Cowboys don’t want ‘to lose’ Chaz Green after poor performance against Falcons

Dallas Cowboys swing tackle Chaz Green wasn’t happy with his performance in Sunday’s 27-7 whipping by the Atlanta Falcons.

He owned up to his failures afterward, saying he felt as though he should shoulder the loss. After all, Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn burned Green on four of his six sacks.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Green, who started in place of injured All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith. “You have some good days. You have some bad days. This obviously wasn't my best day. I take this on my shoulders and look at myself in the mirror. Just need to fix the things I need to fix. I'm going to get it fixed."

The Cowboys have every intention of helping him rebound from the forgettable game. They still view Green, a 2015 third-round pick out of Florida, as a player with potential.

Green has battled injuries much of his career, but has flashed promise when he’s been healthy and active. He started two games at left tackle in place of Smith last season, and held his own.

The Cowboys gave Green the starting left guard job this season coming out of training camp, but he battled minor injuries and was eventually passed by Jonathan Cooper.

“I’ve just got to keep working him every day and keep going back to fundamentals,” offensive line coach Frank Pollack said. “Keep encouraging him and coaching him positive. We’ve got to keep him going. He’s a young kid, still has a lot of talent and a lot of potential and a lot of ability. I’ve got to keep him going. Don’t want to lose him.”

Pollack blamed himself for not having Green ready for the game.

The Cowboys eventually pulled Green and used veteran Byron Bell at left tackle. Bell didn’t fare much better and was beat for a pair of sacks, including one by Clayborn.

“I’ve been in the league long enough, I’ve got to know what to do to be ready to play,” Bell said. “I sat over there for a while. There’s no excuse. I’ve just got to go in and play better.”

As far as his advice to Green, Bell said, “Just trying to get his confidence up. That’s really the main thing. I just try to do my best, try to keep all the guys up, you know, he [Clayborn] was playing well against him. But Chaz has played better. He’s been doing good thus far. He’s a good football player, just have to keep his confidence up.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Cowboys don’t want ‘to lose’ Chaz Green after poor performance against Falcons."