Free expected to miss 2 weeks

[Crown Royal]

Yeah, that will suck. I'd like to keep them both unless they think Weems can play. I don't want to spend resources on a RT.

Keeping Free would be my gift to Romo as they finish their careers here.

I mean, on top of the 100 mil I'm paying him.

 

[TwentyOne]

So do other teams have all-world guys sitting on there bench?

No.

Why ?

Because we grabed all of them during off season.

 

[Bluefin]

I've like Free for several years but I've always said he was upgradeable. I will say from what I've seen this year in review he is playing some of his best ball.

It's complete night and day from the bad play witnessed in 2012.

When Doug Free plays with bad technique, his lack of power is exposed and he gets manhandled by DL.

I'd like to have a RT with more power to his game, but I don't worry about Free when his technique is on.

I think it will be tough to replace him and I'm not sure when they will do so.

Free is the veteran leader of the OL and carries value beyond his play on the field.

But he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent when the final two years of his contract void after this season.

The team can approach Free about altering the language in the deal and adjusting his base salaries ($8M in 2015 and '16) to something more realistic.

Is Free open to this or does he want to hit free agency and get the best deal possible?

If we keep Free, I want to do it by amending the terms of his current contract. I don't want to give him a new deal in free agency with a new signing bonus.

I expect Free wants to stay in Dallas.

It will probably come down to dollars. What Free and his agent feel he is worth versus what Dallas is willing to pay him before turning to another player.

My guess is Free has some small amount of leverage; just not a lot.

Free has all the leverage, IMO.

He's set to become a free agent and so is his back-up.

The Cowboys have to convince Free, using Benjamins, to not hit the open market and take the best offer on the table (his agent will have an idea what that number is).

As much as I like Parnell's talent I'm not seeing that completely translate to the field consistently. So.....

I don't know if we will ever see what Parnell can become unless he gets the starting job.

 

[Bluefin]

I personally think we still need a RT for the future, Free is average and Parnell does enough to do the job but both of them have flaws.

I remain completely open to drafting a RT next year.

I expect either Doug Free or Jermey Parnell to re-sign and Darrion Weems will return, but continuing the OL rebuild using the draft remains vital.

The same thing goes for guard.

 

[TrailBlazer]

Doug Free possesses an unbelievable edge in playing time and experience over Jermey Parnell.

When Free was starting in high school and college, Parnell quit football to focus on basketball (which led to a scholarship to Ole Miss).

Free started 49 games in Dallas before Parnell got his first start on Turkey day in 2012 against the Skins.

Due to Free's regression that year, the two started a time share at RT in the month of December. Both played well in the four games, but Free's play was dramatically better than it had been.

Based on their comfort level with Parnell, the Cowboys told Free he would have to take a $7M pay cut in order to remain in 2013 and he would have to compete to keep the starting job. Parnell fought injuries that off-season and in camp, so the competition never materialized because Free played well. There was no reason to mess with things.

Last summer, some speculated Parnell's roster spot could be in jeopardy given his back-up status, salary and the presence of Darrion Weems.

Weems was getting off-season reps at LT while Parnell worked at RT.

Parnell had to take over as the reserve LT on the fly in training camp when Weems injured his shoulder in a pass blocking drill with Tyron Smith.

Parnell finished the pre-season as the highest graded OL on the team by Pro Football Focus despite practicing at RT during the off-season.

When Free was injured during the Seattle game, Parnell came in and played strong.

Parnell played well in his 3 starts (+2.7, +2.5, -0.5) while Free was on the mend, allowing only 6 QB hurries, 0 QB hits and 0 sacks.

When looking forward, what might Parnell become if given starting reps at RT all off-season, training camp and pre-season?

Would that allow him to find consistency? Refine his hand punch? Improve his leverage?

I believe Parnell has a lot of upside and playing real snaps will best develop it. Jason Garrett said something along this line when Free was sidelined.

Most starting OL on ranked college teams will not make it in the NFL.

Parnell is doing it after solely playing basketball in high school and college (he was a reserve DL after that).

So practicing with the 1st team will magically make him a better player? He still goes through training camp and preseason and gets reps. He should be fully developed by now. He is 28 and been in the league since 09. He's not going to get much better than he is now. He's been with dallas since 2010. The coaches know what he is. A good backup. He has had 4 offseasons to beat out Doug Free. Dallas would love to get rid of free and spend those resources elsewhere, if they thought parnell could play up to Free's level.

 

[jobberone]

I
It's complete night and day from the bad play witnessed in 2012.

When Doug Free plays with bad technique, his lack of power is exposed and he gets manhandled by DL.

I'd like to have a RT with more power to his game, but I don't worry about Free when his technique is on.

Both our tackles are inconsistent.

Free is the veteran leader of the OL and carries value beyond his play on the field.

But he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent when the final two years of his contract void after this season.

The team can approach Free about altering the language in the deal and adjusting his base salaries ($8M in 2015 and '16) to something more realistic.

Is Free open to this or does he want to hit free agency and get the best deal possible?

If we keep Free, I want to do it by amending the terms of his current contract. I don't want to give him a new deal in free agency with a new signing bonus.

I expect Free wants to stay in Dallas.

It will probably come down to dollars. What Free and his agent feel he is worth versus what Dallas is willing to pay him before turning to another player.

It depends on money and how they feel about Weems and Parnell. They will want to address this before the draft.

Free has all the leverage, IMO.

He's set to become a free agent and so is his back-up.

The Cowboys have to convince Free, using Benjamins, to not hit the open market and take the best offer on the table (his agent will have an idea what that number is).

I don't think he has all the leverage. He's older with a spotty career and no more upside. Does his wife and children want to stay? What's the market? What's his worth to Dallas? My guess is he gets a middlin offer and looks at the FA market. A lot depends on Parnell and Weems.

I don't know if we will ever see what Parnell can become unless he gets the starting job.

It's complete night and day from the bad play witnessed in 2012.

When Doug Free plays with bad technique, his lack of power is exposed and he gets manhandled by DL.

I'd like to have a RT with more power to his game, but I don't worry about Free when his technique is on.

Both our tackles are inconsistent.

Free is the veteran leader of the OL and carries value beyond his play on the field.

But he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent when the final two years of his contract void after this season.

The team can approach Free about altering the language in the deal and adjusting his base salaries ($8M in 2015 and '16) to something more realistic.

Is Free open to this or does he want to hit free agency and get the best deal possible?

If we keep Free, I want to do it by amending the terms of his current contract. I don't want to give him a new deal in free agency with a new signing bonus.

I expect Free wants to stay in Dallas.

It will probably come down to dollars. What Free and his agent feel he is worth versus what Dallas is willing to pay him before turning to another player.

It depends on money and how they feel about Weems and Parnell. They will want to address this before the draft.

Free has all the leverage, IMO.

He's set to become a free agent and so is his back-up.

The Cowboys have to convince Free, using Benjamins, to not hit the open market and take the best offer on the table (his agent will have an idea what that number is).

I don't think he has all the leverage. He's older with a spotty career and no more upside. Does his wife and children want to stay? What's the market? What's his worth to Dallas? My guess is he gets a middlin offer and looks at the FA market. A lot depends on Parnell and Weems.

I don't know if we will ever see what Parnell can become unless he gets the starting job.

I think they have a better handle on Parnell than anyone here does. I have no strong feelings about this whole matter except they must not go without a decent tackle and swing tackle. They can lose both Parnell and Free. They should consider keeping at least one.

 

[Bluefin]

So practicing with the 1st team will magically make him a better player? He still goes through training camp and preseason and gets reps.

I don't know if it will make Jermey Parnell better, but I do feel it would give him the best chance.

Jason Garrett said something similar.

Back-ups don't get reps like starters and practicing with reserves isn't the same as working with the starters. The starting OL need time together to build continuity, they have to learn each others tendencies and grow together.

Zack Martin knows Doug Free much better than Parnell because of all the time spent playing together.

He should be fully developed by now. He is 28 and been in the league since 09. He's not going to get much better than he is now.

I disagree.

Parnell hasn't played enough real football to be fully developed.

Is Tony Romo a finished product?

Why does he tinker with his mechanics every off-season if he's as good as he can be?

He's been with dallas since 2010. The coaches know what he is. A good backup. He has had 4 offseasons to beat out Doug Free. Dallas would love to get rid of free and spend those resources elsewhere, if they thought parnell could play up to Free's level.

The Cowboys would have released Free last year if he hadn't agreed to taking a $7M cut in pay over the last two seasons.

A big part of that dynamic was the team being prepared to go with Parnell at RT if Free refused their ultimatum.

And why would the Cowboys love to get rid of Free, who he isn't a bad player?

Are they better with 3 OTs who have proven they can play or 2?

Free's play has improved greatly since he split time with Parnell in December of 2012, there hasn't been any reason to consider parting ways with him since then.

Now, a decision is looming.

Free and Parnell are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

 

[TrailBlazer]

I don't know if it will make Jermey Parnell better, but I do feel it would give him the best chance.

Jason Garrett said something similar.

Back-ups don't get reps like starters and practicing with reserves isn't the same as working with the starters. The starting OL need time together to build continuity, they have to learn each others tendencies and grow together.

Zack Martin knows Doug Free much better than Parnell because of all the time spent playing together.




I disagree.

Parnell hasn't played enough real football to be fully developed.

Is Tony Romo a finished product?

Why does he tinker with his mechanics every off-season if he's as good as he can be?




The Cowboys would have released Free last year if he hadn't agreed to taking a $7M cut in pay over the last two seasons.

A big part of that dynamic was the team being prepared to go with Parnell at RT if Free refused their ultimatum.

And why would the Cowboys love to get rid of Free, who he isn't a bad player?

Are they better with 3 OTs who have proven they can play or 2?

Free's play has improved greatly since he split time with Parnell in December of 2012, there hasn't been any reason to consider parting ways with him since then.

Now, a decision is looming.

Free and Parnell are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

They would want to get rid of free if they thought parnell could do the job for less money.

Tony is finished developing. He won't get much better at the nuances of the game. Tinkering with mechanics is a minor thing and I haven't seen major changes to his mechanics since he started his first game. Players have prime years. Parnell is in his prime.

Feels like a lot of over-analyzations. It's simple, he's a good backup. But lacks the consistency in his technique to overtake free. Parnell will play well several snaps in a row and then will play with lazy technique for one or 2 plays. This is something he should've gotten fixed if he was going to start in this league.

 

[jobberone]

They would want to get rid of free if they thought parnell could do the job for less money.

Tony is finished developing. He won't get much better at the nuances of the game. Tinkering with mechanics is a minor thing and I haven't seen major changes to his mechanics since he started his first game. Players have prime years. Parnell is in his prime.

Feels like a lot of over-analyzations. It's simple, he's a good backup. But lacks the consistency in his technique to overtake free. Parnell will play well several snaps in a row and then will play with lazy technique for one or 2 plays. This is something he should've gotten fixed if he was going to start in this league.

It appears you are correct although I'm not sure lazy is the right word but inconsistency sure is a good one.

 

[TrailBlazer]

It appears you are correct although I'm not sure lazy is the right word but inconsistency sure is a good one.

Lack of concentration, maybe, is a better word to accurately describe it.

 

[Bluefin]

They would want to get rid of free if they thought parnell could do the job for less money.

You are talking about an apples to apples comparison.

Doug Free's 2014 base salary ($3.5M) became fully guaranteed when he was on the roster at the start of the league year. That was a concession the team agreed to last year (Free's $3.5M '13 base salary was also fully guaranteed) when the pay cut took place. The final two years of Free's deal also became voidable as part of his pay cut.

Dallas wasn't going to cut him for any reason after his play improved so much last year.

Tony is finished developing. He won't get much better at the nuances of the game. Tinkering with mechanics is a minor thing and I haven't seen major changes to his mechanics since he started his first game. Players have prime years. Parnell is in his prime.

I remember a press conference earlier this year where Jason Garrett scoffed at the idea Doug Free was as good as he's going to get.

He said players can continually improve no matter how long they have been in the league.

He also said that Jermey Parnell could improve tremendously by actually playing.

I agree.

Feels like a lot of over-analyzations. It's simple, he's a good backup. But lacks the consistency in his technique to overtake free. Parnell will play well several snaps in a row and then will play with lazy technique for one or 2 plays. This is something he should've gotten fixed if he was going to start in this league.

Tyron Smith, the 9th overall selection of the 2011 draft, has played a lot more football than Parnell, should he be beyond making lazy mistakes, too?

Smith had a couple of whiffs in the Eagles game last Sunday night and has had a lot of them this season.

Players make mistakes, even the very good ones.

Parnell may never get any better, being a swing tackle may be his ceiling.

I don't think it is.

 

[TrailBlazer]

You are talking about an apples to apples comparison.

Doug Free's 2014 base salary ($3.5M) became fully guaranteed when he was on the roster at the start of the league year. That was a concession the team agreed to last year (Free's $3.5M '13 base salary was also fully guaranteed) when the pay cut took place. The final two years of Free's deal also became voidable as part of his pay cut.

Dallas wasn't going to cut him for any reason after his play improved so much last year.




I remember a press conference earlier this year where Jason Garrett scoffed at the idea Doug Free was as good as he's going to get.

He said players can continually improve no matter how long they have been in the league.

He also said that Jermey Parnell could improve tremendously by actually playing.

I agree.




Tyron Smith, the 9th overall selection of the 2011 draft, has played a lot more football than Parnell, should he be beyond making lazy mistakes, too?

Smith had a couple of whiffs in the Eagles game last Sunday night and has had a lot of them this season.

Players make mistakes, even the very good ones.

Parnell may never get any better, being a swing tackle may be his ceiling.

I don't think it is.

Fair enough. We will see.