http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1251194 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Ducasse#College_career
The timing is proof that they are trying to build a dominant team for the next 10 years, and not just do the Super Bowl or Bust thing. You can't halt development for just 1 Super Bowl. You continue to improve while you compete for all of them. I can see either Slauson or Ducasse (Slauson is my current guess) do at least as well in pass protection, which is the true risk here, as Faneca did in 2009. We will probably have a drop off in production for the running game, but Callahan knows enough about offensive linemen to know that he has one of the best pulling centers in the league to help make that transition hurt less. And Schotty likes bringing Hunter in with Hartsock as the other TE, in runs that are mostly effective when the ball carrier can hit the hole quickly.
i think slauson has to be the starter as of right now. vlad is going to really have to wow some people to get the job this year. while i do believe callahan will get him to be a productive player on this team, i think vlad is still too raw to do it right away.
In my ideal world of off-season football, I hope Slauson absolutely dominates at guard so Ducasse can concentrate on learning the right tackle position. I don't think that's likely, but I can dream. I realize the correlations aren't exact, but "hey, this Slauson kid could be good" sounds so much like "hey, this Bender kid could be good." Big Blocker and Mr. E alluded to this, but if Slauson gets the start, it's not necessarily an indictment of Ducasse; it just means he needs time to learn. However, if Ducasse starts, it is an indictment of Slauson. If you get drafted by your college coach (who's now your position coach), spend a year learning from one of the best LG's of the decade and still manage to lose your job to a very green rookie, I don't think you can play.
I don't think it's necessarily an indictment of Slauson, Ducasse is a massive physical specimen and his ability might trump any familiarity that Slauson can muster up in his second season. I'd love to see Slauson, a 6th rounder, prove to be a solid starter and a diamond in the rough, but if Ducasse is that good of a run blocker and can hold his own in pass protection, the strong side of our line would be elite for a decade. My ideal scenario isn't different from yours, with Slauson excelling in the competition to win it outright, and prove to be a nice pulling guard with a nasty streak... and to have Ducasse study the RT position behind Damien Woody while acting as an excellent rotational player or just for depth on the line. And in the future, we have Brick/Slauson/Mangold/Moore/Ducasse for an easy 4-5 years to drive their enemies before them.
OL dept. : Breaking Down Ducasse to Build Him Up ~ ~ ~ Breaking Down Ducasse to Build Him Up May 21st, 2010 - by Bassett While the Left Guard spot is one in which has been advertised as up for grabs. Still, Rex might have shown his hand a bit when talking about his shiny new toy, Vlad Ducasse yesterday saying of the rookie that "he came to an ideal situation. He’s going to be sandwiched in between Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson.” Ryan continued by bragging about his line coach. “Oh, by the way, you’ve got the best coach in the League too with Bill Callahan sitting right there, Ryan said. ”I have a funny feeling that he’s going to be a terrific player for us. I really do." So if Ducasse is going to be a good player for the Jets, from where is he starting? Manish Mehta talked to OL Coach Bill Callahan, who explained his process . . . rest of article : > http://www.thejetsblog.com/2010/05/21/breaking-down-ducasse-to-build-him-up/
Hilarious to read the misinformation on here. He didn't come from a "small school" and he was FCS all american as a starting left tackle. He was expected to be drafted early because he's a great young talent. He's been knocking people on their butts left and right at every level he has played including in his games against the FBS schools. He's huge and he's quick. He is on track to start at LG. The coaches knew exactly how good he is which is why Callahan & Ryan wanted him.
I'm with you on the ideal scenario. Would think it's in the JETS best interest to have Slauson win the job outright with Ducasse taking over RT next year. That pretty much solidifies our line for some time once we lock up Mangold and DBrick with new deals (of course assuming we can do this).
The Jets seem to disagree- they have Ducasse playing left guard with the first unit. The "competition" for the starting job may already be over. Slauson's a nice story and all but you just don't draft a guard in the second without handing them the starting job.
