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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. We were on right with Ambar Garcia, Brian brought us, Nick Harris and Derek Eagleton.
It is Monday, October seventh, twenty twenty four, Season twenty, episode number forty three. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break, Live from the SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Star, presented by LGLG is the world's number one o leed TV brand for eleven years in counting See why at LG dot com, Ford slash O, led Evo. How are we doing this morning?
Excellent?
We're doing, We're doing.
We're good. It was one point away from predicting that thing exactly how it needed to be.
Look at their sixteen You know what that thing was going to be close. I will tell you this.
There were lots of things that happened last night that if you listened to the Break, you would have been well prepared for.
Starting with very proud starting with the weather. We said this all week last week. We were like, this is going to be a problem, and sure enough it was. I guess not a problem because we have to end up staying through the night, but it certainly changed things about our night last night and about how much sleep we had for this morning.
Right. Yeah, it was a problem for those who had to do a pregame show, right, you did an hour and a half.
Expect the radio.
I learned what rain delay radio was all about. My guys at the rail breaks, my guys at the Rangers reached out. They said, hey, a nice showing that rain delay radio. And I'm like, oh, okay, well thanks, that's what it's all about.
So I can't have gay air.
Yeah, it's funny. I mean, hey, it's a good deal though, great win, you know with all that all that went down last night and with delays and the problems and stuff like that, you know, losing guys, I mean, it's that's that's that's as good as it gets right there.
Yeah, thank you to the fans. We had a lot of listeners that showed up to the game. Yeah, so that was I did not did.
You No, I don't ever sign Okay, you get the calls like, hey, Emmer, save me.
Sure no, but okay.
So let's start with this. What do you say the big picture storyline? Obviously the weather was a part of the storyline, but what was the big picture takeaway? I guess from this game if we remember, you know, five six weeks from now, how are we going to remember this game?
I think Dallas's ability to run the football in that game really paid dividends to you know, how they made Mike had some play calls that were the third and sixth flip I know you and I were talking about in the pre show, and you know, he there was some really he found some balance when he needed to find some balance, and you know that, and their their their scheme up front was really really good. Unfortunately, you know with Guyton he gets injured, do you run the
ball better? Yeah? But they also lost her big too. That was a big loss for them. So I mean, this was a game of attrition in a lot of different ways. And and so you know, move, I guarantee you that that Tyler Smith did not take one rep at left tackle this week. They made the determination that hey, if we have an injury, this is the way they go and I give him credit for that. He was ready to play. TJ Bass was ready to play. You know, total, there were a lot of guys just go down through
the roster. Tell me if you had in your in your uh in your bingo card this week, did you have a span four to two catches for twenty yards? Nope, nope. That's what you got to have when you go on the road and win games like this, you need guys to play at a level that you didn't think that they could play at. And I think that's the overriding thing to me was of how many guys stepped up when they absolutely had to have him in that football game.
Well, I thought that we're gonna lose, picked them to lose. I mean they were close, yeah, but they were close to losing that game, very very.
Close up to Giants.
Okay, okay, but all in all, I mean and counting all the different things that they had working against them, mainly and focusing on the injuries, they were able to keep fighting and get that win. It came down very close. But my thing is you cannot keep playing this way and expect to win football games for the rest of the season. And the teams that you're about to come up against, and a lot of it. We see the why not, Brian, why not?
Why not?
You're gonna pay You're gonna play better teams than that.
For sure, and I think you.
Know they absolutely are. They absolutely are. But the Cowboys, a lot of the things that they were doing were self inflicted mistake and that's where I'm being critical of
That's where I'm being very critical of them. It's like I'm cleaning up because we saw it towards the end of the game that would have cost them the game, everything that led up to that, and I just think they obviously need to just play it better, a cleaner game, limit the mistakes because we see how they get the ball rolling and then boom they have to take steps back and go back and then it's like okay, oh here we go here another mistake. All right, let's go
back again. So it's those things that you know the talent is there, you know they can make it happen, but just be more disciplined, execute things better, and clean up the mistakes.
We talk about that every week. That's an every week thing. Its team might be what it is, And Mike talks about the penalties every week. You know. Unfortunately, that's one of those that's one of those things that we talk about it every week, and I'm you bring it up every week. You know. Got to play cleaner, Gotta do this, gotta do you know, Yeah, they have to play cleaner. I think that to me, you know, the penolice. I'm not a fan of Sean Hockley, the official. I'm just not.
And and I understand going in the game sometimes you're going to get I thought it was a BS call. The call on Wheat, I thought, you know, and Wheat I thought, you know, I thought that Hockley and the umpire standing behind just see the quarterback's head snap and they think that he got hit in the face. He didn't. He got hit in the chest in the area. And and it's a terrible call, and it gives them momentum and it takes the quarterback out. But what do they do.
They drive the ball down the field, you know, and get and get that that uh that call. Now the undisciplined stuff, you know when when your guard, you know, your backup guards in the game and he gets an unsports my conduct penalty for being an idiot, you know of you know, initiating contact. Yeah, that's that's things you absolutely have to have to correct. But to me, I there's things I just don't think that they're ever going
to get better at now. The turnover part of it, though, I I I have a theory about what I think happened on the Dak's interception to to to Lamb in the corner. I have a I have a feeling. Now if you say what I'm if you hear what I'm about to say, you're gonna say, oh, you're, you're you're making excuses for Dak, And I'm not gonna make excuses for Dak on that. I think Dak was trying to get a free play because he's he's if you watch the tape, he's clapping his hands. He wants the ball
because they're late getting a guy on the field. He's trying to get it that that guy has has to cross through their side of the field to get to the line to line up, and Dak wants the ball. So he's going to try and get a free play out of this, and it's happened to him before. I believe it was. The Giants game did the same thing throughing inter set thought he had a free play. Next thing, you know, it's you know, it's not it's an interception.
The routes were poor on the outside. Lamb's route wasn't great, the Brooks route inside wasn't great. You know, so your Dak is kind of he's taking a shot thinking he might get a free play, like we've seen a million times Aaron Rodgers to he got burned on it. Now there's things like that, Like I say, the fumble on the goal line. Hell of a play by that guy.
Hell of a play by that guy. Now what happened is they had penetration on the play and it forced if they stay outside, if they get the block where they secure the down guy, where Laddermilk is secure, the ball's going to the edge, it's a walk in touchdown. Instead, Dawdle has to cut back, and now you have the collision in the hole.
And Doubt also made a critical mistake that he's going to learn from in the NFL. This is not college. You can't hold the ball out looked at. These guys are way too skilled. They will punch it out. I think that was another thing where I remember the late great Gary Brown used to always say, don't stick the ball out there on the goal line, you're just asking for it to get punched out. He'll learn that lesson.
I think, well, a doubt and I give Dak some credit because he could have reached, you know, he could have very well reached for the cone, you know, and then we'd had a situation like we had in the Raiders game several years ago. We're are makes the run and then and then Jeff Heath hits him and the ball goes out the back of the end zone. Yeah, that kind of like, yeah, like Dak just kind of goes, Okay, I'm gonna try, but no, I know what and now
what's about to happen here? So yeah, there's things that could absolutely correct. But they beat a they beat a good football team. They're not good at quarterback. Here's a prediction. They play the Raiders next week. Get ready for Russell Wilson to be the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers next week.
Yeah, let me ask you this question.
So, and I hear what you're saying, Amber, and I agree, they have a lot of stuff to clean up. But if if we go back to the beginning of the season and we're back at training camp, and I throw out the question you guys. Okay, guys, we were at week five, was at five five in the NFL season. We're at week five the NFL season. Cowboys are going to be in Pittsburgh, and here are the players that will not be there. Yeah, Micah Tank, Kneeland, Williams, Cooks Gland, Carson Gydon.
How are we feeling You're picking it out like she did?
No, But but my point is, my point is she's not wrong. You know, she's absolutely right.
But my point is I think there is something to the fact that in the NFL it's weird because you watch other teams like I do this all the time when I watch the good teams in the NFL, say the Kansas City Chiefs. You know, you watch a team like that, they can play an awful game, they end up winning, and the narrative is man that team they just know how to figure it out, even on their worst days, they know how.
To figure it out.
That's not necessarily the benefit that we gave the Cowboy that a lot of people are giving the Cowboys about yesterday. And by the way, they still got to clean up all this stuff. I'm not saying that that's not a problem. It's absolutely a problem because you're right, they're gonna play better teams and that, even though I think Pittsburgh's a good team, they're gonna play better teams and that starting this next week going against Detroit, I think Detroit's a
better team. But the fact of the matter is yesterday, on a day when the quarterback was not playing his best football, on a day when they were absent a ton of players, top line players, they still manage to figure out on the road against a team that, by the way, loves to play nasty football like that, they figured out a way to be able to get a win.
I think there's some that goes to that in my opinion.
Absolutely. I mean you have to give credit when you list when you look at the list of the guys that you just said, absolutely, And my thing where I come in and become critical is we've seen them make these kinds of mistakes with their starters. We've seen them still do these things when they're healthy. And that's my problem. That's all where it comes from. Where you see problems or mistakes when it comes to discipline, things that can be in my mind, quote unquote easily adjusted or improved on.
That's that's why it gets me really kind of upset in this topic because you're not seeing some kind of improvement in that area. Now you look at the list, you got to give them credit. Credit to the freaking defense and the play and the way that they played and the physical and tackling Marshall kneeling he comes out. And that's four the way, one, two, three, four, the.
Actually ends six from the ones you had last year, Six of the defensive ends that were your top defensive ends are no longer playing for you as of last night. Think about that because two of them left in free agency.
And then four them you can't count out.
You can't count that when you start thinking about just overall. Now, I'm not saying Cowboys should have signed them, because I don't think they should have paid the money that they that they gotten free agency. My point is when you just think about the level of talent that you've now
been depleted, that's the whole point I'm making it. Yeah, from there to where you are now you are, I mean, like you let those guys go, You lost your top three guys, and then your guy you drafted is out now and who knows for.
How long that that's gonna be, that's gonna last.
So it's it's a like defensive end that's a premium position, and you're down six guys from where you were last year this time, you.
Know, And I thought they did a very good job adjusting and improving defensively overall. And you saw the aggressiveness and them not really and I've talked a lot about them being just a few steps behind. They were there. They were there with these guys competing the whole They didn't get worn out and it was a physical game. So credit to them absolutely. But again, the way I see it is and I'll take the win. I'm not saying anything absolutely like I'll enjoy this for sure, and
I'm happy they did. But it's just like when you see the when it comes down to those few thirty seconds of the game, you're like, man, we should You're better than this. You're better than this. We should not have been put in this position.
It's very true.
I think there were a number of times last night in the game we were looking at each other like the it feels like they should be up by a lot more than they are.
Oh sure that guy, they that game could have been that could have been a thirty to whatever game.
You could have run away from them last night.
But to be honest with you, and maybe that's exactly what you are at this point.
You couldn't run away from.
People are going to watch this game on you know, they're going to go back and whether it's the NFL stuff or however, you know, they watched the games and you're gonna see Dallas had a chance to even punish him even more in the running game, and and and and it was, you know, it was it's one of those you know, uh, ten guys, uh, you know, ten guys doing their job and then one guy not doing
their job. That that is a lot of it. I mean, they they continue to put these wide receivers in positions to try and block, and it doesn't always work, and it and it cost them, and it gets to the point where I'm like, just keep the wide receivers wide and take keep guys out of the box. Don't bring guys down in the box that they have to block. And you know, so I don't know, I mean to me,
it it there there. Dallas could have Dallas could have really put a herding on them last night with the way and the fact that the longest run that quarterback had was eight yards. Hell, you'll take that every single day after watching you know, the design runs that you know that that the Ravens had the other day, the design runs the Steelers have, you know for their quarterbacks. I mean, that's that was a that was a good job by by playing run defense against him.
All Right, we're gonna take our first break. We're gonna come back when and dive into some of the details. We're gonna start first with Dak Prescott and his night. Obviously made the big play at the end of the game, but we'll talk about every thing that happened before that. Will back Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Back to the break.
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It is the second segment of the break life from the SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Star Wars discussing the Cowboys win last night twenty seventeen versus this is the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was certain this game was going overtime as he as it was starting to wear down, because it was just like everything about it just said overtime.
But luckily we didn't have to have any extra time.
We had already been there for an extra hour and a half, so it was perfect that the Cowboys ended it the way they did. But let's talk about Dak Prescott. He had he was twenty nine to forty two, three hundred and fifty two yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, a ninety point six rating. Had the game winner. What were your thoughts on his overall game, not just the end, but just throughout the game. How did you think he.
Played any ideas?
I mean, he did a good job at the end handle business. He handled business. But the thing that he made it I think just drew more attention is because leading up to the game, I was hearing from everybody, the fan base, everybody was putting all of this game on Dak and saying, this is going to be a game where it's all gonna come down to what Dak does and how he handles the game. And it did.
Also the running game. We'll talk about that later on, but I think that overall in his performance, he had some really good passes, some really good throws, but at the same time, some of the decisions that he made, it didn't look like his usual self, like the experienced quarterback Dak Prescott that we used to see in especially towards the end when they some of the throw to the interception to CD and right when McCarthy called for time out at a weird time, you know, when they
were getting the offense going. You know, when I'm talking.
About that, I'm trying to remember what happened in the moment.
He challenged the play he should have challenged.
But that was that was the thing.
But at times it just felt rushed the way that Dak was playing. At times where it was not he wasn't taking his time to think. And I guess you get the pressure, but there were plays where he could have had the time. He just needed to wait when he threw some mistakes, some passes that were incomplete, there were other guys on the field that exactly yeah, Hunter
had he just waited like a few more seconds. So it was those things that I think he didn't take the time, not that he had it always because of the pressure that was coming, but I just hid he could have been a lot more poised and confident playing and taking a handle of the game. But at the end he did what he needed to do, but he just, uh, it was it was just inconsistent throughout the game.
Yeah, you know this, this team doesn't allow you. The Steelers doesn't allow you any comfort. You know, they really don't. The thing that the thing that kind of makes you comfortable is for him when he sees that single high safety. And they played a lot of cover to last night too to kind of prevent they were worried about, you know, some of the that when Dallas throws the four verticals and things like that. Dallas can play down the scene
really really well. Man, his the past, the touchdown passed that he threw to Daddle in the corner, the route that Daddle round to, you know, to get the to get the defender to fall, you know, and then continue into the end zone. It was just it was just so pretty because it was Prescott. He wanted to throw to his left and he's kind of like, okay, I that's so muddy over there. Maybe old Dak throws it into a muddy bad look ye, and you're and it's he's forces it to Lamb and it's a contested ball,
and who knows what happens. But then he's able to come back. And the reason he's able to come back is because Steele had kept what wide enough. You know, Wat's going to play that real wide technique, that wide nine technique outside there, and and and Steele was unable to just kind of able to pin him out there, and it allowed Dak to move and then to throw to Daddle and then Dawdle with the adjusting catches, and I kind of felt like that. You know, the turnover
he had in the pocket, he really didn't. He didn't do you know, his line any favored there. It was instead of moving and he kind of stay stay. It's like he's looking and now he's looking back. And with this Steeler front, I mean, both tackles were beating on the playoff. I mean he really didn't have a chance, but you're still thinking, like, it's the Steelers, We're down here. I got to throw this thing away. I can't. You
can't hold the ball. Even the pass that he threw that was short to Tolbart in the end zone, he was kind of looking looking and then and then he tried to rush it because he saw Tilbart break. So I felt like there was some parts of his game that were very calm, and the way that he played the flow of the game that you know, the touch and at and then you.
Feel like he's not running us much because we've seen him be good. I like on the move, make.
Those throws because he was in a boot this summer.
You think that's it.
I think. So, I don't think he wants to. I don't think he's really interest interested. I think if he if he, if he I thought they were actually maybe thinking about quarterback draw on that fourth down. Yeah, they're like to spread that thing out and then just powered back through and see. But man, can you imagine running that play and getting stopped and now? But you know, but to me, I I kind of feel like that he's gotten older and I don't think he's as interested
in doing that anymore. I don't think he's interested in I think that there's been there's some there's some times where his his ankle doesn't feel great and he plays through it, and I don't think he wants to run. I don't think he wants to go through that and and take that chance again. Watch him against Detroit, just take off run. But the side of me that really does believe that he's not interested because he doesn't. He doesn't.
I haven't seen it.
Yeah, really, Yeah, he just doesn't want to take a chance of not being available.
But you know, that's also the thing too, is if there's an offset to that, if you're not gonna be that dack, if you're not gonna be the deck that's gonna run and make that a part of the game that the defense has to honor, then he's gonna have to be even better as a passer, which means because he's gonna take that part out so defenses don't have to honor that part. That's the part where I'm like, Okay, great, if that's gonna be the way you're gonna do it.
But that means you got to step it up. And I mean, obviously last night in the moments that mattered the most I heard I think it was Nick.
Said it this morning on on Sean and r J.
He said, you know this, this may have been his his what was akin to Tony Roman Tony Romo's Buffalo games. Yeah, where you play not such great football throughout the game and then at the end you figure out a way to get your team a win. And and that's what it felt like yesterday. It didn't feel like it was his best day. I agree with you, Brian. I thought that that fumble was about the quarterback. I think he
just held the ball so long. You gotta do something more, especially knowing those guys are already having some issues there on the edge.
You just got to get rid of that ball.
You can't hold it that there's there's there were moments of and that's kind of what you get with Dak. There's moments of that brilliance, and then there's moments where you're like, oh my god, what he just do? You know? And and you know, I think that you know, in the post, he was even talking about how upset he was about giving up points, you know, the turnovers. I mean, they they gave up you know, they probably gave up thirteen points down there in the red zone. I mean,
they just have not been good down there. I mean they they were good. Heck, they almost lost the damn game. I mean it was crazy. I mean when that ball was on the ground and then him having the awareness to go dive on it. You know that, Oh my gosh, I couldn't imagine.
Losing the game, almost like stomach.
You guys on the field, No, that used to be the fun part there in MF.
No, that's great.
That used to be fun, but now it's now it's you stay in the press box, still time to go down the lot.
Okay, Well that's you know that when that happened and you're sitting there thinking, and when he when he recovered it, I'm I'm like, Okay, they're gonna win this game now. I Mean, the football gods are with us today. We're not going to lose it. We're not going to lose this game today because of you know, but hey, it's such a struggle watching this team on offense. Yeah, it could have absolute brilliance to it. And just like the past, Like early in that game that the past, they threw
the span forward. That was the motion, and you're like going and he confused, You confuse the linebacker and you're thinking, there you go. There you go motion, you know, gig up the field wheel route, here we go, that kind of thing. But and then the rest of the game you're just like hanging on your ear because of you know, what's going on with the plays?
Yeah, when you mentioned that, I went back and looked at it, like there were there were all kinds of plays that happened before that final Yeah, that final touchdown.
Bro, I mean you had just to play before it.
You had the the pascity short hopped to Tobert that racked him there in the end zone, and then you got yeah, and then the one before that was the one where where you got the fumble that doctor covers, and then the one before that was the one where Dak runs down to get to the one and almost gave the game away if he had if he touches that pylon and the ball doll, they lose the ball game over right, And so you had all three of those players happened back to back to back after by
the way, Hunter Lipke, who I'm I'm nick isn't here. I'm sure Nick, I saw him in the press box, like, yes, that's my guy.
But after he has the great screen screens to get you down in position.
And then those three plays that all could have gone opposite and killed this game for you.
And then just like that, Dak May makes.
The play that on fourth down, makes the play you need for the touchdown. So yeah, you want to you want to call it clutch, Call it clutch. He made the play he needed to make. But they certainly were playing with fire there, definitely.
So you don't want a quarterback that just gives up and mentally gives him throughout the game. So that's a great quality that he has as a quarterback. He's just staying in the game despite throwing those two interceptions decide this pipe making those mistakes that you talk you just talked about, He's still going to keep fighting all the way till the end. And that's something that even Mike McCarthy right after the game he highlighted when speaking about
Dak prescotting, and that's something we've known about him. He's the quarterback that he's just going to keep fighting.
Well, I will say this, Brian.
They finally listen to the break and they decided they were going to commit to a running back. His name is Rico Daluell. And what he did last night was twenty carries for eighty seven yards, a four point four average, two receptions for twenty seven yards, and a touchdown. Committing to a running back.
Well, it took five weeks, it took fo we're here now.
But but it seemed to have work.
And I'm still convinced if they will just commit to him on a consistent basis, he is as long as he stays healthy, he is capable to be able to let this running game have some semblance of a good running game.
I'm not saying he's great.
Eighty seven yards ain't gonna be the one that's gonna lead the league in rushing, but it'll be good enough with the passing game that you have to be able to compliment what you do and force teams of respect.
I thought there was gonna be twenty seven yards rushing from Dawdle yesterday going into this game, the way that the Steelers play, But you know, they figured they figured out ways to take advantage of these edges some too, you know, with them playing wide, and you know these guys are built, you know, her big and Watt, They're built to rush the passer. They're not built to stand in there and play the run. And so if you mash on them a little bit and get bodies on
them and make them have to fight those blocks. But the Cowboys offensive line did a really nice job. There was a couple of times the thing with the thing with BB and again everybody'll see this. BB gets so locked into getting that push on the down guy that he's late getting up on like Queen the linebacker. So it's gonna be a six yard gain. But if he gets up on Queen, that thing's probably gonna go. See. I'm starting to figure out these metrics, and it's like
expected yards per carry thing. I kind of get it now that there were times where I don't think there was any expected yards. I'm like, that plays blocked terribly. There's no way you're now It's like, I'm interested to see what that number is because it's like, how many yards did Dallas actually leave on the field. That could have been the way the plays, if they we could have been coming out of this game, and I think
we still are in a way. We could have come out of this game thinking, damn, Dallas ran the ball against a really good run defense and had success to it it and and then actually on the other end, did a good job of stopping the run. So you caught a break though. No question with you know, with Patterson, those guys not playing, that's fine, Hey, no we feel sorry for you. Nope, just keep playing. That's all you do.
Well.
Something that Regal he talked about right after the game. He mentioned, you know it, the more you run and the more they give you the chances and take the chances on you, and you keep building on that, the more confident you become. And we saw that throughout the game. He just kept running better and better and finding the hole and just getting more comfortable and confident. And I think that's something that's going to start carrying over next
week and the following weeks. I think that the Cowboys after this game, they can I mean there's no way you don't see the results of what happened and you don't go with like, Okay, Rico is our guy, and let's start giving the ball, handing the ball a lot more and in a more consistent basis. So I think this is exactly what this offense is running game needed going forward, because it was it was getting ugly. And now you have an answer or a light of hope there with him.
Can I ask you a question, do you guys think you'll ever see Cooks or Dalvin Cooks?
At this point, I think what I always well, not what I always expected, what I was starting to believe is going to come true, which is I was starting to believe they think.
Of him as an insurance policy too.
And now after last night, I'm kind of convinced they see him as an insurance They.
Sit, they sit Vaughn, but they had to get linebackers up because of the special teams problems that they were running.
But the mix was really good last night in my opinion, Like you commit to to having doubt will be your lead guy, you use Zeke because he got some really good runs, I mean quite as kept there in the second half. He had some runs that were really nice there when they were trying to kind of get back in that game.
And and then then you use lip Key some like move him around, do some different things.
You can use him in the passing game, use him on third down, he can pick up the blitz, all those things. I think last night's mix is how I would like them to do it.
Going first, Okay, let me ask you this question then, sir, Right, the fact that he wasn't in on the the goal line play that they fumbled. Who wasn't in that sequence? Wasn't yet that Dawdle was the running back?
Yeah?
Did that tell you anything?
Yeah?
Maybe it told me that that he might not be playing anymore.
I don't know if it told me that, because I still think there are people in this confess that he's still got his role.
Is was going to be that? Right? Then we all kind of earmark him for that role.
Yes, I think so. But I also think that at this point, I think what we may be left with is he is a complimentary back, so he will spell Dowell, They will use him in certain situations. He doesn't necessarily have a specific role that always going to be is because I thought they might use him on third downs more to be able to pick up the blitz. Liptkey is clearly that guy this point. Yeah, so I don't
know that he has that defined role. I do think he could be their spell back and kind of, you know, spell Rico when they need to spell him.
Are you interested at all at seeing Cook?
I still want to see him. I don't know if they're going to give it to us, but I still want to see him. I'm kind of I think he can be better than than Dowdell.
What was I think he could be better than Zeke Fair And if you're gonna give me complimentary back guy, give me the complimentary back guy that I think would pair with Daddle that could be better.
What does he do better than Zeke that?
What do you think you did? You don't know that. I need to find it out.
You want to see what he does?
I want to see.
I just the thing is I want to take my chances.
I would like to see just because I kind of feel like that that Maybe that line got a little rhythm last night, Maybe they kind of figured some things out. If they could get these wide receivers to block, you know, gott to watch San Francisco tape. All those receivers do is block, you know, but and they do it well, and they do it really well. By the way, florinoay, he could have cut call for holding twice in one of the critical plays, Like I'm like, it's number eighty
and it's just like grabbing pulling a guy. Don't call it. Don't call that. I'm like, going, Bro, you're in there three plays and you could get called for holding twice, you know, So you'll see, all.
Right, let's take a break goal quick. We got our final break. We'll come back, and then we got to talk a little bit about the defense.
Yeah.
The question I'll ask you guys, is what was more impressive last night? The run offense or the run defense. Both warreas where the Cowboys have struggled. Both showed signs of life last night. We'll talk about it when we come back. Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio.
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All right, here we go. Let's talk about this.
Can you give him a real quick metric of the day, Yeah, give it to me. When Dak think about this. When Dak had over two point five seconds to throw, he was thirteen of twenty three. It's strange, Yeah, it is, you feel like with the but that happens to Jalen hurts too. The longer he holds the ball, the worst he gets. You know, well, I mean he he had two touchdowns, two interceptions. He was thirteen to twenty three for two hundred one yards. On passes where they were
over two point five seconds of protection. Under two point five seconds of protection, he was sixteen of nineteen. Yeah, for one hundred and fifty one yards.
But actually that does make some sense to me.
Here's why, because the longer he holds it, the likelihood is he was getting pressured, which means that the ball's probably not going to be the best ball. It may not be the best location. He maybe trying to get rid of it. Like, there's more stuff that happens the longer you take with the ball.
They got worked by the one that Brooks catched early in the game. He was over the line. I mean Brooks caught the ball. It should have been her first down. Oh yeah, Cockley's crew, I don't know what the hell they were doing that day, but but you're right. The the thirteen for twenty three of the over two point five, his yards per temp was eight point seven an attempt.
What was it for under two point five?
Seven point nine? Okay, so it was it was pretty you know, it was pretty close. But but he he was much better. He was much better when as far as the under two point but man, they got rid of the ball pretty quick on some of the stuff, the screens.
And things like that, which you need some of those kind of players.
And you talk about it all the time, Brian, like, this is not a team that's traditionally been good at the screen. No, but last night they had a couple screens that that parade downtown down really good. That was that was that was unexpected. But they had a couple screens that throw.
Him the screen. He'll do. You get exactly what I mean. It was a great block by BB to get him up in the alley and the way you win.
I actually love him and I love getting Ferguson in those kind of situations. With what we know about Ferguson is he breaks tackles. He knows how to.
Down play that he made because he catches the ball late in the game. He catches the ball short of the sticks about six.
Yards and you had no doubt he was going, You're going, oh, here we go.
He's just running through guys, you know, and he's going to get the first down.
Yeah.
I love how he runs after the catch. But talk to me about the defense. If you had to kind of say which one was, let's say more surprising, which was more surprising between their run defense and their run offense last night.
I mean, when you look at what the Steelers do or don't do on the running game, you got to take that into account. We talked about it on the show, how they lead the league on like attempts, but they're not as successful with running the ball. So that's something to keep in mind. So my credit, my bigger credit would be given to the Cowboys offense because this is an area where we definitely have just overall not seen it in when you look at the defense, I mean
that's and I mean the Steelers defense. I think they hold a higher power than the Steelers' offense here. So for sure, you got to give credit to what the Cowboys O line was able to do along with Rico Dowell and the game that they were able to put as far as their running game.
Kendrick's eight tackles on run stops have twenty six run snaps eight run tackles yep over shown with four you go down the list. Chauncey Golston twenty three snaps, four run tackles. He had a good game, but he had a really good game. By the way. How about Mozzie Smith thirteen snaps, four run tackles. So see you had to.
I mean, we had two weeks in a row. Nowt of Mazzi has kind of shown up.
He got knocked back a couple of times. But you know, Mazzie steps, Babysipsy steps. But you know, you go through yards per yards per play on these tackles. They're all within manageable numbers. They're all three point threes, three point two's. You know, when you play the Ravens and you're playing the Saints, those numbers were six point four, six point eight, seven point one. You know, it's the last couple of weeks.
They've done a much better job with their fits and they're finished in They were running in a they were running in a clip. They were one of the one of the bottom teams in the league when it came to tackle percentage. And you could tell just watching the tape or watching the game. Hell, you didn't even need the tape. You can watch TV copy and go, you're not tackling very well. Today. I felt like that they you know that that this whole thing was about going
to get their linebackers. That's what I was surprised. I was surprised. I was surprised with the run defense. Well, actually, I take that back. I was surprised with their ability to run the football run defense. I felt like that with the way the Steelers inability to get linebacker we talked about it when we broke them down, their inability to get linemen up on linebackers. Look a look at
the tackles from all the linebackers in this game. That's something that that we kind of talked about going in. And you know, their back is he's he's at the end. That's you know, but you didn't let the quarterback kill you. That's the thing. I was worried about the designed quarterback runs, especially the first step of the game. He goes running around eight yards. I'm like, okay, here we go. I'm going to see this. But that was the longest run of the day.
And I would have been more concerned if they had Warren and Patterson playing. Like you said last week, I thought those two guys added a dynamic dimension to their run game that they just didn't have last night. I think those backs are really what fuel that running game, in my opinion, for as much as it's going to be fueled. I thought that's where they could have had some issues that the Cowboys would have had a hard
time dealing with. I think when you when you didn't have those two guys in there, it just made it a lot easier for Dallas to to be able to get the guys in the right place. But I'm not going to take anything away from Dallas either. That's two weeks in a row. You can say what you want. They've they they have not been stopping to run well this season those two games, last game, in this game,
they've done a really really good job. And actually, if you look at the first half of yesterday day, it was looking like they were getting run on pretty good. They they Pittsburgh had seventy yards at the half right it rushing and and but they had shut down their passing offense to basically nothing, so they couldn't sustain drives.
It kind of felt like they were seven on third downs like they were.
They were shutting them down, so they really couldn't get anything going, but they were running.
The ball well.
I kind of felt like if they could have got the game at to thirteen to three, you know that there's no way, Yeah, they no way. Steelers are coming back. Not throwing the ball the way they were throwing the ball. So but yeah, it was a it was a it was a nice day as far as that, especially with all the guys to back up guys.
I was going to say, with all the backups, I mean give extra credit to you.
Know, if Tank, if Tank and Michael were playing in that game, that would have been far worse for the Steelers. Yeah, they those they were they couldn't block. They wouldn't have been able to block those guys because they had trouble blocking. They had trouble blocking Golston, they had trouble blocking Wheat, they had trouble blocking Osa. You know, they had problems.
Had a good game too. He was using the batfield a lot. All right, we're gonna that's a wrap. We're gonna be back tomorrow. We're gonna do a little bit of bigger picture. We got a lot of things left from this game. We'll kind of talk about. We'll talk about some of the injuries that the Cowboys sustain. We got some questions that Brian will have. We'll go inside the mind of Brian brought us. We'll do all that tomorrow, So join us until then, For Brian brought us in Amagarcia,
I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.