It's time for the next installment of the position by position overview of the Cowboy football team. The position groups have been presented in order of their collective improvement from the 2014 season. Everything started with the linebackers, followed by cornerbacks, quarterbacks, and running backs. Today brings arguably the most anticipated review in this series into full light, the offensive line.
There is no dancing around the reality that by nearly any measure, the offensive line play last year was poor. It hamstrung the offense throughout the season and put a thin defense back on the field time and again before they had rested, exposing the lack of depth there as well. Inexperience, lack of talented depth, and inconsistency in the starting lineup plagued the unit. Toss in a lack of play making at RB and immobility at QB and you have a perfect storm. In-season injuries to the starting tackles made things worse. Things needed to change: coaches, players, etc. to get back to a level of competing for conference championships.
Mike Gundy refers to the hire of Greg Adkins regularly as a homerun hire for good reason. Despite limitations of numbers and time, the line made significant progress during the spring and has extended that run into fall camp. (Given a full year of work with the current group of players, he may well be able to put a unit on the field in 2016 that could be a team strength.) As one would expect with any coach that Mike Gundy brings in, toughness is a core value. He expects and demands effort and tough mindedness. As you may have heard him share previously, he believes an effective offensive line must be comprised of 5 like minded players that completely own his four key elements of blocking their assignments: the get off; the strike; the body position; and the finish.
Talent limitations can be masked somewhat by a cohesive, technically sound offensive line, but there is no way to cover for offensive tackles that can not neutralize edge rushers nor guards that can not physically move people around inside. This is why Victor Salako is such a key. As a natural tackle with a couple years of starting experience at UAB, his arrival allowed Michael Wilson to spin down to guard, significantly strengthening two positions. Victor Salako has prototypical NFL size and enough athleticism to merit some looks at the next level. He is not NFL ready, nor is he a dominant player, but the improvement he brings is immense. He has proven to be a surprisingly good blocker while on the move which should show up in both the run game and quick/screen passing game. He has shown the capacity to effectively block a moving target at the second level while also having good enough feet to pass protect.
With Salako on board to anchor the left tackle position, the rest of the offensive line looks like this: LG Michael Wilson; OC Brad Lundblade; RG Paul Lewis; RT Zach Crabtree.
Michael Wilson is a much better fit at guard, although he can and might play tackle in a pinch. He is assignment solid and does a good job on the move. Although not a mauler, he possesses enough size and strength to block interior tackles. He is able to get some movement, but more importantly create lanes with excellent body position. He should be very solid at left guard. He doesn't have the same size as Chris Grishby, but he offers a significant improvement at that spot.
Brad Lundblade accomplished something that very few people have done in the past couple of decades: start at a high level division one football program as a walk-on true freshman. To think that he did that at the center position is even more impressive. Although he performed well at times last season, he was not really ready. He has grown over this past year both physically and with his understanding of the offense. The consistency in his reps has improved to the point where he is clearly the best option at the position and is solid enough to be counted on to complete his blocking assignments. He loves football and it shows in the way he plays. He was inserted into the lineup last year when OSU went to Waco and that seemed to coincide with more stable play from the unit as a whole (which of course also went with the return of Zach Crabtree from injury and the emergence of Mason Rudolph at QB). There may be some uncertainty in the depth at center, but the staff feels confident with the top guy.
For most fans, hearing that Paul Lewis is the starter at right guard is a slight shocker. Most fan posts on this board had already written in Jesse Robinson as the projected starter. (Robinson is the 3rd guard, but currently listed as the backup at LG.) Paul Lewis was not viewed as a strong physical presence in the run game and struggled with the bigger inside DTs in the conference. That said, he was playing a bit out of position. He has taken well to playing guard, showing better get off and movement than he did at center. Perhaps fewer responsibilities on the field allow him to play with greater aggression and toughness. The good news is that he still has the overall understanding of a center, but is not responsible for line calls. There is a bit of an unknown with him, but the hope is that the improvement noted this camp carries over into game days. If so, the Cowboys should have decent continuity along the offensive line if not lots of talent.
Right tackle Zach Crabtree has all the tools to be an All Conference lineman. He has been forced to play more snaps than he was physically ready to do at this point in his career, but he has still flashed potential to be a monster on the line. There is no question that his midseason injury was the biggest contributor to the OL struggles during the losing streak. He is a valuable member of that starting unit, but the drop off in performance and continuity when he went out was much more than the offense could sustain. Depth is a bit better this time around, but the reality is that both starting tackles need to remain healthy.
Speaking of depth, this year's line could sustain one or two injuries, but any more than that could be devastating. There is some flexibility with Wilson, Lewis, and Robinson being able to play multiple positions. Jesse Robinson is the third guard, while mauler Junior Galeaia waits in the wings for his turn. Matthew Mucha is the next man up at tackle while Brandon Pertile continues to improve every week as the #4 guy. The center position is still in flux. Colby Hegwood is listed as the third guy, but in reality, with one injury, Paul Lewis probably slides inside with Robinson inserted into his spot at guard. Effectively, this line is 8 players deep right now. The hope is that Pertile and Galeaia keep making strides and become game ready by Novemeber should they be needed.
There is still some uncertainty with the position group, but there is no question this unit is much further along than it was a season ago. The starting tackles are solid and could be very good. The addition of Victor Salako can not be overstated in terms of the importance to the team. He is not the best player on the roster, and he may not be the transfer that makes the most individual contribution on the field, but the ripple effect of him filling the gaping hole at LT will have more residual impact than any other player on the team. Combine that with the emergence of Brad Lundblade, the arrival of Greg Adkins, and the continuity of having the same starting five together all of fall camp, and the recipe is there for significant improvement.
Also, don't discount the impact that game breaking running backs could have on the performance of the OL. Last year, Desmond Roland was able to get the yards that were blocked. He just didn't have the ability to turn a 3-4 yard run into a 7-9 yard gain like Joseph Randle or Kendall Hunter possessed. As a result, there was a lot more pressure on the line having to create not only holes at the line, but to make the second level blocks. When that didn't happen, the run game bogged down. The loss of Walsh and the QB run game magnified this weakness, and Tyreek Hill didn't have the ability to run it up inside enough to make a difference. This year, Chris Carson is going to change everything. The carries may get split up among the backs, but he is going to make the line look good by making guys miss that fill the hole and breaking off bigger chunks of yardage when there is minimal yards blocked. His presence should make the offense more effective in short yardage, goal-line, and clocking killing situations.
There is no dancing around the reality that by nearly any measure, the offensive line play last year was poor. It hamstrung the offense throughout the season and put a thin defense back on the field time and again before they had rested, exposing the lack of depth there as well. Inexperience, lack of talented depth, and inconsistency in the starting lineup plagued the unit. Toss in a lack of play making at RB and immobility at QB and you have a perfect storm. In-season injuries to the starting tackles made things worse. Things needed to change: coaches, players, etc. to get back to a level of competing for conference championships.
Mike Gundy refers to the hire of Greg Adkins regularly as a homerun hire for good reason. Despite limitations of numbers and time, the line made significant progress during the spring and has extended that run into fall camp. (Given a full year of work with the current group of players, he may well be able to put a unit on the field in 2016 that could be a team strength.) As one would expect with any coach that Mike Gundy brings in, toughness is a core value. He expects and demands effort and tough mindedness. As you may have heard him share previously, he believes an effective offensive line must be comprised of 5 like minded players that completely own his four key elements of blocking their assignments: the get off; the strike; the body position; and the finish.
Talent limitations can be masked somewhat by a cohesive, technically sound offensive line, but there is no way to cover for offensive tackles that can not neutralize edge rushers nor guards that can not physically move people around inside. This is why Victor Salako is such a key. As a natural tackle with a couple years of starting experience at UAB, his arrival allowed Michael Wilson to spin down to guard, significantly strengthening two positions. Victor Salako has prototypical NFL size and enough athleticism to merit some looks at the next level. He is not NFL ready, nor is he a dominant player, but the improvement he brings is immense. He has proven to be a surprisingly good blocker while on the move which should show up in both the run game and quick/screen passing game. He has shown the capacity to effectively block a moving target at the second level while also having good enough feet to pass protect.
With Salako on board to anchor the left tackle position, the rest of the offensive line looks like this: LG Michael Wilson; OC Brad Lundblade; RG Paul Lewis; RT Zach Crabtree.
Michael Wilson is a much better fit at guard, although he can and might play tackle in a pinch. He is assignment solid and does a good job on the move. Although not a mauler, he possesses enough size and strength to block interior tackles. He is able to get some movement, but more importantly create lanes with excellent body position. He should be very solid at left guard. He doesn't have the same size as Chris Grishby, but he offers a significant improvement at that spot.
Brad Lundblade accomplished something that very few people have done in the past couple of decades: start at a high level division one football program as a walk-on true freshman. To think that he did that at the center position is even more impressive. Although he performed well at times last season, he was not really ready. He has grown over this past year both physically and with his understanding of the offense. The consistency in his reps has improved to the point where he is clearly the best option at the position and is solid enough to be counted on to complete his blocking assignments. He loves football and it shows in the way he plays. He was inserted into the lineup last year when OSU went to Waco and that seemed to coincide with more stable play from the unit as a whole (which of course also went with the return of Zach Crabtree from injury and the emergence of Mason Rudolph at QB). There may be some uncertainty in the depth at center, but the staff feels confident with the top guy.
For most fans, hearing that Paul Lewis is the starter at right guard is a slight shocker. Most fan posts on this board had already written in Jesse Robinson as the projected starter. (Robinson is the 3rd guard, but currently listed as the backup at LG.) Paul Lewis was not viewed as a strong physical presence in the run game and struggled with the bigger inside DTs in the conference. That said, he was playing a bit out of position. He has taken well to playing guard, showing better get off and movement than he did at center. Perhaps fewer responsibilities on the field allow him to play with greater aggression and toughness. The good news is that he still has the overall understanding of a center, but is not responsible for line calls. There is a bit of an unknown with him, but the hope is that the improvement noted this camp carries over into game days. If so, the Cowboys should have decent continuity along the offensive line if not lots of talent.
Right tackle Zach Crabtree has all the tools to be an All Conference lineman. He has been forced to play more snaps than he was physically ready to do at this point in his career, but he has still flashed potential to be a monster on the line. There is no question that his midseason injury was the biggest contributor to the OL struggles during the losing streak. He is a valuable member of that starting unit, but the drop off in performance and continuity when he went out was much more than the offense could sustain. Depth is a bit better this time around, but the reality is that both starting tackles need to remain healthy.
Speaking of depth, this year's line could sustain one or two injuries, but any more than that could be devastating. There is some flexibility with Wilson, Lewis, and Robinson being able to play multiple positions. Jesse Robinson is the third guard, while mauler Junior Galeaia waits in the wings for his turn. Matthew Mucha is the next man up at tackle while Brandon Pertile continues to improve every week as the #4 guy. The center position is still in flux. Colby Hegwood is listed as the third guy, but in reality, with one injury, Paul Lewis probably slides inside with Robinson inserted into his spot at guard. Effectively, this line is 8 players deep right now. The hope is that Pertile and Galeaia keep making strides and become game ready by Novemeber should they be needed.
There is still some uncertainty with the position group, but there is no question this unit is much further along than it was a season ago. The starting tackles are solid and could be very good. The addition of Victor Salako can not be overstated in terms of the importance to the team. He is not the best player on the roster, and he may not be the transfer that makes the most individual contribution on the field, but the ripple effect of him filling the gaping hole at LT will have more residual impact than any other player on the team. Combine that with the emergence of Brad Lundblade, the arrival of Greg Adkins, and the continuity of having the same starting five together all of fall camp, and the recipe is there for significant improvement.
Also, don't discount the impact that game breaking running backs could have on the performance of the OL. Last year, Desmond Roland was able to get the yards that were blocked. He just didn't have the ability to turn a 3-4 yard run into a 7-9 yard gain like Joseph Randle or Kendall Hunter possessed. As a result, there was a lot more pressure on the line having to create not only holes at the line, but to make the second level blocks. When that didn't happen, the run game bogged down. The loss of Walsh and the QB run game magnified this weakness, and Tyreek Hill didn't have the ability to run it up inside enough to make a difference. This year, Chris Carson is going to change everything. The carries may get split up among the backs, but he is going to make the line look good by making guys miss that fill the hole and breaking off bigger chunks of yardage when there is minimal yards blocked. His presence should make the offense more effective in short yardage, goal-line, and clocking killing situations.
