Vinny Cerrato Says Marcus Mason Will Have A Great Preseason

[freddyg12]

Mason certainly looked more like a true rb than Rock does, but Rock is more of a football player & earns his $ on spec. teams. I don't know what kind of speed mason has, but he definitely seems to move laterally & cut much better. Rock does hit the hole pretty quickly, but he has little to no moves.

[Eknox]

I'd say let's give the kid a chance he looks great running the ball, and has excellent vision and change of direction.

[81+83+84=Posse]

I like Rock also, but he doesn't exactly set the world on fire on kick returns.

There's also probably a good reason why he didn't generate interest from other teams in free agency.

But he is a great team guy and he has the heart of a lion.

[starzzz]

Rock has something that you can't teach or learn. HEART! I have to give it to him, he plays just as hard losing a game as he does winning. Unless I had someone that is going to at least bring that to the table or more, he would remain on my squad.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

Mason certainly looked more like a true rb than Rock does, but Rock is more of a football player & earns his $ on spec. teams. I don't know what kind of speed mason has, but he definitely seems to move laterally & cut much better. Rock does hit the hole pretty quickly, but he has little to no moves.

Never undestimate the power of the straight line, lol.

Anyway speaking of Vinny, I heard that Vinny said on one of these thursday radio shows that Mix has put on a little weight, and he's now up to 240 lbs. Can anyone vouch for this?

With that said however, I've heard a lot about Thrash from Zorn. In fact right now I think Zorn's most mentioned players are Campbell, ARE, Moss, Portis, and Thrash. It's good to see that the hardworker is getting his due and right now if I had to, I would bet on Thrash being the 3rd reciever for at least the first quarter of the season.

[RIGGO/NYC]

No Way is thrash going to be the No. 3 Wideout. Zorn is giving him his due because he is a hard working veteran and because he is probably picking things up (right now) a little faster than the rookies, but we did not use our top picks on wideouts just to have them sit the bench. Campell needs the size and he will have it given to him, once they learn the terminology and what's expected of them, so that they could play full speed. Thrash will be No. 5.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

Good point but this leads to some speculation.
Vinny picked up a kick return specialist thug....when we just signed Rock.
Now Vinny is saying Marcus Mason should be watched....when that spot is Rock's too....

I dont think it is a stretch to believe writing may be on the wall for Rock.

Why did we release Jerome Mathis....first of all, hes got character issues....but primarily because we drafted guys with KR potential....again...Rocks job.

I like Rock too....but, I see 2 backup RB's that are ok and have no real upside above their current levels.....Mason has upside....

Kinda like the 3 QB spots....a veteran starter, a verteran backup....and a developmental young 3rd stringer. I can see the possibility of them trying to go this path for RB's too.

In reality....I just think Vinny is trying to give Rock a kick in his pants....perhaps because Rock thought he was so great when he wanted to hit free agency this year.

In any case...I would be fine if Mason made it instead of Rock assuming we had a solid KR guy....of course I'd prefer Mason on the squad with 4 RBs.

It's not Vinny's job to kick the players in the pants. God this guy bugs the shit out of me sometimes. Just do your job, pick the players and shut the f%#k up!! Vinny.. I have a message for you. Pick players that know how to get out of the god damn bed in the morning.

Rock has been nothing but a solid dependable player on and off the field for us for how many years now? If Gibbs were still here we wouldn't even be talking about this cause he knows how important guys like Rock are. It would be real stupid to cut him just cause Mason has a good camp. How many times did this guy give the offense good field position last year??

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by RIGGO/NYC

No Way is thrash going to be the No. 3 Wideout. Zorn is giving him his due because he is a hard working veteran and because he is probably picking things up (right now) a little faster than the rookies, but we did not use our top picks on wideouts just to have them sit the bench. Campell needs the size and he will have it given to him, once they learn the terminology and what's expected of them, so that they could play full speed. Thrash will be No. 5.

I agree that we didn't use our top picks on wideouts to have them ride the bench, but when a team is starting the season the guys that get on the field are the ones that understand the system.

Kelly and Thomas are picking up a ton of new fundamentals on top of a new system, while Thrash has played in the NFL as well as a West Coast system. Not to mention Thomas is realatively raw to begin with. I don't know what type of learning curve Kelly is facing but I still think it'll take at least a quarter of a season before he can run full speed in this system and no I'm not talking about his legs.

Look I'm not saying Thrash is going to be starting there the whole year, nor is he the answer at reciever. I just think that during the first four games Thrash will play more then Thomas and Kelly, maybe not combined but still more.

It's not unusual for rookies to ride the bench for the first few weeks, even if they're a top 10 non QB pick. If I remember correctly Landry split time with Pierson for at least the first two games of the season. I also think that Calvin Johnson didn't start for the first two games of the season.

"Although he did not start the game, Johnson had an impressive NFL debut on Sunday, September 9, 2007, catching 4 passes for 70 yards and his first career touchdown in Detroit's 36-21 win over the Oakland Raiders.[35][36][37]"

Anyway thats what I meant when I said Thrash would be the third Reciever to start the season.

[MTK]

Why would Rock need a "kick in the pants"?

If Vinny was upset with him over the contract negotiations he wouldn't have re-signed him.

I think some people are looking for drama when it's not there.

[KLHJ2]

It's a new "Man Opera" called "Days of our Skins"

[Smooter]

After the last couple of days I'm beginning to think Cerrato was right. Has anyone else's opinion on this changed since this thread was started?