A real good look at Doug Free at guard

[Zekeats]

Let me start by saying I can't stand a ton of these writers who either just watch the game once without going back to the film, or just look at the stat sheet and write a bs blog with a bunch of incorrect garbage.
Free looked pretty good at guard on Saturday, and much better than Berny. His passblock was good and strong, his runblocking was decent, and he can get to the second level but just needs to come under control better.
I honestly believe that guard is actually a better position than tackle for him. The problem with him at tackle is when he is pass blocking he isn't allowed to get his hands on the defender right away and he is not very good with the extra space on the outside that he has to cover.
He is stronger than most give him credit for and I really think that him pulling on running plays behind the power of Smith and Leary(if/when healthy) will open up some huge holes. I think that him playing in less space for pass protection will help him a lot.

 

[1LoyalCowboyFan]

That wide nine stance or whatever it is called made him look like a fish out of water. I agree.

 

[newlander]

Let me start by saying I can't stand a ton of these writers who either just watch the game once without going back to the film, or just look at the stat sheet and write a bs blog with a bunch of incorrect garbage.
Free looked pretty good at guard on Saturday, and much better than Berny. His passblock was good and strong, his runblocking was decent, and he can get to the second level but just needs to come under control better.
I honestly believe that guard is actually a better position than tackle for him. The problem with him at tackle is when he is pass blocking he isn't allowed to get his hands on the defender right away and he is not very good with the extra space on the outside that he has to cover.
He is stronger than most give him credit for and I really think that him pulling on running plays behind the power of Smith and Leary(if/when healthy) will open up some huge holes. I think that him playing in less space for pass protection will help him a lot.

total nonsense....you can only hide him for so long. My gosh, he is NOT a guard. He's weak for a Tackle and everyone KNOWS it. This kind of nonsense is just unreal. Doug Free does NOT have the leg drive and core strength to play Guard effectively in this league. He'll end up hurt or get Romo hurt. It's an idiotic ploy. They need to sign or trade for a real Guard OR TWO and move Free back to RT.

 

[perrykemp]

total nonsense....you can only hide him for so long. My gosh, he is NOT a guard. He's weak for a Tackle and everyone KNOWS it. This kind of nonsense is just unreal. Doug Free does NOT have the leg drive and core strength to play Guard effectively in this league. He'll end up hurt or get Romo hurt. It's an idiotic ploy. They need to sign or trade for a real Guard OR TWO and move Free back to RT.

I tend to agree. Free was one of the weakest tackles in the NFL last season --- constantly being walked into the backfield by OLBs and DEs.... How in the world is he going to handle DTs and NTs?

 

[JBS]

total nonsense....you can only hide him for so long. My gosh, he is NOT a guard. He's weak for a Tackle and everyone KNOWS it. This kind of nonsense is just unreal. Doug Free does NOT have the leg drive and core strength to play Guard effectively in this league. He'll end up hurt or get Romo hurt. It's an idiotic ploy. They need to sign or trade for a real Guard OR TWO and move Free back to RT.

you didnt watch the game...

i did...twice...

free was very efficient in pass protection...almost no leaks..
in the run game he doesnt create much..decent at getting to the 2nd level and getting a hat on a lb though..

unless romo is going to get killed on a run play-youre completely wrong

hes absolutely serviceable at RG...definitely not the weakest link on the OL..not even 2nd weakest

 

[CowboyStar88]

I tend to agree. Free was one of the weakest tackles in the NFL last season --- constantly being walked into the backfield by OLBs and DEs.... How in the world is he going to handle DTs and NTs?

Again it has been reported that free struggles because he was not using the technique or was not buying into the scheme that BC brought with him. But it was reported that towards the end of last season when he was playing better he was using the technique or understood it better and that's why he improved.

 

[CowboyStar88]

total nonsense....you can only hide him for so long. My gosh, he is NOT a guard. He's weak for a Tackle and everyone KNOWS it. This kind of nonsense is just unreal. Doug Free does NOT have the leg drive and core strength to play Guard effectively in this league. He'll end up hurt or get Romo hurt. It's an idiotic ploy. They need to sign or trade for a real Guard OR TWO and move Free back to RT.

You really didn't watch the game.

 

[big dog cowboy]

You really didn't watch the game.

Pretty easy to spot isn't it?

 

[CowboyStar88]

Pretty easy to spot isn't it?

Pretty much! Geez

 

[JBS]

the biggest concern i have with free after viewing the bengals game a 2nd time is his run blocking...running to the right this season wont render very good results..

i do like our chances running left once leary comes back

all in all..this offensive line is significantly better than it has been in the last 2-3 yrs

 

[perrykemp]

Again it has been reported that free struggles because he was not using the technique or was not buying into the scheme that BC brought with him. But it was reported that towards the end of last season when he was playing better he was using the technique or understood it better and that's why he improved.

I thought at the end of the season he was spending half of his time on the bench supplemented by Parnell.

Anyway, I hope it was just a technique issue. Generally speaking however, a player is who he is after being in the league after 5 or 6 seasons.... To expect dramatic improvement isn't realistic.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

the biggest concern i have with free after viewing the bengals game a 2nd time is his run blocking...running to the right this season wont render very good results..

i do like our chances running left once leary comes back

all in all..this offensive line is significantly better than it has been in the last 2-3 yrs

I doubt Free will ever be a great run blocker, though I'm far more concerned with pass protection. And, it should be noted that we ran quite well behind Parnell last season (~5 ypr).

 

[CowboyStar88]

I thought at the end of the season he was spending half of his time on the bench supplemented by Parnell.

Anyway, I hope it was just a technique issue. Generally speaking however, a player is who he is after being in the league after 5 or 6 seasons.... To expect dramatic improvement isn't realistic.

I will argue that he was a pretty solid player before the switch in positions and technique and scheme. So it's not out of the question we see the old Doug Free that everyone was high on before his struggles. You don't go from a solid player to garbage. He obviously has talent.

 

[jrumann59]

the biggest concern i have with free after viewing the bengals game a 2nd time is his run blocking...running to the right this season wont render very good results..

i do like our chances running left once leary comes back

all in all..this offensive line is significantly better than it has been in the last 2-3 yrs

This. I did not see him pull much. I also did not see him man up and blow his guy off the ball. Also he seems to lose focus/confidence when asked to switch positions. What I say last night was enough for everyone to fall in love with him at OG like we did when he replaced Colombo at OT. As the saying goes, "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." Right now he is at Fool em Quatro.

 

[CowboyStar88]

This. I did not see him pull much. I also did not see him man up and blow his guy off the ball. Also he seems to lose focus/confidence when asked to switch positions. What I say last night was enough for everyone to fall in love with him at OG like we did when he replaced Colombo at OT. As the saying goes, "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." Right now he is at Fool em Quatro.

Although you probably won't see him line up and blow anyone off the line because of the scheme. Actually it was pretty evident that free was focused and there were times he fired of the ball to get to the 2nd level and make a block. For Free this is probably a great move and if you listen to Fred he said it was great having him next to him because he knew the line calls and what was happening and that Free is a smart player. If anything pairing these 2 together might actually yield some solid results

 

[JBS]

i just watched all of parnells reps at RT

hes not nearly as bad as I anticipated..but hes definitely much leakier than free is in pass protection...he will give up his share of sacks..thats for sure

on the other hand..he gets MUCH MUCH better push than free does in the run game...overall I think Free is a better guard than Parnell is a RT..at least he was in the cincy game...but its splitting hairs...its not much of a difference..if someone thought parnell played better than free I could see it but I would not agree...

I think flipping Free to Guard is smart..Romo prefers the rush to come from the outside rather than up the middle...the middle of the pocket will be clean this season...there will be leaks from both tackle spots...but mainly from the right side...

 

[Zekeats]

total nonsense....you can only hide him for so long. My gosh, he is NOT a guard. He's weak for a Tackle and everyone KNOWS it. This kind of nonsense is just unreal. Doug Free does NOT have the leg drive and core strength to play Guard effectively in this league. He'll end up hurt or get Romo hurt. It's an idiotic ploy. They need to sign or trade for a real Guard OR TWO and move Free back to RT.

You couldn't be any more further from the truth. Free never got bull rushed, Atkins couldn't even bull rush him. The problem with Free has always been once he sets his feet he is cemented and can not adjust in time. He got beat way to much off the snap and was always off balance which is why he would get beat(not bull rushed) to the inside. Without him having to worry about all that extra room on the outside he will be a much better pass blocker, regardless of strength from a DT or DE. A lot of people forget that Free is pretty strong for a tackle, and had one of the highest averages per attempts behind him during one of his seasons, I think it was his first starting season 2010 I think.

Bottom line is the weakest link (berny) on the line will now hopefully be on the sidelines.

 

[jrumann59]

Although you probably won't see him line up and blow anyone off the line because of the scheme. Actually it was pretty evident that free was focused and there were times he fired of the ball to get to the 2nd level and make a block. For Free this is probably a great move and if you listen to Fred he said it was great having him next to him because he knew the line calls and what was happening and that Free is a smart player. If anything pairing these 2 together might actually yield some solid results

He never comboed off to the next level. When he was covered he did an OK job getting in the way. When he was uncovered he made it to the next level as most line are supposed to do, you look to see if help is needed then flow tot he 2nd level where free should have a weight advantage. When he manned up with a guy over him he was OK. He is a better all round tackle than Parnell, we need find a slightly better than avg OG that can stay healthy next to him.

 

[jobberone]

I tend to agree. Free was one of the weakest tackles in the NFL last season --- constantly being walked into the backfield by OLBs and DEs.... How in the world is he going to handle DTs and NTs?

Don't know where you're getting this from. Both of those statements are a gross exaggeration of the facts. That's not saying he was a pillar of strength but this hyperbole is what perpetuates the myth he sucked last year. Just keep repeating the mantra. How did he go from supreme suckage to solid guard or tackle which by many accounts have been reported.

 

[jobberone]

You couldn't be any more further from the truth. Free never got bull rushed, Atkins couldn't even bull rush him. The problem with Free has always been once he sets his feet he is cemented and can not adjust in time. He got beat way to much off the snap and was always off balance which is why he would get beat(not bull rushed) to the inside. Without him having to worry about all that extra room on the outside he will be a much better pass blocker, regardless of strength from a DT or DE. A lot of people forget that Free is pretty strong for a tackle, and had one of the highest averages per attempts behind him during one of his seasons, I think it was his first starting season 2010 I think.

Bottom line is the weakest link (berny) on the line will now hopefully be on the sidelines.

I don't think many people think Free's problems have come from his feet. That's Bernie though. He does get off balance at times because he lets people get into him and he doesn't bend enough. He doesn't lean or reach too much though.