Flagg the Wanderer
Mourning Algernon
I still haven't found a video of the game...I noticed Ferentz going in for Strange after the play where (I think) he messed up his assignment, but they were rotating guys due to the heat, so we can't really assume it was a
spanking for the big rookie who, despite rumors to the contrary, is not a waste of a draft pick. I expect Billy Yates did go over to Cole and make sure he had things straight, assuming
Billy himself knows. Perhaps those that can't do really can teach, but when Yates was an OL here, he made Justin Herron look like Walter Jones.
I see Cole Strange as well ahead of the curve of what we could reasonably expect from him, even if he did mentally fuck up there. Play in and play out he's getting his job done. He's going
to be outstanding in time.
Just jumping in to say that I have a pretty high degree of faith that Billy Yates knows the assignments, reads, checks, and generally the mental and technique parts of the game. I mean, he wasn't exactly physically dominant and he kept managing to secure OL jobs for a friggin' decade. He was perennially a backup, which means he was the guy coaches kept not being able to cut/replace with someone bigger/faster/stronger.
I've been impressed with Strange thus far. I still question the positional value of an OG in round 1, but if you thought he was John Hannah, you'd pull the trigger. He's far from physically dominant - he's fine, smooth and quick but a little weak - but the understanding of what he's doing, of angles & leverage, and his technique all seem to be well above where you'd typically expect any rookie to be. Vs another first rounder at his position, I'd say Mankins had him beat on strength/physically, Strange may be better mentally and with technique, at least at the time of game 1. Of course Mankins had Scar.
Still, there's every reason to expect that the difference between the strength and conditioning programs of a non-P5 college and the NFL will make him significantly smoother and functionally stronger, so if he progresses even close to normally mentally, going from "fine" to "above average" physically should translate to a major performance boost.