Lael Collins proved us wrong - what changed?

AbeBeta

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Seems like Lael Collins is on his way to proving all the critics wrong about him.
He's currently having an outstanding season.
Oi
I admitted that when Cowboys drafted Connor McGovern that was a clear sign of Lael Collins being set up to allowed to depart in FA, and the eventual move of Connor Williams to starting RT with McGovern the eventual starting LG.

But surprisingly the Cowboys re-signed Collins to long term deal ..and that clearly cemented their thoughts and plans for Lael’s future here.
No matter what the outside world thought of him.

I thought Collins would really emerge from what I’d saw at mid-season in 2017 when he fared well vs Khali Mack, Ryan Kerrigan, despite playing with a bum back. But he took a major step backwards in 2018.

I admitted that I was really disappointed in Collins play in 2018, from his sacks, QB hits and lapses, I thought he played like an average OT, despite someone of his terrific physical ability.

- Although I still thought matters that helped hurt his development was ex- OL coach Paul Alexander who was fired at mid season. I even thought entire OL was marred by Alexander.

But thus far this year, Lael seems to have resurged as a promising looking OT, and he has all the looks of an emerging future pro bowler.
We’ll see how he fares against Vikes pro bowler DE’s Hunter and Griffin on Sunday.

La'El picked it up the second Colombo (and Houck) re-installed the Callahanesque system that Pollack had carried over.

Alexander uses a very specific hand technique -- that's great for training rookies but making guys who are successful already play differently is not a good move.
 

TheSkaven

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If you are negative about everything Cowboys like a lot here he definitely proved you wrong. If you realize players need time to develop he probably hasn't proven you wrong.

It's not as simple as that. Collins has underperformed consistently. OP asks a fair question, something flipped this offseason and he became a great, not good, player. That begs the question; are we sometimes not patient enough with players? DLaw had a similar path. I really think Taco could have turned a corner if he was given a chance.

I think sometimes after a few years in the league sometimes the lights just go on for certain players.
 

quickccc

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Ironically the Cowboys seemed very reluctant to move Lael outside to OT. Many media outlets inquired why the team would not try Collins at least as a backup
while the still raw Chaz Green was still having injury prone issues, sitting behind vet Doug Free.
According to Broaddus, the Cowboys didn't;like what they saw in very limited practice and shut the idea down.

But Cowboys apparently envisioned him as an interior OG (and reportedly they did not think he had the idea arm length for an OT) . and immediately replaced Leary as the initial starter before a toe injury shelved him on IR for the season.Immediately returning Ron Leary back as the starter and coincidentally Leary's lone stand out career year in 2016, that earned him a long term deal with Denver.

Collins' immediate move to starting RT, only became imminent when Doug Free surprisingly retired and caught the team off guard. The plan was to groom 3rd round pick Chaz Green
to be heir apparent to Free, but he simply could not shake injury bug to ever get on the field to develop.

And it's been Lael Collins permanent role ever since then.
 

TNCowboy

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If you are negative about everything Cowboys like a lot here he definitely proved you wrong. If you realize players need time to develop he probably hasn't proven you wrong.
Idiotic take. The Cowboys haven't won a super bowl in nearly 25 years. If you aren't negative about everything Cowboys, you're a blind homer.
 

Blackrain

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Oh boy, what changed he got older and stronger . When we drafted him he was 22 yrs old . Linemen take longer to mature put on their full man weight . The baby fat needs to go and the muscle needs to replace it . This kid only benched 21 reps before the draft .

Smarter, stronger , and coached properly the natural maturation process for an Olineman drafted at such an early age . He is 26 now and prime for another 5 or 6 yrs barring injury
 

Creeper

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I never thought Collins was the problem with the Cowboys offensive line. When he moved to RT we knew it would be an adjustment for him. I also don;t think Connor McGregor was drafted to replace Collins. I think McGregor was drafted as insurance in case Connor Williams doesn't make a big improvement over his rookie year. I think the entire 2019 draft was for depth.
 

CT Dal Fan

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A simplistic answer is Collins had some injury issues early in his career and spent some time at left guard.

Now that he's settled into one position at right tackle, his talent is shining through. Very, very happy Dallas locked him up long term.
 

quickccc

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I never thought Collins was the problem with the Cowboys offensive line. When he moved to RT we knew it would be an adjustment for him. I also don;t think Connor McGregor was drafted to replace Collins. I think McGregor was drafted as insurance in case Connor Williams doesn't make a big improvement over his rookie year. I think the entire 2019 draft was for depth.

I didn't realize conner McGregor moved from MMA to NFL
What an interesting career move :D
 

Dre11

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He's grown as player, like all players do.
Imagine that.
 

CoachD

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Collins in playing hi a ss off right now and the reason why I know this is because you NEVER hear about him during the game unless one of the announcers says that Collins has total control over so and so and he's not even coming close to the quarterback!
 

conner01

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He was better last season than most fans/media thought, especially after they fired the OL coach Alexander.

I didn't think the Cowboys would pay him to stay, but they did.
I think Alexander hurt Connor too
Collins was better last year toward the end and I think reps and getting rid of Alexander was a key part of it
 

speedkilz88

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He was better last season than most fans/media thought, especially after they fired the OL coach Alexander.

I didn't think the Cowboys would pay him to stay, but they did.
I don't think they expected to either, but he was willing to sign a team friendly deal.
 

Jeffkills

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I don't know why everyone thinks he played so terribly..

I saw a promising OLineman, who's consistently flashed, and who's naturally developing and getting better as projected.

Don't understand why people didn't have confidence in him.. I loved his extension ever since the word go...
 

Creeper

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I didn't realize conner McGregor moved from MMA to NFL
What an interesting career move :D

HAHA. I meant McGovern of course. Too many Connors in the headlines these days! To err is human, to forgive divine!
 

robjay04

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How insanely smart does our front office look for locking him up now?

I remember posters ripping Broaddus for saying it was a huge bargain...I think Broaddus didn’t even expect a bargain by this much.
 

gimmesix

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Seems like Lael Collins is on his way to proving all the critics wrong about him.
He's currently having an outstanding season.

I admitted that when Cowboys drafted Connor McGovern that was a clear sign of Lael Collins being set up to allowed to depart in FA, and the eventual move of Connor Williams to starting RT with McGovern the eventual starting LG.

But surprisingly the Cowboys re-signed Collins to long term deal ..and that clearly cemented their thoughts and plans for Lael’s future here.
No matter what the outside world thought of him.

I thought Collins would really emerge from what I’d saw at mid-season in 2017 when he fared well vs Khali Mack, Ryan Kerrigan, despite playing with a bum back. But he took a major step backwards in 2018.

I admitted that I was really disappointed in Collins play in 2018, from his sacks, QB hits and lapses, I thought he played like an average OT, despite someone of his terrific physical ability.

- Although I still thought matters that helped hurt his development was ex- OL coach Paul Alexander who was fired at mid season. I even thought entire OL was marred by Alexander.

But thus far this year, Lael seems to have resurged as a promising looking OT, and he has all the looks of an emerging future pro bowler.
We’ll see how he fares against Vikes pro bowler DE’s Hunter and Griffin on Sunday.

1) He had never played on the right side so he had to relearn technique doing things the opposite of how he had previously learned them. This is a lot more difficult than some seem to understand.

2) We switched his position coach to one who taught different technique than the one he was still learning. (Then we switched back to one who returned the line to the technique that knew.)

3) He's in his fifth year overall and third year of the position switch. So he's really in the prime of his career as an offensive lineman, the time when pro players have a good understanding of the game to complement their physical skills.
 
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