Before shoveling dirt on Tyron Smith

jwooten15

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Thank the Lord you aren’t running the Cowboys then. You’d probably fan boy him up (along with half the team, honestly) and act like it’s 2012 where he’s gonna dominate for 17 games.

The organization is being realistic and proactive, trying to have decent LT depth options when Tyron invariably misses games.
 

Redsfan_83

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You may be right.. but as I watched him kick tail early in the season I was reminded of just how great he is when at full health. Then watching him gimp around after the injury was very disheartening. Maybe he is destined to miss some games but I still think getting the neck fixed gives him a chance to be peak Tyron for 14-16 games this year. I just can't think of a teammate blowing up my leg as my body "breaking down." But that's the beauty of sports.. We get to watch things play out.. so in about 6 months we will have our answers about where he is physically.
We will know come week 4 or 5 how healthy he is/isn't. And to be honest let's say he was 100%, would you even want him playing close to a full season? As sure as the day is long, his days of playing even close to a full season are behind him, and the best we can get is how ever many games he can play at full health. Unfortunately, until we fix our OL, this team and Dak cannot succeed. What's going to be if/when Pollard leaves after next year? Isn't he a FA? We have nobody being groomed and it is safe to say Zeke will continue to have a limited impact running the ball
 

Oz-of-Cowboy-Country

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Is Tyron's replacement currently on the team? Who in free agency right now would you cut Tyron for? If there is no bonafide replacement then keep Tyron. It's just that simple.
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Is the draft pick we use next year to replace Tyron, guaranteed to make it a full season?
 

RonnieT24

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I thought it was Dak's ankle that McGovern stepped.. Or did he get Tyron too?


I just went back and FF'd through to that play at the end of the 3rd quarter where McGovern took out Tyron's ankle. Crap.. well at least with the younger Smith in the line up there will be less chance of a guy just getting bowled over into his legs.
 

RonnieT24

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We will know come week 4 or 5 how healthy he is/isn't. And to be honest let's say he was 100%, would you even want him playing close to a full season? As sure as the day is long, his days of playing even close to a full season are behind him, and the best we can get is how ever many games he can play at full health. Unfortunately, until we fix our OL, this team and Dak cannot succeed. What's going to be if/when Pollard leaves after next year? Isn't he a FA? We have nobody being groomed and it is safe to say Zeke will continue to have a limited impact running the ball

I don't understand why you would say this. Zeke was second in the NFL in rushing and averaging damn near 5.5 ypc before he got hurt last year while the Cowboys were runnin fools into the ground. Are you saying you expect him to stay hurt all season? I mean sure he's bound to get dinged up.. that's the nature of that position and comes with the territory given his running style. However I would be remiss if I did not point out that better blocking equals fewer hits the backs have to take and thus less wear and tear on them. Zeke included. Less wear and tear equals more productive games.
 

Proof

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Heck, we can create an "If" scenario for every year Smith misses games if it makes us feel better and pretend he is going to make it through a full season without missing time, but it doesn't change the fact that he indeed misses games.

it's a little different. he historically had lingering conditions that continued to impact his availablity. he finally got them fixed and looked no worse for the wear. doesn't mean he'll be available all season ever again, but at least take the OP's point as intended .
 

dckid

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A lot of people have been trying to bury the guy for the last 2-3 years.. but lest we forget, if Tony Pollard doesn't get knocked into his leg he very likely plays all 17 games last season. The neck and elbow both held up fine. Pollard's ..er.. lack of ...er... prowess blocking is often cited as the main reason the coaches trotted one legged Zeke out there the last 10-11 games of the season. Not just to protect Dak, but maybe to protect our offensive linemen from Pollard.. Pollard has certainly gotten better each year as a blocker.. but that play were the dude threw him into Tyron's legs is a recurring nightmare.. He's got a ways to go and really needs to get better, especially if Moore is going to insist on throwing the ball 50 times a game.
Hey @RonnieT24 I understand what you are saying, but these kinds of sliding door moments happen every single year. Chargers have what ifs that would make them champs every year.
If Ford doesnt jump offsides, the Chiefs are in the SB in 2019. If Deion gets called for the pass interference in 94 we win 4 SB's in a row, if Dez makes the catch Romo makes a championship game... shall I go on? All of my what if's actually probably result in what I am predicting.
If Pollard doesn't get knocked into Smith's leg he still probably gets hurt.
 

RonnieT24

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it's a little different. he historically had lingering conditions that continued to impact his availablity. he finally got them fixed and looked no worse for the wear. doesn't mean he'll be available all season ever again, but at least take the OP's point as intended .

Thanks man.. but you know how folks get locked into being obtuse at times. We all wanted Tyron to get that neck fixed for years but we should never be so cavalier about cutting into a man's neck.. That's a big deal no matter what fans think of modern medical advances. I've had stuff going on with my neck for 30 years and have never even come close to letting some sawbone cut me open. But I don't slam into 300 pound men for a living. I was glad Tyron finally got his done and was really happy with how he was playing before the ankle got stepped on by his own teammates.. Twice!!! Yikes!! Seems like what we really need is to get him some better teammates!
 

Runwildboys

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Hopefully his luck will change. The dude has such an expansive arm and leg span, it's hard to not get an incidental piece of him at the LOS.
Also, he's probably taking on the biggest load on the LOS. I wonder why someone in his position would get hurt more often...Hmm.
 

Cowboys22

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Guy has been a warrior and one of the best players on the team for a decade. I roll with him every game he says he can go and he can play for me as long as he wants. If it's obvious he can't play anymore then I deal with that then but that time has not yet come.
 

Redsfan_83

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I don't understand why you would say this. Zeke was second in the NFL in rushing and averaging damn near 5.5 ypc before he got hurt last year while the Cowboys were runnin fools into the ground. Are you saying you expect him to stay hurt all season? I mean sure he's bound to get dinged up.. that's the nature of that position and comes with the territory given his running style. However I would be remiss if I did not point out that better blocking equals fewer hits the backs have to take and thus less wear and tear on them. Zeke included. Less wear and tear equals more productive games.
Um, yes? Dude is not healthy, and like Tyron cannot be expected to remain healthy or effective any longer. He had a 4 game stretch where he looked good early on, and did not have a 100 yard game after that. His body cannot hold up an entire season any longer, this much is clear
 

quickccc

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-Tyron was already Humpty Dumpty fragile, we cannot be blaming Pollard for Tyron’s egg shell fragility. That seemed just foolish blaming Pollard on Tyron’s lack of durability.
All linemen get bumped into, rolled up, banged up against each other.
OL teammates, TEs, opposing DLs get caught up, rolled up in trench wars. It's part of the game, It’s a nature of the game. It's part of the business.

- That did not stop Steele whose only missed one game since his rookie year, (per CoVid) It happens to Martin, but he keeps on going and still game in game out.
You don’t think that didn’t happen to Williams or Biadasz too ?
Frankly Tyron's durability issues have not been accidental roll ups, it's been just him.

- Bless Tyron who will eventually be a HOF’er, and eventually Ring of Honoree, but he’s a walking injury waiting to happen, and not just out one game, expect a series of
games, if not the season.

- What we have to prepare for is Plan B, “ when” he eventually does get hurt again and out games. It’s still early, but is it looking like the Cowboys may be
content to go with very raw developmental swing tackles in Josh Ball, and rookie Matt Waletzko – there appears not to be a Cam Irvin, Cam Fleming or Ty Nyseke backup
vet to be brought in for experience vet swing insurance.

- Club may likely put it all in the hands of very raw inexperience guys such as Ball, Waletzko… and maybe if direly needed Tyler Smith to OT ?
 

cowboyec

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when healthy,he still plays on a all-pro level and is on a very team friendly deal.
have 0 interest in moving on from him.
 

RonnieT24

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Um, yes? Dude is not healthy, and like Tyron cannot be expected to remain healthy or effective any longer. He had a 4 game stretch where he looked good early on, and did not have a 100 yard game after that. His body cannot hold up an entire season any longer, this much is clear


Fine his body can't hold up for 300 carries.. that's fair.. however to proclaim that he can't be effective is a completely different thing. If you're saying he's going to stay hurt all season then that's a prediction which I don't agree with. I will steadfastly maintain that if he's not having to fight off defensive linemen in the backfield every other time he gets the ball and throw his body in front of 260 pound men with a head of steam on blitz pickup 30-40 times a game because the line isn't doing its job he will last a lot longer and play a lot better. The logic is irrefutable.. better line play begets fewer hits on Zeke's body which begets better play from Zeke.
 

john van brocklin

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TSmith always has something happen during the season where he misses several multitude of games, not just one. Like clockwork. If it was not the leg, could have been something else. I have no problem with him still being out there, my problem is we know he is gonna miss games but do not have some adequate backup... and i mean adequate. We are in the same position again this year. He is on the downside of his HOF career. Let's see what they do now.
Kinda sad to see :(
 

MountaineerCowboy

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when healthy,he still plays on a all-pro level and is on a very team friendly deal.
have 0 interest in moving on from him.
Why do I feel like if we got rid of him you'd be talking about how smart it was?

You, more so than most on here, literally agree with every move this organization makes.
 

Redsfan_83

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Fine his body can't hold up for 300 carries.. that's fair.. however to proclaim that he can't be effective is a completely different thing. If you're saying he's going to stay hurt all season then that's a prediction which I don't agree with. I will steadfastly maintain that if he's not having to fight off defensive linemen in the backfield every other time he gets the ball and throw his body in front of 260 pound men with a head of steam on blitz pickup 30-40 times a game because the line isn't doing its job he will last a lot longer and play a lot better. The logic is irrefutable.. better line play begets fewer hits on Zeke's body which begets better play from Zeke.
And there is the issue. We do not have such players, and Zeke no longer has any burst to fight off and DL who gets into the back field in a jiffy. Let's not forget who our QB1 is.....
 

atlantacowboy

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A lot of people have been trying to bury the guy for the last 2-3 years.. but lest we forget, if Tony Pollard doesn't get knocked into his leg he very likely plays all 17 games last season. The neck and elbow both held up fine. Pollard's ..er.. lack of ...er... prowess blocking is often cited as the main reason the coaches trotted one legged Zeke out there the last 10-11 games of the season. Not just to protect Dak, but maybe to protect our offensive linemen from Pollard.. Pollard has certainly gotten better each year as a blocker.. but that play were the dude threw him into Tyron's legs is a recurring nightmare.. He's got a ways to go and really needs to get better, especially if Moore is going to insist on throwing the ball 50 times a game.

Thank you. Tyron played really well last year. The offense literally falls apart whenever he's not on the field and that goes back to the Romo days.
 

G2

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Tyron Smith hasn't played an entire season since 2015.
He missed 6 games last season and missed 14 games in 21.
At least the front office is making moves for the future.
 
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