Q & A: Should Carl Nicks Be A Cowboy?

By:  Bobby Shores

While I am still working on my Breakdown Series, unfortunately my paying job has kept me busier than anticipated and not allowed me to make the progress I have wanted on that series and it takes quite a bit of time and research to put one of those together. So in the meantime I am going to start doing a question and answer article to get some new information out there (well I am taking questions that I either read on other sites, hear on radio or have people I know ask me and answer them). I have no name for this column and hope to maybe post quick little blurbs every day or every couple of days, please leave possible name suggestions in the comments or contact me through email, twitter, facebook, etc.

Also send me questions about anything and everything football!!

Question:  I have heard lots of people (from every Cowboys website, Cowboys radio/podcast segment, Cowboys fan that I know) saying in one form or another that the Cowboys MUST go after free agent Guard Carl Nicks, NO MATTER WHAT.

ReclinerQB Thoughts:  Was Guard really the weakest position we had last year? Was it even the weakest position on the offensive line? In my opinion, not even close (Center was the weakest offensive position), yes they had some problems with consistency, and by that I mean having the same people playing from week to week. I even believe that some of the struggles that Doug Free had this year can be directly traced back to the revolving door at left guard, the team went through Bill Nagy, Kyle Kosier (before he settled in at Right Guard) Derrick Dockery, Montrae Holland and even David Arkin from the preseason on. It is very hard for a tackle to get comfortable when he is constantly having to adjust to the different style of player next to him, especially when some of them are inexperienced (both in the NFL and the style of offense you run).

With all that said, signing Carl Nicks would be a huge upgrade for just about any team as he is one of the best guards in the NFL, and at only 26, is not even in his prime. That means that there will be a lot of teams out there that will bid his price up, and there are a lot of teams that have more cap space than the Cowboys. Whichever team signs Nicks will undoubtedly be making him the highest paid guard in the history of the NFL, and he will be that teams starting guard for 5-7 years (I believe he will want a 4-5 year contract so that he can get another MONSTER payday when he is 30-31 years old, so while the contract may be publicized as a "7 year deal" it will probably be only a 4-5 year deal, realistically).

As I said on my Guard Breakdown, I (and from what I hear people in the Cowboys organization) believe that Arkin will be a starting guard in the NFL, and the team also thinks highly of Nagy (me not so much at Guard but maybe Center), and we have to remember that none of the rookies had anywhere near a regular off season due to the lockout. I think that the jump we will see in some of these players from last year to this year will be HUGE as they will have a full off season to watch film, work in the weight room, study playbooks and work with their coaches.

I am willing to go out on a limb and say that the Cowboys should only pursue Nicks if they can get him at a decent price. I would be more comfortable going after a more reasonably priced Guard in free agency (Ben Grubbs or Dan Connolly) to start at one spot and letting Arkin, Holland and Dockery battle in training camp for the other spot and keeping one of the veterans for depth (preferably Holland as I believe him and Fiammetta were the biggest reason our running game took off). In this scenario I believe we give Kosier a chance to win the starting center job as he made many of the line calls already last year and then draft a center to groom for the future (unless we can somehow land a top center in free agency).

I agree with most people that we need improved play from our interior linemen, unlike most people I believe that we have the players already on our roster, they just did not have a chance to develop because of the lockout, and we do not need to break the bank on a guard, we just need to add a strategic piece or two. The bulk of our cap space should be used to upgrade our defensive line and secondary.

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Dallas Cowboys Breakdown: Offensive Guard

By:  Bobby Shores

(This is the second part of a multi-part series breaking down the Dallas Cowboys by position, identifying areas of need and possible solutions for those needs, based on my film work and notes taken throughout the season, the first part was Offensive Tackle)

Veteran Cowboys Guard Kyle Kosier

After the 2010 season it was obvious that the Cowboys needed to upgrade the offensive line, especially the guard position, and the team tried to address it in the draft taking guards in the fourth round (David Arkin) and the seventh round (Bill Nagy), while also addressing it by retaining/signing a number of veterans to compete and provide depth in Montrae Holland, Kyle Kosier and Derrick Dockery.

The Cowboys gave their rookies every opportunity to play after they released veteran guard and constant underachiever Leonard Davis. Unfortunately, Arkin was not ready to contribute coming from a small school and Nagy won the job by default, helped by the fact that he came from Wisconsin which produces NFL offensive linemen, Penn State produces NFL linebackers, Southern Cal produces NFL quarterbacks, and Texas produces NFL "busts". Holland was eventually released due to a bad back and poor conditioning (those two conditions were directly related).

Fast forward to October 16 and Nagy is placed on injured reserve, Derrick Dockery is still nursing a sprained MCL, Kyle Kosier is already banged up and now what appeared to be a strength in the preseason became a major liability. Enter Holland, who came back after getting in shape and the entire offense immediately improved.....

One advantage the Cowboys have at the guard position is a lot of bodies, from veteran stop-gaps and young players that the fans and organization have high expectations for, to a wide range of options in the draft and free agency. In fact, the guard position may be one of the most talked about positions on the Cowboys team from now until the season starts. So what do they have right now and what options do they have heading into the 2012 season.

Montrae Holland (Free Agent) - After being cut in training camp due to conditioning and back issues, Holland was brought back to start at Guard for the Cowboys after injuries and ineffectiveness; excelling in the 10 games he started. I believe that Holland (and Tony Fiammetta) was the primary reason for the emergence of DeMarco Murray along with the overall improvement in the line play as the season went on, as he is quick off the line for a man his size and is both strong and tough. While Holland is not a long term solution at guard, he should be brought back on a short term contract to compete come training camp, dependent on his recovery from biceps surgery and his level of conditioning. If the team is unable to draft a long term option at guard, sign a big money free agent or develop one of the younger guys; than Holland should come back as a starter.

Kyle Kosier (signed through 2013) - Kosier has been the most underrated offensive lineman for the Cowboys over the past few seasons while struggling with injuries throughout his time with the team. After being hampered by a foot injury for most of the year, his season ended just before the rest of the team when he tore his MCL in the final game of the season.

Kosier's strengths are his intelligence and technique, consistently getting underneath larger/stronger defenders and using leverage to control them. While Kosier will be with the 'Boys in training camp, he is not guaranteed a roster spot. One way to improve his odds of making the team is a position change to Center, which will be addressed in the next installment of this series (yes, I am plugging my next article, hopefully it works and you will be back).

Bill Nagy (signed through 2014) - As a rookie 7th round draft pick, not many expected Nagy to see much playing time this year, while others (myself included) prayed that he would not see many snaps. On film (from my perspective) Nagy was completely unable to move anybody, ending up 2-3 steps in the backfield in pass protection and was blown up by linebackers when he tried to clear running lanes as the pulling guard (and he had a full head of steam). He also drops his hands when not engaged with a defender wasting movement and time to get them in position.

While never seeming to make mental mistakes (seems intelligent), the NFL game was to fast and strong for him this past year, after a full off season hopefully he can get stronger and learn to use his hands to leverage defenders (should learn from Kosier). Also the Center may prove to be a better fit for Nagy going forward (again this will be addressed in the next installment).

David Arkin (signed through 2014) - As a rookie 4th round pick, Arkin was inactive for all 16 games after starting off camp playing with the first team. Only notes (from the preseason obviously) I have on him are that while he was routinely overpowered he showed more hustle than all other linemen, he seems to play with a mean streak (both hustle and mean streak contributed to a late hit penalty in preseason game against Vikings) and is excellent at getting to the second level and getting his head across the defender and into position to control where his man goes.

Coming from a small school (Missouri State) where he played left tackle his senior year (3 years at right guard), transitioning to the NFL game appeared to be much harder for him, especially without an off season. I have heard recently that the team is very high on Arkin and has the same belief in him i do, that he will become an NFL starter. If Arkin can develop in the weight room, look for him to compete with the veterans for a starting spot, and to be no worse than a backup (no more practice squad).

Derrick Dockery (Free Agent) - Another aging guard who has struggled with injuries, Dockery is an experienced player who played well in his two starts and should garner a training camp spot as an insurance policy against injuries and ineffective play.

Free Agent/Draft Options

Saints Guard & UFA Carl Nicks

Carl Nicks (unrestricted free agent - Saints) - Nicks is the guard that has all the Cowboys fans talking, and for good reason. He is by far the best free agent guard (and possibly the best free agent lineman overall) and with the Saints already committing big money to their other guard Jahri Evans and having Drew Brees and Marques Colston as unrestricted free agents, it looks like Nicks will be playing in a new uniform next year.

As a 27 year old All-Pro just entering his prime, Nicks will demand/land a contract that rivals (and in all likelihood will exceed), current teammate Evans and Patriots guard Logan Mankins recent bank busting of between $8-9 million per year on a 6-7 year deal.

With no major weaknesses in his game that I can see, he will be worth it. The Cowboys have the cap room and Jerry Jones has never shied away from spending money on guards in free agency (see:  Marco Rivera, Leonard Davis, & Kyle Kosier). The wildcard in the "Carl Nicks Sweepstakes" that may help Dallas could be his connection to new offensive line coach Bill Callahan who recruited and coached him at Nebraska.

Other notable free agents:  Ben Grubbs(Ravens), Chilo Rachal(Niners), Jake Scott(Titans), Deuce Lutui(Cardinals)

Stanford Guard David DeCastro

There are a lot of mock drafts that currently have the Cowboys using their first round pick on the consensus No. 1 Guard in the draft, Stanford's David DeCastro, which is hard to argue with as DeCastro appears to be one of the safer players in the draft. Coming from Stanford's pro-style offense, DeCastro will be one of the top guards in the NFL the day he is drafted, as he displays excellent awareness/instincts and is very good whether he is blocking in traffic or space. He displays lots of hustle, always blocking to the whistle.

The other viable draft option is to take a "second tier" guard with their second or third pick where Georgia's Cordy Glenn, Wisconsin's Kevin Zeitler, or Wake Forest's Joe Looney should be available.

2012 Outlook

So what should the Cowboys do at the guard position for 2012? While many fans, radio people, bloggers, analysts, etc. are saying they should either draft DeCastro with their first round pick or pay big money to Nicks in free agency, I believe they should stand pat with what they have.

The Cowboys have MUCH bigger problems than guard, in fact it is not even their biggest need on the offensive line (Center is), and the guard play this past season was above average once Holland returned to the team healthy and in shape. And from everything I have heard, the team believes they have a starting caliber guard in Arkin, and see potential in Nagy. So develop those two and bring back one (or a mix of) the veterans that are still playing well (Kosier, Holland, & Dockery).

I think we can all agree that the money and draft picks need to be used to fix the secondary, defensive line, center and/or for another pass rusher to take the pressure off of DeMarcus Ware. This team has a lot of holes/weak spots and they cannot all be addressed in one off season, so take care of the areas with the biggest deficiencies first.  With all that said, I cannot disagree with upgrading if Nicks or Grubbs is available for a good price, OR taking DeCastro at fourteen if he is the highest rated player their board.

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