Parnell v. the Giants

[xwalker]

In terms of in-line run blocking and moving the defender out of the way, Parnell is clearly the more powerful blocker. It's startling at times. Free is better at the 2nd level from what I can see. Not saying Parnell is bad at the 2nd level but it appears Free easily gets there where Parnell not so much. Pass blocking is all about game experience so Free has the edge there but Parnell held his own and went unnoticed, which is a good thing.

Yes, good observations. A big part of second level blocking is about timing and Free has been getting some good second level blocks this year. I noticed a couple of times that Parnell might have had a second level block if he reacted just a split second earlier. I think he'll fine tune his reactions if he gets a few starts.

 

[Hoov]

Yes, good observations. A big part of second level blocking is about timing and Free has been getting some good second level blocks this year. I noticed a couple of times that Parnell might have had a second level block if he reacted just a split second earlier. I think he'll fine tune his reactions if he gets a few starts.

X. Can u give us an in depth review of Parnell after viewing the all 22 ?

 

[xwalker]

Has Parnell ever played guard? From what people are saying about his power, it seems to me like guard would be a more natural position for him. I wonder if the line would be better if Martin slid out to OT and Parnell inside to guard. I wonder if they tried it in camp or practice. I remember Free looking decent at guard when they tried it in preseason. Just curious. Might be something to consider swapping Parnell and Martin. Status quo is all right with me too.

Most NFL Guards are between 6-3 and 6-5 with medium arm length. Zack Martin is 6-4 with medium length arms.

Most NFL OTs are over 6-4 with long arms. Parnell is 6-6 or 6-7 with long arms.

Also, IMO, Guard is a more mentally difficult position than OT. Martin is a master of technique and awareness while Parnell's game is all about raw physical ability.

 

[xwalker]

X. Can u give us an in depth review of Parnell after viewing the all 22 ?

Yes, when it's available I'll put something together.

 

[xwalker]

I thought Parnell played well, but it may have been his guy that ended up in the backfield and rolled over Bailey's leg.

That was a weird looking play.

 

[Hoov]

Yes, when it's available I'll put something together.

Thanks !!!

 

[MichaelWinicki]

That was a weird looking play.

LOL!

Yeah, it was.

 

[CooterBrown]

Continuity and familiarity are extremely important to an OLine. The other olinemen say that Free is the leader of the group. I believe he will play when healthy. The coaches do know more than anybody on this forum does. Not a knock on Parnell, but he has had ample opportunity to take Free's job and has not been able to do it.

 

[LatinMind]

You had to know this post was coming...

My pet cat Jermey Parnell played well at RT in place of Free. He wasn't perfect, but overall looked good. He abuses DLinmen on many running plays. He's not fine tuned like the other 4 guys on the line, but he has great raw physical ability. I've never seen Doug Free drive a DLineman multiple yards down-field.

http://cowboysblog.***BANNED-URL***/2014/10/the-morning-after-cowboys-31-giants-21.html/
They also had to play the game without their offensive line completely intact, as attrition has taken Doug Free away for several weeks. In steps veteran reserve Jermey Parnell and on the first snap of the game he rides Mathias Kiwanuka 10 yards into the secondary with ease. From there, especially on running downs, he generally looked comfortable and capable. Next man up? 78 was staying ready for his chance and the Cowboys kept their physical posture.

That is notable as we try to identify who these Cowboys really are. We are not familiar with a team that imposes its physical will on its foes with routine and purpose. The Cowboys from around these parts in recent years have never sustained this identity from week to week, so please forgive the many cynics who have been waiting (and maybe still are) for the “old Cowboys” to reemerge. Those old Cowboys had an identity, but it was of the undesirable variety. It was the identity that said that if you smack them in the face, they will flinch and duck for cover.

But, Parnell jumps in with Martin, Frederick, Leary, and Smith and the power kept coming. By the end of the day, the Giants were just another brick in the path to the playoffs. The Cowboys running game – with the talented DeMarco Murray rolling up the stats – has now shown its face in 7 out of 7, with every game comfortably over 100 yards (the low game this season was 123 yards at St Louis) and every carry comfortably averaging over 4 yards (the low game for average yards per carry has been 4.24). They started against San Francisco with 23 carries in the opener, but since that first forgettable game, they have averaged 35.3 carries per game.

lol atleast be a little level on his play.

Youre making it out to be that he was downright dominant. Which isnt the case.

He was beat more then a few times, and lets not lie to ourselves that Dallas didnt leave Witten or Murray in to help him. Parnell struggled early quite a bit and as the game wore on the defense just wore down and thats where this whole OL just gets better. Its not a knock on Parnell but he is average, while Free is above average. And Free will be back to starting once he gets healthy.

Parnell is going to be expensive? Noway would they give him more then they would give Free. And Free had to take a paycut just to stay on the team.

Parnell had a decent game, he plays more of a power game but thats not what Dallas is. Dallas is a zone blocking scheme. Thats why Free starts because he has slightly better footwork and technique. They couldve plugged in Hills and it wouldve been the same result. Martin and Witten help so much on that right side. And Murray is probably the best pass protecting RB in the NFL.

So calm down on Parnell, i know youve been waiting what seems like 50 yrs for him to get a chance. Its only for a few weeks until Free is back. Then its back to the bench for him.

 

[gimmesix]

Problem to me is that we already did this - we locked him up on a three year deal that expires this year. We had hoped he could take over for Free and he couldn't even put up a fight

I'm not sure that's a fair view of the situation. He was expected to contend with Free for the job in the preseason after they split reps during the season. Parnell started off injured, though, and Free won the job before Parnell returned and hasn't looked back.

Sometimes a good player can be kept on the bench simply because a team sees no reason to make a change. However, I will say that I didn't think Parnell had the greatest preseason this year ... but he was forced to play a lot at left tackle instead of in the right tackle spot.

I suspect when Free gets back, it really won't matter how well Parnell does in his place. Free will return to the starting job because he a) wasn't doing anything that warranted him losing the job and b) he is seen as a leader on the offensive line. Parnell would have to far outplay him for that not to happen, and I don't see Parnell doing that.

 

[HoosierCowboy]

bothers me a bit that you talk of raw physical ability about a guy who has been around long enough to be more refined

 

[gimmesix]

Don't get too sensitive. Free just happens to be the other guy at that position for comparison. I could say that Lance Dunbar is faster than Murray without saying that Dunbar is a better player than Murray.

I've said several times that Free is "good enough" to win. I could have said that I've never seen the Giants RT push DLinemen around like that either but we're all probably a lot more familiar with Free than the Giants RT (Pugh) for comparison.

If you had not made your feelings about the two players well known, there would be no need to "get too sensitive." But you've lessened Free's efforts often in your efforts to promote Parnell.

I don't think there's a need for it because it just makes your stance look desperate instead of merely wanting the best player on the field long term for Dallas.

If I'm wrong in the meaning of your "never seen Doug Free" comment, then I apologize. I enjoy your posts, and most of the time I agree with you, but your view of these two players has often been tainted IMO.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

Parnell playing well is a good problem to have. Not only does this team have a great O-line, but they also currently have some quality depth. Free's injury could have really hurt if they had to roll out a scrub in his place.

 

[gimmesix]

lol atleast be a little level on his play.

Youre making it out to be that he was downright dominant. Which isnt the case.

He was beat more then a few times, and lets not lie to ourselves that Dallas didnt leave Witten or Murray in to help him. Parnell struggled early quite a bit and as the game wore on the defense just wore down and thats where this whole OL just gets better. Its not a knock on Parnell but he is average, while Free is above average. And Free will be back to starting once he gets healthy.

Parnell is going to be expensive? Noway would they give him more then they would give Free. And Free had to take a paycut just to stay on the team.

Parnell had a decent game, he plays more of a power game but thats not what Dallas is. Dallas is a zone blocking scheme. Thats why Free starts because he has slightly better footwork and technique. They couldve plugged in Hills and it wouldve been the same result. Martin and Witten help so much on that right side. And Murray is probably the best pass protecting RB in the NFL.

So calm down on Parnell, i know youve been waiting what seems like 50 yrs for him to get a chance. Its only for a few weeks until Free is back. Then its back to the bench for him.

I'm into the third quarter of rewatching the game with a focus on the line, and Parnell consistently had trouble with outside speed in pass protection. Romo often had to rush up into the pocket created by the interior linemen to avoid Parnell's man.

To Parnell's credit, he did stay with his man and got enough of a push to keep him from being able to turn and pursue Romo when he stepped up. ... The tackles in this game weren't great at pass protection, but the center of the line alleviated most of the problems that could have caused for Romo.

I'm interested to see if Parnell can correct some of those problems on Monday night or if the Commanders can exploit it ... which I certainly hope isn't the case.

 

[xwalker]

lol atleast be a little level on his play.

Youre making it out to be that he was downright dominant. Which isnt the case.

He was beat more then a few times, and lets not lie to ourselves that Dallas didnt leave Witten or Murray in to help him. Parnell struggled early quite a bit and as the game wore on the defense just wore down and thats where this whole OL just gets better. Its not a knock on Parnell but he is average, while Free is above average. And Free will be back to starting once he gets healthy.

Parnell is going to be expensive? Noway would they give him more then they would give Free. And Free had to take a paycut just to stay on the team.

Parnell had a decent game, he plays more of a power game but thats not what Dallas is. Dallas is a zone blocking scheme. Thats why Free starts because he has slightly better footwork and technique. They couldve plugged in Hills and it wouldve been the same result. Martin and Witten help so much on that right side. And Murray is probably the best pass protecting RB in the NFL.

So calm down on Parnell, i know youve been waiting what seems like 50 yrs for him to get a chance. Its only for a few weeks until Free is back. Then its back to the bench for him.

Those are Bob Sturms words in that post, not mine.

 

[burmafrd]

bothers me a bit that you talk of raw physical ability about a guy who has been around long enough to be more refined

you do realize that he only has about 3 years of any experience/training/etc as an O llineman, right? He was a DT and a TE I believe before we decided to convert him. So it is appropriate. He has no college or HS experience as an O lineman. BIG difference.

 

[burmafrd]

One reason some here think more of Parnell is that we are tired of the Jekyl and Hyde Free.

 

[mahoneybill]

In terms of in-line run blocking and moving the defender out of the way, Parnell is clearly the more powerful blocker. It's startling at times. Free is better at the 2nd level from what I can see. Not saying Parnell is bad at the 2nd level but it appears Free easily gets there where Parnell not so much. Pass blocking is all about game experience so Free has the edge there but Parnell held his own and went unnoticed, which is a good thing.

Great that we have 2 " people movers"

 

[mahoneybill]

Yes, good observations. A big part of second level blocking is about timing and Free has been getting some good second level blocks this year. I noticed a couple of times that Parnell might have had a second level block if he reacted just a split second earlier. I think he'll fine tune his reactions if he gets a few starts.

I think Free is really learning from FredBeard, and Martin. They both love that 2nd level contact...

 

[IrishAnto]

Parnell is playing lights out guys.. I love Free but Parnell wow. Maybe trade Free for a DE?

And trading Free would leave who backing up Parnell/Smith?