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Cowboys Let's go. Are you ready for a break?
Yes?
Are you ready for a break?
Absolutely?
Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that.
It's time for the Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com. Were on with mbar Garcia, Brian brought Us, Nick Harris, and Derek Eagleton.
It is Monday, December sixteenth, twenty twenty four, Season twenty, episode number eighty six. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break live in SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Star, presented by LG. LG is the world's number one O lead EVO brand or eleven years' accounting see why at LG dot com, Fort slash Oleadevo dot com.
Welcome to the show.
How are we doing?
We have rolling through December. Man, we're already at December sixteenth. Crazy Tuesday is Christmas? Next Tuesday, next Wednesday, Next Wednesday is Christmas.
Jesus. We're moving fast, all right.
So today we're talking about the Cowboys big win yesterday they beat the Carolina Panthers thirty to fourteen, a team that I think going into the game we all had a certain amount of respect for despite their record, because of how closely they played some really good teams. But the Cowboys go in and really in the second half just.
Lower the boom on them.
What would you guys say is the storyline coming out of this game?
We'll start with you Nick.
The Carolina Boys, being that there were a lot of Carolina natives that really showed out in this game. We could start with Rico Dowdle, who's from Ashville, North Carolina, just about ninety five miles west of Bank of America Stadium. Another career day for him, one hundred and forty nine yards. He didn't get into the end zone. He's actually starting to laugh about that in the postgame pressers now. He's like, I don't know when these touchdowns are going to come
along with these yards here are coming along. But you start with Rico Dawdle, then you look at brock Hoffman. He played seventy two snaps at center yesterday, didn't allow a pressure. According to PFF, I don't know what's going on over there. Next gin, I see, this is just wild kid.
Okay.
I was like this is wild to me.
At this point, but.
Yeah, I know I was like, we need to have some sort of like synergy at this point.
We need to kick it one time.
Yeah, we did one time. We did one time.
But he played a phenomenal game at center and being able to help this offense account for four hundred and ten yards. Then you look at Israel mccuamu another or he went to the University of South Carolina. He had an interception there in the second half. And then Jalen Brooks he's a native of North Carolina, I believe Hickoryville, North Carolina, and he had his first career touchdown in the third quarter. So it was the Carolina Boys for me. They got it done in a homecoming game for them.
Ran the ball fifty seven of the time yesterday, Boys and girls.
Yeah, how about that kind of magical when you do stuff like that. You know, turnovers were a big part of this game too, you know, the pressures, the turnovers. Mike Zimmer did a really nice job of disguising some coverages and kind of creating some kind of muddy looks for the young quarterback who had been playing pretty well against pressure. But we knew going in there was gonna be some issues with this offensive line. When it came to movement, when it came.
To how they were going to be able to adjust.
Cowwych did a great job up front, the front seven, the way that they played, getting after the Panthers offensively. But I like I led off with the ability to take Rico Daddle and run him as much as they were able to against the defense that just wasn't good when it playing the run. Finally, go in there and take advantage of somebody say, you know what, hey, if you're one of the worst teams in the league or
worst defenses in the league, play in the run. Well, here, have a few more carries, have a few more yards added to your total. And you know that's what Dallas was able to do. Ran twenty more plays than what Carolina did as well, and I think that helped you in the win.
I know we're going to get into both sides of the ball and Cooper Rush. He's definitely not the player of the game for me in this game, but we've criticized him so much throughout weeks for criticism, but I've got to give him some props in this game because this this pipe, this pie, the mistake him fumbling the ball in the second half, right off the bat they came back, and I saw him being a more confident guy,
like being able to move around a little bit. He ran a little bit, nothing crazy, but he's like, oh he moves okay. So he was able to keep.
His three touchdown game for career.
Gimy Cooper, but I mean, no, you're right, am I wrong?
Credit for him for what he did and just being able to build that connection even with Ceedee Lamb another guy that showed out yesterday, being able to get more clean in his game and having I saw him have more awareness of the field and while was currently happening, which is something that he has struggled with throwing the ball at times where you're like, what are you looking at? Who are you throwing it to? What are you thinking? And he was just he showed to be more decisive in his game.
Ball went down the field more, and I think the ball went down the field more yesterday because Carolina plays off coverage. They don't play up on top of you. And as matter of fact, if you look in this game, and I was curious about Lamb and how they played, Lamb Horn played in press coverage fifty percent of the time on the other side of the field, not one snap.
And if they're gonna give you free access and routes, yeah, ball needs to go down the field, you know, if they're gonna let you run and mesh and cross and deep cross. And you talk about Cooper rush moving. You know, the touchdown past that he threw to Tolbert was they were trying to throw the ball to Cooks.
They were going to Cooks on.
The wheel and it got covered and he moved still did a great job of pinning his guy inside, but that allowed Tolbert to come all the way across the field to get the ball. So that you're talking to your point amber about the ball. You know, seeing the field, you know he's thinking one spot, but it turns into a deep over route and he makes a Tolbert made a nice play on the catch. Yeah, Cooper made a good throat to get it to him.
Yeah, let's dive into that offense a little bit more.
Cooper had yesterday was eighteen of twenty nine, sixty two percent completion rate, two hundred and fourteen passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, a one.
To nineteen rating.
And I'll be honest, I was I was kind of Ambert mentioned it.
By halftime, I was a little bit kind of.
A little shaky with with Cooper just because of the funnel right before halftime.
You had a clear opportunity.
Kind of a guiding in the penalties that he gets. Yeah, you get mad at him for that, Yeah, and it makes you such.
A good half.
And then all of a sudden and I quite frankly, I don't even know on that play was he supposed was out of play?
Where he can't you can't situation like I think you had the ball off.
Yeah.
No, in the notes I said, because I couldn't tell from the end zone copy what really happened. You see him kind of present the ball and then it's kind of like at the mesh point they're bumping into each other and then the balls on the ground. I'm like, just hand him the damn ball. On third and one, he's gonna get the first down. And now you keep playing.
And ran for thirty matter of fact that they were gonna throw a league.
They were gonna throw it to first and he's gonna.
Cold, his fingers were cold.
Hand the ball off.
I think I think what we saw in that game as well, they were running the ball in a third and one. In that situation with the close to the end of the half, run the like why not?
Why not run the ball? And again I don't know the play.
I don't know if it was a check where he decided or a situation where he had the option to be able to do it. All I know is in that situation, I was surprised that they didn't run the right and you end up with a turnover. But that all being said, as you guys look at his whole game, not just that moment, but his whole game. What do you think he was most improved this week over the last few weeks that we've seen him play.
I will say the mobility factor, because you look at the Tulbert touchdown. You look at the Brooks touchdown where he's rolling out and he's throwing on the run, and that Brooks a touchdown wasn't impressive. I was like, Okay, hey, he's got a little swagger to him. Might call him Cooper shisty going forward, but now looked he looked good. He looked good on that throw. I liked him a
lot on that throw. But that's something that I feel like I haven't seen from Cooper Rush and talking to him after the game, he said he feels like he's playing better football right now than he was in twenty twenty two. I wonder what he would attribute that to. I probably need to follow up on that this week. But he does look confident at times, but then it's that fumble stuff that he's just got to be able
to figure out. But I mean, you look at you look at what he's what he's done from a game management standpoint, I think he's managed this offense quite well.
Yeah, but then then there's that can even you know, the goodness, there's good things, and we've talked.
About the fumble.
I think enough, but he misses crossing routes, you know, I mean, guys are open and he throws the ball lower behind and you're and you're like, going.
Bro, just throw it in front.
And then he has even a better day even that, the numbers look even better. You're moving the you're moving the ball, you know, you're you're kind of you're getting in some offensive rhythm and things. And I when he throws the ball behind and low and when he's when it's open, that drives me nuts with him. But I will say this though, like I say that the touchdowns that he had throwing, all of them.
Were really really good throws.
They really were, and it was you know, and the one the CD was a really even though the ball was probably a little short, and and the and the safety didn't adjust all that well. CD did he knew where the ball was, Safety didn't know. Richardson didn't know where the or Fuller excuse me, Fuller didn't know where the ball was, and and and CD mad made Cooper look good on that one. But the other touchdown passes were really really good.
Yeah, I looking at me, they were.
They were.
But again, adjustment creditude, like you said, CD and Tolbert is the way that he made that.
Catch as well.
I think, uh, you're seeing just a better I think it comes down to them practicing better and what they're doing during the week. You can see that the preparation was there, because previous weeks we've seen the lack of connection between Cooper and the receivers, and I think this week it just showed a more prepared offense.
Yeah, you hope this happens the next three weeks because it's not going to be easy.
Yeah, you're gonna get it. It gets appreciably hard.
There's going to be times where you're gonna wish he had an open receiver to throw to.
Yeah. Yeah.
You know what's interesting to me is I don't know that I believe that maybe what we're seeing, or what we saw yesterday, what we've seen the last couple of weeks, is really the fact that he is now back to the same way.
Why did I say Tolber Brooks?
Was it a Brooks?
They all had at least one catch.
The other one.
Yeah, shout outs to Brooks too, by the way, that's another guy. The to Jalen that just kind of makes in my head. But shout outs to him sometimes too, I know, make it more confusing. But no, I thought he the catch he made it was really good too as well.
Yeah, I was the thing about Cooper for me this this week is I think what we're seeing is more that it's back to what he had when we saw him last as a starter, which is he's got a great defense and he's got a running game that he can rely on when you give.
Him those two things.
As you said, Brian, He's still not, in my opinion, the greatest passer.
He's still gonna miss ros.
He has the fumble like, he still has these warts in his game that, by the way, is probably the reason why he's a backup quarterback versus being a starting quarterback. But at the same time, he's good enough that if you give him a really good defense and you give him a good running game, and by the way, the offensive play caller is a stude enough to keep running the ball.
Well this game he was, Yeah, that's Sunday night.
But if you're willing to do that, if you're willing to do that and take some of the pressure, I agree, he can be adequate. And now I think that's what we saw, and that's what we've seen here, is that he can be more than enough to win if the defense is playing game and you rely on your run game.
I totally agree. It pains me to watch them play and like sit there and say, you got to take advantage of this, you got to do And the fact that they had more rushing yards than passing yards made my heart feel good.
About this football team.
Yep, no doubt.
And people are now complaining to me, like, well, why didn't they do this when Doug was in there? They could have run the ball, you know, that's another question for another day.
Jo Rico Dawell said the exact same thing almost yeah, yeah in the lock.
Oh no, let me put the exact quote.
Because their offensive line I think is better now than when it was though the right guard especially.
I agree. I agree.
Right now the offensive line is playing at a level was not saying it in away the dudes banged up.
You're right, you're right right.
Baby needs to play it right. Baby needs to play right guard next week.
Ryan in some respect, just show just kind of see what it looks like.
It looks like, why not.
Yeah, I'm pulling up the exact quote from Rico Daudell.
I'm sorry, I'm trying to stop. Did your job, yes, yeah, tell you what.
Let's do this. Let's go to our first break. When we come back.
Uh, Nick will have that that quote for us, and we'll get back to that.
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Welcome back to second segment of the Break Life from the s WBC Mortgage Studios. At the start of the segment brought to you at blockchain dot com.
All right, Nick, you had a quote for us, where's it?
Rico Daudell talking about not getting carries early in the season.
He said it was all about the rhythm.
Talking about the performance he had yesterday, I've been firm on that since the beginning. It was all about the rhythm and getting the attempts. I think we could have always did it, but the timing is working right now for us, Spicy.
I wish you would.
I wish you had just said it was coaching malpractice that I did not get the ball.
More so fair yea, so true, But you know, I.
Just wonder, But you do you wonder if if you know, they let's let's say Stell wasn't playing really good, Martin was hurt. The center was a rookie, ye dude learning the left guard at times, you know, sixty five plays, three bad plays, you know, and then the left tackle holds and gets lines up in the backfield and all that stuff. They've they've there's some stability now with the way that they're playing with that offensive line. Steele's playing
a ton better. It really doesn't matter who they put it right guard now, but it's helped Steal with it because it's a healthy body and those dudes are tough.
That was gonna be my question.
Do you think Poffman are tough guys?
Do you think that the right guard the challenges that right guard, it hurts Steel.
It hurt them, and I think it I think Nick, it might have hurt the center to a little bit, you know. With with and this is gonna sound terrible and I'm not kicking poor Martin White's down. And he played he played a level that he played at a like a human level, whereas before for all these years
he's played at this, yes, unbelievably high level. But when they tried to do things, his inability to move, his inability to show any power, you know, you watch, you just go, just go watch the plays that Turpin got, those the handoffs to Turpin and watch what they did on that right side, and they had not done that.
All year long. Yeah, you know, and able.
To get guys fitted up and then get a block from Ferguson and then you know, get out and get the ball to the corner.
Did it twice? They like, they did the exact same play.
Twice to to Carolina with motion and Turpin in and they're like, oh my god, they're gonna run the ball here, I guess, and they couldn't stop it either time. That That just shows you, though, how much better this offensive line is playing.
And I don't fold them for this because even during the beginning of the season, you would still take a hurt sach Martin over whoever was behind him, Like it was no question. You know his history, you know what he's done, You're like, yeah, of course, that's a no brainer. Just keep him in the game if he can play. Obviously, over the course of the season you start seeing the decline and then he gets to a point where he
finally gets taken out. But imagine the story being different and the guy behind him is not as good and these guys then it would have been like, oh.
Yeah, well, here we go, here we go.
You gotta find you gotta draft somebody else or finding new So it's one of those things that I can't blame them, but in hindsight, I mean it turned.
To blame him. I think this is very reminiscent.
And I don't remember the year heck, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, but I mean the year that Ezekiel Elliott played with the bad knee. Remember, he just they kept He kept playing and playing and playing because he didn't want to come off.
He didn't want to he didn't want to let his teammates down. But in reality it was hurting the team.
His his his inability to to play at a high level hurt the team. And and that then the team had so much respect for him that they're like, no, we're going to keep him out there, keep him out there, keep him out there, until finally it's like, well, wow, that whole year went by and he played with Zeke Elliott with a bad knee the whole year, and and
your your offense wasn't any good. So I again, Zach Martin, Hey, I'm sorry that it happened this way, but by him not being in the lineup and putting a healthier body in there, just a healthier body has paid off dividends for them running the football.
See we hear. Sorry, I was just gonna mention with t J.
Bass.
Did we hear anything to have thigh?
Yeah, a thigh. He was out for the remainder of the game.
Was I thought it was his thumb. I thought for some reason they said it was his thumb, but.
It was thigh. And I'm like, okay, let's let's actually talk about that.
I want to go a little deeper on the offensive line, particularly on Hoff and Bass and Geiton, and tell me how you thought they played because Chuma went down relatively Was it first quarters?
Yeah, I feel like it was first quarter.
It seemed like it was relatively early in the game.
But talk me about those particular three players and how well they played having to come in and in situation where where injuries forced them into the game.
Yeah, I saw good things from Geydon and I haven't really had major issues with what Geyton has done in the run game over the course. So I would say since the bye week and this this Panther's front. We talked about it last week how they don't really generate much pass rush, so that wasn't really a huge threat at the at the end of the day. But I felt like this unit as a whole played pretty well. When you talk about Guyton, when you talk about Hoffman
and Bass, I mean they were paving running lanes. They were keeping Cooper Rush clean. I think he only got sacked one time. Did So it's you got to give credit to this offensive line group. Actually wrote about it last night. You got to give credit to Mike Solari too, just for being able to play musical chairs with these guys. Throw them in, still have production in the run game, protect Cooper Rush.
It's it's paying dividends for this offense.
You see you see it, you see it coming together for Rico Dawdle, and you got to give credits to those guys up front for it.
Yeah, they were, they they were.
They were on the on point yesterday when and Nick's absolutely right. We mentioned it during the week. Hey, there's going to be some things you could take advantage of, and they clearly did. The the Panthers are not the same, but the Panthers came into this game. We had a chance, uh.
You know, to to visit with Jake Lohm, who's there, you know, the color analyst there for their.
Team and in the Ring of Honor too, would you how about that Jake.
Well, he took them to a Super Bowl. I mean it's a relatively young franchise.
And conversation because I have a beef with Ring of Honors around the league. There's some guys in the Ring of Honors from yes what exactly happened.
But I will say that at a franchise that, again is relatively new, and they went to a super Bowl and he was the quarterback of that team that went to a Super Bowl, I think that's fair.
They just better put Cam Newton up there pretty soon then.
Yes, used to be in there, no doubt, have.
Like dom Capers in there and stuff like that.
Ran to Don yesterday, I ran chess box.
Did you see dom Capers, Yes, did you really see him? How jet black was his?
I know, I know that was the first thing to point out, like.
Not like he's got somebody in Charlotte that does a great job with his hair because he's he's like very very jealous of dom Capers a man, but he's got he's got like jet black here.
Yeah, Domo, Yeah have you seen the pictures?
Wow?
Yeah, yeah, he just.
Looks like.
All on him like that, right.
But it was what we dom Caper, you.
Were talking to Jake somebody, Yes, Jake.
Delane, we got off. No, that was somebody Jake Colone. Jake Delane was talking about. He was talking about and and Greg Olsen the same way.
Greg. You know, we got a chances. Both of them were like talking about like Carolina a lot of.
Positivity, a lot of positivity even though they'd had the difficult losses against Tampa and Philly and and and then you know, Kansas City, a lot of positivity and yesterday was a two steps back for them, and that, you know, but Dallas did a great job of taking it to them.
You know that something you're kind of well, maybe they can do this. They didn't run the ball, didn't throw the ball.
Well, they had one big play throwing the ball, and that was a mistake that they that you made to get them that opportunity. So, you know, tip of the cap to Dallas for going in and beating up a bad football team.
Also, Mike Zimmer and I know this was switches the conversation a little bit, but you know, for a guy that personally headed into training camp super excited about it, looking forward to it, then the season starts and then you're like, Okay, this is not really what I expected.
I thought it would be more. But then despite all the challenges, all the injuries, week after week, you progressively start getting in more fired up defense and positioning players where they need to be to make them excel or being better at their position, at their job, at their task.
And again, looking at all the players that have come out and have had season ending injuries and all the different type of adjustments that you've had to make, I think a lot of credit to Mike Zimmer and also every single player that is playing out there on the field and not giving up all.
Right, here's the one.
Yeah, I just need to continue my apology to os Digizuwa. I'm just gonna make sure that that's mentioned every week.
Well it's not. Let's not get too far.
We're gonna'm gonna we're gonna take our final break here, and I do want to talk about the defense. We're gonna dive in because I think, to be quite honest with you, I think the story of this game is really the defense, and the defense is playing at a at a level that we certainly haven't seen for most of this year. But I think we've got to give a lot of kudos to a lot of guys on that side of the ball. We'll come back and we'll do that this Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio.
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Final segment of the break lift in s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star, Let's talk defense. Yesterday, the Cowboys put together an outstanding game. They had six sacks, they created four turnovers, They had ten quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, fourteen points allowed. That defense played I
think the best they've played all season. And then when you look at what they did specifically against the running attack of the Carolina Panthers, they held you Hubbard to ten carriages for thirty two yards street point two average, and then total of sixty yards rushing that they allowed to their whole team. First of all, I start with
that rushing defense. What are your thoughts on the rushing defense, particularly not just yesterday, but over the last few games, when this has been a continuous story for them all season. It seems like over the last few games things have gotten a little bit better.
I had a little concern about the second level going into this one, just because maricleaf I just hasn't had their reps.
He was incredible yesterday. He was really really good stepping in for to marrow the ball.
Him punching that ball out, Yeah.
That scared me a little bit.
Scared.
I was like, I just love.
When players like they're just not making like a random playoff, let me tackle your what like they're actually going for it and going after the ball for real.
He had said whenever he saw Bryce shown kind of stumbling instead of sliding, he was like, well, I may as well try it.
And he did punt it out.
He said he was surprised. He didn't even know he punched out till he turned around and saw it on the ground. And who recovered that.
I believe it was Neeland.
Kneelan yeaheel, So it was. There were five guys around that ball.
By the way, Dallas had more players than than what Carolina was dealing with. Yeah, thought of hustling getting over there.
Yeah, but it's really cool just kind of seeing the hair come out of the helmet for Leafel and Kendricks whenever they're in that second level and they're getting aturate in the run game, they play more confidently when that front is more confident as well, So it's just kind of a trickle down effect and you're starting to see the results of that. Also got to give Donovan Wilson credit in the run game. In this one as well, it was really just all three levels right in the
middle of that defense. I feel like they just all play their assignments really well. That's what's worked over the course of these last few games.
Yeah, you know, you're actually guys like Massie Smith getting off the ball.
We've talked about Osa.
You gave your flowers to him, your apologies to him for what he's done. We went into this game kind of feeling like they say their movement was going to be a problem. Carolina just doesn't handle and Dallas. That's one thing Dallas can do is they can move their front and they can twist. They could bring linebackers. I mean, Zimmer is a master of getting unblocked blitzers home.
You know he did it.
He did it yesterday with with with Jordan Lewis. They tried to blitz from the right side with Lewis coming from the defenses right and Carolina picked it up and what did Zimmer do later in the game. He flipped the blitz to the other side and ran the same blitz and got it home. So he didn't give up on it. It's like, damn, we worked on this. He knew that he had a chance, So, you know, tip of the cap for him, you know, with Micah, you know,
with Osa. You know, all these guys are playing Goldston, they're doing a great job, and you feel like there was going to be this huge drop off with marys Leah fell in there and everybody, to a man and a lady who worked in this building, we're just so excited about drafting him, so excited. I mean, it was like, man, we got this guy, We got this guy, And I'm thinking.
Man, you just cost me a running back, you know.
And that's what I but you know, hey, he's always around the ball when there's turnovers, he's always around the ball. When somebody knocks it half he gets half sack. And since game balls on the ground, I mean he's around it.
He's in college.
Right, Yeah, he's always been that kind of guy.
And and uh, you know it looks like that that they're really really paying off this secondary though. It's man I'm just saying that's you know, they're doing a great job. I mean, Lewis has been great all year. You know, it's bland having him back. Hooker got nicked up. You mentioned wilsonan, But the cornerback spot now without digs that, I think that's going to be the problem in the next three weeks, you know, for your football team. And
I do worry about that. You know, tip of the cap for the guys playing against this offense, but they're gonna have three offenses coming up. It's going to be a real challenge for them to have to deal with that cornerback spot.
So the eighty three yard touchdowns haven't had a chance. To go back and look at it from the live view, it looked as though either Hooker over committed to the underneath or Wilson was slow getting over.
But where was Warrior's responsibility.
I think what happened Ao was like he was sinking and I asked somebody after the game, I said, hey, can you help me here a little bit? Trying to get educated what happened? He goes, we missed a check all the way across. So they were supposed to be a check in the coverages, so only half the defense got to check in the secondary, and then it didn't get all the way out to Ao.
So that's why when you watch.
It, you're gonna it looks like Ao's kind of playing as a he's sinking. But I thought it was him between him and Hooker. I thought hooker. I thought maybe Ao had the flat and Hooker was going to carry deep. But you got you got some guys kind of playing different on one side. And to me, like I said, I'm like, okay, cool. So they missed a check like they were a mental mistake is what gave that one up, is what.
I was told.
One of the best cornerback stats is getting on here without a tackle sometimes, and Deron Bland did not have a tackle in this game. It's because he was only targeted one time and did not allow one reception.
So I got to give credits.
How about Lewis driving on that ball that got tipped. Incredible that Kendricks made a play.
I mean, he's going and you see these guys they hook the guy, then they get called for hooking and then the hand being over man. He went around feeling and like didn't even touch him, just kind of put but you know again, it's a smart player. He's seeing he's seeing uh you know, Young's eyes. He's looking right at theling the whole time. He's like, if you're gonna throw the ball at him, I'm about to drive on this thing. He drove on it went around him without
hitting him and then knocked the ball up. Great job by Kendricks just turning and then the ball being right on him and then him being able to react and make the play.
Yeah, Lewis thinks he's gonna be good by the way with the elbow.
So yeah, that's the interesting about Jordan.
Jordan's had a very very solid career here with the Cowboys. I think this is his best year. I think it is by far the best year he's ever had. And he's he's been so good in both the run and in the past. And in a year when they had so much movement because so many.
They were they were bad on defense, he wasn't.
Yeah, exactly. He He's just played so so well for them this year.
His only issue in his career here has been injuries that he and nothing. He's had his moments where he has to be taken out because he's recovery for whatever their injury maybe at the time, but again he always comes back, comes back better. And to think that this is the year that he's like excelling at everything, it's very, very impressive and credit to him.
Yeah, and the longevity at his size, I think is what's so impressive about him, and that he's still doing this.
He's out loud.
Exactly right, and that you got to give credit to that man. Because the NFL is a hard game and I love it giving them size to a lot of these guys, but he's he's one that just keeps getting better and I respect it. Let's talk about Mozzie Smith because I was talking about the rush defense. How much do you think his improved play because I think it has been improved play has contributed to their.
Yeah, I mean it's it's it's hard because you know, you're if you if you get to watch the All twenty two and you know you people have access to that, you could see him now getting off the football and you could see like the surge and it's and he's he's you know, he's playing on the opponent's side of the line of scrimmage and not his side of the line of scrimmage. He's getting up field, he's being disruptive,
he's taken up blocks. You know, uh Os is doing a good job of winning with his one on one blocks. Heck that one of the sacks, Goldston sack was they had they went for a rush. It was a fore man rush. Mazzi was part of the fore man rush. You know, they usually take him off the field and put somebody else in. But then Mazzi and Parsons are on a twist stunt to the left, Goldston and Os are on a twist stunt going right, and now they got Carolina baffled and boom and there there's you know,
Mozzie's working a stunt. He's you know, coming around with part. So you know they're they're showing a little bit more confidence in him, much like scoon Maker. You know, Schoonmaker was close to being inactive every week and now you know Skoonmakers are part of this. And I think there's more confidence in Masi in what he's doing. As you know, it's not showing up always in the box scores, they say, but his the play, the level of play is so much better than where it's been in the past.
One thing about this this defensive line, and I'll speak on Mazzi really quick.
The U.
He had kind of a funny moment for us in the press box when he had that one tackle where he just slung down and then he ran to the sideline and got oxygen.
But it showed just how powerful a man he is.
A little guy exactly.
He just slung him like it was a child like it was. It was amazing.
He was like, But Michael Parsons, you're starting to see the strength for him that he added over the off season. You're starting to see that come about.
Now.
He's always been the speed rusher that just can kind of dip below guys and get around guys. He's maximized his athleticism through the first three years of his career, so.
The sumo workouts helped. But I will say that, hey, he did his unique kind.
Of training during the.
You're starting to see that power come about. And I think that's a that's a scary site for opposing offensive lines because if he can add a power bag to what he already can do athletically and with his speed rush, I think, man, he was a problem for those guys yesterday.
He was a big problem Yeah.
Actually I had two other names of guys I wanted to throw out to you, guys that we haven't talked about. We talked about Maris, We've now talked about Micah. Let's talk about Osa. You mentioned him right before that brace that break, he had four tackles, one sack, four quarterback hits, one force fumble. He seemed like he was all over the field, especially in the second half.
What did you see yesterday from Mosa?
Yeah, I saw a man deserving of an apology. That's what I saw.
But you.
I do it every week he had.
Uh.
He has been one of the more UH pressure generating defensive interior alignment over the course of the entire NFL. Since the bye week, he's he's done a really good job getting after it in the pass rush. And I think you have mentioned it, Brian about how late in the season Osidgiz was kind.
Of gone away fourteen the usually say good night, Yeah.
And that's not happening yet.
So and he's he's been healthy all year, He's played every game, and uh, he's really starting to stack great efforts. I think what worked for him in this game is that he was just simply he was simply quicker than his opposing matchup, and he's he's a quick guy for that interior offensive line for to handle, and he was just getting around guys.
He was throwing guys down.
Uh.
He had a couple of chops where he was able to get around as well. He looked like an edge rusher maneuvering from the well he was on.
Yeah, he was.
He was at least one where they had him lined up at defensive end and Mike had defensive tackle.
So yeah.
The thing I think that this just goes back to again was Zimmer. I think Mike does a better job of what we've seen maybe in the past. And this is no disrespect to Dan Quinn. I think he hunts matchups, you know, and if you if you've watching tape and they've got bad players, you know.
I was.
I was talking to a buddy of mine who's an NBA coach, driving over here, and I was talking about, you know, like, I go, do you guys?
Do you guys? Ever, No, no doc rivers about dog ras, he goes the uh, the uh.
But he was telling me, he's like listen, I go, I go, hey, let me ask you a question. NBA because we were talking about Belichick and I go, in the NBA, do you guys hunt like if they're bad players on the on the court. He goes, oh, God, all the time, you try your best to get your best players on their bad players. And I think the Zimmer's done that. I think they've done that with the offense, with the with the defensive line. It's like, Okay, we know we can win a couple of these matchups.
Let's see if we could put our best guys on there.
And it's no disrespect to Dan Quinn, but I always kind of felt like that Michael Parsons was rushing against Trent Williams far too many times than what I thought when like mckivtt's on the other side needed some love, you know, he needed he needed to have a few rushes against him. So I feel like they're they're hunting, hunting more matchups.
You know what's impressive with Osa is for a defensive tackle and you look at his body, just how fast he actually is and how his body movement the quickness is so impressive. And I'm super excited for him because you know, when one you get to meet the person and you know, just like Jordan Lewis, you love the guy. Good people, And also when you see them put in the work and go out there and here during the week,
you're excited for them to be successful. And once again, when you have other people in the line also making place, it just it spreads, it spreads around. It creates more opportunities for everybody else. And now, God, I said this before and I'll say it again, and it's not gonna happen this year, But how I would have wished to see all the starters playing together in this defense and that wish is not gonna come true. But man, what an unfortunate season in that aspect for the Cowboys.
It's a missed opportunity that they couldn't control.
But you know, they you look at all the pieces of this defense and you look at now how Zimmer is making this thing roll even without all the pieces, and you're like, man, what if he had all the pieces?
Very very they have been a very, very different.
But you know, let's be honest, too, they had they had pieces.
Against the Saints, they went out there and laid a big fat egg.
But isn't part of that though, That's where I say, you know, that was the the the adapting period where he was trying to get because that I do know this, they I do know this. There were people, there were there were players that weren't necessarily all boy early and and I think now, I bet you'd have a hard time finding not one guy that isn't completely bought in.
So I think that's part of it.
I think, you know, after the game, Mike Zimmer and and and funny, uh, Michael went over and hugged Mike Zimmer, they were walking off the field arm in arm there and and and Mike and knows what Zimmer can do for him, he really does. And no disrespect to Dan Quinn again, but Mike and knows Mike and knows what this guy could do.
But they missed an opportunity. They did not get it coached up fast enough.
That's fair.
They didn't get a player buy in fast enough. They're getting a player buy in now, but they missed the opportunity. And that's your job. They have to switch these guys around and make them feel like, Okay, we're doing this in the best interest of you and the player buy in just or was it taught fast enough or quick enough? Players didn't adapt until now you're seeing really kind of the benefits of that.
I'm sure that's something very difficult to do when you're brand new here obviously not in the NFL, but here coming in learning this, getting to know the staff, the player, implementing something new, and getting people to buy in. Like you said, uh, that's a hard task and sometimes it takes weeks.
Your job, I get it, but it's your job, it really is.
The best player doesn't show up for OTAs.
That's that's fair. That's fair.
That's fair. That is fair. Player buy in, yeah, player buy in.
But also you've got to teach this stuff fast. You know, you don't have practices anymore.
You don't get them.
You don't get the practice like you need to practice. And that's unfortunate. But that player buy in, it might have cost him a couple of games. I think that maybe maybe not the rape well, the Ravens game they rally, you know, but there's some games like that Saints game.
They want back, they absolutely want Saints Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cincinnati, there were games with them, they played well in Cincinnati, saying overall, when you look at the team, there are games that they look back at the season they're.
Like, if we could have done this on this Let's not.
Forget about the offense. No defense. I mean, the defense was the one holding in and in most of the season, So criticize the offense. But I totally agree with what you're saying, Brian. I just feel like it's easier said than done.
Yeah, No, but you're and you're right, but and you're fair about You're right, he's fair, you're right fair about that. But the thing about it is, you're going to look back on the season and it's going to be man, defensively, they played so much better, and you're gonna say, well, why didn't they play better in Week.
Two, in Week three, in Week four? You know that's your.
We're going to do this at the end of the show today, but tomorrow we are going to take some time to really talk about this defense and uh and see if if you guys think Mike Zimmer should be back next year, read what happens with the head coach?
Uh.
Do you have some real quick.
Yeah, one quick thing pass rush grades across the entire NFL entering Monday Night Football are still two games tonight. Number one is to Vandre to Yes, yeah, I just want Number one is to Fandre Sweat for the Titans. Number two is also Diggi Zua. Yeah. Number three is Carl Lawson. So what Yeah at Carl Lawson talk about.
Get Yes, I can't believe you hate Carl Lawson.
Yeah, that's why we have to show tomorrow us.
All right, we appreciate you guys. So then for Nick Harris, Brian brought us to Amber Garcia. This is Derek Eagleton. There's been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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