Cimini wrote about this too- "Focus: Offensive tackle Depth chart: D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Damien Woody, Wayne Hunter, Vladimir Ducasse. Expiring contracts: Hunter. Rear-view mirror: With Ferguson and Woody (when healthy), the Jets had one of the better tackle tandems in the league. Ferguson was one of the top pass protectors, deserving of his first Pro Bowl selection (he made it as an alternate in 2009). He wasn’t a road grader, and never will be, but any deficiencies he might have had as a run blocker were camouflaged in the Jets’ zone-blocking scheme. Ferguson was penalized only five times for 35 yards, outstanding for a left tackle. The Jets made a wise move by locking him up with a six-year contract extension. Woody thrived as a run blocker. In fact, the Jets averaged 4.88 yards per rush behind right tackle, fourth-best in the league, according to FootballOutsiders.com. Like Ferguson, Woody kept his mistakes to a minimum – only three penalties for 15 yards (plus one declined). Woody’s issue was staying healthy. He missed the final three games because of a knee scope and injured his Achilles’ tendon in the wild-card game, requiring surgery. Hunter did an adequate job as Woody’s replacement, but he was penalty prone in limited action (four for 30 yards, plus two declined) and suffered some hiccups in pass protection when singled up against an edge rusher. Numbers game: Ferguson has started every game in five seasons, a total of 80. So has C Nick Mangold, a fellow first-round pick from 2006. That makes them a historic tandem; they’re the only two offensive linemen since the merger in 1970 that entered the league together and started their first 75 games on the same line. Crystal ball: The news here is that Ducasse, coming off a virtual red-shirt season at left guard, is slated to play right tackle – and that may not bode well for Woody’s chances of returning in 2011. It would be a enormous risk to hand the job to the unproven Ducasse, who failed to mount any sort of challenge in an open competition at left guard. Now he will be playing another unfamiliar position; he was a left tackle at UMass. So why do it? Ducasse was picked in the second round, and the organization evidently feels it has to back up its conviction. Woody is battling the dreaded triple play – age (33), high salary ($4.26 million cap) and injury – but the man still can play. He's also a valued leader in the locker room. Hunter could return as a cost-effective insurance policy. Hot Seat: Ducasse. The scholarship has expired, it’s time to earn his keep. He has plenty of raw talent, but he has a long way to go before mastering the nuances of a sophisticated NFL offense. Position rating (scale of 1 to 10): 8.0. " http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/4618/positional-analysis-offensive-tackle Hunter played great when Woody went down.
Hunter should certainly be kept around... And if Vlad can't beat out Hunter then he continue to learn on the bench. I have the utmost respect for Bill Callahan and hope he never leaves. it takes time for OL to develop.... Vlad was as raw as they come.
Even though the zone blocking is more beneifical for Brick, his man blocking on power runs is a lot better these days.
as in he can finally seal the outside for once? lol i agree he has gotten better in drive blocking. although there was alot of room for improvement hes become more well rounded.
The writing is on the wall that Damien Woody will be a goner. That will hurt our running game. Hunter is a solid player, but he's no big Wood.. and who knows about Vlad.
I think Vlad will be as much if not more of a road grader. It's the pass blocking I worry about with him.
Is there a huge difference in playing left and right tackle? Having never played the sport, some of the technical nuances of the line positions particularly escape me.
Vlad's got the feet and athleticism to be a very, very good pass blocker. He just needs to keep learning this game. I think his struggles are more on the mental side of the game. If he's able to pick things up during the off-season, he'll surprise.
if anything he will be a road grader with problems against agile guys off the edge. Ducasse drive blocking is fucking phenomenal. he has problems reading blitz pickups though. which makes me hope they cut more of the pre-snap motions and reads cause its just more time for him to overthink and miss his assignment. heres to hoping Moore, Mangold, and Ferg can take him under their wing. if Ducasse wasnt so damn raw he prolly wouldve went in the 1st IMO. if anyone can develop the guy its Callahan though. hope he never leaves whether that means promotion or not.
I guess the only thing that concerns me with all of this at this point is what off season? It seems (though nothing is definite) that there will be a lock out. So at what point does it no longer become viable to improve in the off-season? What I mean is, let's say this stupid labor situation doesn't get resolved until June or July (god forbid). How does this affect something like this?
