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Stuck In The Middle
'Boys Remake Guard Position Once More
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - It's been a position of upheaval all season.
Since the first day after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached, essentially ending the NFL's offseason lockout, and contact could be made with players, the Cowboys' guard position has been in flux. With Valley Ranch back open, owner Jerry Jones hosted veteran right guard Leonard Davis, handing him the news that he would likely be let go if a reworked contract could not be agreed to. Not long thereafter, Davis was out.
At that point, not even Kyle Kosier had been re-signed. Playbooks still hadn't been handed out to rookies David Arkin and Bill Nagy, who became the regular starter through the first five games before landing on the Injured Reserve on Tuesday.
Derrick Dockery hadn't even been thought about, most likely, for the Cowboys front office. Montrae Holland was expected to start on one side of the sure thing at center, Andre Gurode.
Things do change. Once Kosier rejoined the team, the fourth-rounder Arkin got the initial crack with the starters, before giving way to Nagy, a seventh-round pick. Holland would spend almost all of training camp rehabbing knee and back injuries and trying to get himself in shape, only to appear in one exhibition before being released. The Cowboys' left guard since 2006, Kosier was moved to the right side to aide rookie tackle Tyron Smith.
Just before the season began, the Cowboys signed Dockery, and by Week 2 were ready to jump him ahead of Nagy to supply more strength to their interior. Unfortunately, he was hurt late against San Francisco, handing the job back to Nagy, who had been battling a neck problem of his own.
Following Nagy's season-ending ankle injury at New England on Sunday, when he was replaced toward the end of the game by undrafted rookie Kevin Kowalski, the Cowboys are back to the drawing board again.
After working out three guards on Tuesday, they finalized a deal to bring back Holland, the 31-year old who had been with the team as a backup for the last three years, and after the league office closed, were able to reach a contract agreement with six-year veteran Daniel Loper, who started four games for Oakland last year and five for Detroit in 2009 following four seasons with Tennessee.
On Monday, head coach Jason Garrett promised to look at a number of solutions for the position.
"Dockery is still working his way back off an injury," Garrett said. "We will see how he does this week. He is a day-to-day, week-to-week kind of guy. We will see how he handles some of the work he has been getting. He is trying to get back. ... Kevin Kowalski played nine snaps at the end of the game when Nagy got hurt. David Arkin, a fourth-round pick who hasn't been active for any of the games this year - we have some depth. We don't have a whole lot of experience. We have to manage that situation.
"We'll investigate all possibilities."
The Cowboys will decide this week who to start at left guard if Dockery is still not ready to play against St. Louis on Sunday. While Arkin and Kowalski have been with the team all year, Holland is stronger, has more experience and knows the offense.
Whoever emerges as the starting left guard in the both the short and long term, the Cowboys need better production. Thanks in large part to a lack of push in the middle of the line, the team is averaging less than 3.4 yards per carry, ranking 28th in the league. When healthy, Dockery is expected to regain the first-team job.
"It's frustrating," Dockery said. "I've been in the league a while. I haven't missed any games due to injury, so it's frustrating when you get hurt and can't help the team, can't help contribute to the team. So my main thing is, in the time off, staying in my playbook, staying in the weight room, getting as strong as I can, and doing the things I can help."
'Boys Remake Guard Position Once More
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - It's been a position of upheaval all season.
Since the first day after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached, essentially ending the NFL's offseason lockout, and contact could be made with players, the Cowboys' guard position has been in flux. With Valley Ranch back open, owner Jerry Jones hosted veteran right guard Leonard Davis, handing him the news that he would likely be let go if a reworked contract could not be agreed to. Not long thereafter, Davis was out.
At that point, not even Kyle Kosier had been re-signed. Playbooks still hadn't been handed out to rookies David Arkin and Bill Nagy, who became the regular starter through the first five games before landing on the Injured Reserve on Tuesday.
Derrick Dockery hadn't even been thought about, most likely, for the Cowboys front office. Montrae Holland was expected to start on one side of the sure thing at center, Andre Gurode.
Things do change. Once Kosier rejoined the team, the fourth-rounder Arkin got the initial crack with the starters, before giving way to Nagy, a seventh-round pick. Holland would spend almost all of training camp rehabbing knee and back injuries and trying to get himself in shape, only to appear in one exhibition before being released. The Cowboys' left guard since 2006, Kosier was moved to the right side to aide rookie tackle Tyron Smith.
Just before the season began, the Cowboys signed Dockery, and by Week 2 were ready to jump him ahead of Nagy to supply more strength to their interior. Unfortunately, he was hurt late against San Francisco, handing the job back to Nagy, who had been battling a neck problem of his own.
Following Nagy's season-ending ankle injury at New England on Sunday, when he was replaced toward the end of the game by undrafted rookie Kevin Kowalski, the Cowboys are back to the drawing board again.
After working out three guards on Tuesday, they finalized a deal to bring back Holland, the 31-year old who had been with the team as a backup for the last three years, and after the league office closed, were able to reach a contract agreement with six-year veteran Daniel Loper, who started four games for Oakland last year and five for Detroit in 2009 following four seasons with Tennessee.
On Monday, head coach Jason Garrett promised to look at a number of solutions for the position.
"Dockery is still working his way back off an injury," Garrett said. "We will see how he does this week. He is a day-to-day, week-to-week kind of guy. We will see how he handles some of the work he has been getting. He is trying to get back. ... Kevin Kowalski played nine snaps at the end of the game when Nagy got hurt. David Arkin, a fourth-round pick who hasn't been active for any of the games this year - we have some depth. We don't have a whole lot of experience. We have to manage that situation.
"We'll investigate all possibilities."
The Cowboys will decide this week who to start at left guard if Dockery is still not ready to play against St. Louis on Sunday. While Arkin and Kowalski have been with the team all year, Holland is stronger, has more experience and knows the offense.
Whoever emerges as the starting left guard in the both the short and long term, the Cowboys need better production. Thanks in large part to a lack of push in the middle of the line, the team is averaging less than 3.4 yards per carry, ranking 28th in the league. When healthy, Dockery is expected to regain the first-team job.
"It's frustrating," Dockery said. "I've been in the league a while. I haven't missed any games due to injury, so it's frustrating when you get hurt and can't help the team, can't help contribute to the team. So my main thing is, in the time off, staying in my playbook, staying in the weight room, getting as strong as I can, and doing the things I can help."