Has anyone seen the latest Cimini article on this topic. His writing is seething with Jets hatred to the point that I find it to be unprofessional irresponsible journalism. To report that one might make the case that the Slauson/Ducasse competition was a leverage ploy to manipulate Slauson into taking a paycut is one thing. To say it is absolutely the case and condemn Rex for it is just irresponsible reporting. If I were Rex and held the competition for purely football reasons because of Slausons questionable injury recovery, to motivate Ducasse, etc. and were accused of mixing contract negotiations with actually coaching I'd want to punch Cimini in the face. I fucking HATE this douche canoe. This is the article I am referring to: http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=new-yorkjets&id=14103 CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Now it all makes sense: The left-guard competition between Matt Slauson and Vladimir Ducasse was a complete farce. The Jets' objective was to put presssure on Slauson because, as we now know, they wanted him to take a pay cut. And they succeeded. According to NFLPA records, Slauson took a $258,000 pay cut last week. In exchange, he received a guaranteed roster spot. Slauson was supposed to make $1.31 million, but his total compensation for 2012 will now be $1.05 million -- a $435,000 signing bonus, plus a guaranteed $615,000 base salary. On Wednesday, Rex Ryan declared the left-guard competition over, saying Slauson is his guy. Ending a competition before the first game? That indicates it never was a competition; it was to gain leverage in a negotiation. Explaining his decision, Ryan made sure to mention that Ducasse "will play" at left guard during the season. That ain't happening unless Slauson gets hurt. The Jets are trying to give the impression that Ducasse still has value to them. Why? There's already scuttlebutt in the league that they could try to trade him, trying to recoup something -- anything -- for the second-round pick they wasted. Good luck.
Cimini is a douche, but I do think the restructure had something to do with the LG battle. Not sure he's right on the reason, but I don't think it's outrageous either.
I can't see it, its just such a piffling sum in the scheme of things that it would be ridiculous to go to those extremes over so little. Sure $300k is a lot to your average person but in terms of an NFL team its nothing.
I mean if we wanted to get another receiver or OL thats gonna cost 1-2 million probably ona 1 year contract. So 300k in cap space pays for a decent amount of that. Not to mention having his contract fully guaranteed works out ok for him as well (gives him a better chance to land decent money as an UFA after this year KNOWING he has a starting job)
Think theres an excellent chance we bring him in (if he gets cut early enough) to compete for some depth, albeit I dont know how much we need another backup guard in addition to vlad.
I could see us bringing in Jerry. He could be another Otah, but he could be depth. Sparano will know him as well as anyone, so we'll see. I don't see cutting Ducasse (unless he is brutal in preseason, which I don't expect). Tannenbaum has talked up Schlauderaff so much, I don't think we would cut him but who knows...
Well Sparano and our ol coach LOVED Jerry as a (potential) run blocking guard. He just sucks for the Fins moving to a west cost offense. Dbrick Ducasse Mangold Jerry + whatever RT we can land could potentially be our OL next year which is absolutely built for some serious ground and pound. Using Slauson as our new Turner and letting Moore walk as an ufa.
You're right. In terms of cap space, everything matters. That being said, saying that the competition was a "farce" and creating a conspiracy theory goes beyond normal cap adjustments. Cimini is not a good reporter. He had no evidence to back up his claims.
Im wouldnt expect him to be anything more than depth this year. But 2 years later(from the last time he started), the guy could only improve. Apparently his run blocking was solid, and the Jets have 2 UFA guards after this year so he would definitely have an opportunity.
The fun never ends on here. Yeah, you know, the Jets don't care about winning and starting the best player, they just tricked him into a paycut with a starter spot because that 400K is WAY more important than playing the better player and winning games. The logic of some of you guys never ceases to amaze me. Even for Cimini standards (which aren't that high to begin with) this is terrible.
Jets pull a fast one on Slauson. Told him that Vlad was in play for his LG position. But it was salary thing. The Jets guaranteed Slauson contract for him taking a 400,000 pay cut. What a slimy move by Tannenbaum. Slauson has become a very good guard and risking weakening offensive line on this manuever could have backfired.
I'm trying to understand why the Jets would do this. There has to be a reason. I'm not saying Cimini is right, but I haven't seen any other theories. And yes, cimini is a hack.
There's no way it was a conspiracy to get Slauson to take a pay cut. With the way the Jets o-line performed last year dicking around with the LG over 400k would have been irresponsible to the point of near-lunacy. There have been times in the past when the Jets did exactly that, the Pete Kendall fiasco, but they must have learned from situations like that, right? 4-12 is hard to miss when it hits you right between the eyes?
That all makes sense. Any theories as to why the Jets would do this though? And the timing of it right about when Rex declared Slauson won the battle?
No theories at all. I'm sure Tannenbaum has been in Slauson's agents ear since February or March. Slauson isn't worth 1.3M a year at this point. He's an average guard at best. Now why Hunter is still around at $2.5M? That's what makes no sense at all.
Heh. I know what you are saying here, but what concerns me is precisely that I don't know how much Tanny really did learn from the Pete Kendall fiasco. First of all I don't know he understood what really happened at the time, and by that I mean I have seen and heard absolutely nothing from him or anyone else suggesting that the Jets felt they handled that situation as poorly as I thought they did.
Agreed on this point, too. While the bigger picture here is lack of attention to the quality of the OL, as far as Slauson himself is concerned, if he wanted this year guaranteed, after last year, the new number is the better reflection of his actual value. Beating out VD is no great accomplishment, and if it weren't for Hunter, we'd all be talking about how mediocre Slauson is, because imo he's less than average until he shows otherwise. The Hunter thing, once again, is as inexplicable as why they traded for Tebow.
