FRISCO, Texas – The military, as well as the current Dallas Cowboys regime, use After Action Reports (AARs) as a reflection tool. There’s often a difference between how things were intended and how they ultimately played out. AARs are designed to identify the difference between the two and where corrections can be made.
It can be used on a macro and micro scale; for the Cowboys and for their individual players.
Take Cowboys left tackle Tyler Guyton, for example.
Guyton’s rookie season didn’t go as planned. The first round pick out of Oklahoma started the season opener after veteran Chuma Edoga was injured early in training camp. He ultimately started in 12 games as he dealt with injuries, inconsistencies, and penalties. He allowed 26 pressures in 439 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He was also flagged 18 times, including eight times for holdings and five times for false starts.
Guyton took his performance to heart.
“I want to do better,” he said this offseason. “I want to be a guy that can be depended on.”
That statement alone stuck out to head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
“Part of maturing is making the statement he made,” Schottenheimer said of Guyton. “He did an After Action Report on his own rookie season.”
Corrections were made. And though it’s only been one week, Guyton is looking like he’s progressing toward being the player he intends to be. Guyton didn’t allow a sack in Dallas’ 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday. He allowed five pressures, according to PFF, but the quick-trigger and mobility shown from quarterback Dak Prescott limited the effect of those pressures.
Guyton had an immediate AAR after his first action of the year.
“It was a learning experience,” Guyton said. “That was 100% our win to go take, but we’ve got to do things better. We’ve all got to be on the same page. We’re going to get there.”
The fact that Guyton was even out there for the season opener is an example of how his own personal offseason AAR has been utilized.
If Guyton wanted to change his reliability on the field, he realized he had to make changes off of it. He started with his diet. He swapped fast food for salmon; fried foods for vegetables. He also added a daily stretching regimen where he would spend an hour in his garage doing stretches he’d never done before – even in the heat of a Texas summer.
“Hot as hell,” he said about the conditions.
It made Guyton feel more pure, he said. Guyton also believes it could’ve been the difference in the injury he suffered during training camp. Initially, the Cowboys feared that Guyton suffered a torn ACL in late July. Those fears are often realized by MRI scans. This time, however, the scan showed positive news: Guyton avoided an ACL tear and instead had a sprain. That meant surgery wasn’t required.
“I like to think I’m pretty flexible,” Guyton said when asked about how that could’ve prevented a worse injury. “I try to credit that to the work I’ve done trying to make my body more agile.”
Schottenheimer joked that he started calling Guyton “Wolverine” from X-Men for his ability to dodge injury like he did. Still, Guyton was forced to miss about a month of practice as he recovered.
Guyton told The Dallas Morning News after the game that he knew the entire time during his recovery that he was going to be able to play against the Eagles on Thursday. When he was out there, he said he saw the benefits of his diet change and his stretching routine.
“My body is a lot more loose, and I can move around better,” Guyton said. “When I’m getting into those piles and things like that, my body is getting twisted up, and I’m not coming out injured.”
Guyton also worked this off-season specifically with former Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith. The two worked specifically on punching as an offensive lineman. Smith taught Guyton when to do it and how to do it.
“You need to know that you can punch through anybody,” Smith recalled telling Guyton, “and you can punch anything they throw at you.”
Guyton took the advice to heart. During one play on Thursday, Guyton locked on Eagles pass rusher Jalyx Hunt before he threw a left-handed, open-faced jab against Hunt’s helmet. The play went viral on social media. No flag was thrown. The play itself was indicative of a different version of Guyton. It’s been said that pass protection doesn’t have to be passive. Throughout the season opener, Guyton showed that.
“We want our guys to play on the edge and not go over the edge,” Schottenheimer said.
“He attacked that game from a very, very physical and violent standpoint.”
Schottenheimer even pointed to the first play of the game. He said they purposefully chose to run to the left side behind Guyton. It resulted in a seven-yard gain for Javonte Williams, setting the tone for the rest of the team’s opening possession.
“It showed you how much confidence we have in him as a young and incredibly talented player,” Schottenheimer said.
There’s still room to grow. Schottenheimer said there were points in the second half where Guyton “lost a little bit of his technique” against the Eagles. Schottenheimer uses AARs for his players. That will surely be on Guyton’s.
Still, the performance on Thursday instilled a lot of confidence in Guyton from himself and from the rest of the organization. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was seen walking to the locker room with Guyton after the game. Jones had a message for him.
“I was so proud of him,” Jones said. “He had a rough first year to some degree, being a starting left tackle right out of college in your first year, but boy, he played well tonight.”