Mailbag: Would Parnell Be A Good Option To Start Over Free?

[WoodysGirl]

RYAN PHILPOTT
PACIFICA, CA
Do you think that Jeremy Parnell would be a good option to start over Doug Free[URL="http://www.dallascowboys.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif"] [/URL] this year? Is it possible that he is the answer to the tackle question?

Nick: I think those two should just compete, if they’re both here. At this point, none of those guys seem better than the other, that’s why they rotated at the end of the year. But if Free is going to compete for a spot, he can’t be making $7 million per season. It’s unlikely he will be back for that price, if at all.

Rowan: It’s possible he’s the guy they turn to. But if the Cowboys don’t select someone early in the draft to secure the spot, I don’t know that I’d expect the Cowboys to roll into camp expecting Parnell to assume the duty. I expect him to be in some sort of a competition with another right tackle, be it Free, a free agent signing or a draft pick.

CHRISTOPHER REVERE
SYRACUSE, NY
Should we expect a Pro Bowl caliber year from Mo Claiborne? After all, we did make a bold move in acquiring him very early in the draft. Jerry Jones said he was the highest graded corner since Deion Sanders.


Read the answer: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/a...ver-Free/bc16b1dc-17ff-4df5-9104-89437b926609

 

[Apollo Creed]

The grass is always greener on the other side.

I have no faith in this teams ability to evaluate offensive linemen, so I'd ride with Free unless he loses his job or Parnell takes it from him outright.

 

[Woods]

The grass is always greener on the other side.

I have no faith in this teams ability to evaluate offensive linemen, so I'd ride with Free unless he loses his job or Parnell takes it from him outright.

The thing is, there is no way Free is going to be on the roster and his current salary. So either the Cowboys will outright cut him as a designated June cut, or they will ask him for a significant salary cut.

Personally, I'd rather sign Clabo, draft another OT in Rounds 2-4, coach up the rookie over the next 1-2 years, and then let him take over for Clabo. And if Parnell ends up being the guy in another year or so, that's great too.

And that doesn't not prohibit me from drafting an OG Round 1/2 either.

But at least I don't have to reach for an OT in Round 1 if the better player available is Cooper or Warmack, for example.

 

[xwalker]

Do you think that Jeremy Parnell would be a good option to start over Doug Freehttp://www.dallascowboys.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif this year? Is it possible that he is the answer to the tackle question?

Nick: I think those two should just compete, if they’re both here. At this point, none of those guys seem better than the other, that’s why they rotated at the end of the year. But if Free is going to compete for a spot, he can’t be making $7 million per season. It’s unlikely he will be back for that price, if at all.

Rowan: It’s possible he’s the guy they turn to. But if the Cowboys don’t select someone early in the draft to secure the spot, I don’t know that I’d expect the Cowboys to roll into camp expecting Parnell to assume the duty. I expect him to be in some sort of a competition with another right tackle, be it Free, a free agent signing or a draft pick.

I would bet that neither "Nick" or "Rowan" have reviewed the film of Parnell. Their answers are based on Mickey type logic. Instead of "if he's so good why is he available", it would be "if Parnell rotated with Free, then he must not have been good enough to send Free to the bench full-time".

 

[Eskimo]

One thing you have to remember about Parnell is that he was a really, really raw football player when he finished college. He had basically gone to OleMiss as a Power Forward and was listed at 6-8 and 245 pounds in his senior season. That is an awful lot of change to someone's body to go from 245 to 310 pounds. I'm sure if has also taken awhile for him to get used to moving in the bigger body and develop the strength that an NFL OT needs to play against DL.

There is some footage of him doing some drills back in 2009. He looks like a basketball player and has a totally different looking body.

The big advantage he has from his basketball days is that movement of the feet tends to come naturally to basketball big men.

I think this is a big year for Parnell. He showed he could play with the big boys and hold his own. This year I expect him to be an average to slightly above average OT.

We could be quite good if we sign Brandon Moore, draft Jonathan Cooper and Parnell and Smith develop as I expect them to.

 

[Fredd]

We could be quite good if we sign Brandon Moore, draft Jonathan Cooper and Parnell and Smith develop as I expect them to.

Dream scenario, and it is somewhat possible...Costa holds down the center position and then we have decent back-ups with livings, berny and a cost-effective Free if he takes a significant pay cut

 

[burmafrd]

I would bet that neither "Nick" or "Rowan" have reviewed the film of Parnell. Their answers are based on Mickey type logic. Instead of "if he's so good why is he available", it would be "if Parnell rotated with Free, then he must not have been good enough to send Free to the bench full-time".

Free is going to take a pay cut; no way can we let him stay when he is just barely better than Parnell who is making only a fraction of what he is

 

[MissouriCowboy]

This club would benefit greatly by cutting a Mr Doug Free.

 

[LittleD]

This club would benefit greatly by cutting a Mr Doug Free.

Time to dump Free and get a real RT to mentor Parnell for a year or two.
Clabo or Winston should do the trick. Do it Jerry...Do it Now!!!

 

[conner01]

like clabo and winston are gonna get real excited about a 1 year deal. thats not happening. if you sign one of them then parnell will be the swing guy for 2 years then he is gone. you won't be able to keep him with their salaries

 

[LittleD]

like clabo and winston are gonna get real excited about a 1 year deal. thats not happening. if you sign one of them then parnell will be the swing guy for 2 years then he is gone. you won't be able to keep him with their salaries

RT's are not in big demand right now. Before long Clabo or Winston will see the light and go for a "show me" deal for two years. Parnell can still be the swing tackle and backup Smith on the left side if need be. We just have a couple of years with the current group to make a SB run or we'll have to blow up the team anyway. Might as well go for it since the Boys have already mortgaged the future to the hilt.

 

[MissouriCowboy]

Time to dump Free and get a real RT to mentor Parnell for a year or two.
Clabo or Winston should do the trick. Do it Jerry...Do it Now!!!

Winston should be solid. He was never given a fair shot in Kc.

 

[Ren]

I honestly don't see Parnell solving any problems we'd just replace one with another

 

[xwalker]

One thing you have to remember about Parnell is that he was a really, really raw football player when he finished college. He had basically gone to OleMiss as a Power Forward and was listed at 6-8 and 245 pounds in his senior season. That is an awful lot of change to someone's body to go from 245 to 310 pounds. I'm sure if has also taken awhile for him to get used to moving in the bigger body and develop the strength that an NFL OT needs to play against DL.

There is some footage of him doing some drills back in 2009. He looks like a basketball player and has a totally different looking body.

The big advantage he has from his basketball days is that movement of the feet tends to come naturally to basketball big men.

I think this is a big year for Parnell. He showed he could play with the big boys and hold his own. This year I expect him to be an average to slightly above average OT.

We could be quite good if we sign Brandon Moore, draft Jonathan Cooper and Parnell and Smith develop as I expect them to.

He did play DE his final year in college; however, as you stated he was a raw as they come when he got to the NFL.

At this point, he has gotten really big and strong. He appeared much stronger than Free and appears to be bigger than Tyron Smith when standing side-by-side (I don't believe the accuracy of the weights listed on NFL rosters).

Parnell is as good as he can get from practice, from pre-season games and from the limited playing time that he received in 2012. The only way that he can get better or prove his ability is to play in real games.

If a team is going to take a project and basically create an NFL football player from the ground up, at some point they have to give that player a chance to play.