Why would the Jets ever plan ahead for their OLine with a coach who wants to run a ground-and-pound system?
Adam Terry of the Ravens never started as a rookie. Neither did Winston Justice of the Eagles. Justice was playing behind Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan, I believe; arguably the best tackle tandem in the league at that time. Terry was behind Jon Ogden and Tony Pashos. Again, superb veterans.
I haven't seen a ton of film on Ducasse but based on the limited stuff I've seen this is what I think the FO/CS are thinking.. Ducasse maybe lacking the footwork/kick-step to play OT at a high level at this point. However, Based on the film I HAVE seen...he appears to be very good once his assignment is fully engaged. In other words he's a good "Phone booth" guy. My point being...the Jets believe he can have alot of success early at guard b/c his footwork won't be exposed and in fact his STRENGTHS will be utilized by playing him where he'll constantly be "in the phone booth". The media and draft experts appear to be ignoring this fact. He maybe raw as an OT prospect...but Guard wise...he's likely ready to play a decent role. It's a similar to that of Leonard Davis now w/ Dallas. He's always struggled w/ footwork at OT...but once you move him inside w/ that mammouth size/strength/athleticism he's a top end player. I'm not saying Ducasse will be as good as Davis..especially early...and again..I havent seen enough of him to make a true judgment..but I believe this is what the FO is thinking. Play him at guard between 2 pro bowlers and let him play to his strengths.
Woody I can understand, but Brandon Moore is 29 years old. That's not old for an O-lineman by any stretch of the imagination.
No aids there, the argument was opening day starters, he included anyone who started even 1 game during their rookie season. No my numbers were low for the second round becaue I only included players who were opening day starters, aka won the job during preseason and B) kept the job through the season. If you want to count players who started SOMEWHERE in the season their rookie year on the OL I could probably get the number up to around 30-40% for 7th round picks. However, that is not the point of debate, the point of debate is being opening day named starter. Now I admit to being abit nit picky by including the player keeping their job during the season (barring injury of course, I didn't include injury in the calculations). I don't doubt Vlad's talent, nor upside. and it wouldn't surprise me if he won the job during the pre-season, however I stand by the fact that the Jets were trying to trade AF dating to abit over a month, or more, before the draft (the earliest date I'm aware of for a AF trade rumor was March 18th, and this was pretty much confirmed during an interview after AF's release that the Jets had been quietly shopping AF for atleast a month before the draft). And I stand by my statement that there is no way the Jets try to trade AF before the draft if they didn't feel they had a suitable in house alternative already in the stable. As for the hype surrounding Slauson, the only hype is around Vald, but the hypers are overlooking that Vlad has a huge hole in his pass protection game right now and unless you want to get Sanchez killed......well you figure it out.
The only 'reports' I remember seeing about Faneca in that respect were an opinion line by Jane McManus on her blog and a bunch of half-assed internet articles referencing the opinion line from Jane McManus' blog. And while I applaud her for being on the money, it wasn't a report and there weren't even anonymous sources referenced - just speculation based on his rather large salary number. Do you have links to any other reports about Faneca that I might have missed several weeks before the draft?
Oh just give up, dude. Your numbers were low because you pulled a truthy-feelin' number out of your ass without doing any research. If I didn't have a lot of work to do today, I'd properly school you. But for now, I'll just remind you that 4 out of 6 o-linemen drafted in the 2nd round in 2009 started opening day and started the remainder of the season, barring injury. Does that meet your "criteria?"
I can't imagine they see Slauson as a good answer at LG at this point;you don't draft a guard in the second and say he's playing LG if you think you've got a strong answer in house. [This is not to say that they don't see Slauson as a better alternative than paying a declining AF a ton of money, even if Slauson can't play at AF's level.] You also just don't pick an offensive lineman, especially an interior offensive lineman, in the first two rounds unless you think they're starting right away.
Ducasse was an offensive tackle at UMass. They said that he would compete with Slauson at LG - possibly because there is no real competition at the LG spot and they want to create some. Possibly because Ducasse is just that good of an offensive lineman that he can move to guard for a year or so. Most people are assuming, with good reason, that Ducasse will slide over to RT once they let Woody go.
Ducasse is shorter than the ideal RT but I could certainly see them moving him over there in time. However, Woody is decent and signed for three more years so you're not getting a lot of value out of a second rounder if you don't think you can play him at LG in 2010 and 2011 if both he and Slauson don't develop quickly enough.
with Callahan's zone blocking scheme, the OL doesn't need to be gigantic. They need to be quick and really intelligent.
Like NDmick said, zone blocking schemes tend to have undersized tackles. Look at the Denver Broncos' lines when they were dominant for an example. Slauson had a year to learn the system at the pro level. He also came from a zone scheme in Nebraska, same place that Callahan coached not too long ago. If Slauson is going to develop, which may be wishful thinking, this is his year to start at LG. If he doesn't start, then I think he'll end up being a strictly depth guy and we will draft a LG in 2011. The Jets are loading up, so while most teams will start a 2nd round lineman out of need, the NYJs have the luxury to let him sit and learn, and rotate when needed.
Slauson still has tons of time to develop. He's only in his second year. Lots of guards (especially guys picked really late in the draft or picked up as free agents) come into their own three or four years into their careers.
I'd stick with Slauson, let Vlad learn the system a bit more. Edit - Hey wow 500 posts! I'm a fanatic now!
You seem to have your heart set on Ducasse starting no matter which player wins the competition at guard, which is fine, but I'd rather have the best man for the job blocking for Sanchez when it counts. Ducasse is a tackle from a small school and you are expecting him to step right into a new position and a new scheme and start immediately, mainly because of where he was drafted. I'm not so sold on that idea. If he can do it, and Slauson isn't the answer at guard, then I am all for it. But I don't give a shit who was drafted where. I want the best player in the competition to win the job.
Hey, every Jets fans should hope that Slauson is up to starting in the NFL (that's a home run of a sixth round pick) but that's a very tall order for a late draft pick in his second year who hasn't done much of anything in the NFL yet, particularly when there's a quick, strong behemoth pressing for more time. EDIT: Obviously the best player for the job should get it. I just suspect (a) that Ducasse is that guy based on his relative draft position--it's the rare sixth round pick who is ultimately able to start in the NFL-- and (b) the Jets think he's that guy because they spent a second on him when they could have upgraded any number of other positions.
What was he supposed to have done in 2010? There were 5 healthy starters on the Jets' O-line. He was able to learn behind Faneca for a year in a system he was familiar with. He has practiced with the current O-linemen, and has an entire offseason to gain chemistry with him. Just because the guy was picked in the late rounds does not mean that he automatically has to take 3 years to develop. He was named in competition with Ducasse at LG for a reason.
