OL is the primary problem

[CATCH17]

uh no.
DL is
THAT IS if you are not talking GM

Ever since Leighton Vander Esch got hurt the Cowboys front 7 has just never been the same.

He got clowned on a lot but he was a clear difference maker and had a presence on the field.

 

[thunderpimp91]

The real problem is everything is a problem....Two rookies starting on the OL, zero investment in the RB position, No threat outside of Lamb in the receiving game allows the defense to play almost whatever coverage they want. I think the true issue in the pass game is simply that we dont have very good pass catchers, but its all a mess. Dak actually has one of the lower pressure rates in the league at 29%, and is in the middle of the league in time to throw at 2.75 seconds on average. On the flip side though teams that play the Cowboys blitz at one of the lowest percentages in the league. This tells me that its just bad play all around....teams are often playing with 7 in coverage and beating us with their base defense with an occasional wrinkle and simulated pressure put in.

If we wanted to find a bright side of all this I think its that focusing on one area of this offense and trying to make it a strength of the team could have a ripple effect on other positions. Go get you a legitimate WR to go opposite Lamb for example and now teams can't disguise coverage as easily, nor can they just bracket Lamb and play 1v1 the rest of the way. This is why I think the Derrick Henry miss was so bad. Just having another guy that teams have to respect goes a long way and has that ripple effect. Henry forces you to play with heavier boxes which gives you probably 30 snaps per game where you have that schematic advantage over a defense. Right now I just dont see anyone who really creates mismatches for a defense outside of Lamb. Its the entire issue with the pay your stars massive money and expect to hit on every draft pick approach. At some point your front office has to be more aggressive in player acquisition.

 

[kskboys]

Ever since Leighton Vander Esch got hurt the Cowboys front 7 has just never been the same.

He got clowned on a lot but he was a clear difference maker and had a presence on the field.

That was when we had Malik Collins, a quality DT.

 

[CyberB0b]

Goff had all day to pass on so many throws yesterday. He could have read War and Peace and still had time to throw a TD pass on several of those plays.

They have two legitimate threats at running back, so it makes the offense click. We have Zeke and Dowdle. No one respects the run.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

No, it is WR.

If they had any other player that could get open, the quick passing game would work and then defenses wouldn't be able to play downhill the entire game. They simply double CD and have no respect for anybody else.

The OL has had its struggles, but the biggest issue is that there is simply no spacing because this passing game can't get vertical.

 

[Redline360]

We have some many things wrong on offense however one thing that gets under my skin lately is that Dak needs to step up and run to keep drives alive. He will do it one week then never do it again for months on end.

It has been mentioned in games by the announcers a few times a long with a couple game breakdowns. If Dak would step up in the pocket he could easily take big chunks out.

 

[thunderpimp91]

OL has it's issues but the coaches have failed to develop a scheme that helps them at all. Very few players on this team are capable of winning their 1 on 1 battles consistently. There are ways to help scheme guys open that don't involve running the same 10 yard comeback route every time.

There are probably some small things your could do, or some gadgety things you could try until teams catch on, but I think the fact that they have very few players capable of winning 1v1s is the larger issue though. For the most part NFL coaches are not dumb, but some look so much smarter than others because they have playmakers on their team that opponents have to respect and account for. When you dont have players that teams are afraid to defend 1v1 the opposing team has no reason to give in to your scheme advantages. You need that guy like Derrick Henry to force an extra man in the box. You need that 2nd receiver to dictate what coverages teams can run.

The Cowboys offensive skill players are made up of Lamb and a bunch of guys who would be depth on other teams. The coaching staff will inevitably take the fall for this season, but they have a group of guys that are really difficult to scheme open.

 

[75boyz]

The o line was fine last week.
Better than fine.

Hmmmm...

 

[Cmac]

How is the ol so bad? Can’t run block. Can’t pass block. Dak is not good enough to win without some type of run game- not many qbs are. Ol is playing pathetic

On the offense......the root problem. Been that way for some time. We don't have any maulers.

 

[INCowboysFan]

2025 OL - Smith, Bass, Beebe, Hoffman, Guyton. Martin is gonna retire, cut steele, and roll with the 5 we have. They are all good enough to get the job done.

Fire the entire staff. Bring in somebody that has an ounce of creativity in their schemes, draft a RB, DL use FA as much as we can to fill in other spots (WR2 for example)

 

[thunderpimp91]

2025 OL - Smith, Bass, Beebe, Hoffman, Guyton. Martin is gonna retire, cut steele, and roll with the 5 we have. They are all good enough to get the job done.

Fire the entire staff. Bring in somebody that has an ounce of creativity in their schemes, draft a RB, DL use FA as much as we can to fill in other spots (WR2 for example)

So let me get this straight....Our OL is really bad this year and you think the solution is to make two guys starters who can't even crack the starting lineup on an already bad OL?

This is why I try to not watch too much preseason football.

 

[plasticman]

The primary problem has been the same for 30 seasons and it's a problem that can"t be fixed because the only person capable of resolving the problem is the problem.

 

[rambo2]

I was told by @rambo2 that drafting Guyton and Beebe not only fixed the OL but would also fix the running game despite not having any good running backs.

I’m shocked by this. Just shocked.

They certainly need to improve. I was surprised that Detroit dominated them.

 

[ccb04]

Against better teams, they typically get manhandled on both sides of the LOS, and it’s been that was for a while.
Even last year when they had Parsons, Lawrence, Armstrong, Fowler, Hankins, & Sam Williams, teams like the Bills, 49’ers, Packers, etc…all demolished them. And on the offensive side, even with Tyron at. LT, Smith at LG, Biadasz at C, Pollard at RB, etc…they struggled to run the ball. Now you have more of the same, just with less depth & talent.

 

[nhcowboyfan]

When you have no threat in the run game, defensive lineman all play "let's meet up at the QB." Combine that with Solari's crap blocking scheme, and this is the result.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

I don’t think it’s that bad. We just have horrible RB’s , an average QB, and one good WR.

 

[INCowboysFan]

So let me get this straight....Our OL is really bad this year and you think the solution is to make two guys starters who can't even crack the starting lineup on an already bad OL?

This is why I try to not watch too much preseason football.

What I'm saying is that we don't need to keep using 1st round picks on the OL. Terrance Steele should not be on this roster in 2025. Put Guyton at RT and maybe he thrives. At some point we have to see what Bass and Hoffman can do in the starting lineup. Maybe they suck, maybe they rise to the challenge. I'm for giving this young OL a chance to get and grow together. But we have to use premium picks on other positions on this team, specifically the DL.

 

[G2]

One of the many problems this franchise juggles.

 

[CWR]

How is the ol so bad? Can’t run block. Can’t pass block. Dak is not good enough to win without some type of run game- not many qbs are. Ol is playing pathetic

Coaching X100

 

[Creeper]

The Cowboys are bad on both sides of the ball in the trenches. But the offensive line is much worse than I thought they would be. One problem is Zack Martin. He got a 0.0 grade from PFF pass blocking against the Lions. No one expected that. He was beaten left, right and right up the middle. It was sad to watch but when a player gets old, it seems to happen like that.

Some of it is confusion. The Lions killed them with stunts and twists. I don't know why but guys were not picking up the moves quick enough and DLmen were coming free at Dak.

The run blocking has been terrible. Even double teams are getting stuffed at the LOS.

I think the OL will improve as they settle in, but the DL is going to take a year or 2 assuming they don't make any more mistakes with their draft choices.