Too many people have an pre-conceived, ignorant opinion on Vlad. To say he's soft is a joke, he's not soft all all. To compare him to Gholston is a joke. Yes, he's been a major disappointment and yes, this is it for him to prove he can do it, but he's pushed people around all pre-season and might be on his way. At least give the guy a chance now, instead of just piling on to be miserable.
its not just about the pre-season game. hes done well enough throughout training camp to earn a starting spot ... the mantra is competition and he wasnt handed anything this year
If I remember correctly it was LongTimeJetFan that had the weekly thread last season tracking Vlad's progress. He did improve and did really well in the run blocking. If he can get his Pass Protection up to a similar level, he'll be set.
In this scenario you would want to move King Ugly to the RG spot and have Winters be your LG. You want your better run blocking guard on the right and the better pass blocker on the left. Another possible option at LG is Jason Smith who we recently resigned after getting cut by NO. Coming out some scouts felt he could be moved inside to left guard for a zone-blocking team if he could not cut it on the outside. I'm not sure what blocking scheme MM is currently running but the WCO is usually synonymous with zone blocking. Jason Smith is also excellent at pulling which would be an excellent skill set to have at your LG position.
Remember it was never physical with Vald, it was him learning his assignments and all the tricks O-linemen will pull on a young very raw rookie Yet, saying that, Vald must show that he has absorbed the teaching and is ready to play with the big kids. If those lessons were learned then it will have been worth the wait because this is a Mountain of a man who is going to be a load to deal with for many years to come.
Does that make me the devil? Please tell me it does! And I'm still waiting for some good bible quotes.
The low knowledge Jets fans have been way too critical of Big Vlad. He grew up in haiti, barely played hs football. Went to UMass and learned technique and how to play OT and developed into an FCS All American largely b/c at the FCS level he was much larger than most DL he faced. He is a very coachable player who was just very raw. When he was drafted he was an obvious Project. He was not going to be starting as a rookie or even as a 2yr player. some ignorant fans chose to totally fail to understand these basic facts and were trashing Vlad as a bust and the next Gholston. He is not that at all. Vlad has worked very hard and has developed himself into a burgeoning NFL OG. He has been good in TC and PS games. We should all be rooting for this guy to be successful b/c he is a good guy, has worked his butt off to get better and he has improved ALOT and seems to still be improving. hopefully the scouts were right - that he has a high ceiling - he could become a very good NFL OG.
I never gave up on Ducasse. Obviously, I lost some faith, and this was a huge year for him, but he's always been a project, and he has the raw tools. He just had too many plays where he would miss his assignment and whiff on a pass rusher. We can't have that. On paper, he should be a quality enough guard, especially in the running game. Peterman can take Schlauderaff's spot as the swing interior lineman, while Winters can take over at RG if Colon gets hurt.
I think Vlad is a lot better than many give him credit for here and I think it's mostly for ignorant reasons. But I also question whether he's going to be a good fit for this offense. His biggest struggles have always been in pass protection while he has been dominant at times in the run game. He's never been starter material IMO but he HAS progressed quite a bit. I haven't paid much attention to him this preseason but the little bit I did watch him he was still struggling in pass protection. Hopefully he's come a long way in that department because if he hasn't and we need to rely on him our q's are screwed. Unfortunately I don't have the time to go back and do individual player breakdowns anymore. Damn life keeps getting in the way.
