David Arkin gets the job done at center

[bkeavs]

David Arkin gets the job done at center
August, 14, 2012 Aug 1412:02AM CTBy Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com Recommend2 Tweet5 Comments6Email Print ALAMEDA, Calif. -- So low was the bar on the center play that the Cowboys were ecstatic that David Arkin did not have botched snap in three-plus quarters of action against Oakland.

Arkin has snapped for only two weeks in his life and a number of his shotgun snaps were too tall for Dirk Nowitzki. He did not have that issue Monday but it wasn’t perfect by any stretch.

A miscommunication on a screen play led to Tony Romo being sacked after Arkin barely scraped defensive linemen Tommy Kelly before heading out, and he was also flagged for a holding penalty.

“He seemed to be pretty steady from what I could tell,” coach Jason Garrett said. “The big concern that we had from him, having not played center very much in his life, is taking care of the ball. So the nightmare scenario where we have four snaps on the ground, snapping it over the quarterback's head in the shotgun, none of that happened and that’s a positive thing. A number of times, he heard me say, the ball first, Arkin. It’s all about the ball first. He heard that a lot from me and coach Callahan this week, he handled that part well.

"There were some mistakes handling some different fronts and what he was supposed to do. The sack, having a screen coming out, was a misidentification of a man. We let that guy come up the middle clean on Tony. For the most part, he competed well, that’s really his nature. He’s a good competitor. He just needs some more experience in there.”

Starting center Phil Costa missed the game because of a lower back strain, but the team believes he will be able to practice this week and possibly play Saturday at San Diego.

 

[Midswat]

We have really, really low standards for center play then.

 

[bkeavs]

We have really, really low standards for center play then.

Its not about getting push for the running game or succesfully pass blocking.

Its the thought process of "he wasn't awful and it was his first time"

 

[buckup]

Its not about getting push for the running game or succesfully pass blocking.

Its the thought process of "he wasn't awful and it was his first time"

And he didn't snap the ball to the other team much.

 

[Midswat]

"No one died. Guess he did a good job." - Jason Garrett

 

[Theebs]

Say it with me.

2nd string right guard who should not be on the field anywhere with the first team, is playing CENTER with the first team.

The guy has played 70% of the snaps in the preseason, sham and laufenberg called that unheard of. He is doing what is asked of him the best he can.

I am not sure which teams 2nd string right guard who is a 2nd year player learning the game would have been lights out last night?

one guy got injured and a number of young players played well. that is all that matters about last night.

 

[buckup]

Say it with me.

2nd string right guard who should not be on the field anywhere with the first team, is playing CENTER with the first team.

The guy has played 70% of the snaps in the preseason, sham and laufenberg called that unheard of. He is doing what is asked of him the best he can.

I am not sure which teams 2nd string right guard who is a 2nd year player learning the game would have been lights out last night?

one guy got injured and a number of young players played well. that is all that matters about last night.

What matters is that no matter why we had that lineup last night, we had that lineup last night. Let me break this down: We're headed into the season with that line-up from last night.

 

[Theebs]

What matters is that no matter why we had that lineup last night, we had that lineup last night. Let me break this down: We're headed into the season with that line-up from last night.

that is complete balogny.

Last night we didnt have livings, costa, phillips or austin. If you think they wont make a difference then fine....i Ummm..do.

and again, first preseason games are teams calling there own plays, not scheming weaknesses or strengths. You think any team has a gameplan outside of run some plays and get the hell out of there in the first preseason game?

We will see in a few weeks how this line shapes up and how they scheme to protect the weakest link.

 

[buckup]

that is complete balogny.

Last night we didnt have livings, costa, phillips or austin. If you think they wont make a difference then fine....i Ummm..do.

and again, first preseason games are teams calling there own plays, not scheming weaknesses or strengths. You think any team has a gameplan outside of run some plays and get the hell out of there in the first preseason game?

We will see in a few weeks how this line shapes up and how they scheme to protect the weakest link.

I'm just in the camp that is head scratching when it comes to trying to figure out how the team has addressed problems on the OL.

 

[NoDak]

Say it with me.

2nd string right guard who should not be on the field anywhere with the first team, is playing CENTER with the first team.

The guy has played 70% of the snaps in the preseason, sham and laufenberg called that unheard of. He is doing what is asked of him the best he can.

I am not sure which teams 2nd string right guard who is a 2nd year player learning the game would have been lights out last night?

one guy got injured and a number of young players played well. that is all that matters about last night.

Since you seem to have such a firm grasp of the situation, could you explain to us why we are in this situation in the first place? Injuries, right? Well, let us pretend that we are injury free on the OL. We would have had Costa out there last night. I don't know about anybody else, but that sure does give me a warm and fuzzy outlook on the season.

So basically, fuck any and all in our front office that thought going into the season with Costa, Kowalski, Bernadeau, etc... would magically fix our center problems. Romo friendly offense, my ass.

 

[peplaw06]

I can understand being pissed about our center situation in general. I am most of the time.

But I'm not taking much from last night as far as the position goes. Arkin's not likely to be the guy going into week 1. That's all theebs is saying. You just can't evaluate much on the position from last night's game.

Now, you can think Costa was terrible last year and the center position is a shitstorm... but that's not what we were looking at last night.

 

[buckup]

I can understand being pissed about our center situation in general. I am most of the time.

But I'm not taking much from last night as far as the position goes. Arkin's not likely to be the guy going into week 1. That's all theebs is saying. You just can't evaluate much on the position from last night's game.

Now, you can think Costa was terrible last year and the center position is a shitstorm... but that's not what we were looking at last night.

My problem was that last night we were looking at the backup plan if anything goes wrong with the first plan that I don't think is a good plan in the first place.

 

[peplaw06]

It was more like the backup plan to the third backup plan. But point taken.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

“The big concern that we had from him, having not played center very much in his life, is taking care of the ball. So the nightmare scenario where we have four snaps on the ground, snapping it over the quarterback's head in the shotgun, none of that happened and that’s a positive thing.

Uh, the big concern should've been not getting your franchise QB killed, not whether your fourth string center fumbled or not.

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

How soon do we make that call to Gurode?

 

[Midswat]

My problem was that last night we were looking at the backup plan if anything goes wrong with the first plan that I don't think is a good plan in the first place.

Agreed.

Plan A is Costa. All reports are that Costa is struggling in camp. He's not doing well. And he's a guy with limitations to begin with.

There is no Plan B. If Nagy or Kowaski were it, they've been injured for weeks.

Yet our front office is blind to this, and insist on trotting out guards and tackles to try their hand at center.

This puts our QB at risk, as well as prevents the entire offense from being properly evaluated.

 

[superpunk]

Isn't the Frenchman plan B?
\
Or maybe it goes Kowalski then the Frenchman.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I hate to say it as I like the guy (Arkin), and was intrigued by him as a prospect, with the hopes that he would be the next Jahri Evans type small school Olineman to come into the NFL. But...I have a feeling that Arkin is going to get cut during final roster cuts.

Playing 70% of the snaps in a preseason game as the starter going in, is pretty telling. That he either makes it or gets cut.

 

[superpunk]

Playing 70% of the snaps in a preseason game as the starter going in, is pretty telling. That he either makes it or gets cut.

Yes those tend to be the only options.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Yes those tend to be the only options.

It should be unusual for a 2nd year guy making a totally different position switch.