Taylor Mays Blames Pete Carroll

Apparently, Taylor Mays should have been drafted on the first day and didn’t deserve to fall into the second round. And it is Pete Carroll’s fault.

According to an article on ESPN.com, Mays blames Carroll for not preparing him for the draft and pushing him to become a better NFL-type player. Sounds like a bitter, selfish person to me.

From the article:

"So when pick after pick was announced and his name wasn’t being called, Mays sat in front of the television, stunned, and he started to blame Carroll for his plight.“He is someone I’ve trusted for a long time, been very close to,” Mays said Friday. “I put my future in his hands when he told me to come back to school. I just feel like we weren’t on the same page for what I needed to do to get drafted where I wanted to be drafted.”Mays says all year he had continually asked Carroll what he needed to do to get better, what deficiencies he needed to correct to prove to scouts that he was the brightest, fastest, most physical safety in the country; to maintain the lofty status he had achieved the year before.“[Pete] kept saying, ‘Taylor, you’ll be fine. You’re fine,'” Mays said. “Obviously that wasn’t the case.”“I wish I would have known why I wouldn’t be taken in the first round,” he said Friday, “At least have been shown what I needed work on. Here’s my head coach, the person I trust most, telling me I had nothing to worry about and then I’m worrying about it [when it’s too late] because I’m not getting picked.”"

That’s right, Taylor. Your poor pre-draft workouts that led scouts to question your cover abilities are Pete Carroll’s fault. He is definitely responsible for your average instincts and anticipation. If only he was a better coach, maybe you would have better downfield ball skills.

Give me a break.

Mays is a rare prospect whose physical attributes are off the charts, but he isn’t a traditional safety and his cover ability is less-than-average. Pete Carroll has nothing to do with Mays’ inability to show good quickness in and out of breaks, regularly focus on good angles, or fluidly run more than a straight line.

Mays wowed scouts with his physical abilities at the scouting combine, but was less-than-impressive at the Senior Bowl and in film review. He is a great prospect and probably the most physically and athletically gifted safety in the draft, but he misplays balls, misreads plays, and misses too many tackles.

There is a small argument that he would have been a higher draft pick if he entered the NFL draft as a junior, but scouts would have had the opportunity to find the same flaws had he gone through the rigorous draft process.

If anything, Mays has also been exposed as a selfish player who wants to blame anyone other than himself.

Shaun Dolence: dolencesm@gmail.com
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