{"id":182187,"date":"2024-07-20T14:30:17","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T18:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=182187"},"modified":"2024-07-20T12:29:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T16:29:40","slug":"cowboys-lions-fielding-intriguing-nfl-guard-combinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/07\/20\/cowboys-lions-fielding-intriguing-nfl-guard-combinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys, Lions Fielding Intriguing NFL Guard Combinations\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Individually, Chris Lindstrom enjoyed one of the top seasons for NFL guards \u2013 ever.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Helping the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_self\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a> pave their way to 324.1 yards per game, including 127 on the ground, Lindstrom helped establish a league standard. Aided by allowing just 15 quarterback pressures last season, the 2019 first-round draft pick graded out first among his peers, according to PFF.com.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ideally, teams good enough to contend for a division title can depend on a tandem of guards working in unison.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Cowboys, Lions Fielding Intriguing NFL Guard Combinations\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The challenge teams encounter attempting to discover one competent, hard-nosed guard remains daunting enough, but to uncover two? Good luck. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> did it with Zack Martin and Tyler Smith, boasting perhaps the league\u2019s top duo. The Detroit Lions also appear to have an interesting, experienced combo in Graham Glasgow and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/03\/18\/kevin-zeitler-signs-contract-detroit-lions\/\" target=\"_self\">Kevin Zeitler<\/a>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Here\u2019s a look at two of the NFL\u2019s most intriguing guard combinations entering training camp:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tyler Smith is coming off an All Pro season in his second year in the league. He\u2019s the best LG in the NFL. He\u2019s going into year three with Zack Martin and Cooper Beebe in the interior. This <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cowboys?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Cowboys<\/a> OL is going to be dominant once again. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1COPsvUmKd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/1COPsvUmKd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ernie The Cowboys Fan (@E_TheCowboysFan) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/E_TheCowboysFan\/status\/1798368464824115349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 5, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Zach Martin-Tyler Smith: NFL\u2019s Undisputed Top Duo<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Since 2014, Martin has served as one constant along the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/07\/16\/dallas-cowboys-2024-training-camp-5-offensive-players-to-watch\/\" target=\"_self\">Cowboys\u2019 offensive front<\/a>, consistent greatness. A future hall of famer, Martin reportedly contemplated retirement recently but decided not to depart on top of his game. Not yet anyway.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After surveying NFL executives, coaches, and scouts, ESPN ranked Martin, who turns 34 years old in November, as the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/insider\/story\/_\/id\/40284084\/top-10-nfl-interior-offensive-linemen-execs-scouts-2024-espn-jeremy-fowler-position-rankings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">league\u2019s top interior offensive lineman<\/a> \u2013 again. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After earning his fifth consecutive All-Pro first-team selection last season, Martin, who has missed only 13 games during his career, has proved durable, but he\u2019s starting to show signs of slippage. Still, many league insiders contend he\u2019s still the positional standard.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And the ideal mentor for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/04\/23\/2022-nfl-draft-tyler-smith-scouting-report\/\" target=\"_self\">Smith, a 2022 first-round draft pick<\/a> who earned Pro Bowl status last season. With Martin and Smith fortifying the interior of the offensive line, the Cowboys paced the league with a 29.9 per game scoring average and ranked fifth with 371.6 yards per outing.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Martin yielded just four sacks, while Smith surrendered just one on 614 passing attempts last season as the Cowboys earned an NFC East regular-season title, but <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.packers.com\/news\/game-recap-5-takeaways-from-packers-wild-card-playoff-victory-over-cowboys-2023\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dropped a wild-card stunner<\/a> to the visiting Green Bay Packers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>How will the Cowboys respond behind the proven interior of the offensive line in 2024?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Personnel around the NFL have named <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cowboys?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Cowboys<\/a> Zack Martin and Tyler Smith among the best interior linemen in the league.<\/p>\n<p>Martin was No. 1, and Smith was an honorable mention (whoever ranked Martin 9th is on silly pills; there aren&#39;t eight better than him)<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fzUP3xod25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/fzUP3xod25<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2yDecFN8qU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/2yDecFN8qU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Brandoniswrite\/status\/1812168895903486178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 13, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kevin Zeitler-Graham Glasgow: Lions&#8217; Veteran Wall<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Early free-agent concerns arose when left guard Jonah Jackson departed for the Los Angeles Rams. Any concerns over the Lions taking a step back along the offensive line after their breakout last season were quickly alleviated with the signing of Kevin Zeitler.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With the addition of the 13-year veteran and moving Graham Glasgow over to replace Jackson, the Lions\u2019 unit could prove stronger as they defend their NFC North championship.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\"> A series of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.vegasinsider.com\/nfl\/odds\/nfc-north\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sportsbooks favor the Lions<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When looking at different situations, Zeitler jumped at a chance to work next to All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell and All-Pro center <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/07\/18\/detroit-lions-center-frank-ragnow-finally-gain-some-respect\/\" target=\"_self\">Frank Ragnow<\/a>. Known as a strong run blocker, Zeitler also would apply his trade in front of one of the NFL\u2019s top running back combinations, featuring David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Zeitler didn\u2019t linger long on the free-agent market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Earning his first Pro Bowl selection, Zeitler appeared in 97 percent of the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 plays last season. He yielded three sacks and one quarterback hit in 1,102 snaps.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Durability has never been a question. Zeitler has appeared in 182 regular-season games, more than any other offensive lineman since he was drafted No. 27\u00a0overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With Zeitler teamed with under-rated Glasgow, the offensive line appears primed to lead the Lions beyond last season\u2019s offensive production, including a third-place ranking in yards per game (394.8).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Glasgow, who also has experience playing center, returned to the Lions in 2023 after three seasons with the Denver Broncos. He earned a starting role and surrendered just two sacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Can he repeat the effort?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There&#39;s SO MUCH to like with this run from the Lions vs. Chargers game last season. <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; C 77 Frank Ragnow does a great job picking up the ILB off the combo block.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; RG 60 Graham Glasgow sits and shows off good grip strength. <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; RT 58 Penei Sewell using the inside hand on Joey\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dvecZrYkAx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/dvecZrYkAx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RussNFLDraft\/status\/1800721110234706248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: [Eric Hartline] &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With NFL teams beginning to enter training camp, the offenses for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions can rely on a steady duo of guards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4299,"featured_media":182283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,19,24],"tags":[49,43,40],"class_list":["post-182187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-cowboys","category-lions","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-detroit-lions","tag-nfl"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4299"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}