Cowboys fixing big Mazi Smith mistake from 2023 as Mike Zimmer arrives

[kskboys]

I disagree with that - Mazi was McClay's pick .. it came down to Mazi vs an OG Matthew Bergeron .. there's footage of McClay explaining why they decided to choose Mazi over Bergeron.

THAT was the discussion? Holy fartknockers, 12 year olds have better discussions as to who we should draft. No wonder we took Trysten.

 

[dacoming]

Cowboys fixing massive Mazi Smith mistake from 2023 as Mike Zimmer arrives​

Bryan Broaddus of 105.3 The Fan noted on "The Draft Show" podcast that Dallas is having Smith put weight back on to convert back to a true nose tackle. That's the position Smith was drafted to play, which made the weight loss request downright impossible to comprehend.



That is music to Cowboys fans' ears. Zimmer's arrival seems to already be paying dividends for Smith's career. As an interior defensive lineman, the former Wolverine is a much better fit in Zimmer's scheme relative to Dan Quinn's.

Toward the end of the 2023 season, Smith looked smaller than most of Dallas' defensive linemen, including their edge rushers. It was shocking to the eye considering Smith was drafted at 327 pounds. He went from one of the strongest players in the draft to a player who routinely got pushed off the ball and couldn't handle double teams.

See link for Mazzi Smith 800 lb lift weight:

Why draft him if the goal is to change him? Draft a 3 tech if you want that! If my coach came to me with that logic, I would fire him immediately! Dumb as hell smh

 

[kskboys]

Pitt took Keeanu Benton, NT, after we picked and he played very well. NO took Bresee after us and he was a good DT from the get go. Kobie Turner, LAR, was a sensation.

I have no idea why we took Mazi. I am all about getting a dominant DLine, but that pick didn't make sense to me. I am hoping I'm wrong about him and he turns out to be a good player, but he's not who I would've taken.

 

[CowboyoWales]

My problem ......you drafted a DT with a 1st round pick for the time Russell Maryland (1991) and there is confusion about true talent, best position, if he fits your system ( scheme ) and even his play weight. It appears the decision to burn a 1st on him was knee-jerk, poorly planned or both. Either way, just way too many question marks about a 1st round pick used on a position for the first in over 30 years.

And get this........the defensive coordinator system/scheme he was drafted for is gone after one year. Makes zero sense......this is where I think Jerry's age and structure ( owner, president and GM ) work against him. No way a young conventional GM makes this kind of mistake w/o worrying about his job.

You maybe correct....but for the wrong reason. Mazi was undeniably McClay's pick. However, the interesting aspect of the footage was McClay mentioning Mazi being an 'immediate starter' ....whether the FO looked at the draft as an All-In draft focusing on need which would of influenced our 'stack' in favor of a DT. Either way the ownership (well Jerry)would have an impact on the draft, even with a young GM.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Mazi was undeniably McClay's pick.

LOL.....then what happened, either McClay, MM and Quinn were not on the same page or McClay didn't like the other option ( possible pick ). But this still doesn't change the fact he was selected for a defensive coor/system that's no longer with the team.

 

[CowboysRule]

My hope is one that allows for whatever Zimmer is able to do with his players, rather than dealing with Jerry. Jerry can and will do whatever it takes to keep his coaches under control -- that's just how he rolls. If Zimmer is able to get his players to give their all, that's about all that might be expected. Dealing with Jerry is another matter entirely. He can and will do whatever it takes to keep the coaches under his thumb. That's just the reality of it.

Please tell me what Jerry is doing to "keep his coaches under control"? I want to know these moves. I want to know the inner workings that you apparently have knowledge of.

 

[Jfconrow]

I'm shaking my head in disbelief. How is he supposed to put on muscle and get stronger when he just had shoulder surgery. Also Trying to change players is nothing new Parcells wanted every LB to gain 20LBS and run faster sideline to sideline at the same time. If the player didn't do it they replaced them. Pro sports is tough. So Mazi was supposed to keep his strength and slim down so he could also rush the passer. that just doesn't make any sense, they need DTs to stop the run, why would you take a dude 330LBS and slim him down to 300LBs and expect him to have the same anchor. Mazi might also just suck in the pros, IDK, but that's a bad plan in the first place.

 

[blueblood70]

Please tell me what Jerry is doing to "keep his coaches under control"? I want to know these moves. I want to know the inner workings that you apparently have knowledge of.

Another false narrative ,Jerry does not interfere with what the coaches, do doesn't tell them who to start ,who to sit ,and how many players play because of somehow contracts make a big difference, that's an old narrative that's been busted many times because there's absolutely no proof...

Not a single player or coach is actually after they left here and with time came on and somehow discussed all these narratives about Jerry interfering with the coaching... he does not call plays, he does not tell coaches what kind of game plan should be used, he does not tell people who to start who to sit...

I mean it's one of the oldest busted narratives there is around here and it gets tiresome they do not get meddled with and there's absolutely no proof of it..

That said, he may bring in coaches he knows that'll go along with the way he is as a GM, they have to deal with his mouthpiece type stuff, that they have little quotes on the Internet all the time about who's healthy, who's playing ,who's missing time frames for injuries , yes coaches have to deal with that because Jerry likes to be heard.

Outside of that, Jerry Jones has never been truly meddling with coaching as far as the daily coaching responsibilities and the game plans and the roster etc​

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I mean these people have never showed a shred of proof from anybody, even coaches who have an axe to grind EX- players with axe to grinds ,nobody has literally ever showing any proof that Jerry meddles in the everyday dealings with the coaches..​

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maybe that was true back when Chan gailey/campo experiments with those coaches when Jimmy first left, we all saw the craziness but right now the last 10 to 15, 20 years, no!​

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especially the last 6 to 10 years when we know that each year it seems like Will McClay is more and more obvious, hes the actual GM here.... Jerry not relinquishing the GM title but for sure he's given more and more power to the cumulative group below him, he allows coaches to add input in drafts and roisters as well as scouts and Mcclay etc...​

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You know if half these narratives about Jerry were actually true why is it that coaches like Dan Quinn stay an extra couple of years he could have left yeah the money is good but he can get that type of money in a lot of places apparently Jerry's cheap remember I mean that is another narrative even though that's also false but why you guys like Kellen Moore also gave up a chance to leave he stayed a little longer... There are coaches like Mike vrabel and even Bill Belichick that I guarantee the way they were talking around the Internet they would have for sure listen to Jerry and probably came here in a heartbeat if Mike McCarthy had been fired...​

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Now you have a guy like Mike Zimmer who come back why would he even consider being back here if that was the truth this nonsense that gets spread around on the Internet about Jerry most of them are untrue... We haven't have ex players who begged to come back here if it was so bad why coaches and players not actually giving proof to these narratives and a lot of them stay longer than they need to and some of them want to come back..​

 

[MapleLeaf]

How many times do some fans have to be wrong about a young player before they realize there is a reason they don't have careers as football analysts.

Remember early evaluations of Dalton Schultz, Dorance Armstrong, and Cooper Rush among several others? I remember phrases like "pure garbage". They weren't All Pros but they contributed far more than many predicted.

If the internet was around in 1975 then Randy White would have been considered a bust after his rookie season.

I would like to see the team focus a bit more on attitude. Along with the talent, find players who are "DAWGS", love football and will do anything to climb the mountain and flat out beat the other guy or die trying..

 

[MapleLeaf]

If that's the case, then the draft team are at fault for not identifying that he was a lone wolf and not a team player. Mazi, do as you're told.....though I suspect, especially listening to McClay's praise and potential contributor in pass-rush that it was 'the teams' decision to slim him down, especially as they'd be HIGHLY criticized for (over) drafting a NT in the 1st Rd.

In Zimmer's Defense, bulk up and 1-Tech the A gap, this will at least anchor the run defense and help out the LB in the run defense, which is our primary defensive weakness. I think Quinn was, at times, pass-rush happy which got punished when teams just focused on the run.

Is it possible Mazi felt the pressure and criticism of his slow reaction, and chose to lose the weight on his own accord to deal with the criticism?

 

[MapleLeaf]

That said, he may bring in coaches he knows that'll go along with the way he is as a GM, they have to deal with his mouthpiece type stuff, that they have little quotes on the Internet all the time about who's healthy, who's playing ,who's missing time frames for injuries , yes coaches have to deal with that because Jerry likes to be heard.

Outside of that, Jerry Jones has never been truly meddling with coaching as far as the daily coaching responsibilities and the game plans and the roster etc​

​

I mean these people have never showed a shred of proof from anybody, even coaches who have an axe to grind EX- players with axe to grinds ,nobody has literally ever showing any proof that Jerry meddles in the everyday dealings with the coaches..​

I don't think JJ messes around with coaching at all.

What he does is stick his nose into team messaging. In the locker room, Outside of the locker room. And in the draft room. That;s OK when you are winning in the playoffs.

But when you aren't then you have to confront whether you are a help or a hindrance.

So as an example, if you are going to put coaches and players on one year "prove it" deals to create accountability, then where is your accountability model?

Is it to the coaches for the players you draft or sign?

Is it to the players who you attract to the team by either your branding, marketing, player testimonials (I'm fairly certain players call up their buddies to check out the team they are seeing in FA.) or draft?

There are certainkly a lot of false narratives about Jerry Jones, but not all of them are false.

 

[khiladi]

Cowboys fixing massive Mazi Smith mistake from 2023 as Mike Zimmer arrives​

Bryan Broaddus of 105.3 The Fan noted on "The Draft Show" podcast that Dallas is having Smith put weight back on to convert back to a true nose tackle. That's the position Smith was drafted to play, which made the weight loss request downright impossible to comprehend.



That is music to Cowboys fans' ears. Zimmer's arrival seems to already be paying dividends for Smith's career. As an interior defensive lineman, the former Wolverine is a much better fit in Zimmer's scheme relative to Dan Quinn's.

Toward the end of the 2023 season, Smith looked smaller than most of Dallas' defensive linemen, including their edge rushers. It was shocking to the eye considering Smith was drafted at 327 pounds. He went from one of the strongest players in the draft to a player who routinely got pushed off the ball and couldn't handle double teams.

See link for Mazzi Smith 800 lb lift weight:

Blame this one on McClay..

 

[khiladi]

Slow off the ball and getting man-handled. You think extra weight is going to make him quicker off the snap. Any veteran OL will abuse him with much better technique.

 

[khiladi]

Didn't he have a top 5 defense like 7 out of 10 years in Minnesota?

Disciplined, but middle of the pack in terms of TOs, which was a feature of the Quinn era…

 

[khiladi]

Again, look at how slow he is off the snap…. That was at a much lighter weight. Any veteran OL who beats him off the snap is going to have his way with him. they got all the leverage.

That film of that useless exercise in the first post doesn’t translate at all to what he does on the field. His lower base looks weak as hell.

 

[AbeBeta]

Is it possible Mazi felt the pressure and criticism of his slow reaction, and chose to lose the weight on his own accord to deal with the criticism?

It is also possible that he struggled to keep weight on. It is not unheard of for big guys to get a bit worn down by the having a 21-game schedule. Many players lose weight in season -- not surprising that the biggest guys would lose the most. Very likely something the training and nutrition staff are working on with him this off-season. Not uncommon for young guys not to have a sense of how to prepare themselves.

 

[fivetwos]

I don't think JJ messes around with coaching at all.

What he does is stick his nose into team messaging. In the locker room, Outside of the locker room. And in the draft room. That;s OK when you are winning in the playoffs.

But when you aren't then you have to confront whether you are a help or a hindrance.

So as an example, if you are going to put coaches and players on one year "prove it" deals to create accountability, then where is your accountability model?

Is it to the coaches for the players you draft or sign?

Is it to the players who you attract to the team by either your branding, marketing, player testimonials (I'm fairly certain players call up their buddies to check out the team they are seeing in FA.) or draft?

There are certainkly a lot of false narratives about Jerry Jones, but not all of them are false.

Jerry answered this question not so long ago, and I believe him.

He does not participate in game planning but wants to be briefed on it each week, and will occasionally say “I’d like to see more of this, that, etc.”

Whether that’s a problem or not is a matter of opinion.

I think the GM certainly ought to know what the game plan is for each week, but when the guy who the players recognize as the main guy isn’t the head coach, I can see how it can affect the latters ability to command the locker room, although I don’t think Mike has done terribly in that regard…considering.

 

[805BoysInBlue]

What's crazy about this .......

****Toco was Marinelli's pick and he was fired a year later

**** Mazi Smith was Quinn's pick and a year later, he took another job

Stop trusting defensive coordinators with our 1st round picks......

Parsons was the one really really pushing for Mazi

 

[CowboyoWales]

LOL.....then what happened, either McClay, MM and Quinn were not on the same page or McClay didn't like the other option ( possible pick ). But this still doesn't change the fact he was selected for a defensive coor/system that's no longer with the team.

That's deflecting the blame, the War Room vid clearly shows it was McClay banging the table for Mazi over Bergeron. As for defensive systems, Stanback keeps repeating how Zimmer prefers a large D-Line.

 

[CowboyoWales]

I'm shaking my head in disbelief. How is he supposed to put on muscle and get stronger when he just had shoulder surgery. Also Trying to change players is nothing new Parcells wanted every LB to gain 20LBS and run faster sideline to sideline at the same time. If the player didn't do it they replaced them. Pro sports is tough. So Mazi was supposed to keep his strength and slim down so he could also rush the passer. that just doesn't make any sense, they need DTs to stop the run, why would you take a dude 330LBS and slim him down to 300LBs and expect him to have the same anchor. Mazi might also just suck in the pros, IDK, but that's a bad plan in the first place.

Reading between the lines, McClay believed he wasnt utilized in pass-rush at Michigan and that there were traits.....rude awakening to see him drop those 20LBS and get slower reactions.