The Jets seem set to start Colin Baxter at center if Nick Mangold is unable to play Sunday. Baxter had a rough time with the snap count on Sunday and seemed to have trouble identifying his blocking assignments. In short, he looked like a developmental undrafted rookie.

This team seems to view Vladimir Ducasse as its top reserve lineman. We all know about some of his issues during preseason. There were also times he looked pretty good, particularly getting a push in the run game from the guard spot. One cannot help but wonder whether the Jets might be better off having Ducasse in there. I am not at all sold on him being a capable starter at this point, but he also might have a better chance to succeed than Baxter. Matt Slauson has a bit of experience at center. He backed Mangold up in 2009 and saw a few snaps of game action.

I understand going to an alignment with Ducasse at left guard and Slauson at center would weaken two positions instead of just one. It might be a more effective alignment, though. For all his questions, Ducasse is better than Baxter from what we have seen. We would also get a chance to see what Ducasse can do and perhaps how viable of a replacement he might be if Wayne Hunter continues to struggle.

What do you think?