Players drafted before Ducasse: Rolando McClain (8th overall) Tyson Alualu (10th) Derrick Morgan (16th) Tim Tebow (25th) Dan Williams (26th) Jared Odrick (28th) Jerry Hughes (31st) Patrick Robinson (32nd) - he has been really, really terrible Brian Price (35th) Dexter McCluster (36th) Arrelious Benn (39th) Torell Troup (41st) Sergio Kindle (43rd) Jimmy Clausen (48th) Taylor Mays (49th) Mike Neal (56th)
He has but not enough to keep the wolves at bay. He was a second round pick so there are expectations.
I've been a Ducasse supporter from day 1. Extremely raw out of college, I felt he had all the physical tools to one day be a pro bowl player. He hasn't put it together & at best he's a physical freak lacking brain power.If he does not earn a starting job this year he is officially a bust & should be cut. That said, I thought he outplayed Slauson consistently all season both in games & Training camp. Degugliemo seemed way off base w/ his comments last year,though who knows what's happening in the classroom/during the week. As for the zone blocking scheme question..let's bare in mind that Vlad was drafted to play in a zone scheme. That said we all used similar rationale last offseason w/ the switch to man.Go figure Put up or shut up Vlad.
When King Ugly locks on a defender he can show some serious power and his feet aren't exactly slow while on the move .... if only he could put it all together especially with pass protection. Put him next to Howard on the right side on 3rd & 8 and it's "look out Nacho!!" Wish Vlad can take his broken choppers and "package potential" to the next level. If not, cut our losses.
No love for Vald here and one can understand to some extent the lack of joy for a second round pick. Personally I am really hoping he steps up this year an takes the guard job. The kid is a physical specimen and if he can get the mental side down he could be a staple on our o-line for the next 8 years easy. Yet, I have to agree with many here that he must step up this season or move on from the Jets. Yet in closing I just like to add that I feel that he can help some team on this level. Hope it's the Jets.
Really? Dude has improved a lot since he was drafted, especially in run blocking. Yeah it's been slow progress, but it has been steady. He still needs work pass protecting, but I predict he will be one of the starters at guard this year. BTW, he played in zone blocking schemes last year with Sparano. It isn't new.
Tidbit about Ducasse....he still sucks. Sorry i don't see the improvement as others do. Especially for a 2nd round, pick. You don't pick projects there and linemen usually adjust fairly quick, which he hasn't. Sure he may have improved a little, instead of fucking disgraceful, he's now just atrocious. Another wasteful Tannebum pick. I'll gladly eat crow if this powder puff turns into a solid G/RT for the next 8yrs but i have yet to have faith that any QB behind him isn't going to get crushed.
He's great against the run, a proven effective blitzer (though in limited snaps), and is certainly one of the hardest hitters in the NFL. Can't think of anyone who forced more fumbles just from lowering his shoulder into the ball carrier. His major fault is pass coverage, which isn't his fault for being asked to do something he will probably never succeed at, the team shouldn't be putting him in the situation when they know it is his weakest area (which is where the Jamie Collins draft pick/Adrian Wilson signing come into play, coverage LB role/situation pass rusher). He's one of the best at what he does, which is a 1st&2nd down run stuffer and goal-line player. So yes, he's a good player, but I believe the person who you quoted was pointing out that he's much more accomplished than Ducasse and could have been taken in his place.
LOL Hindsight is what it is. It's a tool for spoiled whiners that expect others to live up to loftier expectations then they do themselves. The vast majority of the fans that engage in these type rants probably only watch college bowl games if that. The drafting of Thomas over Reed was viewed by those of us that watch college football as a mistake at the time. We don't need to go back and list all the players that out performed Thomas who were drafted after him. That's an exercise in futility by those that have NO LIFE!
He's not so bad, but he was a project player who needed development and you draft players like that in later rounds, NOT the 2nd round.
Ah yes, well I guess Ducasse hasn't started much, so he was never given an opportunity to blow a playoff game like Spikes. I'll always remember him against the Jets during that one play where they went for it on 4th, completely catching the jets off guard, only to slip up and turn it over.
Do you honestly believe the Jets thought he would take 3-4 years to develop when they picked him late in round 2? Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20. Would you have said that on draft day 3 years back? You act like its so easy to tell these things, but every draft pick is a gamble. Some pay off, some don't. If he breaks out this year and goes beast mode, then I would say the pick was good, despite taking a little longer than usual to develop. That's anybody's guess at this point, however.
I'm not an expert, but when they drafted him, all I heard immediately afterwards was that he was a raw talent and was a project. That may have even come from the Jets themselves. So, it's believable that the Jets thought he was a 3-4 year project. Remember, the Jets chose a kicker in the 2nd round fairly recently, which is just plain foolish.
It's also completely irrelevant to the topic we are discussing. Plus the pick was LATE 2nd round (#61), which makes it practically a 3rd, since we made AFC title game the year before. When the Jets drafted him they expected him to compete with Slauson for the starting guard position. I remember in Hard Knocks that was one of the feature competitions. If they knew he was a 3-4 year project, why would they even consider him competing to start? The talk of being a project player didn't really start until next year or so and was mostly from fans.
