Bell: Time for the Cowboys' investment in O-line to pay off
IRVING, TEXAS -- Cowboys offensive line coach Bill Callahan has been around the NFL long enough, with enough success over the years, to trust his teaching methods.
That's why Callahan is probably part a very limited number of coaches in the league who doesn't give his unit weekly grades.
Callahan is not the one to tell you whether a player graded out at, say, 93 for a particular game.
But he knows.
"We just put on the film and correct it," Callahan explained to a small group of reporters Thursday.
We can only guess what the grades for the O-line might have been the last time the Cowboys faced the Philadelphia Eagles, who drubbed Dallas 33-10 on Thanksgiving.
The O-line was hardly the only unit that day that had performances sorely in need of correcting, with a rematch looming Sunday night at Philadelphia that could determine the NFC East title.
Yet Callahan's offensive line, one of the best in the NFL, attracts attention this week for what it needs to provide: a foundation for the whole operation.
Dallas invested so heavily in the front, including three first-round picks within the past five years. Now it's time for that investment to pay off. Or else.
"That's a lot of pressure on a young offensive line," Nate Newton, a former all-pro guard on those Cowboys championship teams of the '90s, told Paste BN Sports. "Two weeks ago, they kind of hit a bump in the road. This will be a good test to see if they can get that bump back."
The Cowboys have reshaped their philosophy into the type of unit that coach Jason Garrett has said that he wanted all along – the type that mimics the championship teams of the 1990s that could set tempo and control games.
No wonder Garrett used his final padded practice session of the week on Wednesday,which speaks to the physical style and aggressive mind-set the Cowboys will need to have a chance at Philadelphia.
Of course, they need to open holes for DeMarco Murray, the NFL's rushing leader with 1,606 yards. They need to keep quarterback Tony Romo out of trouble. And consistent success on offense can help keep Dallas' suspect defense off the field in long stretches.
The defense couldn't keep up with Chip Kelly's offense in the last meeting. Romo had his worst game of the season. Murray was held to a season-low 73 yards.
Now here's the rub: Philadelphia's front seven has developed into one of the best in the NFL.
There are reasons the Eagles bottled up Murray on Thanksgiving and lead the NFC with 44 sacks. The names include linebacker Connor Barwin, who leads the NFC with 13 ½ sacks. And edge rusher Trent Cole. And defensive end Fletcher Cox, who destroyed Dallas on Thanksgiving, is another example of a player in the midst of a breakout season that has him playing at a Pro Bowl level.
How the Cowboys handle the Eagles' front could be the difference.
Newton loves how the Cowboys have built their philosophy around the ability to grind it out in the pass-happy NFL. He believes that formula can be worth two or three victories in today's NFL, as it can allow for a team to control tempo and deal with adversities that can include weather.
"Physical is not the NFL anymore," Newton said. "But as you've seen with the 49ers, when they were playing well over the past couple of years, and with the Seahawks, and with the Patriots with (Rob Gronkowski), it is still a formula for winning."
Now we'll see whether the Cowboys can employ that formula when it matters most.
Grading system or not, can the O-line pass the test?
"Every week in the NFL is a test," guard Ronald Leary told Paste BN Sports. "This is the next one."
During each of the past three seasons, when they finished 8-8, Dallas lost a win-or-go-home game in the season finale.
This time,it's not the season finale, but the stakes may be the same.
It's put up or shut up.