If Free remains at guard, the Cowboys may be finished at OLine for a while

[TheRomoSexual]

In my opinion, a line of Smith-Leary-Fred-Free-Parnell performed quite well against a very solid Bengals dline, and the mistakes made can mostly be written off to rust and earning curves. I'm personally quite high on Parnell's play last season and his potential in general, and I think Free can serve as a very good pass blocking guard (which is far more of a concern for me than run blocking). With that in mind, have the Cowboys found their oline for the foreseeable future?

The average starting age of our this line is 25, and not a single player is over 30...in fact, not a single olineman currently on the Cowboys' roster is over the age of 30. Weems has the potential to be our "swing tackle" with some development, but really, Free will serve as our swing tackle with Bern serving as the swing guard. Say what you will about Bern, but he is paid like a backup and provides solid depth. Costa is certainly serviceable as the backup center, and Arkin as looked find in the few games he's played (though he may not be active on game days).

If things work out, the Cowboys may just have found their oline for the next five or so years.

 

[xwalker]

Agree. They have 4 guys with high upsides in Smith, Leary, Fred and Parnell. I have no idea about Free at Guard. He looked much better than I expected in that one and only game where he played the position.

Weems also has good upside because he is big, strong and quick. He does need a significant amount of development. I don't know if he will even be active, because as you stated, Free would move to OT in the event of an injury to Smith or Parnell.

 

[JBS]

Lolol

Line has no depth. Anywhere.

No telling how long leary can hold up.
How many more years does free have on his deal?

 

[Lonestar94]

Lolol

Line has no depth. Anywhere.

No telling how long leary can hold up.
How many more years does free have on his deal?

If were gonna win the SB, Romo is going to have to be Roethlisberger-esque.

Other than Smith and Frederick, this line is garbage, lets stop kidding ourselves.

 

[theebs]

Lolol

Line has no depth. Anywhere.

No telling how long leary can hold up.
How many more years does free have on his deal?

If free and Parnell play their positions well we would have costa and Mack as depth.

What's wrong with that as depth? Mack can play both guard spots and center and costa is a great fit at center if he has to play.

Also, free and Parnell can both play left tackle in an emergency and Frederick can play guard.

That's 7 active game day lineman who are versatile.

 

[Risen Star]

If free and Parnell play their positions well we would have costa and Mack as depth.

What's wrong with that as depth?

I'd say the fact that I would never want either of them on the field at any point of a meaningful game.

We may be done with the OL for a while, but not because it's set, that's for sure. We've got a couple of building blocks, a promising G with a chronic knee issue and that's it.

 

[JonJon]

I would still look to draft a guard or tackle within the first 3 rounds next year even if this unit performs well as is.

 

[jnday]

If free and Parnell play their positions well we would have costa and Mack as depth.

What's wrong with that as depth? Mack can play both guard spots and center and costa is a great fit at center if he has to play.

Also, free and Parnell can both play left tackle in an emergency and Frederick can play guard.

That's 7 active game day lineman who are versatile.

Versatile, but stinks. I think the team may consider sticking with a line like this considering how they have addressed the line in the past. It would be a mistake, but it is something they would do.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

Lolol

Line has no depth. Anywhere.

No telling how long leary can hold up.
How many more years does free have on his deal?

Nonsense. If Fred gets hurt, Costa steps in. If one of the guards gets hurt, Mack steps in. If a tackle gets hurt, Free steps in. Our "depth" consists of former starters who have played in our system for at least one season...that's as solid as it gets.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

Versatile, but stinks. I think the team may consider sticking with a line like this considering how they have addressed the line in the past. It would be a mistake, but it is something they would do.

To be fair, you have no idea how this line is going to perform when it begins to jell. Or maybe you're some sort of psychic? Sylvia Browne, is that you? From what I saw, I see a lot of potential. No idea if it will actually be fulfilled, but to declare absolutes is absurd.

 

[jazzcat22]

Lolol

Line has no depth. Anywhere.

No telling how long leary can hold up.
How many more years does free have on his deal?

What team does have depth. Sounds as if the Giants OL is in worse shape than the Cowboys.

 

[Zekeats]

Didn't know Leary played against the Bengals

 

[TheRomoSexual]

Didn't know Leary played against the Bengals

Exactly my point. This OLine performed well WITHOUT it's starting left guard.

 

[Ren]

Parnell couldn't beat out Free who down right sucked last year for the RT spot, to think he's a fix and we're somehow done with him there is optimistic at best. Parnell's only claim to fame is that he isn't Doug Free who sucked

 

[TheRomoSexual]

I'd say the fact that I would never want either of them on the field at any point of a meaningful game.

We may be done with the OL for a while, but not because it's set, that's for sure. We've got a couple of building blocks, a promising G with a chronic knee issue and that's it.

I have to say, I'm legitimately worried about how you're going to react if we end up with a solid line.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

Parnell couldn't beat out Free who down right sucked last year for the RT spot, to think he's a fix and we're somehow done with him there is optimistic at best. Parnell's only claim to fame is that he isn't Doug Free

Um, he didn't "beat" out Free because he was hurt most of the offseason.

 

[Risen Star]

Parnell couldn't beat out Free who down right sucked last year for the RT spot, to think he's a fix and we're somehow done with him there is optimistic at best. Parnell's only claim to fame is that he isn't Doug Free

We may be set for years, bro.

Go Cowboys.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

We may be set for years, bro.

Go Cowboys.

Funny how you would agree with a guy who apparently wasn't aware of Parnell's offseason hammy issue. Guess you will take your supporters where you can get em, huh?

 

[lwehlers]

we need another right tackle. I just do not see parnell being a long term starter in the nfl.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

we need another right tackle. I just do not see parnell being a long term starter in the nfl.

Last season, Parnell's pressure rate was pretty low (~4%) and we had a high yardage per carry running behind him (~5 ypc). And he's only played the position for a few years.