These two articles are for you, Jerry - one for the 'Boys, one against:
The Cowboys are a surprise Super Bowl contender. Their offensive line is one big reason.
OLs Zack Martin and Tyron Smith have played a huge role in the Dallas Cowboys' early-season success.
Washington Post 31Oct2021 by R. O'Connell
Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys’ tailback, a three-time Pro Bowler enjoying a resurgent season, had just run for 110 yds and notched a pair of TDs in a Week 5 win over the Giants. Afterwards he credited his offensive line. “From the beginning of the game, they dominated the line of scrimmage. “They got the run game going, and everything fell into place after that.”
The return of its OL dominance has helped get Dallas off to their best start in recent memory. Dallas’ offensive front — led by Pro Bowlers LT Tyron Smith and RG Zack Martin, have allowed only one sack this year.
Credit for Dallas’ success has popularly flowed to QB Dak Prescott (an early MVP candidate), Elliott (back to his early-career form) and a resurgent defense led by cornerback Trevon Diggs (who has seven interceptions in six games).
Neck and calf injuries in 2020 robbed OLers Smith and Martin of respectively 14 and 6 games. The Cowboys’ emergence as a Super Bowl contender has coincided with their return to health.
The 2021 Cowboys have run the ball on 47.2% of snaps, up from 40.2% in 2020 and 42.9% in 2019. Only four teams are closer to 50-50. Their OL rates as the best in the league at run-blocking, according to Pro Football Focus, and the fourth-best at pass protection. They’re the only unit in the top five in both categories. Not coincidentally, their 164 ground yds per game rank seconds in the NFL, and Prescott’s 74.9% completion is the third-highest.
No one number can encapsulate the contributions of a five-man collective — offensive linemen are unique in compiling no traditional statistics (carries, catches, tackles) of their own — but experts agree that Dallas’s line has served as something of a skeleton key for the offense, unlocking all of the potent qualities it has to offer.
“You can stay three-dimensional,” Jeff Saturday, a retired six-time Pro Bowl center now working as an analyst for ESPN, said of the luxuries afforded by the Cowboys’ front. “You can run it, you can do play-action, or you can drop back. It makes it very difficult for defenses to respond. They have to play run-first, and then they’re playing the pass from a recovery perspective. It’s a thing of beauty.”
That flexibility comes, in large part, from the line’s two stars. Smith stands 6-foot-5 and, despite carrying 320 pounds, can run a sub-five-second 40-yard dash. His arms are disproportionately long, and big enough around that he wears a knee brace on his left elbow. But it is the technique honed over a decade in the league — the smooth strides of his massive cleats, the timing of his punches to the opponent’s chestplate — that paralyzes the league’s top pass rushers before they can pressure Prescott’s blind side. “He literally hoists them,” Saturday said. “It’s like he’s hanging a shirt up on a peg.”
Martin, meanwhile, is a mobile masher, clearing upfield space for Dallas’s backs. “Zack’s our best player on our offense,” Elliott said before the Cowboys’ season opener against the Buccaneers (their only loss), which Martin missed after testing positive for the coronavirus. “Most runs, they’re coming back behind him.”
Smith’s pass-blocking grade ranks first among all NFL tackles, according to PFF, while Martin’s run-blocking grade is best among guards. The Cowboys appear a team just entering its prime: Prescott is 28 years old, Elliott 26, Diggs 24, star receiver CeeDee Lamb 22. But OL production tends to fall off once a player reaches their thirties, and both Smith and Martin turn 31 this season. “You don’t get that many chances at this,” Smith said, “so you gotta make it count.”
For now, Dallas enjoys a rare alignment of health and experience of rising stars and established leaders.
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Washington Post’s Neil Greenberg picks Vikings to upset the Cowboys Week 8:
Exhibit A this week: the Minnesota Vikings, one of the week’s best bets, despite getting less than a field goal against a Dallas Cowboys team that’s two games better than Minnesota in the NFC standings. Why?
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
Pick: Minnesota Vikings
The Cowboys are 5-1 (and 6-0 against the spread) and atop the NFC East, but a lot of luck has gone their way. Dallas leads the league in points scored (34.2 per game) but is near the bottom third in points against (24.3, 20th), giving the Cowboys a point differential we’d associate more with a 4-2 team than a 5-1 team at this point of the season.
They have also benefited from favorable calls from officials, like when TE Dalton Schultz appeared to fumble the ball against the Carolina Panthers only to be ruled down by forward progress. Plus, the Dallas defense leads the league in expected points added per game off turnovers, adding nearly two TDs per contest (plus-12 EPA). Such turnover good fortune is difficult to sustain week to week, especially when it is this high.
Note: This pick was posted before Dak Prescott’s injury status made the line move significantly in Minnesota’s direction.
Dak Prescott’s injury in Week 5 didn't look like a long-term problem.The Cowboys and Prescott didn't seem worried about it, especially since the team had a Week 7 bye. But with Week 8 here, the problem is still lingering and is making Prescott's status murky heading into the Cowboys' "Sunday Night Football" matchup*.
* As of 10 a.m. PT, Prescott’s game status remained uncertain
What is Dak Prescott's injury?
Prescott is dealing with a "right calf strain." His backup QB, Cooper Rush, took most of the first-team reps in practice this week.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Prescott received an injection in his injured calf during the week. The Cowboys' QB also dealt with some soreness. Earlier in the week, Mike McCarthy confirmed that while Prescott was planning to play, the decision wouldn't necessarily be up to him. "He's got to cross the threshold to make sure he's full-go.”
