Our Biggest weakness is still our O line!

CCBoy

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The 'grinch' still is injury and how that affects a full season.

Last year, the Cowboys stormed out to a 6-1 start despite starting the season with WR Michael Gallup, DT Neville Gallimore, and CB Kelvin Joseph out on IR, and RT La’el Collins sitting out a five-game suspension. But injuries would take their toll down the stretch.

  • Dak Prescott missed a game with a calf injury and it felt like it took him quite a while to get over that injury, despite only missing one game.
  • Tyron Smith missed six games, and was perhaps rushed back a bit too early for the playoff game against the 49ers.
  • Randy Gregory missed four games from Week 9-12 with a calf injury.
  • DeMarcus Lawrence fractured his foot in the season opener and wouldn’t be back until Week 12.
  • Amari Cooper missed two games due to Covid, and many more players had to sit out games for the same reason.
No team has enough depth to seamlessly replace all of their top stars, but if you have good enough depth, your team might be able to at least alleviate some of the injury hits.

13 questions reveal whether Cowboys have enough roster depth - Blogging The Boys
 
CCBoy

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2. Does your team have a real swing offensive tackle, a guy that can play left or right tackle and has experience?

The Cowboys have Tyron Smith at left tackle, and just promoted their backup tackle, Terence Steele, to right tackle. They also invested a first-round pick in Tyler Smith with the intent of eventually moving him out to tackle. Beyond that, they have Josh Ball and Matt Waletzko as backups. So they do have some guys, but nobody with NFL experience. Verdict: Probably (1 point).

3. Does your team have a solid inside offensive lineman that can play guard or center?

This obviously depends on how you define “solid”, but the Cowboys do have Connor McGovern who could play all three spots in a pinch. Verdict: Yes (2 points)

13 questions reveal whether Cowboys have enough roster depth - Blogging The Boys
 
Blackrain

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Oline is a big question mark age ,health experience, coaching all factor into the success of this unit.

All I can say is we should have addressed some of this in free agency.

Expecting a rookie to come in and fix all that is wrong with this unit is wishful thinking
 
CCBoy

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5. The Battle at Center
Tyler Biadasz vs. Matt Farniok vs. Alec Lindstrom

You wouldn’t think that this would be a position that could see a change to begin the season, but the comments from Stephen Jones leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft put Matt Farniok’s name out there as competition to Tyler Biadasz going into camp.

We know that at the end of the season, we saw better play out of Biadasz than how his season began, but it seems like the damage was done in the minds of upper management. The Cowboys even went so far as to take time to look at centers in the draft and signed undrafted free agent Alec Lindstrom out of Boston College.

This was seen as a good pick-up by many around the league who thought Lindstrom had the ability to be drafted in the later rounds. By adding Lindstrom, Dallas now has three players who have the ability to play center. Biadasz has the experience after starting the past two seasons. Farniok has a season under his belt but will have to show blocking improvement in order to beat out Biadasz. And, Lindstrom is the wildcard who could surprise all of us and win the job on Week 1.

Top 5 Cowboys' position battles heading into OTAs/training camp (thelandryhat.com)
 
Pass2Run

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CCBoy said:
The 'grinch' still is injury and how that affects a full season.

Last year, the Cowboys stormed out to a 6-1 start despite starting the season with WR Michael Gallup, DT Neville Gallimore, and CB Kelvin Joseph out on IR, and RT La’el Collins sitting out a five-game suspension. But injuries would take their toll down the stretch.

  • Dak Prescott missed a game with a calf injury and it felt like it took him quite a while to get over that injury, despite only missing one game.
  • Tyron Smith missed six games, and was perhaps rushed back a bit too early for the playoff game against the 49ers.
  • Randy Gregory missed four games from Week 9-12 with a calf injury.
  • DeMarcus Lawrence fractured his foot in the season opener and wouldn’t be back until Week 12.
  • Amari Cooper missed two games due to Covid, and many more players had to sit out games for the same reason.
No team has enough depth to seamlessly replace all of their top stars, but if you have good enough depth, your team might be able to at least alleviate some of the injury hits.

13 questions reveal whether Cowboys have enough roster depth - Blogging The Boys
Click to expand...

Excellent post.
 
Pass2Run

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Blackrain said:
Oline is a big question mark age ,health experience, coaching all factor into the success of this unit.

All I can say is we should have addressed some of this in free agency.

Expecting a rookie to come in and fix all that is wrong with this unit is wishful thinking
Click to expand...

I would be willing to spend some money in free agency on some veteran offensive line talent, especially at center. But the question is who.
 
CCBoy

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Calling La’el’s departure a “cap move” when it happened seems suspect and that’s been validated by Dallas’ lack of aggression in free agency throughout 2022. It’s much more likely that Collins was let go due to a broken relationship with management and coaches after his drug test scandal last year and concerns for his long-term viability with his hip issue. That said, La’el might still be here if not for Terence Steele. Dallas’ confidence in Steele certainly helped lay the foundation for Collins’ release, giving the team an acceptable next man up if they weren’t able to find any superior options during the offseason.

Any faith the Cowboys have in Terence is certainly not blind. Despite being an undrafted free agent just two years ago Steele has started in 27 of 33 possible games thanks to Collins’ and Tyron Smith’s injury issues the last two seasons. He’s played more than any other OT on the roster. Throughout his many snaps Steele’s proven that he’s far better right tackle than left. Like many OTs who lack that versatility, he’s a better prospect to be your starting RT than covering both positions in the swing role.

Dallas Cowboys | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Scores, Stats and Standings
 
Buzzbait

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fivetwos said:
Need Farinok to step up and be a center upgrade.
Need Tyler to be the real deal.
Need Tryon to stay reasonably healthy.
This unit is by far my biggest concern going into 2022.
The downgrade from Fred to Biadasz was huge.
Click to expand...

The loss of Fred Beard was indeed a tremendous loss. I wish we could upgrade that position, I'll bet Zeke wishes the same!
 
Prossman

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We have had maybe 1 decent veteran swing tackle in 8 years. You can find that vet guy during or after training camp. We really need to find out can any of our young guys can do it. We are not really going to know what our oline looks like until the pads come on.Matt Waletzko and ball need reps to figure that out. It's time for Biadasz to put up or shut up. Can Farniok or one of the rookies push for the spot. Mcgovern is getting reps also at center. It's time to find out if any of our young offensive lineman can step up.
 
Pass2Run

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OP is generally correct. Although it could be improved this year. I think the biggest loss, overall, was Collins, even from a depth standpoint.

I think we still have Ball, though, right?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he could also play RT. The only position that really concerns me is swing tackle, but Waletzko looks promising, and center. Biadasz might improve.

Most of all, I think guys like Ball improve this year and bring a needed lift to the offensive line. Ball and Smith could really bring a lot to the line.
 
JoeyBoy718

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conner01 said:
I don’t think we have a clue
Biadasz just finished his first real season and improved as he went. Now he is into his second off season with experience to grow on.
smith certainly has the physical traits to be a really good guard and even a LT down the road
Steele should be as good if not better than what we got at RT last year
Smith when on the field is still one of the top LT in the game.
The biggest question mark to be is proven depth
I’m not too concerned about the starters. Smith will be a rookie and have a learning curve but guard is easier to play than tackle so I think he catches on pretty quickly
Click to expand...

There are a lot of unknowns. The only thing known is we’re not gonna be elite like we were in past years. If all the unknowns work in our favor, we’ll be solid. If a few unknowns don’t work out, we’ll be average at best. If none of the unknowns work out, we could be terrible.
 

doomsday9084

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Big D said:
I'd say that it's the defensive line.
Click to expand...

I agree. Its funny how good the O line looks when Pollard runs. As far as pass blocking, Dak was above average in time to throw. His sacks were coverage sacks. The O line certainly isn't as dominant as it was a few years ago but people need to watch around the league and see other teams. There are certainly a lot of lines worse.

The D line though? Can't stop the run and can't get pressure up the middle. Maybe Gallimore improves things but for the most part, the D line was pretty terrible. DT is easily Dallas' worst position.
 
JW82

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Captain43Crash said:
Our O line got manhandled vs the Whiners.

Going into that game, our O line vs the Whiners D line, was my biggest concern. Most of us knew Conner Williams and Biadaz would struggle. We knew if not 100%, Tyron Smith might struggle. We thought Collins and Martin would play well. Martin was good, but Collins was not!

I am glad we got rid of Williams and Collins, and picked up a 1st round O lineman, but we still need to upgrade at Center and possibly LT. Tyron cannot stay healthy and has lost a step when healthy.
Click to expand...

i agree. I would add we have a backup caliber RT as well. I thought for sure, even this front office would be smart enough to add a starting Vet or 2 to the roster along with a high pick or 2. IMO they had needs at LT,
LG and C when the season ended, and they added RT to the list when they let a reasonably priced RT in his prime leave. Since then they’ve added a LG rookie.
 
Bullflop

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The weeks ahead will surely determine whether or not the Cowboys OL might be able to overcome their OL deficiencies. Hopefully, good decisions will prevail well enough to allow the LG and Center positions to be solidified. Here's hoping the needed talent will be attained to reach that crucial goal. Let's cross our fingers that the left tackle backup spot might finally be manned capably, as well. Dak's well-being will surely depend upon it. :)
 
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Given that Joe Burrow had a pack of cards blocking for him yet still led the team to the Superbowl in a deeper conference, then QB is the position of greatest concern. Big contract for a QB outside of the top 10 in the league, unable to win games unless feasting on garbage opposition or benefiting on significant assistance in every discipline all around him. People don't seem to understand it will and has already exposed the team.

All the new threads during the off season are sweet and I respect the enthusiasm from fans, but sadly in reality having Dak Prescott at QB is the equivalent of having an incompetent goalkeeper in football/soccer. You do not win silverware in those conditions. It's too great of a hindrance for the team to overcome.
 
blueblood70

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CCBoy said:
The 'grinch' still is injury and how that affects a full season.

Last year, the Cowboys stormed out to a 6-1 start despite starting the season with WR Michael Gallup, DT Neville Gallimore, and CB Kelvin Joseph out on IR, and RT La’el Collins sitting out a five-game suspension. But injuries would take their toll down the stretch.

  • Dak Prescott missed a game with a calf injury and it felt like it took him quite a while to get over that injury, despite only missing one game.
  • Tyron Smith missed six games, and was perhaps rushed back a bit too early for the playoff game against the 49ers.
  • Randy Gregory missed four games from Week 9-12 with a calf injury.
  • DeMarcus Lawrence fractured his foot in the season opener and wouldn’t be back until Week 12.
  • Amari Cooper missed two games due to Covid, and many more players had to sit out games for the same reason.
No team has enough depth to seamlessly replace all of their top stars, but if you have good enough depth, your team might be able to at least alleviate some of the injury hits.

13 questions reveal whether Cowboys have enough roster depth - Blogging The Boys
Click to expand...
lol right i agree 100%

its crazy how bad a season we had in our fans minds, yet somehow ended 12-5 and were a top offense defense and made it to 3rd seed in the playoffs and played horribly but only lost by 6..in the minds of our fans somehow we were 5-12 and need to have some specular offseason to rebuild lol..

the rest of the east got destroyed and they needed to close the gap not the other way around, i mean they all had more daft pick and higher draft picks and more desperate in FA , why to beat US!.. i get the disappointment but jeez you would think this is the worst season we ever had to rebound from..
 

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It was time for CWill to go. He never did anything to prove he was a starter. LC was very good when he was committed .... but his lack of commitment justified his exit. So, at this point I look at it as addition by subtraction.

How this unit performs will largely determine how the season goes.
 
blueblood70

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McKDaddy said:
It was time for CWill to go. He never did anything to prove he was a starter. LC was very good when he was committed .... but his lack of commitment justified his exit. So, at this point I look at it as addition by subtraction.

How this unit performs will largely determine how the season goes.
Click to expand...
yes time to go buts hes a starter, jeez he got paid and now most likely starting for MIA..not everyone's a PB HOF player, many teams have more role players then stars, its how capped league works 53 players: 10 make most of the money the rest start filling roles as starters and depth.

yes time to move on his mental issues with penalty's etc both team and payer needs a Fresh start..doesnt make his not a starter lol many many players just like Cwill all over the league STARTING.
 
quickccc

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Replacing two vet starters and having to depend upon rookie backup starters at the swing OT roles is gonna make this an OL in transition.
I expect a lot of speed bumps along the way. It's not gonna be the Great Wall of Dallas 2.0

The big key is their immediate development and the quality of depth available.
It's strange that Conner McGovern's name just doesn't come up at all, even as a hopeful reliable backup.
 

McKDaddy

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blueblood70 said:
yes time to go buts hes a starter, jeez he got paid and now most likely starting for MIA..not everyone's a PB HOF player, many teams have more role players then stars, its how capped league works 53 players: 10 make most of the money the rest start filling roles as starters and depth.

yes time to move on his mental issues with penalty's etc both team and payer needs a Fresh start..doesnt make his not a starter lol many many players just like Cwill all over the league STARTING.
Click to expand...

But they are starting due to supply\demand issues not because they are starter quality. Unfortunate fact that a lot of those players keep getting jobs as a new team is hoping they can better. Occasionally they do develop but more often than not, they just continue to prove they are out of their depth.
 
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