Rick Gosselin: Cowboys need NFL’s best offensive line to live up to reputation

Having the best offensive line in the NFL is a definite plus for the Cowboys. But only if that group plays like the best offensive line in the NFL.tmpplchld And right now, it’s not.tmpplchld The Cowboys were up, 28-17, at halftime last Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. When the Cowboys were up by two scores at halftime a year ago, everyone in America knew what was coming. The Cowboys were going to run the ball down your throat in the second half, winding down the clock and grinding down the opposition.tmpplchld Up 21-10 against Philadelphia at halftime last season, the Cowboys ran the ball 22 times in the second half and controlled the clock for 21 minutes in a 38-27 victory. Up 16-0 against Tennessee at the half, the Cowboys ran the ball another 22 times in the second half and controlled the clock for almost 20 minutes in a 26-10 victory. Up 24-0 at halftime against New Orleans, the Cowboys ran the ball 20 times in the second half and controlled the clock for 17 minutes in a 38-17 victory.tmpplchld That’s the script we’ve come to expect from the Cowboys _ get the lead, then unleash the NFL’s best offensive line on a defense.tmpplchld But last Sunday against the Falcons, the Cowboys lost that script. They ran the ball just five times in the second half, held onto it for less than 10 minutes and were chased out of their own building by the Falcons, 39-28.tmpplchld That capped a miserable first month of the season for the best offensive line in the NFL. In the three games of September, the offensive line was penalized 11 times and failed to keep franchise quarterback Tony Romo out of harm’s way. He suffered a fractured clavicle on a sack in the second game at Philadelphia that landed him on the eight-week injured reserve list.tmpplchld The Cowboys also have tumbled from the most run-obsessed team in the NFL to a middle of the pack unit, ranking 16th with an average of 105 yards per game. That’s 42 fewer yards than a year ago.tmpplchld Right tackle Doug Free, left tackle Tyron Smith and left guard Mackenzy Bernadeau have all been penalized three times this season and right guard Zack Martin has been penalized twice. But Martin also had a holding call against Philadelphia that was declined. Add it all up and that’s 75 lost yards in penalties. And that doesn’t even count the four penalties on tight ends _ the three false starts by Jason Witten and the holding call on Geoff Swaim.tmpplchld On the first down of the Cowboys’ first possession of the second half against the Falcons, Witten was flagged for a false start. That made it first-and-15. The Cowboys then ran Joseph Randle on a sweep of right end. But Falcons linebacker O’Brien Schofield fought through a block by Free to tackle Randle for a one-yard loss. On the next snap, Free was penalized for holding Schofield.tmpplchld That doomed that possession.tmpplchld The next time the Cowboys got the ball, they ran another first-down sweep of right end by Randle. But rookie guard La’El Collins missed his down block and Atlanta’s 345-pound defensive tackle Paul Solai waddled untouched into the backfield to toss Randle for a four-yard loss.tmpplchld For all practical purposes, the Dallas running game was done for the day.tmpplchld Romo was sacked three times by the Eagles and Weeden twice by the Falcons. Vic Beasley beat Smith for the first sack of Weeden. A strong outside speed rush by both ends forced Weeden to scramble on the second sack into the arms of Adrian Clayborn. Free allowed a sack to Cedric Thornton in the Philadelphia game and the Eagles sacked Romo the other two times on stunts, each time blasting a rusher untouched past a guard.tmpplchld Smith, Martin and center Travis Frederick all performed at a Pro Bowl level last season and Free staged a resurgence of his career as the Cowboys won the NFC East, finished second in the NFL in rushing and led the NFC in time of possession at 32 minutes, 22 seconds per game.tmpplchld The alleged weak link up front was left guard Ronald Leary, and the Cowboys addressed that by signing the LSU All-America Collins this offseason. But without Leary these last two weeks because of a groin injury, the best offensive line in the NFL has struggled. Bernadeau started in Leary’s place against the Eagles and Collins against the Falcons.tmpplchld There have been too many penalties, too many hits on the quarterback and holes not wide enough for the running backs these last two weeks. Maybe we’ve underrated Leary. Maybe he’s the glue that holds this line together. That’s the way it looks heading into October, anyway.tmpplchld The Cowboys need to get Leary back _ and his pals need to start performing once again like the best offensive line in the NFL. With Romo and Dez Bryant out, the unit on this football team with the greatest financial investment and the most talent is the offensive line.tmpplchld If they want to be considered the best blocking front in the NFL, they must start playing like it. Very, very soon. The Cowboys need to win some games in Romo’s absence _ and they’ll need better blocking to do that.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Dallas Morning Newstmpplchld Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld