Twitter: La'el Collins on his future position

[ABQCOWBOY]

Here we go.

I think the team would have to be idiotic to force him to switch positions twice in two years.

I tend to agree but I will also point this out, look at how the team has handled Byron Jones.

 

[silver]

Does he now? So, you're just absolutely positive that Flemming will be given no shot to start.

Yes. Unless he wants to start at LG.

 

[silver]

true except green, seriously he failed miserably at both spots but he didnt even come close to being the LG last year.. hes a camp body and will be sent packing after we get close to cut downs

He's still on his rookie contract so he doesn't count much against the cap. He failed miserably at T when Tyron went down, and he was playing next to another JAG in Copper. He did better when he subd in for Tyron and was next to Leary the prior year. He lost the LG job in TC due to injury. He might be a serviceable guard if he stop switching over to tackle and back. Not sure we'll toss him to the curb just yet.

 

[cern]

good defenses, especially those with an outstanding edge rusher, tend to move that player around a lot. sometimes he'll rush from the left, other times from the right. with that in mind, having seen Collins performance at rt towards seasons end, i'd feel much better if he remained. he was playing at a very high level.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Hes actually only 1 season removed from LG, and I agree the chemistry would have to be worked on, but It should come quickly given the familiarity. In any case, I personally hope they can keep him at RT and find another OG, with Fleming as the swing tackle, but that remiains to be seen.

He played RT last season and Leary was the LG the year before....... It's been more then a year

 

[OmerV]

He played RT last season and Leary was the LG the year before....... It's been more then a year

The year before he was still a LG, just the backup LG. He played all or portions of 3 games, all at LG, and practiced and prepared every week as a G. He has only been a RT one season.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

The year before he was still a LG, just the backup LG. He played all or portions of 3 games, all at LG, and practiced and prepared every week as a G. He has only been a RT one season.

He didn't get reps as starting LG which means the chemistry he had with Tyron and Frederick was almost 3 years ago. That's just facts.

 

[OmerV]

He didn't get reps as starting LG which means the chemistry he had with Tyron and Frederick was almost 3 years ago. That's just facts.

He played LG at the start of the 2016 season, with his last start on September 25, 2016, which is just a little over a year and a half ago, not almost 3 years ago.

And, yeah, there might be a little rust on the chemistry, but this is not a start from scratch situation, and there is no one else the team could plug in that would already have a history playing between Smith and Frederick. I just don't see the monumental task some are making this out to be.

The bottom line is, at the end of the day, after looking at all possible personnel lineups, and weighing the strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons, the team has to make a decision if the O-Line would be stronger keeping Collins at RT and plugging someone else on the roster in at LG, or if the O-Line would be stronger moving Collins back to LG and plugging someone else on the roster in a RT. It's not about Collins, as some seem to think, it's about the overall strength of the O-Line, and the strength is in the sum of the parts, not the strength of one part.

Remember this ... a year ago a lot of fans didn't like the idea of moving Collins from LG to RT, and changing the position he had been working at for 2 years, but Free retired, we had a hole, and the team moved Collins because they felt the overall strength of the O-Line would be better with him moving. If they move him back, it will be for the same reason.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Cowboys' La'el Collins wants to stay at right tackle

• By Kevin Patra
• Around the NFL Writer
• Published: April 9, 2018 at 08:38 a.m.

Since the Cowboys imported new offensive tackle Cameron Fleming, the scuttlebutt from Dallas has La'el Collins shifting back to guard for the 2018 season.

The 24-year-old Collins, however, would prefer to remain on the outside.

"I like playing tackle," Collins said Sunday, via the team's official website. "Right now, I'm focused on playing tackle. That's where my mindset is. That's where I'm grinding for."

Collins had an up-and-down 2017 campaign in his move from guard to tackle, where he took over for long-time lineman Doug Free. The Cowboys now have a hole at guard after Jonathan Cooper, who started 13 games last season, signed in San Francisco.

Dallas is considering moving Collins back inside, if Fleming can win the outside gig, to help re-solidify a line that overall had a down year last season.

"I played against a lot of great players at right tackle. It made me better as a player," Collins said. "Pretty much being able to play every position except center feels great. It was a big stepping stone for me going into next year. I'll be ready wherever it is.

"[But] I don't even thinking about switching positions. I'm just focused on getting bigger, faster, stronger and making sure I'm healthy going into this year. I'll be ready to roll."

Head coach Jason Garrett insisted the goal is to get the five best offensive linemen on the field in 2018. Collins' future earning potential gives him an incentive to want to remain at tackle. Whether he's moved back inside will likely depend on whether Fleming or newly signed guard Marcus Martin earns his way into the top 5 rotation

 

[Hawkeye0202]

If we signed Flemmings or Martin with the expectation they would compete for starting position......we are in trouble.

 

[OmerV]

If we signed Flemmings or Martin with the expectation they would compete for starting position......we are in trouble.

I doubt we signed Martin for that, but they might consider Flemming at least an option. I certainly don't think they are looking at him as an ideal option, but this is an O-Line full of All-Pros, so we don't have to have another star player to have a great O-Line, and he was a starter for the Pats in the Super Bowl, so he has performed at the ultimate level of the NFL.

 

[WTtoolman]

If Collins only wants to stay at tackle for the money, he's making a big mistake. I'm sure he could make more money as a dominant left guard than as a so-so/slightly above average right tackle.

 

[TheCount]

Where he goes has nothing to do with him. If they can find a good tackle then hes playing guard. If they can come up with a good guard then he is playing tackle.

In Madden, that is a sound strategy. Let's just go into Edit Player and move him to OLB while we're at it, we have an opening there as well.

 

[cern]

If we signed Flemmings or Martin with the expectation they would compete for starting position......we are in trouble.

If the position was rt where Collins stood out as the season wound down, I couldn't agree more. La'el dominated at seasons end. Stop with the position flex. Just another way to say coaching indecision.

 

[CowboyRoy]

In Madden, that is a sound strategy. Let's just go into Edit Player and move him to OLB while we're at it, we have an opening there as well.

I didnt say it was sound. I just said what I thought they would do. If they have two good RT's and a bad guard. Trust me, they are moving him to guard.

 

[Hennessy_King]

Whatever puts the best 5 on the field. So if he wants to stay at tackle he better put in that work and beat out fleming

 

[Beaker42]

Here we go.

I think the team would have to be idiotic to force him to switch positions twice in two years.

I’m just a newb here but I’m totally shocked by all the big-count posters who refuse to see that LC is a much better OG than OT. They put him there to help the team because we failed to address the swing tackle when Free retired. We got caught w/ our pants down. Fleming allows LC to move to his best spot and buy us a season before having to look for a new RT. We’ll be better off w/ him moving back to LG.

 

[TheCount]

I’m just a newb here but I’m totally shocked by all the big-count posters who refuse to see that LC is a much better OG than OT. They put him there to help the team because we failed to address the swing tackle when Free retired. We got caught w/ our pants down. Fleming allows LC to move to his best spot and buy us a season before having to look for a new RT. We’ll be better off w/ him moving back to LG.

The line was significantly better with Leary at OG than when Collins was there.

Doesn't mean Collins is a bad OG, but I think some of you guys are fixated on the highlights of him blasting a few guys and failing to see that he was just okay at guard.

Some of you guys are willing to sell the offense out for Fleming without even having the conversation about whether he's actually better than Collins at the position.

Fleming is an ideal backup swing tackle that you guys want to pretend is a pro bowl caliber starter.

 

[TheCount]

Trust me, they are moving him to guard.

Then they are idiots.

 

[kskboys]

Yes. Unless he wants to start at LG.

So if Flemming plays lights out at RT, they just keep him on the bench anyway.