Scout's Notebook: 5 Best Linemen; Webb Improving

[IrishAnto]

I think this is exactly right.

Where I have trouble is Kowalski v. Arkin. I think Kowalski is actually the better player overall, but Arkin's a Bad Penny you can't get rid of because he's the only guy who's never hurt. I only have one of them making the roster, but I go back and forth over which one it should be.

If Kowalski can stay healthy he has at least shown he can more than hold his own against a good defense, which is a lot more than you can say about Arkin.

 

[Idgit]

If Kowalski can stay healthy he has at least shown he can more than hold his own against a good defense, which is a lot more than you can say about Arkin.

Yep. But he can't stay healthy.

I'm leaning towards Kowalski still (I've always been more in his camp, but his injury again, and Arkin staying healthy and playing better has me waffling). It's hard to tell the difference between a chronic problem and a couple incidences of bad luck sometimes.

 

[IrishAnto]

Yep. But he can't stay healthy.

I'm leaning towards Kowalski still (I've always been more in his camp, but his injury again, and Arkin staying healthy and playing better has me waffling). It's hard to tell the difference between a chronic problem and a couple incidences of bad luck sometimes.

Indeed it is hard to tell whether Kowalski just has had some bad luck or if he’s an injury waiting to happen.

I guess you could look at his overall career to date to get a better idea.

What sells it for me though is if the coaches thought Arkin was up to the job, then why play Free at guard?

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Although Im not very High on Bernie,...I tend to agree with Brian that the best starting five for now is........ Smith....Leary....Frederick...Bernie.... Free.

I think moving Free to guard and starting Parnell at right tackle is more a contingency plan in case Leary isnt ready for the season opener. Ultimately I would very much like to see someone else brought in to take Bernies spot at right guard. Whether it be Waters,....a vet that gets cut on final cutdown day from another team,.... or maybe even a trade.

 

[Fredd]

I am on the fence regarding Free/Parnell v. Berny/Free

* Free/Parnell gives you (potentially) the best 5 eventually, but there are concerns with Parnell being able to handle the position (we just haven't seen him enough); plus Free has only played guard for 30 seconds
* Berny/Free likely gives you the best 5 right this minute, but Berny is an injury waiting to happen

IMO, if Parnell can be passable at RT in the next 10 days of practice, then you start him next to Free against the Giants and let him learn on the run

 

[TheSport78]

I agree. I don't think Broaddus is a true scout. Decent reporter, but I think in the end you gotta give it to Arkin. It's his 3rd year ad he's at least coming on.

Not a true scout? He has a Super Bowl ring from when he worked in Green Bay.

 

[jobberone]

Indeed it is hard to tell whether Kowalski just has had some bad luck or if he’s an injury waiting to happen.

I guess you could look at his overall career to date to get a better idea.

What sells it for me though is if the coaches thought Arkin was up to the job, then why play Free at guard?

Parnell needs snaps at RT and they could do that by moving Free to RG and get a look at him at G as well. That was a great idea.

People here still either scoff or ignore me when I say Bernie can be dominant at times. He's just so darned inconsistent with his feet. He has the anchor and the upper body strength to stop people. He just gets out of position to do it. And while Broaddus may not agree I think he gets off the snap late at times.

Both Arkin and Ski have potential. I haven't looked at either hard enough to say a lot. Ski seems to not get his name mentioned a lot when in there which is mostly a good thing. Arkin is mobile.

 

[IrishAnto]

Parnell needs snaps at RT and they could do that by moving Free to RG and get a look at him at G as well. That was a great idea.

People here still either scoff or ignore me when I say Bernie can be dominant at times. He's just so darned inconsistent with his feet. He has the anchor and the upper body strength to stop people. He just gets out of position to do it. And while Broaddus may not agree I think he gets off the snap late at times.

Both Arkin and Ski have potential. I haven't looked at either hard enough to say a lot. Ski seems to not get his name mentioned a lot when in there which is mostly a good thing. Arkin is mobile.

Parnell definitely needs the snaps but then the same could be said about Kowalski who’s also coming back from injury.

Moving Free to guard means we now have three moving parts on the OL.

A lot was made about the lack of continuity on the OL last year and I don’t see how this particular experiment helps that.

To me it says more about how they view any guard not called Bernadeau or Leary.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

Parnell definitely needs the snaps but then the same could be said about Kowalski who’s also coming back from injury.

Moving Free to guard means we now have three moving parts on the OL.

A lot was made about the lack of continuity on the OL last year and I don’t see how this particular experiment helps that.

To me it says more about how they view any guard not called Bernadeau or Leary.

Meh. The OL will be fine. It always is. All you have to do is move a very tall underperforming RT (being paid like a decent LT) one spot over to a position he's never played before with about two weeks to go before the opener and replace him with a mostly untested, moderate-ceiling guy. It's so crazy it just might work!

"I think it's brilliant!"

Man, it's hard to find Steve Martin clips on the webs. Anybody know where I can get the one from Roxanne of his reaction to the mayor's (Fred Willard) plan to draw more tourists to their ski town by teaching a cow to drink beer? Anyway, that's what I would link to here if I could.

 

[jobberone]

Parnell definitely needs the snaps but then the same could be said about Kowalski who’s also coming back from injury.

Moving Free to guard means we now have three moving parts on the OL.

A lot was made about the lack of continuity on the OL last year and I don’t see how this particular experiment helps that.

To me it says more about how they view any guard not called Bernadeau or Leary.

You may be right or they may be looking for contingencies amongst the starters or those on game day which is my best guess.

I see Smith, Free, and Parnell as the tackles on game day.
Leary, Bernie, (Arkin/Ski)
Fred, Costa at the centers.

I don't know how many they will carry game day. 7-8 is my guess.

 

[jobberone]

Meh. The OL will be fine. It always is. All you have to do is move a very tall underperforming RT (being paid like a decent LT) one spot over to a position he's never played before with about two weeks to go before the opener and replace him with a mostly untested, moderate-ceiling guy. It's so crazy it just might work!

"I think it's brilliant!"

Man, it's hard to find Steve Martin clips on the webs. Anybody know where I can get the one from Roxanne of his reaction to the mayor's (Fred Willard) plan to draw more tourists to their ski town by teaching a cow to drink beer? Anyway, that's what I would link to here if I could.

Yeah, who cares what they play like when they get moved around. The very fact they are moved is a recipe for disaster. One more time, I've never been on a football team that wasn't moving players around due to injuries. That's not always comfortable and at times you pretty much know that might be a problem. OTOH, giving others a chance to perform in playing conditions gives them a chance to shine. Many, many new guys got their start due to injuries to starters.

Free underperformed at times the first two thirds of last year. He's played solid the last 4 games of last year and into camp and the preseason both at tackle and at guard. Parnell and Smith played well the last 4 games as well. Other than to bemoan moving people around as if that's always a bad idea you aren't saying anything about how they are actually playing.

 

[IrishAnto]

You may be right or they may be looking for contingencies amongst the starters or those on game day which is my best guess.

I see Smith, Free, and Parnell as the tackles on game day.
Leary, Bernie, (Arkin/Ski)
Fred, Costa at the centers.

I don't know how many they will carry game day. 7-8 is my guess.

I have no doubt they are looking at contingencies on the OL but to me you don’t make the quite considerable change they did to cover the absence of the starting LG (Leary) if your happy with what you’ve got with Arkin and Kowalski (or any other interior lineman for that matter).

The fact they’ve courted Moore and Waters also leads me to the same conclusion.

I would not be in the least bit surprised to learn that one of our starting guards (or the primary backup) is not currently on the roster.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Interesting comments about Armstrong. I don't see how he m akes the final 53. I wonder if the brass will try to get him on the PS squad.

Im not sure he'd be eligible for the PS anymore, would he?

 

[RoyTheHammer]

That Parcells reference was a direct shot at Coale and Beasley, neither of which are tough enough to handle special teams. I really like the idea of having our own Wes Welker but so far neither of these guys looks like they can fill that role. The team would definitely get more snaps out of Armstrong ,,, unless of course the team is hiding these guy's plays and saving it for the big "secret sauce" reveal!

I don't see how anyone could think Armstrong would get more snaps than Beasley if we are talking about just offense. Besides the fact that i can't remember a single play he's made this preseason. I think this is just another one of Broaddus' man crush moments. Armstrong has done nothing in preseason to outperform Beasley, even with Beasley missing the last couple games.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Im not sure he'd be eligible for the PS anymore, would he?

WG already said no.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

EGG said: ↑
That Parcells reference was a direct shot at Coale and Beasley, neither of which are tough enough to handle special teams.

I don't see how anyone could think Armstrong would get more snaps than Beasley if we are talking about just offense. .

You quoted the answer AND you answered your own question,,, and you still missed the boat. It's a new world record!

 

[RoyTheHammer]

You quoted the answer AND you answered your own question,,, and you still missed the boat. It's a new world record!

Except that, iirc, Beasley has been used on ST's during the preseason.

Not that it matters really, because he's head and shoulders above Armstrong in the value that he brings to this offense.

Armstrong, unfortunately, is the one who missed the boat..

 

[conner01]

You do have to ask the question though, why start Free at RG when he’s never played the position, doesn’t appear suited to the position and has been playing quite well at RT over Arkin who has been practicing at guard/centre these last three years.

That tells me the coaches don’t think he improved enough.

or he is better than our next best option at guard. it is obvious that the staff knows we are in trouble at guard. thats why they went out and tried to sign two retired guys. bernie and free to me are about equal at guard based on what i seen from free in Cinn., but free should get better there as he plays more and bernie is not going to get any better. arkin is ok as a backup but at this point it seems obvious to me arkin is never going to be a starter. i like killer about the same, decent backup but not a starter.

 

[IrishAnto]

or he is better than our next best option at guard. it is obvious that the staff knows we are in trouble at guard. thats why they went out and tried to sign two retired guys. bernie and free to me are about equal at guard based on what i seen from free in Cinn., but free should get better there as he plays more and bernie is not going to get any better. arkin is ok as a backup but at this point it seems obvious to me arkin is never going to be a starter. i like killer about the same, decent backup but not a starter.

First of all I wouldn’t assume Free is better than Bernadeau based on one preseason game.

Secondly of Free ends up as our starting RG then I think we’re in big trouble. Apart from the Cincy game he’s never played it and doesn’t appear to have the body type suited to the position (how many successful 6-6 guards can you name).

Listening to Talking Cowboys their impression is that Parnell is still affected from whatever ails him and as he doesn’t have much experience to begin with I think it’s a lethal combination (for Romo anyway).

The only other viable option at RT would seem to be Bell but that would be dependent on him getting in shape.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

Yeah, who cares what they play like when they get moved around. The very fact they are moved is a recipe for disaster. One more time, I've never been on a football team that wasn't moving players around due to injuries. That's not always comfortable and at times you pretty much know that might be a problem. OTOH, giving others a chance to perform in playing conditions gives them a chance to shine. Many, many new guys got their start due to injuries to starters.

Free underperformed at times the first two thirds of last year. He's played solid the last 4 games of last year and into camp and the preseason both at tackle and at guard. Parnell and Smith played well the last 4 games as well. Other than to bemoan moving people around as if that's always a bad idea you aren't saying anything about how they are actually playing.

I don't view it necessarily as a recipe for disaster. It very well may be the best thing to do under current circumstances.

I have a problem with the optimistic set of assumptions and assessments that sprang forth in here when it was revealed and confirmed. I'm skeptical that this will work and I doubt it was as fully planned and prepped as team officials are making it sound. Note, I don't mean 'cynical' by 'skeptical'. There's an important difference. I just want much better evidence that this will work than is currently available. To me, this was cobbled together pretty much at the last minute until proven otherwise.