I'll tell you this right now, re-sign Doug Free

[Doomsday101]

I would too, but Free has reached his ceiling and Parnell was OK as a starter but still has a ton of ceiling left.

And all things aren't equal in deciding between the two. Free is going to get 2 or 3 times the salary of Parnell next year. If the decision is spending 4 million on Free or 4 million on Parnell, a 3rd CB and a backup DE with some pass rush ability - I'm going with the second group.

I don't know how much ceiling Parnell has. As for Free again it depends on the contract he will be seeking. I clearly think the odds are greater he will not be back but Dallas will cross that bridge when they get to it. Having said that should Free leave I would hope Dallas will look mid part of draft for a RT since I don't want to put all my eggs in Parnell basket. Should he continue to improve great but depth will still be a key issue

 

[xwalker]

thats what i expect. see what it would take for both, if that can't get done then you sign one and draft one. not obviously in the first rnd but there are good rt in the top 3 rnds usually. we kinda need to sign one of them but i don't know that i would say one is all that much better than the other so which ever one i could sign is who i would sign. if i could get both all the better but thats unlikely i suspect

The Cowboys will likely sign one of them and then the Skins with give the other one a huge contract. The Skins love to overpay Cowboys free agents.

 

[Doomsday101]

Yes, Free has improved from his terrible play in 2012. He looks a little stronger this season and looks to be in better shape (less of the beer belly look). I do wonder why he has never been able to get true NFL OLineman strength. I wonder if he has some problem with his shoulders that just won't allow him to lift heavy or if he just doesn't put enough time into the weight room.

It would be really odd for Parnell to be unquestionably better overall than Free considering that Free has 77 starts and Parnell has 4. I don't think there is any question that Parnell is better than Free was after Free had started 4 games.

I don't know about that Free became a starter in 2009 starting 7 game and looked very good and helped Dallas to the NFC East title and won a playoff game. When he moved to the LT spot he did not fair as well but I do think it showed how well he played at RT for Dallas to move him to LT even though that did not work out all that great.

 

[Kaiser]

I don't know how much ceiling Parnell has. As for Free again it depends on the contract he will be seeking. I clearly think the odds are greater he will not be back but Dallas will cross that bridge when they get to it. Having said that should Free leave I would hope Dallas will look mid part of draft for a RT since I don't want to put all my eggs in Parnell basket. Should he continue to improve great but depth will still be a key issue

Same here (but I think Parnell has a ton of ceiling left), but IMO the development process is a longer term process for this team. The Cowboys had Parnell on the practice squad in 2010 before he was active in 2011, then he got some starts in 2012 and 2014. I think the fact they have given roster spots the last two years to Weems and Hawkins (and a PS spot to Wetzel) means those are the guys they are developing rather than a pick for need in next year's draft. Its unusual for a rookie OL to be an effective first year starter, unless they are in the top half of the first round.

 

[xwalker]

I don't know about that Free became a starter in 2009 starting 7 game and looked very good and helped Dallas to the NFC East title and won a playoff game. When he moved to the LT spot he did not fair as well but I do think it showed how well he played at RT for Dallas to move him to LT even though that did not work out all that great.

That brings up another issue in the Free/Parnell debate. I'm certain that Parnell is a better option at LT than Free if something happened to Tyron. If Parnell is not re-signed, it will be difficult to find a swing OT that can provide quality play at LT. It's easier to find a backup RT and have Parnell move to LT if something happened to Tyron. Parnell started 1 game at LT in 2012 and played most of another game at LT that season. He did OK there.

 

[xwalker]

Same here (but I think Parnell has a ton of ceiling left), but IMO the development process is a longer term process for this team. The Cowboys had Parnell on the practice squad in 2010 before he was active in 2011, then he got some starts in 2012 and 2014. I think the fact they have given roster spots the last two years to Weems and Hawkins (and a PS spot to Wetzel) means those are the guys they are developing rather than a pick for need in next year's draft. Its unusual for a rookie OL to be an effective first year starter, unless they are in the top half of the first round.

Yes, they like Weems and Hawkins enough to keep them on the 53 as purely developmental players. Weems is on IR now, but they carried as an inactive developmental player for all of 2013. Now they're doing the same with Hawkins. I expect either Weems or Hawkins to be the swing tackle in 2015.

 

[Doomsday101]

Same here (but I think Parnell has a ton of ceiling left), but IMO the development process is a longer term process for this team. The Cowboys had Parnell on the practice squad in 2010 before he was active in 2011, then he got some starts in 2012 and 2014. I think the fact they have given roster spots the last two years to Weems and Hawkins (and a PS spot to Wetzel) means those are the guys they are developing rather than a pick for need in next year's draft. Its unusual for a rookie OL to be an effective first year starter, unless they are in the top half of the first round.

we have 3 guys who played from day 1 of their rookie year and developed quickly (Smith, Frederick, Martin). So not sure how unusual that is. As for Parnell I think it would be great if he did develop into a quality RT myself I still have some question marks about his play and hopefully he can put those question to bed.

 

[Doomsday101]

That brings up another issue in the Free/Parnell debate. I'm certain that Parnell is a better option at LT than Free if something happened to Tyron. If Parnell is not re-signed, it will be difficult to find a swing OT that can provide quality play at LT. It's easier to find a backup RT and have Parnell move to LT if something happened to Tyron. Parnell started 1 game at LT in 2012 and played most of another game at LT that season. He did OK there.

I'm not as thrilled with Parnell as yourself, I think he is a good backup but I'm not yet sold on him as a full time starter. I hope he changes my mind

 

[xwalker]

I'm not as thrilled with Parnell as yourself, I think he is a good backup but I'm not yet sold on him as a full time starter. I hope he changes my mind

What is it that you think he didn't do well? Do you watch the coaches film or just the broadcast footage?

 

[Kaiser]

we have 3 guys who played from day 1 of their rookie year and developed quickly (Smith, Frederick, Martin). So not sure how unusual that is. As for Parnell I think it would be great if he did develop into a quality RT myself I still have some question marks about his play and hopefully he can put those question to bed.

Smith and Martin are exactly the kind of first round picks from the top half of the round that I mentioned, Smith was top ten. Frederick could go in the top half of the first if the draft was redone today.

And Doug Free is a good example that OL aren't plug-and-play unless they are #1 picks. He was a 4th round pick that spent two and a half years on the roster before he ever started a game.

 

[Doomsday101]

What is it that you think he didn't do well? Do you watch the coaches film or just the broadcast footage?

I think he looks lost on occasions in terms of pass protect I think he is slow to react at times. I know you like him you have lead the march on him in my view I'm not fully sold on him. The person capable of changing my mind on Parnell is Parnell. You say the coaches play Free over him because Free is a vet I say they play him over Parnell because he is better. Just my take.

 

[Doomsday101]

Smith and Martin are exactly the kind of first round picks from the top half of the round that I mentioned, Smith was top ten. Frederick could go in the top half of the first if the draft was redone today.

And Doug Free is a good example that OL aren't plug-and-play unless they are #1 picks. He was a 4th round pick that spent two and a half years on the roster before he ever started a game.

Part of that was Colombo was playing great ball until he got hurt. On the other side you had Flo so Free was not going to walk in and take that job right away

 

[xwalker]

I think he looks lost on occasions in terms of pass protect I think he is slow to react at times. I know you like him you have lead the march on him in my view I'm not fully sold on him. The person capable of changing my mind on Parnell is Parnell. You say the coaches play Free over him because Free is a vet I say they play him over Parnell because he is better. Just my take.

Let's just narrow it down to these 3 games that he started and just focus on Pass Protection. Can you point me to plays where he was slow to react in pass protection in these 3 games?

 

[Doomsday101]

Let's just narrow it down to these 3 games that he started and just focus on Pass Protection. Can you point me to plays where he was slow to react in pass protection in these 3 games?

I did not think he played great vs Washington, I think Free would have done a better job. Again I know you like Parnell and have pushed him before the start of the season. Again Free is there because coaches want him there I do think they feel he is the better player not just because he is a vet. We seem to differ and that is fine but I'm not fully sold on him.

 

[conner01]

i think it's all going to come down to who they can sign more than who they should sign. i susect they will look at both and see who it is possible to sign, then the other goes to the skins.

 

[KJJ]

OL isn't out there tackling guys.

As the OP, you should really try to stay on your own topic. I would like to resign free

No, the OL isn't out there making tackles but their blocking has enabled the Cowboys to control the ball with a great running game which has limited the exposure of the defense. After 7 games this season no defense in the league spent less time on the field than the Cowboys defense. The defense was averaging 12 fewer plays per game than last season.

 

[Doomsday101]

No, the OL isn't out there making tackles but their blocking has enabled the Cowboys to control the ball with a great running game which has limited the exposure of the defense. After 7 games this season no defense in the league spent less time on the field than the Cowboys defense. The defense was averaging 12 fewer plays per game than last season.

Same could be said for the 9ers

 

[Idgit]

No, the OL isn't out there making tackles but their blocking has enabled the Cowboys to control the ball with a great running game which has limited the exposure of the defense. After 7 games this season no defense in the league spent less time on the field than the Cowboys defense. The defense was averaging 12 fewer plays per game than last season.

The last time this was brought up (a few weeks back), I think a third or a quarter of that differential related to offensive contributions. The rest was our defense getting us off the field on 3rd downs when we weren't in previous seasons.

 

[BlindFaith]

I think he looks lost on occasions in terms of pass protect I think he is slow to react at times. I know you like him you have lead the march on him in my view I'm not fully sold on him. The person capable of changing my mind on Parnell is Parnell. You say the coaches play Free over him because Free is a vet I say they play him over Parnell because he is better. Just my take.

It's not just your take. It's the take of many, it's the take of the coaches.

Free was one of the top rated run blockers last year. He was rated higher as a run blocker than a pass blocker. This nonsense that he can't run block is just that, nonsense.

Parnell has poor footwork, he's late to react, he doesn't bend well. But hey, he looks great with his shirt off.

No one who reviews any video knows what the blocking schemes are, why or when the slide protections. People guess and parrot their pet cats.

 

[BlindFaith]

The last time this was brought up (a few weeks back), I think a third or a quarter of that differential related to offensive contributions. The rest was our defense getting us off the field on 3rd downs when we weren't in previous seasons.

I don't know who decided that fact. Dallas is currently 18th in third downs given up, at 42.5 percent.