Two games into the 2021 schedule, and the Cowboys will already be on their second different roll call along the offensive line, continuing a theme from the injury-plagued 2020 campaign.
Right guard Zack Martin’s absence for the season opener threw a one-game wrench into the club’s plans. The looming five-game suspension of La’el Collins threatens to derail things for much longer. While some assumed that Martin’s return from the COVID list would signal his move to right tackle- a swap the team made last year- the perennial All-Pro clearly would prefer to stay put this time around.
“I think that was different circumstances last year,” Martin told reporters this week. “I play right guard and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was leaning that way as well when he went on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday and announced that Terence Steele would step in at right tackle, allowing Martin to play his usual guard slot.
“You talk about position flex in the offensive line,” Jones said, “but when you make a move [like moving Martin to tackle], you’re dealing with two people at different positions rather than just one new one in there.”
Head coach Mike McCarthy was not nearly as committed- at least publicly- to naming his offensive line starters, stating on Wednesday that there was still work to be done on that front.
“I’ll just say this about the right tackle,” McCarthy said in response to Jones’s on-air declaration, “we’ll work all the combinations we’ve been working to this point. I mean, the obvious is L.C. [Collins] will not be there. We’ll sort it out at the end of the week.”
Ty Nsekhe would appear to be the other backup lineman possibly in the mix at the tackle position. Having healthy tackles on the bench to even pick from is a luxury the Cowboys didn’t have when Martin slid over to start Weeks 11 and 12.
“Well, last year, we had about six tackles down,” according to Martin. “That was the biggest difference.”
Now there are two capable tackles healthy and waiting in the wings.
And while second-year man Steele struggled in his rookie season after being pressed into service, McCarthy says he’s seen quantum leaps in his game.
“I would say he improved in every area,” the coach explained during his Wednesday press conference. “Coming off his experience last year, he just really needed to and committed to the weight room. So he’s a lot stronger. He does everything the same way every day. I just came from the training room before I came in here, and Zack Martin comes in there and gets taped at the same time every day. Terence Steele comes right after him, same time every day. I was just talking to the trainers about it because they’re always in tune with the veterans helping the rookies. I made the point to them, ‘If I was a young offensive lineman, I’d follow Zack Martin around all day, too.’ So that’s the kind of guy Terence Steele is.”
Steele does seem to have the upper hand over Nsekhe for the start in Los Angeles. Thursday morning, McCarthy was still raving about his offseason improvement. And the coach admits that Steele getting playing time next to Martin last year would help the coaching staff feel better about the undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech taking the field this week.
“It gives you a lot of comfort,” McCarthy told media members. “Experience, you can’t buy that. His experience last year, for a rookie, was tremendous. I think not only the experience that he had last year, but the energy that he took into the offseason and what he did in the offseason. Terence is clearly probably one of our most improved. He’s definitely one of the players that – from his rookie year to his second year- we’ll be using as an example, because he’s done a tremendous job preparing for his second year.”
But still no definitive word on who would take the field against the Chargers. Part of that may be deliberate subterfuge as the line prepares to face one of the league’s premiere pass rushers. Why not keep Joey Bosa guessing as long as possible?
“High motor,” Martin said of the third overall pick of 2016’s draft. “Has every move in the book. You’ve got to be on your A-game. Obviously, he’s a point of emphasis.”
With the Cowboys and Chargers playing each other so infrequently, Martin hasn’t been able to give his younger teammates much in the way of a scouting report, saying they’ve all relied on tape to study how to defend the three-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s very skilled,” Martin elaborated. “I think his get-off is kind of what gets guys in trouble. He’s off the ball so fast that you’re playing catch-up from the initial snap, so the big thing is using the cadence to our advantage; we know when we’re starting the play. And then obviously getting to your spot and going to work from there.”
Joey Bosa showed off his elite burst in the Chargers Week 1 victory over Washington.
Bosa (0.51 seconds) was the only defender in the NFL with a pass rush get-off below 0.65 seconds (min. 15 pass rushes).#BoltUp pic.twitter.com/jZUlzF0Y7r
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 16, 2021
But it’s not just Bosa. Martin knows the Chargers defense as a whole will provide challenges for whoever the Cowboys’ front five turns out to be.
“Obviously, we all know about 97. He’s kind of their bell cow up front, but they’ve just got a really sound defense that plays extremely hard. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. They have a lot of different fronts and variations, stuff that we haven’t seen. We don’t play them very much, so it will be a big challenge for us to communicate and get on the same page and be able to execute.”
Of course, getting on the same page seems like it would be easier once the Cowboys figure out who the names on the page will be. But Martin says he’s not concerned about who lines up on either side of him on Sunday.
“I’ve played next to, obviously, [center] Tyler [Biadasz] and Terence and gotten a ton of reps with Ty during camp,” Martin explained, “so I’m confident in whatever combination’s out there, that we can get the job done and really thrive.”
Even if that combination involves a last-minute change of heart for the Dallas coaches and a last-minute change of position for Martin?
“Listen, I’m open to do whatever they need me to do but, um… yeah.”
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