Flagg the Wanderer
More Rings!
A couple thoughts that have been rolling around my head:
1) If and when Wilson takes over at center, and depending who wins the battle for guard there is the potential for some serious push in the middle of the OL. I was thinking about Maye's strength and explosiveness/suddenness behind Conley/Wilson/Onwenu for a tush push play. That's very close to 1000 lbs. of meat (and honestly I think more - OL weights are reported low) leading the way, all three of them noted as nasty when blocking downhill. Add in Campbell's quick release and skill with reach/seal blocks to seal off a DT in the G/T gap and there may be something there the team can lean on.
2) I have a concern about Maye that I haven't seen discussed. He's inconsistent, spraying passes pretty regularly. That's not good, but typically that's a symptom of poor mechanics and especially footwork. I wonder if he's a little lazy with precision footwork, and doing it exactly the same way each time. His work ethic seems strong in terms of the time he puts in, but it's not practice that makes perfect, it's that perfect practice makes perfect. I'm reminded of Brady's "every single time" commercial.
View: https://youtu.be/4hScgyXu_9c?si=RaqcUQz2SYD1c8q1
Is Maye dedicated to that kind of precision and repeatability? My inclination is to say no, partially because he is at heart an improvisational player. He needs to be precise and consistent with his footwork in the pocket, and use that as the platform the improvisation springs from. I love Maye's potential, but I'm very concerned about his level of discipline.
Most improvisational players (and there are parallels to this in most fields) love that part of their game and often let the boring fundamentals lag to whatever degree. Exceptions to this are rare, and tend to be truly elite, like Rodgers and Josh Allen. But even with them you see a tendency to have the fundamentals break down when they're needed most - even with some pretty outstanding teams around them, those two have combined for how many Lombardis again?
3) I want to see a practice or two before I firm this up, but I think CJ Dippre might make this roster as TE3, but also as FB1. He's a little tall for a FB, but there are many spots on the depth chart that are going to be hard cuts, and I think Brock Lampe will have to impress a lot both at FB and on special teams to make the coaches dedicate a spot for him. Unlike every other TE on the roster, Dippre is a nasty blocker. The part that makes me concerned about this take is that TE is a hard spot to learn, and learning a second position on top of it may be too much to ask. That said, if he's able to focus on "blocking TE" as sort of subset of TE generally...not impossible.
With respect to some of the roster logjams, where are the places they could save a roster spot? I don't see many. Maybe Alex Austin saves them a spot if he really has the flexibility to play both slot and outside...as long as Marcus Jones can also do both. But "you can never have too many guys who can cover." I'm concerned about shorting DB depth. That can leave you in an ugly spot, especially considering that both starting outside corners have significant injury histories.
1) If and when Wilson takes over at center, and depending who wins the battle for guard there is the potential for some serious push in the middle of the OL. I was thinking about Maye's strength and explosiveness/suddenness behind Conley/Wilson/Onwenu for a tush push play. That's very close to 1000 lbs. of meat (and honestly I think more - OL weights are reported low) leading the way, all three of them noted as nasty when blocking downhill. Add in Campbell's quick release and skill with reach/seal blocks to seal off a DT in the G/T gap and there may be something there the team can lean on.
2) I have a concern about Maye that I haven't seen discussed. He's inconsistent, spraying passes pretty regularly. That's not good, but typically that's a symptom of poor mechanics and especially footwork. I wonder if he's a little lazy with precision footwork, and doing it exactly the same way each time. His work ethic seems strong in terms of the time he puts in, but it's not practice that makes perfect, it's that perfect practice makes perfect. I'm reminded of Brady's "every single time" commercial.
View: https://youtu.be/4hScgyXu_9c?si=RaqcUQz2SYD1c8q1
Is Maye dedicated to that kind of precision and repeatability? My inclination is to say no, partially because he is at heart an improvisational player. He needs to be precise and consistent with his footwork in the pocket, and use that as the platform the improvisation springs from. I love Maye's potential, but I'm very concerned about his level of discipline.
Most improvisational players (and there are parallels to this in most fields) love that part of their game and often let the boring fundamentals lag to whatever degree. Exceptions to this are rare, and tend to be truly elite, like Rodgers and Josh Allen. But even with them you see a tendency to have the fundamentals break down when they're needed most - even with some pretty outstanding teams around them, those two have combined for how many Lombardis again?
3) I want to see a practice or two before I firm this up, but I think CJ Dippre might make this roster as TE3, but also as FB1. He's a little tall for a FB, but there are many spots on the depth chart that are going to be hard cuts, and I think Brock Lampe will have to impress a lot both at FB and on special teams to make the coaches dedicate a spot for him. Unlike every other TE on the roster, Dippre is a nasty blocker. The part that makes me concerned about this take is that TE is a hard spot to learn, and learning a second position on top of it may be too much to ask. That said, if he's able to focus on "blocking TE" as sort of subset of TE generally...not impossible.
With respect to some of the roster logjams, where are the places they could save a roster spot? I don't see many. Maybe Alex Austin saves them a spot if he really has the flexibility to play both slot and outside...as long as Marcus Jones can also do both. But "you can never have too many guys who can cover." I'm concerned about shorting DB depth. That can leave you in an ugly spot, especially considering that both starting outside corners have significant injury histories.
