Ok, I know I need some work in the headline department, but with the deadline passing for teams to use the "Franchise tag" on players I was very surprised to see that the Cowboys did not tag Doug Free.
Doug Free was drafted in the 4th round (122nd overall) in the 2007 draft out of Northern Illinois. He barely played at all (partially due to a back injury) until 2009, in that year he came in at right tackle and played the last 7 games of the regular season for Marc Colombo after he broke his leg. While offensive line play largely goes unnoticed, everyone noticed when the Cowboys lined up against the Vikings in that playoff game. Colombo was back off the injured list from his broken leg and even though he hadn't played in weeks, and Doug Free was doing an exceptional job at RT, the Cowboys still started Colombo over him. In that game Colombo was apparently not fully recovered because I believe he gave up no less than 3 sacks and 4-5 QB hurries against the Viking's 2nd best defensive end (Ray Edwards). Somebody with more time than me can check those stats. Doug Free does not get a free pass for that game though because Flozell Adams went out early with a calf injury and Free replaced him at left tackle and he struggled with Jared Allen. I cut him some slack since he had been playing on the opposite side with different techniques for the majority of the season and it is difficult to come in and play the opposite side against one of the premier pass rushers in the league. After the season the Cowboys had seen enough of Doug Free and how good he could be to release Flozell Adams and move Free to the 2nd most important position on the field, Left Tackle, protecting the franchise QB's blind side.
While the 2010 season was a huge disappointment for the Cowboys and especially the offensive line, the one bright spot was Doug Free. He was the anchor and most reliable part of the Cowboys offensive line, and he was doing it at the most important position. If you look at the rest of their offensive line it goes something like this:
Left Guard-Kyle Kosier - 2nd best lineman last year, 32 years old, very good pulling guard, contract expired, has trouble staying healthy, if they cannot get Logan Mankins (must be new CBA first) and don't draft instant help then they should sign him to a 1-year "prove you can stay healthy" deal.
Center-Andre Gurode - 32 years old, earned a Pro Bowl berth based on reputation, has declined rapidly the past 2 seasons. I believe he is still a good center and that his decline is largely based on having to help Kosier's replacements at LG and constantly having to help Leonard Davis on the other side of him because Davis is constantly getting beat.
Right Guard-Leonard Davis - 32 years old, looks to be overweight the last 2 seasons and not worth the big money that he is due anymore. Whether its weight or just getting old, Davis's problem is he gets beat off the line consistently. Against the 4-3 defenses the 3-technique is past him and in the backfield before he even gets out of his stance. The only thing he does good anymore is head on blocking when the guy is right in front of him.
Right Tackle-Marc Colombo - 32 years old, to slow getting off the line, it looks like all the injuries he has had in his career are finally catching up to him. I don't see much use for Colombo anymore on the Cowboys, he is to slow to play tackle and I do not think he is strong or big enough to play guard. They need to cut their losses.
Back to the original reason I started this post, why not place the franchise tag on Doug Free? He plays the second most important position on the offense, is young at only 27 years old, just coming into his prime. When I compare him to the other top notch young LT's in this league I only see Cleveland's Joe Thomas as being definitely better. I see him being on the same level as Miami's Jake Long (maybe a little better) and he is definitely better than the Raven's Michael Oher. The only reason he is not a bigger name is because he was drafter in the 4th round and they are all 1st round picks. Many of you may be thinking "they did not franchise him because of the $$$ it would take". Well the franchise tag for O-linemen this year is about $10 million which is a good number for a franchise left tackle, and just because they franchise him does not mean they have to pay him all that. It just means that if he leaves the Cowboys get 2 first round draft picks and they have the right to work out a long term contract with him. Now it looks like they are going to let him hit the open market where he will be the #1 free agent offensive lineman and there are plenty of teams that will pay a lot of money to have a true franchise left tackle protecting the face of their franchise. Of course Jerry Jones will probably beat any deal out there, but why risk it, why would you let someone have the opportunity to run the price up? Franchise left tackle's don't walk through the door every day....
What will probably happen is the Cowboys will tender him with the highest tender, meaning he can negotiate with other teams and the Cowboys have the right to match any offer he receives. If they do not match the offer then they will receive a 1st & 3rd round draft pick as compensation, while that seems like a lot, look at the Cowboys history of drafting and developing offensive lineman....its bad. The last homegrown offensive lineman that was any good was Larry Allen, next is Andre Gurode and it took a long time for him to develop and he has only had 1 or 2 real good years. Cowboys fans better hope that Doug Free is not allowed to go 'Free"....yea it was a bad pun
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