Conor Orr: Jets are easing former second-round pick Vladimir Ducasse in at guard

[C Mart]

Vladimir Ducasse has experienced his share of endearing moments since his rookie season with the Jets. There was the time he crashed his go-kart into a stack of tires during a preseason team bonding trip. And there were all the new words, ideas and concepts the Haitian-born offensive lineman had to add to his mental database once training camp started.

On the field, he competed for the left guard slot in the summer of 2010 against Matt Slauson and lost. He was mentioned for the right tackle spot in the summer of 2011, though nothing ever materialized and Wayne Hunter took the job.

He battled for the left guard slot again this summer, but Slauson won the right to take the snaps.

The same story seemed destined to play out for Ducasse, maligned by fans as a less-productive second-round pick, until Sunday. That’s when he took over for Slauson for 10 snaps in the second half — a move that might seem insignificant, but could carry larger repercussions down the road, according to one former player who spent time playing alongside both Ducasse and Slauson.

“I’m sure all of this stuff ties into the bigger picture,” former Jets offensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Damien Woody said.

Slauson was not injured and eventually returned to the game. Coach Rex Ryan said the move was simply a reward for good work, making it some of the most significant playing time Ducasse has seen with the Jets — a payoff for two years of enduring.

“If you have a good football player, then you should use him,” Ryan said.

“That’s always been my belief. I think Vlad has earned that right to play some.”

After Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh, Slauson said he was “the wrong guy to ask” about what was happening. In the preseason, Slauson saw his salary cut and, despite being a two-year starter, he had to compete with Ducasse for the right to play left guard.

His contract expires at the end of the season.

Ducasse said he was told to be ready for reps before the Week 1 game in Buffalo. Now, he said his performance during these in-game sessions will dictate his playing time.

“The better I do, the more reps,” Ducasse said. “So we’ll see.”

To Woody, the reason could be for future planning.

Slauson, a former sixth-round pick, and right guard Brandon Moore are both free agents at season’s end, and having Ducasse in for 10 snaps per game could give the Jets coaches an appropriate film sample to evaluate him as a potential starter in the future, Woody said.

“That kind of stuff happens all the time,” Woody said. “The only way a team will be able to evaluate whether this guy can handle the position is to put him in during live-game situations.”

The worry in the meantime, however, is that it could interrupt the chemistry the current unit is building.

“More so than any other position group in football, it’s all about having those five guys playing like one,” Woody said. “To break that up, I mean, think about it: On average, you get about 60 snaps a game. That’s a quarter of the snaps if he’s getting 15. I think it disrupts the flow a little bit.”

Ducasse said he’s not worried about that, though, and is looking to pursue the reward:

More snaps, and a bigger distance between two troubling seasons.

“Getting better in practice is one thing,” Ducasse said. “But getting in the game and being on film is another.”

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/201..._get_valu.html

[DDNYjets]

Slauson, a former sixth-round pick, and right guard Brandon Moore are both free agents at season’s end, and having Ducasse in for 10 snaps per game could give the Jets coaches an appropriate film sample to evaluate him as a potential starter in the future, Woody said.

“That kind of stuff happens all the time,” Woody said. “The only way a team will be able to evaluate whether this guy can handle the position is to put him in during live-game situations.”

The worry in the meantime, however, is that it could interrupt the chemistry the current unit is building.

“More so than any other position group in football, it’s all about having those five guys playing like one,” Woody said. “To break that up, I mean, think about it: On average, you get about 60 snaps a game. That’s a quarter of the snaps if he’s getting 15. I think it disrupts the flow a little bit.”

That right there is the crux of the situation. They have both starters becoming FAs so they would like to promote someone from within which is a good thing but an OL needs continuity. It is not like a DL when everyone has an assignment and you can rotate. An OL plays as a single unit and communication is paramount. But to properly evaluate Ducasse they need to see him against starting defenses.

There is some risk/reward here that will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[McGinley]

> "if you have a good player, you should use him"
> McKnight takes next to no offensive snaps.

Wat.

[southparkcpa]

Please..... a 2nd round pick being treated like this?

Good job Tanny!

Anyone see Victor Cruz TD Sunday? UDFA from UMASS. You saw ALL THAT FILM of the UMASS offense when evaluating Ducasse and Cruz goes undrafter.

THAT MY FRIENDS is our front office.

[SouthTown]

Very interesting. Not too sure what to think about it, could go either way.

[DDNYjets]

Originally Posted by McGinley

> "if you have a good player, you should use him"
> McKnight takes next to no offensive snaps.

Wat.

LOL.

They will rotate OL and QBs but god forbid they have a platoon at RB. Greene gets protected by the coaching staff like Sanchez should.

[SouthTown]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

Please..... a 2nd round pick being treated like this?

Good job Tanny!

Anyone see Victor Cruz TD Sunday? UDFA from UMASS. You saw ALL THAT FILM of the UMASS offense when evaluating Ducasse and Cruz goes undrafter.

THAT MY FRIENDS is our front office.

Yup. And 31 other front offices too...you gotta be ****ing kidding me? What does one have to do with the other? Should we be mad we passed on Tom Brady too?

[McGinley]

Originally Posted by DDNYjets

LOL.

They will rotate OL and QBs but god forbid they have a platoon at RB. Greene gets protected by the coaching staff like Sanchez should.

You, my man, are 100% reality-based. Our team can be REALLY bonkers sometimes.

[DDNYjets]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

Please..... a 2nd round pick being treated like this?

Good job Tanny!

Anyone see Victor Cruz TD Sunday? UDFA from UMASS. You saw ALL THAT FILM of the UMASS offense when evaluating Ducasse and Cruz goes undrafter.

THAT MY FRIENDS is our front office.

I didn't pay much attention to Vlad on Sunday but by all indications he did play well. Now is this a situation where less is more, similar to Hunter? I don't know. He could play well in brief stints this season and next season when he becomes the starter he could fall right on his face. The FO and coaching staff need to weight that, but it is a legitimate concern.

But I do agree, and I think they are going to give him every opportunity b.c of his connections. I think UMASS and Tanny do play a role in this a little. There are certain players a FO or HC are "invested" in more that others. Conner, Greene and Ducasse all come to mind.

[southparkcpa]

Originally Posted by SouthTown

[/B]

Yup. And 31 other front offices too...you gotta be ****ing kidding me? What does one have to do with the other? Should we be mad we passed on Tom Brady too?

OK..you are happy with mediocrity. Fine, I am not.

I am using an extreme example I know BUT my pont is we throw resources at VLAD and the rest of that draft is basically average anyway. So what are you boasting about?

Missing CRUZ? understood but PLEASE name a standout player we have developed after round 6. Not just good, but standout.

[freestater]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

OK..you are happy with mediocrity. Fine, I am not.

I am using an extreme example I know BUT my pont is we throw resources at VLAD and the rest of that draft is basically average anyway. So what are you boasting about?

Missing CRUZ? understood but PLEASE name a standout player we have developed after round 6. Not just good, but standout.

Mister, you are marching yourself to sg3's ignore list iffin you ain't careful.

[C Mart]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

OK..you are happy with mediocrity. Fine, I am not.

I am using an extreme example I know BUT my pont is we throw resources at VLAD and the rest of that draft is basically average anyway. So what are you boasting about?

Missing CRUZ? understood but PLEASE name a standout player we have developed after round 6. Not just good, but standout.

BMoore...AHoward (TBD), McIntyre (after the Pitts game ), DeVito (Excellent role player),

Yes, the giants hit on Cruz, like the Jets hit on Chrebet. Hitting on these every year or two years is rare IMO...

[Toooon]

Originally Posted by SouthTown

[/B]

Yup. And 31 other front offices too...you gotta be ****ing kidding me? What does one have to do with the other? Should we be mad we passed on Tom Brady too?

I think his point was that Tanny is from UMass and is generally more familiar with their program than others. He brought in Ducasse, Ihedigo, so you could argue that if anyone should have found Cruz, it is him.

[Gastineau99]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

OK..you are happy with mediocrity. Fine, I am not.

I am using an extreme example I know BUT my pont is we throw resources at VLAD and the rest of that draft is basically average anyway. So what are you boasting about?

Missing CRUZ? understood but PLEASE name a standout player we have developed after round 6. Not just good, but standout.

Brandon Moore

I think standout players after the 6th round are pretty rare. It's all luck, really, because if a team really thought that highly of a player, they would have taken him earlier.

[EM31]

Originally Posted by McGinley

> "if you have a good player, you should use him"
> McKnight takes next to no offensive snaps.

Wat.

Is it more likely that there is some kind of conspiracy against Joe McKnight or that the coaching staff have seen what they need to see and have decided to sit him accordingly? Honestly I do not know the answer here but the whole idea that there is some nefarious reason that McKnight is not getting snaps seems a little far fetched. Perhaps I am misreading what you are trying to say here.

My own thought is that as ordinary as Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell may be, they are probably the best we have.

[McGinley]

Originally Posted by EM31

Is it more likely that there is some kind of conspiracy against Joe McKnight or that the coaching staff have seen what they need to see and have decided to sit him accordingly? Honestly I do not know the answer here but the whole idea that there is some nefarious reason that McKnight is not getting snaps seems a little far fetched. Perhaps I am misreading what you are trying to say here.

My own thought is that as ordinary as Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell may be, they are probably the best we have.

I'm not saying it's a conspiracy. I think Rex is a legitimate potato. Joe shows explosiveness, yet gets no chances to use it. And who beats him out? The 2 yard cloud of dust who leaves his balls on the bench.

Wat.

[lageman4ever]

I'm a bit surprised that Ducasse isn't subbing in for Moore instead of Slauson. Moore is older, has an injury history and is much more expensive. As a consequence I'd think the team would look to release him and keep Slauson. Slauson is an OK lineman with a low salary.

I would be surprised if the team allowed both to walk. It's not like we have much depth at OL.

[sec.101row23]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

Please..... a 2nd round pick being treated like this?

Good job Tanny!

Anyone see Victor Cruz TD Sunday? UDFA from UMASS. You saw ALL THAT FILM of the UMASS offense when evaluating Ducasse and Cruz goes undrafter.

THAT MY FRIENDS is our front office.

To be fair about Cruz, the ONLY reason the Giants invited him to camp was because he was a local kid from Patterson, NJ. Every year teams try to invite a couple local kids who are extreme long shots at making the team. If Cruz was from Dallas, Tx he most likely would be a Cowboy. You can make the argument that the Jets should have seen him from his UMass tape, but he was not on any teams radar in the least.

[revischrist]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

Please..... a 2nd round pick being treated like this?

Good job Tanny!

Anyone see Victor Cruz TD Sunday? UDFA from UMASS. You saw ALL THAT FILM of the UMASS offense when evaluating Ducasse and Cruz goes undrafter.

THAT MY FRIENDS is our front office.

Yeah, what about the rest of the GMs in the NFL that passed over Cruz round after round? Oh right, you are a SOJF that sees everything the Jets do in a negative light.

[fidelioion]

Originally Posted by southparkcpa

Please..... a 2nd round pick being treated like this?

Good job Tanny!

Anyone see Victor Cruz TD Sunday? UDFA from UMASS. You saw ALL THAT FILM of the UMASS offense when evaluating Ducasse and Cruz goes undrafter.

THAT MY FRIENDS is our front office.

31 other teams didn't draft Cruz either. Hence being an UDFA...