Ryan Shazier: 5 Toughest Guys I've Ever Faced (Cowboys related)

[Section446]

https://theplayerstribune.com/ryan-shazier-the-5-toughest-guys-ive-ever-faced/

Toughest O-Lineman: Tyron Smith (and the rest of the Cowboys)
Ezekiel Elliott is a beast. He ran all over us last season. But I can’t mention him without mentioning the guys in front of him, because they’re flat-out amazing. Tyron Smith is a freaking Sasquatch out there playing football. He’s huge and he’s super quick, and when he gets his hands on you, forget it. It’s like they’re glued to you. You’re not getting out of his grasp. In my opinion, he’s the best tackle in the game.

But with Dallas, it’s really about the whole group. They have the most in-sync offensive line I’ve seen in the league. They move in unison, and they’re all in the perfect technique on every play, even in the pre-snap. See, there’s usually a tell with offensive linemen. Some guys will tip the run or the pass just by doing little things that you’d never notice on TV. Some guys will have their hand on the ground a certain way if it’s a run. Or their body weight will be shifted to the back foot just a little bit if it’s a pass. I swear, with some guys — you can just look down at their hand in the grass, and if their wrist isn’t as flexed as it normally is, or if you don’t see the veins bulging in their forearms, that means they’re not putting as much weight on their hand. Their weight is on their back foot, because they’re trying to cheat to get a quick first step back in pass protection.

But Dallas’ guys never tip you off with their pre-snap setup. Those guys are a well-oiled machine. When the ball snaps, they all have a consistent technique when it comes to their zone blocking. It’s one thing to block your man and open a hole. It’s another level to block your man and stick to him and move him upfield. More often than not, you’ll see their linemen finish the play four or five yards past the line of scrimmage.

The easiest way for a fan to tell if an offensive line is great is to watch how long their feet stay chopping. This play got a lot of attention for Zeke’s leap, but watch the linemen here.

All five guys are driving their feet for the whole play. Watch how far up the field 72 sticks with his block, to make sure he seals the outside for Zeke.

As a linebacker, when you get heavy guys like Zeke and Le’Veon in open space, they run so hard that you don’t even want to tackle them as the game goes on. Every tackle costs you a little bit of punishment. Zeke is a heavy, heavy, heavy runner, and he wears defenses down.

 

[erod]

Shazier is who the Cowboys really wanted before Pittsburgh snatched him the pick before us.

Dallas settled for Zack Martin. Worked out fine.

 

[jday]

That's pretty high praise for our offense. Here's hoping the OL doesn't fall off any from last year with the absence of Free and Leary.

 

[Section446]

Shazier is who the Cowboys really wanted before Pittsburgh snatched him the pick before us.

Dallas settled for Zack Martin. Worked out fine.

We would have been just fine either way, Shazier is a hell of a player... when he's healthy.

 

[Section446]

That's pretty high praise for our offense. Here's hoping the OL doesn't fall off any from last year with the absence of Free and Leary.

Yeah, there's no doubt that we are lucky as hell to have the OL we have, and the drafting of Smith seemed to be the start of a fundamental change in our philosophy as it relates to selecting players.

I'm not too worried about replacing Free, while I think a lot of people underestimated how good he was, Collins is more dynamic. I'm REALLY worried about losing Leary though, he was a cornerstone.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Yeah, there's no doubt that we are lucky as hell to have the OL we have, and the drafting of Smith seemed to be the start of a fundamental change in our philosophy as it relates to selecting players.

I'm not too worried about replacing Free, while I think a lot of people underestimated how good he was, Collins is more dynamic. I'm REALLY worried about losing Leary though, he was a cornerstone.

Leary wasn't a cornerstone. He was decent no doubt but he is starting to become a legend. La'el is the better player and moving to RT is much more an upgrade. We must need our LG to be just OK playing in between Smith and Frederick. RT is were we needed to improve

 

[jday]

Yeah, there's no doubt that we are lucky as hell to have the OL we have, and the drafting of Smith seemed to be the start of a fundamental change in our philosophy as it relates to selecting players.

I'm not too worried about replacing Free, while I think a lot of people underestimated how good he was, Collins is more dynamic. I'm REALLY worried about losing Leary though, he was a cornerstone.

Much hinges on that LG spot and Jaylon, in my opinion, as it pertains to how this team will perform as a whole. We could probably get status quo from our defense if Anthony Hitchens has to play in Jaylon stead. However, if Jaylon is who everyone seems to think he is, that could usher in an era of dominance for this defense. Likewise, if one of the Guards currently trying out for starter should happen to emerge as serviceable or better, this offense could be even better this year. If both things happen, this team will be a juggernaut for the league to deal with...and there are not too many teams I'd bet on against the Cowboys...and even the teams I'd consider betting on I'd do with a high degree of reluctance, reservation and very little money hanging in the balance.

 

[Section446]

Leary wasn't a cornerstone. He was decent no doubt but he is starting to become a legend. La'el is the better player and moving to RT is much more an upgrade. We must need our LG to be just OK playing in between Smith and Frederick. RT is were we needed to improve

I disagree, Leary destroyed people last season, and the Broncos thought enough of him to pay him almost $10 million a year for it. I don't think there's any doubt that we would have been better had we been able to retain Leary (not saying that I wanted to pay him $10 million per).

 

[jday]

Shazier is who the Cowboys really wanted before Pittsburgh snatched him the pick before us.

Dallas settled for Zack Martin. Worked out fine.

Actually, I'm pretty sure the Cowboys wanted Aaron Donald first and Ryan Shazier second. There was another defensive player they were interested in because Zack was fourth or fifth in line if I remember correctly.

 

[Section446]

Much hinges on that LG spot and Jaylon, in my opinion, as it pertains to how this team will perform as a whole. We could probably get status quo from our defense if Anthony Hitchens has to play in Jaylon stead. However, if Jaylon is who everyone seems to think he is, that could usher in an era of dominance for this defense. Likewise, if one of the Guards currently trying out for starter should happen to emerge as serviceable or better, this offense could be even better this year. If both things happen, this team will be a juggernaut for the league to deal with...and there are not too many teams I'd bet on against the Cowboys...and even the teams I'd consider betting on I'd do with a high degree of reluctance, reservation and very little money hanging in the balance.

I genuinely don't expect anything from Jaylon, there are just too many question marks surrounding him and his knee. I think that the Cowboys know that he won't be able to go this year (or at least the first 6 games), which is why they're giving Durant a look.

 

[Section446]

Actually, I'm pretty sure the Cowboys wanted Aaron Donald first and Ryan Shazier second. There was another defensive player they were interested in because Zack was fourth or fifth in line if I remember correctly.

Can you imagine having a guy like Donald? Ugh...

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I disagree, Leary destroyed people last season, and the Broncos thought enough of him to pay him almost $10 million a year for it. I don't think there's any doubt that we would have been better had we been able to retain Leary (not saying that I wanted to pay him $10 million per).

Teams over pay every year for free agents don't mean a thing. Look at what Parnell got.

Leary struggled at times and wasn't even in the top half of the best players on our OL. He can't be a cornerstone when 3 other guys on the line was better.

You can disagree that's your right but why you wanna be wrong I don't know

 

[jday]

I disagree, Leary destroyed people last season, and the Broncos thought enough of him to pay him almost $10 million a year for it. I don't think there's any doubt that we would have been better had we been able to retain Leary (not saying that I wanted to pay him $10 million per).

It may be a bit premature to say we would have been better with Leary. I say that because playing between T Smith and Frederick is a huge advantage for any OL...Leary included. That's not to take anything away from Leary; I liked him as a player. But before you make the projection that we would be better, you might want to see what the crop of guys they throw at the position can do in regular season games. For me, it's between Green, Bell, and Cooper; and I wouldn't be surprised at all if by regular season we've all but forgotten about Leary.

Perhaps that's wishful thinking...but I'm going with it for now.

 

[Section446]

Teams over pay every year for free agents don't mean a thing. Look at what Parnell got.

Leary struggled at times and wasn't even in the top half of the best players on our OL. He can't be a cornerstone when 3 other guys on the line was better.

You can disagree that's your right but why you wanna be wrong I don't know

We'll agree to disagree... we'll feel the loss of Leary.

 

[jday]

I genuinely don't expect anything from Jaylon, there are just too many question marks surrounding him and his knee. I think that the Cowboys know that he won't be able to go this year (or at least the first 6 games), which is why they're giving Durant a look.

Certainly possible, but I honestly think it'll be somewhere in the middle. He'll play in the early going of the season, he just won't get as many snaps as you expect from a starter. They'll be rotation initially as he get's more comfortable in the system. I could see them using him specifically in the Nickel on obvious passing situations, such as 3rd and long.

I think the Durant talk has more to do with the Wilson situation. Durant is better suited for Stronside at this point in his career.

 

[Section446]

It may be a bit premature to say we would have been better with Leary. I say that because playing between T Smith and Frederick is a huge advantage for any OL...Leary included. That's not to take anything away from Leary; I liked him as a player. But before you make the projection that we would be better, you might want to see what the crop of guys they throw at the position can do in regular season games. For me, it's between Green, Bell, and Cooper; and I wouldn't be surprised at all if by regular season we've all but forgotten about Leary.

Perhaps that's wishful thinking...but I'm going with it for now.

Hey, I hope you're right. Personally, I've never thought highly of Green, going back to college... Bell is just a journeyman type, and I think he's better off at OT... Cooper is what he is, a guy with a ton of talent, but has been a monumental bust to this point in his short career. If nothing else, we had a proven commodity at LG last year, and that makes me sleep better at night than a couple guys out of position and a bust. BUT! I hope you're right and I'm dead wrong.

 

[Section446]

Certainly possible, but I honestly think it'll be somewhere in the middle. He'll play in the early going of the season, he just won't get as many snaps as you expect from a starter. They'll be rotation initially as he get's more comfortable in the system. I could see them using him specifically in the Nickel on obvious passing situations, such as 3rd and long.

I think the Durant talk has more to do with the Wilson situation. Durant is better suited for Stronside at this point in his career.

Again, I hope you're right, but until I see him play, I'm going to reserve my excitement.

 

[jday]

Can you imagine having a guy like Donald? Ugh...

Aaron Donald was my pet cat that year. I also happened to be at Cowboys Stadium for that draft and I remember going down the line of guys I wanted with the guy sitting behind me with his kids. I know I wanted Aaron Donald, Ryan Shazier and one other defensive player I can't recall at this moment. But I also liked Zack and remember telling the guy once all those guys were off the board that it would likely be Zack. I was pretty plugged into that draft.

 

[John813]

Actually, I'm pretty sure the Cowboys wanted Aaron Donald first and Ryan Shazier second. There was another defensive player they were interested in because Zack was fourth or fifth in line if I remember correctly.

IIRC it was Anthony Barr

 

[jday]

Again, I hope you're right, but until I see him play, I'm going to reserve my excitement.

Fair enough. Cautiously optimistic is typically the smart play.