Cowboys Break: Better Than 2021?

the latest edition of The Break. We are alive from the SBbc Mortgage studios at the Star. We're presented by Miller Lite, the only beer of the Dallas Cowboys. I got a different crew. I ain't gonna say a better crew, but maybe how a better crew slightly. We're gonna have some fun this week. We go for the next two days. We've stuff all of our podcasts and it gives you guys that are out there listening an opportunity to be able to get some exposure to different people from different shows.

If you normally are listening at eleven, you may not know who these people are who are here with me. Hopefully you listen to all of our podcasts. You know where everybody is. But I got buried church, I got a Issha Morrison with me. Love what you guys are doing right now and boys talk, Girls talk, Boys talk. You guys are killing it, Iisha and obviously players lounge been without a couple of years now. You guys are doing great stuff over there too. When y'all, when y'all

celebrity can show up. You know, they call Danny the celebrity when he actually can show up, y'all got a great show. Um, But we're gonna have some fun these next couple of days. We're gonna do a lot of media review kind of stuff. Today. I got a lot of questions for you guys, just kind of giving people a good sense of what your takes are on this team halfway through the season, which is really kind of

the beauty of what we do here. It allows us to kind of mix up some some some different opinions that you guys may have on your shows, and sometimes you start thinking that that's kind of the prevailing opinion, and then you get on other shows of other people and you're like, oh, wow, y'all see different yea. So so it'll be fun. We'll have some fun here real quick, though, I do want to first talk about trade deadline that happens today at three pm. It'll be uh the the

NFL has the deadline set right now. If you look across the Cowboys team, and I know wide receiver is to push the position that everybody's talking about, but let's say, outside of wide receiver, what position do you think on this team can have can be best improved by maybe looking at an opportunity to go and make a trade. Go ahead, Barry, because I'm thinking, are you thinking a

little bit of making over here? We're talking about outside outside of our receive because we're gonna assume wide receivers are that group. Ain't getting no separation. R I ain't get no separation right now. But um, I'm gonna say this. I like what they did along the defensive line bringing Hankins in there, because we know right now that Cowboys defense is struggling when it against the run. I think they're like twenty or twenty first in the league right now.

Gets to run and for them to go to where they want to go, that's not gonna work. So I like what they did. They're bringing a guy out there that can stuff to run up. To me, I would love to see them do something at the second level. The linebacker crew. Now, I understand, we got LV there, we got Anthony Barr out there, and we got a lot of young talent underneath them cocks. You know, Damon Clark had his first couple snaps in there this last game.

But to me, I think we just need more of a like a downhill guy, like kind of like a Rod quantsman. But he's going on the other side. I understand all that, but I love his mentality when it comes to the run game downhill. When he hits you at the point of attack, you're going down and they know leaky yardage involved. And that's why I see a lot of our linebackers. They may be in the right place at the right time, but when they get to that point of attack, it's a lot of leaky yardage two, three,

four yards down Labroun. Then they're bringing them down. They're tackling them like it's a safety out there. To me, I need my linebackers in the run game, running downhill, stuffing guys writing the out, hitting them right in the mouth. And right now, Anthony Barr LV, they're having good seasons, but I just don't like the aggressiveness. I want to see some more aggression out of both of those guys. So to me, I would like to see them make

a move right there. And it doesn't have to be a big splash guy that comes in and has to, you know, do eighty snaps a game or anything like that, but just somebody who can bring that attitude to the defense, because I feel on the defensive line, you got Tank Lawrence, you got have Parsons who can bring that thumb and bring that attitude to them. In the second level, you got Wilson. You got a curse back there who's thumping and bringing that pain that second level right now, I

just don't see it. So to me, I would like to see them do something that lineback real quick on that line then not the linebacker. Before we get to TI issue, I want to talk a little bit about that from the standpoint of linebackers. Oftentimes, we've seen these linebackers, particularly get swallowed up, can't get off blocks. We've seen the number of big plays that happen in the run game because they can't get off blocks. How much of

that do you put on the linebackers? How much of that do you put on the defensive tackles in front of them? See, I would have put if we're going, you know, percentage wise, I would say those defensive tackles got to represent at least seventy percent of that because, like you said, they get into that second level way

too fast. And I understand, you know, them linebacker's supposed to be able to get off of those blocks, but sometimes you're reading stuff back there and they creep up on you quick, and once those linemen get them hands on, yeah, it's hard to get off you. So that's why I love that move back for it. Hankins, big dude, sixty

three to three hundred four pounds. He should be able to gobble up some offensive lineman from getting to that second level to lve to bar to those walk down safety so they're able to go sideline and sideline a lot easier or downhill a lot easier with a guy like that in there. So I would say, hopefully Hankins is able to reduce you know, the lineman getting to the second level, and maybe Nevill Gallimore and those guys

as well be able to step up. But I would say definitely at least seventy percent on those guys, because when you're at a linebacker, you're not technically just looking straight at the D line. You're looking at all this stuff in the backfield to make sure you're reading your keys correctly, and that could be tough when you get those big lineman coming up on you. All right, I don't want to make nobody man, but I think, well, number one, what you have going on in the safety

room right now, I think it's great. You got the young guys behind Mallie Cooker and those guys with them, and so you had Marquis Bell and Israel mcquamu those guys. But I mean, I know y'all saw on Sunday you had a lot of safeties, you know, get out of injured and stuff like that. And when you look at the free safety spot after Malie Cooker, there's not a definite guy that can come in there and you know,

play that backfield. I guess you want to say, like, granted, you do have those young guys, but when you're asking a guy to go out there and be like I'm the guy back there, you know single I you know, the Cowboys play a lot of you know, single high, so he's just like, hey, he's whoever's back there's going to have to do their job. So with that being said, I think that maybe you could bring in another secondary player.

I think that you've seen teams there's just no slight to one, but you've seen teams go Anthony Brown early. So I'm curious to see what's gonna happen with that cornerback two spot. Right now, it feels like maybe there is a little bit of maybe competition there, So maybe if you wanted to upgrade, or maybe not upgrade necessarily, but bringing another veteran player for the secondary in itself, I think that would change some things and give you

some depth there. But I would have said linebacker two. I think that Demon Clark kind of what you're asking for. He actually did well on tape, and I mean and

to see that from him early. Granted he had his you know, his few whips and stuff, but you're talking about somebody coming downhill and just being instinctive and just going and to make the play regardless of Like I think, I think the Cowboys linebackers right now, I think they're reading, but they're not reacting fast enough a lot of the time.

Right So um, I agree with you on the linebacker thing too, but it's kind of kind of weird with Demon Clark where he come him with him coming in the way he is because he is a rook and stuff. So I kind of feel like that that makes me feel weird about the linebacker situation now, and maybe they feel like they maybe don't need it right now. But the secondary, I think at the two positions, the cornerback

two positions could get better there. Let me ask you this, what are your thoughts on Darn Bland Because I think right now when I look at the secondary, I personally think I definitely think he's your third best cornerback. At least I think there's a case to be made he maybe your second best cornerback. What are your thoughts I

was hinting. I was trying to ease on into that, you know what, because quite honestly, like I said, you do see teams going at your two cornerback early in games, right, So I do think that people see that there's they think there's a weakness there or whatever. So I would like to see maybe Anthony Brown slide into, you know, play more slot. We've seen him thrive there. He's actually good in the We've seen him thrive there. I think his awareness and his ball instincts are just better there.

And so maybe looking at dron Bland playing on the out, seeing how he does, that's an option. Possibly. We saw him have some success in the preseason. You know, it's just preseason, but we've already said, like, this guy has a nose for the ball. He's extinctive, especially, and I think that he could maybe do something out there if you put him out there. Say now, obviously, this name is not one you have to worry about when it comes to a trade because he's not on a team

right now. But Odell Beckham Junior is sitting out there. He's recovering from an injury last year, was injured in the Super Bowl. Coming back from that injury, and don't really know the time frame on that. I assume the Cowboys would if they were thinking or interested in him. Would you, if you were the Cowboys take a look at him and possibly bring him in as a free agent? I would say absolutely not without literally not, Like I understand. You know Eldell Beckham, you know he's he's an elite

wide receiver when he's healthy, when he's healthy. He's an elite wide receiver, no doubt about that. The only thing is he's coming off his second you know, ACL injury, and I believe that happened. Well, it was at the super bow. It's right around the right, it was right around the corner. So we've seen how guys recover from the ACL. Look at look at Michael Gallup right now, he's still trying to get there. He's still trying to

find himself out there. Of course you'll have a couple of moments where he's like, oh, he's back, look at it. He's doing his day. But they don't have a lot of laws out there as well. So to me, I wouldn't bring Odell Beckham in until I know he's a hundred and fifty percent right and he's right back to

where he can be to come and help this team out. Now, maybe that'll be, you know, further down the line, you know, maybe closer to the playoff situation maybe, but as of right now, I wouldn't bring him in and try to develop him and try to get him right and try to get him hooked up onto this system. Knowing that you got a guy named Michael Gallup has a already dealing with that ACEL injury, and we see how slow he's he's coming back from his progress. So Odell, I'm

out on him out. I don't know, I'm I'm kind of on the fence. I think that you could bring someone here and help out with like the slot work and any medior work. But with Odell, like you were just talking about his injury, he did like his rehab is where is he at his rehab? Like that's the biggest thing, is like where is he at in his rehab? And I mean, he is a veteran guy, So if you bring him in here, maybe that the short, intermediate

stuff that you're asking him to do. Maybe he's not a strenuous But I do agree that his injury, in the timing of his injury is kind of off putting, especially seeing how guy how long guys take to come back from an ACL. Then you have to look at the locker room. You have a very young locker room that's close knit right now. Do you want to bring a guy in here who is you know, been in the league for a while, has some experience, and how does he fit in this locker room? That's another conversation

to have with him being an alpha personality. So I'm good on it right now, I'm the contingent on It's contingent on where he's at in his rehab. For me, Yeah, I agree with all that. But here's my thought. Even even if let's say he is a ninety percent of what he was, is he still not better than Yeah, you start looking at your depth chart. Yeah, he may not be CD. He may not be the oldell that you're expecting or that you've had in the past, But when you look at what you have right now, he

might upgrade the whole level. And by the way, you know, I know that there have been times in his career where you're like, man, I don't know if i'd want him in my locker rooms. I think he's mature beyond that. And so the way I look at it is I actually think he might actually be It might actually be an advantage. You got a really really young wide receiver room and and having somebody with his skins on the wall walk into that room, especially if he's the matured

person I think he is. I think he adds some some extra mental to that room. I think he can bring some stuff into that room that maybe helps him think about the game differently and helps them mature a little bit better in the game as receivers. Do you think, you know, bringing Odell in there, do you think that would hinder CD in any type of way, Because like right now, CD's like, all right, I'm the leader. I'm an alpha dog in this room, like you know what,

I what you go through me. Do you feel like if you brought an Odell in there it would kind of hinder him and he would kind of want to take a back sea because I don't really I don't see him as that kind of do an You know, I go if if you're an alpha in another alpha walksing room, you don't take a step back exactly. You're like, all right, cool, we might run this thing together. But I ain't taking a step back. So I don't. I don't see CD as the type that's gun necessarily step back.

I think he will say, okay, that's a VET. I'll learn some stuff from him, So I'm open to that, But at the same time, I'm not gonna step back and just kind of addicate everything. Then That's where I look at Noah And to your point, like when you talk about bringing in possibly an Odell. It truly, just the threat of him on the field may change things for you as well, just may open up things like

say what you want to say. But this guy is respected in the league, and granted he is coming off of an ACL, but his speed is something people have always talked about and you're looking for right now. I think every receiver you need someone to take the top off right now. You need a vertical threat. So I don't know, let's see, let's see if people are open to you know, Odell being a a cowboy, that would be an interest. That would be crazy. I mean the lights,

camera action and do it. He would love it. And I'll be honest with you. Meant like, we gotta have somebody on in this wide receiver room that can consistently beat man and man coverage because right now CD's getting that double. Everybody's knowing like, all right, if we take CD away, you know what can these other guys do? And right now, you know, Noah Brownie had a couple of games early on that you know, wow, he's doing

this thing. But can he be consistent out there and beating that man to man coverage because we know teams are gonna do the Cowboys. They've they've been leaning on their strengths, which is the defense and that run game. Ye, eventually they're gonna run into a team where they're gonna stack the boxing, They're gonna they're gonna shut down that run. You're gonna have to open it up. Do we have receivers on this team that can consistently beat that man

to man coverage. I know, you know, James Washington's coming back from injury, but there's a reason why Pittsburgh let him wik. You know, it wasn't like he was the most consistent guy out there and doing this thing. So you know that we gotta find somebody to come in here consistently beat man and man they put help of pressure off of CD Lamb out there. Yeah, absolutely needs a running buddy. I do think that I do think that Kelly did a really good job this game scheming

these guys open. Yeah, I mean, and granted this last couple of weeks we've seen guys be open and stuff. You know, you got you got your quarterback back there now, so that makes the difference. But I do agree with you that you do see that the way that teams are playing, they're just Bracken and CD and they're just

they're betting on the next guy to make the play. Now, we'll say the way that the tight ends are being used kind of muddies the water a little bit because you can say, right like, Okay, well these guys can't get open on their own right now, they're not creating a lot of separation. Well, your tight ends are doing a lot and that are you know? So that's an option too that I think that sometimes we forget when we're talking about the receiving corps. I guess you do

got some guys out there. Dalton Scholtz is coming along like since stacks back. So I mean, I agree, like there's there's something to be said about what's going on with the receiver corp. Right now. You see improvement, but is going to be enough when you start playing those teams that can lock down and load the box and do all that stuff. Are you gonna take our first break when we come back from that break, We're going to launch into our midyear review when we come right back.

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Limited tickets for the remaining home games of the twenty twenty two Dallas Cowboys season at AT and T Stadium are available now. Visit Dallas Cowboys dot com, slash tickets or SeatGeek dot com, the official ticket provider of AT and T Stadium. Welcome Back. It is the second segment of the Break Life from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the start. This segment is brought to you by blockchain dot Com. I got Aisha Morrison from Girls Talk,

Boys Soccer, got Barry Church from Players Lounge. They will be joining me today and tomorrow, and so we're gonna launch into our media review. I got some questions for you guys, and they're just meant to expand your mind, make you think about the whole season. Hold, give these fans a little bit of a flavor of what you think of what we've seen so far through eight games. Let's start here. Dallas was six and two in twenty twenty one. The zac same point, they were six and two,

just like the Cowboys are now. Are they better this year than they were last year? And also remember we gate it last year that was at debacle against Denver thirty to sixteen stadium. That being said, they better team now than they were last year? Well, to that point. I think that when you look at what the Broncos did against the Cowboys last year with that two high show, and how hard it was for the Cowboys to offensively figure out how to beat it, they they're figuring out

ways to beat it this year. You saw that especially last game like this, the two high show is not as I think Dak is just reading it far far better. And then I think what you're getting in the run game last year, a lot of that worked because you cannot run the ball. Yep. You literally got to a place to where you cannot run the ball. So teams are just let me just drop six and covers and

see what you're gonna do. So um, I also mentioned yesterday on our show, I think they're battle tested in a different way way to start this season, you know, to make it through not having your quarterback. You've had quite a few key injuries. I mean, we just we keep moling over the fact that you're starting left tackle was not supposed to be your rook right, So I mean, you have guys coming in here. You had a lot

of young guys played early. But I think also they've seen quite a few different like you've seen some of the best receiver cords in this game. You've seen some of the best offensive lines when you come when you start talking about run blocking in this game. They've seen a variety of different looks early in this season that I think is so such good teach tape that they may be a little bit more battle tested going into you know, the playoffs this year are going into you know,

the second half of the season. So to me, with what they've had to overcome and how things have transpired, especially the coaches, for sure, I think that they're at a better place this year than they were last year at this point, right and the men you talk about, you know, this offense being battle tested. You know, you had to go through a five game stretch with Cooper

WESHI has you're starting quarterback now. If you would have told me, you know, week one, we're gonna lose Da Prescott for the next five weeks and still you don't have a legit chance to make the playoffs, sound I thought you were crazy, you know, but Cooper us here we are and he was able to hold it down. I think he went four in one during that stretch,

was which was remarkable. So to me, offensively, I think I don't think we're as explosive as we were last year, but I think we're a much better unit overall because we have more ways to beat you. You know, if you're gonna stack that box. We still got Dak Prescott out there, who's able to move the ball down the field. Now we also have a run game that we didn't have last year, like you just said, with a two headed monster out there. So offensively, I think we're not

as explosive, but we're better as a unit. And then defensively, I think, you know, I'm not gonna say heads and tails about what we were last year because they were getting a lot of takeaways last year. But once again, as a unit, this team is playing remarkable. I mean, you don't see any mental mistakes out there. Last year, you've seen a couple of busted coverages, receivers running wide open. That's how the teams got got points on his defense.

But this year you don't see any of that. And the way they're able to rush the passer, I mean it comes in waves. You see. You know the Marcus and Parsons, all right, they're out of the game. I could take a break. Nine comes here comes Fouler like you got O Digizoa in there. Never talk about Sam Williams. Sam Williams. So it's just like these the waves they're able to come at these offenses, it's unbelievable. So and

that's a secondary. I mean, like I said, overall, you know you got Diggs Brown, he has his up and downs. But as a secondary, I think they're playing extremely solid. They have a great quarterback back there and cursing those safety So to me, I think as a whole, this team is playing better than it did last year. But defensively, I mean, it's this team is it's blowing my mind. I've never seen as far as since I've been here and the Dallas Cowboys, it's always been offense, offense, offense.

You know, the offense is the leader. That the strength of this team this year. I mean, dan Quinn got those guys moving on all cylinders. I mean, and it's remarkable. So to me, as a whole, I think they're playing better than last year and they have an opportunity to go longer in the playoffs if they are to make that, because like you said, they have multiple ways to beat you on the offense and on defense. If you can

rush the password like that. I mean, you stand a chance every single game out there, and they tell you what travels best and what when the teams do best in the playoffs is run the ball and have solid defense. And that's exactly what the Cowboys have, all right. Next question, bigger surprise. I got three names for you, Tyler Smith, Terrence Steele, or Noah Brown. Bigger surprise? All right, So I would say dan't get saved again. What would I

have bigger surprise? Tyler Smith, Terrence Steele, Noah Brown. Oh okay, so I would say, do my biggest surprise. I guess my biggest surprise would be at all those I guess, I guess maybe Terrence. I guess Terrence. I guess, I guess Terrence. And I'm I'm gonna say Terrence not in a in a in a negative way, but just the level he's playing at a right tackle is I think it's better than a lot of people expected. A lot of a lot of people expected for him to maybe,

you know, fall off a little this season. Also, um so, I think the development he's made and that right side of that offensive line being somewhat dominant is making a difference in this run game, I would say, I would say Terrence, I guess I was Terence like, yeah, I like that. I like that, And I'm gonna go the counter part. I'm gonna go Tyler Smith. And the reason I'm gonna say Tyler Smith as if you look at it, man, this guy was he was a raw He was raw.

He's super athletic, super talented, but as far as technique goes, when I'm talking to Big Nate Newton, He's like he's a raw candidate out there. He's just raw out there. And for him to come out there, he was one of the most penalized offensive linemen in all of you know, NC DOUBLEA when he came out. This guy got all his reps everything at the left guard spot during camp. I mean, you know, he had an opportunity to go out there and you do one on ones and all

that stuff for the left tackle. But they didn't do that. They let him at left guard. Even though Tyler not Tyler Tyrn Smith has his injury history, they still you know, kept him at that guard. Tyrn goes out, they move him to left tackle, which to me is a totally different position than that guard spot because you got guys on either side of you to help you out that tackle position. You buy yourself on an island against some of the most dangerous pass rushers in the National Football League.

So for him to do that without getting any reps at that guard spot, to me, it's super surprising. And he's playing at at a pretty high level. You know, he's had his his struggles with Aaron Donald, but who wouldn't you know, and you know the guy from Detroit, Hutchinson kind of got after him a little bit, but those are growing pains. I think he's still playing at a high level. And for him to do that without getting any reps at the tackle spot, to me, that's

pretty surprising. And why I would I wanted to add to your point, like with so Tyler didn't surprise me because I just I don't know. I've really just was kind of obsessed like first, because at first I found like when I first realized who he was and I started taking a deep dive into who he was. His character's why I knew he was gonna be I like, his worth ATICI whatever. But when you start talking about I was like, you know, about them being battle tested.

He Tyler's seen some of the best best edged rushers in the game early, Like he saw some of the best early, and I think that's again, like we started talking about getting later in the season where you're talking about these d ends you're gonna be going against, where they're like they're singling him out, like we know there's a rook on this line, let's go make a play.

He's seen that already. He's seen people come at him early and be like, oh, you know, we got the best, We're gonna put him on him, and like, so let's I think I wanted to add to your point and say that that's important that like he's adjusted and developed early this season too, to have something to going to, you know, later in the season of accidentally absolutely like I'm gonna I'm gonna tell y'all, I disagree with both y'all,

and here's why. Here's why, here's why I know he's gonna First of all, first of all, I think both those tackles are playing above what I thought they would play it, but not like I didn't. It wasn't like I didn't see a scenario where they could play at this level, right, So what they're doing doesn't surprise me. It's it's a it's more like, Okay, I kind of thought they could do it, but they're like they're doing and they're doing it ahead of maybe what I thought

they was. Listen to these numbers on Noah Brown about to fix up no Brown. Noah Brown has had in twenty seventeen, he had four catches for thirty three yards two thousand and eight seeing five catches for fifty four yards. He's a season totals. It's not a game. This is a season total, right. Twenty twenty fourteen catches one hundred and fifty four yards, twenty twenty one, sixteen catches one hundred and eighty four yards. This year, halfway through the season,

Andy missed the game. Twenty five catches, three hundred and thirty nine yards and a touchdown, the only touchdown of his career. He is doing something. When they when they brought him back this year, my thought was, I don't even understand why, because don't say last year he had an opportunity. There was a game where they had a lot of wide receivers out, he had an opportunity to step up. They didn't really get much production out of him.

What we saw this year, especially when Cooper Rush was in there was we saw a guy that took advantage of that opportunity and showed us things that I don't know anybody other than him and maybe mom on them that thought he was capable of doing that because his career had not shown that he was capable of doing that.

That has been a huge surprise to me. And now we're even talking about it from the standpoint of I look at him and I say, yes, he is clearly the third best wide receiver on this team, and if you need him to step into that second role, he can do it. So that to me is a huge surprise. So if you're talking surprises, I really don't think there's

a bigger surprise. Honestly, I don't think there's a bigger surprise on this team this year for me if you're looking at personnel than what Noah Brown has done, because I just didn't expect anything close to this. The two I'm trying to look at the roster of my mind, trying to see where you can prove me wrong. You're like, it's a lot of guys on this roster that's the biggest surprise. Like Noah Brown talked about, you know, dropping weight an offseason coming in here and trying to be prepared.

He also does he does so much in the blocking game that is underrated. He's almost like a tied end, but not a tied end in some ways with how they use him in the twelve and get him out there. Um, but I agree with you that he has been a surprise to some Are you like a surprise to some degree with how well he's he's played. Um, I'm excited to see what he looks like when he comes back. And again, like when you start talking about the wide receiver position, is like, well, Dan, what's Noah gonna do

when he come back at that three? Likely? Yeah, I don't know, Like it's it's a weird spot to be in, but yeah, go ahead, Ferry. I was just gonna, you know, add on to both of y'all. Knowah Brown had has been really surprising, and I think a lot of that has to do with what Cooper Rush and him and that report, because if you think about it, yeah, they you know practice squad always going against the ones on defense.

They had that connection out there, and I'm interested to see what him and Dak are gonna be able to do. You know, can he go out there. I see him as a guy that can make those contested casters, like a possession guy. You need to move the chains. He might not bust you for you know, a fifty yard game or sixty yard game. He'll get you those tens. He'll get you those fifteens, and he ain't gonna get a lot of yacht yards, but he's gonna catch that football.

You know. That's actually that's actually a great point. I've never really thought about it like that, but and I know it's gonna sound really crazy, so forgiven before I say it, But it might have actually been a blessing in disguise that based on not having Michael Gallop early in the season that you also didn't have Dak Prescott because Cooper Rush and Noah Brown, the chemistry that they have actually may have served you well and may have served you better than what you would have gotten out

of Dak and Noah. They may not have had that same level of chemistry. We might have seen the same thing we've seen throughout Noah's career if Dak would have been the one poll in the trigger. So I don't know, that's that's an interesting way to look at it, and it makes me think, like was that really something to actually helped this offense because of that chemistry that he

has with Coop, And I'm not so sure. You know, Dak would have been willing to run the football as much like you know, he might would have been up there and say, you know, hey, this is a run call. But you know he has that pool and that clichetor where he can be like a kill kill kill, get the guy out there, and get that guy out there, and we would have never seen this offense have that formula that they have now, running that football and playing

to the defense. And now that we've seen how successful that can be in that five game stretch, you see Doc he's like, hey, I'm not gonna mess this up. Let's just gonna keep going on what it's going. So and he did talk about he did talk about that and said he learned a lot on the sideline about kind of how things were working and watching how things happen. So some of that might have been might have been

the result of him watching from the sideline. A lot of it is just your offensive line being better than has been in a minute. Sorry, like I mean truly, I mean you being able to run the ball consistently just has changed a lot of what you do offensively, and quite honestly, I don't know if the Cowboys have consistently ran the ball well for a while now. Well, three of the pieces are guys that two years ago you we thought they probably should be running out of town.

They've developed this offensive. We talked about tern Still, you talk about Beardist, you're talking about McGovern That was a time all three of them were on every fans wishless to replace it, like like getting rid of them. They are not very good guys, and so you gotta give a ton of credits to the coaches were developing that time because they that's certainly what wasn't what we thought. Even maybe last year there were questions about Beardish, but

we wouldn't. We went into camp this year and I think everybody thought mc government days were limited because you were thinking the rookie's gonna take his job Jack, and the rookie could not move him out of that starting spot. So in credits to those guys for I mean, we talked about Tyler Biada, she talked about Terren Steell, Tyler Smith. These gentlemen are also taking the time to get work outside of this building, so working with Duke can get

in those like is. There's something to be said about players who are going and getting that extra work, especially at the offensive line position. When we talk about they don't get a lot of time in practice, they don't get a lot of reps. So for these guys to be taking the initiative to get better says something about this offensive line as well. All right, let's let's take our final break. We'll come back. We got a few more questions for you guys, and we'll get today. We'll

save some of them for tomorrow. We've got plenty between today and the borrow. We gotta take our final break. Will be back. Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio set us up. The season is finally here. For months, we've been gearing up to win. Now it's time for the team that performs on any field. United Eggin Turf with John Deer zero turns for mowing, compact tractors for loading, many excavators for digging, gator utility vehicles for hauling, implements for grading,

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Final segment of the break Life in that WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star presented by Miller Like the Only Beer of the Dallas Cowboys, we are running through questions. We are talking about the Cowboys and a media review. My next question for you guys, ready for this movie? All right? More important to this team's success. Dak Prescott or dan Quinn? Oh, what is wrong with you? Oh? I learned from the master, Brian Brows is the best of these kind of questions, and this one is one

that that he would be proud of. This this question, get your thanking more important success. Dak Prescott or dan Quinn. Oh, my goodness, Uh, I gotta go. I'll go with you all. You know, I'm more six. I'm gonna have to go dan Quinn. I'm gonna have to go dan Quinny because it's like what he's been able to do with this defense and being the strength of this team. And you know, coaching matters out there and you and you're getting the most out of each and every one of your players.

You're putting them in the right POSI. You know how many times do we see, Okay, George Lewis goes down one of the top nickels in the National Football League. Duran Bland, a rookie, steps in, already has an under interception under his belt. He understands the defense. And I feel like dan Quinn, he when he gets the most out of these guys because his system, what he does with them, he makes them understand it, like, all right, these are your strengths, these are your weaknesses, these are

who you need to lean on. And he does a great job doing that, and he's built this team up. So I feel like if we don't have him in there. I'm not saying that, you know, there's there's coaches underneath him that will be able to do, you know, a decent job as well. But the way he's calling this team and the way he's getting his defense going, I just don't see it in the offense being able to

exploit this defense. So we we had that five game stretch, you know, with with Cooper Russian I saying that he could be the guy and take us as far as you know, Dak Prescott could possibly good, but I still feel like we'd have a better chance with a dan Quinn defense rather than you know, Prescott being in there and being the guy. I gotta go with dan Quinn

on this one. Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna agree. It hurts, but I'm gonna agree because it's also to you look at what he's One thing I loved about the Cowboys when they hired dan Quinn is that they got him in here before the season started and he was able to kind of put his his imprint early. So he was here through the draft. You can see his imprint on the draft. You've seen his inprint on the draft, You've seen his imprint on the free agency sign as

you've seen. And so this has been a real like a build in a way, like a build in a way, and that and to see the change and the like when you think back to twenty and twenty, when you think back to this d and to flip it that quickly, but also too it's I think we talk about the Cowboys all the time, and people talk about culture and all this stuff. I do I think for sure that Dan Quinn is a huge part of this culture change.

Um and obviously Mike McCarthy as well. But I would say yeah, just because of what the locker room, how they talk about them, how they how, and we seeing guys improve with him. When you talk about coaching, you look at this secondary, Some of these guys were here when there are other coaching staffs here and you weren't getting that production. You aren't getting these same looks, you weren't getting the same you know, versatility there. So and I also feel like if you don't have Dan Quinn,

maybe you don't see Michael do what he does. Like a lot of coaches looked at Micah in the draft and they saw what he was capable of doing. Dan Quinn saw what he was capable of doing and made it work. He also threw away his whole playbook from when he was in Seattle. So not only that, he came in here and he solely built this defense based off of the players he brought in here, and I think that is very difficult to do when you look

across the league. Teams struggled to draft and develop, struggle with coaching, locker room issues, and that's not something you see here. I think he's a big part of that. Okay, so let me throw I'm gonna change it up a little bit for you. Is Dan queen Quinn most important to his team's success because he has Michael Parsons. Without Michael Parsons would he be able to do the magical things that he's been able to do so far with

this defense. So I would have said that maybe last year based off of how they were using Michael Parsons coming from the linebacker spot in Russian and how they used him now but now that they're using him, granted, MICA's nobody to sleep on, but now that they're using him at edge a lot more, I do think that the way that they were using him last year was a little bit more mystique. I guess if that's the word, I don't know, if that's the way. He didn't know

where he was gonna be. You didn't know where he was gonna be. But now this year, you kind of know where he's gonna be. I think that kind of takes a wrinkle away in some degree. So I'll say that maybe this I think this defense. I say all that to say, I think this defense can still thrive, maybe not the same exact way. I think they thrive

more when you don't know where Michael's coming from. You know, I would have to say without Micah, I'm not gonna say they're gonna take a huge step back, but they would definitely take a step because if you I mean, granted, he's probably you know, top three defensive players in the National Football League, but not only that, he's creating so many more one on ones everybody else on the line, Like you know, d law Duran's Armstrong file, those guys they're getting a lot of one on ones and they're

able to take advantage of that. And I don't think you get that without Michael Parsons being there, Like if they kept him a linebacker or if he wasn't on this team at all, I think it would be a different story. So to me, you know, he's a top three defensive player for a reason, and I think he

just creates so much more for everybody else. And then you talk about being in the secondary when a quarterback has to make a decision like that and he's like, oh, man, you know I'm looking at Parsons, but I don't know who I'm going to. It makes your job a lot easier in the secondary. So with that guy being there, everybody else's job is a lot easier. They wouldn't take a huge step back, but I think they would definitely take a step back. I also mentioned that yesterday and

Cross Talk. He said this is He's like, this is the thing about rushing the past or with the Cowboys. You if you don't get there before Michael does, you just not gonna get it. And that was crazy to me, like hearing him say that, Like everyone's like when you're rushing if you don't be Michael, you're not gonna get set because he's he's up the competition, you know. There, So I agree with you that fumble RecA exactly what

you're about to say that. Yeah, like the way his motory is, it's like you you see talented players, they're like, all right, well, just onen't my turn is? This guy is literally he just doesn't stop the fumble recovery, the chase down tackle in Detroit, which that could have switched the momentum to everything. But he chased that that tight end down at the one yard line. Tank goes in there and forces the fumble, switches the whole game up.

So when you got a guy with that mentality that wants to that passion, it's infectious and the rest of the defense kind of feeds off of that, and you see how they're flying around. I honestly think Curse thought he had that that that recovery, that fumble recovery. I think you can kind of it's almost like you could see it on his face, like oh and you can see you can. You can just hear Michael being like, I got that, but give me that yeah, block, go

block somebody. Yeah. It was like it almost took it down, and Knights like, man, I knew I had that one, and but that's Michael like, and that does up the the everyone's level of play. When you got players like that on your team who are so competitive, ultra competitive and always always giving everything to go get to the play and make a play, it makes everybody else also want to make a play and want to get there before that person gets there, to be able to have

one up on him. That's why this guy's NFL. You know, but you've been there, Like these are ultra competitive people, right, They're just competitive people just in general, because that you have to be to be good in the NFL. You don't want to be left off that board. So Marinelli, you always had to turn over board. And if you're a starter in the league and you sit there and you're like, man, this guy got you know, a couple here, a couple there, you don't want to be that guy

that's not contributing. Like you're trying hard to, you know, to get to that next that next phase and be on that board. And when you got guys like Mic out there, it's like, man, you know, I gotta catch up. I gotta do something out there, So he's making his defense a lot better real quick. Before we end the show, I did want to get I had this this question. It's real really for you, Barry, because you played safety NFL,

you kind of know what good safeties look like. Millie Cooker is a guy that I think it's played really well. But I wanted to get your perspective on what exactly makes him a good safety. He was a guy who's highly tired coming out of out of college, first round pick. Injuries really derailed him more than anything else. But what makes him a really good safety? And what are you seeing from him this year that makes you believe that he is really back to maybe being that level of safety.

I think he's playing outstanding right now. You know, he understands his role. He's a middle to feel safety. He knows that he doesn't let anything pass his head. And what I love most about him, he's able to read that quarterback back. They're like none other. I mean, maybe Earl Thomas back in the day, you know, had a real knack for reading quarterbacks. But if you look at it, he's always in the picture, even if he's in the cover three zone in the middle of the field and

they throw that deep ball on the outside. By the numbers or about the hashes out there, he's able to get over there and help his teammates out. You rarely see a mental error from this guy and tackling that's huge, and from a middle of the field defender. Ninety percent of the time you're open field tackling people, and I rarely see this guy miss tackles. Like he might not bring the thump like a Wilson or a curse, but he's gonna wrap you up and he's gonna come up

with a body part. So to me, he checks all the boxes. He's a great tackler. He's a great communicator because he gets, you know, the calls that everybody gets, everybody lined up in the right space, and he's great against the past and reading quarterbacks, not letting anything over top of his head. So to me, I think he's playing outstanding football. The numbers may not show it, like he may not have a lot of interceptions or a lot of tackles, but he's playing solid football right now

and exactly what the Cowboys need. And you mentioned his tackling like he's dealing with a thumb injury, he's been dealing with that thumb injury, it sounds like for the majority of the season. So it just also puts in perspective his grid and some of the things you see from him. One thing I've loved from Millie Cooker so far, Like you were talking about as a tackling he's not afraid to come up and tackle or even at the line of scrimmage, like he's an active player. But he's

also very vocal. Yes, just look at him. I mean, you have to be as a safety. But they talk about, you know, the secondary or the defense in itself. They talk about communication all the time, and from the safety position, that is so intricate, especially when you have a cornerback that likes to take chances. And I think that and I think that a lot of what you're seeing from Digs is because he trusts his safety. He trust his safety, his trust a little bit more than last year, you

know what I'm saying. But yeah, he trusts that safety a lot, and I think that's important to what they're doing defensively right now. So all right, that's a man. It's been fun. It's been fun. It's some good answer, all right, So we're gonna be back tomorrow and we'll have some more questions for these guys. We're gonna do some more wrapping up of this midyear review until then for Barry Church, fry Esha Moore Soon. I'm Derek Hielton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot

Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.