Slauson/Faneca Article He was steamrolled by a 350-pound Tongan tank when the thought crossed his mind for the millionth time: I'm going to get my quarterback killed. For all the strides Matt Slauson has made since taking over as the Jets' starting left guard, he knows being good most of the time isn't good enough. His job is as simple as it is critical to the Jets' Super Bowl dreams: Protect Mark Sanchez on every play. So, when Ravens defensive end Haloti Ngata ran over Slauson before sacking Sanchez in the season opener, more questions arose over Slauson's readiness to take over for nine-time Pro Bowler Alan Faneca. The second-year offensive lineman has accepted the pressure of making sure the Jets' $50 Million Man stays upright, but can he deliver? "I think about that all the time," said Slauson, whose education continues against the Bills Sunday. "I know teams are coming after me. If Mark gets hit wrong, if anything happens, he could be out … and it could be my fault. I think about that a lot. But I can't be scared about it. If I play scared, he will get hit." * * * The Jets' pass protection has been uneven so far, allowing five sacks in the first two games before keeping Sanchez clean last week. Despite the perception to the contrary, Slauson has made incremental improvements. He's logged plenty of hours in the film room with offensive line coach Bill Callahan to better anticipate scenarios, improve communication with the rest of the offensive line and "play faster with his eyes," Callahan said. He also has a better feel for making calls on certain plays. "He's striving for perfection," said Callahan, who coached Slauson at Nebraska. "He wants to be precise." Mistakes, of course, can prove costly with Sanchez's health at stake. Although the second-year quarterback insists that he doesn't "even worry about Slauson," the truth is that one missed block could derail the season. "He took such a bad rap in that (Ravens) game," Sanchez said. "He had one bad play. That just goes to show you how tough it is to play in this league, especially at his position. I'm not sugarcoating it. I'd tell you, 'Hey, he needs to do much better,' but the dude's doing a really good job." There have been some close shaves since Slauson started competing with rookie Vlad Ducasse for the vacant spot. The "Hard Knocks" cameras caught general manager Mike Tannenbaum cringing at Slauson's missed block against the Panthers in the preseason. Tannenbaum specifically mentioned season-ending knee injuries to Carson Palmer and Tom Brady, while watching the replay of Carolina defensive tackle Derek Landri beating Slauson and diving at Sanchez's knees. "You see that and you say, 'Is Ducasse that bad?'" the general manager said at the time. As a result of that play, the team mandated that Sanchez wear a knee brace. "They would have wanted me to wear it," Sanchez said. "Mr. Johnson would be sick if something…" Slauson is fully aware of the doomsdsay scenario. * * * The comparisons were inevitable after the Jets released Faneca in April. The new left guard would be judged against the perennial Pro Bowler's impressive resume. "Obviously, I don't have the same experience that he's got," Slauson said. "He knows exactly what's happening on every play because he's seen it thousands of times. I'm not quite there yet. Once I do get a little more experience under my belt, I'll be fine. And everybody else won't even notice a difference anymore." Sometimes perception is reality. Sometimes it's way off base. Although Slauson is not nearly as effective as Faneca as a pulling left guard, his pass protection is certainly comparable to the future Hall of Famer's right now. ProFootballFocus.com graded only five full-time starting guards worse than Faneca last season. Faneca allowed six sacks, two hits and 15 pressures in 2009. In three games with the Cardinals this year, Faneca has given up one sack, one hit and an eye-opening 10 pressures on the quarterback. He gave up four pressures in Week 1, a sack, a hit and four pressures in Week 2 and a pair of pressures last week. His only penalty this season was declined. By comparison, Slauson has allowed two sacks, no hits and one pressure on Sanchez, according to ProFootballFocus.com. Last week, he committed three penalties, including a pair of critical holding calls that wiped out a completion that would have given the Jets the ball at the Miami 5, and Sanchez's touchdown scramble. So, does Slauson believe he's the weak link? "Yes and no," he said. * * * On the surface, there are plenty of parallels between 2007 and 2010. In 2007, the team's decision to trade disgruntled veteran left guard Pete Kendall over a salary dispute left them with free agent Adrien Clarke and Jacob Bender, a rookie sixth-round pick from a Division I-AA school. Chad Pennington was injured in the season opener thanks to a porous offensive line that allowed 53 sacks (29th in the league) that season. This year, Slauson, a second-year sixth-round pick, and Ducasse, a rookie from a Division 1-AA school, were left to fill Faneca's void. "Pete was gone (two days before) the third preseason game," center Nick Mangold said of the difference between the scenarios. "That's no time to get ready for a season with a whole new left guard. We've known for quite some time now that (Slauson) was going to be in there or Vlad. We had time to adjust and make the necessary improvements." Clarke and Bender turned out to be busts. (Clarke is in the UFL and Bender is a member of the Saints practice squad). The Jets management and players believe Slauson and Ducasse are long-term answers for the offensive line. Slauson has already been buoyed by his study habits. He's analyzed every hand and foot placement on film to make sure that he never experiences another Ngata moment again. "For a young player, pass pro is always the hardest thing to do on a consistent basis," right guard Brandon Moore said. "I know it was for me." Slauson realizes that every opponent will try to attack the interior left side of the line. So, his education never stops. "Teams are looking at me and saying we can really take advantage of him," Slauson said. "I need to go out there and say, 'No.… you can't.'"
Slauson's made some mistakes, but from all accounts he's working hard. Stick any LG solo on Ngata and you're going to get fucked.
Sanchez makes me smile when i read comments like that. no homo. but he's 100% right. slauson has been pretty good and exceeding expectations. especially considering teams are going after him that's a huge undertaking to have to block the team's best pass rusher. IMHO that whole "1 bad play" can ruin a season is so overstated. that can happen on a billion different plays even when the protection is there. it's football, it can happen. people are going to get beat also, no matter how good they are. there's only so many snaps you can be perfect on or near good article. and that holding penalty the 2nd time around in the miami game was such horseshit
Good article. As much as Slauson gets bashed around here, if there's anyone who's going to make it with his talents, it's him. He has probably the best attitude and work ethic you could ask for, for someone in his position.
I was reading a AZ Cards message board yesterday. Faneca killed two drives almost by himself in the first quarter, and then settled in, but the game was well on it's way to a loss by the time he got it together. One of Slauson's holding calls was a phantom call, the Sanchez TD run, his hands were inside the shoulder pads, something that is accepted technique in the NFL, but he drew an undeserved flag. That Ngata play.... Mangold continues to get a pass on hat one. Yes, Slauson got his feet tangled, and he f'd up, but Mangold should have been giving him help against Ngata, not helping Moore against Kelly Gregg. Slauson already is a near averge LG in the NFL. He'll never be a pro bowler, but his upside is at least that of Moore's at RG. Ryan has stated that opposing defenses are going after Slauson... all the more reason Mangold should help him over Moore. Offensive guards are often left blocking air on passing plays as defenses try to overload another gap. I've seen people critisize Slauson for this as well on this board. Saluson needs to improve at reading the outside pass rush and blitzers that go inside out on D'Brick. He's been slowly but steadilly improving. When Slauson gets his assignment right, he does well. He is still learning. I still say he is an upgrade over Faneca, and any comparison to Clarke or Bender are out of line.
Slauson's definitely not worse in pass-protection than Faneca was, but Faneca made me cringe on so many plays last year when Sanchez was under pressure from the blindside. It's good that Callahan really knows Slauson. He can be the ultimate judge as to whether this is working out or not.
I noticed that the clowns who were on Slauson and making Faneca out to be the answer are very quiet these days. Fortunately Callahan is making these decisions and not the clowns who criticized the move. Living well is the best revenge.
The problem with the line is simple. For 2 entire years it was intact. Now it has a new player that took the place of the most experienced player, even though he was the weakest link. Much of the problems with the line revolve around communication problems, resulting in bad protection hand offs. If the opposing Dline stunts, players are getting shots at the QB because of poor exchanges between Brick and Slauson. It happened a couple of times against the Pats. If I was a DC, I would be switching and stunting as much as humanly possible. That isnt to say individually they have not been beaten, they have, some more than others. However, more often than not, it is failure of the line to work in unison. Another, more obvious, problem they need to fix are the penalties. They are killing drives and happening with too much regularity. Again, they are the result of the above. The fact the Jets run a complex system doesn't help matters much at all. A holding penalty to prevent Sanchez from getting clobbered is acceptable. Any other penalties, such as the numerous false starts, need to stop pronto. It is obvious at this point Slauson is the weakest link. The Jets line was arguably the top line in the NFL last year, if not the top 2 or 3. So asking a 6th round pick to step into the LG role, without any slippage, is a little much. Slauson is proof there is more to fixing a line than simply jettisoning the weakest link. It is going to take some time for the line to get back to where it was, providing it is capable. That said.......... Miami was supposed to have a vaunted pass rush and they were largely rendered null and void. I think Sanchez got hit once the entire game. So the line is improving, that much is obvious.
Good article, thanks for posting, Slauson has gradually been improving, and will continue to do so thanks to Bill Callahan and his veteran O-Line teammates. He's playing inbetween the best C in the NFL, and a top LT. That should help him improve tremendously. He's already definitely better at Pass Pro than Faneca, and cheaper, and younger. He's a better option and people have to accept that he's a 2nd year 6th round pick and still learning. We are really going to be unstoppable the 2nd half of the year. Slauson should be much better by then, and the line in general, Holmes will have great chemitry by then, our D should get their communication problems sorted out and know the system better, Revis healthy, Pace healthy. Cold Weather + #1 D + Shonn Greene etc...
I'm glad that Slauson is getting the credit for all the effort he is putting in. You don't just replace a pro-bowler like Faneca straight away but he is making a good fist of it and is learning all the time. Hopefully he will keep on improving and in a couple of years time with be a fixture in the team.
Gotta say I'm more confident in the future of Slauson than I am D'Brick. This sounds stupid, I know, but Slauson has got good size, is only a second year player (and his first year he wasn't around the team, he was hurt), and I just have a feeling he will develop, maybe not into a world beater, but a definite solid and reliable guard. I don't worry about the kid, and I really think each game he'll improve more and more to the point where we're not really discussing this by week 9 or so. Really good article BTW.
Nah, I meant D'Brick. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm still not convinced that he's even damn good. Maybe my expecations were higher and I need to get over it. But for me, he still is just servicable.
I like Slauson's work and improvement, with luck Vlad is the future at RT and we have a great line for a long time.
While we certainly want better production from LG, it is simply not accurate to assume Faneca would have done any better. As bad as Slauson was this year, he actually outperformed Faneca, according to above numbers. And Faneca will only get worse, while Slauson will get better. Jets certainly made the right call to release Faneca.
Not to speak for MP, but I don't think he was saying Faneca would have done any better. I actually think he was saying just the opposite.
