After a recent article was released that outlined the Colorado Yeti's recent draft and noted their lack of players capable of playing cornerback, we have some breaking news. It would appear that Beau Montgomery has elected to undergo an unethical procedure to shave a few inches off his frame so that he can make the transition to cornerback. While we are unsure how successful this procedure will be it is very interesting and worth tracking over the next few days. If Montgomery can get a little slimmer to better improve his speed and agility then we may have an interesting development on our hands.
The Yeti opted to draft three linebackers to play with Anderson and Ishigawa and were discussing which backers fit in which packages and who would be the odd man out. Montgomery and Lejune would probably have platooned at the defensive end position based on the game script; Montgomery in on passing downs and Lejune out to stuff runs on short yardage plays. With this new and exciting occurrence, it looks like Lejune will join Ishigawa as a full-time starter and there are also rumours that he might be looking to slim down as well. Ray Lewis slimmed down a lot at the end of his career to keep up with the fast players and Lejune is worried that his power style might not work in this league.
Montgomery was already a fast player for a linebacker but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication if he wishes to match up against some of the premier route runners in this league. Straight line speed when you are blitzing towards the quarterback is one thing, matching a wideout step for step when they stutter step is an entirely different animal and not one that a rookie player is apt to handle. Growing pains are not a maybe in this situation, they are as definite as water being wet; Colorado will be better in the long term for this decision but it is going to hurt severely in the short term.
The long-term benefits of having such a promising young talent switch to a much more valuable position are astronomical. Having a legitimate shutdown cornerback on your roster is key in winning Championships. There are no guarantees in this sport and it is plausible that Montgomery never reaches the new lofty expectations placed upon him by the Yeti management and coaching staff. However, as of right now, we like the chances of the young man from Wisconsin to become a bonafide starter.
Colorado held a press conference this morning to announce the questionable surgery and position switch of Montgomery. Head manager, Scott Micheals was first up to the plate. "Hello, we are here to announce that one of our recent draftees is undergoing a surgery that is cutting edge to help him get faster. Beau Montgomery approached us after the draft and discussed potentially moving to the outside to help fill our deepest hole. I sat down with Bobert and we talked it over for a good long while and we threw some questions around. 'Was it worth it to lose one of our top linebacker prospects? Could he handle the transition? What if it didn't work, how stupid would we look?' At the end of the day, we decided that this was a risk worth taking and Stevenson and I sat down with Montgomery and talked about how to make it all work. Beau was great throughout the whole process and offered up insights that belied his young age and made us excited for the future of this team."
Bobert Stevenson followed up his boss with a few words. "Hey, so we realize that this may seem like an odd choice to have a player who is in peak physical condition go under the knife, but as Scott said, we feel the risk is worth the reward. We were impressed with Montgomery's on-field exploits to be sure but we really like his persona and work ethic. During our scouting process, we really connected well to him and knew we had to take him. A selfless team move like this is exactly what wins games and hopefully, a few championship rings."
Last up was the player in question, Beau Montgomery. "Uh, hi. So this is my first real press conference and I'm not gonna lie, I'm low key nervous as hell. I also did not expect my first presser to be about this... I was hoping after my first game, 'haha'. I guess you want to know why. Well, I looked at the team when they reached out to me pre-draft and saw they had some nice pieces but also a lot of holes. I also heard that maybe the league was going to limit who can play where and when and that would affect a team like Colorado who is maybe a little thinner than most. I kind of just joked around that I could play corner and then I had a pause and thought a little longer, 'I could definitely player corner' I said to myself. I called up Mr. Micheals and Mr. Stevenson and told them my plan, they wanted to think about it and told me they would get back to me. They called me up in the middle of the night and told me they had a dr. lined up who could help shave my height down a little bit and that would also make me a little lighter. I asked if I could think about it before making that big of a commitment, they conceded that was a good idea. However, before they hung up I had made up my mind to take the plunge. I'm here to win and this makes us the best version of ourselves, let's get this bread!"
Montgomery certainly appears excited about this opportunity and we hope that continues throughout his career. Passionate players are fun to watch and better for the sport. We will watch as this unfolds over the next few seasons and see if this is a success or an absolute disaster for the Colorado Yeti franchise.
The Yeti opted to draft three linebackers to play with Anderson and Ishigawa and were discussing which backers fit in which packages and who would be the odd man out. Montgomery and Lejune would probably have platooned at the defensive end position based on the game script; Montgomery in on passing downs and Lejune out to stuff runs on short yardage plays. With this new and exciting occurrence, it looks like Lejune will join Ishigawa as a full-time starter and there are also rumours that he might be looking to slim down as well. Ray Lewis slimmed down a lot at the end of his career to keep up with the fast players and Lejune is worried that his power style might not work in this league.
Montgomery was already a fast player for a linebacker but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication if he wishes to match up against some of the premier route runners in this league. Straight line speed when you are blitzing towards the quarterback is one thing, matching a wideout step for step when they stutter step is an entirely different animal and not one that a rookie player is apt to handle. Growing pains are not a maybe in this situation, they are as definite as water being wet; Colorado will be better in the long term for this decision but it is going to hurt severely in the short term.
The long-term benefits of having such a promising young talent switch to a much more valuable position are astronomical. Having a legitimate shutdown cornerback on your roster is key in winning Championships. There are no guarantees in this sport and it is plausible that Montgomery never reaches the new lofty expectations placed upon him by the Yeti management and coaching staff. However, as of right now, we like the chances of the young man from Wisconsin to become a bonafide starter.
Colorado held a press conference this morning to announce the questionable surgery and position switch of Montgomery. Head manager, Scott Micheals was first up to the plate. "Hello, we are here to announce that one of our recent draftees is undergoing a surgery that is cutting edge to help him get faster. Beau Montgomery approached us after the draft and discussed potentially moving to the outside to help fill our deepest hole. I sat down with Bobert and we talked it over for a good long while and we threw some questions around. 'Was it worth it to lose one of our top linebacker prospects? Could he handle the transition? What if it didn't work, how stupid would we look?' At the end of the day, we decided that this was a risk worth taking and Stevenson and I sat down with Montgomery and talked about how to make it all work. Beau was great throughout the whole process and offered up insights that belied his young age and made us excited for the future of this team."
Bobert Stevenson followed up his boss with a few words. "Hey, so we realize that this may seem like an odd choice to have a player who is in peak physical condition go under the knife, but as Scott said, we feel the risk is worth the reward. We were impressed with Montgomery's on-field exploits to be sure but we really like his persona and work ethic. During our scouting process, we really connected well to him and knew we had to take him. A selfless team move like this is exactly what wins games and hopefully, a few championship rings."
Last up was the player in question, Beau Montgomery. "Uh, hi. So this is my first real press conference and I'm not gonna lie, I'm low key nervous as hell. I also did not expect my first presser to be about this... I was hoping after my first game, 'haha'. I guess you want to know why. Well, I looked at the team when they reached out to me pre-draft and saw they had some nice pieces but also a lot of holes. I also heard that maybe the league was going to limit who can play where and when and that would affect a team like Colorado who is maybe a little thinner than most. I kind of just joked around that I could play corner and then I had a pause and thought a little longer, 'I could definitely player corner' I said to myself. I called up Mr. Micheals and Mr. Stevenson and told them my plan, they wanted to think about it and told me they would get back to me. They called me up in the middle of the night and told me they had a dr. lined up who could help shave my height down a little bit and that would also make me a little lighter. I asked if I could think about it before making that big of a commitment, they conceded that was a good idea. However, before they hung up I had made up my mind to take the plunge. I'm here to win and this makes us the best version of ourselves, let's get this bread!"
Montgomery certainly appears excited about this opportunity and we hope that continues throughout his career. Passionate players are fun to watch and better for the sport. We will watch as this unfolds over the next few seasons and see if this is a success or an absolute disaster for the Colorado Yeti franchise.