Slauson pulling his weight at left guard for Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Matt Slauson didn't exactly wake up with the shakes in the wee hours of the morning, dripping sweat and gasping for air.

But the second-year pro did have serious concerns that he'd be able to step in seamlessly as the Jets' starting left guard. Replacing perennial Pro Bowler Alan Faneca led to some anxious moments.

"I was scared every day, all throughout the offseason, because I knew in my heart - obviously, I didn't know the competition - but I knew in my heart that I was going to win the spot, that I was going to win the job," Slauson said. "My main focus was to not bring the O-line down, because last year we got dubbed the best O-line in the NFL, No. 1 rushing team, a great pass-blocking team, and I didn't want to take a step back.

"And I feel like not only have I not done that, but we've gotten better as a group."

Slauson got off to a shaky start, getting beaten early and often. He let Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata blow past him and pummel Mark Sanchez in the season opener. Then he was flagged twice for crucial holding calls against the Dolphins, negating one pass that would've given the Jets a first-and-goal at Miami's 5-yard line and nullifying Sanchez's 5-yard touchdown run four plays later.

He's made significant strides since then, though. Rex Ryan believes Slauson has morphed into the top player at his position in the AFC East - this side of the Patriots' Logan Mankins, of course.

"I think he's as good a left guard as there is in our division," Ryan said. "When you put him up against the Miami kid, [Richie] Incognito, and the kid from Buffalo is a good player [Andy Levitre], a short-arm guy, he's probably the best. I think Slauson is right there with him. The New England guy, if they get him back, Logan Mankins, will be clearly the best left guard. Slauson, right now in my opinion, I'll take him with any of these guards that are in our division."

The 6-5, 315-pounder's improvement began with perfecting his technique. He tended to overextend himself at times and wasn't always totally balanced because of his inconsistent footwork. But he's corrected those things with repetition and also has become more of the aggressor.

"I had a problem with reacting to the different players when I should have just been playing my 'A' game," Slauson said, "because every week you see a different player and every week it's a different stud over there. So I was reacting off of him, and now my confidence is up and I know exactly what I'm doing."

Said center Nick Mangold: "We are only as strong as our weakest link, and Slau is doing a good job of not being that weak link. He's not making many mistakes twice. That's a good thing and that's what we ask for. He's coming around."

Another indication of Slauson's recent strong play: The Jets no longer are using others to help him block his man.

"We are asking him to do more stuff now than we were," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "There were some things we were doing early in the season where we were sending a lot of help to him, obviously. But quite honestly, we are away from all that stuff. You see a guy playing with more confidence."

So much, in fact, that it led to those lofty words from Ryan. But Slauson understands they mean nothing until he proves it on a consistent basis.

"Obviously, I can't rest on that," he said. "I've got to keep working. I want to be the best guard in the league and obviously, that's going to take a lot of work, because there are a lot of great guards out there."