Cowboys D Line rumors from Walter football

[CCBoy]

That be a shot in the arm, that's for sure! If we were so fortunate as to find a Haley clone, there'd be dancing in the streets, no doubt.

I'd grab a six pack for that one...

 

[haleyrules]

Doesn't seem to be too many great DE's in the FA market this year. Finding a Haley won't be easy. But, thats exactly what the club needs.

 

[CCBoy]

Doesn't seem to be too many great DE's in the FA market this year. Finding a Haley won't be easy. But, thats exactly what the club needs.

If he were 28 or younger, I'd pay the ransom.

 

[gmoney112]

Mainly because adding a handful of sacks, four or so is not going to make a better defense.

Arizona led the league in sacks. I didn't see that making a real difference.

We need better pass rushers. We need better players. It is not as simple as to bean count sacks and think that means beating a quality playoff QB like Rodgers.

Honestly, I think we would be better served if Marinelli just went away.

He is so used to getting his own job security by denying talent, it is sad.

All of his defenses not in Tampa Bay have been talent poor in two key areas.

The DL and at safety.

Eventually, people will understand he is not a genius. He needs elite talent in both of those areas.

Otherwise, he is playing games everywhere else.

I am very very ready for him to retire.

Huh? Chicago didn't have "elite" talent at safety.

They had some good DL, mainly Peppers, but what good defense doesn't have a dude like that rushing the passer?

It is talent. Every good defense needs talent. How many good defenses don't have talent? NE is really the only one I can think of that does that consistently.

This falls mainly because of Jerry's wanting to Wildcat his defense. Lawrence was bad luck, but Gregory? Hardy? I'm holding out hope for Jaylon but if he doesn't play then good lord.

We're in the running for least amount of talent up front in the NFL. And the little talent we do have gets banged up like Lawrence with his back or Crawford with his shoulders which he said happened Week 2.

I'm just not seeing all this crazy talent he had at safety or really, all the elite talent on DL besides Peppers when he had a top D in the league in Chicago.

 

[gmoney112]

And boooo, I clicked thinking WalterFootball had legit rumors. This is stuff we already know.

I will say, that as of right now, to me there are only two lineman on this squad that I'm confident that I'm keeping the next 3 years.

And that's Maliek and Irving. Crawford/Lawrence are on injury watch, Thornton/Mayowa are on production watch.

We desperately need a guy, or 3, that can fit into a 3 year plan. Then patchwork with the guys we have on watch.

 

[gimmesix]

Exactly, the Cowboys already have 3 pro bowlers under contract and a very capable alternative for probably 10 to 15 percent of the cost. That has to play a major factor in the decision when you look at the money theyre commiting to other players. Even if the LG replacement is average he still going to look better because of what is around him.

Regarding Mcclain this is the first season hes really been healthy, and though he played well we cant pay huge dollars. Thornton was a bit banged up this year but we invested a lot of money in him and shouldnt be a huge drop off if we roll with him as the starter with a rookie backup.

Now, let me say that I prefer that the Cowboys re-sign Leary and cut Free instead. Free has a $7.5 million cap hit this year, but Dallas can save $5 million, which could go to Leary. Then move Collins out to right tackle and let him compete with Green to start. This gets our line younger and removes the weakest link from the line, although Green or Collins at RT could be just as weak.

I believe Collins can handle right tackle since he proved himself as a starter at left tackle in college. If for some reason he can't and Green can't stay healthy, our emergency plan could be kicking Martin to right tackle and starting Collins at guard.

I don't think Dallas will do this, though, because the front office likes Free much more than the fans do. I believe they have a lot of trust in him because of his work ethic and leadership.

 

[xwalker]

Now, let me say that I prefer that the Cowboys re-sign Leary and cut Free instead. Free has a $7.5 million cap hit this year, but Dallas can save $5 million, which could go to Leary. Then move Collins out to right tackle and let him compete with Green to start. This gets our line younger and removes the weakest link from the line, although Green or Collins at RT could be just as weak.

I believe Collins can handle right tackle since he proved himself as a starter at left tackle in college. If for some reason he can't and Green can't stay healthy, our emergency plan could be kicking Martin to right tackle and starting Collins at guard.

I don't think Dallas will do this, though, because the front office likes Free much more than the fans do. I believe they have a lot of trust in him because of his work ethic and leadership.

Yes, the money makes perfect sense if Collins can play RT. I think Leary ends up getting about 7M average so cutting Free and his 5M salary pays for most of Leary.

I don't see any way that Collins can be worse at RT than Free. Green proved he can play OT in the NFL while replacing Tyron for 2 games, but obviously he has to be healthy.

 

[gimmesix]

Yes, the money makes perfect sense if Collins can play RT. I think Leary ends up getting about 7M average so cutting Free and his 5M salary pays for most of Leary.

I don't see any way that Collins can be worse at RT than Free. Green proved he can play OT in the NFL while replacing Tyron for 2 games, but obviously he has to be healthy.

I know you care for Free a lot less than I do. I think he's a serviceable right tackle who can be upgraded. I also think he's at an age where you start looking for that upgrade.

If we had no other options, I'd be OK with Free continuing to start, but I believe we're in a unique situation this year where we have at least six starting-quality offensive linemen, including Free. To me, in that case, you get rid of the oldest unless he's much better than the options to replace him.

The unknown as far as Collins being able to play right tackle would have to be the greatest concern with that, but I thought Green accounted for himself well when asked to step in and believe Martin has the talent to play the spot if all else fails.

I'd rather not let a young, solid player like Leary go while holding on to an older, average starter. It was for this same reason that I preferred to keep Parnell, although I think Parnell and Free are close in skill level while I feel Leary is another notch up. (I would compare Free to Collins or Green, but I can't really say we have evidence that they are better as right tackles than Free.)

 

[Chuck 54]

Crawford needs to move back inside...he's no DE

 

[Chuck 54]

As for most of our FAs, the players almost always go where the money is; they may stay because of what's being built and the closeness of the locker room IF the money is close. They may take a little less to stay in Dallas, but no one is staying in Dallas or anywhere else in the NFL for 500,000 less....not unless it's someone who's already banked mega-millions like a Romo....and we have no one like that in our group.

 

[xwalker]

I know you care for Free a lot less than I do. I think he's a serviceable right tackle who can be upgraded. I also think he's at an age where you start looking for that upgrade.

If we had no other options, I'd be OK with Free continuing to start, but I believe we're in a unique situation this year where we have at least six starting-quality offensive linemen, including Free. To me, in that case, you get rid of the oldest unless he's much better than the options to replace him.

The unknown as far as Collins being able to play right tackle would have to be the greatest concern with that, but I thought Green accounted for himself well when asked to step in and believe Martin has the talent to play the spot if all else fails.

I'd rather not let a young, solid player like Leary go while holding on to an older, average starter. It was for this same reason that I preferred to keep Parnell, although I think Parnell and Free are close in skill level while I feel Leary is another notch up. (I would compare Free to Collins or Green, but I can't really say we have evidence that they are better as right tackles than Free.)

Yes, Leary is still ascending while Free is descending in ability.

The big issue is that Garrett and Free are buddies. Garrett and the previous OL coach Bill Callahan were at odds over Free. Callahan wanted to bench him but Garrett refused. Callahan appealed to Jerry and they agreed to rotate Free/Parnell in the final games of the 2012 season. Parnell was injured that next training camp and Garrett got his wish to keep Free as the starter.

Garrett will try to keep Free again unless the front office overrides him like they did with Marinelli and Golden Cock.

 

[CCBoy]

I like the prospects of starting both Leary and Collins. The 'adjusted' offensive line would then need time playing together to get top shelf and non-better.

 

[gimmesix]

Yes, Leary is still ascending while Free is descending in ability.

The big issue is that Garrett and Free are buddies. Garrett and the previous OL coach Bill Callahan were at odds over Free. Callahan wanted to bench him but Garrett refused. Callahan appealed to Jerry and they agreed to rotate Free/Parnell in the final games of the 2012 season. Parnell was injured that next training camp and Garrett got his wish to keep Free as the starter.

Garrett will try to keep Free again unless the front office overrides him like they did with Marinelli and Golden Cock.

I think it's easy for a coach to get comfortable with the known over the unknown or lesser known, so it's good to have other voices in on the decision. Despite his flaws, Free also has some good qualities that can get overemphasized when judging whether to keep him over players with less experience at the position. It's tough to evaluate these guys without considering the personal factor.

From an objective standpoint just based on ability, it easy for me (or us) to say keep Leary instead of Free, but those factors that we know less about also are in the equation for the coaches and front office. Now, I go with ability first over those intangibles unless the other guy is just someone the team can't trust, which I don't believe is the case with Leary.

 

[gimmesix]

Crawford needs to move back inside...he's no DE

I agree on this (getting back to the defensive line). Crawford can play the position in a pinch, like he did this year, but he doesn't have the burst to consistently beat tackles. On the inside, his quickness serves him well when he's healthy. He can make some plays at end because he's a solid player, but his skill-set serves him better at 3-tech.

Irving, while also not a speed player, is a better fit at end because of his ability to use his length and arm length to fight off tackles and ability to bend the corner. However, I'd prefer we get more speed than both players have at the end spots.

 

[Nightman]

In many cases, you need one.

A pass rush by committee doesn't work. There has to be an alpha.

It affects a lot of things.

Our problem is we have a lot of the same little try hard orphans.

Just like an OL needs a leader, who is our's on the DL?

Tyrone Crawford?

LOL

You are just making stuff up now.........nothing you said makes any sense

Who is the OL leader???????

 

[Alexander]

Who is the OL leader???????

Frederick.

 

[Nightman]

Frederick.

A lot of people said Free was the leader, others say Tron and more say Martin.....but otherwise good theory you got going

 

[gmoney112]

Frederick.

Hello, Alexander. I am awaiting your response about the elite talent at safety on the Chicago Bears team. All the talent at DL would be welcomed as well.

Love,
G

 

[lockster]

I think Irving is better than Crawford now. Would hate it if the decision to sign him affect the negotiations with Irving.

Tyrone Crawford had better take a salary reduction! Or he needs to be cut, I like him ok, but no way I'd let him play with that contract anymore!

 

[Nightman]

Tyrone Crawford had better take a salary reduction! Or he needs to be cut, I like him ok, but no way I'd let him play with that contract anymore!

TCrawford has 4 years and 28m left on his deal with 7.25m guaranteed......that is very team friendly