Sydla
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Football Outsiders NFC East Outlook
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Carson
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Same thing with Philly. Kelce, brooks and Johnson all back and are above average guys
Sydla
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I would have said defense myself but OL was an issue last year. The OL was not very good last year and by their OL rankings we were middle of the pack to lower in many of their OL stats.
I think their point is that we need Smith and Collins back healthy.
JoeKing
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The huge suckage that IS the defense has crept to the OL with contamination. I'm not opposed to the idea of getting some help for the OL so Dak doesn't get knocked out of another season while he is playing on a franchise tag. The team had no chance as soon as Dak got hurt last season.
JoeKing
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They weren't wrong. Given how bad the D is, we have no chance of winning with a bad OL... even against the other bad teams.
Jipper
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They weren't wrong. Given how bad the D is, we have no chance of winning with a bad OL... even against the other bad teams.
they weren't wrong that OL is a need, but it is not the biggest need...in that statement they were wrong.
While our OL was not good for a solid part of the year it was not historically bad as our defense was....if our defense was simply "not good" we would have won a couple more games...unfortunately, we know how bad it was.
Creeper
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If the Cowboys biggest need is offensive line, where any players they get that don't play LG would more than likely be backups, then they should compete for the Super Bowl. "Smith and Martin are 30 years old" the article states. And? 30 is not old for offensive linemen. Both Smith and Martin have a good 5 years left in them if they can avoid injuries. OK, I get it. Smith has been missing games with various ailments the last 3 years. He is clearly impaired by those injuries, but even so, the biggest need? Smith banged up is way better than any DT we have on the team right now. On top of that, we are probably going to lose 1 or 2 CBs after losing Byron Jones last year. That seems like a bigger need than the possibility that Smith might miss a few games. Those 3 CBs leaving in 2 years are missing every game for Dallas.
OL is a need. The Cowboys clearly need to back up Smith and Collins, and find an upgrade for Connor Williams. But the biggest need? Silly.
Defense is the biggest need. DT is #1. S is #2. CB is #3. All these needs are equally important because all of these positions were woeful last year. Then comes LB. Then comes OL depth.
OL is a need. The Cowboys clearly need to back up Smith and Collins, and find an upgrade for Connor Williams. But the biggest need? Silly.
Defense is the biggest need. DT is #1. S is #2. CB is #3. All these needs are equally important because all of these positions were woeful last year. Then comes LB. Then comes OL depth.
ShortRound
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hate giving people extra clicks, I'm just a jerk that way
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All pressure, blown tackle, blown block, and coverage success data comes from Sports Info Solutions charting.
Dallas Cowboys
Biggest Need: Offensive line
Any team would struggle after losing a top-10 quarterback such as Dak Prescott to injury, but the Cowboys spiraled last year because that loss coincided with a deterioration of their offensive line. From Prescott's first year in 2016 to 2019, the team finished in the top eight in adjusted line yards every season. Last year, they finished 12th, and star running back Ezekiel Elliott suffered his career worst season by both yards per attempt (4.0) and rushing DVOA (-1.0%).
Some of that line decline was bad luck. Tackles La'el Collins and Tyrone Smith played just two games between them because of hip and neck injuries. They should be back in 2021, and that should allow four-time All-Pro lineman Zack Martin to return to his natural position at right guard, but Smith and Martin are also 30 years old now, and the former has missed time in each of the last five seasons. It may be unrealistic to expect them to play to their prime standards. And both center Joe Looney and right tackle Cameron Erving are free agents. Even assuming he returns to the team with a long-term extension, Prescott may not be a cure-all for the Cowboys offense unless they can add some linemen to return their blocking to its previous elite levels.
Major Free Agents: Dak Prescott, QB; Andy Dalton, QB; Aldon Smith, EDGE; Chidobe Awuzie, CB; Jourdan Lewis, CB; Xavier Woods, S; Joe Looney, C; Cameron Erving, RT; Tyrone Crawford, DE; Sean Lee, LB
Those previous paragraphs will prove to be dumb if the Cowboys lose franchise quarterback Dak Prescott in free agency, and that's a real risk since his 2020 franchise tag escalates his potential second tag in 2021 to $37.7 million, but Prescott finished in the top eight in passing DVOA in both 2019 and 2020 before his injury. The team will likely move heaven and earth to keep him, and that could precipitate the losses of some other impact free agents such as relatively expensive backup quarterback Andy Dalton, the offensive linemen Looney and Erving, and defensive end Tyrone Crawford.
Aldon Smith returned from a four-year NFL absence to near-peak form with five sacks and 36 hurries, eighth-most in football. He could command a decent payday despite his advanced age of 31. A year after losing top cornerback Byron Jones to the Dolphins, the Cowboys have another pair of cornerback starters set to enter free agency in Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis. The former will likely earn more as an outside starter, but the latter finished among the top 10 qualifiers allowing 6.2 yards per target with a 60% coverage success rate playing primarily in the slot. The Cowboys may also release linebacker Jaylon Smith for $7.2 million cap savings (post-June 1), although that wouldn't do any favors for their 23rd-ranked DVOA run defense. Smith paced the team's linebackers with an excellent 10.5% blown tackle rate in 2020.
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All pressure, blown tackle, blown block, and coverage success data comes from Sports Info Solutions charting.
Dallas Cowboys
Biggest Need: Offensive line
Any team would struggle after losing a top-10 quarterback such as Dak Prescott to injury, but the Cowboys spiraled last year because that loss coincided with a deterioration of their offensive line. From Prescott's first year in 2016 to 2019, the team finished in the top eight in adjusted line yards every season. Last year, they finished 12th, and star running back Ezekiel Elliott suffered his career worst season by both yards per attempt (4.0) and rushing DVOA (-1.0%).
Some of that line decline was bad luck. Tackles La'el Collins and Tyrone Smith played just two games between them because of hip and neck injuries. They should be back in 2021, and that should allow four-time All-Pro lineman Zack Martin to return to his natural position at right guard, but Smith and Martin are also 30 years old now, and the former has missed time in each of the last five seasons. It may be unrealistic to expect them to play to their prime standards. And both center Joe Looney and right tackle Cameron Erving are free agents. Even assuming he returns to the team with a long-term extension, Prescott may not be a cure-all for the Cowboys offense unless they can add some linemen to return their blocking to its previous elite levels.
Major Free Agents: Dak Prescott, QB; Andy Dalton, QB; Aldon Smith, EDGE; Chidobe Awuzie, CB; Jourdan Lewis, CB; Xavier Woods, S; Joe Looney, C; Cameron Erving, RT; Tyrone Crawford, DE; Sean Lee, LB
Those previous paragraphs will prove to be dumb if the Cowboys lose franchise quarterback Dak Prescott in free agency, and that's a real risk since his 2020 franchise tag escalates his potential second tag in 2021 to $37.7 million, but Prescott finished in the top eight in passing DVOA in both 2019 and 2020 before his injury. The team will likely move heaven and earth to keep him, and that could precipitate the losses of some other impact free agents such as relatively expensive backup quarterback Andy Dalton, the offensive linemen Looney and Erving, and defensive end Tyrone Crawford.
Aldon Smith returned from a four-year NFL absence to near-peak form with five sacks and 36 hurries, eighth-most in football. He could command a decent payday despite his advanced age of 31. A year after losing top cornerback Byron Jones to the Dolphins, the Cowboys have another pair of cornerback starters set to enter free agency in Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis. The former will likely earn more as an outside starter, but the latter finished among the top 10 qualifiers allowing 6.2 yards per target with a 60% coverage success rate playing primarily in the slot. The Cowboys may also release linebacker Jaylon Smith for $7.2 million cap savings (post-June 1), although that wouldn't do any favors for their 23rd-ranked DVOA run defense. Smith paced the team's linebackers with an excellent 10.5% blown tackle rate in 2020.
JoeKing
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The "biggest need" is a matter of opinion. When your opinion matters in the big scheme of things, then they will be wrong.
Shake_Tiller
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Here is a problem with the Football Outsiders take: "Some of that line decline was bad luck." This is reflective of what you read again and again. The sentence should read: "Most of that line decline was bad luck." It is the same dynamic as the Prescott injury.
The reality is that a certain level of injury misfortune will ruin a season. Ask the 49ers. The Cowboys had no chance given the number and severity of their injuries. For some reason, people want to ignore this fact.
Some of this stems from the idiotic interpretation of the "next man up" mantra. It is what coaches must say, and to an extent, it is true. But the idea that backup players will provide an identical performance to starting players ignores the fact they are, for a reason, backup players.
I have no issue with Dallas taking an OL in the first round, or wherever there is value. But that's because the draft was never meant to be a single-year mechanism of team improvement. It can be. There are unusual draft classes. But drafts must be designed to address needs further down the line than a single year.
The offense's weaknesses were mostly a function of bad luck. The defense's weaknesses were mostly a function of poor design, poor draft choices and poor personnel decisions. There was some bad luck, as always will be the case, but there was a structural failure.
If the Cowboys have reason to expect Tyron and Collins to return and to be healthy, they have reason to expect the offense to improve. That is as true as the fact that a healthy Prescott would improve their level of play. They have infinitely more information than we have upon which to make decisions.
Defensively, they moved to fix the scheme. They also need some better players. Hopefully, the coming draft contributes to improvement.
But many of these analysts act as if some of the injured Cowboys had limbs amputated. They suffered injuries. Most players return from injury to play similarly to what they have played in the past. Of course, there are exceptions.
Tyron is a concern because of persistent injuries. The team knows whether and to what extent surgery might have helped mitigate. The draft will probably tell us something about what they think.
That said, the Cowboys could choose an OL even if they are confident that Tyron and Collins will return next year and play at a high level. The draft isn't a single-season exercise.
To suggest, though, that the Cowboys' greatest need is OL seems to me ridiculous, based on what any of us, plausibly, can know.
The reality is that a certain level of injury misfortune will ruin a season. Ask the 49ers. The Cowboys had no chance given the number and severity of their injuries. For some reason, people want to ignore this fact.
Some of this stems from the idiotic interpretation of the "next man up" mantra. It is what coaches must say, and to an extent, it is true. But the idea that backup players will provide an identical performance to starting players ignores the fact they are, for a reason, backup players.
I have no issue with Dallas taking an OL in the first round, or wherever there is value. But that's because the draft was never meant to be a single-year mechanism of team improvement. It can be. There are unusual draft classes. But drafts must be designed to address needs further down the line than a single year.
The offense's weaknesses were mostly a function of bad luck. The defense's weaknesses were mostly a function of poor design, poor draft choices and poor personnel decisions. There was some bad luck, as always will be the case, but there was a structural failure.
If the Cowboys have reason to expect Tyron and Collins to return and to be healthy, they have reason to expect the offense to improve. That is as true as the fact that a healthy Prescott would improve their level of play. They have infinitely more information than we have upon which to make decisions.
Defensively, they moved to fix the scheme. They also need some better players. Hopefully, the coming draft contributes to improvement.
But many of these analysts act as if some of the injured Cowboys had limbs amputated. They suffered injuries. Most players return from injury to play similarly to what they have played in the past. Of course, there are exceptions.
Tyron is a concern because of persistent injuries. The team knows whether and to what extent surgery might have helped mitigate. The draft will probably tell us something about what they think.
That said, the Cowboys could choose an OL even if they are confident that Tyron and Collins will return next year and play at a high level. The draft isn't a single-season exercise.
To suggest, though, that the Cowboys' greatest need is OL seems to me ridiculous, based on what any of us, plausibly, can know.
CowboysRule
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We don't need that much along the offensive line. What we need is for the starters to stay healthy. No team can afford high quality starters and backups along the line. If you get an injury or maybe two along the line you can get by but when literally your entire line is injured and even the backups injured what can you do? Hope for health.
The defensive line is different. Even before injuries they were terrible. The defensive line and the secondary is a need way before the offensive line.
The defensive line is different. Even before injuries they were terrible. The defensive line and the secondary is a need way before the offensive line.
Sydla
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I saw another explanation elsewhere that said the reason they went OL is because this team is built around it's offense. It's what's going to win games for this team going forward. This isn't a defensive oriented team or a team that's built to make games sluggish slug fests. They are built to score points, lots of points. If the OL is a problem, then the team is screwed.
That doesn't mean you ignore defense or don't try to get better but the reality is that this team is built around it's QB, OL, TBs and WRs. If the OL falls apart again, the team is likely stuck in the mud no matter how much improved the defense could end up being.
That doesn't mean you ignore defense or don't try to get better but the reality is that this team is built around it's QB, OL, TBs and WRs. If the OL falls apart again, the team is likely stuck in the mud no matter how much improved the defense could end up being.
TheMarathonContinues
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They are clueless if they think that’s the biggest need.
Texasfootball21
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DAL vs ATL on NFLN week 2 right now. Top ten game of the year. Gives a good perspective on where we were prior to all the injuries during the covid season with no training camp. If I remember right the OL played well enough.
Typhus
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Agree there, just one good draft pick and this OL has the ability to be really good.
Reps for your big boys, your big OL need reps, and even UDFAs if given reps can become relevant.
Just saying we may not have the best starting OL in the league, but considering the amount of reps everyone else got...
This OL can be considered deep again if they were to pull the trigger on a Slater.
aria
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And the perspective would be that we were horrible, even without the injuries. It took an onsides kick to beat a 4-12 team.
Jipper
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The "biggest need" is a matter of opinion. When your opinion matters in the big scheme of things, then they will be wrong.
well statistically speaking which was the worse unit, the defense or the offense? Clearly it was the defense by a very wide margin.
so again, I don’t understand how the biggest need can come on the oline when the defense was historically bad. Do you have a specific reason why you would lean towards the oline being a bigger need?