Cowboys' nose tackle Jay Ratliff admitted in an appearance on NFL Live recently that the biggest issues for Dallas going into 2010 were left tackle and kicker, but he said that the team has complete faith in Doug Free and David Buehler, the men who will fill those positions this season.
"I think the biggest is the kicking game and our left tackle position," Ratliff said, per the Dallas Morning News. "There’s been a lot of questions about that and [David] Buehler has definitely answered the call. We’ve seen him a little bit in practice and he’s pretty accurate and he’s got a strong leg."
Ratliff cited Free's work last season in place of injured right tackle Marc Colombo in his support of the first-year starter--which was all the more impressive, Ratliff said, due to Free being a natural left tackle.
"The biggest question is Doug Free: can he replace Flozell Adams? And I would definitely say yes," Ratliff said. "He’s one of the toughest young guys we have and is very smart. He played behind [Marc] Colombo last year and produced and he was playing out of position.
"This time, he’s at home and he’s taken many reps there and we’re looking for some big things from him."
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