Parnell has upped his game

[mattjames2010]

Parnell is a fill-in, and I only want to see him playing in spurts. He's not even close to the run blocker Free is, he's more about pass blocking. He's a great backup though, but we need to look into the RT in the draft this year. I'd even see if Denver was willing to make accept an offer for Schofield.

 

[nablives]

It's really just easier to watch the games and focus on Free or Parnell. There were 4 runs to the right in the 2nd half of the 2nd Eagles game that were are killed by backside pursuit. The guys on the right were doing their job but the guys on the left side failed. On 2 of those plays Escobar was lined up next to Tyron and his man was able to beat him and get across the Cowboys backfield to make a tackle for zero gain or a loss despite the fact that the run was to the right (away from him). Using statistics to judge the right side of the line on those plays would be misleading.

I've watched all of the snaps played by both Free and Parnell. That includes watching them on the broadcast (DVR) and both views of the coaches film. The summary of my observations:
Power Run Blocking: Parnell is better. Parnell is much more powerful. Free can do OK if he can lean on a defender with his shoulder, but he has issues with upper body strength (hand/arm).
Pass Blocking: About equal. Parnell has not allowed a sack in 4 starts and his technique continues to look better with each game started.
Backside Zone Run Blocking (runs to the left): Free is better, but this is the area where Parnell improved the most from his 1st start to his 4th start. It's a finesse type of block that's more about timing than physical ability.
Front Side Zone Blocking (runs to the right): About equal.
Second level run blocking: Free is better, but we're talking about Free missing 0 to 1 second level blocks and Parnell missing 1 to 2 second level blocks per game.
Overall: Free has more experience. Parnell has better physical ability. It's very close at this point but we're comparing a guy (Parnell) that has 5 career starts to a guy (Free) that has about 80 career starts. Parnell's technique will improve but it's highly unlikely that Free will ever get stronger.

xwalker, I'm not the founding member of the Doug Free fan club, but I don't have an agenda in regards to touting Parnell as the better player either. My goal is this: honestly, without bias, evaluate and discuss who is better. I really don't care who it is. I've always tried to put the star first, player crushes second. I do root for certain players for various reasons, but at the end of the day, it's about the teams success, not proving me right.

Parnell might be the better option, I simply think it's debatable. I have the Sunday Ticket, so I've watched every single Cowboys game this season. I haven't focused on any one position. My general take is that the starting 5 makes this team the best, assuming they're all fairly healthy.

 

[xwalker]

xwalker, I'm not the founding member of the Doug Free fan club, but I don't have an agenda in regards to touting Parnell as the better player either. My goal is this: honestly, without bias, evaluate and discuss who is better. I really don't care who it is. I've always tried to put the star first, player crushes second. I do root for certain players for various reasons, but at the end of the day, it's about the teams success, not proving me right.

Parnell might be the better option, I simply think it's debatable. I have the Sunday Ticket, so I've watched every single Cowboys game this season. I haven't focused on any one position. My general take is that the starting 5 makes this team the best, assuming they're all fairly healthy.

As far as the immediate games, there is not a big difference one way or the other. My preference for Parnell is in regards to next season and beyond.

 

[burmafrd]

Parnell is a fill-in, and I only want to see him playing in spurts. He's not even close to the run blocker Free is, he's more about pass blocking. He's a great backup though, but we need to look into the RT in the draft this year. I'd even see if Denver was willing to make accept an offer for Schofield.

run along and let the adults talk

 

[mattjames2010]

run along and let the adults talk

What are you talking about? What was controversial about what I said, that Parnell is a backup? That I would like to see if we can get a young RT?

 

[Bluefin]

Post-game thoughts from Bryan Broaddus' Scout's Eye:

3). Without watching the tape, it appeared that the Cowboys had another solid game from right tackle Jermey Parnell and his work against Ryan Kerrigan. If there was a player on the Commanders that could have caused some major issues throwing the ball it would have been Kerrigan. I only recall one pressure where Kerrigan was able to get inside of Parnell and that was down in the red zone. With Doug Free struggling with his foot injury, there is a strong possibility that Parnell will remain the starter in the playoffs.

My immediate reflections are Jermey Parnell had another solid game, but I do recall a second pressure that Bryan Broaddus doesn't.

On the play, Tony Romo seemed to flush himself out of the pocket early and tried to get into the left flat.

This put Parnell in a bad position and he could've been called for a hold on Ryan Kerrigan.

A hold could've been called on the play Broaddus highlighted as well.

But we're lucky to have a swing tackle like Parnell.

With Doug Free struggling with his foot injury, there is a strong possibility that Parnell will remain the starter in the playoffs.

Pre-game reports had Doug Free moving around well with optimism for his availability in the playoffs.

Broaddus has been constant in his tweets that the injury is pretty bad.