Can Vincent do a cleaning program with just 3 quads. I am sure he can, Can a 3 quad with more component(artistry) Vincent program compete with no-quad but artistic programs, IMO it should.
But the fact is that, Judges and PCS(75) won't assure you that. So youngster like Vincent who actually has the basic SS/talent to develop artistic programs are scared and opt to do as much quad as possible. Because BV is the ONLY thing they can control.
The men, in essence, have two choices: They can either choose to try to keep up with the Joneses or you figure out a back door to get what you want.
I think Nathan's seemingly overnight situation is not necessarily one that every one can replicate. I think it helps that Nathan had a lot raw jumping talent -- to where mastering jumps came naturally to him. He also has excellent skating skills. Those two things really made what happen last season possible. But even he I think wasn't just trying to do too much at once.
Jason is the exact opposite of Nathan -- jump mastery does not come naturally to him. Jason is not apologetic (for the most part) of where he is, technically, despite fans' insistence that he should --he just keeps truckin' along and focuses on where he can shine. His success has come because he and his team has systematically figured out ways for him to shine (and rack up points) without those quads. He doesn't always win or get on the podium, of course, but he usually does enough to make overall competition progress while he's still working on those harder jumps. He also shows a lot of confidence and charisma even when he makes mistakes. People downplay it, but anyone that has ever had to speak in front of the public or do some other performance knows that it doesn't come naturally to everyone.
When he was a junior, that meant Jr. World medals and even JGPF championship while he was working on he 3A. Now despite not having a quad, he's made an Olympic team, secured several GP medals, help team USA get three spots and won a national title. He's also managed to impress judges with his overall skating quality and programs to the point he has the top PCS in the men's field (he's just behind Javi, Patrick, Yuzu and Shoma). And now, the door's open for him to qualify for his first GPF. Again, I get some people don't dig that strategy, but it works for him.
I admire Vincent's ambition and drive. However, he also needs to be deliberate. He has a really good 4Z. He's hit-and-miss on the other three quads. He needs to perhaps find the one that would give him the most success (I'm leaning toward the 4T) and work toward repeating that jump. That's still four quads. Get huge GOE on those jumps while you work to integrate the 3A better into your programs (I noticed that he's only had one fully rotated 3A out of five attempts and that one had -GOE). Perhaps work on getting a few more level 4 spins -- no it's not huge point getters, but given the competition, it's something you shouldn't throw away. Yes, BV may be the absolute thing you can control, but there's something to be said about have such clean and convincing programs that judges can't help being impressed with you.
Max seems to be emerging from that focus drift. He is far more consistent on the 4T and 4S now and that's why he's become a factor as of late. He of course needs to work on boost GOE on his jumps, but I think the progress he's made is quite notable at this point.
