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- Jan 23, 2013
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I was a big advocate of the Rams acquiring Alex Mack. I know they would have had to make room under the cap but it would have been worth it. They lack a leader on the Oline, especially the young Oline the Rams have.
http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/11/08/alex-mack-atlanta-falcons-center
To explain how center Alex Mack has become a crucial figure in the juggernaut that is the 2016 Falcons’ offense, you have to start with something surprising—something that isn’t exactly typical among the league’s top offensive line iceboxes. You have to start with ... running.
In 2009, after Cleveland had made Mack the 21st pick in the NFL draft, out of Cal, teammate Joe Thomas was perplexed by Mack’s behavior during one of the team's first off-season practices. Mack’s arrival had coincided with the hiring of coach Eric Mangini, who, like his mentor, the Patriots’ Bill Belichick, made players run laps if they made simple mistakes—jumping offside, for example, or, in Mack’s case, executing a poor snap. Usually, a player would run approximately 400 yards at an even trot—especially if the offender was a bulky lineman.
“Not Alex,” says Thomas. “The way he ran laps, it was like he was Michael Johnson in the Olympic final. He had to be running, like, 50-second 400s—and he ran a lot of them because he had a lot of bad snaps and a lot of offside penalties as a rookie. But he would get going, and he would only miss one play, which was just amazing. The way he’d run, with his arms flailing, his head back, bouncing side to side—it was really a sight to behold. Alex does not have very good running technique, but he definitely runs really hard.”
Mack certainly made an impression on Thomas.
“I used to laugh to myself, thinking, Who is this goofball? Just take your time,” Thomas says. “But he was determined to get that lap over with as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to miss any more time learning the position. He’s such a master of his craft.”
http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/11/08/alex-mack-atlanta-falcons-center
To explain how center Alex Mack has become a crucial figure in the juggernaut that is the 2016 Falcons’ offense, you have to start with something surprising—something that isn’t exactly typical among the league’s top offensive line iceboxes. You have to start with ... running.
In 2009, after Cleveland had made Mack the 21st pick in the NFL draft, out of Cal, teammate Joe Thomas was perplexed by Mack’s behavior during one of the team's first off-season practices. Mack’s arrival had coincided with the hiring of coach Eric Mangini, who, like his mentor, the Patriots’ Bill Belichick, made players run laps if they made simple mistakes—jumping offside, for example, or, in Mack’s case, executing a poor snap. Usually, a player would run approximately 400 yards at an even trot—especially if the offender was a bulky lineman.
“Not Alex,” says Thomas. “The way he ran laps, it was like he was Michael Johnson in the Olympic final. He had to be running, like, 50-second 400s—and he ran a lot of them because he had a lot of bad snaps and a lot of offside penalties as a rookie. But he would get going, and he would only miss one play, which was just amazing. The way he’d run, with his arms flailing, his head back, bouncing side to side—it was really a sight to behold. Alex does not have very good running technique, but he definitely runs really hard.”
Mack certainly made an impression on Thomas.
“I used to laugh to myself, thinking, Who is this goofball? Just take your time,” Thomas says. “But he was determined to get that lap over with as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to miss any more time learning the position. He’s such a master of his craft.”
