Lael Collins proved us wrong - what changed?

[VACowboy]

Hope Connor Williams is in the same boat.

 

[Dallasfann]

Idiotic take. The Cowboys haven't won a super bowl in nearly 25 years. If you aren't negative about everything Cowboys, you're a blind homer.

It's a sports team. They are entertainment. They are meant to take your mind off the REAL stressful things in life for a few hours a week on Sundays. It sounds like they are your main cause of stress. You should seek help. That sounds awful.

 

[kskboys]

Hope Connor Williams is in the same boat.

Good chance he will be, unless he has injury issues, which he did in college.

 

[McKDaddy]

I have always defended LC as a RT. However, i will admit that a good portion of 2018 was a struggle for him & the rest of the line. I was a little surprised that they extended him given the draft capital they invested. I continue to say that weight management is key to LC's game. When he keeps his weight down, he can mirror and cut off defenders without lunging. When he can do that, its pretty much game over.

When he has struggled in the past, you could simply look at him & tell he had put on weight which made him a step slow.

 

[kskboys]

He didn't, he wasn't wrong. He would have gone in the 1st if not for that incident. How many rookie OL show up on an OL with 3 pbers on it? He catches our heat until Williams shows up and then we turn from Collins to Williams.

Every smart DC is going to go with the path of least resistance to the QB and to disrupt the backfield and that was Collins when he first got to the team because he was the rook. Last year we were ready to get a rope for Williams even though everyone agreed he needed some strength training and more reps at OG. He was fighting for his life half the time and he's a kid that wanted to be a Cowboy.

I don't know if the younger posters here are aware of how it was back before the CBA and FA but it was highly unusual for a rook OL to get many plays in his rookie season. Coaches didn't like playing them because of the learning curve and the move from college to the NFL is the most physically demanding of OL. They might see DL that good a couple of times a year, not 12 out of 16 games.

Ya know, quickie, maybe we should have a special section of the forum where people who have actually tried to play football at that level can enlighten us about just how hard that is. We're quick to pull the trigger without enough information.

Aside from a few first rounders who are NFL ready, that is still true. Most players in general don't play a ton their first season. We tend to focus on the obvious, the first rounders and well publicized players.

 

[nightrain]

Don't forget to give credit to the cowboys coaching staff. I really felt Collins was better suited as an interior mauler. He may be their best OL right now.

 

[Verdict]

Word had it that Collins was the guy having the hardest time adjusting to Alexander's system, and was set back by it.

2017 was spent adjusting to a new position with talk of him approaching Pro Bowl level.
2018 was spent under Alexander in training camp and half a season, then half a season adjusting back to the old system.
2019 he got a training camp back in the old system, and now gets to play with hit.

In retrospect, that was constant adjusting for him to do in 2017 and 2018. It's not surprising that this year he picked up at the performance level of the end of 2017 plus a little more.

I am still surprised that they signed him. I thought the move to Williams at RT was baked in, and might even happen this year. We're spending a ton on our oline. I wonder if Jerry just anticipates a big bump to the cap.

I saw the other day that 1/3 of our cap is tied up in the OL. That’s a ton of cap.

 

[kskboys]

I saw the other day that 1/3 of our cap is tied up in the OL. That’s a ton of cap.

Yeah, but since Jerry doesn't understand the NFL football game, his only chance is to build a great OL. He doesn't comprehend much of anything else, and he didn't even understand the OL thing until 2014.

 

[Techsass]

My take was that he was much better at guard than he was at playing tackle. I'm glad to see he's stepped it up this season. Not that he was a bad tackle last season, but he was a terrific guard before that.

 

[DuncanIso]

Seems like Lael Collins is on his way to proving all the critics wrong about him.
He's currently having an outstanding season.

I admitted that when Cowboys drafted Connor McGovern that was a clear sign of Lael Collins being set up to allowed to depart in FA, and the eventual move of Connor Williams to starting RT with McGovern the eventual starting LG.

But surprisingly the Cowboys re-signed Collins to long term deal ..and that clearly cemented their thoughts and plans for Lael’s future here.
No matter what the outside world thought of him.

I thought Collins would really emerge from what I’d saw at mid-season in 2017 when he fared well vs Khali Mack, Ryan Kerrigan, despite playing with a bum back. But he took a major step backwards in 2018.

I admitted that I was really disappointed in Collins play in 2018, from his sacks, QB hits and lapses, I thought he played like an average OT, despite someone of his terrific physical ability.

- Although I still thought matters that helped hurt his development was ex- OL coach Paul Alexander who was fired at mid season. I even thought entire OL was marred by Alexander.

But thus far this year, Lael seems to have resurged as a promising looking OT, and he has all the looks of an emerging future pro bowler.
We’ll see how he fares against Vikes pro bowler DE’s Hunter and Griffin on Sunday.

Columbo.

Good coach.

 

[cern]

la'el, just like conner Williams, went out and did his job. many cz'ers evaluate talent by their biases and emotions, not by what's happening on the field. they're still knocking dak and zeke. still knocking tank saying he took the money and ran. will mcclay's an idiot in their opinion. Stephen's an idiot in their opinions. they avoid mirrors at all costs.

 

[EPL0c0]

All he did was go out there and WORK.

No complaints, no ego, nothing... just worked. But that's been the nature & culture of this offensive line for a few years now; just work

Jonathan Cooper probably played his best ball in Dallas
Xavier Su'a-Filo filled in last year and kicked butt
JOE LOONEY replacing Frederick worked his butt off.

These guys over the last 15-20 years weren't always the best, but there's no doubt they go 100% every snap

Ronald Leary. NObody held it against him when he left for Denver because he'd earned a payday w/ his hard work.

La'el Collins seems to be all in on that culture and Dallas is better for it.

 

[JJHLH1]

Most players seem to have great years right before a new contract is due.

It’s so strange to see La’el improve so much after signing a new deal.

I like it though!

 

[Verdict]

la'el, just like conner Williams, went out and did his job. many cz'ers evaluate talent by their biases and emotions, not by what's happening on the field. they're still knocking dak and zeke. still knocking tank saying he took the money and ran. will mcclay's an idiot in their opinion. Stephen's an idiot in their opinions. they avoid mirrors at all costs.

I agree with most of what you are saying, but Tank has significantly underperformed his contract so far.

 

[Manster68]

People need to remember that it sometimes takes 3-4 years for an offensive lineman to develop.

Prime example: Andre Gurode. Drafted in 2002 after Roy Williams, many fans wanted him out in 2004. Parcells moved him to Center, an he goes to 5 Pro Bowls.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

Probably got d-- mad at some of the comments he read while cruising this board.

 

[cern]

I agree with most of what you are saying, but Tank has significantly underperformed his contract so far.

Until quinn started in game 5, he had no help. Our tackles didn't require double team blocks so tank was the guy getting doubled every play. He got better when quinn entered the fray and Bennett amped him up even more.

 

[Risen Star]

He didn't prove me wrong.

 

[Floatyworm]

He got paid and could finally afford new shoes and quit living off Ramen Noodles and Gov't cheese.

 

[JBond]

Like with most kids coming out of college, it takes time to learn to play in the NFL. Some positions take longer than others. Some are too willing to call a player a bust when they lack the maturity, strength and position knowledge to contribute right out the gate.

Hill.