One of the most interesting things that I noticed during the game yesterday was that, at several points, LG Matt Slauson was replaced by LG Vladimir Ducasse. Ducasse was only in temporarily, but he was in at several points. Does anybody else find it strange that our starting left guard was replaced at several points in the game by King Ugly?

I've said before that I like Ducasse. He's a road grater in the run game, but is a liability (although significantly less than he used to be) in the passing game. His pass protection is probably why the team wants to stick him between Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who can both help out. But back to the question at hand.

It appeared to me on my first viewing of the game that Slauson wasn't getting much of a push in the run game. He's adequate in space and can pull, but he doesn't seem to be getting much leverage over the interior linemen. I suspect that's why the team wants to bring in Ducasse and make use of him, for his run blocking ability. You can't bring him in for one play or it would be obvious that we're running. So it looks like the team is trying to gradually increase his presence into the offense to see how he handles it. With Slauson becoming a free agent next year, now is the time to learn if we have his successor on the team. And we know what Ducasse can do as a run blocker. That's why I'm okay with this move, as strange and interesting as it is.

What do you all think?