Recap: Quote from Garrett

[Idgit]

I will indulge you and I will not even break a sweat.

TE - Witten, while a warrior, is far too ingrained in what we do. We will bleed that poor player for everything he has. Still best than most, but when he is the focus, it is not a good thing. He needs to be fading into the great one who can still get it done category like Gonzalez had been for the past few years. But he is Romo's binky. Escobar? Well, if we could just figure out this darn two TE thing than maybe he might have some utility. And then there is the fact he is a subpar blocker. Hanna? Too much of an accessory piece. Poor Jason has a hard enough time figuring out how to use the real weapons than to go that far down the depth chart.

WRs - I would concede here, but plain and simple this is Dez Bryant's world. It goes as he goes. If he is having a bad day, Williams, Beasley etc will have a tough time.

RBs - I like what Murray is capable of doing. I have next to no confidence in Dunbar. He still cannot figure out how to score in the open field without tripping over his own feet and fumbling. Is there another RB on this roster that I should feel good about that I am missing? I will add I have hopes than Ryan Williams can be a dark horse.

Yes our problems are on defense. And that is why, yes, I said, the OL is the only position group we have on the field that anyone should feel good about.

Well, at least we're making progress on how you and I can see this team so very differently.

I'd say your expectations for our offensive roster are simply completely unrealistic. We're fairly stacked right now, offensively.

We agree on the defense, it seems, which explains the whole 8-8 thing sufficiently as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Hoofbite]

All the props in the world for showing commitment to the OL with the Martin pick but suggesting another coach wouldn't have taken Tyron when the team had nothing at LT is a bit of a stretch.

Fred wouldn't be in the cards had Garrett had his way in the War Room last year. I dunno who nailed that pick but Garrett was obviously pissed about trading down.

I like the combination but Tyron was pure necessity and Fred wasn't coach's preferred route. Martin however gives me something to actually applaud.

 

[waving monkey]

Well, if what he is saying, then why did he not start that process years earlier?

I have felt the same way but their drafts were misses and they didn't believe in investing high draft picks on offensive linemen i believe.

 

[Stash]

Yeah. It sure helps when you hit on the picks.

Claiborne or Crawford or Carter turning it around would sure help me feel better about some of those high defensive selections under Garrett. Wilcox, too, though he's obviously still developing.

We sure need 'em! There's plenty of room and opportunity for a TON of young guys and draft picks to step up.

The more that do, the better off this defense and team will be.

 

[Bluestang]

Nobody wants to argue how

All the props in the world for showing commitment to the OL with the Martin pick but suggesting another coach wouldn't have taken Tyron when the team had nothing at LT is a bit of a stretch.

Fred wouldn't be in the cards had Garrett had his way in the War Room last year. I dunno who nailed that pick but Garrett was obviously pissed about trading down.

I like the combination but Tyron was pure necessity and Fred wasn't coach's preferred route. Martin however gives me something to actually applaud.

This team was ready to take Shazier, but Pitt snatched him up right before us and we took Martin instead.

I don't know how much applaud should be given here because to me it seems like the OL got rebuilt through some draft luck.

I'll take it over anything else, but the Cowboys did not seem to emphasis OL picks exclusively, they just fell to them in the drafts.

 

[waving monkey]

always looking for troblem

 

[Alexander]

Fred wouldn't be in the cards had Garrett had his way in the War Room last year. I dunno who nailed that pick but Garrett was obviously pissed about trading down.

I guess his awkward response at the trade down had to do with the compensation. It could not have had anything to do with wanting Tyler Eifert.

 

[casmith07]

Well, if what he is saying, then why did he not start that process years earlier?

He did. We drafted Tyron Smith 4 years ago.

 

[Corso]

Not the goal, Corso. If mind blowing revelations were the expectation, you are not going to get that at a message board.

What exactly is the goal?

 

[TheDude]

Nobody wants to argue how


This team was ready to take Shazier, but Pitt snatched him up right before us and we took Martin instead.

I don't know how much applaud should be given here because to me it seems like the OL got rebuilt through some draft luck.

I'll take it over anything else, but the Cowboys did not seem to emphasis OL picks exclusively, they just fell to them in the drafts.

This post hits some key points people conveniently overlook.

 

[ConstantReboot]

The below quote is from JG's presser today. It's what many of us here have been saying for years now. Look like he's finally coming around.

“We really feel in a lot of ways the offensive line is the heartbeat of the football team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you look back at some of the great teams in the history of this league and the history of this franchise, there were always great offensive linemen and great offensive line units. When you have those guys, you can be physical. You need to be physical, particularly in our division, particularly at the end of ballgames, particularly at the end of the season, and that can really positively impact the rest of your team. The quarterback will play better, the receivers will play better, obviously the runner will play better and the defense will play better when you’re good on the offensive line. We’ve made a very conscious effort as a franchise and organization to do that, and we feel like we’re starting to see that group really develop and become the strength of this football team.”

I just placed a call to Satan in hell and told him what Garrett just said. His reply was "no wonder hell has frozen over".

Thats the most that I've ever heard Garrett talk thats relevant to what football is about. Maybe his finally learning.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

Can't argue with anything Red said,,, though I would add the DL as a close second to being the heartbeat of a physical team.

 

[Bluestang]

This post hits some key points people conveniently overlook.

Overlooked because it doesn't really confirm any of what the team is saying. about OL.

2011 - Tyron was picked because they had a need at RT, with Doug Free going to the left side. What they didn't anticipate was Free being bad for that 1 season and having to go back to the right side with a paycut.

2012 - No OL selected but Leary as UDFA.

2013 - Frederick was probably drafted too rich for his spot, but it could have more than likely been a BPA pick. Garrett was obviously bothered by Floyd being passed over.

And then Martin was selected because all other prospects were gone and he was the higher rated player on the board, discounting JFF.

If you really take a close look, sure JG tried to rebuild the line in 2012, with Smith, Arkin, and Nagy - but only one those guys worked out. He also tried to go cheap FA/maybe moneyball route and that didn't really go well either.

I guess you can say he did it on his third try but let's not sit here and say that he planned it all along when these last two guys ended up in their laps by way the draft shook out.

 

[CowboyMike]

This post hits some key points people conveniently overlook.

Okay, I'll bite.

2011 - Tyron Smith: This pick wasn't as much of a lock as everything makes it out to be. Garrett was going into his first full season and the O-line purge hadn't happened yet. That happened after the draft just before training camp. The problem everybody was stuck on was how the defense had fallen so far in the previous 6-10 season under Wade. It ended up being decent when Garrett took over and went 5-3, but still, everyone was hung up on the defense and how to fix it. Keep in mind we still had Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, and Andre Gurode on the roster with no word if they were going to be released or re-signed or not; and Doug Free had just turned in a pretty decent first season at LT (it wasn't until the next season that he tanked). Because of all this, we were still coming out of the combine wondering if it would be JJ Watt or an OT, and most mocks had us taking Gabe Carimi if we went that route. Word was that Garrett really liked Watt, but it all came together when he went out to USC's Pro Day personally and checked out the raw young tackle that had only played the right side. Then Garrett's true intentions came together when he grabbed Tyron Smith, who leaped up boards late. A month later he began to purge the O-line of aging vets, releasing Davis and Colombo on July 28th and Gurode in training camp... and the OL reconstruction process was on.

2012 - Morris Claiborne: After a season of getting torched in the secondary and a having turnstile for an O-line, the two needs for Dallas were pretty clear. However, outside of Matt Kalil who would have been gone by Dallas' pick, there were no blue-chip OL prospects in this draft. Sometimes the draft isn't made up to fall your way. Just because you need to draft OL doesn't mean that the guy exists. Consensus was among fans and media alike that Dallas would go defense, most likely taking Mark Barron with Poe and Brockers in play. When Claiborne dropped, Jerry jumped up to grab who was the widely touted best defensive player in the draft and best corner prospect in a decade. Most fans were happy with that. Oh well. We'll see.

2013 - Travis Frederick: There was no way Dallas was not going to take an O-lineman in this first round. Jerry said that pretty adamantly. They were never going to take Floyd, and don't give me that draft board BS. Just because you aren't going to take a quarterback or kicker or whatever doesn't mean you shouldn't rate him on your board. We were going O-line, no question. When Cooper, Warmack, and Fluker came off the board early, Dallas traded down--with Garrett most likely being upset at the compensation for the trade. They grab Frederick, a shocking reach, but again there was no way they weren't going OL in the first round. Frederick turns out to be a pleasant surprise and probably one of the smartest picks we've made in the last decade or so. (Plus we got TWill out of the deal.)

2014 - Zack Martin: This is probably the lone OL pick that just "fell into our laps" that we didn't target or go for. Martin ends up as our emergency contingency plan. We wanted Barr or Donald. Everybody wanted Barr or Donald. The glaring need on this team was and is DL. The OL was solid last year so it wasn't exactly a huge need. Barr or Donald didn't happen with the Rams snatching him from our grasp. So we take the consensus best guard in the draft in Martin, which everyone hails as a solid and smart--if not sexy--pick.

So in summary: Tyron was targeted as the starter kit to an OL rebuild. Claiborne was a grab at a can't miss prospect when there were no OL in the draft to take. Frederick was Plan C in an OL or nothing plan that panned out pleasantly. And Martin was the only "draft luck" OL pick when everything else didn't fall our way.

*flies away*

 

[TwoDeep3]

The below quote is from JG's presser today. It's what many of us here have been saying for years now. Look like he's finally coming around.

“We really feel in a lot of ways the offensive line is the heartbeat of the football team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you look back at some of the great teams in the history of this league and the history of this franchise, there were always great offensive linemen and great offensive line units. When you have those guys, you can be physical. You need to be physical, particularly in our division, particularly at the end of ballgames, particularly at the end of the season, and that can really positively impact the rest of your team. The quarterback will play better, the receivers will play better, obviously the runner will play better and the defense will play better when you’re good on the offensive line. We’ve made a very conscious effort as a franchise and organization to do that, and we feel like we’re starting to see that group really develop and become the strength of this football team.”

This is all well and good, but if a troop of girl scouts could keep this defensive line from an ice cream truck, then what did Opie not get about last year and Denver? Or for that matter what Denver did in the off-season to get better defensively.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Name them.

TE, WR, RB........

 

[kevm3]

With as much as we have invested in the offense, we need to make the play-offs on the offense alone.. and that includes a ton of running the ball to burn out the clock.

 

[Oh_Canada]

The below quote is from JG's presser today. It's what many of us here have been saying for years now. Look like he's finally coming around.

“We really feel in a lot of ways the offensive line is the heartbeat of the football team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you look back at some of the great teams in the history of this league and the history of this franchise, there were always great offensive linemen and great offensive line units. When you have those guys, you can be physical. You need to be physical, particularly in our division, particularly at the end of ballgames, particularly at the end of the season, and that can really positively impact the rest of your team. The quarterback will play better, the receivers will play better, obviously the runner will play better and the defense will play better when you’re good on the offensive line. We’ve made a very conscious effort as a franchise and organization to do that, and we feel like we’re starting to see that group really develop and become the strength of this football team.”

You really think he didn't share this philosophy all along? They drafted oline in three of four drafts he was HC.

 

[Idgit]

Honestly, people complaining about the way that the OL was rebuilt tells you everything you need to know about their willingness or ability to judge the team fairly. That ability just doesn't exist for some. It's pointless to argue the facts of this particular topic with them.

I'm just glad we've addressed OL and CBs here and can move on to the DL and LBs. we're fortunate that we appear to be hitting on some high picks, and that the way forward in terms of personnel is pretty obvious.

 

[morasp]

I like our OL and now that we have it I wouldn't trade it but when you look at our drafts the last five years and the first round picks it's obvious the emphasis has been on offense. Three offensive lineman a WR and a CB in the first round. They could have probably gotten Lawrence this year and the next best OG after Martin and had two third rounds pick much like they did last year for Frederick and Williams. The two third round picks could have been used on the defensive front seven that seems to need a lot of depth every year due to injuries.