DMN Blog: Colombo not without blame

[jobberone]

No, I do think Colombo has been solid for us but he is not in his prime anymore. Would you rather play a declining Colombo or a rising star in Free? We need to get our 5 best OL on the field IMO.

I think Colombo was too rusty and perhaps still injured to play against better than average players like in MN. Preinjury he doesn't get abused by Edwards. I don't know Free is the better player. That's an assumption by the committee for the bench warmers on the team.

He may be a better RT than Colombo. Hopefully we don't have to find out. I'd prefer to have Free as the backup tackle right now. If Colombo is still playing inferior football come this fall then I sincerely hope Wade will pull him quickly. That should be a nobrainer.

 

[TheSport78]

I think Colombo was too rusty and perhaps still injured to play against better than average players like in MN. Preinjury he doesn't get abused by Edwards. I don't know Free is the better player. That's an assumption by the committee for the bench warmers on the team.

He may be a better RT than Colombo. Hopefully we don't have to find out. I'd prefer to have Free as the backup tackle right now. If Colombo is still playing inferior football come this fall then I sincerely hope Wade will pull him quickly. That should be a nobrainer.

I'd rather see an open competition between Colombo and Free in training camp and let the best man win. Look what competition did for Jenkins (and Scandrick for that matter)

 

[jobberone]

I'd rather see an open competition between Colombo and Free in training camp and let the best man win. Look what competition did for Jenkins (and Scandrick for that matter)

Well I hope so, too. And I'd bet there is. But Free is going to have to clearly outplay him. I don't think Free is that much better if at all. When he came in to play for Colombo the level of play stayed the same. I didn't see a clearly better player. I'm sure there are some differences in their play and some of their technique probably clearly supports Free. But overall they are the same. They were doing their job.

I don't think Colombo's play has naturally declined. I think it declined by injury and he'll bounce back. And in the end that is what is best for the Dallas Cowboys; to have two interchangeable RTs.

 

[CF74]

Colombo not without blame
10:10 AM Fri, Feb 19, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Gerry Fraley/Reporter E-mail | News tips

Dallas Cowboys offensive left tackle Flozell Adams has rightfully been criticized on his penchant for false starts. Adams had six false-start penalties last season, ranking among the league's top five in the category for the third consecutive seasons.

Adams has 24 false-start penalties in 48 games during the last three regular seasons. Marc Colombo, who mans the right side, has had the same problem at nearly the same rate. He has 20 false-start penalties in 41 games during the last three regular seasons.

Add one mistake by Doug Free last season, and the Cowboys have 45 false-start penalites by their tackles in the last three regular seasons. Only one team has had more false starts by its tackles in that span: dreadful Oakland, with 47.

===

Interesting numbers for certain.

As much as I see fans wanting to get rid of Adams, I see too many who do not put Colombo through the same sort of analysis.

I suppose that play on DeAngelo Hall still has him near and dear to people's hearts.

I don't think his job should be safe. He was the major issue in Minnesota. He was the one being dominated by Ray Edwards.

It will be a great disappointment if Doug Free is not permitted to compete for the right tackle job.

Why isn't Hudson Houck (Dallas O-line Coach) getting blasted in the media? Talk about flying under the radar. And as far as Colombo getting "Dominated" in the Vikings game, another coaching blunder, the guy was coming back to soon from a broken leg, d'uh!!
Another near sighted analysis...

 

[CF74]

This suggests our tackles have slow feet and are trying to get as much of an advantage over the defense as they can.

This is the drawback to having the biggest offensive line in the league.

That mixed in with the fact that we just simply don't run the ball enough. We have big slow guys throughout the starting lineup with the exception of Kosier. If we are going to be a pass 1st/More team then maybe we need quicker tackles instead of big tough guys. Free + Draft Pick...

 

[gmoney112]

Sherman had the best game of his career against Colombo. There's something to be said about that. The injuries might have finally caught up with him. Flo will be our LT next season, I have a feeling Free might be our starter at RT at some point during the season. We'll draft a tackle that will move to RT after Flo is done.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I thought Doug Free should have been starting on the right side in the playoff game against the Vikqueens.

 

[jobberone]

That mixed in with the fact that we just simply don't run the ball enough. We have big slow guys throughout the starting lineup with the exception of Kosier. If we are going to be a pass 1st/More team then maybe we need quicker tackles instead of big tough guys. Free + Draft Pick...

Well, we ran enough draw plays to slow down the speed of light. But you have a point. Replacing them wouldn't happen overnight either.

 

[CF74]

Well, we ran enough draw plays to slow down the speed of light. But you have a point. Replacing them wouldn't happen overnight either.

No they have to learn the system/scheme and ease into the transition from playing with children vs men. But we don't want to wait till it's to late either, oh wait we needed O-line depth this year....

 

[jobberone]

No they have to learn the system/scheme and ease into the transition from playing with children vs men. But we don't want to wait till it's to late either, oh wait we needed O-line depth this year....

I agree completely with you. We need a backup center who can play near the level of Gurode and not Proctor. We needed that last year and the year before. We need a backup at guard, too. And 27 is a perfect spot to draft a guard. It's also a good spot to draft a safety.

 

[Eskimo]

So you either think his play is subpar over the year or after the injury which I believe. And you think Free is a better RT.

Jobber, when two players are very close in ability you have to go with the younger player. The older player will usually be the lesser player once the younger player gets some experience under his belt.

There is nothing you can point to to suggest Colombo was better than Free at RT. I can point out that the last few games Free played, he was eons better than Colombo was at Philly or Minnesota. Colombo thought he was ready. The staff thought he was ready. There was no need to play him. I tend to think that last injury robbed him of something he could not afford to lose even if it was just "2% of his quickness".

This team has rocks for brains if they put Colombo out there ahead of Free.

But then again, it didn't stop us from putting Roy out there all year at #1 so we don't exactly run a meritocracy with our roster.

 

[Eskimo]

I agree completely with you. We need a backup center who can play near the level of Gurode and not Proctor. We needed that last year and the year before. We need a backup at guard, too. And 27 is a perfect spot to draft a guard. It's also a good spot to draft a safety.

27 is also a good spot for a developmental OT who needs a year of seasoning. If you wait too much longer, you get a guy like Free who needed 2.5 years to get ready to play.

 

[Eskimo]

I thought Doug Free should have been starting on the right side in the playoff game against the Vikqueens.

That's obvious to anyone blessed with eyesight.

 

[CF74]

I agree completely with you. We need a backup center who can play near the level of Gurode and not Proctor. We needed that last year and the year before. We need a backup at guard, too. And 27 is a perfect spot to draft a guard. It's also a good spot to draft a safety.

Don't forget left tackle either...

 

[TheSport78]

Jobber, when two players are very close in ability you have to go with the younger player. The older player will usually be the lesser player once the younger player gets some experience under his belt.

There is nothing you can point to to suggest Colombo was better than Free at RT. I can point out that the last few games Free played, he was eons better than Colombo was at Philly or Minnesota. Colombo thought he was ready. The staff thought he was ready. There was no need to play him. I tend to think that last injury robbed him of something he could not afford to lose even if it was just "2% of his quickness".

This team has rocks for brains if they put Colombo out there ahead of Free.

But then again, it didn't stop us from putting Roy out there all year at #1 so we don't exactly run a meritocracy with our roster.

Finally, this makes perfect sense and I agree 100%.

 

[jobberone]

27 is also a good spot for a developmental OT who needs a year of seasoning. If you wait too much longer, you get a guy like Free who needed 2.5 years to get ready to play.

I have no problem with an OT but you're not going to get the same player compared to a guard at 27. IOWs the guard is more likely to be a better player. I'd draft the OT in the third or fourth round with my pick being at 27. We need a playmaker at safety and WR, too. They all need to be addressed. We're weaker at backup center than anywhere else on the OL.

It's a matter of taking the BPA at a position of need. So I'd draft the better player among S, WR, and OL.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I think many of us feel that if Flo did not get hurt in that game, Free would have probably replaced Columbo. I don't know if Columbo was just not 100%, just rusty or if he was just that inferior to Edwards but I really think Free would have went in for him later in the game if Flo had not gotten injured.

I agree and would have loved to see how Free matched up vs Edwards.

 

[Eskimo]

When Houck came here after Woods left in 1992 with Wannstedt, that OL went to an entirely new level and stayed there for quite a while as the rest of the disintegrated. The eventual failure of the OL was more due to drafting than player development. I think only one guy ever went on to have success elsewhere in the league (Oliver Ross) so it isn't like he was holding others back from their potential.

This team just has a long history of drafting absolute duds on the OL for a long time:

Solomon Page
Jacob Rogers
Stephen Peterman (though he later found success in Detroit)
James Marten

All these guys premium picks and nary a useful snap from any of them.

Now hopefully with Houck in the drafting room letting the team know who he thinks he can mould into a future player we'll do a bit better.

It is too bad our whole rookie class was wiped out with injury.

 

[jobberone]

Jobber, when two players are very close in ability you have to go with the younger player. The older player will usually be the lesser player once the younger player gets some experience under his belt.

There is nothing you can point to to suggest Colombo was better than Free at RT. I can point out that the last few games Free played, he was eons better than Colombo was at Philly or Minnesota. Colombo thought he was ready. The staff thought he was ready. There was no need to play him. I tend to think that last injury robbed him of something he could not afford to lose even if it was just "2% of his quickness".

This team has rocks for brains if they put Colombo out there ahead of Free.

But then again, it didn't stop us from putting Roy out there all year at #1 so we don't exactly run a meritocracy with our roster.

Not sure I agree with you. You have to take into account the familiarity among the players, what your QB thinks, cap implications, and the plain fact that you should get all the goody out of your older players before recycling them. If you could you'd change a light bulb one second before it expires. So there are two sides to the argument. I think the younger less experienced player has to clearly beat the older guy assuming their efforts are roughly equal.

 

[jobberone]

Don't forget left tackle either...

My guess is Free is the heir to the LT position.