Do we really have an o-line that only needed Jason Fabini and a 7th rnd pick?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I disagree completely. There is only clogging when it's a traditional two-tight end formation with a fullback. We'll be using a one-back formation with two tight ends who can line up in a variety of spots (on the line, off the line, in motion, out wide, in the backfield, etc.). If both tight ends split out wide, it's no more clogged than a four-receiver spread offense. Julius has excelled in one-back formations, and that's what we'll be in for the majority of plays.

Actually on the draw play I see the ability for the TE to get on the OLB quickly while the DE are going upfield can be nasty nasty nasty.

 

[btcutter]

Peterman/Gurode/Columbo/Pettiti all say hello.

Last time I checked these guys are all young and backups. Gurode was retained by the club after his third season which to me says something. The other three have not yet played their third season. If you actually accept the philosophy of giving players three years to develop before tossing in the towel it makes sense what the Cowboys are doing.

Talk about wearing rosy glasses.

Peterman hasn't done anything to show any potential. It's sad but true. If the brass has any confidence in him, they wouldn't have brought in another guard to replace Allen. And it didn't speak well of him when Rivera wasn't playing well and he still rode the pine.

Gurode is a physical specimen but so far hasn't shown significant improvement over the past two yrs. In fact, he has played less every yr. Not exactly the progress you like to see. Resign him to another yr is just a last ditch effort hoping he realize his own potential but don't hold your breath.

Columbo....you are really kidding now! He was on the STREET. Not even a back up on a NFL team. If he gives us anything it's a Godsend. But how can anyone expect anything of him. 31 other teams are looking for good OL players too you know.

Pettiti...I'll give you this one. He played 16 games and had a rough time. I'll give him benefit of the doubt. He maybe better but I am not holding my breath when he has to play Strahan, Kearse and like of Arrington...

Anyone else you got? You made it too easy.

I really really hope someone pans out for us. We need some young guys to step up.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Talk about wearing rosy glasses.

Peterman hasn't done anything to show any potential. It's sad but true. If the brass has any confidence in him, they wouldn't have brought in another guard to replace Allen. And it didn't speak well of him when Rivera wasn't playing well and he still rode the pine.

Gurode is a physical specimen but so far hasn't shown significant improvement over the past two yrs. In fact, he has played less every yr. Not exactly the progress you like to see. Resign him to another yr is just a last ditch effort hoping he realize his own potential but don't hold your breath.

Columbo....you are really kidding now! He was on the STREET. Not even a back up on a NFL team. If he gives us anything it's a Godsend. But how can anyone expect anything of him. 31 other teams are looking for good OL players too you know.

Pettiti...I'll give you this one. He played 16 games and had a rough time. I'll give him benefit of the doubt. He maybe better but I am not holding my breath when he has to play Strahan, Kearse and like of Arrington...

Anyone else you got? You made it too easy.

I really really hope someone pans out for us. We need some young guys to step up.

Your missing the point here. Youre falling into the category of 'instant evaluator' that Parcells talks about. My point is not that they are guaranteed to be good but rather that they havent had the time to develop.

Peterman is in his third year and basically it is make or break for him. He played well last preseason and you saying anything about what the coaches think is laughable.

Gurode was resigned for multiple years. It is pretty stupid that you think a multiyear deal means a last ditch effort. Last offensive lineman that got this treatment was Flozell Adams and we know how that turned out.

We just picked up Columbo and due to misdiagnosis of his problem this is the first time hes been healthy since coming into the league. He was cut and not picked up because he was still rehabbing. The Cowboys picked him up to monitor his rehab and give him a shot. But youre way is just to not even look at him.

And Im so very happy that you think its okay that the Cowboys allow Pettiti to develop.

My point is that you have to allow young players especially offensive linemen time to develop. Writing them off before allowing adequate time to mature is myopic at best. All drafting someone in rounds 2-7 does is add another name to the list of linemen that we are developing.

 

[Apluz]

I think it's not going out on a limb to say the O-line will be a concern for everyone including the coaching staff until they see it how it performs on the field... that said I agree with the guys that say we should be ok... and it's true the O-line did play better with Adams in the line up. Everybody knows Adams is not the best LT in the league but sometimes you don't realize what you have till it’s gone. Theses are the reasons I think we’ll be ok though.

Fabini is a capable RT.

Petitti has a year of experience under his belt and is reportedly working like a mad man to get better this off-season and is not conceding anything to Fabini.

The staff is happy with the progress of Columbo and he should be ready to go by TC if not sooner. Wants to compete for a job.

Al Johnson has gained 17 pounds... I assume it’s mostly all muscle.

Adams is 100% healthy and ready to go... although the staff may hold him out of mini camps for precautionary reason.

Rivera is healthy and showing no ill effects from the season or his back and is a regular member of the voluntary/mandatory workout program.

Those are just a few positive things I have heard including Johnson, Peterman, and Petitti pushing each other in workouts.


Right now my main concern is if Kosier can adequately replace Larry Allen.

IMO the only way our O-line is as bad as it was last year is if we have another rash of injuries. Hopefully that won’t happen and it will be as good or better then we expected it to be this time last year.

 

[burmafrd]

Barring injuries our O line will be much improved over late last year, and should be improved over early last year. that should be good enough to get the job done. And if the new guys really pan out the O line could be very good this year. We shall see.

 

[dmq]

I really like Petitti. He is a tough kid. He was playing well until his injury last year. To play through a high ankle strain must be so tough. He has gained 10 lbs on muscle in the offseason so far. I like the Fabini signing for depth. I am glad we got rid of Allen. I loved him earlier in his career, but he doesn't have the mobility that he once had. I expect this line to be vastly improved. Not to mention TO instantly making our line better.

 

[thewivil]

We'll be fine, especially since we'll be running out of the two tight-end set.

 

[iceberg]

Considering the line looked just fine and Bledsoe and Glenn were on pace to start in the pro bowl for 6 weeks last year, I think replacing old slow Allen with Kosier and replacing Petitti with Fabini is probably fine enough to make the line serviceable. Look at New England's line. They have a bunch of guys making like 1 mil or less a year and they protect brady all day. It's all about cohesion, and we just need to get some of that going.

"servicable"

i've never heard drew only needed a "servicable" line. his knock is that he needs a STELLAR line to be successful.

we ain't got that and didn't even try to get it. gonna bite us, but hey - i don't wanna be negative so i'll be clueless instead and say kozier is a lock to be better than a HOF in allen so i can be positive and share the joy.

 

[Ashwynn]

Fact of the matter is we wont know till its too late at this point. By the time we figure out Kosier is JAG and Fabini is out of gas, it will be week 4 and guess what, its too late.

When you know you have a huge problem on Oline, seems to me that should be the focal point of the offseason. If its no better, I would be willing to bet it is next off season. Hope thats not too late.

I really dont know about Kosier and Fabini. Petteti is a question mark. Adams will be back and I expect him to be his normal hit and miss self. I hope he does not regress without Allen next to him. Johnson, last I saw of him, was going backwards after the snap! Gurode is a mental mistake waiting to happen. Have these guys stepped it up and corrected thier issues?

We went out and got a lit stick of dynamite for our lockerroom and did little to upgrade the Oline, save praying our injured/sucky guys got better and we brought in a spare and a has been hoping they can kick it up and keep it up for a hole year?

I hope to hell Jones and Parcells knows what they are doing. I hope el dorado can wait a year before he explodes and takes the team with him. I hope the Oline performs at worse no worse then last year, and appreciably better this year. But I have my doubts. This was the issue I had with bringing in el dorado. Hes gunna blow if hes on a losing team. I am not sure we did enough for the Oline to warrent a happy el dorado (and I hate placating one individual). The Oline is a valid and legit concern going into this season. You guys better pray and cross your fingers and toes that they perform well enough that the offensive skill positions can do there damage before Bledsoe gets the crap knocked out of him.

 

[iceberg]

Fact of the matter is we wont know till its too late at this point. By the time we figure out Kosier is JAG and Fabini is out of gas, it will be week 4 and guess what, its too late.

When you know you have a huge problem on Oline, seems to me that should be the focal point of the offseason. If its no better, I would be willing to bet it is next off season. Hope thats not too late.

I really dont know about Kosier and Fabini. Petteti is a question mark. Adams will be back and I expect him to be his normal hit and miss self. I hope he does not regress without Allen next to him. Johnson, last I saw of him, was going backwards after the snap! Gurode is a mental mistake waiting to happen. Have these guys stepped it up and corrected thier issues?

We went out and got a lit stick of dynamite for our lockerroom and did little to upgrade the Oline, save praying our injured/sucky guys got better and we brought in a spare and a has been hoping they can kick it up and keep it up for a hole year?

I hope to hell Jones and Parcells knows what they are doing. I hope el dorado can wait a year before he explodes and takes the team with him. I hope the Oline performs at worse no worse then last year, and appreciably better this year. But I have my doubts. This was the issue I had with bringing in el dorado. Hes gunna blow if hes on a losing team. I am not sure we did enough for the Oline to warrent a happy el dorado (and I hate placating one individual). The Oline is a valid and legit concern going into this season. You guys better pray and cross your fingers and toes that they perform well enough that the offensive skill positions can do there damage before Bledsoe gets the crap knocked out of him.

good point about how will flo now do w/o larry with him.

3 years ago we thought bp was nuts for resigning flo and now he's the anchor of our line. people may bag on me for being "negative" but at least i'm not pretending flo is good enough to be the anchor of our line.

i also HATE the latest excuse of "well there was no value in the draft" OR "they wouldn't start anyway"

1. no value? sure there was. we trade down all the time to get it and did again in not as needed areas. before the draft we all realized we needed to address teh OL and we failed 110% at doing so, so the excuses come out. FIND THE VALUE - it's their freaking job.

2. maybe. maybe not. but sooner or later we're gonna need to address the line and it's always gonna be a gamble. but no effort, no reward.

we made no valid/real effort on our biggest need from last year - the OL.

i ain't gonna close my eyes and go "la la la we're fine" - it's gonna haunt us and sooner or later we're gonna need to give it some REAL love.

 

[InDakWeTrust]

"servicable"

i've never heard drew only needed a "servicable" line. his knock is that he needs a STELLAR line to be successful.

we ain't got that and didn't even try to get it. gonna bite us, but hey - i don't wanna be negative so i'll be clueless instead and say kozier is a lock to be better than a HOF in allen so i can be positive and share the joy.

That's going to the extreme in saying Kosier is going to be better than Allen, but based on Allen's play last year it is a pretty sure fire thing that we are getting a better player now than LA was. Yakuza Rich's analysis showed that.

Fabini is a more than solid RT who can play LT too. Fabini may have allowed alot of sacks but it was because he was playing LT instead of his natural position of RT (Tucker give you a idea).

Now, when it comes to the backups in Peterman/Gurode/Pettiti/Columbo we seem to be lacking in experience. This is where signing another player like Verba or whoever, would allow us to not throw one of these guys into the fire again if someone goes down.

Only time will tell if this line is any good, or else we just might be picking pretty high next year.

 

[iceberg]

That's going to the extreme in saying Kosier is going to be better than Allen, but based on Allen's play last year it is a pretty sure fire thing that we are getting a better player now than LA was. Yakuza Rich's analysis showed that.

sorry - i just have a tough time saying some detroit hopefull we pulled up is gonna be even as good as the best OL to ever wear the helmet.

but to reach for "better"? i'll let him earn it before i grant him better thana HOF player.

 

[btcutter]

Your missing the point here. Youre falling into the category of 'instant evaluator' that Parcells talks about. My point is not that they are guaranteed to be good but rather that they havent had the time to develop.

Peterman is in his third year and basically it is make or break for him. He played well last preseason and you saying anything about what the coaches think is laughable.

Gurode was resigned for multiple years. It is pretty stupid that you think a multiyear deal means a last ditch effort. Last offensive lineman that got this treatment was Flozell Adams and we know how that turned out.

We just picked up Columbo and due to misdiagnosis of his problem this is the first time hes been healthy since coming into the league. He was cut and not picked up because he was still rehabbing. The Cowboys picked him up to monitor his rehab and give him a shot. But youre way is just to not even look at him.

And Im so very happy that you think its okay that the Cowboys allow Pettiti to develop.

My point is that you have to allow young players especially offensive linemen time to develop. Writing them off before allowing adequate time to mature is myopic at best. All drafting someone in rounds 2-7 does is add another name to the list of linemen that we are developing.

Peterman's playing time speaks for itself. Most quality OL are playing significant minutes if not starting by their 2nd season. If you check Stepnoski, Allen, Williams etc, they were all contributing by end of 1st season. Remember those other OL that we end up cutting...yeah...no one remembers the likes of Clay (was that his name, the center that never could be)....3rd rounder but never made it............If he (Peterman) had any promise, you think Rivera would have been given that huge signing bonus....read between the lines.

Ok, so you think that many teams misdiagnosed Columbo's condition. Hey, like I said, anything is extra from him. But to put him on the list of contributors this yr is HOPING.

Gurode has always had the physical ability just not the mental side. He will be a decent backup but probably nothing more unless the lightbulb goes off. It's simply cheaper for us to keep him than find someone else.

I bet you the DL for the rest of the NFC east are licking their chops at playing us (Bledsoe isn't giving our OL any help). I hope you are right that some of these kids will perform. I am just not so certain as to depend my entire season on them.

 

[aikemirv]

I think the best we can hope for this year is for our line to be serviceable.

It would be a great thing if Petitti is improved enough to start at RT and Fabini would be the backup for both FA and Rob. That would really help if one of those two go down. Nobody would have to be moved.

As far as the interior, they were not the cause of the protection problems IMO, but they need to improve to have a successful running game. I think this is Al's year to come into his own (not saying he will, but it is time to fish or cut bait with him). I believe he has added 10-15 pounds so that should help.

Gurode is just a backup, serviceable but not to be counted on. Can back up C and RG.

 

[MossBurner]

There was nobody outside DBrick that was gonna help this OLine THIS year, so I am fine with not reaching for one

I disagree. There were several very good offensive linemen available in the 2nd and 3rd rounds when Dallas picked.

 

[aikemirv]

"servicable"

i've never heard drew only needed a "servicable" line. his knock is that he needs a STELLAR line to be successful.

we ain't got that and didn't even try to get it. gonna bite us, but hey - i don't wanna be negative so i'll be clueless instead and say kozier is a lock to be better than a HOF in allen so i can be positive and share the joy.

Our line was not stellar in the first half of the year and Drew was doing just fine.

"Serviceable" will be the key to a good season. Stellar would get us to the SB. That's what everyone wants, but to get to stellar would have required Hutchinson and Bently IMO.

 

[DLCassidy]

"servicable"

i've never heard drew only needed a "servicable" line. his knock is that he needs a STELLAR line to be successful.

we ain't got that and didn't even try to get it. gonna bite us, but hey - i don't wanna be negative so i'll be clueless instead and say kozier is a lock to be better than a HOF in allen so i can be positive and share the joy.

Was our line "stellar" for the 1st 6 weeks of last season? No, but it was servicable and DB was in fact playing very well behind it.

It's this simple: we can sustain an injury at RT, RG or center and we'll still be ok. LG is more iffy. Even with the addition of Fabini a serious injury to Flo would be catastrophic. Just like a serious injury to Bledsoe would be the end to any SB hopes. But worrying about another season ending injury to Flo or Bledsoe is a waste of time. Do you think Indy fans are spending time thinking "gee if Peyton tears up a knee we're in trouble"? Or Seattle worries "if Walter Jones gets hurt we're in trouble"? Our depth situation is not ideal, granted, but with Flo back and the addition of Fabini our starters will be ok and the odds are in our favor that Flo stays healthy.

As far as the Kosier for Allen sitaution, Adams is near the end of the trail. He hasn't played like a hall of famer in years and that's a fact. That's no slight to him, time catches up with everyone. But Kozier does not need to play at a hall of fame level to replace the LA that was here last year, just be slightly above average. I'm trusting BP on this one.

 

[notherbob]

good point about how will flo now do w/o larry with him.

3 years ago we thought bp was nuts for resigning flo and now he's the anchor of our line. people may bag on me for being "negative" but at least i'm not pretending flo is good enough to be the anchor of our line.

i also HATE the latest excuse of "well there was no value in the draft" OR "they wouldn't start anyway"

1. no value? sure there was. we trade down all the time to get it and did again in not as needed areas. before the draft we all realized we needed to address teh OL and we failed 110% at doing so, so the excuses come out. FIND THE VALUE - it's their freaking job.

2. maybe. maybe not. but sooner or later we're gonna need to address the line and it's always gonna be a gamble. but no effort, no reward.

we made no valid/real effort on our biggest need from last year - the OL.

i ain't gonna close my eyes and go "la la la we're fine" - it's gonna haunt us and sooner or later we're gonna need to give it some REAL love.

I'm confused by the Boys draft strategy this year and can only hopr that they know what they're doing. I certainly don't know the whats or whys of it. It's just another one of those things I accept and hope for the best because I can't change it.

 

[cnhnyy]

OL is the biggest concern for me right now. Look around NFCE, Eagles just added Bunk and their front four is flat out nasty. Giants, well, have the best bookends in the NFL. Skins' defense is always smart/good under GW.

I really believe it is a huge mistake not to draft McNeil or trade up to get Justice. Eagles got Winston Justice by giving up a 4th. WInston Justice is NOT a project!

Instead, we got another TE and a DE project.

 

[iceberg]

Was our line "stellar" for the 1st 6 weeks of last season? No, but it was servicable and DB was in fact playing very well behind it.

.... I'm trusting BP on this one.

this the same bp who's busted/failed at every OL attempt since he got here? my "trust" isn't quite that blind.

and again - there's that word. "servicable". i agree the line *could* be that. i disagree that's enough for bledsoe.

show me ANY TEAM that feels drew is a problem with a "servicable" line and not a "stellar" one most say he needs to really "scare" them.

i'll wait over here in the negative corner w/eddie. : )