Bob Dole
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Despite the moves the team has made to secure talent along the O-Line, the Cowboys still find themselves in the unfortunate position of having one of the worst offensive lines in the league.
But who is to blame? Is it the scouting department for not fully evaluating the draft picks enough? Is it the coaching staff for not knowing how to develop these players? Is it Bill Parcells? Is it the blocking system in place?
Here are a few of the moves Dallas has made on the offensive line..
Andre Gurode: Gurode ranked as the best guard in the draft by pretty much every publication in 2002 and was considered a future pro bowler. He's been average on his best day for the Cowboys, and is a penalty waiting to happen on any given play.
Al Johnson: Was neck and neck with Jeff Faine in 2003 for best center coming out of college. Considered a guy that could anchor a line, but so far he's been a huge bust. He just gets blown off the line far too often and at this point in his career has made no impact.
Jacob Rogers: One of the top left tackles entering the NFL in the 2004 season, he has been the epitome of the word disappointing. Injuries and seemingly a lack of motivation derailed his career. It seems like this would fall on the scouting department? Should they have been able to see this coming with more thorough scouting work?
Stephen Peterman: Was a top 5 ranked guard coming out of college and has had a career similar to Rogers thus far. It seems like one thing after another with Peterman, who can't seem to stay healthy, and when he does, he plays extremely below average.
Marco Rivera: A high priced, big name signing that hasn't quite paid dividends yet following an extremely disappointing 2005 campaign. It's interesting to note that both Rivera and ex-Packers teammate Mike Wahle were both on the market that year and Dallas had interest in both, but went with the cheaper contract and bigger name. A year later, Rivera is 34 with a bad back coming off one of his worst seasons, and Wahle is 29 and one of the top guards in the NFL.
It pains Bob Dole to look at all these moves the team has made and realize absolutely NONE of them have worked out. It pains Bob Dole even more to look at how former Cowboy "throw away" lineman have gone on to success elsewhere
- Brian Waters, cut from camp years ago is now the best guard in the game. They'll get a pass for this because this was before Parcells arrived.
- Matt Lehr, basically did nothing with the coaching staff here and wasn't ever considered much of a player. Flash forward to 2006, he's considered one of the anchors of a Falcons line that boasts the best running game in the NFL.
Now, it's possible that all those guys Bob Dole listed just happened to be busts, but it's hard not to raise an eyebrow at the coaching/management. Bill Parcells has done a fantastic job of rebuilding the front 7 on defense, but his downfall may end up being that entering his fourth year on the job, his offensive line has not improved at all, and has actaully seemingly regressed each year.
But who is to blame? Is it the scouting department for not fully evaluating the draft picks enough? Is it the coaching staff for not knowing how to develop these players? Is it Bill Parcells? Is it the blocking system in place?
Here are a few of the moves Dallas has made on the offensive line..
Andre Gurode: Gurode ranked as the best guard in the draft by pretty much every publication in 2002 and was considered a future pro bowler. He's been average on his best day for the Cowboys, and is a penalty waiting to happen on any given play.
Al Johnson: Was neck and neck with Jeff Faine in 2003 for best center coming out of college. Considered a guy that could anchor a line, but so far he's been a huge bust. He just gets blown off the line far too often and at this point in his career has made no impact.
Jacob Rogers: One of the top left tackles entering the NFL in the 2004 season, he has been the epitome of the word disappointing. Injuries and seemingly a lack of motivation derailed his career. It seems like this would fall on the scouting department? Should they have been able to see this coming with more thorough scouting work?
Stephen Peterman: Was a top 5 ranked guard coming out of college and has had a career similar to Rogers thus far. It seems like one thing after another with Peterman, who can't seem to stay healthy, and when he does, he plays extremely below average.
Marco Rivera: A high priced, big name signing that hasn't quite paid dividends yet following an extremely disappointing 2005 campaign. It's interesting to note that both Rivera and ex-Packers teammate Mike Wahle were both on the market that year and Dallas had interest in both, but went with the cheaper contract and bigger name. A year later, Rivera is 34 with a bad back coming off one of his worst seasons, and Wahle is 29 and one of the top guards in the NFL.
It pains Bob Dole to look at all these moves the team has made and realize absolutely NONE of them have worked out. It pains Bob Dole even more to look at how former Cowboy "throw away" lineman have gone on to success elsewhere
- Brian Waters, cut from camp years ago is now the best guard in the game. They'll get a pass for this because this was before Parcells arrived.
- Matt Lehr, basically did nothing with the coaching staff here and wasn't ever considered much of a player. Flash forward to 2006, he's considered one of the anchors of a Falcons line that boasts the best running game in the NFL.
Now, it's possible that all those guys Bob Dole listed just happened to be busts, but it's hard not to raise an eyebrow at the coaching/management. Bill Parcells has done a fantastic job of rebuilding the front 7 on defense, but his downfall may end up being that entering his fourth year on the job, his offensive line has not improved at all, and has actaully seemingly regressed each year.
