News: DC: Despite Collins’ Solid Start, Cowboys Likely Sticking With Leary At Left Guard

[NewsBot]

IRVING, Texas - When the Cowboys signed La’el Collins immediately after the draft, it was expected the rookie guard would one day become a cornerstone piece to the offensive line.

Continue reading...

 

[gdogg24]

I wouldn't do it... I think switching up like this is counter-productive to the O-Line building any sort of continuity.

 

[Alexander]

I wouldn't do it... I think switching up like this is counter-productive to the O-Line building any sort of continuity.

At this stage, I want to believe that the reason the OL has struggled is because of Leary being out.

Continuity would be having Leary back in there.

Something is wrong and I want to see what it is first.

That has zero to do with Collins, he is the future. Hopefully more than at LG.

 

[HoustonSucks]

At this stage, I want to believe that the reason the OL has struggled is because of Leary being out.

Continuity would be having Leary back in there.

Something is wrong and I want to see what it is first.

That has zero to do with Collins, he is the future. Hopefully more than at LG.

Any thoughts on Martin being affected by the stinger still? Or Free by his foot? Or Martin in a sophmore slump. It CAN'T be all on Callahan... something is up and I agree Leary IS continuity at this point.

 

[gdogg24]

At this stage, I want to believe that the reason the OL has struggled is because of Leary being out.

Continuity would be having Leary back in there.

Something is wrong and I want to see what it is first.

That has zero to do with Collins, he is the future. Hopefully more than at LG.

I don't think Leary will be bad I think in fact the O-line struggling has more to do with Zack Martin having a sophomore slump than anything. I just think Collins has shown enough to say he's good enough to learn this job on the fly. We might as well put him in and get this thing going the way it's gonna be instead of holding back his development.

 

[Alexander]

Any thoughts on Martin being affected by the stinger still? Or Free by his foot? Or Martin in a sophmore slump. It CAN'T be all on Callahan... something is up and I agree Leary IS continuity at this point.

It could very well be on Callahan. Or it could be on the stinger, etc.

But Leary going back in gives a state of flow to evaluate from.

Those five logged a lot of time together. Rare that an OL gets that kind of time together in a year.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Any thoughts on Martin being affected by the stinger still? Or Free by his foot? Or Martin in a sophmore slump. It CAN'T be all on Callahan... something is up and I agree Leary IS continuity at this point.

I think its a cohesion issue. Remember they didnt play together in preseason

 

[darthseinfeld]

It could very well be on Callahan. Or it could be on the stinger, etc.

But Leary going back in gives a state of flow to evaluate from.

Those five logged a lot of time together. Rare that an OL gets that kind of time together in a year.

We have also had 3 different starters at LG in 3 games. Add to that the #1 OL didnt play together the entire preseason. I don't think they are quite in synch

It will be interesting to see the overall improvement with Leary in. I dont think you will see any individual improvement from Leary to Collins but you may see better group play

 

[BoysWin]

I don't think Leary will be bad I think in fact the O-line struggling has more to do with Zack Martin having a sophomore slump than anything. I just think Collins has shown enough to say he's good enough to learn this job on the fly. We might as well put him in and get this thing going the way it's gonna be instead of holding back his development.

DOUG FREE has looked horrible and his foot is gimpy - he can no longer move......... FREE is a liability on the OL

 

[gdogg24]

DOUG FREE has looked horrible and his foot is gimpy - he can no longer move......... FREE is a liability on the OL

And with Martin dealing with his stinger that whole right side is now suspect

 

[ConstantReboot]

The Oline is not struggling. The problem is with our runningbacks. People here want to believe that any back can run behind this Oline and that you don't need talent. Well the Oline just doesn't forget to block all of a sudden. We have backs that can break tackles or don't trust their blocks. Its not the Olines fault - blame the backs. Blame the FO for not finding a replacement for Murray. Thats where everyone should be pointing the finger.

 

[TheFinisher]

Collins has been the most steady performer among that group. If you preach "the best man plays" and you want your "best 5" out there, it's kind of hard to justify putting him on the bench.

 

[jazzcat22]

I think its a cohesion issue. Remember they didnt play together in preseason

This is a big part of it.
The entire team didn't play together actually. This crap of not playing the starters in preseason is crap. To avoid injuries? That didn't work out so well. Seems the teams that play their starters hit the ground running and are more consistent. We are still in preseason form, not having played a complete game yet. sloppy, penalties, and then the injuries don't help.
So as they return, it's still preseason for some of them. Hopefully their experience will allow them not to take long to get into regular season form. Other than Gregory, he will need the rookie reps, but he will have good decent vet players around him.

 

[Floatyworm]

The Oline is not struggling. The problem is with our runningbacks. People here want to believe that any back can run behind this Oline and that you don't need talent. Well the Oline just doesn't forget to block all of a sudden. We have backs that can break tackles or don't trust their blocks. Its not the Olines fault - blame the backs. Blame the FO for not finding a replacement for Murray. Thats where everyone should be pointing the finger.

I've been breaking down tape all week....and to give an analogy....An offensive line is like a house of cards. If one card fails....it's a mess. And really every starter has had breakdowns. Some more than others. Frederick has got to hold the point of attack....He is the key. Too many times he is not getting his reach blocks..and plays are getting blown up before they can develope. Martin for whatever reason....needs to step it up as well. He rarely made mistakes last year.....this year...he hasn't been as crisp. I really think this is Free's last year....If he is gimpy by week 3....no way he makes it 17 weeks. which IMO if it wasn't for Free's poor health...I think they would leave Collins @ LG. But they may need him @ RT. I don't like that they have to keep making changes. They need to settle this thing and get rolling.

Another thing is I think teams are figuring out how to defend that zone stretch play that has been their bread and butter. Almost every team runs that now in some form....and now you see defenses shooting and splitting those A and B gaps when everyone pulls.....blowing up the play before it has a chance to develope.

 

[Doomsay]

If we are getting blown out in the 2nd half of any of these Romo-less games, it would be great to give Collins some reps at right tackle.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't think it's the RBs. I mean, the production was there against Atlanta. Sure, we didn't do enough in the second half but we didn't try very hard to make it happen in the run game in the second half either. That was a mistake by us. We are a better run blocking OL then we are a pass blocking OL. When we go away from the run, we actually play into our weakness and the oppositions strengths.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I wouldn't do it... I think switching up like this is counter-productive to the O-Line building any sort of continuity.

The OL knows Leary better than any other OL replacement. Leary is more dominate than the others too. This is a no-brainer.

 

[Doomsday101]

I have no problem with Leary back in the lineup. He did not lose his job to poor play. Fact is Leary won the job and should not lose it because of injury

 

[xwalker]

Collins has been the most steady performer among that group. If you preach "the best man plays" and you want your "best 5" out there, it's kind of hard to justify putting him on the bench.

Collins is still making some mistakes. He made several in the Eagles game. I didn't focus on him while reviewing the Falcons game but I did see one significant mental mistake.

I would really love it if they would try him at RT when Leary returns. Free is really limited in run blocking. He can't get movement on a 240 pound LB. Free's pass blocking has been ugly also. He is constantly on the verge of getting the QB killed. He was lucky in the Falcons game that he didn't get called for holding because there were at least 3 times that he was clearly holding. One of those times the announcers were praising him for a run block but he had is arm around the defenders neck like a stranglehold.

 

[mahoneybill]

At this stage, I want to believe that the reason the OL has struggled is because of Leary being out.

Continuity would be having Leary back in there.

Something is wrong and I want to see what it is first.

That has zero to do with Collins, he is the future. Hopefully more than at LG.

Agree. Good thing is that we have Collins as an immediate backup, and he can learn from Leary. Any thoughts on his being able to replace Free at some point ?