RustyBourneHorse
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I know defence is one of our biggest weaknesses. It is an area that we need a lot of improvement. I am also aware that many people want Pitts. I'll admit that Pitts is a monster of a TE. However, Pitts is a luxury pick that I don't think this team can afford with the issues. However, I understand the argument of some that a lot of the defencive options that'd be available to us at 10 may not be 10th overall quality. So, allow me to make the case for drafting oline at 10 if we can't get a trade down.
I'm going to start with a history lesson for comparison. In 2007, the Cowboys led by Tony Romo in his first full season (he took over halfway the previous season) went 13-3 (matching the best record the Cowboys have ever had) and went to the NFC Division Round. Of course, we ended up losing to the eventual SB Champion Giants. I was in 8th grade at the time. If I recall correctly, part of the problem was that the Giants had an excellent defence which managed to shut down our seemingly invincible offense. Additionally, we had a great defence that year. Yet, our weakness in that game was poor oline play if memory serves me right. We saw glimpses of that earlier in the season. Remember the play where Gurode snapped the ball over Romo's head and he had to run about 30 yards back to get it, and he ran about 40 yards for a first down? From that playoff game on until about 2012, our oline deteriorated to the point where Romo started to sustain injuries including his broken collarbone in 2010. So, Jerry finally decided to start addressing the deteriorating oline by drafting the then 20 year old Tyron Smith that first round pick (coincidentally at the 9th overall pick that year) over JJ Watt. This was and still is a slightly debatable pick, but the injury to Romo made drafting Tyron Smith a more obvious choice. He was raw at the time, but he showed promise. As the season went on, he was a bright light for an otherwise awful oline that year, and the team improved to 8-8 from the 6-10 mark the season before.
The next year, we drafted Morris Claiborne to replace Terrance Newman. We also signed rookie UDFA Ronald Leary who rotated with Nate Livings, who was signed to replace Kyle Kosar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Livings). The oline was slightly better, but still needed much improvement. So, the next year the Cowboys traded back and, with the 30th overall pick, took C Travis Frederick, who was considered a reach at the time given his position. Yet, he turned out to be the best C in the league for many seasons. Travis Frederick was BY FAR the best pick we made that draft. We finished 8-8 for a third time, but it was also this season when Romo's previous season beatings started to take a toll, and the defence was absolutely putrid. That 2013 defence was on par with the defence we had last year, and that was saying something. Yet, Romo pulled a miraculous comeback win against the Commanders, despite a noticeable limp for most of the 4th quarter, to improve the team to 8-7 to set up a game the following week against the Eagles with the division on the line. Yet, disaster struck during that game also as it turned out Romo had suffered a herniated disk, an injury that had to be nursed the following season quite heavily. Thus, we lost to the Eagles who lost the wildcard to the New Orleans Saints. The 2014 NFL draft came. Many thought that the Cowboys would take Manziel given Romo's body deteriorating and the need for a new QB apparently approaching. Yet, the Cowboys surprised many people by taking G Zach Martin. This completed the trifecta at oline for the team. In that season, that oline managed to keep Romo healthy for the most part and allowed Demarco Murray to run for an incredible season that year. The team was so good, it managed to defeat the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. Defeating the Seahawks with Wilson and the Legion of Boom was a feat that only the Cardinals the previous season managed to do. This led the Cowboys to a 12-4 season in which the team narrowly lost to the Green Bay Packers in a widely controversial result. For the next 3 seasons, the Cowboys had arguably the best oline in the league until 2017. It was in 2017 that the vaunted Cowboys oline started to show signs of deterioration. T Smith went down and led to the disastrous Falcons game. Free retired leading into the season. Since then, the oline has been in complete deterioration.
Furthermore, one of the reasons we were so successful in 2014 was because our oline allowed us to control the ball. This meant that the defence was on the field less allowing them to be better rested. Oh, and I should add that we lost Sean Lee that training camp which, on paper, made what would've been a terrible defence even worse. Yet, that defence actually played well because they weren't on the field as much. As long as our O controlled the ball, we couldn't lose. The defence didn't have to be on the field much, and they could play with a lead. This led to the defence playing better. We have yet another new DC, but one that has a similar style to what this defence was more familiar with, so I think with that alone, the defence should play better. We've made some good signings in FA. Ironically, I think taking oline at 10 may be the quickest way to fix the DEFENCE, just as it was a big reason why our defence in 2014 was significantly better than the 2013 defence despite not much difference in terms of acquisitions. Additionally, the WFT have made insane strides on their dline to where they have arguably one of the best dlines in the league. The NYG have made great strides at dline as well. So, if we're going to take full advantage of the weapons we have on offense and to be able to compete with the dlines that they have, we need to repair our oline and make sure we maintain it better. Dak had a significant injury. While not in it of itself a direct result of poor oline, but I think that the oline failing played a role in it just as the oline failing Romo played a role in his body beginning to falter. Additionally, Zeke was unable to run last year like we normally expect him to. I know he takes a lot of flack, and, sometimes, he may deserve it. However, with the massive amount of rotation that the oline had, blaming Zeke for the majority of the running issues last year is short-sighted and misses the bigger picture.
This oline is NOT what it once was. If we can start correcting course with this oline to get it closer to its 2013-2016 form, I think we will find a rebirth of Zeke's career. I think Dak will be much healthier and will last longer. I think he'll be in a better position to find the weapons we already have, and, more importantly, our defence will be on the field less as our oline will once more allow us to methodically march down the field wearing the other team out and killing their desire to try to stop us. Thus allowing us to score more TDs because our offense will be dominating the dline. This feeds into a team just as it did in the 2013-2016 seasons. As this happens, our defence will find themselves playing with a lead more often allowing them to take more chances and to attack the QB more knowing that the other team won't be able to run as much, thus disarming the best weapon a team can use against us. Teams won't be able to run against us because the clock will quickly become the enemy of the other team with the way our oline would be able to control the clock like it used to. This is why we should draft oline at 10. Either Sewell, if he falls to us, or Slater.
I'm going to start with a history lesson for comparison. In 2007, the Cowboys led by Tony Romo in his first full season (he took over halfway the previous season) went 13-3 (matching the best record the Cowboys have ever had) and went to the NFC Division Round. Of course, we ended up losing to the eventual SB Champion Giants. I was in 8th grade at the time. If I recall correctly, part of the problem was that the Giants had an excellent defence which managed to shut down our seemingly invincible offense. Additionally, we had a great defence that year. Yet, our weakness in that game was poor oline play if memory serves me right. We saw glimpses of that earlier in the season. Remember the play where Gurode snapped the ball over Romo's head and he had to run about 30 yards back to get it, and he ran about 40 yards for a first down? From that playoff game on until about 2012, our oline deteriorated to the point where Romo started to sustain injuries including his broken collarbone in 2010. So, Jerry finally decided to start addressing the deteriorating oline by drafting the then 20 year old Tyron Smith that first round pick (coincidentally at the 9th overall pick that year) over JJ Watt. This was and still is a slightly debatable pick, but the injury to Romo made drafting Tyron Smith a more obvious choice. He was raw at the time, but he showed promise. As the season went on, he was a bright light for an otherwise awful oline that year, and the team improved to 8-8 from the 6-10 mark the season before.
The next year, we drafted Morris Claiborne to replace Terrance Newman. We also signed rookie UDFA Ronald Leary who rotated with Nate Livings, who was signed to replace Kyle Kosar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Livings). The oline was slightly better, but still needed much improvement. So, the next year the Cowboys traded back and, with the 30th overall pick, took C Travis Frederick, who was considered a reach at the time given his position. Yet, he turned out to be the best C in the league for many seasons. Travis Frederick was BY FAR the best pick we made that draft. We finished 8-8 for a third time, but it was also this season when Romo's previous season beatings started to take a toll, and the defence was absolutely putrid. That 2013 defence was on par with the defence we had last year, and that was saying something. Yet, Romo pulled a miraculous comeback win against the Commanders, despite a noticeable limp for most of the 4th quarter, to improve the team to 8-7 to set up a game the following week against the Eagles with the division on the line. Yet, disaster struck during that game also as it turned out Romo had suffered a herniated disk, an injury that had to be nursed the following season quite heavily. Thus, we lost to the Eagles who lost the wildcard to the New Orleans Saints. The 2014 NFL draft came. Many thought that the Cowboys would take Manziel given Romo's body deteriorating and the need for a new QB apparently approaching. Yet, the Cowboys surprised many people by taking G Zach Martin. This completed the trifecta at oline for the team. In that season, that oline managed to keep Romo healthy for the most part and allowed Demarco Murray to run for an incredible season that year. The team was so good, it managed to defeat the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. Defeating the Seahawks with Wilson and the Legion of Boom was a feat that only the Cardinals the previous season managed to do. This led the Cowboys to a 12-4 season in which the team narrowly lost to the Green Bay Packers in a widely controversial result. For the next 3 seasons, the Cowboys had arguably the best oline in the league until 2017. It was in 2017 that the vaunted Cowboys oline started to show signs of deterioration. T Smith went down and led to the disastrous Falcons game. Free retired leading into the season. Since then, the oline has been in complete deterioration.
Furthermore, one of the reasons we were so successful in 2014 was because our oline allowed us to control the ball. This meant that the defence was on the field less allowing them to be better rested. Oh, and I should add that we lost Sean Lee that training camp which, on paper, made what would've been a terrible defence even worse. Yet, that defence actually played well because they weren't on the field as much. As long as our O controlled the ball, we couldn't lose. The defence didn't have to be on the field much, and they could play with a lead. This led to the defence playing better. We have yet another new DC, but one that has a similar style to what this defence was more familiar with, so I think with that alone, the defence should play better. We've made some good signings in FA. Ironically, I think taking oline at 10 may be the quickest way to fix the DEFENCE, just as it was a big reason why our defence in 2014 was significantly better than the 2013 defence despite not much difference in terms of acquisitions. Additionally, the WFT have made insane strides on their dline to where they have arguably one of the best dlines in the league. The NYG have made great strides at dline as well. So, if we're going to take full advantage of the weapons we have on offense and to be able to compete with the dlines that they have, we need to repair our oline and make sure we maintain it better. Dak had a significant injury. While not in it of itself a direct result of poor oline, but I think that the oline failing played a role in it just as the oline failing Romo played a role in his body beginning to falter. Additionally, Zeke was unable to run last year like we normally expect him to. I know he takes a lot of flack, and, sometimes, he may deserve it. However, with the massive amount of rotation that the oline had, blaming Zeke for the majority of the running issues last year is short-sighted and misses the bigger picture.
This oline is NOT what it once was. If we can start correcting course with this oline to get it closer to its 2013-2016 form, I think we will find a rebirth of Zeke's career. I think Dak will be much healthier and will last longer. I think he'll be in a better position to find the weapons we already have, and, more importantly, our defence will be on the field less as our oline will once more allow us to methodically march down the field wearing the other team out and killing their desire to try to stop us. Thus allowing us to score more TDs because our offense will be dominating the dline. This feeds into a team just as it did in the 2013-2016 seasons. As this happens, our defence will find themselves playing with a lead more often allowing them to take more chances and to attack the QB more knowing that the other team won't be able to run as much, thus disarming the best weapon a team can use against us. Teams won't be able to run against us because the clock will quickly become the enemy of the other team with the way our oline would be able to control the clock like it used to. This is why we should draft oline at 10. Either Sewell, if he falls to us, or Slater.
