Why our OL is so poor

[Hoofbite]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

so because we got lucky with Romo we should always count on UDFA's?

Of course.

Might as well just trade away every draft pick to acquire players who are already known commodities.

[burmafrd]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Best OL in Cowboys History had a UDFA converted DT to LT, and undrafted LG, a 3rd round C, a 2nd round RG, and a 3rd round RT.

for that time period that made it 3 first day picks.

How many do we have now?

And even if you take out the first day pick part, we have one guy who was drafted in the first rd and then what? Our next highest is 4th rd who is not looking all that great at the moment but there is hope he will return to form.

Other then that frankly what we have are playing DOWN to where they were picked or UDFA

[Supercowboy1986]

i thought bern was looking good in pre season, but hey its preseason

[casmith07]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Best OL in Cowboys History had a UDFA converted DT to LT, and undrafted LG, a 3rd round C, a 2nd round RG, and a 3rd round RT.

Thanks for the assist. I was afraid that I was going to have to actually explain it.

[Zordon]

regardless of where we choose oline in the draft the fact of the matter is we aren't hitting on enough of our picks. the giants replaced half of their line last season and didn't run into as many issues as we have. either we are not putting enough emphasis on the position or the people responsible for scouting that unit are not doing their jobs.

[TwoDeep3]

Originally Posted by casmith07

Thanks for the assist. I was afraid that I was going to have to actually explain it.

Regardless of what the past had or did not have, would you agree if the OL cannot open holes, the running game will not be very good?

Can you agree if they cannot pass protect very well the passing game will be sketchy?

So this is a significant area that has some players not very talented, and regardless of those who believe bringing up past successes, that is a straw man argument because what we have now is all that matters, then you should have a modicum of concerns after last night. Within the scope of one PS game.

This is one PS game. We have some injury. So the story is not finished.

But if there isn't a pretty significant improvement over what we saw last night, be it who played then or who may play opening day, our expectations of what this season might bring changes and in some cases drastically.

[CowboyChris]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Best OL in Cowboys History had a UDFA converted DT to LT, and undrafted LG, a 3rd round C, a 2nd round RG, and a 3rd round RT.

is Larry Allen the 2nd round guard?

[CowboyRoy]

Originally Posted by ODawg

amen are you spot on...yes you are....Our O-Line is going to get slaughtered this year.

LOL.........dont worry, Costa and Livings are coming to the rescue.

[casmith07]

Originally Posted by TwoDeep3

Regardless of what the past had or did not have, would you agree if the OL cannot open holes, the running game will not be very good?

Can you agree if they cannot pass protect very well the passing game will be sketchy?

So this is a significant area that has some players not very talented, and regardless of those who believe bringing up past successes, that is a straw man argument because what we have now is all that matters, then you should have a modicum of concerns after last night. Within the scope of one PS game.

This is one PS game. We have some injury. So the story is not finished.

But if there isn't a pretty significant improvement over what we saw last night, be it who played then or who may play opening day, our expectations of what this season might bring changes and in some cases drastically.

Absolutely the OL has holes. But attempting to draw a direct relation between draft position and the state of our offensive line is wholly disingenuous.

[TwoDeep3]

Originally Posted by casmith07

Absolutely the OL has holes. But attempting to draw a direct relation between draft position and the state of our offensive line is wholly disingenuous.

I may agree with this. But i also believe the people making the decisions decided to stick with the talent level we have, which may be another discussion, and it is here that is the equalizer when discussing draft slots.

because status quo, if it ends up being as poor as we saw last night, falls on those to elected to stand pat.

[Muhast]

Originally Posted by Primetime42

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/dallas...s.php?t=240423

Bingo. Bet most people didn't bother to browse your link either.

Our problem isn't necessarily the picks we used to acquire the players. It's the scouting and development of the players. Most teams don't have an OL full of 1st and 2nd rnders as the "build from the trenches" guys would have you believe. (not that I necessarily disagree with some of our decision making in the draft)

I'm an optimistic type, but who knows. When we line up: Smith,Livings,____,Bernadeau,Free we may actually have a relatively coherent line. It's really premature to judge a preseason disaster that consisted of a guy who we signed like 5 days before the game(Dockery) and Arkin at Center after only a few weeks of practice. If that is the OL we start the year with, I will be really worried. But for now, I'm going to give Bernadeau(with a week or so of practice) Arkin(few weeks at being center) and Livings(who didnt play) the benefit of the doubt. If by game 3 of pre-season we still look rough, you guys may be onto something.

[Venger]

OL's tend not to get drafted in the first round, especially guards. The top talent starts to go 2nd and 3rd round. Comparing 2nd round guards to late rounders and UDFAs is comparing top talent to bottom talent. A 2nd and 3rd round OL *is* a high draft pick for an OL.

If you can't look at the crap on our OL and not see draft failure, then there is no remedy for that kind of failure of clarity. To even offer that draft position does not have a bearing on the expected quality of the offensive line, and that the low quality of our line reflects our lack of commitment to upgrading the position earlier in the draft, is bassackwards.

[juck]

Originally Posted by casmith07

UDFAs - the same reason we're so poor at Quarterback.

Whoops.

I think the OP makes a great point that cannot be denied. Romo is very very rare.

[Hoofbite]

Originally Posted by casmith07

Absolutely the OL has holes. But attempting to draw a direct relation between draft position and the state of our offensive line is wholly disingenuous.

You think it's disingenuous to suggest a lack of committed resources might be a significant part of the overall problem?

[casmith07]

Originally Posted by TwoDeep3

I may agree with this. But i also believe the people making the decisions decided to stick with the talent level we have, which may be another discussion, and it is here that is the equalizer when discussing draft slots.

because status quo, if it ends up being as poor as we saw last night, falls on those to elected to stand pat.

They absolutely did not "stick with the talent level we have." Guys are gone and new guys were signed in an attempt to improve the offensive line. Those guys also didn't get to play due to injury yesterday, and while the state of the line is not good as it pertains to depth, judging the offensive line now is premature as we have not seen the final starting unit. Concern, sure, but attempting to draw a parallel between this and the front office is disingenuous, as I said.

In short, it is not the status quo.