Cowboys Camp Preview: Offensive Line

Left guard Kyle Kosier, who missed last season with a broken foot, should return healthy, and should boost the production of the lagging left side. Flozell Adams will return as well, coming off his third Pro Bowl appearance and surrounded by concerns of durability and discipline.

 

Adams remains one of the most penalized linemen in the league, and he seems to wear down late in the year; the “Hotel” was also exposed several times last season against quicker ends.

 

Center Andre Gurode will return, twice a Pro Bowler. Gurode has remained fairly consistent, though he struggled at times in the shotgun formation.

 

The right side is the strong side of the line, with Marc Colombo at tackle, and band/teammate Leonard Davis at guard.

 

Despite his second Pro Bowl nod in as many years, Davis was inconsistent at times last season, coming off a dominant 2007.

 

Colombo has retained the raw strength and aggression he showed early in his career with Chicago, while refining his technique over the past few seasons.

 

Both have shown the capacity to be effective if not dominant run blockers.

 

Cory Procter and Montrae Holland, who rotated at left guard towards the end of last season in the absence of Kosier figure to go separate ways in 2009. Holland will return to a backup left guard role, and Procter, if he makes the team, will back up Gurode.

 

Dallas bolstered the depth of the line—a concern over the past few years—by drafting Robert Brewster out of Ball State in the third round. He figures to start the year as an understudy of sorts in 2009. As of now, he is listed as a right tackle, though this could presumably change depending on the play, and health, of Adams and Colombo.

 

The bottom line is that Dallas’ big men must improve on their 2008 campaign, a year in which three Pro Bowl nods belied widespread inconsistency along the unit.

 

Training camp kicks off Tuesday July, 28, at the Alamodome in San Antonio.