The root of all our problems. (not Dak or the defense)

[Soth]

It is all about the O-line. We have invested significant resources into the o-line, including multiple premium draft picks and a ton of salary cap.

For the first time in decades, the Cowboys have an overall strategy, and that is to build a team around an ELITE O-LINE. Not a good or decent o-line, but an elite one. We have 3 pro bowlers and an RT that is supposed to be a pro bowler one day.

An elite o-line allows our elite back to get 5+ yards per attempt and 150+ yards per game. 3.5 yards per run is not good enough.

An elite o-line allows our second year QB an opportunity to make plays without getting hurried every play.

An elite o-line helps us dominate time of possession and keep our defense off the field.

Finally, an elite o-line helps us wear the opposing defense down to the point where we can finish games without too much drama.

The coaches need to figure out the problems with our o-line ASAP. If the o-line starts playing at an elite level again, everything else will start working again. We don't have an elite defense, or QB or coaching staff, etc. I mean, we have Heath at safety, a guy that was out of football for a year as our starting LB, a bunch of rookies at CB, etc. We have a very young QB that is still developing and receivers that are inconsistent. We have a decent coaching staff that is not going to out coach other teams.

It is all about the o-line.

 

[GORICO]

It is all about the O-line. We have invested significant resources into the o-line, including multiple premium draft picks and a ton of salary cap.

For the first time in decades, the Cowboys have an overall strategy, and that is to build a team around an ELITE O-LINE. Not a good or decent o-line, but an elite one. We have 3 pro bowlers and an RT that is supposed to be a pro bowler one day.

An elite o-line allows our elite back to get 5+ yards per attempt and 150+ yards per game. 3.5 yards per run is not good enough.

An elite o-line allows our second year QB an opportunity to make plays without getting hurried every play.

An elite o-line helps us dominate time of possession and keep our defense off the field.

Finally, an elite o-line helps us wear the opposing defense down to the point where we can finish games without too much drama.

The coaches need to figure out the problems with our o-line ASAP. If the o-line starts playing at an elite level again, everything else will start working again. We don't have an elite defense, or QB or coaching staff, etc. I mean, we have Heath at safety, a guy that was out of football for a year as our starting LB, a bunch of rookies at CB, etc. We have a very young QB that is still developing and receivers that are inconsistent. We have a decent coaching staff that is not going to out coach other teams.

It is all about the o-line.

Soth--- i do not disagree with your assessment..with that...if you start out with a faulty model it only gets worse...the strategy to make our team revolve around one unit is ...not sustainable...it worked last year but as with all things NFL a blueprint to defend it will emerge...so in my opinion
its not a problem with O Line ....it is the coaching...why do the patriots always stay upper echelon?....not just because of Brady even though he is tops...last year they went 3-1 without Brady and that included a rookie QB start...it is coaching and scheme and adjustments ....and of course i am including top notch personnel directors..( i include that in Coaching...broadly speaking )

 

[Corso]

La'el needs time to get acclimated to playing RT at the NFL level after playing G for a few years.
The RG position is in flux and the continuity of the OL is gone. Free was considered the elder statesman and leader of them and he's gone.
Frederick is the new leader and the middle of the OL is getting stuffed with much more frequency.

This is not going to be a quick fix and switching Chaz Injury and La'el's positions aren't going to be the fix some think it will be.

We all should recall and remember fondly how the OL really took off when Leary was inserted into the G position last year for Collins because of injury.

That old boy never sniffed the field from that point that year.

 

[haleyrules]

The OL is certainly the root of the Cowboys offensive problems. The club has given up nearly 80 points in the 2 loses...that's not offense...the Cowboys have serious defensive troubles that are much deeper and harder to fix than an OL that is off to a rough start. The OL is not bad...but the Defense is.

 

[TheCritic]

The one lineman that actually worries me is Zack Martin. I’ve never seen him get thrown around like that. But there is a silver lining here. The offensive line hasn’t been challenged like this for a while. Maybe they need the wake up call. It’s too early in the season to tell.

 

[gmoney112]

La'el needs time to get acclimated to playing RT at the NFL level after playing G for a few years.
The RG position is in flux and the continuity of the OL is gone. Free was considered the elder statesman and leader of them and he's gone.
Frederick is the new leader and the middle of the OL is getting stuffed with much more frequency.

This is not going to be a quick fix and switching Chaz Injury and La'el's positions aren't going to be the fix some think it will be.

We all should recall and remember fondly how the OL really took off when Leary was inserted into the G position last year for Collins because of injury.

That old boy never sniffed the field from that point that year.

Pretty sure it's LG. RG is Martin

 

[Corso]

Pretty sure it's LG. RG is Martin

My biz-ad. You get cookies. The Girl Scout ones because they're pretty good.

 

[Gameover]

Dak of last year wouldn't need an OL.

That guy had an arm. This guy has stick um on his hand.

Dak hits Dez in stride on 3rd down last year.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I agree that the offensive line play has not been up to par, but the real problem with the Cowboys is they lack identity.

It's like watching four different teams for four games. The Cowboys have been solid (vs. the Giants), awful (at the Broncos), resilient (at the Cardinals), and chokers (vs. the Rams).

I put this on the coaching staff. If Dak Prescott struggles some from the pocket, move him around a little more. Let's draw up some more creative running plays. Let's design some ways to get the ball into Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley's hands.

The job of a coaching staff is to maximize the talent at hand. The Cowboys have not done that.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Todd Archer posted that we have been outscored 34-7 in the 3rd quarter this year. That shows a definite lack of something at the half.

 

[Aven8]

I'm really sick of everyone labeling us as the best Oline in football myself! Who doesn't want to get up to play that?

 

[MRV52]

The root of our problem is coaching, they suck.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I'm really sick of everyone labeling us as the best Oline in football myself! Who doesn't want to get up to play that?

Great point. Some were saying the Raiders had the best o-line too, and they've been crap the past two weeks.

 

[Aven8]

The root of our problem is coaching, they suck.

 

[percyhoward]

Todd Archer posted that we have been outscored 34-7 in the 3rd quarter this year. That shows a definite lack of something at the half.

It may just be one of those small-sample stats that means nothing, but we've been outscored 51-13 in the 1st and 3rd quarters combined.

We've outscored the opponent 81-46 in the 2nd and 4th.

 

[LocimusPrime]

We spent lots of monies and draft picks ( high ones ) on the Oline, so we shouldn't even be worried about it, but yet it's not performing up to its level of pay!

The defense on the other hand is just junky. The Dline is average at best, the front seven (without lee) is below average. The secondary is just too young, and safeties are terrible.

Let's take a look at the linebackers :

• Wilson ( I don't think he's that good - the game announcers even said he's no good in coverage, but yet he's not a physical guy either ).
• Wilbur - special teams guy
• Jaylon - Pff has him rated below average at 51.2 But let me say that he shouldn't be playing...he should be healing and slowly worked into the defense. We should judge him in 2018, instead of this season. This doesn't really help us now though.
• Lee - all pro
• Hitchens - jAG but after watching the other guys, I miss him lol.

 

[Soth]

The OL is certainly the root of the Cowboys offensive problems. The club has given up nearly 80 points in the 2 loses...that's not offense...the Cowboys have serious defensive troubles that are much deeper and harder to fix than an OL that is off to a rough start. The OL is not bad...but the Defense is.

I know the defense sucks, but what do we expect? The front office has not invested in the defense. My point is that their plan was to have an elite offensive line and go cheap on the defense. Their idea was that the OL would carry the team and allow the defense to be fresh and play conservative. I am not saying this was a good plan, but this is what we have right now. We can't add talent to our defense at this point. We used several picks on defense this year, but picks take time to develop and we really needed to add at least a couple of decent free agents.

Just look at the difference in talent and experience across the different units.

OL: Smith is a top 3 LT, Fred is a top 3 center, and Martin is supposed to be the best RG in the NFL. Collins is supposed to be a future pro bowler. "Not bad" is really not enough for this group. They have to be DOMINANT. These guys are all in their prime.

LBs: Lee is the only good player, Smith is lucky to be playing, Durant is a JAG, Wilson would not start on any team. This unit is so bad that we are expecting Hitchens to save us.

CBs: Heath, Frazier, Jones, Brown and a bunch of rookies. Jones is the only one with talent but he has issues with zone coverage. Carroll is terrible. O-scan is getting older and has been injured a lot. This group may be good in next year but for now it really lacks talent and experience.

DL: D-law is the only legitimate threat, maybe Collins but he is still young and inconsistent. The rest are JAGs. We have invested almost nothing on our DL. Taco is still too inexperienced.

I just don't have a lot of hope for our defense. We will need to score a ton of points and dominate TOP if we want a shot at the playoffs. And to do this we need the OL to be better.

 

[DandyDon52]

Coaching and the Jones boys are the main problem period.
And don't forget they are the ones that hire the coaches.
On Switzer punt fumble Dallas led 17 to 6 so the coaches should have told him to fair catch the punt, they didn't .
they may have even told him to run it so then we wound up with a fumble and the Rams score that's how coaching can affect the game and the players.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

It is all about the O-line. We have invested significant resources into the o-line, including multiple premium draft picks and a ton of salary cap.

For the first time in decades, the Cowboys have an overall strategy, and that is to build a team around an ELITE O-LINE. Not a good or decent o-line, but an elite one. We have 3 pro bowlers and an RT that is supposed to be a pro bowler one day.

An elite o-line allows our elite back to get 5+ yards per attempt and 150+ yards per game. 3.5 yards per run is not good enough.

An elite o-line allows our second year QB an opportunity to make plays without getting hurried every play.

An elite o-line helps us dominate time of possession and keep our defense off the field.

Finally, an elite o-line helps us wear the opposing defense down to the point where we can finish games without too much drama.

The coaches need to figure out the problems with our o-line ASAP. If the o-line starts playing at an elite level again, everything else will start working again. We don't have an elite defense, or QB or coaching staff, etc. I mean, we have Heath at safety, a guy that was out of football for a year as our starting LB, a bunch of rookies at CB, etc. We have a very young QB that is still developing and receivers that are inconsistent. We have a decent coaching staff that is not going to out coach other teams.

It is all about the o-line.

Dear lad. Do ya halve any other diversions, now, will'a?

 

[Jake]

It is all about the O-line. We have invested significant resources into the o-line, including multiple premium draft picks and a ton of salary cap.

For the first time in decades, the Cowboys have an overall strategy, and that is to build a team around an ELITE O-LINE. Not a good or decent o-line, but an elite one. We have 3 pro bowlers and an RT that is supposed to be a pro bowler one day.

An elite o-line allows our elite back to get 5+ yards per attempt and 150+ yards per game. 3.5 yards per run is not good enough.

An elite o-line allows our second year QB an opportunity to make plays without getting hurried every play.

An elite o-line helps us dominate time of possession and keep our defense off the field.

Finally, an elite o-line helps us wear the opposing defense down to the point where we can finish games without too much drama.

The coaches need to figure out the problems with our o-line ASAP. If the o-line starts playing at an elite level again, everything else will start working again. We don't have an elite defense, or QB or coaching staff, etc. I mean, we have Heath at safety, a guy that was out of football for a year as our starting LB, a bunch of rookies at CB, etc. We have a very young QB that is still developing and receivers that are inconsistent. We have a decent coaching staff that is not going to out coach other teams.

It is all about the o-line.

It's the defense.