Danger Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 1 hour ago, minutemancl said: I saw a story on one of those Bleacher Report affiliates of a preseason All-NFC East team offense and I thought it was bad, so I thought I'd make my own: LT: Andrew Thomas HM: Jordan Mailata According to PFF, Mailata performed better than Thomas last year and in 2021. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 26 minutes ago, minutemancl said: I see a lot of people celebrating the demise of the Cowboys, but IMO, that is premature. Assuming Lamb and Micah come back and play this season, they should be just about as good as they were last year in 2024. Beyond that though, we could see a huge drop off. You have to assume they are able to keep at least one of Dak, Lamb, Parsons, but even losing 2/3 of those guys with nobody ready to step up and take their place would be huge for the prospects of that team. The Cowboys have kept their OL stocked, but their weapons pantry is pretty bare. If they keep all 3? They're fine. Losing 1, they'd probably manage. Losing 2 or 3 would be catastrophic. Dak gets a lot of crap, but he's still one of the better QBs in football. Their run game, and their depth are going to be their weak spots this year. The question is, how much of a carry over effect is the run game going to have towards Dak's ability to do what he did last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleBlueDon Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Cowboys ceiling is what happened last year. I don't see how anybody could feel good about that team right now. Could say the same thing about the Eagles but it at least seems like they left 2023's problems in 2023 whereas the Cowboys problems are current. Cowboys in all likelihood are a playoff team, but this year more than probably the last 5 years I'm the least confident in saying that. Their OL and their weapons just aren't what they once were. It's got a dysfunctional feel to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleBlueDon Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Also I think Devonta Smith has overtaken McLaurin as the divisions 3rd best WR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minutemancl Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 12 minutes ago, Danger said: According to PFF, Mailata performed better than Thomas last year and in 2021. PFF OL grades are not to be relied on. They are overall pretty poor. However, Thomas hardly played last year. He got injured week 1 pretty bad and toughed it out to be able to play at all last year. Thomas was a 2nd team all-pro in 2022. Mailata has never had an accolade like that. When healthy, I think it's pretty clear Thomas is the better LT. Calling Jalen Carter the best iDL in the division is just ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 31 minutes ago, minutemancl said: PFF OL grades are not to be relied on. They are overall pretty poor. However, Thomas hardly played last year. He got injured week 1 pretty bad and toughed it out to be able to play at all last year. Thomas was a 2nd team all-pro in 2022. Mailata has never had an accolade like that. When healthy, I think it's pretty clear Thomas is the better LT. Calling Jalen Carter the best iDL in the division is just ridiculous. The offensive line grades I've found over the years to be a fairly good indicator frankly. I'm not saying I definitively think Mailata is better than Thomas, but I definitely think there's an argument to be had. Carter is not the best iDL in the division.... yet. He's got Aaron Donald esque potential though, and his floor is multi time pro bowler IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeezla Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 7 minutes ago, Danger said: The offensive line grades I've found over the years to be a fairly good indicator frankly. I'm not saying I definitively think Mailata is better than Thomas, but I definitely think there's an argument to be had. Carter is not the best iDL in the division.... yet. He's got Aaron Donald esque potential though, and his floor is multi time pro bowler IMO. I don't think he has Aaron Donald potential, aka best defensive player in the league potential, but he has peak Suh potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minutemancl Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 2 minutes ago, Danger said: The offensive line grades I've found over the years to be a fairly good indicator frankly. I'm not saying I definitively think Mailata is better than Thomas, but I definitely think there's an argument to be had. Carter is not the best iDL in the division.... yet. He's got Aaron Donald esque potential though, and his floor is multi time pro bowler IMO. It's clear to me that Thomas is better, but it's not like they aren't close. Mailata is obviously a great LT in the league. As far as LTs go, I think you've got Trent Williams still at the top, followed by Tristan Wirfs. Then I think Laremy Tunsil and Andrew Thomas are right there at 3 and 4, in whatever order you choose. Then Christian Darrisaw would be my 5, and Jordan Mailata is probably 6. Rashawn Slater would be 7. Then you've got Taylor Decker, Kolton Miller maybe, then it gets a little murky. Do Armstead and Tyron Smith still have anything in the tank? How about Ronnie Stanley? And for sure, Carter has incredible potential. Putting him over Dexter or Allen or Payne right now would just be wrong though. Dexter is on a HOF career path, doing things a NT has never done, and Allen and Payne have been great DTs, producing at high levels and receiving accolades for it, for years now and are still in their primes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleBlueDon Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 The only DT who has an argument over Carter right now in the division is Lawrence. Carter is better than Allen and Payne already. Quite frankly I don't think it's even close. He has DPOY ability and potential. Neither of those guys do, especially at this point in their careers. I don't think Lawrence does either. I believe Lawrence had the most wins by a mile from nose techniques. Carter had the most wins from 2i, 2 and 3 techs I think. Might be missing one. He's an animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasperX22 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 8 hours ago, minutemancl said: PFF OL grades are not to be relied on. They are overall pretty poor. However, Thomas hardly played last year. He got injured week 1 pretty bad and toughed it out to be able to play at all last year. Thomas was a 2nd team all-pro in 2022. Mailata has never had an accolade like that. When healthy, I think it's pretty clear Thomas is the better LT. Calling Jalen Carter the best iDL in the division is just ridiculous. A lot of things pff related I would agree on, but their OL ratings are pretty spot on. I'd take Mailata in a heartbeat. Also Carter has a strong argument for already being the 2nd best IDL in the division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabbs4u Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 (edited) 13 hours ago, Danger said: According to PFF, Mailata performed better than Thomas last year and in 2021. Well there's a reason for that. Maybe not the popular or fan perspective but truth non the least. The only singular reason he hasn't gotten his praise as to what he's become the past 2 years is because of Jason and Lane! Facts! Edited August 13 by Nabbs4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabbs4u Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 (edited) Carter IS NOT CURRENTLY the best IDL in the NFCE/NFL. No debate about that whatsoever. However by the end of the 2024 season if he remains healthy, that WILL CHANGE! Hate all you want. He's the closest thing to Donald 2.0 I've seen, since Aaron was drafted!!! Edited August 13 by Nabbs4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Joe Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 On 8/12/2024 at 8:36 AM, Danger said: The offensive line grades I've found over the years to be a fairly good indicator frankly. I'm not saying I definitively think Mailata is better than Thomas, but I definitely think there's an argument to be had. Carter is not the best iDL in the division.... yet. He's got Aaron Donald esque potential though, and his floor is multi time pro bowler IMO. We might want to slow down a bit with the Carter hype. His floor is not a multi time pro bowler, I don't think that's the case for any player. But in Carter's case, his floor is much lower that that as he had very valid concerns coming out that very well may affect his career. He has very high ceiling but I don't think it's GOAT DT as Aaron Donald was. I do agree with @minutemancl on many things, but specially on people seem to be dancing on Dallas's "grave" and I don't see why. I get that it's fun to laugh at any possible disfunction that might be going on, but at this point in time and heading into the 2024 season, they haven't lost much more than we have and are still a very real threat in the NFC. I hope that changes and that I'm wrong, but so far laughing at them is just wishful thinking on our side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasperX22 Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Yep we need to pump the brakes a little bit on Carter. He's already a very good player and the talent is there for him to be a perennial all-pro IDL, but Dexter Lawrence already is that guy and has a case to be the best IDL in the league currently. We can tag on the Giants for a lot of things, but he is a legit star and game wrecker. As for the Cowboys, they have some very serious holes on that roster that are going to be difficult to fill. They obviously aren't as good as last year's team, but still likely a playoff team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 On 8/12/2024 at 9:44 AM, EagleBlueDon said: Jalen Carter is at least the 2nd best iDL in the division. Probably the overall best No he isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.