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Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
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Starters: Tyron Smith, Connor Williams, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, La'el Collins
Contenders: Cameron Fleming, Connor McGovern, Xavier Sua-Filo, Joe Looney, Adam Redmond, Jake Campos, Cody Wichmann, Mitch Hyatt, Larry Allen Jr., Derrick Puni, Brandon Knight
The Cowboys gave up 59 sacks last year. The offensive line wasn't completely to blame — Paul Alexander, who was fired and replaced by Colombo, bears some of the responsibility as does Dak Prescott — but there were definitely some problems with the unit that is supposed to be one of the strengths of the team.
One of the problems obviously was Travis Frederick missing the season with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Joe Looney did an admirable job filling in for Frederick, but you don't lose an All-Pro without feeling the effects of it. Looney appears to actually be better than Frederick at pulling, but Frederick is stronger at the point of attack and, possibly even more important, we missed his ability to adjust the protection. Hopefully, he'll have made a full recovery and be back in the lineup, but it's good to know that Looney is at least a reliable backup.
Another issue was Tyron Smith's continuing problems with back tightness. He's had to miss games the past three seasons (three each year) and he didn't seem to be as dominant as he usually is (although the numbers don't support that.) Fortunately, Cameron Fleming proved to be a much more reliable backup than Chaz Green and Byron Bell. Since it can't be considered likely that Smith's back issues will get better, it's good that we re-signed Fleming. I do think it is a credit to Smith that he can still play as well as he has despite the ongoing issue.
The main weaknesses in pass protection (other than the line calls) was the left guard spot. Connor Williams gave up 4.5 sacks starting 10 games at left guard. Xavier Su'a-Filo gave up six in eight starts. (Right tackle La'el Collins gave up five in 16 starts. For comparison's sake, Looney was credited with one, Martin three, Smith zero, and Fleming 1.5 in three starts.) Williams' main problem was just size and power. He's technically very sound, but big DL would just knock him back or walk him back. However, he did handle that better when he returned to the starting lineup and he has put on muscle this offseason. Su'a-Filo has to be considered to be what he's going to be at this point in his career. The sack numbers were consistent with his previous two years in Houston. His power advantage over Williams helped the run game, but his struggles with technique in pass protection got him beat multiple times.
At right tackle, Collins is maligned on here because he's simply OK, instead of being great. He's an average starter in the league, which likely means that he'll leave in free agency next year because he'll look to get paid like he's better than average. That might not be a bad thing before Williams may be a better tackle than he is a guard. I don't know if Williams' strength deficiencies will ever completely go away, but he has good feet and uses good technique (which is where Collins struggles) that could make him a great fit at tackle, where he won't go up against as many powerful players as he did at guard. Drafting Connor McGovern could be a sign that Dallas is leaning that way, but the Cowboys also need better left guard play than it got last year, so he adds another option for that spot this year.
Although Dallas picked up some interesting UDFAs (Mitch Hyatt, Derrick Puni), it isn't likely there's going to be any room to carry them on the 53-man roster this year, unless one of them plays well enough to supplant Su'a-Filo. Adam Redmond would also be a contender for that roster spot, though.
ROSTER PREDICTION: We keep nine on the 53 (Smith, Williams, Frederick, Martin, Collins, Fleming, Su'a-Filo, Looney and McGovern) and the starting five remains the same as it was at the beginning and end of the season. I like the footage I've seen of Puni as a raw prospect and Hyatt appears to be at least fairly highly rated, so both of those could end up on the practice squad. Do we also try to get Larry Allen Jr. to fill out and become anything near what his father was?
Contenders: Cameron Fleming, Connor McGovern, Xavier Sua-Filo, Joe Looney, Adam Redmond, Jake Campos, Cody Wichmann, Mitch Hyatt, Larry Allen Jr., Derrick Puni, Brandon Knight
The Cowboys gave up 59 sacks last year. The offensive line wasn't completely to blame — Paul Alexander, who was fired and replaced by Colombo, bears some of the responsibility as does Dak Prescott — but there were definitely some problems with the unit that is supposed to be one of the strengths of the team.
One of the problems obviously was Travis Frederick missing the season with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Joe Looney did an admirable job filling in for Frederick, but you don't lose an All-Pro without feeling the effects of it. Looney appears to actually be better than Frederick at pulling, but Frederick is stronger at the point of attack and, possibly even more important, we missed his ability to adjust the protection. Hopefully, he'll have made a full recovery and be back in the lineup, but it's good to know that Looney is at least a reliable backup.
Another issue was Tyron Smith's continuing problems with back tightness. He's had to miss games the past three seasons (three each year) and he didn't seem to be as dominant as he usually is (although the numbers don't support that.) Fortunately, Cameron Fleming proved to be a much more reliable backup than Chaz Green and Byron Bell. Since it can't be considered likely that Smith's back issues will get better, it's good that we re-signed Fleming. I do think it is a credit to Smith that he can still play as well as he has despite the ongoing issue.
The main weaknesses in pass protection (other than the line calls) was the left guard spot. Connor Williams gave up 4.5 sacks starting 10 games at left guard. Xavier Su'a-Filo gave up six in eight starts. (Right tackle La'el Collins gave up five in 16 starts. For comparison's sake, Looney was credited with one, Martin three, Smith zero, and Fleming 1.5 in three starts.) Williams' main problem was just size and power. He's technically very sound, but big DL would just knock him back or walk him back. However, he did handle that better when he returned to the starting lineup and he has put on muscle this offseason. Su'a-Filo has to be considered to be what he's going to be at this point in his career. The sack numbers were consistent with his previous two years in Houston. His power advantage over Williams helped the run game, but his struggles with technique in pass protection got him beat multiple times.
At right tackle, Collins is maligned on here because he's simply OK, instead of being great. He's an average starter in the league, which likely means that he'll leave in free agency next year because he'll look to get paid like he's better than average. That might not be a bad thing before Williams may be a better tackle than he is a guard. I don't know if Williams' strength deficiencies will ever completely go away, but he has good feet and uses good technique (which is where Collins struggles) that could make him a great fit at tackle, where he won't go up against as many powerful players as he did at guard. Drafting Connor McGovern could be a sign that Dallas is leaning that way, but the Cowboys also need better left guard play than it got last year, so he adds another option for that spot this year.
Although Dallas picked up some interesting UDFAs (Mitch Hyatt, Derrick Puni), it isn't likely there's going to be any room to carry them on the 53-man roster this year, unless one of them plays well enough to supplant Su'a-Filo. Adam Redmond would also be a contender for that roster spot, though.
ROSTER PREDICTION: We keep nine on the 53 (Smith, Williams, Frederick, Martin, Collins, Fleming, Su'a-Filo, Looney and McGovern) and the starting five remains the same as it was at the beginning and end of the season. I like the footage I've seen of Puni as a raw prospect and Hyatt appears to be at least fairly highly rated, so both of those could end up on the practice squad. Do we also try to get Larry Allen Jr. to fill out and become anything near what his father was?