The NY Daily News reported recently that Matt Slauson had beaten out Vlad Ducasse in the most uninspiring offensive line battle since Wayne Hunter battled the kit manager for the right tackle position last December.
"I think Vlad will play … I think he’s earned that right," Ryan said about Ducasse’s role as a backup. "I think he's looked pretty good, but I think right now we'll go with Matt. He’s got the experience. He’s also looks really good to me."
Now I have been pretty harsh on Ducasse since we over-drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft. I believe rightfully so. I haven't seen a great deal from Ducasse and I have seen barely anything that suggests that he will become a starter in the NFL.
Now it's early in his career and he was extremely raw. We should have never touched him before the 4th round and we are seeing why. My real issue is that I don't even think there was a 'battle' in the first place.
With athletes confidence really is key, and if you go into camp knowing you are a back-up, well mentally you can settle for being a back-up. I don't know if Vlad has any drive issues but I honestly believe that the only reason there was ever a 'battle' was to build the confidence of a player who will come under even more scrutiny this year.
Now Matt Slauson is no Carl Nicks, but he made improvements last year and I thought he looked more and more comfortable as the season went on, he's shown 10x more to me than Vlad.
It was also revealed that Austin Howard will back up both tackle positions. That's a good thing for Vlad as his future is definitely inside, but it's bad news for the Jets, the simple fact is that we have extremely poor depth on the offensive line.
Look on the bright side though, football is back tonight!!