The Dallas Cowboys have the league’s leading rusher. They are also averaging 153.2 yards per game on the ground, second-best in the NFL.
So after finishing 24th in rushing a year ago, Dallas’ offensive line room must be a pretty upbeat place. Probably a bunch of 300-pounders sitting around talking about their accomplishments through the first 10 games of the season, right?
Not quite.
“I don’t think you ever look at it that way,” Cowboys right tackle Doug Free said Monday on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “Any time during the season you start [saying], ‘We’re doing really good,’ or you start admiring your work to some extent I feel like you take the focus off of continuing to improve.
“At no time are you ever perfect. Any moment you spend thinking about how great you are, you’re not putting that effort into thinking about how you can improve. There’s so many plays where you look back and you’re like, ‘Man, if I would’ve just held the block for another half-second. If I would’ve reached this guy a little bit different, it could’ve been a lot better play.’ I think we spend more time on trying to focus on how to improve than trying to think about, ‘Oh, man, we’re pretty good.’”
Left tackle Tyron Smith agreed with his teammate during the hour-long radio interview hosted by Brad Sham, Ben Rogers and Jeff Wade.
“As a group, we’re always hard on ourselves because we always want to be the best for our team,” Smith said. “We just try to do the best we can. … Just kind of be your harshest critic.”
During training camp, Smith began noticing that the Cowboys offensive line was forming a close bond. He sensed that it was a tighter group than in past years.
“Just the way that we all get along with each other, as far as we go on our own and do dinners together, things like that,” Smith said. “We’re getting tighter and tighter as a group.”
Free added that it helped the group’s chemistry when first-round pick Zack Martin came in and “jelled instantly.”
“He’s definitely a smart kid,” Smith said of the team’s rookie right guard. “The way he came in, he picked up on how our group was and how we worked , our playing scheme and things we do on the field and things like that. He just fit perfectly. Just like how Travis [Frederick] came in, the exact same type person, ready to go as soon as he first came in.”
“We just get along,” Free said. “There’s nobody that’s too big for one another, which I think is a great big thing in our group. … Any time one guy gets a little out of line there’s always four other ones to put him back in.”
Free was drafted by the Cowboys in 2007. At that time, the team’s offensive line was a veteran bunch. Andre Gurode was 28, Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis and Kyle Kosier were 29 and Flozell Adams was 32.
Free is now the 30-year-old veteran working with a starting group all 25 and younger.
“I think we’ve got a great group, a very tight group,” Free said. “I think now more than ever, we’ve done a lot more things together. When I first got in the league we had predominately a bunch of older guys who had kids, families, things outside of football that they were very involved with.
“Now, with the amount of young guys that we have on the offensive line, we tend to spend a lot more time together than years in the past.”
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
So after finishing 24th in rushing a year ago, Dallas’ offensive line room must be a pretty upbeat place. Probably a bunch of 300-pounders sitting around talking about their accomplishments through the first 10 games of the season, right?
Not quite.
“I don’t think you ever look at it that way,” Cowboys right tackle Doug Free said Monday on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “Any time during the season you start [saying], ‘We’re doing really good,’ or you start admiring your work to some extent I feel like you take the focus off of continuing to improve.
“At no time are you ever perfect. Any moment you spend thinking about how great you are, you’re not putting that effort into thinking about how you can improve. There’s so many plays where you look back and you’re like, ‘Man, if I would’ve just held the block for another half-second. If I would’ve reached this guy a little bit different, it could’ve been a lot better play.’ I think we spend more time on trying to focus on how to improve than trying to think about, ‘Oh, man, we’re pretty good.’”
Left tackle Tyron Smith agreed with his teammate during the hour-long radio interview hosted by Brad Sham, Ben Rogers and Jeff Wade.
“As a group, we’re always hard on ourselves because we always want to be the best for our team,” Smith said. “We just try to do the best we can. … Just kind of be your harshest critic.”
During training camp, Smith began noticing that the Cowboys offensive line was forming a close bond. He sensed that it was a tighter group than in past years.
“Just the way that we all get along with each other, as far as we go on our own and do dinners together, things like that,” Smith said. “We’re getting tighter and tighter as a group.”
Free added that it helped the group’s chemistry when first-round pick Zack Martin came in and “jelled instantly.”
“He’s definitely a smart kid,” Smith said of the team’s rookie right guard. “The way he came in, he picked up on how our group was and how we worked , our playing scheme and things we do on the field and things like that. He just fit perfectly. Just like how Travis [Frederick] came in, the exact same type person, ready to go as soon as he first came in.”
“We just get along,” Free said. “There’s nobody that’s too big for one another, which I think is a great big thing in our group. … Any time one guy gets a little out of line there’s always four other ones to put him back in.”
Free was drafted by the Cowboys in 2007. At that time, the team’s offensive line was a veteran bunch. Andre Gurode was 28, Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis and Kyle Kosier were 29 and Flozell Adams was 32.
Free is now the 30-year-old veteran working with a starting group all 25 and younger.
“I think we’ve got a great group, a very tight group,” Free said. “I think now more than ever, we’ve done a lot more things together. When I first got in the league we had predominately a bunch of older guys who had kids, families, things outside of football that they were very involved with.
“Now, with the amount of young guys that we have on the offensive line, we tend to spend a lot more time together than years in the past.”
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
