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Cowboys OL thinking of work, not being best ever
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Within the first few minutes of his introductory press conference with the Dallas Cowboys, La'el Collins made a profound boast: "This is going to be the best offensive line in NFL history. Mark my words."
On Tuesday, Collins' new linemates weren't ready to go that far. Maybe it's because Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin know the difficulties presented by defenses on a weekly basis.
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard," Travis Frederick said. "We have a long way to go and we're going to continue to work and continue to try to get better." AP Photo/James D Smith
"That's not something that I personally am going to say," Frederick said Tuesday after taking some swings in Reliant's Home Run Derby at Globe Life Park. "I know that we have a long way to go to reach anything like that, you know? For us to come in and try and do what we want to do and what that is is -- do as well as we did last year and continue to improve. But we have long way to go. We're just now grinding trying to continue to work on technique and strength and speed and hopefully we can have another good year.
Said Smith, "For us, it's just to do our part on the team and kind of work hard every day and just kind of be the hardest working group on the team."
Call Collins' comments youthful exuberance or tremendous belief, but after the Cowboys took Smith with their first-round pick in 2011, Smith said his goal was to make the Hall of Fame.
A Pro Bowler the last three years, maybe Smith is on that kind of trip. Maybe over the next three years, Collins' statement will look more prescient than it does right now.
Collins was one of three linemen the Cowboys added during the draft process. They took Chaz Green in the third round and Laurence Gibson in the seventh, but Collins is the prize. He was viewed as a first-round talent before the draft only to see his stock fall when he was sought for questioning by Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police in a murder investigation.
He has since been cleared and the Cowboys were able to sign him to a three-year deal that included a $21,000 signing bonus and roughly $1.6 million guaranteed for the next three years.
Smith, Frederick and Martin were at the meeting with Collins at Jerry Jones' house.
"I think him and all the new guys, they're coming to work," Martin said. "Like we've always said, our group sets a very high standard for how we work, and they've come in and done that."
While Frederick won't step out on the same limb as Collins, he did acknowledge the talent inside the offensive line room.
"A lot can be said about the guys that are there but there's also a lot of times where talent goes wasted if it's not put to good use," Frederick said. "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. We have a long way to go and we're going to continue to work and continue to try to get better."
____________________________________
I am loving what they are saying. This is an amazing group of players, and they are just going to get better.
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Within the first few minutes of his introductory press conference with the Dallas Cowboys, La'el Collins made a profound boast: "This is going to be the best offensive line in NFL history. Mark my words."
On Tuesday, Collins' new linemates weren't ready to go that far. Maybe it's because Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin know the difficulties presented by defenses on a weekly basis.
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard," Travis Frederick said. "We have a long way to go and we're going to continue to work and continue to try to get better." AP Photo/James D Smith
"That's not something that I personally am going to say," Frederick said Tuesday after taking some swings in Reliant's Home Run Derby at Globe Life Park. "I know that we have a long way to go to reach anything like that, you know? For us to come in and try and do what we want to do and what that is is -- do as well as we did last year and continue to improve. But we have long way to go. We're just now grinding trying to continue to work on technique and strength and speed and hopefully we can have another good year.
Said Smith, "For us, it's just to do our part on the team and kind of work hard every day and just kind of be the hardest working group on the team."
Call Collins' comments youthful exuberance or tremendous belief, but after the Cowboys took Smith with their first-round pick in 2011, Smith said his goal was to make the Hall of Fame.
A Pro Bowler the last three years, maybe Smith is on that kind of trip. Maybe over the next three years, Collins' statement will look more prescient than it does right now.
Collins was one of three linemen the Cowboys added during the draft process. They took Chaz Green in the third round and Laurence Gibson in the seventh, but Collins is the prize. He was viewed as a first-round talent before the draft only to see his stock fall when he was sought for questioning by Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police in a murder investigation.
He has since been cleared and the Cowboys were able to sign him to a three-year deal that included a $21,000 signing bonus and roughly $1.6 million guaranteed for the next three years.
Smith, Frederick and Martin were at the meeting with Collins at Jerry Jones' house.
"I think him and all the new guys, they're coming to work," Martin said. "Like we've always said, our group sets a very high standard for how we work, and they've come in and done that."
While Frederick won't step out on the same limb as Collins, he did acknowledge the talent inside the offensive line room.
"A lot can be said about the guys that are there but there's also a lot of times where talent goes wasted if it's not put to good use," Frederick said. "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. We have a long way to go and we're going to continue to work and continue to try to get better."
____________________________________
I am loving what they are saying. This is an amazing group of players, and they are just going to get better.
