Dallas Cowboys: This Offensive Position Should Concern Everyone
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Cowboys have one offensive position that should concern everyone – swing tackle.
The Dallas Cowboys offense displayed both good a bad in their first preseason game of the 2016 season. Dak Prescott, Darius Jackson, and Lucky Whitehead all stood out positively. Unfortunately, one potentially critical player stood out in all of the wrong ways.
Chaz Green, the expected swing tackle for the 2016 Dallas Cowboys, had a night to forget in LA last weekend. Green, 6’4″ 318 lbs, was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft. The developmental offensive tackle from Florida was considered a reach at the time, but his potential was too hard to ignore for the always-gambling Dallas Cowboys.
To say his career has gotten off to a slow start would be a bit of an understatment. Green, 24, underwent major hip surgery last season. As a result, Green never saw game action in the 2015 season. In other words, Saturday night against the Rams was his first game real game action in nearly two years.
Sadly, that’s exactly what it looked like.
Chaz Green, who is Tyron Smith and Doug Free‘s primary back-up, was out of his league on Saturday. Heavy feet, poor technique, and slow reaction time all led to multiple penalties, hurries, and sacks. To think Chaz Green is the favorite to land the potentially-critical role of swing tackle this season, is concerning to say the least.
The Dallas Cowboys once again boast the best offensive line in football this season. That’s good because the most irreplaceable player on the team is the very man that offensive line is tasked with protecting. For as good as Dak Prescott looked on Saturday, we know all too well this team is going nowhere without Tony Romo.
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But with Chaz Green only one injury away from becoming Tony Romo’s primary protector, things are going to have to change quickly.
In all fairness, this was his first action in about 19 months so it should be no wonder he struggled. But this is a team with both high hopes and no time to waste.
It’s one thing to roll the dice on the defensive line, it’s quite another to risk the health of the only man who can realistically lead the team through the playoffs.
Simply put, the 2016 season is all about Tony Romo. The Dallas Cowboys will only go as far as Romo can take them. Even with the re-emphasis of the running game, the QB is what makes this team a contender and all effort needs to be made to keep him standing upright this season.
Chaz Green needs to develop and there’s no time to waste. The free agent market for trustworthy swing tackles isn’t attractive but rolling into the regular season with a swing tackle who plays like this is a hideous proposition.
Best case scenerio is that conditioning is to blame. As the game progressed, Green’s performance regressed. To me that says he was fatigued, the results of which were slopping technique and delayed reactions.
Whether the Cowboys think the same remains to be seen but you can bet Will McClay and his scouting staff are keeping a watchful eye on NFL rosters right now.
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Chaz Green, the Cowboys expected swing tackle should concern everyone at this point. There is still time to improve but dont underestimate the importance of the position.