Video: 105:3 The Fan: Evaluating Mazi Smith After A Rough Preseason

[Qcard]

 

[ghst187]

If Mazi isn’t a very good player by end of year 2 then Voch must be the moron.
Guess it’s only morons who are disappointed to watch their first round pick, 340 lbs touted as a freak athlete be glacially slow off the snap, get blown off the line, and look generally clueless on how to shed a block? Yes we are all rooting for him and yes we know he’s not going to be a star immediately but it’s not fair to tell people they don’t know football bc they were expecting their first round pick to actually be able to play quickly instead of basically a near redshirt year.

 

[TNCowboy]

Mazi had a PFF score of 27 against SEA. I didn't know they had grades that low.

 

[erod]

If Mazi isn’t a very good player by end of year 2 then Voch must be the moron.
Guess it’s only morons who are disappointed to watch their first round pick, 340 lbs touted as a freak athlete be glacially slow off the snap, get blown off the line, and look generally clueless on how to shed a block? Yes we are all rooting for him and yes we know he’s not going to be a star immediately but it’s not fair to tell people they don’t know football bc they were expecting their first round pick to actually be able to play quickly instead of basically a near redshirt year.

The "real" first round is typically only 15-16 players. After that, there's little difference through the mid 3rd round.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Good stuff. Enjoyed everything they talked about including offensive line and linebacker.

 

[Tangle_Foot]

Good segment, I hope it talked a few fans off of the ledge. In this salary cap era you can't have household names at every position, but you can't rule out someone emerging and making a name for themselves.

I don't recall a bandwagon full of Terrence steel supporters. Get off the ledge, come inside, let's watch a few games. If you want to step out on that edge again in week 6, go right ahead, I'll even give you a push

I think this squad is going to be okay, I'm expecting a deep run this postseason.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Mazi is a project. But keep in mind he's a rookie. Lads, give him a chance.

 

[DeaconMoss]

His pro tape matches his college tape so far.
He has the tools so we shall see if they ever translate to the actual field.

 

[McKDaddy]

His pro tape matches his college tape so far.
He has the tools so we shall see if they ever translate to the actual field.

or was it an evaluator getting fixated with the "potential"?

 

[yentl911]

We have an awesome defensive coaching staff that gets the most out of their players and I would expect Mazi to come around and get better

He has all the tools to be great

Big difference between college and NFL interior line play - size, speed, technique.

Didn’t expect him to come in and dominate. Did expect him to play better than he has so far.

Not ready to write him off after a preseason that isn’t even over yet

 

[gtb1943]

We have an awesome defensive coaching staff that gets the most out of their players and I would expect Mazi to come around and get better

He has all the tools to be great

Big difference between college and NFL interior line play - size, speed, technique.

Didn’t expect him to come in and dominate. Did expect him to play better than he has so far.

Not ready to write him off after a preseason that isn’t even over yet

A fairly common problem with players who were able to dominate using their strength not technique. In the NFL you are ALWAYS up against players who are at the least nearly your equal in physical terms. That was one of the reasons players like Martin dominated from the beginning; they already were far advanced in technique.

 

[Qcard]

Good stuff. Enjoyed everything they talked about including offensive line and linebacker.

Yep!! Voch and Sky are a breath of Fresh Air. Cowboys Alternative media is doing the journalism these days. Others guys are emboldened to sensation due to sponsor pressure.

YouTubers and X Content creators are setting the standard for new age journalism

 

[CowboyRoy]

If Mazi isn’t a very good player by end of year 2 then Voch must be the moron.
Guess it’s only morons who are disappointed to watch their first round pick, 340 lbs touted as a freak athlete be glacially slow off the snap, get blown off the line, and look generally clueless on how to shed a block? Yes we are all rooting for him and yes we know he’s not going to be a star immediately but it’s not fair to tell people they don’t know football bc they were expecting their first round pick to actually be able to play quickly instead of basically a near redshirt year.

The only morons are the idiots that cant tell the difference between reallistic observation and writing a player off.

 

[McMicah]

Glad some of you guys aren’t in the front office because of some of you guys had your way we would be watching Jalen Tolbert have a pro bowl year for another team.

He’s a rookie….in the preseason…at the 1T.

Patience

 

[HungryLion]

Mazi is in a very different scheme and being asked to do different things.

I’m willing to give him time.

Part of the reason he is slow off the snap is because he is taking time to read what’s going on. At Michigan he was asked to read and react.

Here in Dallas he is going to be asked to attack and react once he is already moving.

Once he has more reps and understands what he is seeing better. I hope that improves his get off.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

He’s a bit of a development project. Yes, he’s had some bad snaps but he also had some very good ones. Fortunately, we have Hankins so we don’t need him to be a Day 1 starter. The issues I see are technical with leverage and pad height which are coachable.

Way too early to write him off.

 

[G2]

Still too early to suggest anything, really. The expectations tend to be WAY too high here. Until the season unfolds and he's playing with the actual roster, things should improve. Needs some footwork training at the point of attack.

 

[Aven8]

He’s going to rotate with Hank. He will eventually figure it all out hopefully

 

[JeffInDC]

I think it's all in his head right now - just like Tolbert last year. The game is moving way too fast for him.

 

[Sydla]

If Smith kind of fizzles out, the Cowboys should institute a new draft rule in their drafting procedures:

Don't draft Michigan DL in the first round.