Watkins: Is this the end of Phil Costa?

Cotton

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Is this the end of Phil Costa?
April, 26, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- Phil Costa was the Cowboys' starting center to begin 2012, but back problems and an ankle injury forced him to miss nine games last season. The Cowboys started three different centers -- Costa, Ryan Cook and Mackenzy Bernadeau -- in 2012.

Listen The interior of the offensive line was an issue last season and it prompted the Cowboys to draft Wisconsin center Travis Frederick with the 31st pick of the first round Thursday night.

Does this mean the end for Costa and Cook?

"I think they're all competing," team executive vice president Stephen Jones said Thursday night. "Frederick can be a guard. We're gonna put our five best guys on the field. I think what it means, everybody expected us to improve ourselves in the interior of the offensive line and it's going to be a battle there for everybody. But I think we're going to put our five best guys (there). If Costa wins the starting center job and if we think he's one of the best five, we might play Frederick at guard."

The first round of the draft saw three offensive tackles go in the top five and five more offensive linemen go after that. Jones said the number of offensive linemen picked in the first round had no bearing on the trade the Cowboys made with San Francisco to move down, or their selection.

"We had a handful of players we would have taken at 18," Jones said. "If they had been there, we would have taken them. When they weren't there, we felt like our best value for our team, long term, to improve ourselves, was to move the pick when we had the opportunity."
 

Cowboysrock55

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I don't hate Costa if he earns a starting spot awesome. In his short career he has proven to be very injury prone though. Guys like Arkin and Kowalski can sit and spin though.
 

p1_

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Hope springs eternal.
 

1bigfan13

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I have a feeling Costa is going to hang around like Lynn Scott.
 

NoDak

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As a backup, that's fine.
I'd be ok with Costa as a backup. I'm not one that hates him. I think he's a smart, high effort guy that just isn't good enough to be a front line starter. But I'd take guys like him as a backup.
 

Bluestar71

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I hate Costa as a starter but he would be fine as backup that could come in and start a game or two if necessary. He's just not a full-time NFL quality Center.
 

p1_

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Itd be nice if Costa had some versatility to maybe play guard, but I guess his baby arm syndrome is holding him back.
 

Carp

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I don't want him gone just to be gone. Need to see if the flash he had against Bal was a mirage or what. He could stay at C and Frederick can start at G.
 

ravidubey

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I don't want him gone just to be gone. Need to see if the flash he had against Bal was a mirage or what. He could stay at C and Frederick can start at G.
This is exactly what Jerry has in mind, but Frederick needs to stay at Center. He doesn't have the mobility guards need, and anchoring is more his thing. Plus wouldn't it be nice to actually have a smart player snapping the fing football and making the line calls?
 
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Deuce

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This is exactly what Jerry has in mind, but Frederick needs to stay at Center. He doesn't have the mobility guards need, and anchoring is more his thing. Plus wouldn't it be nice to actually have a smart player snapping the fing football and making the line calls?
Montee Ball averaged over 6 ypc in 2011 with him playing G. Something tells me he moves just fine in that regard.
 

Smitty

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I wouldn't say Costa is a "plus" backup but he can come in and not be a complete trainwreck, unlike Cook and the other assholes we've had playing center. Given the state of our line and the team in general, there are way more important things to worry about than Costa as a backup center.

Such as.... what the F are we gonna do about Bernadeau at guard? That still needs to be addressed and there are no more instant starter guards available in this draft, most likely.
 

Smitty

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This is exactly what Jerry has in mind, but Frederick needs to stay at Center. He doesn't have the mobility guards need, and anchoring is more his thing. Plus wouldn't it be nice to actually have a smart player snapping the fing football and making the line calls?
I agree. Frederick is a center.
 

p1_

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So we have this line right now: Smith at LT, Parnell at RT, Livings at one guard, Bernadeau at the other guard and Frederick at center.

The weak spot? Bernadeau clearly. Parnell looked good, but remains unproven.
 

Smitty

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So we have this line right now: Smith at LT, Parnell at RT, Livings at one guard, Bernadeau at the other guard and Frederick at center.

The weak spot? Bernadeau clearly. Parnell looked good, but remains unproven.
I absolutely HAVE to assume that we're gonna get one of the FA tackles. It's unacceptable not to.
 

Cowboysrock55

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This is exactly what Jerry has in mind, but Frederick needs to stay at Center. He doesn't have the mobility guards need, and anchoring is more his thing. Plus wouldn't it be nice to actually have a smart player snapping the fing football and making the line calls?
Leonard Davis wasn't particularly mobile at all, but we put him at RG and told him to go forward and he did an excellent job run blocking for awhile. You don't pull as much with your RG anyway. I'm guessing Jerry is thinking Costa at center, Frederick at RG, and Livings at LG.
 

NoDak

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So we have this line right now: Smith at LT, Parnell at RT, Livings at one guard, Bernadeau at the other guard and Frederick at center.

The weak spot? Bernadeau clearly. Parnell looked good, but remains unproven.
LT-Smith LG-Livings C-Frederick RG-Leary/Quessenberry RT Clabo/Winston

Could be better, but I could live with this.
 
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