Dallas Cowboys: Offensive line on the verge of collapse
By Joel W. Cade
Joe Looney fills in
In Frederick’s absence, the Cowboys will turn to their primary interior lineman backup Joe Looney. Looney has looked good and should fill in nicely. But elevating him to a starter role creates more problems. Even Looney had a brief scare with a finger injury, but will end up not missing time.
Compounding the issue is reserve guard Marcus Martin’s injury that will force him to miss the rest of the season. Now the Cowboys have to find another reserve center and swing interior linemen.
All-Pro right guard Zack Martin took an ugly hit to his knee causing it to hyper extend. Given the gruesome nature of the hit, the Cowboys and Martin are lucky it was only a hyperextension. It seems that Martin will not miss time. But should he miss time, it is unclear who will be the primary backup.
Fears of horrible backups leads us to the Tyron Smith situation. Okay, there is no real “situation” with Smith. Except that he has a known history of recurring back injuries. He had two consecutive seasons of missing games due to injuries. It is the hope that Smith will be healthy all season, but a backup plan needs to be in place just in case.
The play of Cameron Fleming and (gasp) Chaz Green has not been up to par this preseason. Everyone is still trying to forget Green’s performance against the Atlanta Falcons last season. The Cowboys even signed Fleming to help promote amnesia in that regard. But it could be déjà vu all over again if Smith were to get injured.