Optimistic about O Line

[The30YardSlant]

No, what you've done is give poor reasoning and double-talk in a weak attempt to prove a misguided premise.

And get ridiculed by the entire board in the process.

Congratulations.

What poor reasoning? The FACT that our O-Line lost us a chance at the playoffs last year, or the FACT that we made no substantial upgrades? In fact, if Kosier doesnt perform well, we will have downgraded this line. Flozell Adams is good, he is not the missing link between a top 10 O-Line and the worst line in football.

 

[Stash]

What poor reasoning? The FACT that our O-Line lost us a chance at the playoffs last year, or the FACT that we made no substantial upgrades? In fact, if Kosier doesnt perform well, we will have downgraded this line. Flozell Adams is good, he is not the missing link between a top 10 O-Line and the worst line in football.

What O-line? The one that had Torrin Tucker at LT last year?

That's the O-line that cost this team.

Any chance that's the line they field this year?

Nope.

Not if they lose two tackles will they be in that dire position again.

No chance.

Fabini is an upgrade over anything they had last year.

He's better than the rookie Petitti was and he's better than Tucker ever will be. That's fact.

Even if Adams gets hurt again, the Cowboys won't have an inept player like Tucker at LT.

That one point alone makes them better. End of story.

 

[The30YardSlant]

What O-line? The one that had Torrin Tucker at LT last year?

That's the O-line that cost this team.

Any chance that's the line they field this year?

Nope.

Not if they lose two tackles will they be in that dire position again.

No chance.

Fabini is an upgrade over anything they had last year.

He's better than the rookie Petitti was and he's better than Tucker ever will be. That's fact.

Even if Adams gets hurt again, the Cowboys won't have an inept player like Tucker at LT.

That one point alone makes them better. End of story.

Being better isnt good enough. We need VAST improvement.

 

[Hoov]

Being better isnt good enough. We need VAST improvement.

which is exactly why we got rid of allen this offseason.

 

[Chief]

Ding, Ding! We have someone who addressed the original thread!

thanks

I addressed it.

I just didn't agree with it necessarily.

 

[5Stars]

Being better isnt good enough. We need VAST improvement.

Wasn't you and iceberg arguing about the oline last week or so...you saying that it was good enough, we upgraded, and iceberg complaining that we did not?

And, now your on the opposite side of the same argument, saying that NOW the oline is bad?

Or, were you and iceberg fighting over something different, when he kept calling you graney?

 

[wileedog]

If 9 yard runs are all it takes for maybe the best defensive coordinator in the game to abandon his gameplan, the NFL is in a troubled state.

You said it yourself, he came in with a gameplan not to blitz much.

And when he did try it, he got beat.

So answer the question: Why did "maybe the best defensive coordinator in the game" decide that it wasn't a good idea to blitz the Cowboys?

 

[Stash]

Being better isnt good enough. We need VAST improvement.

Finally!

We reach the real crux of your argument!

It's not enough that they get better in some way.

They somehow have to meet your expectations to be any better - a pretty arrogant view of things, don't you think?

 

[Alexander]

Finally!

We reach the real crux of your argument!

It's not enough that they get better in some way.

They somehow have to meet your expectations to be any better - a pretty arrogant view of things, don't you think?

Not really. He does have a higher standard than most.

But it's important to note that we will never replicate the 1990s line ever again. Unfortunately, you can see some people still think we can and moreover, we could have bought it or drafted it this offseason. It simply isn't realistic.

 

[Vintage]

Not really. He does have a higher standard than most.

But it's important to note that we will never replicate the 1990s line ever again. Unfortunately, you can see some people still think we can and moreover, we could have bought it or drafted it this offseason. It simply isn't realistic.

I am glad we play Jax in week one.We (the Cowboys) are either going to look like geniuses or idiots.

 

[The30YardSlant]

Wasn't you and iceberg arguing about the oline last week or so...you saying that it was good enough, we upgraded, and iceberg complaining that we did not?

And, now your on the opposite side of the same argument, saying that NOW the oline is bad?

Or, were you and iceberg fighting over something different, when he kept calling you graney?

I don't recall the thread in question, however I am not saying we did not improve. Fabini >>>> Petetti, that is obvious. However, I am saying that simply improving on a piss poor line isnt good enough. Houston improved, yet they will still win 5 games tops.

 

[The30YardSlant]

You said it yourself, he came in with a gameplan not to blitz much.

And when he did try it, he got beat.

So answer the question: Why did "maybe the best defensive coordinator in the game" decide that it wasn't a good idea to blitz the Cowboys?

Considering our running game was not considered great, I doubt it was because he was afraid of JJ tearing them up.

 

[The30YardSlant]

Finally!

We reach the real crux of your argument!

It's not enough that they get better in some way.

They somehow have to meet your expectations to be any better - a pretty arrogant view of things, don't you think?

It's arrogant to want to win? A slight improvement over last yerars line is not enough to win a championship

 

[Stash]

I don't recall the thread in question, however I am not saying we did not improve. Fabini >>>> Petetti, that is obvious. However, I am saying that simply improving on a piss poor line isnt good enough. Houston improved, yet they will still win 5 games tops.

Bottom line is that it all boils down to opinion at this point. We can debate how they have or haven't improved all we want but we'll have to wait to see the results during the season.

 

[5Stars]

I don't recall the thread in question, however I am not saying we did not improve. Fabini >>>> Petetti, that is obvious. However, I am saying that simply improving on a piss poor line isnt good enough. Houston improved, yet they will still win 5 games tops.

Well, that does not make sense what you say about Houston, because there are other players on the respective teams that had a part in all that...also the schedule? The scheme? The coaches? The waterboy?

Get it?

 

[The30YardSlant]

Not really. He does have a higher standard than most.

But it's important to note that we will never replicate the 1990s line ever again. Unfortunately, you can see some people still think we can and moreover, we could have bought it or drafted it this offseason. It simply isn't realistic.

I know we cant have a duplicate of the greatest line ever, no one can. But it would be nice to get through an entire game every now and then without Bledsoe taking a hit you worried about him getting up from.

 

[DLCassidy]

It is slow right now in the football world, and a lot of prognosticating about who will do what this season is filling time. There have been some predictions that the Boys will be world beaters, and some that they will be roadkill. Those that say TO will be a distraction are just haters. But those that say our O Line wasn't improved enough to make a run are not seeing the big picture.

First, we did strengthen our O Line with one very big acquisition; Flozell Adams. Prior to Flo going down with the knee injury, our offense was rated near the top of the NFL. With Flo back, we should be able to protect Bledsoe and buy him time to find some pretty good receivers.

I try not to overreact to things, but last year when Flo got hurt I said we were probably done for. Some argued Flo was way overrated anyway and Tucker might even be an upgrade. Sadly I was right on that one. Flo is a good player, great is a stretch but certainly above average. Will he be 100% this year? Don't know but if so you're right that gives us a fighting chance right there. I would add that the addition of Fabini who has over 5 years as a starter at LT makes me feel we could lose Flo for a few games and not have it be a catastophe.

Kosier is not Larry Allen. But then again, Larry Allen wasn't Larry Allen last year either. With Kosier at LG, we lose the explosion at the LOS that Larry gave us, but we gain a presence in the second level and the ability to pull - one of the main prerequisites for a LG. Heck, maybe we can even throw a screen pass now.

Good point.

Riveria is healthy now, Pettiti has a year of experience and conditioning, Peterman and Gurode look to compete, and Columbo may sneak in if he is healthy. And let's not forget Fabini who can start right away if Pettiti doesn't show improvement.

How much of Rivera's performance was related to his back and how much was related to getting old? Don't know. He's a question mark for me. I'm not ready to put him back in the Pro Bowl yet. The others? We're all rooting for Petitti, he had an injury last year, he's reported to be in better shape but frankly he Columbo and Peterman can't be termed as anything more than question marks at this point. I expect Johnson to be better and Gurode is an adequate reserve. But even if neither Petitti nor Columbo step up, having Fabini available makes me feel we'll be at least adequate at RT which is a clear upgrade from last year.

All that is great, but what everyone is forgetting is the changes we have made in personnel at other positions. With TO and TG wide, and two tight ends that can catch, opposing defenses cannot continue to load up against the run. Instead of the eight man front we saw most of last year, we will be blocking seven, and probably six most of the season. I see the nickle becoming the base defense against the two TE offense. You have to double TO, and then play man up on Glenn, Witten, and either Fasano or Hannam.

This new personnel package and scheme will relieve a lot of pressure on the O Line. Against 4-3 defenses, that means no corner or safety blitzing. Against 3-4 defenses, pressure off the corners should be eased.

What you say makes sense and I agree it should help. TO's both a deep threat and a RAC threat. That deters the blitz some. But IMO there is still pressure on the OL and in particular on Julius Jones to show the running game is capable not only of rushing effectively but in breaking big runs. That again means showing speed to the edges which is the bigest deterrent to the blitz. The more big runs (20 yards and over) Jones makes the less blitzing we'll see.

I see reasons for both optimism and concern for the line this year. There are still too many question marks even with the additions of TO and Fasano to feel totally confident but unless we have a series of injuries we should be at least fair up front. Assuming we're at least fair the guy I'm really counting on to step up and stay healthy is Julius Jones. If he does, we could be really good.

Taken as a whole, Parcells has done a great deal to help our O Line without adding a mess of new people. I think the threat of our passing game will open up the running game, and JJ will have the year we have all thought he was capable of.

JMHO.

I think even Bill is still worried some about how things are going to shake out simply because there are so many question marks. Count me as cautiously optimistic.

 

[Stash]

It's arrogant to want to win? A slight improvement over last yerars line is not enough to win a championship

No, it's arrogant to think that the team has to meet some standard set by you to have improved.

We all would have liked to see them sign Hutchinson and Bentley - but they chose not to for various reasons.

That's not enough for me to write off the improvements they did make.

 

[The30YardSlant]

Well, that does not make sense what you say about Houston, because there are other players on the respective teams that had a part in all that...also the schedule? The scheme? The coaches? The waterboy?

Get it?

It's the same principal though. Throwing a few chlorine tablets in a sewage dump doesnt make Evion

 

[5Stars]

It's arrogant to want to win? A slight improvement over last yerars line is not enough to win a championship

How did you know that statement is true? Can you see the future? I mean, come on, my friend!!