Both Kowalski and Arkin looking good?

[RoyTheHammer]

That's not true. It often translates on the field. Barry Church was one example from last season. Cole Beasley another.

These Reports are snapshots. They don't have time to be trends, yet. But there's little sense being annoyed by a positive practice just because you're reluctant to get your hopes up. If it works out for these players, great. If it doesn't, it'll be because they were unable to sustain a high level of play. We can all live with that, can't we? Why does it have to be a Homer v. "Realists" thing? It's just a universal fact of NFL training camps.

What about Barry Church? The fact that he was hyped and has yet to do anything on the field for us?

 

[Nexx]

we have heard this before and in the end it meant nothing. Arkin was supposedly looking good at camp last year. NADA

the last the time i heard Arkin was good was in college but since hes been drafted ive heard nothing but bad things about this kid, especially when it came to his strength.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I like reading positive reports... Obviously a darn-site better than reading how crappy Arkin looks, but I agree with RS that we need to see some positive stuff in the preseason games.

 

[pancakeman]

OL are vital. Ts, Gs, C. To downplay their importance makes it hard for me to take anything you say seriously. I'd trade an entire secondary for two great Gs.

To overplay their importance makes it hard for me to take anything you say seriously.

 

[burmafrd]

Seeing as though Callahan has developed OL as a coach I am confident he will have these guys ready. I have been on this site for years but never posted anything and I see "Cowboy Fans" always putting the team down even when there is good news. Thats fine if thats how you feel but me personally I cheer for everybody on the team to be great, never will you hear me say oh I hope this guy gets cut, or I hope he sucks so we can get rid of him. I don't care about the players I care about the team (life long Cowboys players I do keep up with). I think Garrett has this team going in the right direction and Romo can lead us to a championship with a team not by his self. The drafts have been very good since Garrett became coach, the team is fighting to the end of the game for all 60 minutes, Garrett is building a TEAM. Its been many years I know and its hard to be patient but with some luck on our side, like every other team, we have a chance to win it all just like any other team in the league.

obviously you have not been a fan for long.

Considering how many years the O line has truly been at best mediocre and mostly bad. But then some like to live in a fantasy world where as Dandy Don once said
"If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas"

 

[burmafrd]

To overplay their importance makes it hard for me to take anything you say seriously.

how do you over play the importance of the lines?

I mean really you DO know where the game STARTS right? After the kickoff anyway. It starts with the LINES.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

obviously you have not been a fan for long.

Considering how many years the O line has truly been at best mediocre and mostly bad. But then some like to live in a fantasy world where as Dandy Don once said
"If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas"

Not obvious.. but carry on.

Those that chose to be positive and hopeful aren't living in a fantasy world.. they just don't feel the need to be miserable all the time, even about positive reports, like some fans on the board, here.

 

[pancakeman]

how do you over play the importance of the lines?

Well in this case you say you'd trade four players (including 2 CBs, a position the market recognizes as premium) for 2 great guards.
I believe in the importance of OL (and agree that it's been a weakness that has held the Cowboys back in recent years), but proposing such a trade is either hyberbole or insane IMO.

 

[Ren]

Because we hear this kind of stuff every year and it never translates to the field. Everyone hopes it's true but many decide to wait and see for themselves because we've been fed a load of crap too many times before.

Yes we do hear this stuff every year but not from Broaddus, he's been extremely critical of our OL prospects for the last couple of years and his observations have been pretty accurate so i have no problem taking his word for it. At the end of the days it's a couple of guys looking good at camp less then a week inn, it's nothing to get your hopes up to much for but there's no point dismissing it either.

 

[Risen Star]

Yes we do hear this stuff every year but not from Broaddus, he's been extremely critical of our OL prospects for the last couple of years and his observations have been pretty accurate so i have no problem taking his word for it. At the end of the days it's a couple of guys looking good at camp less then a week inn, it's nothing to get your hopes up to much for but there's no point dismissing it either.

Broaddus is no different. He works for the team now. He loved Ron Leary last summer.

I'm not attacking anybody's opinion on what's going on now. I'm merely pointing out that many of the linemen on this roster are playing opposite a marginal or worse player. The level of competition must be considered.

Once the games start and the competition increases you're far more likely to see guys like Arkin and Bass fade away. Happens every year.

 

[TheRat]

Could arkin play RT?

He played LT in college and has decent length. Why couldn't he play RT? I think an OL of Smith - Kowalski - Frederick - Leary - Arkin would give us a good young line.

 

[speedkilz88]

No, he was a small school OT. He needed to move inside. Doug Free is actually playing well.

 

[Ren]

Broaddus is no different. He works for the team now. He loved Ron Leary last summer.

I'm not attacking anybody's opinion on what's going on now. I'm merely pointing out that many of the linemen on this roster are playing opposite a marginal or worse player. The level of competition must be considered.

Once the games start and the competition increases you're far more likely to see guys like Arkin and Bass fade away. Happens every year.

Arkin was playing opposite marginal players last camp too and looked bad, if he's looking good doing it now then it's a step in the right direction and that should be good news. Getting something out of Arkin at this point is a bit like finding a 5$ bill in your couch it's not much but it's a little bit more then you thought you had

Broaddus worked for the team last year too so i'm not sure why he would pick this year and this player to lie about, if that's what you're implying

 

[TheSport78]

Could arkin play RT?

He played LT in college and has decent length. Why couldn't he play RT? I think an OL of Smith - Kowalski - Frederick - Leary - Arkin would give us a good young line.

I'd be hesitant to move Arkin now that he seems to be "getting it." Keep him at guard and develop the player IMO.

 

[Eskimo]

What a bunch of negative Nancies here on this board.

Killer played very well as a rookie UDFA from a small school in emergency situations at Center and OG - that is a testament to his ability.

People got down on him last year because of the ankle injury happened during a year when we desperately needed him after Costa and Nagy went down. But that's the breaks in this sport.

He's now back and healthy. He's had two years since we last saw him to work on his strength and technique. Given how good he looked as a rookie UDFA playing after that strike shortened offseason I think he probably has the potential to be an effective starting player in this league at Center and even at OG in a ZBS. I am really excited to see how he does this year.

Leary, we'll have to see when he gets back in there. The injury was unfortunate but players go down all the time in this game which is why you need depth. He was not from a big-time program and he had to change positions from OT to OG and learn how to play Callahan's ZBS. There should have been zero surprise that he was not ready to play last year. Now he is in contention for a starting role but we'll have to see how he does when he gets off the training table. I still maintain optimism about his future prospects.

As for Arkin, I remain very skeptical based on what we've seen the last two years. I don't think he is nearly as bad as he looked last offseason when he was forced to play Center. He has some strength/anchor issues and those were greatly amplified but putting him at Center where he really struggled to get the snap cleanly and then get engaged in his blocking. Now we'll see if there is anything there when he plays at OG but I continue to be skeptical. The point of his game which was the highlight was playing in space so maybe he'll be much better in space. He played Tackle so he has the feet but we'll have to see if he can anchor in pass protection. Having a Moose like TFred beside him should help but I still don't know if he has the strength to play in this league. It is definitely a make or break year for him.

I also don't understand all the pessimism about prior regime's failures. We have a new OL coach and he is teaching a new scheme. We need to give him a chance to see what he can do. His track record is pretty impressive so to me he has a clean slate.

 

[xwalker]

The second-team offensive line is as follows: LT Darrion Weems, LG Kevin Kowalski, C Phil Costa, RG Ray Dominguez and RT Edawn Cougham. Line coach Bill Callahan was raving about Kowalski's improvement as a blocker and said he's the best note-taker he's ever seen.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4710961/cowboys-practice-report-day-6-3

 

[Cowboys22]

That's not true. It often translates on the field. Barry Church was one example from last season. Cole Beasley another.

These Reports are snapshots. They don't have time to be trends, yet. But there's little sense being annoyed by a positive practice just because you're reluctant to get your hopes up. If it works out for these players, great. If it doesn't, it'll be because they were unable to sustain a high level of play. We can all live with that, can't we? Why does it have to be a Homer v. "Realists" thing? It's just a universal fact of NFL training camps.

That's funny, I don't recall Church or Beasley doing much of anything last year. Certainly not enough to think they are anything more than average players.

 

[Cowboys22]

Yes we do hear this stuff every year but not from Broaddus, he's been extremely critical of our OL prospects for the last couple of years and his observations have been pretty accurate so i have no problem taking his word for it. At the end of the days it's a couple of guys looking good at camp less then a week inn, it's nothing to get your hopes up to much for but there's no point dismissing it either.

Sure there is a reason to dismiss and it's just what I stated. We hear this every year about multiple players and they never do anything in the regular season. It's great to hear good reports but I now dismiss them all until I see it on the field. They will never again get my hopes up until I see it on Sundays for real. That's when I'll start believing and get excited.

 

[Idgit]

That's funny, I don't recall Church or Beasley doing much of anything last year. Certainly not enough to think they are anything more than average players.

Church was the talk of camp defensively, won the starting job, and played well for us the first three weeks of the season. Beasley was a walk on who made the team. You must have missed both players.

We're talking about two roster bubble players here. Some of you guys really ought to moderate your expectations as to what playing well means in this context.

 

[Risen Star]

Arkin was playing opposite marginal players last camp too and looked bad, if he's looking good doing it now then it's a step in the right direction and that should be good news. Getting something out of Arkin at this point is a bit like finding a 5$ bill in your couch it's not much but it's a little bit more then you thought you had

Broaddus worked for the team last year too so i'm not sure why he would pick this year and this player to lie about, if that's what you're implying

He worked for the team last year and told us how good Leary was looking. How did that pan out when the games started? A team starving for even functional interior line play and Leary never even got a sniff of playing time.