The 2010 season had just ended with a 6-10 record and Tony Romo's arm in a sling, the quarterback nursing a shattered clavicle. The Dallas Cowboys knew what they had to do.
The team historically had good offensive lines, populated by Pro Bowlers like Flozell Adams and Andre Gurode and Hall of Famer Larry Allen. But those players were aging out of the NFL -- if they weren't already gone -- and the Cowboys were paying a price with Romo's health. Determined to both keep the franchise quarterback upright and run the ball more efficiently to make life easier on him, the team's brain trust decided to invest in the offensive line.
With the ninth overall draft pick in 2011, the Cowboys made tackle Tyron Smith the first offensive lineman selected. Two years later, they grabbed center Travis Frederick in the first round, at No. 31 overall. A year after that, with Jerry Jones repeatedly pressing his draft room about the prospect of taking quarterback Johnny Manziel, the Cowboys held firm and selected guard Zack Martin at No. 16. There was a gasp in the green room at Radio City Music Hall that night, because the decision meant that Manziel, who seemed then to be the perfect fit for a team comfortable with glitz and headlines, would continue his plummet down the board.
It said something equally meaningful about the Cowboys.
America's Team had gone to the trenches.
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Five years after Smith became the first cornerstone, the Cowboys are 11-1 and have the game's most highly touted offensive line.
The plan put in place in the spring of 2011 has worked almost to the letter, with one unanticipated wrinkle. That line is protecting rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, who took over when Romo suffered his latest injury in the preseason. Prescott has played with such poise -- undoubtedly benefitting from the amount of time he has to make decisions in the pocket -- that a healthy Romo is now the backup. And the line is opening gaping holes for the league's leading rusher, rookie Ezekiel Elliott.
"That line came together quick," said Stephen Jones, the Cowboys' chief operating officer and director of player personnel. "It's certainly the centerpiece of this team. It's been a journey. I know we're glad we took the leap of faith and went down that road of doing the thing that is not necessarily the sexy thing to do."
It's not an easy thing to do, either. The league is littered with threadbare offensive lines -- shredded by injury or incompetence -- even on contending teams. The Panthers and Broncos, last year's Super Bowl teams, have two of the worst offensive lines in the league. The Vikings, who used five different starting-line combinations in their first nine games, are 6-6
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