News: DMN: Owner Jerry Jones on Dallas Cowboys’ OL: ‘We’re better than any time in the last two or...

[OhSnap]

It's better but still a 6 on the 1-10 scale. Some fast starts and early points is what the line needs so they aint droppin back 658 times against D-lines that just pin their ears back and roll every play.

 

[Echo9]

An interesting side note comment by Jones...

Jones said he can’t envision Free starting at guard once the season begins because the Cowboys are so high on Leary. Jones also said he can’t see the Cowboys adding much help along the offensive line before playing the Giants.

“I’d like to have better, I’d like to have more offensive line to have available,” Jones said. “I’d say the odds of having a new player before the Giants game are very slim.”

That tells me that we are still open to bringing in a vet like Waters, but have decided that signing him before week on is too much of a risk. If he (or another vet) is brought in after week 1 his salary is not guaranteed. In my opinion, bring in a vet now would be a risky move since there's no longer any time to really see how he would work out. Do it now, and he stinks, we are still on the hook for 3M (or so) salary. Bring him in after week one, and if it turns out badly, then we are only out the signing bonus and not the full salary.

 

[Doomsday101]

ARLINGTON – The Dallas Cowboys’ haven’t even played their first regular-season game yet, but owner Jerry Jones believes the offensive line has improved.

“I think we’re better in the offensive line than any time in the last two or three years,” Jones said after Dallas’ 24-18 preseason win Saturday night over Cincinnati.

Jones went on to point out why he believes the offensive line has improved, and the first two players he mentioned were first-round center Travis Frederick … [visit site to read more]

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I think it is better but still much work and continuity that needs to be built on the OL. Hard to do when guys keep getting injured

 

[Rockport]

Sigh. This level of overstatement is tedious. It's not accurate. And it's a shame, too, because there's really an opportunity to talk about our substandard OL and it's deficiencies if that's a conversation you're able to have.

But pretending it was the worst line in football, or pretending that players who've started on playoff teams aren't good enough to make NFL practice squads....nobody's interested in that level of debate. It's just not interesting.

I'm glad everybody's pleased with the preseason play of our OL and all, but we won the game last night because of defensive takeaways that stalled their drives and put our offense in position to score. It wasn't the running game. It wasn't the blocking. The pass protection mattered, but then, we threw for ~5000 yards and 28 TDs last season with a roster full of practice squaders and the worst line in the league, so there you go.

And, for the thousandth time, I don't defend ever aspect of this team. I try hard to criticize the things that really matter. We are not going to win or lose this season because of any incremental upgrade at RG available on the market right now. We're not going to win more games by running the ball more. We're going to win the way other teams win in the league right now: taking the ball away and throwing it effectively when we have it on offense. And throwing it effectively requires only a fairly average ability to protect our QB--a level well within the reach of the players we already have on the roster.

Jerry? Is that you?

Seriously, the offensive line is the weak link of this team. You do need to be able to run the ball especially when you get down in the red zone. Romo got all those yards because we couldn't run the ball. Opposing defensives had no problem stopping the Cowboys when it mattered most. It goes back to the philosophy that you start building a team with the trenches first then everything else will take care of itself. Jerry still doesn't believe in this and the team has suffered because of it. In order to win this year, which I think we can, we need to catch all the breaks. Everything must fall just perfectly. Wouldn't need as many breaks with a team strength of a solid offensive line.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Two, Jerry has also talked up this offensive line when it's clearly been terrible, so I don't put too much stock in his opinion in this area

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...jones-dallas-cowboys-offensive-line-is-strong

Note the timeline.

 

[Idgit]

Jerry? Is that you?

Seriously, the offensive line is the weak link of this team. You do need to be able to run the ball especially when you get down in the red zone. Romo got all those yards because we couldn't run the ball. Opposing defensives had no problem stopping the Cowboys when it mattered most. It goes back to the philosophy that you start building a team with the trenches first then everything else will take care of itself. Jerry still doesn't believe in this and the team has suffered because of it. In order to win this year, which I think we can, we need to catch all the breaks. Everything must fall just perfectly. Wouldn't need as many breaks with a team strength of a solid offensive line.

We definitely have room to improve starters and add depth along the OL. Everybody understands that.

I disagree that we can't score when it matters most. In fact, I think it's the opposite. There's a reason why the QB was telling the press last year that he felt we could win any game if we were within *two scores* in the 4th quarter.

That said, we tied a franchise low in takeaways, and gave up ~25 points a game on defense, and did that with a bottom-10 pass defense. On offense, we put up over 5k yards and had 29 passing touchdowns on a team that averaged 23.5 ppg. I think it's very arguable that the OL is not the only weak link on the team, nor is it the weakest. Especially after adding two new starters this offseason.

 

[Rockport]

We definitely have room to improve starters and add depth along the OL. Everybody understands that.

I disagree that we can't score when it matters most. In fact, I think it's the opposite. There's a reason why the QB was telling the press last year that he felt we could win any game if we were within *two scores* in the 4th quarter.

That said, we tied a franchise low in takeaways, and gave up ~25 points a game on defense, and did that with a bottom-10 pass defense. On offense, we put up over 5k yards and had 29 passing touchdowns on a team that averaged 23.5 ppg. I think it's very arguable that the OL is not the only weak link on the team, nor is it the weakest. Especially after adding two new starters this offseason.

I think you need a balanced attack to be able to score effectively. Defenses are so good these days that if you only run the ball or only pass the ball, they can easily game plan for your strength and thereby shut you down. We passed well last year and scored some points but watching those games I never got the feeling we could score at will when we needed it most. When the game was on the line, again, we could move the ball but we couldn't score. You've GOT to have some balance or it'll be "all hat and no cattle" again this year.

 

[Idgit]

I think you need a balanced attack to be able to score effectively. Defenses are so good these days that if you only run the ball or only pass the ball, they can easily game plan for your strength and thereby shut you down. We passed well last year and scored some points but watching those games I never got the feeling we could score at will when we needed it most. When the game was on the line, again, we could move the ball but we couldn't score. You've GOT to have some balance or it'll be "all hat and no cattle" again this year.

Can't agree. We scored. We couldn't stop the other team when we needed it most. Because our pass defense was porous, and we weren't ever able to take the ball away. Another 5-6 takeaways would have been another 10-12 points in some of those key games. That probably gets us to 10-6 right there, if we could have swung it.

I know the OL play looks bad. I don't like seeing guys coming free and Romo running for his life either, but when he can sidestep that first guy off the edge and still get the ball down the field, it ends up not hurting us as much as people think it does. Except we're giving up an extra 3-4 points, on average, per game because we can't stop the other guys' passing game. That adds up, and you end up with your QB throwing the ball late trying to close a gap that shouldn't exist. Which he does successfully some, but not all of the time. And when he doesn't manage it, he gets pegged as a choker and the OL gets blamed, when QBs with similar performances are going to the playoffs on the backs of better pass defenses overall.

And a note on balanced offense. Balance is important, but running the ball better than the other guys is not. If you're leading more games, you're going to have better balance at the end of the year. The easiest way to be leading more games is not to score more than we do right now on a per-possession basis. The easiest way to be leading is to give up fewer points and to give the offense more possessions.

 

[StarBoyz83]

I agree with jerry it is better. But theres still work to be done but we can compete with this line simple as that. It wont be the oline thats our down fall if we have one this year.

 

[Rockport]

Can't agree. We scored. We couldn't stop the other team when we needed it most. Because our pass defense was porous, and we weren't ever able to take the ball away. Another 5-6 takeaways would have been another 10-12 points in some of those key games. That probably gets us to 10-6 right there, if we could have swung it.

I know the OL play looks bad. I don't like seeing guys coming free and Romo running for his life either, but when he can sidestep that first guy off the edge and still get the ball down the field, it ends up not hurting us as much as people think it does. Except we're giving up an extra 3-4 points, on average, per game because we can't stop the other guys' passing game. That adds up, and you end up with your QB throwing the ball late trying to close a gap that shouldn't exist. Which he does successfully some, but not all of the time. And when he doesn't manage it, he gets pegged as a choker and the OL gets blamed, when QBs with similar performances are going to the playoffs on the backs of better pass defenses overall.

And a note on balanced offense. Balance is important, but running the ball better than the other guys is not. If you're leading more games, you're going to have better balance at the end of the year. The easiest way to be leading more games is not to score more than we do right now on a per-possession basis. The easiest way to be leading is to give up fewer points and to give the offense more possessions.

Yea I disagree. You can't win in the NFL with a one dimensional offense. I don't care how good that one dimension is. And I don't want to have to pray for turnovers to be able to win games. You need to be able to run the ball when it's 3rd and 1. You need to be able to run the ball when you're up by 3 with 1:54 left and you have the ball. You don't have to be the best running attack around. You just need to be able to consistently run the ball when you need to.

 

[Doomsday101]

Yea I disagree. You can't win in the NFL with a one dimensional offense. I don't care how good that one dimension is. And I don't want to have to pray for turnovers to be able to win games. You need to be able to run the ball when it's 3rd and 1. You need to be able to run the ball when you're up by 3 with 1:54 left and you have the ball. You don't have to be the best running attack around. You just need to be able to consistently run the ball when you need to.

I agree however I think Dallas will be much improved in the running game where we ranked 31st last season. I don't think Dallas has to be a top 5 rushing team but they do need to be an improved rushing team.

 

[DenCWBY]

Two things:

One, that's a really low bar to hit

and

Two, Jerry has also talked up this offensive line when it's clearly been terrible, so I don't put too much stock in his opinion in this area

And 3, anyone who put's any credence in anything Jerry says in relation to football talent should have their heads examined and hold their wallets tightly. What do you think the socks to jocks owner is going to say, since he sells tickets to the show?
Oh but by the way last week we couldn't land two retired OL's we were so desperate to go after so we're all good now.

 

[Plankton]

The biggest continual issue with the offensive line is not just the lack of talent, but moreso the mismatched parts and non-scheme fits.

Leary and Bernadeau would be best suited in a man-power blocking scheme. Smith is scheme diverse. As is Frederick. Parnell would be better in man-power. Free is a ZBS player. Costa, despite Broaddus saying otherwise, is more of a man-power player.

In playing a ZBS, the pieces need to fit together better than a man-power scheme. Neither guard is particularly suited for it, especially Bernadeau, who lacks lateral quickness. If they are trending toward a scheme, it would be nice if the personnel selections were geared toward that end.