The underrated greatness of Travis Frederick

AsthmaField

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The grieving starts now because we didn't know until now that he'd never be back, and in prime form.
Right, but the truth is, we haven’t had Prime Frederick since the 2017 season. No matter when we realized we’d never have him again, the fact is, he’s been gone for a long time.

That’s my point. Technically though, you’re correct and we are just now realizing it.
 

tunahelper

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When Travis Frederick announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago, I was saddened but not shocked. Not only has he been great on the field, but he has also shown to be a man whose values guide his decisions.

He probably could have played at a pretty high level in 2020, but I believe he was concerned about his long term health, and wanted to be remembered as consistent in great performance rather than be seen as someone in decline. I admire that very much. (I wish more players had that attitude) Travis Frederick has been one of the most underrated Cowboys players in recent memory.

So here are some indicators of just how great TF was that some of us may have missed:
  • He was extremely durable. Until his bout with Gillian-Barre, he never missed a game due to injury. He played over 1,000 snaps in every season he played.
  • He was brilliant at reading defensive fronts and at calling the blocking and pass protection schemes needed. His teammates often said he was THE best in the NFL at this.
  • When the OL trio of TF, Tyron Smith and Zack Martin all played together, we averaged only allowing 29 sacks per season.
  • In 2018, the year T-Fred was out, the Cowboys allowed 56 sacks! That’s not a coincidence. Last year, upon his return, the OL only allowed 23 sacks!
  • T-Fred was a 5 time Pro Bowler and 1st or 2nd team ALL PRO 3 times.
  • He was seen as a respected leader and friend in the locker room. (Ty Smith paid great tribute to TF)
When a truly great player retires, it’s worth stopping down from our offseason discussions and tip the cap to a guy that will be very difficult to replace. I think he’s ROH quality.

39 million through your short career allows you to say I want to be remembered for my greatness.
 

Bobhaze

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I remember the day he was drafted and like almost everyone on the old forum went "who"? The majority believed he could have been taken in the 2nd round but the word came out that BAL would have taken him.

The front office was sold Yosemite by the new HC at AR, his former coach at WIS. Bielema was known as a lineman's coach and he said after they took Yosemite that he was the smartest player he'd ever coached.

So, I started to do some research on the guy and every piece of information I found made me more comfortable with that selection at exactly where they took him. The only negative I could find was in the scouting report that he was slow to get to the second level. So when he played, I looked for that and wondered what had they been watching? When getting to the second level was called for, he had no problem doing that.

The value of a smart center cannot be overrated and we have the difference in the O and Aikman when Stepnowski was allowed to walk. He was small but smart and was as much an asset to Aikman as Irvin, Smith and Novacek.

I think the OL will miss his smarts as much as they missed Leary's attitude. We always seem to dismiss losing an OL like they're all replaceable. Bet you McC, Moore, Prescott and the other OL aren't so casual about him retiring.
When you look at sacks we’ve given up, it’s instantly noticeable how valuable T-Fred was. In 2017, the year before his disease hit, the team gave up 32 sacks. In 2018, when he was gone, we gave up 56 sacks. Last year upon his return, we only gave up 23 sacks. That’s impact.
 

gimmesix

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Frederick was very good. However, Dallas hasn’t had the dominant Frederick since 2017. In 2018 he didn’t play and in 2019, he wasn’t his old, dominant self. So while I do understand lamenting the loss of an All-Pro center, just remember that the grieving needed to start before the 2018 season. It isn’t new and we know what the loss of him looks like.

All the sacks given up in 2018 can’t be attributed all to the loss of Travis. The biggest problem that year was the new OL coach, Alexander, came in and changed the technique used by the whole line. Plus, it wasn’t just Looney that was new to the line. Connor Williams was a rookie OT being switched inside next to Looney.

Add to that the fact that the WR corps was a mess and couldn’t get open to save their lives in the early part of the 2018 season. Dak was having to hold the ball for an eternity waiting for a marginal #1 receiver (he was actually a #2 at best) and his rookie running mate to break open.

The whole line was in turmoil that year and Looney was just one part of the equation. It was a recipe for disaster. It is disingenuous to say that Looney replaced Frederick and that caused the OL to give up all of those sacks.

If you watched Looney’s play from that season, it wasn’t bad at all. Was it Prime Frederick? Of course not, but it was more than adequate. Several times that year you could see Looney leading Elliott 30 yards downfield, blocking his butt off at the second and third level. He’s a solid player and his team mates love him.

And don’t forget, Dallas hasn’t had prime Frederick since 2017.

The loss of Travis isn’t catastrophic to the Cowboys line play. They’ll be solid with Looney. And that is if McGovern doesn’t take the job from him. There is a chance that McGovern comes in and wins the job, outright. He is a really good IOL and he just might be a pro bowl C himself.

Dallas is anything but devoid of options (and talent) at center. There are much bigger things to worry about.

It goes to show how quickly things change. In 2016, we had one of the best lines in football anchored by Smith, Frederick and Martin. In 2017, Tyron had health struggles and we didn't have an adequate replacement (or blocking plan) to keep teams from teeing off on the weak link. In 2018, we lost Frederick and our sacks skyrocketed. Last year, Collins played the best we've seen him play at RT, but health problems bothered all three of our stars at times.

Now, Frederick is gone, Smith has reoccurring back problems and Martin even has had some issues. That's why the slow-building plan just isn't effective in the NFL.
 

AsthmaField

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It goes to show how quickly things change. In 2016, we had one of the best lines in football anchored by Smith, Frederick and Martin. In 2017, Tyron had health struggles and we didn't have an adequate replacement (or blocking plan) to keep teams from teeing off on the weak link. In 2018, we lost Frederick and our sacks skyrocketed. Last year, Collins played the best we've seen him play at RT, but health problems bothered all three of our stars at times.

Now, Frederick is gone, Smith has reoccurring back problems and Martin even has had some issues. That's why the slow-building plan just isn't effective in the NFL.
You’re right... things change rapidly in the NFL. In 2016, to have said Collins might be the best player on that line would have been looked at as crazy.
 

75boyz

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Very few centers can handle large DTs alone, play with the leverage he did, or get to the second level.

Well said, this exactly. As mentioned earlier, there is absolutely no shame in being ONE of the top 5 guys at his position during his era of playing time. No shame whatsoever. He was ONE of the best for a brief time.
 

JohnsKey19

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Great player. The young interior OL of Martin, Fred and Leary was probably as good as we'll see for a long time.
 

CowboyRoy

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When Travis Frederick announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago, I was saddened but not shocked. Not only has he been great on the field, but he has also shown to be a man whose values guide his decisions.

He probably could have played at a pretty high level in 2020, but I believe he was concerned about his long term health, and wanted to be remembered as consistent in great performance rather than be seen as someone in decline. I admire that very much. (I wish more players had that attitude) Travis Frederick has been one of the most underrated Cowboys players in recent memory.

So here are some indicators of just how great TF was that some of us may have missed:
  • He was extremely durable. Until his bout with Gillian-Barre, he never missed a game due to injury. He played over 1,000 snaps in every season he played.
  • He was brilliant at reading defensive fronts and at calling the blocking and pass protection schemes needed. His teammates often said he was THE best in the NFL at this.
  • When the OL trio of TF, Tyron Smith and Zack Martin all played together, we averaged only allowing 29 sacks per season.
  • In 2018, the year T-Fred was out, the Cowboys allowed 56 sacks! That’s not a coincidence. Last year, upon his return, the OL only allowed 23 sacks!
  • T-Fred was a 5 time Pro Bowler and 1st or 2nd team ALL PRO 3 times.
  • He was seen as a respected leader and friend in the locker room. (Ty Smith paid great tribute to TF)
When a truly great player retires, it’s worth stopping down from our offseason discussions and tip the cap to a guy that will be very difficult to replace. I think he’s ROH quality.

"we will be fine" :lmao2::lmao2::lmao::lmao:
 

Kaiser

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Right, but the truth is, we haven’t had Prime Frederick since the 2017 season. No matter when we realized we’d never have him again, the fact is, he’s been gone for a long time.

That’s my point. Technically though, you’re correct and we are just now realizing it.

I totally agree. I would rank them this way -

2017 Frederick: A+
2018 Looney: B-
2019 Frederick: A-

I expect McGovern to be the starter in 2020 and be around a solid B on that scale.
 

Redball Express

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When Travis Frederick announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago, I was saddened but not shocked. Not only has he been great on the field, but he has also shown to be a man whose values guide his decisions.

He probably could have played at a pretty high level in 2020, but I believe he was concerned about his long term health, and wanted to be remembered as consistent in great performance rather than be seen as someone in decline. I admire that very much. (I wish more players had that attitude) Travis Frederick has been one of the most underrated Cowboys players in recent memory.

So here are some indicators of just how great TF was that some of us may have missed:
  • He was extremely durable. Until his bout with Gillian-Barre, he never missed a game due to injury. He played over 1,000 snaps in every season he played.
  • He was brilliant at reading defensive fronts and at calling the blocking and pass protection schemes needed. His teammates often said he was THE best in the NFL at this.
  • When the OL trio of TF, Tyron Smith and Zack Martin all played together, we averaged only allowing 29 sacks per season.
  • In 2018, the year T-Fred was out, the Cowboys allowed 56 sacks! That’s not a coincidence. Last year, upon his return, the OL only allowed 23 sacks!
  • T-Fred was a 5 time Pro Bowler and 1st or 2nd team ALL PRO 3 times.
  • He was seen as a respected leader and friend in the locker room. (Ty Smith paid great tribute to TF)
When a truly great player retires, it’s worth stopping down from our offseason discussions and tip the cap to a guy that will be very difficult to replace. I think he’s ROH quality.
He was a man among men if you get me.

I get confused with people who say we don't need to spend another #1 pick on a center.

We can get by shuffling other players and find other players for the team.

OMG.

Beard was a #1 pick..late Rd but still a #1.

At the time, we all scratched our heads thinking we needed other players.

But as usual, the fans are wrong.

We know what happened and how much better we became immediately from him.

So yes he was brilliant.

For me, no matter who plays the position, Beard was best at calling the line calls at scrimmage. He studied and translated it to the game.

Who replaces that?
 

Fredbeard

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He was my favorite player of the modern cowboys. He was also the only other player
I've successfully mocked to the cowboys.
He is a smart guy too. I think he double majored in computer science and engineering and set records for his wonderlic score
 
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