TheSkaven
Last Man Standing
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Let’s try a thread that isn’t Dak-focused.
By every reasonable statistic, this offensive line has been in decline since 2017. We’ve blamed Dak for holding the ball too long, Linehan for his lack of creativity, dearth of talent at WR, but the stats show that this comes back to the offensive line.
From 2014 to 2016 this was a dominant force up front. Even in 2015, the year ruined by Romo’s two brutal collarbone injuries, the team still ran for 4.63 yards per carry. That was before Zeke.
In 2016, Bryant went down injured and Dak and Zeke still killed it. They went 13-3.
2017 was OK until Tyron Smith got hurt and the dreaded Chaz Green experiment. And that’s when things have started to come undone.
There were 56 sacks given up in 2018, and even if you give a lot of them to Dak (unfair, but whatever), you can’t get past the poor play on the line.
1. Conner Williams was the biggest culprit. Undersized, he gave up the most sacks even though he didn’t play 16 games. He shouldn’t have been thrown into the fire so soon.
2. Collins gets a free pass here but his play was also really poor. I have to imagine that this is his last year here.
3. Obviously we were missing Fredbeard. Looney is the only starter who didn’t give up any sacks (Martin only gave up 2), but we miss Fredbeard’s adjustments and athleticism.
4. Tyron Smith was playing hurt again. He’s not getting any younger.
So to me, the team’s success in 2019 comes down to the offensive line. When they play well, this team wins a lot of games. When they don’t... well, you know.
And the Dallas Cowboys have more salary cap money invested in OL then any other team in the league.
In 2019..
- Frederick is back, but is he his old self
- Martin is a stud, no worry there.
- Collins is a worry, and he’s likely gone after this year. Can he be replaced a year early
- Will T.Smith stay injury free?
- Will Conner Williams’ bulk make him a better player?
- How willing Conner McGovern contribute?
Too many questions... this is my biggest worry going into training camp.
By every reasonable statistic, this offensive line has been in decline since 2017. We’ve blamed Dak for holding the ball too long, Linehan for his lack of creativity, dearth of talent at WR, but the stats show that this comes back to the offensive line.
From 2014 to 2016 this was a dominant force up front. Even in 2015, the year ruined by Romo’s two brutal collarbone injuries, the team still ran for 4.63 yards per carry. That was before Zeke.
In 2016, Bryant went down injured and Dak and Zeke still killed it. They went 13-3.
2017 was OK until Tyron Smith got hurt and the dreaded Chaz Green experiment. And that’s when things have started to come undone.
There were 56 sacks given up in 2018, and even if you give a lot of them to Dak (unfair, but whatever), you can’t get past the poor play on the line.
1. Conner Williams was the biggest culprit. Undersized, he gave up the most sacks even though he didn’t play 16 games. He shouldn’t have been thrown into the fire so soon.
2. Collins gets a free pass here but his play was also really poor. I have to imagine that this is his last year here.
3. Obviously we were missing Fredbeard. Looney is the only starter who didn’t give up any sacks (Martin only gave up 2), but we miss Fredbeard’s adjustments and athleticism.
4. Tyron Smith was playing hurt again. He’s not getting any younger.
So to me, the team’s success in 2019 comes down to the offensive line. When they play well, this team wins a lot of games. When they don’t... well, you know.
And the Dallas Cowboys have more salary cap money invested in OL then any other team in the league.
In 2019..
- Frederick is back, but is he his old self
- Martin is a stud, no worry there.
- Collins is a worry, and he’s likely gone after this year. Can he be replaced a year early
- Will T.Smith stay injury free?
- Will Conner Williams’ bulk make him a better player?
- How willing Conner McGovern contribute?
Too many questions... this is my biggest worry going into training camp.