jets’ surprise run to the AFC title game and that he expects full attendance by his players in the offseason program.
That was a not-so-thinly veiled reference to wideout Braylon Edwards, who was never a big participant in OTAs with Cleveland but has been put on notice by GM Mike Tannenbaum that the Jets expect differently.