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

[Risen Star]

As far as I'm concerned Mazi is fixed and will be dominant this year.

 

[beware_d-ware]

Going up a weight class helps, but NFL linemen won't have much more difficulty wiping out Mazi at 330 lbs than they did at 300. It's not like Mazi was playing with fantastic technique and just getting physically overwhelmed. He was playing sluggish with awful leverage, and was basically just a blocking dummy for OLmen to move around. All the Cowboys trainers are doing is adding a little more weight onto the sled.

 

[CowboyoWales]

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?

I would of thought a rookie would have a strict regime set by the coaches. It appears they tried to run with him as a slimmed down DT that helped Quinn with his focus on pass-rush, rather than let him do what he did at Michigan ....play as a large bodied run blocker.

 

[Portnoy1]

Hey, please be respectful of your future HC

Jerry is already planning for continued mediocrity ahead once he fires MM

Dream Come true!!! Mike Zimmer (aka football Jesus) will take us to the promise land. In this case the promise land is the championship game (we can’t even spell Super Bowl yet lol)

 

[kskboys]

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.

Man, you gotta live under a rock to not see this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SuspectCorner]

Zimmer won't fix anything. If he could, he would have been worth a damn when here before 20 years ago, and would have accomplished something of note with the Vikings. He's the perfect Cowboys hire - familiar and comfortable, has never been a champion at the NFL level, and is guaranteed to not accomplish anything of note.

Zimmer was an assistant coach ‘defensive backfield/nickel defense’ in 1994 - THAT team won the Superbowl.

Norv Turner and Dave Wannstadt never had any NFL championship success - until they DID. It takes a really good team AND a lot of luck to win at the highest levels of the NFL.

Mike Zimmer is plenty good enough to win with the right players following his coaching and buying into his scheme.

 

[CowboysRule]

Man, you gotta live under a rock to not see this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must. Please tell me. Actual examples please, not just your opinion of what you think is happening.

 

[Jarntt]

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:

All we heard about was Mazi's legendary strength. Not strong, but legendary strong. Even with the weight loss he was well over 300lbs but he played like the weakest DT on the field. Seems something more than just losing weight was going on to me which means simply gaining it back isn't going to likely produce this legendary strength again.

 

[TrailBlazer]

I wonder if some of the old "fire Zimmer" threads from the 2000's are still available. Fun times.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Dan Quinn screwed Mazi Smith and this team!

When Quinn saw that 48 on the scoreboard last January, he knew it was time to run.
And he ran out on the Cowboys

 

[jaythecowboy]

I was thinking McClay souls have to take the blame for this pick the way he fought for him, but it isn’t on McClay if the coaching staff tried to make him a 3 tech smh.

 

[DuncanIso]

I was thinking McClay souls have to take the blame for this pick the way he fought for him, but it isn’t on McClay if the coaching staff tried to make him a 3 tech smh.

AA gap defense.

2 LBs in the A gaps.

How many snaps will Mazi even get with that scheme?

 

[DZSierra]

All we heard about was Mazi's legendary strength. Not strong, but legendary strong. Even with the weight loss he was well over 300lbs but he played like the weakest DT on the field. Seems something more than just losing weight was going on to me which means simply gaining it back isn't going to likely produce this legendary strength again.

You said exactly what I was going to say LOL

That said, it's a win for Zimmer and the Cowboys nation because Mazi's career is back on track now!!!

 

[quickccc]

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.

You think he's gonna be better with lesser weight?

What was mazi drafted to be ? A hefty clogged vs the run. I don't see how.ypu clog with
far lesser weight.

What has to happen is new coaches find ways to help mazi on a mental sense in reacting to get off snaps. We've tried the Quinn way, now to someone else.

It's now the shoulder surgery that concerns me as it may compromise his offseason workings with coaches as he recovers.

 

[kskboys]

Going up a weight class helps, but NFL linemen won't have much more difficulty wiping out Mazi at 330 lbs than they did at 300. It's not like Mazi was playing with fantastic technique and just getting physically overwhelmed. He was playing sluggish with awful leverage, and was basically just a blocking dummy for OLmen to move around. All the Cowboys trainers are doing is adding a little more weight onto the sled.

I never could see what made him worthy of a 1st round pick. As much as I scream for DL's, I didn't get this pick.

 

[kskboys]

All we heard about was Mazi's legendary strength. Not strong, but legendary strong. Even with the weight loss he was well over 300lbs but he played like the weakest DT on the field. Seems something more than just losing weight was going on to me which means simply gaining it back isn't going to likely produce this legendary strength again.

Strength is negated if the player lacks lateral agility.

 

[CowboyFrog]

DQ brought TO's..if you look back at his defenses and give them a grade on basics you will be very suprised..not saying he was bad but his scheme was kinda a gimmic and when TO's didnt happen his defense got pushed around..kinda like when we had Ryan as a DC..if his gimmics didnt work we got worked over...Zimm (who i dont think is a some savior) is a good DC and the defense will be very good at the basics...now do we have the players to beat good teams playing solid D...thats gonna be the question.

 

[khiladi]

You think he's gonna be better with lesser weight?

What was mazi drafted to be ? A hefty clogged vs the run. I don't see how.ypu clog with
far lesser weight.

What has to happen is new coaches find ways to help mazi on a mental sense in reacting to get off snaps. We've tried the Quinn way, now to someone else.

It's now the shoulder surgery that concerns me as it may compromise his offseason workings with coaches as he recovers.

The main point is he is slow off the snap, which allows the OL to gain position and leverage. With added weight, this becomes more of an issue.

 

[khiladi]

All we heard about was Mazi's legendary strength. Not strong, but legendary strong. Even with the weight loss he was well over 300lbs but he played like the weakest DT on the field. Seems something more than just losing weight was going on to me which means simply gaining it back isn't going to likely produce this legendary strength again.

Looks like he’s weak in the lower body. That’s where the leverage comes from. He has no explosiveness off the ground.

 

[deerhunter11]

Lets bounce Mazi back up another 40 lbs after making him trim it just in his rookie season, nothing should go wrong with this rebuild.

I would have to agree with you.Mazi being drafted to be a 1 technique and losing weight to 295 from 336 was a head scratcher .Especially when Quinn was playing a safety at LB.It is baffling , Dallas has to draft another 1 technique mainly because they do not know what they have with Mazi at the Nose Tackle position.