RT Cameron Fleming NFL ranking

[jterrell]

Fleming is basically Jermey Parnell. He's a swing OT who could grow into a solid starting RT.
He's 25. He is a Texas kid and went to Stanford so has a brain.
Parnell had started 0 games at age 25.

This is a really good signing. We don't know if he will develop and arch up but if Dallas can't afford to keep La'el Collins and Fleming develops as the RT it will look genius.

 

[xwalker]

Nope, Nope, Nope.
Wasn't a better player than Free and certainly wasn't a better leader along the OL and we were developing a young OL.
Ask TBeard or Tyron Smith who the biggest influence was? Free.

Parnell counted 8M against the Jags cap in 2015 when he would have been our swing OT.
When you were begging to keep him you were projecting him to sign for 20M over 5. He got way overpaid at 32M.

He has proven to be better than Free. It's comical to discuss it at this point. In 7 games including 2 playoff games for the Cowboy in 2014 he gave up 1 sack.

Free gave up 9 sacks in his last season here.

Don't start with stupid misunderstandings of the cap. He got 5-years, 32M which is 6.4M average.

The fact that he got paid more than Free proved my point.

He was the beginning of quality free agent signings that took the Jaguars from perennial losers to being 1 game away from the Super Bowl.

The OL coach that Garrett ran off and that has been missed since he departed wanted to start Parnell over Free but Garrett blocked it from happening. Callahan even went directly to Jerry and the compromise was to rotate them per series for the final 4 games of 2012 (might have been 2013). One of the last on camera comments by Callahan before he departed was that the media should cover the story of how a college basketball player developed into a quality NFL OLineman.

Callahan made a lateral move to the Commanders when his contract was up because he and Garrett hated each other. There is NO question that Callahan is the better coach of the two.

Now Garrett continues the same concept of being attached to players the way he was with Free when he plays Witten 98% of the snaps in 2017.

Tyron, Fred and Martin were All-Pros by 2015. They didn't need Free to be their "leader". Also, I've never heard Tyron say the Free was a leader, Those are comments by Fred/Martin. Free's leadership was so effective that when he told the OL group to avoid talking to the media, Fred starting doing a weekly Radio show during the season on Local Sports Talk Radio. Martin joined him on several occasions. They laughed about how Free wanted everybody to have a minimal comment policy with the media (The previous OL group had a minimal comment to the media policy. Gurode did an after-game interview once and said he would get a big fine from the Kangaroo Court for doing the interview).

 

[Verdict]

Did we officially get him signed or did they jump the gun on the announcement??

 

[Verdict]

Biggest mistake in Jerry's tenure.

Could have made Parnell the official starter in 2014 and could have signed him to an affordable contract before the season. Once he got extended playing time in 2014 the price went up. Even then they should have paid up to keep him.

Yeah the Cowboys screwed the pooch and kept the wrong player. You could see it coming. Bad move by us there.

 

[speedkilz88]

Did we officially get him signed or did they jump the gun on the announcement??

 

[Verdict]

I guess the short answer is Broaddus has no idea just like the rest of us.

 

[jterrell]

He has proven to be better than Free. It's comical to discuss it at this point. In 7 games including 2 playoff games for the Cowboy in 2014 he gave up 1 sack.

Free gave up 9 sacks in his last season here.

Don't start with stupid misunderstandings of the cap. He got 5-years, 32M which is 6.4M average.

The fact that he got paid more than Free proved my point.

He was the beginning of quality free agent signings that took the Jaguars from perennial losers to being 1 game away from the Super Bowl.

The OL coach that Garrett ran off and that has been missed since he departed wanted to start Parnell over Free but Garrett blocked it from happening. Callahan even went directly to Jerry and the compromise was to rotate them per series for the final 4 games of 2012 (might have been 2013). One of the last on camera comments by Callahan before he departed was that the media should cover the story of how a college basketball player developed into a quality NFL OLineman.

Callahan made a lateral move to the Commanders when his contract was up because he and Garrett hated each other. There is NO question that Callahan is the better coach of the two.

Now Garrett continues the same concept of being attached to players the way he was with Free when he plays Witten 98% of the snaps in 2017.

Tyron, Fred and Martin were All-Pros by 2015. They didn't need Free to be their "leader". Also, I've never heard Tyron say the Free was a leader, Those are comments by Fred/Martin. Free's leadership was so effective that when he told the OL group to avoid talking to the media, Fred starting doing a weekly Radio show during the season on Local Sports Talk Radio. Martin joined him on several occasions. They laughed about how Free wanted everybody to have a minimal comment policy with the media (The previous OL group had a minimal comment to the media policy. Gurode did an after-game interview once and said he would get a big fine from the Kangaroo Court for doing the interview).

Luckily I can help you out.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2017/01/10/cowboys-hour-2016-tyron-smith-doug-free
http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2014/11/18/cowboys-hour-tyron-smith-and-doug-free

Smith, Martin and TFred all say Free was the leader of that OL that placed them in the Pro Bowl.

Parnell was overpaid because he was young with lots of upside. No one in Jax was excited about his first couple seasons.
They were winning 3-4 games and terrible.
His ACTUAL CAP HITS were
8m
6.5m
6.5m

Free was a better run blocker than Pass Blocker in the end and of course in 2016 Free helped Zeke run to the rushing title.
Free allowed 3 sacks in 2014
4 in 2015
before 7 in 2016(while shockingly being graded as the team's best run blocker internally).

Parnell allowed 3.5 sacks in 2015
5 sacks in 2016
before an excellent 1 sack last year.

Parnell was NEVER starting here over Doug Free.
NEVER. The team had him and didn't view him that way.
They viewed him as a great Swing OT.
So he moved on to make big money for a team who missed on draftee at OTs.
And after a couple of years of shoddy cap value he is now a good value because they front-loaded his deal.

https://www.all22.com/dallas-cowboys/smith-free-highlight-best-tackle-tandems-in-nfl


The Cowboys have tried to stake their identity as a "hard-nosed, run first" team. So losing a very good guard like LG Ron Leary hurts. He will be missed, as will the veteran leader of the o-line, Doug Free. I know that many fans saw Free as the weak link of the line, but the reality is that he was that group's leader and the consummate pro who played through painful foot injuries. Too often in life, we don't appreciate things until we don't have them anymore. Will that be the case with Leary & Free?


The best part of the Cowboys this year is the offensive line with three potential Pro Bowlers. Free is not one of those guys, but he is the unquestioned leader of the unit.

“Doug brings the things to the table that we don’t have as a young group, which is experience, the game intelligence that you learn just through the years and really that kind of sense of leadership as well as far as kind of pointing us in the right direction,” said center Travis Frederick, who along with Tyron Smith and Zack Martin could/should be making a trip to Hawaii. “He does a tremendous job at it, and we’re really glad to have him.”

Free is in his eighth year with the Cowboys, a fourth-round draft pick in 2007. Only Witten, Romo and L.P. Ladouceur have longer tenures with the Cowboys than Free.

“I’m not super old, but I’m definitely one of the older guys,” said Free, who turns 31 next month. “Kinda feel like I fill that role to some extent.”


But bigger than any of this is a simple fact.
Dallas lost Parnell and the OL got better. Much better.
They lost Free and the OL swan dived.
La'el Collins wasn't anywhere near as good or consistent as Doug Free.
And leadership had to be transferred to Frederick himself because Tyron is not a vocal guy.

 

[PhillyCowboysFan]

fellow cowboy freaks---- Cameron Fleming was rated 38th best RT..by NFL1000...but he is actually much better than this ranking.

Please qualify that statement.

 

[jterrell]

I guess the short answer is Broaddus has no idea just like the rest of us.

The league office has to be open for the Witten restructure to go through.
Fleming has agreed to terms but there's been no photo signing.
Likely happens Monday but until it is done, it's still possible he could go elsewhere I guess.
Stranger things have happened.

 

[glimmerman]

Is Fleming a upgrade over what we lost in cooper? Is he starter material? Or are we going to need to use a fairly high draft pick to take care of this need?

 

[speedkilz88]

I guess the short answer is Broaddus has no idea just like the rest of us.

I can understand when he's giving an opinion to say something like that. But he's answering the question. I believe is figure of speech.

 

[PhillyCowboysFan]

Smith, Martin and TFred all say Free was the leader of that OL that placed them in the Pro Bowl.

Talent over leadership is always a tough decision and very debatable!

 

[diefree666]

Luckily I can help you out.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2017/01/10/cowboys-hour-2016-tyron-smith-doug-free
http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2014/11/18/cowboys-hour-tyron-smith-and-doug-free

Smith, Martin and TFred all say Free was the leader of that OL that placed them in the Pro Bowl.

Parnell was overpaid because he was young with lots of upside. No one in Jax was excited about his first couple seasons.
They were winning 3-4 games and terrible.
His ACTUAL CAP HITS were
8m
6.5m
6.5m

Free was a better run blocker than Pass Blocker in the end and of course in 2016 Free helped Zeke run to the rushing title.
Free allowed 3 sacks in 2014
4 in 2015
before 7 in 2016(while shockingly being graded as the team's best run blocker internally).

Parnell allowed 3.5 sacks in 2015
5 sacks in 2016
before an excellent 1 sack last year.

Parnell was NEVER starting here over Doug Free.
NEVER. The team had him and didn't view him that way.
They viewed him as a great Swing OT.
So he moved on to make big money for a team who missed on draftee at OTs.
And after a couple of years of shoddy cap value he is now a good value because they front-loaded his deal.

https://www.all22.com/dallas-cowboys/smith-free-highlight-best-tackle-tandems-in-nfl


The Cowboys have tried to stake their identity as a "hard-nosed, run first" team. So losing a very good guard like LG Ron Leary hurts. He will be missed, as will the veteran leader of the o-line, Doug Free. I know that many fans saw Free as the weak link of the line, but the reality is that he was that group's leader and the consummate pro who played through painful foot injuries. Too often in life, we don't appreciate things until we don't have them anymore. Will that be the case with Leary & Free?


The best part of the Cowboys this year is the offensive line with three potential Pro Bowlers. Free is not one of those guys, but he is the unquestioned leader of the unit.

“Doug brings the things to the table that we don’t have as a young group, which is experience, the game intelligence that you learn just through the years and really that kind of sense of leadership as well as far as kind of pointing us in the right direction,” said center Travis Frederick, who along with Tyron Smith and Zack Martin could/should be making a trip to Hawaii. “He does a tremendous job at it, and we’re really glad to have him.”

Free is in his eighth year with the Cowboys, a fourth-round draft pick in 2007. Only Witten, Romo and L.P. Ladouceur have longer tenures with the Cowboys than Free.

“I’m not super old, but I’m definitely one of the older guys,” said Free, who turns 31 next month. “Kinda feel like I fill that role to some extent.”


But bigger than any of this is a simple fact.
Dallas lost Parnell and the OL got better. Much better.
They lost Free and the OL swan dived.
La'el Collins wasn't anywhere near as good or consistent as Doug Free.
And leadership had to be transferred to Frederick himself because Tyron is not a vocal guy.

the lengths some will go to defend Free is amazing. No matter how you try and cover it up by 2016 Free was a joke. He should have been let go at the end of the 2015 season but the boys had no real replacement; a true indictment of incompetence.

 

[glimmerman]

the lengths some will go to defend Free is amazing. No matter how you try and cover it up by 2016 Free was a joke. He should have been let go at the end of the 2015 season but the boys had no real replacement; a true indictment of incompetence.

Free could run block. That’s about it.

 

[LocimusPrime]

Kindness

 

[buybuydandavis]

Could have made Parnell the official starter in 2014 and could have signed him to an affordable contract before the season. Once he got extended playing time in 2014 the price went up.

This is one thing I wish they'd do more of - sign developing backups close to the starters, and *if* they sign, make them the starter and move on from the other guy.

You have so much more leverage over a player at that point. You can get a great contract. The chance to start is a huge benefit to the career of a backup player. Giving that away for nothing is just bad business.

There should probably be performance escalators built in the contract to avoid holdouts, but get good contracts on players when we have the leverage.

It might have been too late with Leary, but I wish we had tried to sign him long term before 2016 to a tweener backup/starter contract. *If* he signs, then we could have moved on from Free in 2016, moving Collins out to RT with Leary at LG.

I wasn't surprised at all with the improvement to Leary in 2016. He was a young, developing guy who was an average guard in 2014. His arrow was up.

 

[cowboyec]

If Collins remains at OT,with Fleming and Martin being back-ups at OT and OG...then OG Will Hernandez is still an option at 19.
If Collins moves....then 19 is a LB.
LONG way to go.

 

[xwalker]

This is one thing I wish they'd do more of - sign developing backups close to the starters, and *if* they sign, make them the starter and move on from the other guy.

You have so much more leverage over a player at that point. You can get a great contract. The chance to start is a huge benefit to the career of a backup player. Giving that away for nothing is just bad business.

There should probably be performance escalators built in the contract to avoid holdouts, but get good contracts on players when we have the leverage.

It might have been too late with Leary, but I wish we had tried to sign him long term before 2016 to a tweener backup/starter contract. *If* he signs, then we could have moved on from Free in 2016, moving Collins out to RT with Leary at LG.

I wasn't surprised at all with the improvement to Leary in 2016. He was a young, developing guy who was an average guard in 2014. His arrow was up.

Yes, Leary and Parnell were safe bets to be quality players.

Leary was unlikely to re-sign early because they basically just handed the job the La'el. It did start with Leary having an injury issue but then they kept La'el as the starter until some point when he was injured.

They had to see that Free was declining and was not that good anyway. I'm certain Callahan would have recommended re-signing Parnell over Free.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Leary was unlikely to re-sign early because they basically just handed the job the La'el. It did start with Leary having an injury issue but then they kept La'el as the starter until some point when he was injured.

Being disgruntled over not getting his spot back could have kept him from taking the contract, but the main issue with Leary from an objective perspective is that he had already established himself as a starter in the league.

Leary was facing another year as a backup, and running out his contract without starting again. If we offered him a backup+ contract long term, with escalation clauses for starting, that could look appealing, especially with talk about eventually starting him when we move on from Free and moving Collins to RT. He'd be locking in a huge jump in money and starting soon, vs. being a backup for another year and taking his chances on free agency with his knee condition and his last play time being injured and not looking so hot.

If he hadn't had seasons as a starter establishing his starting credentials to the league, I think a backup jumps at that. He might have anyway. Locking in a big jump in money is a big incentive.

 

[xwalker]

Being disgruntled over not getting his spot back could have kept him from taking the contract, but the main issue with Leary from an objective perspective is that he had already established himself as a starter in the league.

Leary was facing another year as a backup, and running out his contract without starting again. If we offered him a backup+ contract long term, with escalation clauses for starting, that could look appealing, especially with talk about eventually starting him when we move on from Free and moving Collins to RT. He'd be locking in a huge jump in money and starting soon, vs. being a backup for another year and taking his chances on free agency with his knee condition and his last play time being injured and not looking so hot.

If he hadn't had seasons as a starter establishing his starting credentials to the league, I think a backup jumps at that. He might have anyway. Locking in a big jump in money is a big incentive.

It would be hard to turn down several million in guaranteed money when you've been in the league 3 years at around 500K per AND you have 1 more season remaining at 500K before hitting free agency. An bad injury in that final year could mean you retire having made 2M instead of having at least 10M guaranteed coming to you.