"Good RBs make the Oline look good & not the reverse"

[Alexander]

Dallas doesn't have an elite line right now.

Darn them, because if they were, anyone could run behind them.

 

[Bleu Star]

Darn them, because if they were, anyone could run behind them.

Stop man.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Crack pipe down, NOW!

 

[kevm3]

They complement each other. A great O line can make an ok running back serviceable, but if you want consistently great performance, especially during tough games, you'll need a quality runningback. O line is more important though. We see what happened to Murray with no blocking. The same thing would be true for just about any RB, sans the very best.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Dallas doesn't have an elite line right now.

Yes we do. Our line played poorly last game. But there isn't a team in football who wouldn't trade...man for man...their line for ours.

 

[Redball Express]

we don't need a top tier RB. We do just fine with our below avg scatbacks. Hey. Shooting for 8-8 isn't such a bad thing. You're just decent enough to remain in perpetual denial.

Oh my..LMAO.

Listen..I'm revealing my darkest nightmares to slip back into the abyiss again.

No way do I really want a top-3 pick..that means crash and burn time.

Later.

 

[Bleu Star]

Oh my..LMAO.

Listen..I'm revealing my darkest nightmares to slip back into the abyiss again.

No way do I really want a top-3 pick..that means crash and burn time.

Later.

Point being we are beyond time to draft a replacement for Romo and we surely could use a top flight running back right now. Man. That guy from FSU (Karlos Williams) would look good lined up behind our elite offensive line.

 

[Craig]

getting rid of murray was correct. Are there still people left that disagree?

 

[Alexander]

getting rid of murray was correct. Are there still people left that disagree?

Fiscally? Of course.

There seems to be this mischaracterization that anyone dissatisfied with what we have now just wanted Murray back at all costs. That I simply not the case.

Again, it is not that black and white, so people struggle with the idea and ask a question like you just did to try to steer the discussion.

 

[Muhast]

At some point you have to pick an argument and stick with it.

People say Murray was made by the OL. So does that mean Emmitt was too? I wouldn't say so. But that is what the argument implies.

 

[RunDMC]

Yes we do. Our line played poorly last game. But there isn't a team in football who wouldn't trade...man for man...their line for ours.

It wasn't just last game. They were owned in the Philadelphia game AGAIN. Their run blocking has been really up and down and mostly down in the second half of these games. The pass protection has been solid, but they have to start opening up holes if they wanna be labeled as an elite OL.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

It wasn't just last game. They were owned in the Philadelphia game AGAIN. Their run blocking has been really up and down and mostly down in the second half of these games. The pass protection has been solid, but they have to start opening up holes if they wanna be labeled as an elite OL.

Phlly has a strong front 7 and got the best of us last year both games as well.

Were you banging the drum saying this line wasn't elite last year as well?

Asking for a friend.

 

[RunDMC]

Phlly has a strong front 7 and got the best of us last year both games as well.

Were you banging the drum saying this line wasn't elite last year as well?

Asking for a friend.

No excuses. If you're an elite offensive line then you have to play like it. They played against an elite defensive line last year in Seattle and DOMINATED them. They flat out imposed their will and controlled the line the entire day. That's what I'm waiting to see from this group. We've seen it in stretches, but it hasn't been consistent like it was a season ago. I know the talent and skill level has no diminished. Maybe it's the lack of continuity, but whatever the case they need to fix it and fix it now. We need that ELITE and dominant offensive line to return.

 

[Alexander]

No excuses. If you're an elite offensive line then you have to play like it. They played against an elite defensive line last year in Seattle and DOMINATED them. They flat out imposed their will and controlled the line the entire day. That's what I'm waiting to see from this group. We've seen it in stretches, but it hasn't been consistent like it was a season ago. I know the talent and skill level has no diminished. Maybe it's the lack of continuity, but whatever the case they need to fix it and fix it now. We need that ELITE and dominant offensive line to return.

Seattle's DL is good, maybe even very good, but elite?

Who exactly is elite among their top four?

 

[RunDMC]

Seattle's DL is good, maybe even very good, but elite?

Who exactly is elite among their top four?

They may not have that one guy who is considered elite although Michael Bennett is very close and probably would've won Super Bowl MVP if Carroll hadn't gotten pass happy on the goal line. They have a group of guys who can get after the quarterback. They have a very good rotation. They get penetration. They're a big and athletic group of big guys on the defensive line. They can eat up blocks and help their linebackers. Everyone talks about the Legion of Doom, but their defensive line is as big a reason for that being of the NFL's best defensive units in the last three or four years.

 

[Alexander]

They may not have that one guy who is considered elite although Michael Bennett is very close and probably would've won Super Bowl MVP if Carroll hadn't gotten pass happy on the goal line. They have a group of guys who can get after the quarterback. They have a very good rotation. They get penetration. They're a big and athletic group of big guys on the defensive line. They can eat up blocks and help their linebackers. Everyone talks about the Legion of Doom, but their defensive line is as big a reason for that being of the NFL's best defensive units in the last three or four years.

So, again. Good or very good. Got it.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

That was quoted yesterday by a prominent SEC head coach & I completely agree.

The Oline can have have pro bowlers at every position but without that runner they will see an average effort on the ground practically every time. This can wear in the psyche of even the most dominant of offensive lines.

The RB needs to know how to hit the hole, when to hit it, when to exhibit patience, and how to use good vision as a tool to keep the chains moving.

I was just struck by that comment because, in many ways, it parallels what we are seeing right now I'm that dynamic between our offensive line and the RBs we are tossing in there behind them. You best believe that an oline will more enthusiastically embrace a RB that is consistently moving the chains vs one that gains negative yards regularly while supplementing with the occasional long run. When those long runs are few & far between, it is detrimental to the psyche of the guys in the trenches doing work.

I strongly believe the perception of an average effort from our oline early on is directly tied to who we are lining up behind them. Those guys aren't stupid. They know a lead run with the fb manned by Clutz is destined for failure. They know that the current pool of RBs is not of the quality to sustain drives. They need a spark.

I'm hopeful that spark will finally come tomorrow with the combination of Christine Michael and Randle sharing the load. It really doesn't matter whether you go with Randle or McFadden to supplement Michael. They're both the same scatback type of player. Sadly, McFadden at his size, does indeed operate like a scatback. We already have three of those in Randle, McFadden, & Dunbar.

I thought that coach's comments were spot on. An oline does not make a rb. His perspective spits clearly in the faces of those that have crowed about how our oline made Demarco. I've always considered that a line of crap. Our "system" made Demarco and he flourished in it.

I college maybe given the talent difference a great RB, QB or WR can mk a huge difference. in NFL I quite different. without an OL, even the great ones will look average if not worse

 

[Nightman]

Seattle's DL is good, maybe even very good, but elite?

Who exactly is elite among their top four?

So SEA is average but the Eagles are elite. I guess the Giants are top notch as well without JPP and half their LBs.

 

[Alexander]

So SEA is average but the Eagles are elite. I guess the Giants are top notch as well without JPP and half their LBs.

Not sure what you are getting at because I have never mentioned "average".

This is not a game played in a vacuum where a 99 Madden score player just dominates everyone.

There are matchup situations that crop up where even an "elite" player struggles.

We once had a complete bench warmer shutdown Michael Strahan for a game

It is not a stretch to think that by now, Fletcher Cox has it on Frederick, for example.

Reggie White killed most tackles, but Erik Williams would reduce him to a crying woman.

 

[plasticman]

getting rid of murray was correct. Are there still people left that disagree?

Absolutely positively disagree.

Not keeping DeMarco will go down as one of the worse moves in Dallas Cowboy history.

How many Dallas Cowboy offensive linemen made the pro Bowl in the early 1990's?

Well, almost all of them, Stepnoski made it 3 times as a Cowboy, Tuinei 2, and Newton 6 times. Ray Donaldon made it 2 times.

Here is the point:

Stepnoski, Newton and Tuinei were on the team before Emmitt Smith came along and NONE of those three guys made Pro Bowls until after Emmitt arrived. Newton was on the team for 4 years before Emmitt, Tuinei for 7.

Donaldson, a former Pro Bowler, was picked up in his 16th season, but hadn't made the pro Bowl in 5 seasons. After blocking for Emmitt, at the age of 37, he is a Pro Bowler again.

Emmitt comes along and now we have a plethora of Pro Bowl O-linemen, most deservedly so, but I wonder what took some of them so long.