Projected 2014 starters: Dallas Cowboys

[FuzzyLumpkins]

He's a UDFA that just played his first season in the NFL. Not many will come up favorably when you compare them to the rest of the league. I think he has gained valuable experience and will improve this season because of it.

The 30 hits/pressures puts him about the middle of the pack of all the guards in the nfl. IMO, what matters is how he performs this season, then go from there.

Sorry but again middle of the pack doesn't say anything. I will not waste my money on pff stats and you are not giving rankings. What rank to they have of him?

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Much better than last year, I bet.

I doubt Melton is as good as Hatcher was last season, which will make this unlikely.

 

[DFWJC]

I doubt Melton is as good as Hatcher was last season, which will make this unlikely.

Maybe so on just Melton 2014 vs Hatcher 2013.
But we should be far more concerned about the 7-8 man rotation in 2014 being better than that group in 2013.
I feel pretty good about that.

 

[theSHOW]

Terrific thread here with some good info on what these linemen need to be good at. I like it all. Being a big fan of having the strength of the team the offensive line these are the questions that the coaching staff are asking right now and into the camps and preseason. Much better to have options and solid backups than what we've had over the last 10 years. Nice young line with appropriate amount of vets in the mix.

 

[itsaboat]

Sorry but again middle of the pack doesn't say anything. I will not waste my money on pff stats and you are not giving rankings. What rank to they have of him?

21 out of 37 of the guards who played at least 75% of the snaps

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

21 out of 37

I assume that is the efficiency stat but he needs to do a lot better than that wouldn't you say?

I see him as the weakest link on the line and battling Hanna/Escobar at h-back for weakest on offense

Smith
Romo
Witten
Bryant
Murray
Frederick
Williams
Bernadeau
Free
Leary/Hanna

I admit that I am a bit enamored with Bernadeau, he has the combination of power and feet to execute combo blocks that can dominate the poa on inside runs. His play is a big reason why we did so well converting in the red zone. Both he and Fred are great at it.

I worry about overvaluing that though because he does screw up in pass protection.

 

[theSHOW]

I assume that is the efficiency stat but he needs to do a lot better than that wouldn't you say?

I see him as the weakest link on the line and battling Hanna/Escobar at h-back for weakest on offense

Smith
Romo
Witten
Bryant
Murray
Frederick
Williams
Bernadeau
Free
Leary/Hanna

I admit that I am a bit enamored with Bernadeau, he has the combination of power and feet to execute combo blocks that can dominate the poa on inside runs. His play is a big reason why we did so well converting in the red zone. Both he and Fred are great at it.

I worry about overvaluing that though because he does screw up in pass protection.

Pretty solid offense and pretty accurate assessment of each position. The 2014 addition to this listing is Z. Martin who should slide in after Travis (as a starting point) and the guard position opposite ZM + the Hman will be our weakest links..both whom might be improved in 14'

Smith
Romo
Witten
Murray
Bryant
Frederick
Martin
Williams
Free
Bernadeau/Leary
Escobar/Hanna

 

[Toruk_Makto]

You let Leary or Bern fight for the RG position, like you would any other time. Why is that a bad situation? Bern actually rates out better then does Leary. What's the down side here?

They are putting Martin next to Free for a reason. Also if his future is to kick out to RT in the future it makes sense to groom him on the right side.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Maybe so on just Melton 2014 vs Hatcher 2013.
But we should be far more concerned about the 7-8 man rotation in 2014 being better than that group in 2013.
I feel pretty good about that.

I can easily see less production than last year. It's not a foregone conclusion that Selvie will be just as good this year as last, and it's optimistic to believe that Demarcus Lawrence will produce more sacks this year than Ware did last year.

 

[itsaboat]

I assume that is the efficiency stat but he needs to do a lot better than that wouldn't you say?

I see him as the weakest link on the line and battling Hanna/Escobar at h-back for weakest on offense

Smith
Romo
Witten
Bryant
Murray
Frederick
Williams
Bernadeau
Free
Leary/Hanna

I admit that I am a bit enamored with Bernadeau, he has the combination of power and feet to execute combo blocks that can dominate the poa on inside runs. His play is a big reason why we did so well converting in the red zone. Both he and Fred are great at it.

I worry about overvaluing that though because he does screw up in pass protection.

Yes and yes I want Leary to play better. Like I said previously, IMO Leary has the ability to be a solid player but needs to work on his consistency. I'm not sure what his ceiling is but I think having Smith to his left and Frederick to his right will only help him and they will help mask his flaws as he gains more experience and improves his game.

I can't argue with that and I agree with your ranking.

I was surprised how well Berny performed in the run game. He showed good power and I remember seeing him pull on a few occasions and while he was a bit slow, still did his job.

The guard battle will be something to watch. Ideally, I think Dallas wants to see Leary improve enough so he can win the LG job and have Martin beat out Berny to start at RG. That would allow Berny to be a good interior backup player. If Berny outplays Leary I wonder if they put Martin at LG and keep Berny at RG. Either way, I think it'll be a nice problem to have.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

I think that if you put Smith, Martin and Fredbeard all on the same side, you create a situation where you can run on anybody at any time. If you put him on the right side with Free, not so much.

Put me in the camp that is disappointed to see Martin penciled in on the right side. While I do believe that if Bern is better in training camp, he'll start of Leary, I don't believe that battle should take place at LG, should be at RG.

 

[Risen Star]

Leary was not healthy all season. However, that aside, I agree that it doesn't mean that he is a RG his whole career but if he is the better option at LG, which he probably is, why not play him there and allow Leary and Berny to fight it out at RG? That doesn't make much sense to me.

I'd play him at RG. Let Leary and Bernadeau compete for LG. That way it's less of a transition for Martin should the Cowboys move him to RT. Same side of the field.

Even though I'm glad they didn't make that trade for Turner and give up a 2015 2nd round pick, I like the mindset of adding to a strength and becoming potentially dominant at the line of scrimmage on that side of the ball. We should keep that in mind next spring when everyone's focused on pressing needs. The Cowboys may choose an OL early if they really like the player.

They hit on Tyron. They hit on Frederick. I believe they'll hit on Martin. That kind of success rate makes this an easy sell on the owner.

 

[DFWJC]

I can easily see less production than last year. It's not a foregone conclusion that Selvie will be just as good this year as last, and it's optimistic to believe that Demarcus Lawrence will produce more sacks this year than Ware did last year.

Guess we'll see.
I think the defense overall will certainly be better.....and I'd be shocked if they don't top the 32 sacks from last year by a good margin.

Can't really say how that translates in overall record though. None of us can.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I'd play him at RG. Let Leary and Bernadeau compete for LG. That way it's less of a transition for Martin should the Cowboys move him to RT. Same side of the field.

Even though I'm glad they didn't make that trade for Turner and give up a 2015 2nd round pick, I like the mindset of adding to a strength and becoming potentially dominant at the line of scrimmage on that side of the ball. We should keep that in mind next spring when everyone's focused on pressing needs. The Cowboys may choose an OL early if they really like the player.

They hit on Tyron. They hit on Frederick. I believe they'll hit on Martin. That kind of success rate makes this an easy sell on the owner.

I am more concerned with his transition this year. He played the left side and was roommates with the LG at ND.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

They are putting Martin next to Free for a reason. Also if his future is to kick out to RT in the future it makes sense to groom him on the right side.

They do a lot of things for a reason and we are 8-8 for a long time running. It doens't matter if he plays LG or RG if he ends up at RT. The mechanics of tackle are so different that it won't effect him at all.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I'd play him at RG. Let Leary and Bernadeau compete for LG. That way it's less of a transition for Martin should the Cowboys move him to RT. Same side of the field.

Even though I'm glad they didn't make that trade for Turner and give up a 2015 2nd round pick, I like the mindset of adding to a strength and becoming potentially dominant at the line of scrimmage on that side of the ball. We should keep that in mind next spring when everyone's focused on pressing needs. The Cowboys may choose an OL early if they really like the player.

They hit on Tyron. They hit on Frederick. I believe they'll hit on Martin. That kind of success rate makes this an easy sell on the owner.

If either Bern or Leary could play LG at a high level, I would be fine with this. Neither can IMO. They are both too slow.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

They do a lot of things for a reason and we are 8-8 for a long time running. It doens't matter if he plays LG or RG if he ends up at RT. The mechanics of tackle are so different that it won't effect him at all.

You're right. Him starting at LG vs RG is the difference in a championship and an 8-8 season.

Talk about a silly stance to take.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

You're right. Him starting at LG vs RG is the difference in a championship and an 8-8 season.

Talk about a silly stance to take.

I would not say championship but I would say playoffs perhaps. If you wish to characterize that as silly, that is your affair.

 

[CATCH17]

Kinda disappointing to hear that Martin is penciled in as the RG. I would hope that we didn't spend our #16 overall selection on a RG. LG, that would be OK but you should be able to find RGs all through the draft. OTs and LG, even Centers, not so much.

They probably want to move him to Right Tackle and some point so they are just getting him used to being on that side on working with Free.

I agree with you though.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

They probably want to move him to Right Tackle and some point so they are just getting him used to being on that side on working with Free.

I agree with you though.

I am not at all sure that they want him at RT. It's possible but he projects better to LG then he does RT. I think the team has not closed the book on Free either. Depending on the contract he might sign, they may intend to bring him back. At any rate, even if they do eventually play him at RT, our Guard situation is far from adequate IMO. We need two upgrades to Guard right now. I don't see the logic in simply penciling him in at RG when the idea should be to have competition for both starting Guard spots and playing the best two. It makes no sense to me to just pencil one in because really, your penciling two in when you say Martin is going to play RG. That means that Leary is the default LG and Bern is IDK. Bern is not quick enough or mobile enough to play LG IMO. If he ends up there, that's weakening the position by playing a player who is not as talented. That logically suggest that Leary is the guy and he was no great shakes at LG IMO. He didn't give you much upside there. I don't like that plan. Should be competition and the best players play IMO.