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Denver Native (Carol)
03-10-2010, 09:43 PM
http://profootball.scout.com/a.z?s=127&p=9&c=2&cid=952999&nid=4508905&fhn=1

With Pro Days underway, team visits and private workouts are now being scheduled and the Denver Broncos are not wasting any time. Scout.com has learned that Broncos Offensive Line Coach Clancy Barone will work out one of the more intriguing offensive lineman available this April, Massachusetts OG Vladimir Ducasse, at UMass on Thursday, March 11th.

At 6-foot-4, 332 pounds, Ducasse, who was born in Haiti and moved to the U.S. in 2002, didn’t start playing football until he was in high school. A natural athlete who possesses tremendous athleticism, Ducasse started 35 games during his four-year career at UMass, and despite being raw, he’s widely considered to be a second round prospect.
The Broncos are desperate to add depth on their offensive line, especially inside at center and guard. Ducasse primarily played tackle at UMass, and there are teams that project him to play tackle at the next level, but he has the ability to be a dominant guard. He struggled at the Senior Bowl when he lined up at tackle, but was outstanding playing at guard. If the Broncos selected Ducasse in the second round (No. 45), they would draft him with the intention of using him at guard.

Lonestar
03-10-2010, 09:50 PM
I'd hope they will be looking at Pouncey and Iupati also.

I also like d the center that benched 45 reps should be a mean SOB in the center position. Not sure of his Ability but he would be a nasty player in there. IMHO

dogfish
03-10-2010, 10:00 PM
nice. . . the more interior OL prospects we look at, the happier i'll be. . .

Ziggy
03-10-2010, 10:04 PM
This makes sense. With Ryan Harris hurt more often than he is healthy, bringing in a tackle that can also play guard is a good move. I'll also be looking for them to bring in centers that have some experience at guard. Versatility seems to be a big plus with this regime.

Lancane
03-10-2010, 10:09 PM
I'd hope they will be looking at Pouncey and Iupati also.

I also like d the center that benched 45 reps should be a mean SOB in the center position. Not sure of his Ability but he would be a nasty player in there. IMHO

Not that high on Iupati because of his pass blocking weakness, though I love his attitude and ability overall. I am higher on Ducasse, but he has his own weaknesses; the center you mentioned, not sure because Eric Olsen had 35 reps, best of the centers I believe...but more likely you meant Petrus who is an offensive guard, he had 45 reps.

Broncolingus
03-10-2010, 11:13 PM
I hate to admit it, but I agree with Woody and wouldn't mind at all if Fraley got a looksee...

xzn
03-11-2010, 12:27 AM
Even if we got Pouncey I still think we need a veteran center to start for at least a year. Nick Mangold is not available in this draft.

I also love it that JMcD and Xman are on the prowl for MORE BEEF

Lonestar
03-11-2010, 02:57 AM
Not that high on Iupati because of his pass blocking weakness, though I love his attitude and ability overall. I am higher on Ducasse, but he has his own weaknesses; the center you mentioned, not sure because Eric Olsen had 35 reps, best of the centers I believe...but more likely you meant Petrus who is an offensive guard, he had 45 reps.

It was petrus and he was listed as a center in the combine and results.

I did like what I saw of olsen also.


Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Nomad
03-11-2010, 09:00 AM
I read where Ducasse and Iupati are pretty much on a level playing field and they both got owned by Brandon Graham!! Pouncey is unproven in a 'non-shotgun' offense so if he sucks at center then he could go to guard! I'm glad to see the BRONCOS focusing on the interior line but I'm still on the Iupati bandwagon and believe he'll develop into a great guard, but Ducasse would be another good option from what I read because I surely didn't watch him play!!

Elevation inc
03-11-2010, 11:22 AM
mark him on your board folks....every propsect we drafted last year, was in denver for a private workout before the draft......

Traveler
03-11-2010, 11:35 AM
Can you image the following if things work out?

Clady- 6-6, 325 lbs
Ducasse- 6-4, 332 lbs
Hadnot- 6-2, 320 lbs
McChesney- 6' 4" 333 lbs
Harris- 6' 5" 300 lbs

Although I like Kuper, I still don't think he fits into what the teams plans are long term. Hopefully I'm wrong about him.

underrated29
03-11-2010, 12:56 PM
Kupes would def be starting. he is a man beast out there and he can also play RT- remember when we had him there he did admirably.

Ducaase would be great. I would really like hadnot, but if not I am very high on walden and olsen...not so much on pouncy--he is not going to be what we need after hearing things...

dogfish
03-11-2010, 01:07 PM
Can you image the following if things work out?

Clady- 6-6, 325 lbs
Ducasse- 6-4, 332 lbs
Hadnot- 6-2, 320 lbs
McChesney- 6' 4" 333 lbs
Harris- 6' 5" 300 lbs

Although I like Kuper, I still don't think he fits into what the teams plans are long term. Hopefully I'm wrong about him.

you just gave JR a major stiffie with that list. . . . :lol:



oh. . . and anybody wants kupes out of the starting lineup, gotta go through me first!

xzn
03-11-2010, 02:47 PM
I like this better:

LT - Clady - 325
LG - Olsen - 310
C - Hadnot - 320
RG - Kuper - 305
RT - Trent Williams - 315

Harris on the bench....

WARHORSE
03-11-2010, 03:02 PM
I like this better:

LT - Clady - 325
LG - Olsen - 310
C - Hadnot - 320
RG - Kuper - 305
RT - Trent Williams - 315

Harris on the bench....


I'll take this:

LT - Clady - 325
LG - Trent Williams - 315
C - Hadnot - 320
RG - Kuper - 305
RT - Harris - 300

Williams is a beast at guard and should Harris go down, he can move to RT, and Olsen can go to guard.

Power........and depth.

HORSEPOWER 56
03-11-2010, 03:59 PM
Once again, you don't fix THIS YEAR'S PROBLEMS with THIS YEAR'S DRAFT! Ryan Clady (coming in and starting right away) was the exception to the rule. If we draft Iupati, Pouncey, or Ducasse and start them, and they suck (spoken "act like a rookie"), then what? Suffer with another shitty O-line all season?

We need to fix the problems we have right now with VETERANS. Draft for the future, but if the intent is to draft Mike Iupati and expect him to play well (and execute the super-difficult, nobody is smart enough to know how to execute in one year, McDaniels uber-genius offense... or whatever the excuse is for why it sucked last year) from the start, we'll probably be disappointed.

I can't look forward to the draft and say, "Damn I hope we draft 'X' because he will make us better this year", because odds are, he won't.

I can hope we draft guys that will help in the future, but to expect anything else is just naive.

Ravage!!!
03-11-2010, 04:02 PM
(and execute the super-difficult, nobody is smart enough to know how to execute in one year, McDaniels uber-genius offense... or whatever the excuse is for why it sucked last year) .

:lol: :lol:

dogfish
03-11-2010, 04:11 PM
I can hope we draft guys that will help in the future, but to expect anything else is just naive.

come on man, you're exaggerating. . .

rookies start and play well for teams every single year. . . is it an ideal situation to count on them? of course not, but it happens ALL the time. . . and some positions are a much more difficult transition than others-- counting on a rookie starter at QB, WR or defensive line is tempting disaster, but OLs, safeties, linebackers and running backs step directly into the starting lineup and play at a high level every year across the league. . .

besides which, we're a relatively talent-poor team (at least in terms of depth, we do have some quality front-line talent) in a transitional period-- in a year with the weakest free agent class the league has probably ever seen. . . you can only do so much in terms of adding veteran starters. . .

we've done about as much as we can on the D-line, and we tried to get hadnot-- there just isn't much else out there in terms of interior O-line help. . . we can bring in some journeyman stiffs, but i'd honestly be at least as confident counting on a blue chip rookie lineman like pouncey, iupati or mike johnson as some veteran FA scrub. . . and i'd be perfectly fine plugging a guy like ro mcclain or brandon spikes in next to DJ. . .

edit: FTR, i DO understand what you're saying about odds. . . but let's not act like there's no chance a team can succeed with a couple of rookies filling important roles. . . the way guys like hamilton and weigmann played last year, there's just no reason to believe that there aren't ANY numbers of guys out there, rookie or vet, who could potentially come in and do as well if not better. . .

G_Money
03-11-2010, 06:24 PM
The blocking scheme McDaniels wants to run is FAR simpler to grasp than the ZBS we ran here for years that confounded rookies. I wouldn't want to rely on a rook in that scheme (only Clady was able to make the leap as a rookie in recent years).

But at guard? As far as I can tell, Josh's preferred interior blocking scheme is "kill that guy until the whistle blows, then kick turf into his facemask."

A rookie who is big enough and strong enough can manage that. The only other concern is pulling, so he has to be at least a little quick. There are guards like that in the draft (or tackles we can convert to guards).

I'd be okay with starting the correct rookie guard. Not a project, but a legit player? Sure.

~G

HORSEPOWER 56
03-11-2010, 07:06 PM
The blocking scheme McDaniels wants to run is FAR simpler to grasp than the ZBS we ran here for years that confounded rookies. I wouldn't want to rely on a rook in that scheme (only Clady was able to make the leap as a rookie in recent years).

But at guard? As far as I can tell, Josh's preferred interior blocking scheme is "kill that guy until the whistle blows, then kick turf into his facemask."

A rookie who is big enough and strong enough can manage that. The only other concern is pulling, so he has to be at least a little quick. There are guards like that in the draft (or tackles we can convert to guards).

I'd be okay with starting the correct rookie guard. Not a project, but a legit player? Sure.

~G

I understand what you're saying completely, but we've got to have some kind of veteran depth behind him in case he's not what we thought he was or in case he gets injured. Right now, our G/C depth is made up of guys that were cut by other teams during training camp or that we pillaged off of somebody's practice squad.

For 3 positions RG, C, LG we have Kuper, maybe Olsen, and....? Okay, plug in a rookie and he gets hurt or sucks so we substitute....? See my point?

Wait, what do you mean the blocking scheme is.... easier? You mean it's not genius and way too difficult for an O-line to figure out in one year? You must be joking. :D

dogfish
03-11-2010, 08:20 PM
Wait, what do you mean the blocking scheme is.... easier? You mean it's not genius and way too difficult for an O-line to figure out in one year? You must be joking. :D

G never jokes about football!

that'd be almost as dangerous as telling you his real name. . . .