Dak Prescott delivered his review of Dallas' offensive line with a shirt. Brian Schottenheimer followed with a comparison to one of the best offensive lines he has coached.
After Prescott donned a “linemen lead the way” shirt to his postgame press conference Monday, Schottenheimer spent Tuesday explaining how Dallas’ offensive front did exactly that in a 38-21 win over Philadelphia. The Cowboys rushed for 204 yards on 38 carries and did not allow a sack. That effort earned the big guys more than a passing compliment.
“I thought the offensive line was just dynamite all night,” Schottenheimer said. “I thought the way they blocked the running game was great. The pass protection was awesome.”
What stood out went beyond the final numbers. Schottenheimer
described a group generating movement at the line of scrimmage, finishing blocks and making his job considerably easier.
“When you’re calling runs and you’re watching the line of scrimmage, you could see the forward progress that we were making,” he said. “We were controlling the line of scrimmage. We were knocking them back.”
Cowboys’ physicality reminds Schottenheimer of his Jets days
The performance reminded Schottenheimer of one of the best offensive lines he has coached: the Jets group under Rex Ryan that included D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Damien Woody.
“There’s some things that remind me of that group,” Schottenheimer said.
Asked what specifically brought that group to mind, his first answer was simple: “Physicality.”
“The way these guys can move people, the way they can use combination blocks and really just win the line of scrimmage and get vertical push and create seams in the running game,” Schottenheimer said.
The resemblance wasn’t limited to how they blocked. Schottenheimer also pointed to the personalities that make up Dallas’ offensive front, a collection of different characters finding common ground in the trenches.
“They’re all wired a little bit different, but man, they love playing football together,” he said.
Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith earn individual praise
Left tackle Tyler Guyton received particularly strong praise. Schottenheimer credited his focus, confidence and willingness to accept coaching, saying Guyton is “playing at one of the elite levels in the league, in my opinion.”
That confidence, Schottenheimer said, is showing up in how Guyton finishes.
“I think he’s always been wired that way,” he said. “But I do think that now he’s playing with so much confidence that he’s finishing even more.”
At left guard, Tyler Smith is looking increasingly comfortable after missing time. Schottenheimer noted improvements in his fundamentals and the way he is playing with his cleats in the ground.
The praise extended beyond the starting five. Schottenheimer highlighted the blocking efforts of the tight ends and fullback Hunter Luepke, while saying extra offensive lineman Broderick Jones has earned opportunities.
The next challenge is making that performance a habit. Asked why Dallas has struggled to string together wins, Schottenheimer pointed to inconsistency.
For one night, though, his offensive line supplied a clear picture of the standard and plenty of reasons to keep calling runs.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Offensive line's 'physicality' reminds Cowboys HC of his Jets days
