Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Keeping A Positive Outlook

The training camp injuries just continue to mount. Kyle Kosier was the second starting offensive lineman to go down today. Preliminary reports are estimating he will be out 4-6 weeks with a sprained MCL which puts his availability for the season opener in question. MCL's are tricky, but I will actually be surprised if they don't get Kosier out there for the opener wearing a knee brace. Time will tell, but again, at least it wasn't a season ending injury.

It is easy to feel like the Cowboys are snake bitten this preseason, but I'm trying to look at the other side of the coin. Offensive line depth has been a major concern all offseason. Now the backups will get extended playing time in the remaining preseason games. It will help guys like Robert Brewster, Travis Bright, and Sam Young to get more live game action.

To prove my point about getting the young guys more time on the field all we have to do is look back to last season. When Marc Colombo went down with his injury it appeared the Cowboys were in deep trouble at right tackle. But Doug Free stepped in a played so well that the offense didn't miss a beat. And he was so impressive that it gave the Cowboys enough confidence in him that they cut Flozell Adams in the offseason and handed Free the starting left tackle job.

Coaches have a tendency to go with the guys they know. It is tough to break into the league when you aren't a big name college player. But now the young offensive linemen on the roster get a real shot to show what they can do against tougher competition. In the end it makes the backups that much better because they will have more experience and confidence.

Of course we do have to hope that one of the players filling in doesn't mess up so badly that they get someone hurt. But I'm sure guys like Romo and Felix Jones will have such limited playing time that we won't have to worry for too long on Saturday against San Diego. Next week and maybe even this week Alex Barron should be back to play right tackle so that should help the offense while Colombo recovers. And Montrae Holland has done a decent job in his limited playing time with the starters a couple of seasons ago.

2 comments:

  1. agree. We need to find out with three games left in the preseason what we have in second string to enter into season feeling confident. give them some time against first string dfenses. If they crash, better to know now so we can address it. Prefer barron at right tackle as well. he has the body for a left, but does not move his feet well. Most teams run to the strong side, which is usually right side, so let's see if he has the ability to run block. Have not been impressed with him on the left here or in St. louis.

    tmo

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  2. First string needs to play. I think it will offer an advantage finish getting them warmed up before the games actually start. We might injure some, but being afraid of injuries you might as well not even play. First game of the season we could lose someone in the first minute of the game and screw the whole season. But just gotta trust your players to keep themselves healthy.

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