IRVING, Texas –Seeing as how the Cowboys' starting offensive line will only be lining up together for the first time in pads on Saturday, it would stand to reason that the only direction they can go is up.
That's what the head coach is hoping, anyway. The front five is so dependent on each player knowing what to expect from one another and taking care of their own responsibilities that cohesiveness is more important than at any other position group. However, the Cowboys' starters are only beginning to develop a rapport on the field, with their first game together to come against the Giants on Wednesday.
Right guard Mackenzy Bernadeau was unavailable when camp began, then Nate Livings went down with a hamstring injury. When they both returned, Phil Costa was out with a back injury.
"It's good to see those guys out there playing together, and they'll get a lot of work in the coming days, getting ready for this ball game," Garrett said after some on-field work Thursday. "It's just the reality of the situation. We all hope that they're going to get more ready as the season goes on, and the more they play together, just like every position group on our team, over time you want them to improve and get better.
"We talk to our team about that a lot, individual's got to get better, the position group's got to get better and our team's got to get better as the season goes on."
Costa was the only starter to play in the preseason finale versus Miami.
"I thought he was pretty good," Garrett said. "He played 12 snaps in the ball game (Wednesday) night, and came out, we just had a walkthrough … it wasn't like we were moving around real fast, but he seems comfortable. It seems like he had no issues coming out of that ball game."
