This offseason, there were plenty of questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line, but very few of them concerned right guard Leonard Davis. Davis, after all, has been named a Pro Bowler in each of the three seasons since he arrived in Dallas from Arizona. No, the lion’s share of the questions were leveled at new left tackle Doug Free.
After four games, all we can say is, what a difference four games makes.
Free has been arguably the best Cowboys’ lineman this season. Meanwhile, Davis has struggled woefully, his troubles coming to a head in week five’s 34-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans, when Davis was benched in favor of backup Montrae Holland. Davis returned, but only when Holland went down with a bruised eye.
Afterward, Davis offered no excuses.
"No way can I make excuses for what I did on the field," Davis said, per the Dallas Morning News. "There are expectations on me to go out and execute and do a job. I didn't do it. It was time for somebody else to go out and do the job."
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was noncommittal when asked if there was a chance Holland could replace Davis as the starter. Rather, Garrett praised Holland, adding that, in his estimation, Davis responded well to being pulled.
"It just looked like Leonard struggled inside as a pass protector a couple of times with quick, early pressure and felt like it was time to put Montrae in and see if you could stabilize things," Garrett said. "And he did. I thought he responded well to the opportunity and when Leonard went back in again he did the same. He responded to the situation. The pass protection got better as the game wore on."
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