Umm, the OL is as bad now as it was under Parcells.

[AMERICAS_FAN]

Parcells had a few "tease-you" teams. Quincy Carter's team went to the playoffs...and lost. So did Bledsoe's/Romo's team under Parcells. The bad OL play exposed Bledsoe as a statue. The scrambling Romo masked its shortcomings, to a point.

The struggles on offense now are STILL rooted with poor OL play. Mickey Spagnola just wrote a telling article about this...how in December, dating back to the last three years with Romo as the starter, Dallas has given up anywhere between 33% and 50% of all its offensive sacks and turnovers (INTSs and fumbles) during this month, which makes up just 25% of the season. WOW!

Much of that has to do with OL breakdowns, and that's the crux of the problem on offense; the OL is as bad now as it was in the Parcells years. Even this year we saw Brad Johnson come in and look like the human statue behind this same OL that Romo looked better against, until December; and just like last year and the year before.

And please, can we not blame this on the loss of Kyle Kossier (sp?)? We simply had no capable backups to fill in; and not only for Kossier, but also for other struggling players that may have been benched on other teams with capable backups. The fact is, Dallas has drafted busts along the OL, from the most recent drafts to those dating backs to all of Parcell's years here.

Last year was an upgrade because we added Leonard (Bigg) Davis, but this year was a wash because we lost Kossier; so the “Bigg” hole at guard continued, just on the other side of the line. And the liability that we have at LT in Flozell Adams once again plagues this team. And there are no backups capable enough to spell any of these players for a series or two during the season.

Thus, this OL wore down this December, as they did in years past, and so badly so, that not even Hudson Hauke could coach it out of them. Ahhh, Hudson Hauke...a GREAT OL coach. Please don't question his credentials. He has skins on the wall. He just needs better players to coach. That’s truly what I believe after watching another year of the "same-old-same-old" from this OL. If Hauke can get better players, then this offense will have the best chance to immediately improve.

Of course other changes are needed on offense, but none of those will have any impact if player-upgrades along the entire OL depth chart are addressed first, IMHO.

 

[TheCount]

The OL is horribly inconsistant and mistake prone, that hasn't changed.

 

[RoadRunner]

The OL is horribly inconsistant and mistake prone, that hasn't changed.

This is the result of refusing to move on from Flozell Adams who is the very definition of inconsistant and mistake prone. He sets the tone for the whole line's play.

 

[TheCount]

This is the result of refusing to move on from Flozell Adams who is the very definition of inconsistant and mistake prone. He sets the tone for the whole line's play.

Gurode makes some bone headed plays every now and then as well. LT is a very difficult position to play though, so I cut Adams a lot of slack, but he's definitely using most of that slack up at this point. To be the most penalized player in the NFL is ridiculous.

 

[Stash]

I would agree that a concerted effort needs to be made to improve the offensive line.

Both the offensive and defensive lines in fact.

If it were my decision to make, I'd use the entire 2009 draft to focus on strengthening in the 'trenches'.

It seems our offensive line consists of too many passive 'fat-cats' who apparently would rather 'take it' than 'dish it out' as long as they can continue to step up to the pay window.

 

[Chuck 54]

Hudson Hauck may have skins on the wall, but other than Kozier's and Flo's injuries, the change from Sparano to Hauck is the common demoninator.

You have to blame the injuries or Hauck for the step backwards in my opinion.

I think we missed Sparano much more than we could have imagined, both as OL coach, running game coordinator, and the fire in the locker room. Garrett had to take on more responsibility in his second year as coordinator without Sparano.

I think the OL will be much better next season.

 

[slogriff]

I think it was Nate Newton on Cowboys Talk 760 that said HH told him he needed better players to coach. I think the big picture change that needs to come from WP or JJ is that if you continuously screw up (practices &/or games) then your playing time will be diminished. It took the last game of the season to have someone replace Proctor at LG (never heard he was hurt) and this is too little too late.

Unfortunately, the dropoff from starter to backups is "apparently" so big they don't feel that is possible. I say screw that. Flozell jumps offsides then you bring Free in for at least a series or two. If you have to change protection schemes to help him out so be it. The message has to be sent unsat performance will have consequences. A little humble pie can go a long ways in making those feet move a little faster or improve a guy's hearing.

 

[Big Dakota]

On the bright side, Jerry gave them all huge long term deals

 

[landryscorner]

Resigning FLozell was a HUGE MISTAKE by the Cowbys let me tell you why...

The #1 EXCUSE that I hear from fans is..."where else are we gonna find a LT like Flozell"

This is a Stupid arguement....because Flozell is Costing us ALOT of money, and for the kind of money that we paid him we could of easily found a much younger and better OL in a trade deal or the FA market.

...and second....while Flozell is good against big Defensive lineman...he is HORRIBLE against speedy OLB in a 3-4 defense...they just eat him up, you began to see how we wasted our money on this guy when OLB just whiz by him....

and theres the ever so faithful False Starts which by the end of his career he will lead the WORLD In...

 

[Doomsday101]

Resigning FLozell was a HUGE MISTAKE by the Cowbys let me tell you why...

The #1 EXCUSE that I hear from fans is..."where else are we gonna find a LT like Flozell"

This is a Stupid arguement....because Flozell is Costing us ALOT of money, and for the kind of money that we paid him we could of easily found a much younger and better OL in a trade deal or the FA market.

...and second....while Flozell is good against big Defensive lineman...he is HORRIBLE against speedy OLB in a 3-4 defense...they just eat him up, you began to see how we wasted our money on this guy when OLB just whiz by him....

and theres the ever so faithful False Starts which by the end of his career he will lead the WORLD In...

Some of this reason you give is why I would like to see him moved to OG where he started when he was a rookie. Dallas did give him big money on an extension so we are not in a position to release him and take the cap hit. On the inside he has the talent to go up against big down lineman and would not have to contend with the outside speed rush.

 

[Sasquatch]

On the bright side, Jerry gave them all huge long term deals

We can always count on you to point out the positives of any given situation. :laugh2:

 

[cowboyz]

Resigning FLozell was a HUGE MISTAKE by the Cowbys let me tell you why...

The #1 EXCUSE that I hear from fans is..."where else are we gonna find a LT like Flozell"

This is a Stupid arguement....because Flozell is Costing us ALOT of money, and for the kind of money that we paid him we could of easily found a much younger and better OL in a trade deal or the FA market.

...and second....while Flozell is good against big Defensive lineman...he is HORRIBLE against speedy OLB in a 3-4 defense...they just eat him up, you began to see how we wasted our money on this guy when OLB just whiz by him....

and theres the ever so faithful False Starts which by the end of his career he will lead the WORLD In...

teams don't give away good LT

who was available last year?

 

[alancdc]

Parcells had a few "tease-you" teams. Quincy Carter's team went to the playoffs...and lost. So did Bledsoe's/Romo's team under Parcells. The bad OL play exposed Bledsoe as a statue. The scrambling Romo masked its shortcomings, to a point.

The struggles on offense now are STILL rooted with poor OL play. Mickey Spagnola just wrote a telling article about this...how in December, dating back to the last three years with Romo as the starter, Dallas has given up anywhere between 33% and 50% of all its offensive sacks and turnovers (INTSs and fumbles) during this month, which makes up just 25% of the season. WOW!

Much of that has to do with OL breakdowns, and that's the crux of the problem on offense; the OL is as bad now as it was in the Parcells years. Even this year we saw Brad Johnson come in and look like the human statue behind this same OL that Romo looked better against, until December; and just like last year and the year before.

And please, can we not blame this on the loss of Kyle Kossier (sp?)? We simply had no capable backups to fill in; and not only for Kossier, but also for other struggling players that may have been benched on other teams with capable backups. The fact is, Dallas has drafted busts along the OL, from the most recent drafts to those dating backs to all of Parcell's years here.

Last year was an upgrade because we added Leonard (Bigg) Davis, but this year was a wash because we lost Kossier; so the “Bigg” hole at guard continued, just on the other side of the line. And the liability that we have at LT in Flozell Adams once again plagues this team. And there are no backups capable enough to spell any of these players for a series or two during the season.

Thus, this OL wore down this December, as they did in years past, and so badly so, that not even Hudson Hauke could coach it out of them. Ahhh, Hudson Hauke...a GREAT OL coach. Please don't question his credentials. He has skins on the wall. He just needs better players to coach. That’s truly what I believe after watching another year of the "same-old-same-old" from this OL. If Hauke can get better players, then this offense will have the best chance to immediately improve.

Of course other changes are needed on offense, but none of those will have any impact if player-upgrades along the entire OL depth chart are addressed first, IMHO.

....At least we have them signed to huge long term deals though!

 

[tunahelper]

I agree and made a thread about this being the biggest problem on the team. If you grade each position not one would have executed their assignments week in week out consistently.

 

[Idgit]

I think it was Nate Newton on Cowboys Talk 760 that said HH told him he needed better players to coach. I think the big picture change that needs to come from WP or JJ is that if you continuously screw up (practices &/or games) then your playing time will be diminished. It took the last game of the season to have someone replace Proctor at LG (never heard he was hurt) and this is too little too late.

Unfortunately, the dropoff from starter to backups is "apparently" so big they don't feel that is possible. I say screw that. Flozell jumps offsides then you bring Free in for at least a series or two. If you have to change protection schemes to help him out so be it. The message has to be sent unsat performance will have consequences. A little humble pie can go a long ways in making those feet move a little faster or improve a guy's hearing.

This is interesting. I'd love to hear more about what qualified observers think about the OL. I can only tell when they're obviously messing up.

OL is one place where I wouldn't spell players, though. Doug Free only needs one big mistake to have Romo lost of the year. There needs to be a minimum threshold for performance before you sub anybody. That said, this team should have at least 8 starting-quality players on the OL at all times. Right now we've got 6 I'd be comfortable with playing for any length of time.

 

[RoadRunner]

On the bright side, Jerry gave them all huge long term deals

The choice of smiley added a cherry to the top of this post. Its perfect.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

Proctor started 10 games.....that doesn't give the other Olineman a pass however the poor line play is clearly centered around that.

 

[gimmesix]

This is the result of refusing to move on from Flozell Adams who is the very definition of inconsistant and mistake prone. He sets the tone for the whole line's play.

Adams' play was poor this year, but he had a very solid season last year. So, what's the difference?

Could it be the change in line coaches? Probably not considering who we got.

Could it be injuries? I think this was a major contributor early with shoulder and hand injuries limiting his effectiveness.

Could it be because of the inadequacies are left guard? I think this was the main contributor because Adams has only ever been as good as the player next to him. Failures next to him seem to disrupt or distract Adams, and cause him to make mistakes that just add to the problem.

So that said, I don't think Adams is a problem as long as he has a solid player next to him. Hopefully, next year we can get both Holland and Kosier, and add a couple of linemen, so we don't have to put in someone who is going to cause the whole line to collapse.

One year ago, we had a line that many considered among the best in the league. So, obviously, we have to look at what changed this year to change that ... and the obvious answer is left guard. It's either that or a new line coach, and I just don't think that was the problem.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

I honestly don't know what you do at this point. We have thrown money, draft picks and supposedly great coaching at the position and yet the Offensvie Line still struggles.

I remember when Tony Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe the sacks decreased and therefore many felt that the Offensive Line had gotten a bad rap because Drew Bledsoe was such a statue. I believe Tony Romo is still bothered by his back and I think that decreases his mobility and you see more sacks.

Now, I don't think the Offensive Line is as bad as the 2005 Offensive Line when we had the worst Offensive Tackles in Football but the 2008 Offensive Line struggled quite a bit.

 

[RoadRunner]

Adams' play was poor this year, but he had a very solid season last year. So, what's the difference?

Could it be the change in line coaches? Probably not considering who we got.

Could it be injuries? I think this was a major contributor early with shoulder and hand injuries limiting his effectiveness.

Could it be because of the inadequacies are left guard? I think this was the main contributor because Adams has only ever been as good as the player next to him. Failures next to him seem to disrupt or distract Adams, and cause him to make mistakes that just add to the problem.

So that said, I don't think Adams is a problem as long as he has a solid player next to him. Hopefully, next year we can get both Holland and Kosier, and add a couple of linemen, so we don't have to put in someone who is going to cause the whole line to collapse.

One year ago, we had a line that many considered among the best in the league. So, obviously, we have to look at what changed this year to change that ... and the obvious answer is left guard. It's either that or a new line coach, and I just don't think that was the problem.

Flozell has had one good year in Dallas. Just one. The rest have been the same as what you saw this season. Been watching this guy false start and whiff block for the better part of a decade now. He keeps getting rewarded for playing like an idiot with huge sums of money, because he looks like he should be a good player. I believe this creeps into the heads of the other lineman who feed off Flo's bad habits.