O-line

[locked&loaded]

Everyone saw our oline getting pushed around like strollers but i want see who was the real problem. This game should quiet the announcers about talking about how big and bad our oline is.

My question is, has anyone looked at the game a few times to see who was getting blown up? Everyone wants to say we just need a LT, but after that game it seemed more of them are in question.

 

[aikemirv]

Everyone saw our oline getting pushed around like strollers but i want see who was the real problem. This game should quiet the announcers about talking about how big and bad our oline is.

My question is, has anyone looked at the game a few times to see who was getting blown up? Everyone wants to say we just need a LT, but after that game it seemed more of them are in question.

I won't watch the game again but when Romo makes one guy miss only to have 2 others in his face I would say it is a complete failure and won't pin it on one guy.

Although Columbo was not ready for this competition yet, I think we would have had FRee in there pretty quick if Flo had not gone down.

 

[aikemirv]

By the way, lets not forget the Oline failures on short yardage either.

This group needs some work.

 

[brickman]

I won't watch the game again but when Romo makes one guy miss only to have 2 others in his face I would say it is a complete failure and won't pin it on one guy.

Although Columbo was not ready for this competition yet, I think we would have had FRee in there pretty quick if Flo had not gone down.

Columbo got his butt handed to him the whole day, by the 2nd best defensive end on their team!

 

[sonnyboy]

I won't watch the game again but when Romo makes one guy miss only to have 2 others in his face I would say it is a complete failure and won't pin it on one guy.

Although Columbo was not ready for this competition yet, I think we would have had FRee in there pretty quick if Flo had not gone down.

Haven't you heard? He needs ot make all three miss very single time while throw a 70 yard TD or he's choking scrub.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

Haven't you heard? He needs ot make all three miss very single time while throw a 70 yard TD or he's choking scrub.

Even in our best games he would make 1 guy miss routinely.

The whole pass blocking is fail. Our tackles barely scrape edge rushers

 

[burmafrd]

Short yardage problems were the hint of what happened Sunday.

 

[JBond]

I watched it twice from start to finish. Flo was average. Kosier was OK. Our center had a couple of head scratchers. Big looked lost to me and RT was a disaster.

 

[locked&loaded]

Romo is running for his life more than he should be during games. This game was just to much. I really dont know about bigg, i seem to watch him the most of the interior linemen cause hes so "bigg" but i just see him wiff alot.

 

[burmafrd]

actually while he was in there I think the Hotel played better then any of the rest.

 

[Cover 2]

actually while he was in there I think the Hotel played better then any of the rest.

How do you think Doug Free played?

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

I'd rather pour gasoline in my eyes and set them on fire than re-watch that game.

I just think we need a coach that can help our guys identify and pick up blitzers and what to do against lineman stunts.

 

[Kolemmitt]

In my mind this is the only position where we need a large overhaul. Its also our oldest position by a long shot. I think this is the year in which we target at least 2 or 3 lineman in the draft.

 

[Doomsday101]

How do you think Doug Free played?

So so. I think when you have been playing one side for much of the season and then flipped to the other side facing Jarad Allen right off the bat you are going to have a tough time.

 

[Cover 2]

So so. I think when you have been playing one side for much of the season and then flipped to the other side facing Jarad Allen right off the bat you are going to have a tough time.

Agreed. Free was put in a difficult spot. That's like doing something with your right hand your whole life, then being forced to use your left hand predominately.

 

[Gadfly22]

To repeat what I said in another post, this O-line is the kind of road-grader line Hudson Houck put together for the 90s Cowboys. But that team was a run-first team. Aikman had Irvin and Novacek as weapons, but Emmitt was the key guy.

But this version of the Cowboys is pass-first. I think passes were called 57.45% of the time versus 42.55% for runs. Garrett likes the pass, likes the shotgun and likes his chances with Romo throwing.

So you have a run-style O-line paired with a pass-style offense. Those big guys tire in pass protection over the course of a game and the course of a season. And they have trouble being nimble enough to pick up blitzes.

But it would take years to re-tool the line for a Garrett-style passing attack. So the line will be what the line will be. The team needs to improve depth, improve blitz recognition and pick up, and then hope conditioning will help the current starters (who will be the starters next year too I bet) stay quick and active.

 

[Eddie]

Do we really need these monster sized OLmen? Can we go with a small, quicker OL?

Our oversized OL hasn't cut it since the Super Bowl days.

Maybe time to scale it down a bit, and work with smaller, more agile OL.

 

[CoCo]

I re-watched the 1st half last night specifically to study the O-line performance. Here's my assessment but again its only from the 1st half. May not be representative of the entire game or the season.

Realize in the first half it seemed like we ran a lot of 2 TE sets. So there were several times when Columbo or Adams or both were covered up by a TE. FWIW.

Flo to me was solid for the time he was in there. Not perfect. But certainly not a major contributor to the overall problem. All things considered and though he's getting up in years I wouldn't advocate moving him out at this point. I think there is a good chance we couldn't replicate his production with Free for some time. What Flo brings is simply massive size that is very difficult to move. Sure he struggles a bit with speed guys at times but we have bigger problems IMO.

Kosier. From what I saw last night he's a primary upgrade target. Seems to get lost or confused too easily and doesn't have the physical make-up to overcome those things. I wonder however how much of the uncertainty we see on our line at times is because of Gurode. If he's the director of traffic I think you have to wonder. Or maybe its a combo of him and his line-mates. But collectively, too much uncertainty and confusion. And that I believe is a strong pattern over the life of this line. I don't think its going to get better with this mix.

Bigg. He's big certainly. He can maul. He whiffs at times too and succumbs to the confusion factor at times as well. You can't change everyone and with his age, cost, athleticism and size I would probably change pieces around him and leave him in place. Stengthen the C position and hopefully it strengthens Davis play too.

I think I'd move Free into Columbo's spot for good. Columbo won't get any better at this point and he's very limited agility-wise as we saw Sunday. We'd lose some physicality certainly but I think we need more agility than we currently have and Free for Columbo is probably the surest way to do that right now.

To summarize the 1st half from Sunday I'd say this. The perception that we were only getting beat on the edges is incorrect. Yes, Columbo was getting beat like a drum when left alone. But Flo was very solid while in there. Free gets a pass because of a no warning switch to LT though I doubt he's ready for that much responsibility at this point. Each of the middle guys also had their bad moments.

This is a group overall that I think versus quality pass rushers and significant pressure depends a lot on Romo, short drops and playcalling to bail them out. When a talented team really focuses on pressure we have little margin for error. That needs to change.

I'd start by exploring switching out Free for Columbo. Then consider Gurode's role in the confusion and consider sliding him to RG with a new Center who can not only anchor us but clear some of the confusion.

I don't think the current group of behemoths can ever truly be great pass protectors.

 

[BIGDen]

Haven't you heard? He needs ot make all three miss very single time while throw a 70 yard TD or he's choking scrub.

Perfectly stated.
Do people even watch other QBs and how they don't avoid half of the sacks Romo escapes from? Do they see other QBs fumble when they get hammered repeatedly? I see it all the time! Romo is a huge reason why we have averaged 11 wins the past 3 years, won 2 division crowns and a playoff game. Sure we want Lombardis every year, but we would never even have hopes for that kind of success without #9 and his excellent QB play. I loved Aikman, but he would have just gotten crippled behind this line.
People need to listen to guys like Staubach when they are judging Romo. That guy knows QBs and can't say enough good things about him.
Romo is rewriting the record books as he continues to improve. He's doing his part, but it takes a TEAM to win a Super Bowl.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Do we really need these monster sized OLmen? Can we go with a small, quicker OL?

Our oversized OL hasn't cut it since the Super Bowl days.

Maybe time to scale it down a bit, and work with smaller, more agile OL.

I think you make a pretty good point as far as the OT's go.

The funny thing is that both Adams and Columbo are road-graders who do not move laterally all that well (Adams better than Columbo)... And then we have Kosier at guard who is often overpowered.