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Vela - Cowboys Draft Profiles, Part II: The Incredible Disappearing Guards
Cowboys Draft Profiles, Part II: The Incredible Disappearing Guards
Posted by Rafael at Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Cowboys have a split personality on their offensive line -- and in their front office's thinking about stocking that line. Look at the current starters on the roster:
LG Kyle Kosier -- 6'5'', 309 lbs.
RG Leonard Davis -- 6'6'', 355 lbs.
Two different sizes and two different styles. Kosier is a more mobile player. He pulls well. He leads screens well. He can lock onto moving targets in space and ride them up the field. He's good on double-teams with center Andre Gurode but will struggle on straight ahead plays against power.
On the other side, you have the man-mountain Davis, one of the largest men in the league. He's a mean drive blocker, but he's Kosier's foil in space. He can run to the edge and on traps, but he has trouble breaking down and hitting agile linebackers.
The schizophrenia goes beyond those two. Let's consider the free agents and the draftees the Cowboys have imported this past decade:
Pat McQuistan, 300 lbs.
Kosier, 309 lbs.
Marco Rivera, 308 lbs.
Davis, 355 lbs.
Andre Gurode, 325 lbs.
Stephen Peterman, 320 lbs.
Two distinct physical types. You have the more mobile types, the kind Bill Parcells liked for his Jets and which teams like the Packers like, who run in the 305-310 range, the Riveras, the Kosiers. On the other hand, you have players who are in the '90s Cowboys mold, at least weight wise -- the Andre Gurodes and Stephen Petermans of the world. The paradigm is all over the place, which is another way of saying the Cowboys haven't had one.
And there's the shortness of this list. Consider that since 2004, when Dallas selected Peterman in the 3rd round, the team has drafted ONE guard, that being McQuistan in 2006's 7th round. Jerry, Stephen and the boys have instead thrown money at the position, signing Rivera in 2005, only to see him rupture a disc in his lower back mere days after pocketing a huge free agent signing bonus. They signed Kosier the following year and Davis the year after that, when it became clear that Rivera's aging back was shot.*
Guards are generally the last spots to be filled and the lowest priorities on an offensive line after the tackles and center. Still, six years of near complete neglect, when the Cowboys have been in need of better guard play, explains a lot about the Cowboys' current struggles.
What to Look For?
Here's a list of ideal features the Cowboys search for in guard prospects. Think of Larry Allen when you run these through your mind:
1.be a strong, physical player
2.dominate DTs in a short area
3.generate movement in the run game
4.maintain the depth of the passing pocket
5.can react in short areas
6.is a knee bender. Can drop and anchor against bull rushes
7.is smart, can made adjustments on the fly to blitzes.
When you look at the present pair of guards, it's as if you could draw a line after point three. Davis ticks the boxes 1 through 3, but really struggles at the last four. Kosier, meanwhile is good at those pass blocking qualities but is not the run dominator Dallas wants.
So where do they look in the draft? It seems the Cowboys might be making the type of adjustment they seem to be making at OT, looking for more athletic types, in this case college tackles they can transition inside. Look over this list of potential guards:
•Will Rackley, 6'3'', 309 lbs.
•Danny Watkins, 6'3'', 310 lbs.
•Stefan Wisniewski, 6'3'', 313 lbs.
•Jason Pinkston, 6'3'', 317 lbs.
•John Moffitt, 6'4'', 319
•Marcus Cannon, 6'5'', 358 lbs.
(heights and weights are from the Combine)
Most of these guys are in the Rivera/Kosier category, more active 310 lb. guys, though there sits Marcus Cannon, in his 358 lb. glory. Lots of sites, this one included, gave him a lot of early attention because he's more in that '90s Cowboys mold. However, that 358 number has to give you pause. It's the same weight George Hegamin and Char'ron Dorsey carried into the league. It's much closer to Shane Hannah's playing weight of 347.
Every one of that last group was a clod, and every one of them busted for Dallas. I'm much more interested in the four guys at the top of the list, Rackley to Pinkston, whose 317 lbs. are equal to Larry Allen's pre-draft weight. Three of those guys played OT in college, meaning they have the feet to get out in space. Give them a year or two with Mike Woicik and they could be 320-325 lb. runners, with much better odds of meeting all seven of the Cowboys criteria.
Will the Cowboys finally pick a direction for their guards? Better still, will they actually draft one? It's been a while.
*A Twitter follower pointed out that Dallas drafted E.J. Whitley in the 7th round of that ill-fated '06 draft, but I don't know he we can call him a guard. Whitley played a few games at guard at Texas Tech but spent most of the time at tackle. He blew out a knee before his training camp, so he never had an official position with the team, though NFL.com lists him as a center. Even if we count him, the 7th round McQuistan and the 7th round Whitley are all the Cowboys have invested in young guards the last six drafts.
Cowboys Draft Profiles, Part II: The Incredible Disappearing Guards
Posted by Rafael at Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Cowboys have a split personality on their offensive line -- and in their front office's thinking about stocking that line. Look at the current starters on the roster:
LG Kyle Kosier -- 6'5'', 309 lbs.
RG Leonard Davis -- 6'6'', 355 lbs.
Two different sizes and two different styles. Kosier is a more mobile player. He pulls well. He leads screens well. He can lock onto moving targets in space and ride them up the field. He's good on double-teams with center Andre Gurode but will struggle on straight ahead plays against power.
On the other side, you have the man-mountain Davis, one of the largest men in the league. He's a mean drive blocker, but he's Kosier's foil in space. He can run to the edge and on traps, but he has trouble breaking down and hitting agile linebackers.
The schizophrenia goes beyond those two. Let's consider the free agents and the draftees the Cowboys have imported this past decade:
Pat McQuistan, 300 lbs.
Kosier, 309 lbs.
Marco Rivera, 308 lbs.
Davis, 355 lbs.
Andre Gurode, 325 lbs.
Stephen Peterman, 320 lbs.
Two distinct physical types. You have the more mobile types, the kind Bill Parcells liked for his Jets and which teams like the Packers like, who run in the 305-310 range, the Riveras, the Kosiers. On the other hand, you have players who are in the '90s Cowboys mold, at least weight wise -- the Andre Gurodes and Stephen Petermans of the world. The paradigm is all over the place, which is another way of saying the Cowboys haven't had one.
And there's the shortness of this list. Consider that since 2004, when Dallas selected Peterman in the 3rd round, the team has drafted ONE guard, that being McQuistan in 2006's 7th round. Jerry, Stephen and the boys have instead thrown money at the position, signing Rivera in 2005, only to see him rupture a disc in his lower back mere days after pocketing a huge free agent signing bonus. They signed Kosier the following year and Davis the year after that, when it became clear that Rivera's aging back was shot.*
Guards are generally the last spots to be filled and the lowest priorities on an offensive line after the tackles and center. Still, six years of near complete neglect, when the Cowboys have been in need of better guard play, explains a lot about the Cowboys' current struggles.
What to Look For?
Here's a list of ideal features the Cowboys search for in guard prospects. Think of Larry Allen when you run these through your mind:
1.be a strong, physical player
2.dominate DTs in a short area
3.generate movement in the run game
4.maintain the depth of the passing pocket
5.can react in short areas
6.is a knee bender. Can drop and anchor against bull rushes
7.is smart, can made adjustments on the fly to blitzes.
When you look at the present pair of guards, it's as if you could draw a line after point three. Davis ticks the boxes 1 through 3, but really struggles at the last four. Kosier, meanwhile is good at those pass blocking qualities but is not the run dominator Dallas wants.
So where do they look in the draft? It seems the Cowboys might be making the type of adjustment they seem to be making at OT, looking for more athletic types, in this case college tackles they can transition inside. Look over this list of potential guards:
•Will Rackley, 6'3'', 309 lbs.
•Danny Watkins, 6'3'', 310 lbs.
•Stefan Wisniewski, 6'3'', 313 lbs.
•Jason Pinkston, 6'3'', 317 lbs.
•John Moffitt, 6'4'', 319
•Marcus Cannon, 6'5'', 358 lbs.
(heights and weights are from the Combine)
Most of these guys are in the Rivera/Kosier category, more active 310 lb. guys, though there sits Marcus Cannon, in his 358 lb. glory. Lots of sites, this one included, gave him a lot of early attention because he's more in that '90s Cowboys mold. However, that 358 number has to give you pause. It's the same weight George Hegamin and Char'ron Dorsey carried into the league. It's much closer to Shane Hannah's playing weight of 347.
Every one of that last group was a clod, and every one of them busted for Dallas. I'm much more interested in the four guys at the top of the list, Rackley to Pinkston, whose 317 lbs. are equal to Larry Allen's pre-draft weight. Three of those guys played OT in college, meaning they have the feet to get out in space. Give them a year or two with Mike Woicik and they could be 320-325 lb. runners, with much better odds of meeting all seven of the Cowboys criteria.
Will the Cowboys finally pick a direction for their guards? Better still, will they actually draft one? It's been a while.
*A Twitter follower pointed out that Dallas drafted E.J. Whitley in the 7th round of that ill-fated '06 draft, but I don't know he we can call him a guard. Whitley played a few games at guard at Texas Tech but spent most of the time at tackle. He blew out a knee before his training camp, so he never had an official position with the team, though NFL.com lists him as a center. Even if we count him, the 7th round McQuistan and the 7th round Whitley are all the Cowboys have invested in young guards the last six drafts.