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2010-2011 Preseason: Does O-Line Mean Old
Line
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- August 22,
2010
At 11:45 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf
Much has been made of the 30+ year old average age of the Cowboys’
offensive line. The older you get the harder it is to remain in good
condition.
The offensive lines – for example – John Elway enjoyed under Mike
Shanahan with the Denver Broncos were smaller and far more athletic
than the type of offensive lines the Cowboys have utilized through
Hudson Houck. Denver’s lines – in general – were able to remain
intact longer, and they were not incredibly young, either.
The Cowboys’ current offensive line is huge but not as athletic as
those Mile High lines (Yes – even in low altitude venues). The sheer
size of the Cowboys’ offensive linemen prevents them from being as
athletic and effective.
Offensive linemen, of course, get beaten up regardless of their
size, but the more nimble linemen tend to break down at a slower
rate.
Nonetheless, nearly half of the Cowboys’ starting offensive line is
currently out with injuries that will cost the offense anywhere from
2-6 weeks. Marc Colombo is supposed to return in time to start the
regular season. Kyle Kosier will potentially miss the first two to
three games of the regular season.
While Alex Barron was held out of the game against the San Diego
Chargers due to injury, he has either returned to practice, or he is
very near doing so. Barron was, of course, acquired from the St.
Louis Rams in a trade for linebacker Bobby Carpenter – who became
expendable with the arrival of Jason Williams and Sean Lee in
successive years.
Nonetheless, Barron and Carpenter – both former first round draft
choices – were met with high expectations and neither player has
quite lived up to those predictions.
Barron has the physical tools at 6’8” and 300+ pounds to get the job
done – along with starting nearly 75 games with the Rams – but 40+
false start penalties have fans wondering whether or not Barron is
going to pick up where Flozell Adams left off.
The Cowboys’ risk with Barron is low as his salary is not
guaranteed. The responsibility for career recovery is squarely on
Barron’s shoulders.
Barron – as much as or more than any other player – should be
looking at pre-season playing time as a golden opportunity to show
his new organization that he can be trusted to step in, protect
Romo, provide solid rushing lanes, and get the job done.
While fans desperately want Doug Free to succeed early and often in
place of dearly departed Flozell – which from all accounts has been
the case in training camp – competition is healthy and necessary to
remind players that NFL really means Not For Long.
Alex must aim to be the Red Barron of the offensive line – even from
a second string position – or he may just find himself delivering
Red Barron frozen pizzas to Dallas area grocery stores.
Montrae Holland was brought in from Denver in 2008, and he has since
started only two games while playing in a total of eight. He looked
so out of shape in those games that I will be referring to him as
Entrée Holland until he proves otherwise. It is up to Entrée to
seize this opportunity to help the offensive line, build trust with
his teammates, and give Jason Garrett a reason to insert him into
the game more often.
Sam Young – the former Notre Dame tackle and Cowboys’ fourth pick of
the 2010 draft – is another 6’8” 320+ pound mammoth newcomer, but he
had the benefit of spending his collegiate career in a pro-style
offensive system under former Notre Dame head footballer Charlie
Weis. No matter how lousy Weis’ Notre Dame record, his experience
designing and running successful offensive systems is tremendous.
Player after player from the Weis’ Notre Dame run speaks volumes
about how well prepared he made them for the pro ranks.
Young appears to have both the mental and physical tools to stick
with the Cowboys’ offensive line this year – at either tackle
position – and to potentially stick it to Cowboys’ foes for several
years to come.
Young and Barron are nearly identical in physical stature – with
Barron battling through some previously developed mental scarring –
but both have absolutely identical opportunities.
Phil Costa may have continued being a rookie free agent out of
Maryland and a relative long shot to make the Cowboys’ 2010 roster,
but Kyle Kosier’s injury – although temporary – has shaken the depth
chart just a bit.
Kosier is not only a valuable guard, but he is also the back-up
center to starter Andre Gurode. Entrée Holland has had minimal and
unsuccessful experience at center, and he has enough trouble
focusing at his customary guard position.
While his run-blocking needs some improvement, Costa is effectively
the only player capable enough to play center if Gurode sustains an
injury. Costa – at a pretty athletic 6’3” and 300+ pounds – played
both guard and center during his time as a Terrapin.
The Cowboys – back in late May – were evidently convinced that
cutting former back-up center Cory Procter would inspire some of
their new, more versatile linemen when faced with a great
opportunity. While he was the only other true center behind Gurode
for much of the past three seasons, Procter was too much of a
one-trick pony.
The arrival of some new fresh faces at Valley Ranch resulted in
Cory’s departure to some old familiar faces in Miami – thus, ending
the Procter and gamble experiment in Dallas.
Pat McQuistan spent the first couple seasons with the Cowboys known
more for his “quite freakish good looks” (avoid looking at his
rookie photo if at all possible), but he has slowly rounded into
shape as a reliable back-up at both offensive tackle spots. Doug
Free’s firm grasp of the starting left tackle position has resulted
in a potentially greater opportunity for McQuistan – as long as he
is able to fend off the younger hungrier competition.
The only thing separating fellow offensive linemen Travis Bright and
Robert Brewster is injured reserve – where Brewster spent the entire
2009 season after tearing his pectoral muscle.
Though Bright spent the season on the practice squad, and Brewster
spent the season recovering from surgery, they appear to be running
neck and neck. You expect Brewster to have the edge – as teams
rarely chuck aside draft choices versus undrafted free agents . . .
unless their names are Tony Romo and Miles Austin – but you never
know until the final 53 man roster is announced.
Travis will found out soon enough if he has a bright future with the
Cowboys, and Brewster will soon learn if he will be counting his
millions or simply changing his name to Punky Brewster.
Knowledgeable fans understand that pre-season is about nailing down
execution at every position, for every possible scenario, for each
of the teams within the team: offense, defense, and special teams.
Preseason play-calling – as usual – is creative in practice and
vanilla in public. If execution is the key, then, fans should not
care one bit about play-calling depth until the regular season
begins. Their only concern should be if equally key players are
failing to execute those plays.
Last night’s game against the San Diego Chargers showed all Cowboys
fans that the offensive line continues to struggle against pressure
defense – with our without a full complement of starters.
Tony Romo spent most of his purposely limited playing time falling
backwards rather than having the time to follow through with his
passes. Outside of personal maintenance, expert playbook knowledge,
and a burning desire to avoid silly mistakes – Tony will only play
as well as his teammates and the uncontrollable element of chance
will allow him to play.
Nothing is guaranteed in life and the offensive line – fair or
unfair – is the one element in the coming season that very much
needs to be controlled. If runners trip and fall, if errant passes
are thrown, and if catches are dropped, the failure might actually
lie with the runner, the passer, and the catcher. And, yet – fair or
unfair – the blame eventually snakes its way back to an offensive
line that could not manage to keep their Cowboys cohorts Clorox
clean.
Rather than succumbing to the fact that offensive linemen continue
to perform a highly thankless job – albeit a generally well-paid one - the
fluid status of the Cowboys’ offensive line represents a huge
opportunity and challenge to every back-up and bubble player hoping
for a chance to empower Tony Romo’s passing game and blast open
running lanes for Felix the Cat, Marion the Barbarian, and the
People’s Choice.
Who is going to step up and help solidify the offensive line for an
incredible season to come?
We shall see. We always do.
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