DMN: Here's why Cowboys' (Pukes') offensive line has struggled in preseason

[tr1]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/081510dnspofraley.223c83e.html

Column by GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News

OXNARD, Calif. – On Saturday morning, the Dallas Cowboys' offensive line devoted a portion of practice to reviewing mistakes made in the last exhibition game.

The session dragged on for a while.

"We're not jumping up and down about what we've been doing," offensive line coach Hudson Houck said.

The Cowboys' first two exhibition games have offered a valuable reminder. No matter how many high-powered toys an offense has, it will do nothing if the line does not play well.

The offensive line has not performed well, and the indictment covers all 14 linemen in camp. Consider these points:

• The Cowboys have not scored an offensive touchdown in the preseason. They last opened the exhibition season with two consecutive touchdown-less games in 1986.

• They have allowed 11 sacks. A year ago, the Cowboys gave up one sack in the first two exhibitions.

• The Cowboys are averaging 2.96 yards per rush. The three-headed running back of Marion Barber, Tashard Choice and Felix Barber has 76 yards on 21 carries.

There are numerous explanations for this poor showing.

The offense has been vanilla, showing only a few plays to keep opponents guessing about regular-season plans. The Cowboys are using several inexperienced offensive linemen to measure their worth.

Many sacks can be traced to the inability of receivers to get open, or the quarterbacks holding the ball too long. The offense suffered for having only two healthy tight ends against Oakland.

None of that gets the offensive line off the hook.

"There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to panic," Houck said. "Fortunately, we don't have to play a game that counts this week. We'll build on what we're doing, and we'll get it solved.

"I'm not concerned. We've got quality personnel. We have guys who are workers. That's why we are in training camp."

The first task for Houck has been to determine which linemen can be helpful backups. That process has stalled.

Two potentially key vital reserves – guard Montrae Holland and tackle Alex Barron – have been limited because of injuries.

Rookie tackle Sam Young, a sixth-round pick from Notre Dame has shown the best, but he is well removed from playing at the NFL level. Tackle Robert Brewster, a third-round pick in 2009, has been erratic. The depth owner-general manager Jerry Jones had hoped for has not shown itself.

The starting offensive line has had only three full series. In the opener, it handled Cincinnati's blitzes. Against Oakland, the running game stalled, and the line gave up four sacks in the first quarter while struggling against an elementary four-man rush.

That increases the focus on right tackle Marc Colombo.

Against Oakland, Colombo allowed two sacks by rookie end Lamarr Houston. On the first sack, quarterback Tony Romo sits to pee held the ball too long. On the second sack, Houston, a UT-ex, tossed Colombo aside.

With Colombo, run blocking means as much as pass protection. The Cowboys prefer to run to Colombo's side because of his power. When the Cowboys do not run well, it is usually because Colombo is having difficulty.

Colombo declined to discuss his performance against Oakland, so consider the facts:

He is 31 years old and coming off his second major leg injury in eight years. He missed the final seven regular-season games because of a broken fibula and high ankle sprain. Colombo gallantly returned for the playoffs but was ineffective.

The Cowboys began camp uncertain Doug Free could play left tackle. Free has had two good games, moving coach Wade Phillips to say, "I think we're going to be real happy with him."

Colombo's spot has become the position to watch on an offensive line that redefines the term "work in progress."

[tr1]

More excuses...:rotflmao:

To read all the preseason hype, the pukes only need to show up to be winners.

Columbo is a big, big problem. And, Free will be up and down as a starter.

Romo sits to pee will be missing some games due to injury this year.

Just the facts.

[robotfire]

Romo sits to pee injured? This is the first year I can remember in a long time where the Cowboys are getting their fair share.

I can't wait to beat the crap out of them in week 1.

[robotfire]

"There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to panic," Houck said. "Fortunately, we don't have to play a game that counts this week. We'll build on what we're doing, and we'll get it solved.

"I'm not concerned. We've got quality personnel. We have guys who are workers. That's why we are in training camp."

Any time someone says "There's no reason to panic", he's already panicking. Remember when Saunders came to the Skins and stunk it up, and everyone said, "There's no reason to panic"? And then Saunders himself said that we needed to trust him and that the preseason was meaningless? And then the season started, and we were still terrible? Your turn, pukes!

[HapHaszard]

Any time someone says "There's no reason to panic", he's already panicking. Remember when Saunders came to the Skins and stunk it up, and everyone said, "There's no reason to panic"? And then Saunders himself said that we needed to trust him and that the preseason was meaningless? And then the season started, and we were still terrible? Your turn, pukes!

Sort of like when a crowd gathers and the cop says "move on there is nothing to see here". You know its time to stick around.

[CLJB1105]

Don't you think you guys are taking a little too much from these preseason games?

[penasquito]

As a fan of the club, I'm still waiting for Hudson Houck to earn his money. It looks like they finally developed a starter in Doug Free (the first guy they drafted who became a starter since Andre Gurode...let that sink in. Gurode was drafted in 2002.) Honestly, the starters were never as good as they got credit for. Gurode and Davis go to the Pro Bowl every year, but they've always had trouble picking up blitzes. Flozell was overrated, too, and that's part of the reason I coulda told ya Free was an upgrade back in March. One other argument springing from my disorganized mind is the fact that Tony Romo sits to pee has the ability to make his OL look better than they really are. He moves around in the pocket well, he can make plays outside the pocket and he's got one of the fastest releases since Marino. Add all that up, and the QB is one reason they OL only gave up 34 sacks.

So the starters are old, and the cupboard is just about bare behind them. They've developed one new starter in the past 7 years, and they drafted one guy in the 6th round last April. When is it time to panic, Mr. Houck?

I did like seeing this: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4670734/phil-costa-moves-to-backup-center. I'm a big believer in competition, and it at least looks like they're letting the best scrubs rise to the top. :/

[Roger.Staubach]

Hard to argue with the belief that our O-Line is old, sloppy, and talentless. Like TR1, I don't think that Romo sits to pee is going to survive the season without a major injury. JJ has ignored the line for far too long and it's about time for it to catch up.

Like other folks have said, we've been lucky on the injury front the last few years. I can't imagine that the streak continues. What sucks is that the rest of the team has enough talent to make a long/strong playoff push. Sadly, our O-Line will likely kill that option...

[SWFLSkins]

Hard to argue with the belief that our O-Line is old, sloppy, and talentless. Like TR1, I don't think that Romo sits to pee is going to survive the season without a major injury. JJ has ignored the line for far too long and it's about time for it to catch up.

Like other folks have said, we've been lucky on the injury front the last few years. I can't imagine that the streak continues. What sucks is that the rest of the team has enough talent to make a long/strong playoff push. Sadly, our O-Line will likely kill that option...

The Redskins tried the ignore the OL routine and look where that got them. I think Romo sits to pee does get battered this year. Look at the DL's in the East he will be facing. IF you want to sack him overload one side and he is going to be in trouble. Free might be better than thought, but I don't think Columbo holds up. 11 sacks in the pre-season means the back ups are not getting it done either.

For all the talent the Cowboys have it is going to be the OL that determines where they go with it. I think the OL and the coaching are the downfalls.

[Maximus71]

The Redskins tried the ignore the OL routine and look where that got them. I think Romo sits to pee does get battered this year. Look at the DL's in the East he will be facing. IF you want to sack him overload one side and he is going to be in trouble. Free might be better than thought, but I don't think Columbo holds up. 11 sacks in the pre-season means the back ups are not getting it done either.

For all the talent the Cowboys have it is going to be the OL that determines where they go with it. I think the OL and the coaching are the downfalls.

I thought the 3 or 4 of the sacks was against their started in one drive alone last week against the pukes starters?

[Roger.Staubach]

I thought the 3 or 4 of the sacks was against their started in one drive alone last week against the pukes starters?

True...but two of them could be considered 'coverage sacks'. Now, I'm not making an excuse for the O-Line, I am just saying that some QB's in this league would have found a way to get rid of the ball prior to being sacked. The saddest part to me was that we had another sack/forced-fumble play.

I think the 'Boys are going to be using a ton of screen plays this year.

[SkinsHokieFan]

True...but two of them could be considered 'coverage sacks'. Now, I'm not making an excuse for the O-Line, I am just saying that some QB's in this league would have found a way to get rid of the ball prior to being sacked. The saddest part to me was that we had another sack/forced-fumble play.

I think the 'Boys are going to be using a ton of screen plays this year.

What is interesting is that Romo sits to pee generally doesn't take "coverage" sacks

One thing I have always been impressed by with him is the fact he gets rid of the ball pretty quick

[63echo]

Romo sits to pee injured? This is the first year I can remember in a long time where the Cowboys are getting their fair share.

I can't wait to beat the crap out of them in week 1.

I keep on reading this...seriously, if I've read it once I've read it a hundred times as if fans are saying that the Cowboys deserve this because they haven't had to deal with the same injuries that the rest of the league has for the last several years.

What they're forgetting about was in 2009, damn near the entire draft class was out, K Hamlin missed a bunch of time, Roy Williams missed several weeks, Columbo missed time, Barber SHOULD have missed time, and Ware probably should have as well.

I shouldn't go into 2008, but I will by bringing up Romo sits to pee, who missed several weeks with a broken finger, Roy Williams (safety) could'nt stop breaking his own arms, Felix Jones missed most of the season with a bad hamstring, Kosier missed most of the season, Mat McBriar missed most of the season, Witten had to wear a flak jacket because of his broken ribs, and the rest of the team looked like a MASH unit with Newman, Henry, Stanback, Austin, Hurd, and God knows who else missing time.

Seriously, the Cowboys have been more fortunate than some, and less fortunate than others, but we shouldn't act like the Cowboys have been riding the Injury-Free Train for the last decade.

[AzSkinsFan63]

Oh come on it's only 2 games into the preseason and the cowboys were just wanting to see how well Romo sits to pee handled the beating this last week. They didn't get enough evaluation against the Vikes in the playoffs.

[AzSkinsFan63]

Besides they'll be able to hold a lot more once the reg season begins!

[Fred Jones]

I keep on reading this...seriously, if I've read it once I've read it a hundred times as if fans are saying that the Cowboys deserve this because they haven't had to deal with the same injuries that the rest of the league has for the last several years.

What they're forgetting about was in 2009, damn near the entire draft class was out, K Hamlin missed a bunch of time, Roy Williams missed several weeks, Columbo missed time, Barber SHOULD have missed time, and Ware probably should have as well.

I shouldn't go into 2008, but I will by bringing up Romo sits to pee, who missed several weeks with a broken finger, Roy Williams (safety) could'nt stop breaking his own arms, Felix Jones missed most of the season with a bad hamstring, Kosier missed most of the season, Mat McBriar missed most of the season, Witten had to wear a flak jacket because of his broken ribs, and the rest of the team looked like a MASH unit with Newman, Henry, Stanback, Austin, Hurd, and God knows who else missing time.

Seriously, the Cowboys have been more fortunate than some, and less fortunate than others, but we shouldn't act like the Cowboys have been riding the Injury-Free Train for the last decade.

True, but there have been times when just about no player is listed on the weekly injury report. And, last season you were pretty healthy.

That said, injuries are what they are. They happen or they don't happen.

What would concern me is that this is a veteran team and veteran coaching staff that is playing in the same system. This is not what it should look like at this stage of the game.

[Rexx1240]

Music to my ears!!

:dallasuck:dallasuck:dallasuck

[Big Blue Joe]

Seriously, the Cowboys have been more fortunate than some, and less fortunate than others, but we shouldn't act like the Cowboys have been riding the Injury-Free Train for the last decade.

The Cowboys were the healthiest team in the league last year. Every team has players who miss time or play through injuries that they probably shouldn't. But the Cowboys were the only team in the league not to have a single starter on offense or defense go on IR. They had similar luck in 2007.

[PokerPacker]

Packers also ignored the O-line for quite some time. Gave up the most sacks last season :/

Does look like they did get lucky in their 4th round Tackle last year, though, and combined with Bulaga, we may have solved our woes in one offseason, but it has yet to be tested, and it will usually take more effort to fix a broken line, I think.

[VCDefectors]

Since when is a team that can keep its players healthy a bad thing? God, some of you try to make it sound like a team should get some starters on IR to get some kind of street cred. Of all of the many stupid things I've heard on this forum, this is definitely right up there!!

[acuratl1984]

It's ok... The Cowboys already won the Superbowl, and its only August.

[Big Blue Joe]

Since when is a team that can keep its players healthy a bad thing? God, some of you try to make it sound like a team should get some starters on IR to get some kind of street cred. Of all of the many stupid things I've heard on this forum, this is definitely right up there!!

Um. What the **** are you talking about?

[Warhead36]

Since when is a team that can keep its players healthy a bad thing? God, some of you try to make it sound like a team should get some starters on IR to get some kind of street cred. Of all of the many stupid things I've heard on this forum, this is definitely right up there!!

Probability says every team is going to get bit by the injury bug at some point. I mean the Saints won a Super Bowl despite their starting Pro Bowl LT being out for the year. The fact is, while Dallas did have a good year last year, they did it with no major injuries. So what's gunna happen when the law of averages kicks in and they do suffer injuries?

[pjfootballer]

I keep on reading this...seriously, if I've read it once I've read it a hundred times as if fans are saying that the Cowboys deserve this because they haven't had to deal with the same injuries that the rest of the league has for the last several years.

Seriously, the Cowboys have been more fortunate than some, and less fortunate than others, but we shouldn't act like the Cowboys have been riding the Injury-Free Train for the last decade.

Seriously, we've been over this a million times. On average the Cowboys have not suffered "Season Ending" injuries as much as the rest of the division. They have not had as many players end up on IR as the rest of the division. "Every" team has weekly injuries, this is nothing new.

Since when is a team that can keep its players healthy a bad thing? God, some of you try to make it sound like a team should get some starters on IR to get some kind of street cred. Of all of the many stupid things I've heard on this forum, this is definitely right up there!!

Man, you just come in here all the time and piss and moan. I don't think anyone was advocating that they would like to see more Cowpukes on IR, just that the odds may catch up with them this year. Sheesh, you read way too much into everything.

[dan757]

Damn this sounds familier aging vet O-Line with no depth behind them and lots of stars at skill positions all waiting to come crashing down! Where have I seen this before? I just cant seem to place it.