Light: Wynn measures up
More to playing OL than height, weight, etc.
Patriots assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia let his feelings on measurables known last week when it came to judging offensive lineman.
“I think that (expletive) way overrated,” Scarnecchia said.
Matt Light, the tackle with the short arms and hands, was Scar’s best example why measurables don’t mean a lot.
The newest member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, in turn, thinks you can throw those same measurables out the window when it comes to Isaiah Wynn, and whether or not the kid is capable of playing tackle and protecting Tom Brady’s blind side this season. It’s not about height or hand size when it comes to keeping Brady safe. That’s not the secret to winning battles against the top pass rushers in the league. It won’t ultimately be the reason why Wynn, who is 6-foot-2, 302 pounds with relatively short arms (33.38 inches) and hands (8.5 inches) doesn’t make it as a left tackle.
At least, that’s the way Light sees it.
“At the end of the day, if I was going to judge a guy, I don’t even know if height, wingspan and those measurables would be in the conversation,” Light said when reached by the Herald last week, prior to learning he would be this year’s inductee into the Patriots Hall. “The first thing to do is look at the film and see how they move, how aggressive is he, what’s his technique like, there’s 10 million things that happen before they say, ‘what’s he weigh, what’s his height?’ ”
Light managed as a starting left tackle in the NFL for 11 seasons. He was 6-4, a bit taller than the Pats rookie, but his arms and hands (33.5 and 9.0, respectively) were in the same neighborhood as Wynn, who excelled at the position last season, allowing just five pressures for a Georgia team that advanced to the national championship game.
Light has watched highlights of the Bulldogs lineman and likes what he’s seen.
“I’ve watched a little bit on him,” said Light. “He’s got good technique, he’s got quick feet, he moves pretty well, and he’s a solid player.”
Technique is huge, but so is aggression in Light’s view. It’s playing with a certain attitude.
“The No. 1 thing I’d take in any offensive linemen is aggressiveness. Controlled aggression is, in my opinion, the best thing you can have,” he said. “I want somebody that’s got a chip on their shoulder, who’s smart enough to leverage it to his advantage instead of a disadvantage.”
Of course, when you think of tackles, you think of the Patriots most recent big, tall hulks Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer. But there are also disadvantages to being too big, according to Light.
“When Nate Solder’s in a pass set, if he gets a little off-balance at his height, if he can’t drop his hips, that’s when a bull rush becomes your worst enemy. That’s where your height can be a serious disadvantage.” said Light. “Nate had a unique ability to be very flexible and very nimble. He was a ridiculous 8 percent body fat guy, too. He had a unique set of skill. But most big guys have a hard time with that bull rush. Obviously, Wynn isn’t going to be as susceptible to that. He might not have the same reach, but look, it’s all about technique. So these measurables, in my opinion, don’t have any bearing on your decision-making because you’re not looking at those things, you’re looking at everything else.”
During his conference call with the media yesterday, after learning he was headed to the Hall, Light was asked specifically about the consistency the Patriots have had at left tackle with himself and Solder manning Brady’s blind side during the past two decades.
Light acknowledged the position has been a fairly stable one, going back to Bruce Armstrong before that.
He said whoever earns Solder’s job in front of Brady, whether it’s Wynn or someone else, will have tough shoes to fill.
“Nate’s not a guy you can just replace No. 1 because he’s a ridiculously large mammal,” Light said with a laugh. “I’ll never forget the first time I met him. I thought, it shouldn’t be right guys like this are designed the way they are, no fat, runs like a deer, got the reach and the wingspan of a vulture. The guy is just unbelievably talented in so many ways ... you might be going with a guy who has zero experience (Light started as a rookie), so you never know how it’s going to shake out. It’s been done before . ... It’s a big void, it’s definitely something we’re going to keep an eye on. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how they do it.”