Doug Free

Boyz981 said:
Lots of people hated him... I think not having him around could have been one of biggest reasons with some of the struggles on the oline. Thoughts?
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If you're talking 2014 Doug Free, then I could agree. 2015 Free wasn't bad, but 2016 Free was worse than 2017 Collins.

The O-Line struggled at first because it made the mistake of starting Chaz Green at LG over Cooper. Once they were all healthy and Cooper was the LG, the O-Line played the best in the NFL at one point averaging 198 yards rushing per game with 1 sack allowed per game.

Then Tyron got hurt and it was over. We could still run the ball well, but without Tyron the weakside pass protection was a problem.




YR
 
PJTHEDOORS said:
You mean as a coach? Collins played well at rt.
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Collins was learning technique as he was going up against some of the league's top pass rushers (JPP, Von Miller, Chandler Jones, Bosa, Brandon Graham, Kerrigan, etc)

I like where he is.

I do think shoring up the left side of the line (LG) will help the Oline overall. IMO, if needed (as an absolute emergency) I think he could move to LT and do OK enough. I think he's just that good and still getting better

he's 24... he's got at least 6-10yrs left in this league.
 
kskboys said:
Free was a good player. Problem is, we paid him like a great player. However, give the man his due, he took a major paycut in a restructure when he proved to not be anywhere near as good as he was paid.
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That's a common misconception but it isn't true. His 2012 season was one of the worst RT performances in the NFL that year and he was scheduled to take a major pay jump. Dallas was going to cut him and he restructured his contract down to the amount it would cost Dallas to cut him. For the Cowboys it was a tryout for Free to turn things around (which to his credit, he did) at no additional cost.

For Doug Free it was the minimum pay cut possible that he could take while avoiding being cut (and then signing a veteran minimum contract somewhere else). It wasn't an act of generosity, it was his agent getting the best deal possible. He still got 3.5 Million the following year after a 2012 season that was a complete disaster. That doesn't happen if he is a FA on the open market.
 
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diefree666 said:
just commenting on your ability to defend the indefensible- never works very well but it is amusing how much you can contort yourself
Criminally under appreciated was Romo NOT Free. Free - which you conveniently seem to forget- kept having up and down seasons. Until the last when he really stank it up
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I’ll give your opinion here on my posts the careful consideration it deserves.

But like I said, Free was seriously under appreciated in Dallas by silly fans for a long, long time.
 
Boyz981 said:
Lots of people hated him... I think not having him around could have been one of biggest reasons with some of the struggles on the oline. Thoughts?
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Free was terrible in 2016 giving up 9 sacks. La'el was an upgrade.

The player they should have kept was Parnell. He is now the RT for a team in the playoffs. He was the Cowboys RT when they won a playoff game in 2014.

La'el could have played LG if Parnell had stayed and then could have moved out to LT when Tyron was out.

I have no idea where people got the idea that Free was a good run blocker. They schemed to have him blocking LBs in the run game because he would get over-powered by DLinemen.

In pass protection they schemed to help him by having the RG cheat over both pre and post snap. That made it difficult for pass rushers to beat him inside and he could then over-set to the outside giving him an advantage.

Free's troubles started years ago when they tried him at LT. In a game against the Niners, their long time DE exposed Free's biggest weakness and once that was on tape, everybody saw it. Free had a weak upper body and when pass rushers would get their hands/arms under his and thrust up, he had no ability to resist. He also had no strength when his arm was extended away from his body. Due to this issue it was critical for him to keep his body directly in front of the pass rusher; whereas, a guy like Tyron can reach outside of his body to slow down a pass rusher, Free couldn't. Free also changed his technique keeping his hands extra low initially, but this made his reaction slower to get his hands on defenders.
 
MIsconception was caused by the fact Collins struggled early in the season.. he was pretty bad. but as time passed, you rarely heard his name called out.
 
Like lots of players, Free was very tough and played with injuries lots of years, including foot issues, but instead of being admired for fighting through it, like DLaw with his back last year, Free was blasted for not playing better.
 
Yakuza Rich said:
If you're talking 2014 Doug Free, then I could agree. 2015 Free wasn't bad, but 2016 Free was worse than 2017 Collins.

The O-Line struggled at first because it made the mistake of starting Chaz Green at LG over Cooper. Once they were all healthy and Cooper was the LG, the O-Line played the best in the NFL at one point averaging 198 yards rushing per game with 1 sack allowed per game.

Then Tyron got hurt and it was over. We could still run the ball well, but without Tyron the weakside pass protection was a problem.




YR
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La'el still had his problems in pass protection.
 
Nightman said:
He only gave up 5 sacks all year and went against the best of the best ...sounds like 1st World problems
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It also takes time for an OL to gell as a unit, in the first part of the season they had to get reps and get their timing down on stunts, handoffs, etc. With Collins and Cooper at new positiont it took the first third of the season or so to do that, but once they did the OL was excellent except for the gaping hole at LT in the games where Tyron was out.
 
xwalker said:
The player they should have kept was Parnell. He is now the RT for a team in the playoffs. He was the Cowboys RT when they won a playoff game in 2014.
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I always felt Collins was inconsistent at OG but if he settled in at LG and Parnell was the RT right now this OL would be completely and utterly dominant. Gary Brown could take the reps at RB himself and we would get 150 yard rushing every game.
 
I think the offensive line is missing Ron Leary just as much or more as free. And I think it's taking time for the line to adjust to the fact that there's two new starters on it and one of those starters just isn't all that good.
 
Idgit said:
I’ll give your opinion here on my posts the careful consideration it deserves.

But like I said, Free was seriously under appreciated in Dallas by silly fans for a long, long time.
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what was it a famous propaganda chief said?
"Repeat a lie often enough and many believe it."

You are doing well following in his footsteps
 
I'd much rather have Collins than Doug Free. I can listen to the argument for Leary even though he was hurt all year. For Doug Free? No thanks. Nice solid find in the 3rd round but I was ready for him to retire.
 
diefree666 said:
what was it a famous propaganda chief said?
"Repeat a lie often enough and many believe it."

You are doing well following in his footsteps
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You’re speaking in generalities. Pick an example and we’ll see.
 
Free was good as a run blocker but he was garbage in pass protection
 
Boyz981 said:
Lots of people hated him... I think not having him around could have been one of biggest reasons with some of the struggles on the oline. Thoughts?
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Free’s leadership has been missed more than his playing ability. He was the glue to the line.
 
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