Flop and puddle here, too. I set my machine on the far right corner of the table so there's a large area of table to the left and behind, and then slip my ironing board UNDER the table so it is nearly level with it, and that helps with the left and in front of my machine. The basic thing here is just making sure the whole thing is supported so you don't have a bunch of drag to fight. Gravity is a law.
As for a puddle v. roll, it used to make me cuss when I would bump my elbow on the roll. So I don't do that anymore. (Roll, not cuss. There is still cussing. This is, after all, machine quilting.)