Last season, Ropati Pitoitua didn't get a chance to do much damage anywhere except the practice field. This year, there's a good chance that his story will be different.
The defensive end's size alone presents enough of a challenge to opposing offenses, as Kyle Boller experienced first-hand when the Jets took on St. Louis in their first preseason game. The 6-foot-8, 310-pounder submitted a Dwight Howard-worthy block on a pass from the Rams quarterback at the end of the first quarter last week, and according to Pitoitua, he's just getting the most out of his hefty frame.
"I heard from a lot of people complimenting me about it," he told Newyorkjets.com. "I've got to use my big frame. It came into use that day. I got a little something out of it."
The Washington State product was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in May of 2008, and after being waived at the end of the preseason, he was signed to the practice squad but never saw any action with the Jets. He was re-signed in January and is ready to make the most of his second chance.
Currently listed as the No. 2 DE behind Shaun Ellis, Pitoitua has spent training camp concentrating on learning new schemes under first-year head coach Rex Ryan in the hopes of proving he deserves a spot on the roster in 2009.
"It's a little different with Coach Ryan and [defensive coordinator Mike] Pettine," he said. "It's an attacking scheme."
In the end, though, he knows he can't focus on the depth chart right now. He needs to focus on getting his job done on the field — but making headlines for his shot-blocking skills doesn't hurt, either.
"I'm not really worried about [making the roster] right now," he told the Web site. "The only thing I can really do is go out and do my best in practice. Then I'll see where it goes."
