Fortify a strength, or improve a weakness: what seems to work in the NFL

Why not fortify that with the best OG on the board, rather than just start to fix the D?

i hope fortifying both lines becomes becomes the theme….throw “has potential”,“needs work” , or “total project” darts at upgrading weakness …unless Deon or Ronnie Lott reenter the draft. Stockpile the trenchs

The way the NFL is organized these days, the difference between a postseason berth (success) and staying at home in January (failure) is winning your divisional games. Win more than you lose, and chances are very high that you’ll make the playoffs,

So what do the Cowboys need to defeat the Giants and Eagles (and the Redskins convincingly)? Somebody to get to Eli, Vick and even sexy Rexy or whoever it’ll be next year. That can be a DE or OLB, but the Cowboys have got to bring more pressure.

That was my criticism last year, and the Cowboys haven’t really addressed it, so I’ll stick to my guns again this year.

If Garrett’s main purpose was to invigorate the O-line, then stay the course. It’s certainly not complete.

A three year starter for the Cardinal, he’s been creating running lanes for the likes of Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor and Jeremy Stewart, as well as keeping Andrew Luck on his feet.

DeCastro comes in as the highest rated guard in the 2012 NFL Draft, and has shown potential to be a Top 15 selection, and potentially Top 10.

DeCastro is very light on his feet as he has shown that he’s the best pulling/trapping guard in the nation. Versatility to play both guard positions at the next level, and having long arms to keep defenders in front of him in pass protection.

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here’s my contribution. lets see who advances in the playoffs.

the teams with the best offenses or the teams with the best balance.

TEAM / OPASS / DPASS / DIF
PIT / 7 / 4.9 / 2.1
HOU / 7 / 5.2 / 1.8
NO / 7.8 / 6.3 / 1.5
NYG / 7.7 / 6.4 / 1.3
GB / 8.3 / 7.2 / 1.1
DET / 6.9 / 5.9 / 1
PHI / 7 / 6 / 1
OAK / 7.2 / 6.3 / 0.9
NE / 7.9 / 7.1 / 0.8
TEN / 6.5 / 5.9 / 0.6
BAL / 5.9 / 5.4 / 0.5
ATL / 6.8 / 6.4 / 0.4
CIN / 6 / 5.8 / 0.2
DAL / 6.9 / 6.7 / 0.2
SD / 7.2 / 7 / 0.2
SF / 5.9 / 5.9 / 0
ARI / 5.9 / 6 / -0.1
CHI / 5.8 / 6.1 / -0.3
NYJ / 5.6 / 5.9 / -0.3
MIA / 5.9 / 6.3 / -0.4
SEA / 5.6 / 6.1 / -0.5
WAS / 6 / 6.5 / -0.5
CAR / 6.9 / 7.6 / -0.7
BUF / 6.2 / 6.9 / -0.7
CLE / 5.1 / 5.9 / -0.8
KC / 5.8 / 6.7 / -0.9
DEN / 5.2 / 6.4 / -1.2
MIN / 5.3 / 6.8 / -1.5
STL / 4.8 / 6.3 / -1.5
TB / 5.9 / 7.6 / -1.7
IND / 5.3 / 7 / -1.7
JAC / 4.2 / 6.1 / -1.9

i think the difference between him and other guards is greater than the one of CB’s, i think stephon gilmore is too far from kirkpatrick or dennard and he could be there in the second
i would even consider Peter Konz, i’m tired of Costa

Hudson Houck when asked by Mickey Spagnola during training camp about Arkin’s future he thought Arkin could play G or C. I would like to see us draft DeCastro and Kelechi Osemele to play LG and RG with Arkin at C. And of course switching Smith and Free.

LT – Tryon Smith
LG – David DeCastro
C – David Arkin
RG – Kelechi Osemele
RT – Doug Free

Something to think about when you are talking about players at various positions with equal grades is the position they play on the field.

Most pundits will tell you there are four positions that must be addressed on every team to make it balanced and good at the same time. They go: Quarterback, Left Tackle, Defensive End (pass-rusher mostly), and Cornerback. Other positions, no matter how skilled the player, take less importance in the draft. If you draft someone not from one of these positions, you better be taking a potential All-Pro.

With that kind of information, if Dre Kirkland is there with DeCastro, then you take the CB irregardless of anything else. Despite what people think, it’s exceedingly rare to find a quality CB later in the draft, although not impossible, but guards are routinely found later in the draft, even All-Pros. Now, if DeCastro and a excellent pass rushing end is there, it could get dicey. With Nagy, Arkin and Kowalski on the roster, I might lean towards the pass rushing end. Again, they are hard to find and rarely found past the first round whereas a guard can be had in the second and third rounds with ease.

While you don’t want to draft for need, you still have to be flexible and smart about who you draft and where. You’d love to have a dominate OL, but if you are paying half your salary cap to your OL, the rest of your team will suffer immensely and you’ll be very unbalanced. Garrett prefers balance and so do I.

If I was on my computer I would Rec it.

I figure we’re closer to achieving offensive success before defense right now. Need to compete with Packers and Saints. Also need situation defensive play makers. Packers and Saints have the ability to create turnovers at times. Well Packers not really Saints…, but you get what I mean.

You list your needs.
Then you look at which you could fill in FA vs. the draft, weighing and balancing all the factors: Cost, Age, Talent, Other Teams’ Needs, etc.

You target some guys in FA and try to fill 2-3 holes, some major, some minor.

You see who you get.

THEN you look at the draft and start prioritizing. If a Guard is signed who’s still fairly young and you believe in him, maybe you pass on Castro after all. Maybe you get a DB or 2 in FA, so that you can go later in the draft at that position.

I’m watching the playoff games today and one thing is clear. Drew Brees is ripping the record book apart because he has a clean pocket much of the time. The Texans won a playoff game with a rookie, 3rd string QB because he got superb protection, and his o-line leads a superb running game. I don’t think Tony Romo ever got the 2011 protection that T.J. Yates got today.

I said earlier in the game thread that I was jealous of the protection Brees and Yates were getting. Their running games were so good. What could our offense be with a reliable O line?

Investing in beefing up the Oline is what I want. In my opinion, the Cowboys need to address both Guard positions with their first two picks:
RD1: David DeCastro (Stanford)
RD2: Brandon Washington

I kinda think the NFL has totally morphed in the last few years with the rule changes that strongly favor offense now, especially in areas of coverage, hits, tackles, etc.. The smart or forward-thinking teams are taking advantage of this by loading up on offense (GB, NO, NE). I think the Cowboys should absolutely move to create a young O-line that can run with teams like the Saints and Packers in a shootout. Romo is a very good QB and he has multiple weapons at WR, TE, and RB. He has to be allowed better time to throw the ball as well as opening up running lanes for our backs. I, personally, would LOVE to see us draft DeCastro in the 1st and Keleche Osemele in the 2nd and switch TRON to LT and Free back to RT. This would absolutely fix multiple problems and give us a shot at a Super Bowl run 2-3 years down the road. The NFL is all about offense now. Our interior O-line needs drastic help asap.