Life comes to you quickly. When the disappointing 2019 season ended, there were plenty of reasons for optimism for the Dallas Cowboys. Much of it focused on the offensive line. A year later, the Travis Frederick Center returned to play a full season after an immune system illness. Lyle Collins stood out so much that there was a legit chat about who’s the best between him and Pro Bowler Tyrone Smith seven times. Zach Martin had just made his sixth consecutive All-Pro Team. 2020 was shaping up to be a mega year for Cowboys OL.
Fast forward to end of week 6 2020 and that’s not what anyone thinks. The offensive streak is in disarray and bottom fell during the club’s 38-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals when Martin lost the match due to a concussion.
Cowboys say RG Zach Martin’s concussion was the only significant injury in losing the night to the Cardinals. He entered the league protocol.
– Michael Gilken (@GehlkenNFL) October 20, 2020
Back in 2015, I routinely said it could capture the cowboy offensive streak shift in an easy feel. If Dogfree is the best offensive man on your team; You are in a lot of trouble. But if Doug Free is the worst offensive man on your team, you have an impressive array of players. Now, that guy is Connor Williams.
Smith & Collins is completed for the year. Frederick retired again in March. Following Martin’s departure, the Cowboys were playing the 2019 UDFA Brandon Knight in left-hand interference and Williams in the left-guard. Round 4 rookie Tyler Biyadash was in the center, playing veteran Joe Looney who also knocked out. Conor McGovern picked up in the third round of 2019 – who only played twice on OL last week – for Martin and played alongside UDFA Terence Steele for 2020.
To make matters worse, Blake Garwin, who also has blocking responsibilities, lost this year in his first week with an ACL injury.
The line, of course, was an issue on Monday night. QB Andy Dalton was subjected to endless harassment throughout the night, and offense struggled to develop any plays down the field.
Dallas also doesn’t have a free agent to sign with Cam Irving, who was supposed to be the swing swing. The club had hoped to revitalize him from the IR, but got sick before the match, and Wyatt Miller and Mitch Hayat were in the mix during training camp, but injuries ended their season.
The Cowboys attack streak is in utter disarray for the seventh week.
