Cowboys Break: Dissecting the L

Episode number eighty nine. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break Life from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. I got Dave Amber and Nick all here with me. We're gonna give you about forty five minutes of the best Cowboys content that you'll find anywhere around. We gotta talk about that game yesterday. There were so many moments, so many things that we got to talk about, so many opinions that I'm sure we have after watching what we watched yesterday. Cowboys lose twenty two to the

Arizona Arizona Cardinals. Kyler Murray remains unbeaten at AT and T Stadium, through high school, college and the professional ranks. So let's jump right in and let's start first I'm going to go around the table. I want everybody to tell me what was your big pictures takeaway from that game. Let's start with you, Dave. Well, this one's really easy because all last week I in my mind I build

this as a dress rehearsal for the playoffs. It's it's exactly what you're expecting to see in a couple of weeks. It's you're gonna get a home game against a good team and to see if you're going to carry any of this progress from the last five weeks over, and at least mainly for me offensively, they didn't. You knew it wasn't going to look as good as as what we certainly what we saw against Washington, but even some of these other wins against these overmatched teams. Like I said,

it's just a perfect encapsulation. Kyler Murray is a much better quarterback than you're, Mike Glennon, your Taylor Heineke. It's going to be harder to get him on the ground. It's gonna be harder to force him into mistakes. So the defense isn't playing on this god mode level. I did think they played well enough to win this game. Weird as that might sound, but just nothing that we've hoped to see from this offense, and what we saw last week carried over. It looked like the exact same thing.

And I don't blame anybody that's kind of discouraged today, because again, it might not be the Cardinals. It very likely will be. It might not be the Cardinals, but you are going to play a team like that in two weeks. Probably they are very likely going to be the four seeds. So you're talking about facing the best wild card possible and they got some work to do and not a lot of time to do it. Amber, Yeah,

I'm really bummed out. I mean, you guys know how much I come on here and complain, specially on Mondays after a loss. And right now, just like that, Dave said, you saw this game kind of like a playoff game, and it's just like coming to the realization of how little time there's left to get into the playoffs. And then let's say fast forward two weeks into that game and you got a similar result as last night. It's like, damn,

that's it. Like there's the season there, and the next thing we know, we're talking about free agency, we're talking about the draft, waiting a few months to get into training camp and then start all over again. And it's just like I just I really don't want it to end that quickly. And although I really believe, I still believe the Cowboys are very much capable to getting a lot further than one playoff game. They don't have much

time left, like Dave said, they better figure out. And it just sucks because, especially after the win against Washington, you thought, Okay, this is great, great timing for them, and then you face a team like the Cardinals and then you play the way that you did and wait so long into the game on the offensive side of

the ball to get moving. That's just it can't happen, and you can't win games like that, especially when the defense it's unable to keep up playing at the high level level that they have been playing for you and getting you the ball with turnovers. When that happens, then what do you do. That's the time that the offense needs to pick it up for the defense. Nick they're one dimensional, they can't run, and their quarterback isn't good enough to be to carry the team by himself. That's

what it is. He's not He can't he can't come in this league to do that. He wasn't that quarterback. He's had some games where he's developed as a passer, and he certainly has developed as a passer, but this is a one dimensional team and they can't figure it out how to run the ball, and I think that's

gonna even hurt him in the playoffs. Let's let's dive in a little bit more on that, because I think, really if you look at this team over the last even I mean outside of the Washington game, where obviously they had this huge explosion of points, even against some bad teams, this offense has struggled mightily. Here you go back to the middle of the season on this has been a struggle seemingly most weeks, and the offense, led by Dak Prescott just hasn't seemed to find its footing.

They can't seem to find a rhythm. Dak yesterday was twenty four thirty eight sixty three percent completions, three touchdown, zero interceptions. This was the part I actually liked about his game yesterday. He had five carries for twenty yards, and those runs seemed like they were like he was decisive, he knew when the play and he didn't have anything and he needed to run and then he tried to get what he could get out of it. I liked

that part of his game. But he did also have the critical fumble there that led to a field goal. That may have been the difference. There were lots of moments that you could mean that you could have talked with a difference. But talking about Dak's play specifically, how did Dak play in this game yesterday? Nick, Well, he didn't, you know, twenty yards rushing. He should not lead the

team and rushing, I mean that's the problem. I mean he had to you know, that's good for him to do that, and of course not the fumble, But I thought he missed the lot of throws early in the game. I mean, he comes back like he normally you know does, and his stats look pretty good, but I thought they just left too many things out on the on the field early in the game. Um and only say this too, Like I said, he's not good enough to kind of

lead it by himself. Who is I mean, there's one, right, I just gotta say something, somebody else, one guy in the NFL that can do it by himself. That's like when people used to just one. You know, they compare Garrett or any coach to Belichick. I was like, Okay, that one's different. But I mean, like the everyone needs a little bit of help, and he's always had that help it right now it's not happening, and it's putting it all on his shoulders. I just want you're saying Rogers, right, Okay, yeah,

Well because you could be you could mean Mahomes. Here's the thing about Mahomes, Like you could say, maybe Mahomes can do it. He hasn't had to know. He's got the best tight end in football, one of the best sceivers in football. Yes, he's got just making sure he's got help, just making sure. No, I'm with Nick. I mean, he wasn't awful, but he wasn't good enough, and particularly early on in the game. The I think the play that burned into my brain is the third and nine

on the missfield goal drive. I mean, he had him right, that's a throw that he should make more often than not. He had pressure. But so what you're Dak Prescott and that just that was a theme for the early part of the game. You could tell And another thing that this reminded me of and we know this, but we managed to forget it all the time. Anyway, A lot of really good coaches and players in this league like for Arizona to be as shorthanded as they are. Vance

Joseph has been a head coach. He's a great defensive coordinator. He's down on the boundary, like just doesn't have his preferred cornerbacks, not all of them, anyway, And it didn't seem to bother him whatsoever. And all I need to know to know that the Cardinals got to Dak is how many times they got their hands on his passes in this game. Like they were in his they were

in his throwing lanes, they were reading his screens. He adjusted to it, but they and Buddha Baker said this after the games, like, you can't give him a static look. You gotta be changing, you gotta be coming at him from different angles. And he struggled to adjust to it early on. And I think that's a big part of the reason what they didn't score until the final two minutes of the first half, scored seven points in the first half. I mean, that's that's not good enough. When

you're talking about the firepower that this offense has. The interesting part about that is they talked about this last week. They've talked about it other weeks. The Cowboys half that teams have basically figured out that they got a disguise looks and give them different looks and change those looks as they go. They knew this was coming, they still weren't ready for it, and that's the part where and they thought that their up tempo would help with that. Yesterday.

They started off in the in the first series trying to do up tempo. But when you're not when you're not able to execute that, you can't keep going up tempo. And so they were their own enemy. They didn't have an answer for something they knew was coming. I think next right, and I'm i'm I'm. I'm such a big supporter of Dak and he has grown as a passer and in spurts he can carry this team when you're

trying to rally and in these situations. He played a great fourth quarter minus the fumble, played any better fourth quarter against Vegas and still wasn't enough. And maybe it's oversimplified, but like without that run game giving you something that can shake defenses out of these if you're gonna drop seven or eight and clog and cover, which I mean I always I always get annoyed when people say, like, oh, the blueprints out, but the Cowboys haven't done a whole

lot to shake people out of that idea. And I think a big part of it is that nobody's afraid of their ability to run the ball on them. I think that I think, I don't think it can be understated. I was going to mention the coaching, I mean put in the players aside on the Arizona side of the ball. I think many times that I was watching the game, usually when something when a play goes the opposite way for the Cowboys, I'm like, God, damn, I'll get upset.

And then last night I'm like, oh, yesterday, I'm like, okay, all right, that was pretty well. I'll give it to them. But then they got out coached by Arizona. The Cowboys. I don't think there were other than the play where Wilson threw the ball. Other than that play, I don't think there was anything else. I was like creative enough for me or anything that Kellen Moore did in order to help the offense to get moving. And that's what I'm honestly lacking. That's what I think has been lacking

for a few weeks. Is Kellen Moore in his game and you talk about them. Okay, yes, you can do that at the beginning of the season because you're showing something new, but then teams do figure you out. But at the same time, how come other teams can still do it? I mean, you can watch tape from Arizona season long and you're not doing You're not able to do the same, So how come you're not doing it as well? You know? So, I don't think that's really

an excuse. You are far past that you can be able to switch around plays and come up with something different to show the opposing team. But I don't know what's going on. I'm kind of very disappointed at what Kellen Moore has been doing the past few weeks. Let me ask you this, Do you think that because I didn't really see a ton of creativity from what the Cardinals did yesterday. I think sometimes we say if it's

not working, you're not being creative enough. If it is working, you must be being creative, when really I think yesterday the Cardinals just executed better like they beat the Cowboys, Like there were plays where the Cowboys just didn't execute well, specifically on defense, when you had some of those big plays forty two yard or the forty three yarder, like they just got beat. I mean, they honestly just got beat. I don't think there was anything really creative about that.

And so, you know, I still think you're right that ultimately Kevin Moore has to figure out how to get his offense going. But I don't know if it's an issue of creativity or is it an issue of execution. Are they just not executing well? You know, I would argue,

and I'd have to go back and look. But like if you think about the big chunk plays that the Cardinals hit on offense, like three of them came on the first possession of the game, Like Greg Doorche has the end a round for twenty four right off the bat, Edmonds had another great run and they catch Trayvon Dicks on the stor go. I just listed off like a quarter of their four hundred yards on the first drive

of the game. I thought, like I said, I thought, all things considered, the defense played a pretty good game. Like I wasn't wowed by anything the Cardinals did on offense. Maybe maybe maybe that's not fair. I don't know, maybe I'm too close to it. But most of what they did on offense after that first drive, to me, felt like Kyler being Kyler, like he's he's gonna get away

from you, he's going to extend plays. But I mean, I'll take twenty five points from that offense at home and think like, well, yeah, like, if if that's all they did, then you should win that game. The offense should be better than that. This is really no different than what we've seen. It's just that they didn't get any turnovers, at least not ones that were called. I mean, we'll get to that, but but you know, I mean, like that's their offense hasn't been great against New Orleans

and Washington both times. The second Washington game that the offense was rolling, but the Giants game, but they offset that with turnovers short fields and they didn't really give give them that. So I think that was kind of the difference. And I think it's safe to say that, I mean, you have to the good quarterbacks. There's enough sample size now they have not played as well against the good quarterbacks, and those are the ones that are

going to be in the playoffs. Yeah. I mean, but I was gonna say, how many would your list of like good quarterbacks that they've well, I mean this year they faced four Pro Bowlers. I mean that's four out of six. I mean, they haven't faced Rogers, and they haven't faced uh maybe it was Lamar Jackson, I think, but they faced Herbert mahomes Um and homeless Andy Brady and Andy Kyler, you know, And I just think that's a difference than Glennon and Hind the Key and Taysom

Hill and all that. I mean, they beat uh, you know, the Chargers, but it was it took a walk off, you know, So I don't know. I mean, but but those guys aren't running. I mean, but Kyler presents differ much different types of problems any of those other quarterbacks you just mentioned. I was just a different type of offense. Brady. I mean, Brady played outstanding against them. I mean they

got what three three picks off of him. But even still, but like again, this performance I think is good enough to win. Like, what are the odds that you're just going to flummix Kyler Murray into this terrible game. It can happen, but he's a really good player. Nineteen points from Pat Mahomes. You take that every time, right, I think so? Yeah, so, especially at their place, right yeah, yeah, so yes. I mean the defense dropped off from what we've seen, but of course it was going to They

were playing garbage teams. Mike Glennon, Taylor, Hanne, Heinekey, Taysom Hill, come on. But you know, no, it wasn't as pretty as it has been. But like these are, that's a winning performance in my opinion, from this defense. Here's the issue for the Cowboys right now. In my opinion to that point is I think they have a really good defense. If you have an offense that's performing like this offense right now, you need a great defense to be successful

in the playoffs. They don't have great defense. They got a pretty good defense. They got a really good defense. It's not great like you gotta have an all world kind of defense if your offense is this, if they sputter as much as this, if they're playing well while they're playing good teams, and I think that's going to be their problem as a team. I don't think it's a fault of the defense. I just think that the offense isn't good enough to pull its weight right now. Yeah,

I agree. I mean, which the narrative coming the narrative over the last month is that they were the best defense in the league. So that's an awfully quick about face to go from like, well they're not great, by the way, by the way, they can be the best defense in the league. I don't know that there's any defense this year. As you look like at across the league and you're like, they're a shutdown defense. There is

no shutdown defense in the league this year. There have been some in historically in the NFL, they just don't have any in the NFL right now. Going back to they're much better than we thought they would be, but to unlock their terrifying potential, they need their offense to be doing more to dictate the game. And that's one of my biggest impressions from this Particularly in the first half, I felt like we didn't even see the offense. I know that's not true, but the Cardinals were just on

the field consistently just dictating this game. And I'm sure that was part of their game plan, is like shrink the game, don't give Dak and them a chance to go off eight minute drive. At one point, and end up with a touchdown on that drive. And if the Cowboys offense isn't doing more to dictate the game, then I think it's going to hamstring the defense. Which again, oh sorry, but they're probably going to see these guys again, or if they don't, it will be a team of

similar calibers. So, like I said, I don't blame you if you're a little bit deflated today. All right, we're gonna take our first break. When we come back, we're gonna talk more about this running game. Cowboys had all their pieces yesterday on the offensive line, so that was not an excuse that they didn't have the right guys. Question is are those guys enough? We'll talk about that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio, at AT and T. Everyone new and existing

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the s WBC Mortgage Studios. At the start, we're talking about the Cowboys loss to the Arizona Cardinals twenty five twenty two. Cowboys now sit in the fourth seed in the playoffs at this point, probably pretty likely that's where they're going to be heading into the playoffs. There are some scenarios that they could possibly move back up, but we'll see how that all plays out. Let's dive into this game though a little bit more. Let's talk about

the running game. We've already mentioned how bad it was yesterday. Zeke was nine carries for sixteen yards, Tony Pollard three carries for nine yards. Dak actually led the team four carry I mean five carries for twenty yards. Now, they did have their entire offensive lineback Tyren Smith played yesterday. At one point, every player on the offensive line is except for Zach Martin had a penalty, and overall, obviously the running game was not working. What was the problem

and was the pro centered around the offensive line? I think that's that's the disheartening thing, is I mean, what is the answer there? Zeke is probably not going to be one hundred percent the rest of this season, but

he's been trending in the right direction. We've seen that this is a good Arizona defense, but not like the most dominant unit in the league, and the offensive line was all back so and we also know you can tell by the looks like I mean, Arizona is not just like clogging the box and just making life miserable on the running game. They kept too safeties high quiet a bit yesterday, as has everybody else that's played the Cowboys since the bye week. I don't have a good

answer for it. And again it's part of what gives you this disconcerting feeling of like, man, if you can't get this thing going now, are you gonna be able to get it going against anybody? When it matters to be blunt? I don't have a great answer. I don't either. I'm sorry, And honestly, when I asked this question, that's that's one of the problems here. I asked this question knowing that none of us obviously know the answer to this, because if anybody knew the answer to they'd fix it.

But there and by the way, they may know that there's an answer, they just may not be able to give that answer. Right. They may look at and say, yeah, we're not getting the production we need from our offensive line, but we ain't we can't change out this offensive line. So we are we are where we are right can can you can? I mean, what can you do right? Can? Is there anything you do right now that could change this?

If the offensive line is the problem with the running game, I mean, if they if they are, you know, viewing that Terrence Steel is better than one of the other two tackles, then I mean that's one thing. I don't know that he's been good and the other guys have been okay, But I think a lot of that's going

off of the expectations that we're in. I mean, I'm looking at some of these penalties and it felt like there are a lot of penalties that wiped out some good runs or down getting penalized quite a bit, but I can't find a whole lot of them. There seven penalties on third down yesterday between the offense and the defense, and those are killing And there were there were three at least on the offense, and one of them wiped out a fifteen yard run. And that's I figured we

would get into that at some point. I mean, to a man, I just I assume some envelopes are headed their way to the Star this week, just based I mean to a man that's as unshy as I've ever seen a team about being unhappy with the officiating. Explains ahead, fine, I would you get fined for criticizing the officiating publicly typically in this league, and maybe maybe about that you didn't know, Oh yeah, I didn't know. Yeah. And by the way, it goes all the way up to ownership.

It goes all way up to ownership. If Jerry were to get on the radio and criticize officials, the commissioner could find Jerry for for that. He said, well, I know, but he walked you notice he walked it back quickly like that is something think that's been around for a while where the commissioner can levy finds against anybody who is on the football side of the building that has something to say publicly about officiating. Maybe you literally can do anything about it, so you just have to suck

it up, play it, hopeing goes your way. Evengue not to be not to be like rude, but why do you think these guys are always so pissed off about it? Is like it sucks all the time and they can't say anything about it or they get hit. Let's make one correction there is something that can be done about it. It can't be done over there, That's what I'm saying,

has to be done upstairs. That means when Stephen Jones is talking in owners meetings, in the Competition Committee, and when Jerry Jones is talking at league meetings like they have to be the ones to say to the league, hey, we need to find a better solution. Which I think the solution is right there for you. College football already does it and does it quite which, Okay, let's let's separate these two things. We can talk about the fumble, and that is that's an injustice that sucks. That's the

only one I care about, to be honest. Well, but I mean, but again, the a lot of these guys were whining about the flags basically, and I yeah, the ref sucked and they took some of the fun out of the game, But it was happening on both sides. I mean, it was like a fourteen to ten split or something like that. In terms of flags. The Cowboys had a touchdown drive that was very much helped by the officials throwing flags. It was it was ten to seven.

It was a ten to seven split. They did also know this though, going on and then they know that that aggravated me in the post game is like Mike McCarthy was probably the most diplomatic person of all saying, like, we knew this was a flag happy crew. We knew we needed to work our way around it, and they weren't able to do it. And so yeah, I mean it was frustrating how many big plays got called back by flags. But adjust to the situation that you know you're going to be in, and it just doesn't seem

like they did. That's very hard to adjust, though. I don't think the middle of the game. I don't think so. I think it's one of those things. If, by the way, if Mike McCarthy, if he was telling us the truth yesterday when he said we knew this coming in, we practiced with that in mind, then you should know going into the game, I have to be really really smart

technically on how I do things. If I'm blocking, I know I cannot let my hands get outside because the moment I let my hands get outside, that ref's gonna throw a flag for holding. Like I know, I have to be more technically sound in that kind of game. So yes, I think there are things you can do when you know you're facing, as they were called yesterday, you're facing that second team, the officials who are going to be throwing all these flags. There are things you

can do to minimize that. Now you can't take it all away, but you can minimize that if you're a little smarter and more technically sound. I'm gonna give them the benefit. I know, like you're and that's it's almost I mean, they make a lot of money, but like it's almost unfair that we put all these microphones in their faces within fifteen minutes of these devastated Yeah. No, And I think that they were just venting frustrations. But I was just like, come on, guys, this the flags

are not why you lost the fumble. I get it. I very much get the fumble, the flags especially, And I think a couple guys were like, we've been dealing with this all year, and I'm like, I am a stubborn person. It is a character flaw of mine. Like I would rather go down with the ship doing it my way than adjust and I know that that's not the way to be. And so for them to be like this has been happening all year, it's like, well, it's week seventeen, maybe you should adjust to that by now.

It's just it's kind of frustrating. Since we're on topic real quick, I do have this question. I know that a lot of people tend to say, oh, well, it's because it's the Cowboys and stuff, and even Dak Preston he mentioned, Okay, I know what it means. We're in the start, so and I don't watch enough of other teams games to get a full grasp of the thirty

two teams. You know of how it happens in games, But I mean, is this really like it really there's a higher percentage against the Cowboys when it comes to that, or are there other teams that it's just kind of, you know, depending on the officiating. That's just kind of how they officiate in general. I don't know the percentage. I'm gonna guess the Saints have something to say about that, because for what was it, two or three years in a row, they got booted out of the playoffs because

of just horrible calls or missed calls. So I think a lot of teams and a lot of fan bases are like, man, we got screwed by the refs. I get it, and by the way, a lot of times they're probably accurate, but that's the nature of the sport, Like that's a part of the sport, as much as

we all hate it. Until they get to a point where they just say, we're gonna let you know, we're gonna let it all be officiated upstairs and the person that's gonna be officiating is seeing the exact same thing that we're all seeing on camera, then we're gonna have this because those are flawed humans who are making those calls. But I don't think it's any more for Cowboys anybody else. You got to see any difference there, No, I mean, I just think the NFL's officials are below par, and

especially have been this year. I mean, and I think you look anywhere in the league landscaped. It's been a talking point all year. They're just they're not good. But no, I think if you broke it down down, it would average out. I mean, the Cowboys do bring a level of scrutiny that a lot of other teams don't have to deal with, but I don't think you would see it bear out in the terms of like the way

games are officiated. They lead the league in interceptions right, and they're up there in sacks, they're in aggressive defense, and they're going to get penalties. I mean, that's going to happen. The issues that I have is that I don't I don't think McCarthy should be telling them about the officials before the game. I think that's the problem right there. I mean you're saying, hey, this crew does this, and they do that. They did that for the Raiders and it was even worse. I mean, like, I don't

understand what what are you doing? You use your technique anyways, use your technique, right, I mean that should be every crew, every game. And I think you're putting it. You're planning the seed already. I don't know what was said. I just feel like i've I've heard coaches say I don't coach penalties. Sounds like McCarthy's trying to coach penalties and

it doesn't seem to work. That's an interesting thought. I mean, I like, I like your thought process, but I also that kind of goes back to the old Like Jason Garrett, we do what we do, Like I kind of like the idea of preparing your team for the situation that you're going to be in, Like Hey, these guys call this a lot. Maybe keep an eye out for that. But you're not wrong that if you put that in a guy's head, maybe that's like a self fulfilling prophecy.

I don't know the answer. Maybe the thing is it's about how you do it right. It's almost if you if you pound into your team's head, this referee crew will likes to throw a lot of flags. I think you also have to pound into their heads. That's not an excuse. Yeah, right, Because I felt like, and this kind of bugged me about after the game, all the guys talking about the rest. It to me rang of we're fine, the rests are the problem, right, and quite frankly,

they're not fine. Like they are not fine. There was a lot that they could have done yesterday. It was ironic to me, the youngest player on this defense, I think he's the youngest. Michael Parsons had the best dancing when it came to reff yesterday. What he said was, yeah, we should have never left it in their hands. Yeah, that's your answer, Like, it doesn't matter if you know the refs are are gonna throw the flags a lot, right, If you know that going in the game, and then

they do exactly what you expected them to do. It had an excuse. You should have known that, right. Dak said something similar, but only after he kind of said some vaguely implied. He pulled a Nick Eatman. He kind of implied something, and then he pulled it back and was like, well, we can't put it in their control. But again, I'm gonna give them some benefit of the doubt and say, when you're pissed off in the moment, you're I mean, that's that's human nature. But I get it.

I don't I don't want to hear that as a valid excuse for why they lost this game. Two things that I did have a problem with. It wouldn't just the penalties, but I mean, they're taught, especially late in the game. You know, call it as a fumble. You don't have to emphatically say he was down down, down down, because that's the call on the field, and if you're wrong,

it does and get challenge, we'll get reviewed. Yeah. But the thing that that's really bothering me, and I know bothers you too, it's just that they've made these rules on the fly. There. They've changed this in the middle of the season. Where New York is now a big part of things, and all of a sudden it's like, after further discussion it was ruled. Is this it's like discussion with who somebody got in your ear from New York. Cool, if we're playing that game, that's better for everyone. But

do it consistently right. Where was the guy in New York saying that, you know what, it was a fumble? Yeah, somebody, somebody should have been having that conversation saying, hey, guys, I think we need to look at this. This looks like a fumble and if you're gonna do it in some and by the way, I've seen it in other games, not just the Cowboys games. I've seen in other games this year where they have made a call on the field and then they reversed it themselves. They just did.

There was no challenge or anything. They just said, hey, after further discussion, we just did this as the right answer. They did it to Jern Curson Kean O'Neil in New Yorleans one of the like coolest plays of the season. Curse punches it out Neil, you know, the acrobatic dives to the sideline, throws it back in and the Cowboys get it, and some somehow the refs were like, oh,

we've we've talked about it and that's not right. And everybody was like, Okay, cool, I guess I guess the league can just buzz in in certain circumstances and they want to or Kansas City where they call a face mask and the guy basically was he for the Chiefs, was just spraying the whole bench there with a gun. Yeah he pulled out. They actually don't, but you do remember they were they were they almost getting into a fight.

And then he was like because it was a face mask on gun gun sign likeline like I'm shooting you all and so yeah, for some reason that doesn't ring a bell with me. I'm sorry, but I was losing his mind, like why is he getting to shoot everybody? Like okay, like did you get to shoot everybody? It has that has happen. I mean the last boy scout remember last week with Zeke Remember the one yard he got He got spotted on the one yard line for

his touchdown run. Oh yeah, and and they said one yard line next you know, it's like and McCarthy ran down there with a challenge flag before he threw the guy's like, oh no, we you know someone, Yeah it's a touchdown. Yeah, And that's the thing, like if you can do it, and I actually prefer that, but you can't just pick and choose when you're gonna do it.

You gotta do it all the time. And if they're gonna tell me, and maybe they will, maybe they'll say, yeah, we had a guy up stairs, he looked at that. He didn't think it was a fumble. Okay, then you can't say anything at that point. Then it's a situation where well, maybe you had another time you could challenge it. But but I just it feels to me like this is pick and choose. This is not a consistent way

of officiating games. It's if you know me at all, It's probably my biggest gripe with the NFL is that like these game swinging moments are left up to like coaching strategy. So Mike McCarthy's not prepared for the extra point. That's bad on him, But so it's his fault that they got this wrong and he loses the game because of it because he had a mental brain fart like two hours ago. Yeah, that's absolutely absurd. Getting it right is never getting it right should never be a matter

of strata. How does college football have this so right? Like they just have two guys that sit up there and watch everything that's remotely close. And if you ever watch a college football game, anytime there's a remotely controversial play, you hear the announcers like, I don't know, we'll probably get a look at this, And sure enough, ninety percent of the time, before the team can get the next snap off, the refs wave it off and they're like, we got our people looking at this. We want to

make sure we get it right. And my hottest take of all is that the NFL doesn't care because they don't want that, because they want these games ending in their appointed times. And you want to know the funny thing about that, I don't think a single fan would be mad if you add fifteen minutes to a game but their team felt like they didn't get screwed. Yeah, and fun of them are going to be upset if they if their team got they dvard for three hours and don't do the thing you need to set the X.

If you don't all right, that's you do? You remember the times when the Cowboys blocked the field goal? Um they've blocked the like, especially these short field goals. You remember that. No, yeah, no me either. So here's the problem that I have. And it was a field goal. Wasn't an extra point? Sorry, I thought it came after the touchdown. It was Curs dropped the ball in the

end zone. That's right. So it's nineteen nineteen to seven and it's fourth and five, So they just decided to keep the offense out when the Cowboys just to shift and move back in the old craft and then they come back and then they call it time out. My thought is, why don't you just play defense? Stay you're not going to block the field goal anyways, most of

the guys are probably out there anyways. You just say I'm gonna play defense, and then when Murray leaves and the prater comes on, they allow you the time to switch that. But force comes to worst. Just put the defense out there. You're not blocking it, you're not gonna rush. Just play defense, and if they want to kick it, they kick it. Yeah, because that's fine, which I mean, yeah, that was that was a dumb sequence. It was. It was poor coaching. But again, the fact like it's like, oh,

you screwed that up. An hour and a half ago and you're out of time out. It's because of it, and now you don't get to challenge that. Like I hate that. I've always hate did that. I would hate it if it benefited the Cowboys. It's not fair. And the crazy part about is this where the rules are just really stupid. If that play would happen ten seconds later, they would have reviewed it upstairs because you're within two minutes. Like,

it's just it's so arbitrary. Everything is so arbitrary rather than just doing the right to go back to my sorry Nick, but they have all these rules that keep the clock running in pro football, and that is the primary Like people people who aren't in my like if you're a real college football fan, I've never heard a diehard college football fan whine about the length of these games, you know, like it's always just can never be too sure, I mean too long. Yeah, But anyway, it's the stop.

It's the clock always stopping in college that extends these games into five hours. It's not the review. They do that stuff pretty quick, so you can't tell me that's why.

I just it drives me bonkers. It's just it's in today's world where everybody's watching these games on television, and by the way, you got twenty cameras at every game or more, and you literally get to see everything in slow Why don't you give your officiating crews the same benefit to be able to see what everybody else is seeing, to be able to reverse a call based on that. That's my problem with the whole thing. It's like nobody has taken a step back and said, let's really think

about officiating from a big picture scale. How do we do this the most efficient way. There's a way to do it. It's very easy to do and for whatever reason, the NFL is just not willing to do it. We always say, like every week we talk about how we're we are at a disadvantage from the viewers at home in terms of what we can see because we're looking

up at the monitors and the press party. We'll only show us so much, right, and so if you're at a talk guy that does the big screen at the stadium, who does a wonderful but we're at a disadvantage from you at home, who's got all of these angles coming. And it's the same thing for the refs, and the league just doesn't care. Yeah, all right, we're gonna take our final break. When we come back, let's talk about this defense. We spend enough time on offense and penalties.

Let's get to the defense and what's what's going on with them? How do they play yesterday? We'll talk about that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot com Yet Radio. I want to use what the pros use. How about the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black. Right now, you can get to Jack Black Starter, a curated collection of Cowboys locker room favorites, for just ten bucks with free shipping. The Starter includes four Jack Clack skincare favorites, plus a full

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Dallas cow was United presented by Globe Life starts at just twenty dollars joined. Now get your fan pack, exclusive benefits and more of as a Dallas Cowboys dot com slash United for details. Welcome back. It is the final segment of the Break Life s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star, Let's talk defense and then let's get a little special teams talk in here. The defense. Yesterday, they gave up a few big plays. They didn't get turnovers.

The turnovers probably is the part that's most uncharacteristic for them, at least recently. That being said, how did you overall assess their play? Nick? I think you know, we said earlier they they have been thriving off turnovers and sacks, and you know, Murray was just a step ahead. I thought he did a nice job of getting the ball to his running backs and just you know, he's he's just a problem for them. You know, he's more of a problem for them than than other teams I think.

I mean, he's had a Pro Bowl year, but he seems like he's more of a problem for the Cowboys. I don't buy the whole eighteenth he stadium thing. I think that's crap. But I think he's just really good at you know, especially with an aggressive defense like the Cowboys play. The disconcerting thing for me was probably he had a few plays where he got away with his speed and you know, he won the game because he got away from Randy Gregory, but he had a clean

pocket a lot of the time. Rodney Hudson's a really good player at center for Arizona, and I you know, the a gap blitzes and stunts that Mike has been so successful at, they weren't there as effectively as they were yesterday. I think he was probably a big part of it. When I watched the game back, the pressure just wasn't as intense as I thought it would be. And that's probably why this was probably as rough of a game as the cornerbacks have played period. Treyvon did

stutter go. We've defended him all year. Anthony Brown got hit a couple of times in this game. That is fair for his detractors to point out Jordan Lewis as well. I think he had more time to throw than they could afford, basically, and that's when they gave up those those places. Do you think part of the reason why maybe there wasn't as much pressure as because the Cowboys defense was trying to be very disciplined in their rush to not a lot because in the first half, Kyler

didn't really kill him on the ground. He wasn't really running a lot. And I think part of that was if you noticed they had Mica at linebacker and he was basically lining up right across from Murray a lot of the time, and that told me he was spying. He was making sure that he wasn't taken off and if he was, he was going in some of the runs he had in the second half, they actually had Michael on the line rushing and there goes Kyler running

right out of the pocket. So do you think that was at least part of the reason why maybe there was a less of a pass rush yesterday? Totally plausible. I'd have to. I mean, I would like to watch it again. But he just he had he had a clean pocket pretty frequently. It felt like, and maybe that's by design again, because if you rush and don't get there then we talked about that last week. You don't live. Thing you want to do is open up a half

of the field because you were too aggressive. So, um, the deep ball to Diggs, you know that that was I remember they blitzed. Uh. I don't know. I would have say, like seven guys. None of them broke through. And that's when you're like, oh crap, Like, oh, it doesn't matter who the corner is, you know, So as soon as you see that, you're like. Somebody on Twitter was like, why did Dave say that AJ Green wasn't worth the crap anymore? And I was like, I don't

think Dave said that. I think it was Bucky that he's not I said, I said, I did not think Bucky did say that. I did say I didn't think they had a guy on the outside that could consistently beat them. They got him on the stutter go like they watched the tape. Good for them, It's it was such ironic timing. Because the dialogue on Twitter last week was ferocious about whether or not Diggs is too aggressive and whether or not he gives up all these yards

and whatnot. They caught him. Um again, I'll say it one more time. I'll take that performance every time. I mean, it would be nice to get the takeaway whatever. But and again we've seen this all year, Like they improved as the game went on. Like seventy eight yard Fueld goal drive, ninety one yard touchdown drive, forty yard Fueld goal drive. That's all in the first half. They go touchdown at the start of that game, and then for the rest of the second half they bottled them up.

Maybe Arizona's playing more conservative with the lead, but the defense was fantastic at getting the ball back in the second half. They I think they did their part. Twenty five points from Kyler Murray's offense should be enough to win you a game when you have all that talent on offense. That's it's as simple as that for me, Like you're not going to you're not gonna shut everybody down, like you're gonna give up a chunk play to aj Green.

It's just are you going to surrender them? Consistently or are you going to find a way to battle back? And I thought that they did. Camber thoughts not a defense. I have different thoughts flowing through my mind. One, I think that they played well, it wasn't to the level because of what Nig mentioned, you know, getting takeaways. What you can't just expect them to get one or two takeaways every single game week after week. I mean, that

was amazing what they've been doing. But I guess what's like flowing in my mind right now, it's how a few weeks ago, you know, everyone's saying how great this defense was is whatever, and then saying how and we talked about it on here, how defenses can win championships and win you games like that? So now I am I okay, So what are we saying now? Then? Like where are the Cowboys standing right now? With this kind of defense? Then it's not enough to win you those

playoff games that you need to win. So I'm just very confused. Guys, we're trying to convince me of something else. A few weeks ago, and it was all alive. Exceptional defense wins championships. That's the point. Like, if you think about the defenses in the history of the NFL that have won championships because they didn't have a great offense. Those defenses are like all world defenses, Like we're talking about the Baltimore Ravens from two thousand and we're talking

about eighty five Beers, Like this defense ain't that. Let's let's not confuse them with that. Those when you say defenseman's championships, those kind of defenses do in today's NFL. If you've got a good defense, like the Cowboys do, you gotta have some offense offset that. And they don't. Right now, I don't have offense. What were they missing on the defensive side of the ball to become those kind of defense? Those kind of defenses had shut down

players at every level like they had. They had pass rushers, you could run against them, you couldn't throw against them like those were just and by the way, that Tampa Bay defense from two thousand and two, I want to say it was that defense, like they took the ball away at a crazy pace. I want to say that year, and I might be wrong on this. I want to say they out and there were some games, like in the playoffs or something like that, where they outscored the offense.

It was crazy how good that defense was. But that's not the Cowboys right now. The Cowboys are a really good defense. They're not They're not all world like historic defense. They're just a really good defense. And by the way, a lot of that is because we are we are basing that off a curve of what they were last year, and we're saying, my gosh, there's so much better they

breaks and things like that. So I don't I don't get what we're doing here, to be honest with you, Like, I like the defense looked a lot like what they have been, Like they played a much better team, and like I thought they were going to win this game. So I'm not trying to sit here and say I told you so. I'm surprised that they played as poorly as they did, not necessarily the defense, just the team. But I said this after the Giants game, I was like, this is all well and good, but it won't be

Mike Glennon forever. And that's that's what happened. Like they played a better team. I thought they were solid defensively but not amazing. Right, if they get even a slightly better day from their offense, they win this game. That is the story. I'm not upset, disappointed, or disillusioned with anything that the defense did. The offense didn't pull and I agree one percent my point where I was getting

that his side. With the defense that you have, I guess is definitely not gonna be enough for you unless the offense is doing something as well, more more likely than not. By the way, it's not that this offense has to be the best offense in the league. The offense has to just get back to a point where it's playing pretty good. Like right now, they're just getting off the slow starts. They got way too many pable I mean, way too many possessions where it's either three

and out or they just self destruct. Like, the offense has to pull its weight, and this defense is more than capable, as Dave was saying in this game, this defense is more more than capable of winning this game for them. The offense has to pull their weight, and they're just not doing it right now. Seven points in the first half isn't good enough from this offense, Which is a great segue. We got to talk about the kicker before this is over, right, right, I mean, yeah,

let's go, what do we do? I mean what do they do like he has been. He has been probably one of the most inconsistent players on this team this year when you look at his overall production all year. There's some games he plays really well. He's made some big kicks for them. He's also missed some kicks where you just like scratching your head, like, how do you miss that? What do you do with the kicker position? I don't know. It's I said, oh sorry, I don't do a damn thing. I don't do a damn thing.

I just tell him do what you've done, keep kicking the ball. And why is that? Because I don't think there's any options out there. I just don't. Anybody that's out there has been cut, has been a radic, has been to the point where they said, you're not good enough. This guy's won an NFC Championship game with a fifty six yard or he's made kicks this year. Uh yeah, he missed. He pulled a forty three, he missed a

couple of extra points in the meadowlands. It's happening. But I think for the most part, I don't see anyone that's that's better. And I don't who's out there that you can get if I hear if I could hear a name, Oh, this guy's out there because he was hurt and the other kicker is good, but he's really good. Well now I'll listen to it. But I just I don't know, I mean, and I don't think he's been that inconsistent, I really, but I will answer some people the name. I think a lot of people would bring

up his Kai for Bath. The Cowboys brought him here a couple of years ago in Jason Garrett's last year. He didn't miss a kick. I believe he was cut when the Cowboys signed Greg Zirline. They didn't have a competition, And I think that's my thing. Like Derek always gets mad at me because he wants me to say what I would do versus what I think the team's going

to do. But again, what is my opinion matter? Like, sure, if you're angry with Greg Zerline and you want to cut him and bring Kai for Bath back, that's awesome if you make the decisions. But I think Greg Zerline has important sponsors on this team. I think Greg greg I think Mike McCarthy and John Fossil want him here. They trust him. I'm not necessarily saying that I agree

with that, but I think that's how they feel. I think I would be very surprised if, this close to the postseason, which they're already assured to spot in, they decide to just start over with a new guy, not when Fossil has worked with Zerline for most of the last decade, and on and on and on, and who cares if I disagree, If that's what's going to happen, you know, But I've I said yesterday for some reason

that the extra points don't bother me. They never have because I'm just like, ah, well, you know, you scored a touchdown anyway, you still got six points, and if the offense is doing their job, you'll score more points. But a forty three yard fuel goal in a dome should just not shouldn't be something that you feel iffy about. Um, yeah, it's it's troubling. But I don't think they're going to do anything. Yeah, I don't think there's much you can

do at this point of the season. The only thing that you can do is just have your offense play better. That's it. Play better. I yes, I love that take. I love that take a lot a g because that and that's It always bothers me when people are like, well, the kicker lost in the game. If they if they score that fuel goal, then it's twenty five twenty five. I'm like, you're not wrong, but you're wrong because if the offense plays a better game than they scored more

points than that, they had so many. That was their first possession of the game. Was it not well? And so they had Sarzona is not going to go for two. You know at certain times based off the score, you just can't play that game. No, But I mean, yeah, you missed the field goal in the three point game.

It would have been nice to have. Obviously would have been nice to have, but you had nine other opportunities to not well settle for punts and then things don't get a penalty with your center, which I don't understand what the call was, but don't get that. I mean that was a third and four, it turned into a third and nine, and then he missed the kick. Yeah. Yeah, I'm trying to look up right now as field goal percentage. He is right now an eighty two point four field

goal percentage. That's twenty fourth in the NFL. I mean, that's where I know you said you don't think he's been inconsistent. That's where I'm looking like relative to other kids. Look at tenth, Look at tenth in the league. Because somebody just pointed this out to Elliott. What's his number? What's the eleventh guy? The guys Harrison, Baker, Harrison, but CRuMs.

But what's he at eighty eight point five? I was told bad infil I'm gonna say that's good point because I know no, no, because the guy on the radio this morning, and the guy said something about if he makes one more kicks, he's he's like tied for eleventh or something like that. Oh well maybe. So, by the way, these percentage differences, like that's eighty we were talking about eighty five percent, he's down at eighty. Yeah, what an

eighty two point four percent? So it's not a big difference, but that's also part of it though you're talking about relative to the rest of the league. He is the twenty fourth best kicker from a field goal percentage in the NFL. Now that's that's that's kind of troubling. You know that that you need more production than that out of your kicker. And that's why I say he's inconsistent relative to other kickers. By the way, eighty two percent. If either of us go out there and kick at

an eighty two percent, that's great. NFL, that's obviously not very good. You're twenty fourth in the NFL. What I'd like to know is, is there a guy sitting on the street right now? It's better with a career record that's better than that and not vander Jack. That's why I said, that's your That's the best point that I've heard. For everybody out there that wants a different kicker, the question becomes, who, what do you? What are you gonna what do you What is out there that's going that

you're gonna feel better about. Whenever you decide you're gonna kick, you're gonna say, hey, sitting this guy out there, we feel good about this extra point, Like, I don't know that that guy exists on the street right now, because if he were that good, that reliable, he probably wouldn't be on the street. I there's no good answer to it, But like I said, I don't I don't see them making a change. And so I think, which to be fair to Greg like he's had, we have to be

fair to Greg. I would like to try to be like, I don't like to be the screaming hot take fire everybody guy. Typically, when he's had a moment like this, he bounces back, so like he missed a kick on he missed a kick against Vegas on Thanksgiving, he nailed the next ten after that, Like, can we can we sit him this next game because I don't wan and have that bounceback game next week. I wanted to have

that bounceback game in the play. We can get into him down, We can get into that because I'm sitting there. We'll talk about that tomorrow. But um, I mean it blows up to you. What Nah, don't waste this segment. Okay, all right, we'll talk about that tomorrow. When he has struggled again, he missed kicks against Tampa. He hits the game winner against the Charters. He's Typically when this happens, he comes back and hits his kicks. I'm not saying that should make you feel better, but I guess it's

worth mentioning. Yeah, all right, we appreciate you guys. Us. We'll be back tomorrow. We're gonna start getting into U Cowboys versus Eagles to end the season. A short week. Yeah, we do have a short week because the game has now been moved. It is now a Saturday night game, which means that we won't be doing a show on Friday because these guys will be traveling on Friday to get to Philadelphia. Maybe, oh, is that happening? I thought

we were doing this all at once. Maybe actually you know something, we might actually if you guys are leaving Saturday, we might still be able to our Friday show my fight until otherwise notified. I'm thought I was leaving at eight a m. Saturday. Yeah, so we might actually be able to do that. We'll see. Yeah, Saturday afternoon. Yeah, I'm gonna be like Saturday taking taking an uber like straight to the game. I've done that before, fun at

that stadium Airport, Jim's Cheese Steaks game. Just do it all in a row, just get it all out of win. That sounds really good. All right, you don't have to do it all. I think your your flight didn't go back till Monday, so you might be a resident. You could wait and do it sometime in the day Sat and Sunday. You got time. I've still got a hotel, right, Like we're gonna talk. We're having these conversations live on the air. Yeah right. Apprecate you guys, Johns people back tomorrow,

Nick Eaton, Dave helm and Afro Garcia. I am Derek Eielton. 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.