Team being held hostage again, Sean Lee over again

A few years ago, when Sean Lee was able to play, he was still one of the best linebackers in the entire league. Problem is he just couldn't be trusted to stay healthy for a full 16 game season. This ultimately led to the team using a 1st rd pick at the position as they just couldn't count on Lee any longer.

I see the same problem now with Tyron Smith. Just 30 years old, but the last time he played a full season was 2015. Still good when healthy, but a major drop-off when out of action. We saw what happens when a team loses their starting Left Tackle in the Super Bowl, just cannot compete.

We are well aware of our needs on the defensive side of the football, but if our line struggles, it won't matter how good we are on the other side of the football. It's not just Tyron either, Frederick has retired, Martin is starting to show his age and Collins is coming off of major hip surgery. Time is now to reload along the OL.

 

It'll be smart to start rebuilding the line here and there before we get surprised again by a sudden retirement.

I just hope this time they can find guys who are good starters but don't have to spend 1st rounders over the next handful of years to actually rebuild the line.

I'm not sold on Slater being a LT in the NFL. See him more of a Collins/Martin G/RT type of guy.

 

So when do we ever get serious about defense? Until we do, losing our left tackle in a Super Bowl is a problem that will never happen.

 

The Cowboys need to rebuild the whole team but the Joneses see an opportunity to win the East because there are currently no quarterbacks in the division. The offensive line is the least of our problems as even without Collins, Tyron, and Martin at the end of the season it was still the second best in the division by a small margin to Washington. I am more concerned that Zake has lost it and our defense is trash.

 

This. Defense >>>>> OL

 

I agree. People tend to ignore the OL issues we have. They think the offense is set and all we need to do is improve D. Our offense is set at skilled positions, but that's it. The offensive line is a big question mark.

 

Yep i think we CAN fix the offense this year in the draft and offseason but the defense is gonna take a few years. I would finish off the offense this year if we trade prescott we could get enough draft capital to completely restock the offense with say jones from bama and with the pick we get and use our 10 on pitts if he is there then use the 2nd to get the best offensive lineman we can find. Then with our later picks get the best defense we can get along with the 40 million we save we can invest in it as well. I dont see us winning with 40 million spent on a qb that is a fringe top 10 qb.

 

First, I agree with you on Tyron Smith, but I don't think it is as bad as Sean Lee. However, as George Young once said, it is better to let a player go a year to early than a year too late. I advocated finding a replacement for Smith last offseason. I still think they need to have a backup plan for Smith but what we learned last year is a capable backup might be good enough if Smith is the only player on the line to go down with an injury. IMO, if they resign Erving to be the backup, they will probably have enough to cover for him when he has to miss games. If they lose 3 guys again, that's too much for any team to deal with.

If not for the historically bad defense last year, I would be fine using the first pick in the draft for a LT. But defense has to be the priority. I think DE is probably the only position that is not an immediate need on defense. If you are worried about Tyron Smith, then how about LVE? Smith is dealing with age and years of pounding. What is LVE's excuse? If Lewis and Awuzie are not resigned, and my guess is they are not, then the Cowboys are short on CBs too. And we already know the problems at DT and S.

When you consider the Cowboys health problems on the OL, the potential loss of 3 CBs in 2 years, LVE's injury issues, Dak not being signed, still no solutions at DT and S after years, Zeke apparently slowing down while getting paid more than ever, this team is an absolute mess. There are lots of problems that are not going to get solved in 1 year so they need to prioritize. LT is on the list but not at the top of the list, IMO.

 

I think finding an immediate starting option should be an off-season priority. It doesn't mean we have to use our 10th overall pick, but one has to be drafted sometime in the first two days of the draft.

 

They cannot be successful without a strong OL, especially now that the division has drafted to combat that strength from the Cowboys.

 

Wow.

The strength became a problem again before we were able to build the perfect roster everywhere else?

Amazing how that goes.

At some point there can't be premium picks spent everywhere. Coaching has to overcome those weaknesses.

Too many teams are getting away with much less on the OL.

 

Here's the deal:

Smith and Collins MAY be able to come back and be as good as the last couple of years, or at least close to it. Cowboys know more about what was done in surgery and how the players are progressing. "Surgery" covers a broad spectrum of procedures, getting a wisdom tooth pulled is surgery and so is a heart transplant, but there's a huge difference in recovery time and potential. Surgery for Collins could have been just removing some bone spurs, which isn't hard to recover from. IF they recover well we're good to go this coming season.

But the defense was awful, there are lots of free agents on the defense. Defense is in a world of trouble.

Defense needs more attention at this time....

 

People keep trying to come up with creative ways to justify another OL in the first round.

Crazy idea. Draft and develop OL from the middle rounds like other teams do. I know, crazy talk.

 

Anybody wanting to go offense with a OT or TE (good grief) don't say one word about how the defense can't stop anybody. Look, the biggest issue on the team is Defense, all of it...no amount of OL or signing of Dak is going to change this team's fortune more than fixing the defense.

 

Tyron was also good enough to make the Pro Bowl four of those 13 game seasons and First Team All-Pro for one.

Now, name recognition probably helped and making a Pro Bowl is easier when everyone starts dropping out, but the guy's not horrible. If he breaks down this year and can't finish, then yes, we'll need to start thinking about this more, but our defense is atrocious.

 

PART OF ME wouldn't mind Pitts at 10. But that wouldnt help the defense.

 

Wash and the Gents are assembling very good defenses. Too bad the offense sucks. Where we are the opposite. Neither of them have a QB. We do. We have this division if we can field a middle of the pack opportunistic D.

 

You can’t equate one player to another. That’s just ridiculous and naive. I remember when Lee was drafted I knew he wouldn’t last long just like Dat Nguen. Just too small to play the position. Tyron is a beast of a man. He’s not injury prone but had a neck issue that is apparently fixed. He’s a bargain and under contract. Martin is in the prime of his career. La’el is just getting started. Biadasz showed he should’ve been the starter since day 1. Nothing wrong with picking a good prospect in the first few rounds but rebuild the entire OL? Naw.

 

It absolutely does not help to fix the offensive line if our defense is in shambles. I mean, we've had one of the best in the business and where has that got us?

I'd rather see us take a chance on the line holding up and fix the defense. There's a better chance of the line being good enough than the defense being good enough without a major retooling. If the line does fall apart, then we can begin reloading it next year. If it does hold up and we fix the defense, then we have a chance to compete.

 

we been held hostage since 1994-1995 when Jerry let the best FB man and HC we have had since Tom lol...go. We are at the mercy right now of Jerry and Daks agent actually. Scary thought. WHO will blink first?