Sounding like they are going to go with Tyler Smith at LT. I hope they plan to move Zack over to LG to help him out.

This feels like one of those decisions they'll end up course correcting with a trade. Similar to "we can get away with WR by committee" and then trade for Amari.

Cowboys rookie LT Tyler Smith (ankle) missed practice last week, but he received “green light” to practice today, EVP Stephen Jones told @1053thefan. No one from team has made a definitive public declaration, but Smith is expected to start Week 1 at left tackle vs. Buccaneers.

— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 29, 2022

On paper that sounds like a cluster! There are a lot of people that think Tyler can be a really good guard in the league but also feel like he'll never transition into a good OT.

Yeah, this is a panic move. Rookie. Dinged up. Has only played G so far. But hey, everyone else sucks so bad, you're the guy

Jerry gonna get Dak crushed trying to prove that Smith was a great pick!!!! Jerry go get some for the oline!

At least we know Tyler Smith has had a lot of experience holding. They may have 300 penalty yards, but maybe he can keep Dak from getting killed

They drafted Smith to eventually be Tyron's replacement. Not sure what else you'd have them do at this point? Go spend money on washed up vets that aren't good themselves? One thing this team has done well is draft well in the 1st round. I'm not gonna crush them till I see it play out. They may also pick up some help with roster cuts in the next 24 hours.

DannyDuberstein said:

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Yeah, this is a panic move. Rookie. Dinged up. Has only played G so far. But hey, everyone else sucks so bad, you're the guy

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Overreact much? His ankle is fine and up until mini camp he played LT his entire career….

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They may also pick up some help with roster cuts in the next 24 hours.

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Yeah, as frustrated as I am with how this team has managed their O-line depth, I do want to reserve final judgement until after camp cuts to see if there is someone they like that suddenly becomes available on the cheap. Same thing with the receiver group, I just can't imagine that Brown, Fehoko, and Houston all are on the roster for week 1.

They may also be waiting until after week 1 to sign a vested veteran. If a vested veteran is on the roster for week 1, their annual salary is 100% guaranteed, but if they are added to the roster after week 1, the guarantee is only 25% (if I'm wrong on this please correct me).

The problem I have with this approach is that it feels like Jerry and Stephen are being cheap even with all the cap space we have this year. In addition, even a veteran player needs some time to learn the playbook, the snap counts, the line calls, etc. And it's not like we open with Chicago and Houston. As was mentioned earlier, it wouldn't be a surprise if we opened 0-2.

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They may also be waiting until after week 1 to sign a vested veteran. If a vested veteran is on the roster for week 1, their annual salary is 100% guaranteed, but if they are added to the roster after week 1, the guarantee is only 25% (if I'm wrong on this please correct me).

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Yes, I'm not sure on all the minor details but that's essentially it... and you can almost bet that's exactly what they are waiting for. Wait for cuts and wait till after week 1.

I just know they have got to do something because, like WR, we are now 1 injury away on the O-line from pretty much being completely screwed!

jr15aggie said:

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I'll also add, this has the feeling of a rebuilding year. Letting Cooper & Collins go when they didn't have to and not making any significant moves with the savings.

Decent probability Big Mike doesn't do enough to keep his job and that's OK because Jerry is chomping at the bit to get Sean Payton here. They refuse to spend draft capital and cap space right now because we'll need the draft picks to trade for Payton and we'll need the cap space because that will be the only way he can get the kind of players he wants.

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I disagree. Collins was beat out by Steele last season. We have no idea what the deal was internally on him. Interested to see how that plays out in Cincy. Cooper, while a great player when healthy, was unreliable. Combine that with Gallup not being available for another few weeks and it's got the fanbase in a tizzy.

I guess I'm not surprised the whole fanbase is panicking. Yeah it's not ideal to have Smith play tackle but it's not because he sux. It's because he looked REALLY GOOD at guard. I was looking forward to having a dominant run game again. That seems less likely now but it's not impossible. McGovern has also looked pretty good. They need to add a guy for depth but every team is in the same situation.

Everyone keeps forgetting that Gallup is back soon AND this is a 17 game season. I hate to give Jerry credit but NOT making a panic move and actually thinking longer term has to be hard for him.

I do agree that we have improved everywhere except O-line & WR (better throw in Kicker too). And this team also did a great job of "next man up" last year. I'm optimistic!

BUT.... I'm also half expecting them to Cowboy this thing up again this year. It's been, what, well over 10 years since this team has gone to the playoffs in back to back years I think.

Rush and Grier released. Wasn't Dinucci cut the other day too?

Zachary Klement said:

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Rush and Grier released. Wasn't Dinucci cut the other day too?

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Probably some roster manipulation going on. Guys put on the 53 right now and then moved over to the IR creating a spot on the 53 again. I'm sure they talked to one or both they will sign them after those roster moves are done.

Same with Maher.

Pretty sure Rush is their guy again. After he only played 1 or 2 series and put the ballcap on the other night, that pretty much said it all I think.

jr15aggie said:

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I do agree that we have improved everywhere except O-line & WR (better throw in Kicker too). And this team also did a great job of "next man up" last year. I'm optimistic!

BUT.... I'm also half expecting them to Cowboy this thing up again this year. It's been, what, well over 10 years since this team has gone to the playoffs in back to back years I think.

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Well "Cowboying it" the last few times has included suspension and/or injured QB1. We can keep our fingers crossed on those two fronts. I do think this defensive roster is the best they've had in Dallas quite some time. If all these DTs actually perform it could be an all around stout defense. All the "experts" are saying the defense can't improve since they were number one in DVOA last season and led the league in TOs. What they aren't looking at is how they got dominated up front by heavy run teams. Shore that up and this team can beat better offenses this year than last regardless of what the stats say.

I think our D-line (which includes Parsons) could be the best D-line we've had since the 92/93 Super Bowl teams. What made that D-line so great is that they had one Elite pass rusher (Hailey) and then about 7 or 8 other guys that were pretty good. They rotated those guys and got after the QB all game long.

At the present moment it appears like Parsons is set to become a generational defensive talent and Dan Quinn's got a plan!

jr15aggie said:

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I think our D-line (which includes Parsons) could be the best D-line we've had since the 92/93 Super Bowl teams. What made that D-line so great is that they had one Elite pass rusher (Hailey) and then about 7 or 8 other guys that were pretty good. They rotated those guys and got after the QB all game long.

At the present moment it appears like Parsons is set to become a generational defensive talent and Dan Quinn's got a plan!

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Yeah I usually pull up LT highlights to get fired to watch Parsons. He's THAT good. One of the youtube fans I watch said in every single practice throughout camp Micah averaged two sacks per drive. He was unblockable by our guys, Denver's guys and the Charger's guys. If he stays healthy he'll have a DPOY type season. I don't think you can overstate how huge that type of performance would be the outlook of this team.

The Defense will carry us to the playoffs. That's my one prediction for the season.

I've heard the same thing. Crazy to think what he did as a rookie having not played football for a year due to covid.

Trying to keep expectations in check, but it's hard not to imagine him as defensive mvp / highest paid defensive player of all time in the next few years.

Agreed on parson. He is phenomenal

Sounds like Gallup is way ahead of schedule. He's off the PUP, says he's full go, just need Dr's approval. Real chance he could be back by week 2 or 3.

Peters coming in for a visit. Even though he's old, he was solid last year for Chicago. Probably be our best option for a swing tackle.

gigem1223 said:

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Peters coming in for a visit. Even though he's old, he was solid last year for Chicago. Probably be our best option for a swing tackle.

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He's 40 and has been hurt frequently. Maybe as a stop9 gap filler?

ac04 said:

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a stop gap filler until they do what? try to find a free agent LT who is not old and frequently injured. and then try to find a team who wants to trade away a good one a week before the season starts. the time to address this position was 6 months ago.

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Until either Tyler Smith or Woletsko fully takes the role or Tyron comes back. They have used several picks on OL over the last 4 drafts and all of them are on the team still. That's not including Steele who was an UDFA. It's not a given that all these guys will suck forever.

ac04 said:

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a stop gap filler until they do what? try to find a free agent LT who is not old and frequently injured. and then try to find a team who wants to trade away a good one a week before the season starts. the time to address this position was 6 months ago.

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They've invested plenty in the tackle spot over the last 2 years. At some point they gotta let these young guys play. Jason Peters would be good as a stop gap at swing. Despite his age, he was one of the highest rated pass blocking tackles last season.

Also need to remember that after the teams ahead of them did them a solid by drafting those CBs, the Cowboys had a real debate between taking OT Slater or Parsons. They wouldn't have been wrong either way, but safe to say they made the right choice in what looks to be a generational type player.

The o-line is not looking great to start this season, but let's see how it plays out. Hopefully at this time next year Tyler Smith is an up and coming stud at G or OT. And hopefully we can get Woletsko patched up and he turns out to be a real mid round steal as a starting caliber or swing tackle for us.

I'm optimistic for a couple of reasons. I don't think the OL is in worse shape than it was the last two seasons. Steele, Biaditz, Farniac and McGovern are all a year older and showing noticeable improvement. I think Tyler Smith is a huge upgrade talent wise over Connor Williams. So overall I like the group. It's just a matter of figuring out how to structure the line to not be a disaster. Dak is setup to have a great year and good QB play can make up for having a shaky line.

Also, despite every "expert" saying our defense can't possibly be as good as last year... I think it will actually be quite a bit better. Last season they were great on paper but not a winning defense in my opinion. I think they are way more solid now talent-wise.

ac04 said:

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i admire y'alls optimism but the cowboys have one good offensive lineman and a bunch of spares. a retired 40 year old would be their second best OL if they sign him.

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I won't fully disagree, but every team has to rely on spares. In the case of the Cowboys, Kicker and O-line are those spots.

You take any other position group on the field (even WR assuming Gallup returns to form) and we are anywhere from good to really friggin good at every position. There are no spares dragging us down at CB, LB, RB, etc. I'd like to think our coaches are smart enough to work around one group being less than ideal.