Taylor Mays is a Niner!

Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:

Originally posted by RedWaltz24:

double takedown nice

That would probably be a fine in the NFL, not to mention its no good to knock out your own guy. Imagine if that was Goldson. ....

Agreed, you can't lead with your head either, or you will hurt yourself.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:

Originally posted by RedWaltz24:

double takedown nice

That would probably be a fine in the NFL, not to mention its no good to knock out your own guy. Imagine if that was Goldson. ....

Agreed, you can't lead with your head either, or you will hurt yourself.

You know I'm saving this post right?

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

I think your right. But lets see how the niners use him, he does have great speed.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

True what really concerns me about his is watching tape the guy doesn't tackle well. He just throws his shoulder at people. Gets him some serious big hits in college but 2 plays against Golden Tate he went for the hit instead of making a play on the ball and Tate still caught it. the second play he threw his shoulder in at Tate and Mays went down and Tate walked in the end zone. He's gonna be in the box he must learn to wrap up.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:

Originally posted by RedWaltz24:

double takedown nice

That would probably be a fine in the NFL, not to mention its no good to knock out your own guy. Imagine if that was Goldson. ....

Agreed, you can't lead with your head either, or you will hurt yourself.

You know I'm saving this post right?

I usually agree with you, just not on one subject. I like most of what you post most of the time man. Also, just because we don't agree on one subject doesn't mean I don't understand where you are coming from. There are a lot of guys on here that sometimes forget we are all on the same team, I am not one of them.

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

True what really concerns me about his is watching tape the guy doesn't tackle well. He just throws his shoulder at people. Gets him some serious big hits in college but 2 plays against Golden Tate he went for the hit instead of making a play on the ball and Tate still caught it. the second play he threw his shoulder in at Tate and Mays went down and Tate walked in the end zone. He's gonna be in the box he must learn to wrap up.

First. I'm not a USC guy... not even a Pac 10 guy (KSU - BIG12) so maybe you west coast guys can help me out if I'm wrong here.

From what I've gathered... His soph year he was making a lot more plays on the ball. He has an issue with Carroll regarding what he was asked to do on the field and how that affected his draft status.

Is it possible that Carroll asked him to be an intimidator and go head hunting. Not to worry about the ball or even blowing some coverages because of the mental toll his big hits would take on opposing receivers? I can totally see where someone like Carroll would ask this of a player like Mays on a team like USC. Carroll felt his team was better than every team they played therefore they could take chances on blowing a few plays if they could get in the head of the opposing players... now receivers are constantly hearing footseps.

He has freakish tools. The Golden Tate highlites have been in the zone multiple times, but I contend on that first play he was either in cover 1 as the lone deep safety or cover 3 in the middle (kinda hard to tell from the limited views I've seen) regardless he covered a LOT of ground just to be close to the ball. It looks to me like he is in place many times to make a play, but instead goes for the knock out... I can't help but wonder if that was coaching.

On a side not I seem to remember that a knock on Jerry Rice coming out was that he refused to block... in reallity his coaches at MVSU specifically told him NOT to block because they didn't want him to risk injury. But you don't know that just by watching film.

Originally posted by Pick6:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

True what really concerns me about his is watching tape the guy doesn't tackle well. He just throws his shoulder at people. Gets him some serious big hits in college but 2 plays against Golden Tate he went for the hit instead of making a play on the ball and Tate still caught it. the second play he threw his shoulder in at Tate and Mays went down and Tate walked in the end zone. He's gonna be in the box he must learn to wrap up.

First. I'm not a USC guy... not even a Pac 10 guy (KSU - BIG12) so maybe you west coast guys can help me out if I'm wrong here.

From what I've gathered... His soph year he was making a lot more plays on the ball. He has an issue with Carroll regarding what he was asked to do on the field and how that affected his draft status.

Is it possible that Carroll asked him to be an intimidator and go head hunting. Not to worry about the ball or even blowing some coverages because of the mental toll his big hits would take on opposing receivers? I can totally see where someone like Carroll would ask this of a player like Mays on a team like USC. Carroll felt his team was better than every team they played therefore they could take chances on blowing a few plays if they could get in the head of the opposing players... now receivers are constantly hearing footseps.

He has freakish tools. The Golden Tate highlites have been in the zone multiple times, but I contend on that first play he was either in cover 1 as the lone deep safety or cover 3 in the middle (kinda hard to tell from the limited views I've seen) regardless he covered a LOT of ground just to be close to the ball. It looks to me like he is in place many times to make a play, but instead goes for the knock out... I can't help but wonder if that was coaching.

On a side not I seem to remember that a knock on Jerry Rice coming out was that he refused to block... in reallity his coaches at MVSU specifically told him NOT to block because they didn't want him to risk injury. But you don't know that just by watching film.

You are right he is always around the ball. He said that going for the big hit was what he was asked to do. Like I said before at the Senior Bowl they told him to look for the ball, and what happened? He had 2 INTs that week. But now we will see for ourselves if he can really do it or not I belive he can.



Now regarding his tackling yes he needs to wrap up more but I've watched Berry and Thomas play and they both do the same thing yet nobody wants to bring that up as a concern for them Mays atleast doesn't get ran over. It's such a concern yet Mays had more tackles than both of them. I really think people are just trying to find anything they can to knock this guy.

Originally posted by MrFantastic:

Originally posted by Pick6:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

True what really concerns me about his is watching tape the guy doesn't tackle well. He just throws his shoulder at people. Gets him some serious big hits in college but 2 plays against Golden Tate he went for the hit instead of making a play on the ball and Tate still caught it. the second play he threw his shoulder in at Tate and Mays went down and Tate walked in the end zone. He's gonna be in the box he must learn to wrap up.

First. I'm not a USC guy... not even a Pac 10 guy (KSU - BIG12) so maybe you west coast guys can help me out if I'm wrong here.

From what I've gathered... His soph year he was making a lot more plays on the ball. He has an issue with Carroll regarding what he was asked to do on the field and how that affected his draft status.

Is it possible that Carroll asked him to be an intimidator and go head hunting. Not to worry about the ball or even blowing some coverages because of the mental toll his big hits would take on opposing receivers? I can totally see where someone like Carroll would ask this of a player like Mays on a team like USC. Carroll felt his team was better than every team they played therefore they could take chances on blowing a few plays if they could get in the head of the opposing players... now receivers are constantly hearing footseps.

He has freakish tools. The Golden Tate highlites have been in the zone multiple times, but I contend on that first play he was either in cover 1 as the lone deep safety or cover 3 in the middle (kinda hard to tell from the limited views I've seen) regardless he covered a LOT of ground just to be close to the ball. It looks to me like he is in place many times to make a play, but instead goes for the knock out... I can't help but wonder if that was coaching.

On a side not I seem to remember that a knock on Jerry Rice coming out was that he refused to block... in reallity his coaches at MVSU specifically told him NOT to block because they didn't want him to risk injury. But you don't know that just by watching film.

You are right he is always around the ball. He said that going for the big hit was what he was asked to do. Like I said before at the Senior Bowl they told him to look for the ball, and what happened? He had 2 INTs that week. But now we will see for ourselves if he can really do it or not I belive he can.

Now regarding his tackling yes he needs to wrap up more but I've watched Berry and Thomas play and they both do the same thing yet nobody wants to bring that up as a concern for them Mays atleast doesn't get ran over. It's such a concern yet Mays had more tackles than both of them. I really think people are just trying to find anything they can to knock this guy.

There is also an incident where Lott himself (I believe) grabbed his face mask and told him to take someone's head off (paraphrasing). I also like how people totally disregard that when he WAS coached up, he performed instantly getting 2 INT's. Obviously he is more then coachable and he just needs to tweak his mental approach, learn to channel his aggression and work on technique. That's ALL coaching right there esp. at the NFL level where it really counts!

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by MrFantastic:

Originally posted by Pick6:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Just not good value for an in-the-box safety at number 49. Especially someone falling on team boards this offseason.

I will state again: In a passing, big-play league, you need as many solid coverage guys as possible. The Niners missed an opportunity to shore up this area in the draft.

True what really concerns me about his is watching tape the guy doesn't tackle well. He just throws his shoulder at people. Gets him some serious big hits in college but 2 plays against Golden Tate he went for the hit instead of making a play on the ball and Tate still caught it. the second play he threw his shoulder in at Tate and Mays went down and Tate walked in the end zone. He's gonna be in the box he must learn to wrap up.

First. I'm not a USC guy... not even a Pac 10 guy (KSU - BIG12) so maybe you west coast guys can help me out if I'm wrong here.

From what I've gathered... His soph year he was making a lot more plays on the ball. He has an issue with Carroll regarding what he was asked to do on the field and how that affected his draft status.

Is it possible that Carroll asked him to be an intimidator and go head hunting. Not to worry about the ball or even blowing some coverages because of the mental toll his big hits would take on opposing receivers? I can totally see where someone like Carroll would ask this of a player like Mays on a team like USC. Carroll felt his team was better than every team they played therefore they could take chances on blowing a few plays if they could get in the head of the opposing players... now receivers are constantly hearing footseps.

He has freakish tools. The Golden Tate highlites have been in the zone multiple times, but I contend on that first play he was either in cover 1 as the lone deep safety or cover 3 in the middle (kinda hard to tell from the limited views I've seen) regardless he covered a LOT of ground just to be close to the ball. It looks to me like he is in place many times to make a play, but instead goes for the knock out... I can't help but wonder if that was coaching.

On a side not I seem to remember that a knock on Jerry Rice coming out was that he refused to block... in reallity his coaches at MVSU specifically told him NOT to block because they didn't want him to risk injury. But you don't know that just by watching film.

You are right he is always around the ball. He said that going for the big hit was what he was asked to do. Like I said before at the Senior Bowl they told him to look for the ball, and what happened? He had 2 INTs that week. But now we will see for ourselves if he can really do it or not I belive he can.

Now regarding his tackling yes he needs to wrap up more but I've watched Berry and Thomas play and they both do the same thing yet nobody wants to bring that up as a concern for them Mays atleast doesn't get ran over. It's such a concern yet Mays had more tackles than both of them. I really think people are just trying to find anything they can to knock this guy.

There is also an incident where Lott himself (I believe) grabbed his face mask and told him to take someone's head off (paraphrasing). I also like how people totally disregard that when he WAS coached up, he performed instantly getting 2 INT's. Obviously he is more then coachable and he just needs to tweak his mental approach, learn to channel his aggression and work on technique. That's ALL coaching right there esp. at the NFL level where it really counts!

This looks promising, if in fact it was poor coaching that allowed him to drop I can't wait to see him play, he has All-pro physical tools for a S!

Yeah I'll say it as well: I'm hoping he really shows everybody wrong, and learns quickly what may have been suppressed at USC, but Taylor Mays I see as about a 75% chance to bust out or be converted to LB for nickel packages.

why is everybody hating on T. Mays? If he would of came out like year he would of been a top 15! They changed the scheme he was in so his numbers fell just like berrys but I didn't her anybody saying he can't cover! Mays with make the pro bowl in 5 years! mays is a monster just needs to be in the right scheme to utilize his skills

Originally posted by Buonaparte69:
Another Mays in Niners uni mockup, home jersey :

Safety Taylor Mays (second round): Just what I heard before the draft. He hits big when the player isn't looking, and can cover a lot of ground to compensate for initial mistakes.

Way too many blastoff attempts and way too little wrapping up, which Baalke said needs to change. Oddly, one of his highlights was making a tackle 4 yards deeper downfield from where he lined up -- and he lined up some 20 yards downfield in the first place.

Even on a pick, it came after the quarterback led him the wrong way. He over-anticipates at times, and tends to play the player and not the football (explaining his limited picks).

USC asked him to play deep centerfield. I get it. You just don't see him showing the instincts to take the fight to the ballcarrier. For a guy who's biggest strength is range and speed, he looks more like a free safety than an in-the-box guy.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ninerinsider/detail?blogid=45&entry_id=62509#ixzz0mXoADxhV

The front office new exactly what they were getting and what they felt he needed to work on..

Originally posted by luis1985:

Originally posted by ads_2006:

1:40 mark

I wanted Golden Tate better. Mays goes for the big hit instead of playing for the ball. They can coach him up but I still think Tate will own him when we play Seattle twice a year. I think Tate is going to tear it up in the NFL. Mays should be a LB not a safety, he sucks as a safety as you can see here.

Okay let's just stop now please.

You don't think that the Veterans here are going to help this kid find his game? He is young and still has alot of upside. He's got OTAs' and Training Camp to learn some discipline. And from those two plays the one thing I got was that USC wasn't even in a solid Defensive formation. That's not Mays fault that's Carrol and the DC imho. In any case those are two very good plays that it would have been hard to stop even average players. But Golden Tate isn't supposed to be average. Now is he?

In any case as far as I'm concerned this is the Pros. What you did in College is only a long audition tape. It has no bearing on what he's going to do now, cause the slate is wiped clean.

~Ceadder