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Zack Martin's center snaps to affect Cowboys' game-day roster
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- As the Dallas Cowboys go through training camp, the coaches, front-office personnel and scouts go through every imaginable scenario, good and bad, when trying to figure out the roster.
While most of the focus is on the 53-man roster, the team takes a close look at the 46-man game-day roster as well, which is part of the reason why Zack Martin is taking some snaps at center in camp.
The Cowboys like to dress seven offensive linemen for a game with a backup guard/center and tackle. Mackenzy Bernadeau can play guard and center, but La’el Collins can’t. Darrion Weems is the current leader in the clubhouse to be the swing tackle.
If Martin can show the ability to be the center, then the Cowboys can continue to roll with seven offensive linemen on game day.
Martin took some snaps as a rookie, but is not quite comfortable.
“It’s a little better this year because I got to know more schematically what’s going on, but every time I touch the ball I get more respect for what (Travis Frederick) does,” Martin said, “because it’s an awkward position to snap and step and snap and pull. So you gain a bit of perspective for guys like that.”
When the Cowboys drafted Martin in the first round in 2014, they thought he could play all five spots along the offensive line. He was a tackle at Notre Dame and was named an All-Pro at right guard as a rookie.
“You want to put your best five out there,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you feel like you get to a certain point that these are the five guys who are your best guys, now you’ve got to put them out there and figure out where everyone fits.
“The other question always on the offensive line is who are you taking to the game? Ideally, you want to take seven. Sometimes you’ve got to take eight. Snapping the ball is always a factor there. Typically you have a swing tackle and an interior guy. All of this gives us flexibility, all of this gives us competition when you have some guys who can play some different spots in there and you can move them around. At the end of the day, you want them all prepared and you say, OK, these are our best guys going into the season, these are the best guys week to week and his flexibility there certainly helps that situation.”
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- As the Dallas Cowboys go through training camp, the coaches, front-office personnel and scouts go through every imaginable scenario, good and bad, when trying to figure out the roster.
While most of the focus is on the 53-man roster, the team takes a close look at the 46-man game-day roster as well, which is part of the reason why Zack Martin is taking some snaps at center in camp.
The Cowboys like to dress seven offensive linemen for a game with a backup guard/center and tackle. Mackenzy Bernadeau can play guard and center, but La’el Collins can’t. Darrion Weems is the current leader in the clubhouse to be the swing tackle.
If Martin can show the ability to be the center, then the Cowboys can continue to roll with seven offensive linemen on game day.
Martin took some snaps as a rookie, but is not quite comfortable.
“It’s a little better this year because I got to know more schematically what’s going on, but every time I touch the ball I get more respect for what (Travis Frederick) does,” Martin said, “because it’s an awkward position to snap and step and snap and pull. So you gain a bit of perspective for guys like that.”
When the Cowboys drafted Martin in the first round in 2014, they thought he could play all five spots along the offensive line. He was a tackle at Notre Dame and was named an All-Pro at right guard as a rookie.
“You want to put your best five out there,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you feel like you get to a certain point that these are the five guys who are your best guys, now you’ve got to put them out there and figure out where everyone fits.
“The other question always on the offensive line is who are you taking to the game? Ideally, you want to take seven. Sometimes you’ve got to take eight. Snapping the ball is always a factor there. Typically you have a swing tackle and an interior guy. All of this gives us flexibility, all of this gives us competition when you have some guys who can play some different spots in there and you can move them around. At the end of the day, you want them all prepared and you say, OK, these are our best guys going into the season, these are the best guys week to week and his flexibility there certainly helps that situation.”