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

[visionary]

All I can say in response to the OP is

"If we are finished on the OL for a while..." then we are also finished for a while

 

[visionary]

Exactly. You never know how a player will perform from one season to the next. We all thought our CB's were set for years to come back when we had Newman, Jenkins, Pacman, and Scandrick. "We won't have to get another CB for about 10 years," is what was said. Fast forward just a few seasons and 3 of them are on different teams.

a lot of this is revisionist history

most reasonable and knowledgeable posters on this board knew newman was a good not great CB (esp after the first 3-4 years), were not in favor of drafting jenkins (another reach by the cowboys) and were not in favor of bringing in pacman (another jerry reclamation project who did not pan out). OScan has always been an average effort CB.

if you thought anyone thought "we were set at CB for years" with that bunch, i am sorry, you were sadly mistaken

it is comically similar to what we are saying about the OL right now... 2 solid players with a good future (smith and fred), one maybe good one for the short term (leary) and a bunch of scrubs

some are ready to anoint this OL as "set for the future"

this unit is not "solid" by any stretch of the imagination

 

[ElGatoGrande]

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.

Says the OP who just made a declaration based solely upon hopeful projection and extremely flawed analysis of a Vanilla defensed preseason game. lmao!

There's enough youth here to hold out hope that all of them will develop into solid starters, but the odds of that happening and the likelihood of injuries to revisit some of these oft-injured players paints a scary picture of unsettled lineups and outmatched linemen. The assault of stunts and blitzes hitting that line, especially the right side if Free is at guard and Parnell at tackle, will be intense and relentless.

 

[Hardline]

I envision a day when I look at the starting Cowboys offensive line and see five first rounders.

 

[Nightman]

a lot of this is revisionist history

most reasonable and knowledgeable posters on this board knew newman was a good not great CB (esp after the first 3-4 years), were not in favor of drafting jenkins (another reach by the cowboys) and were not in favor of bringing in pacman (another jerry reclamation project who did not pan out). OScan has always been an average effort CB.

if you thought anyone thought "we were set at CB for years" with that bunch, i am sorry, you were sadly mistaken

it is comically similar to what we are saying about the OL right now... 2 solid players with a good future (smith and fred), one good one for the short term (leary) and a bunch of scrubs

some are ready to anoint this OL as "set for the future"

this unit is not "solid" by any stretch of the imagination

Two of the those guys still play for one of the better Defenses in the NFL. Jenkins was doing pretty good once he ignored Campo's stupid philosophy of playing off the receiver and then reacting to him and not the ball. He just got injured, which happens in the NFL.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

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.

By addressing the line in the past you mean investing 2 first rounders in 3 years on it?

 

[JonJon]

a lot of this is revisionist history

most reasonable and knowledgeable posters on this board knew newman was a good not great CB (esp after the first 3-4 years), were not in favor of drafting jenkins (another reach by the cowboys) and were not in favor of bringing in pacman (another jerry reclamation project who did not pan out). OScan has always been an average effort CB.

if you thought anyone thought "we were set at CB for years" with that bunch, i am sorry, you were sadly mistaken

it is comically similar to what we are saying about the OL right now... 2 solid players with a good future (smith and fred), one maybe good one for the short term (leary) and a bunch of scrubs

some are ready to anoint this OL as "set for the future"

this unit is not "solid" by any stretch of the imagination

Well, that is what was said about the CB's at the time by some of the posters here. You can dig it up here in the archives if you want to read it for yourself. However, I am with you on the point that we are not set at OL.

 

[cowboysooner]

So the solution is either we are all good or need to spend a first rounder on a right guard.

What would be nice is if we got a multiyear big school starter who could play either right tackle or right guard in the second or third round.

I really don't want to spend a first rounder on a right guard when we have no under tackle of the future and no pressure player opposite Ware beyond this year. I don't want to spend a 7 million dollar pick on a 3.5 million dollar problem.

 

[Rockport]

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.

I appreciate and applaud your optimisim as it's sorely needed around here. But as pertaining to the offensive line only, I have serious doubts with what we have. The starters look to be Smith, Leary, Frederich, Free and Parnell or Bernadeau and Free. If it's the former, that would be 4 starters who've never started in that position before. During pre-season they haven't faced the types of stunts, blitzes, etc. that they'll face against the Giants. In my opinion, the only players capable of being NFL starters are Smith and Frederich. Haven't seen enough of Leary yet. So no matter how you slice it, there aint no way Smith-Leary-Fred-Free-Parnell will be the starters for the next 5 years. If they are, we'll be around the 8-8 mark again.

 

[Kaiser]

An interesting tangent on this topic, but this year our lightest (weight) starting lineman is Tyron Smith. The level of performance remains to be seen, but this lineup does have five guys that are all big and all can move.

 

[Rockport]

An interesting tangent on this topic, but this year our lightest (weight) starting lineman is Tyron Smith. The level of performance remains to be seen, but this lineup does have five guys that are all big and all can move.

Free and Parnell are horrible in space and have never been accused of being able to move in the zone run blocking scheme we use.

 

[visionary]

Well, that is what was said about the CB's at the time by some of the posters here. You can dig it up here in the archives if you want to read it for yourself. However, I am with you on the point that we are not set at OL.

i am with you man
i would venture to suggest that many of the same posters applauding our solid CBs back then are the ones applauding our solid OL now

 

[big dog cowboy]

I envision a day when I look at the starting Cowboys offensive line and see five first rounders.

You think that guarantees success?

 

[Hardline]

You think that guarantees success?

It guarantees a greater chance of success.

 

[DOUBLE WING]

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.

That's rich coming from the guy who is looking into his crystal ball and basically declaring our line set for the next decade. This despite the fact that two of our starters have never started an NFL game, one is playing a brand new position, and a fourth would have to take a drastic leap forward in production to be worthy of keeping his starting job.

 

[Zordon]

i am with you man
i would venture to suggest that many of the same posters applauding our solid CBs back then are the ones applauding our solid OL now

the same posters are always applauding, period.

 

[Chuck 54]

I'm worried about this team...period.
Eli seems to make a big play to someone when needed, and the NY DL seems to own our OL.
The Skins seem to run the ball at will against every opponent with anyone at RB and no one I've ever heard of on the OL.
The Eagles are a mystery, but their quickness has abused our defense.

I hold out hope that we hit the perfect storm with our OL, DL, secondary, and Romo and have a great season; however, I won't be shocked if NY pounds us in week one and we struggle to 8-8 again.

Hope springs eternal, but I haven't seen anything to give me hope that we are any better than last year.

 

[jobberone]

You bet.

I agree with my bud Risen Star that both offensive and defensive lines need a constant influx of new talent to either claim starting spots or push starters.

I agree but I'd add I'd like an influx of good talent at multiple positions every year.

 

[Risen Star]

All I can say in response to the OP is

"If we are finished on the OL for a while..." then we are also finished for a while

Well said.

 

[Risen Star]

I agree but I'd add I'd like an influx of good talent at multiple positions every year.

I want an emphasis on where it matters most. The line of scrimmage.

When the team starts prioritizing that over 20 yards away from the line of scrimmage, they'll get better.