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It is Monday, November fourth, twenty twenty four, Season twenty, episode number sixty one. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break. We're live from that s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star and we are presented by LGLG is the world's number one TV brand for eleven years in counting See why at LG dot Com.
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Today it is our job to talk about Cowboys loss yesterday. They lose on the road to the Atlanta Falcons twenty seven to twenty one. And there are a lot of different little things I think we can take from this game, but let's start first with the big picture, and we're going to go around the table as we usually do, and just give everybody an idea of what you think the story is of this game.
Nicholeta's start with.
You adding injury to insult, like flip flip, flip the flip the saying, I guess with Dak getting hurt and CD getting hurt, I mean, it's it's kind of a snowball of injuries at the moment.
We'll know more today for the.
Extent of Dak's hamstring injury and CD's ac joint injury and his shoulder, But definitely two things to keep an eye on. But as far as the game goes, specifically, the offense just couldn't build any rhythm. And we've seen it multiple times this season, and especially coming out in the second half, defense allowing points and then offense not scoring points, and then when you try to throw a fake punt in there that had zero percent.
Chance of working.
We'll get to that.
Yeah, that's that's that's probably what ends up happening and as the end result. But for me, it was a lack of offensive rhythm. It was never present during the game. They had the one touchdown drive with Dak, and you know, it looked like it was sustaining a drive at that point, but you can't have one drive all day.
Teams have figured out you can't block a twist front, you know, and that's gonna be even a team that doesn't get any pressure their Their go to in this game was to move the front and uh and see if you're good enough to handle it. You know, I need to see about with Mike Solari and this group.
Are they you know? It seems like to.
Me they try and man a lot of these twists, and so what happens is guys get too caught up and then the twisters come around and and that's really what the the Falcons were able to do in this football game to create pressure. The margin of era is very very small for this football team. It just it
walks the tightrope on offense, defense, special teams. And I mentioned special teams because you get a really good block, you know, from a kid up off the practice squad with Butler on a punt return and you get turp into the wall and around the corner and he goes out of bounce.
You know, that's south.
That's your margin of era. It's very very small for this football team, and they almost have to play perfect in order to have things successful for them. And that's really really unfortunate because you watch games every week where there are teams that get away with certain things and you know, and they're able to make it work. And this is a very talented team, but the margin of air for them is so so small it's hard for them to win games that way.
Yeah, very frustrating because we're sitting here beginning of November. We have a whole half of the season left, and it's hard to imagine, like even see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel and see like even if there was to happen, like a trade was to happen before the deadline, which is tomorrow, do you really feel like one person or even two can even fix team.
And that's the problem right there.
So it's very difficult to move along and find any kind of hope. Now you have Dak Prescott injured. We don't know how long he's going to be out for. We were all asking when is he gonna run? When is he gonna run? He then runs and creates positive plays for the offense, but then gets injured. He didn't
mention he didn't feel it while he was running. He doesn't know if it had happened when he fell down and like when the tackle came or what happened there and maybe got pulled, but you got to imagine that he most likely came from that because he hasn't been It's hard.
It's hard to tell because the run that he had, the long run look fine. Yeah, he had two five yard runs. The first one looked fine. The second one he really couldn't tell on tape if there was any discomfort or him grab and he got up off the ground a little bit slower than he normally would. But I was trying to kind of pinpoint when that was. And then he had the throw where he was trying to follow through and it just was an awkward looking
stance and awkward looking delivery. But I had a hard time finding when he was running if in fact when that happened.
Yeah, he even said in the postgame press covers, He's like, I'm not even really sure when exactly happened. Yeah, he knew he felt it after that second down to twenty throw to Jalen Brooks on the sideline, though, you.
Know what it looked like to me, And again, I'm just from what we were watching when he first when he got sacked for basically was a zero yard gain, and they caught me it was obviously a sack when he got it. From that, he kind of was favoring a little bit. To me, it looked like because I immediately I told Nink, I said, Dak looks like he's kind of favorite his leg. And I didn't think anything of it, just kept stayed in the game, kept playing, and then it came up.
So it made me think that was the play.
That maybe at that play, I'm not sure about that. He was talking about the running play. That's the ones I focused on.
But if you need to go back and look at the sack, you know, he he you know, the couple.
Of the sacks, the back to back sacks.
You know, that's maybe something you could look at and see if you can find anything from that.
Let's talk about the offense. Let's go into a little bit of a detail on Dak. Dak was eighteen to twenty four, seventy five percent completion rate, one hundred and thirty three yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, one on one point six rating. You look at his numbers and it doesn't seem like there was a lot of production, but it seemed like he was very efficient, probably even more efficient than it looked. If you were just watching the game.
You know, it feels like sometimes you look at the numbers. I was actually shocked when the game was over and I saw these numbers with such a high completion percentage, such a high quarterback rating. I didn't think that, As you said, Nick, I didn't think the offense really had any rhythm, And maybe that was the difference. But how would you assess Dax play yesterday?
Overall?
Yeah, it was fine up until the third quarter, and I think this is a quarter that has just been biting this team in the butt all season. It kind of was a problem last year there were bottom third in the league and third quarter points a season ago and third quarter point differential, but it's kind of been
amplified this season. He had one hundred and one yards at the break, thirty two in that third quarter, and then obviously a couple of punts and fake punt and when that happens, and you pair that with Atlanta coming out with a touchdown drive and then to open up the fourth quarter another touchdown drive, you can't sustain offensive
success with that. But talking about Dak specifically, I really liked his ability to scramble and use his legs like we talked about I think, you know, I asked him about that specifically in the postgame press conference, and he said there was a little bit of intention in that three carries for thirty yards, including the twenty two yard scramble, which is the only twenty plus yard run of the entire season.
For your Dallas Cowboys.
But other than that, I think, whenever you look at the receiving game, you had a reliable CD. At times you had a reliable Jake Ferguson, which was really nice to see. I thought he had probably his best game all season. But when you only have those two guys, it's really tough to be able to sustain an offense.
Kind of feel like the ball wasn't going down the air at all, you know. I mean, even with Cooper Rush, it's felt like that the ball was at least going down down the field a little bit more, you know, with some of the throws. I was surprised with the amount of off coverage. These guys play a ton of zone. We talked out that they really didn't take advantage of, you know, the offered the nickel he gave up. You know, I think there were nine targets, six receptions for like
thirty one yards. You know, it just didn't seem to me that everything was under not behind the sticks. You know, everything was in front of the sticks, and it was all about run. And it really wasn't until Cooper Rush came in the game. And I don't think it's all prevent defense or anything like that, because that's just the way the Falcons play. But there just seemed that the ball was going down the field. There were more opportunities.
Even the ball that Lamb dropped, beautiful throw from you know, from Cooper Rush. Unfortunately maybe you know, with the shoulder situation, but man, it was right where it needed to be. But the ball, you know, fourth down, they were throws down the field and I didn't see Dak have any type of willingness to do that. You mentioned one of the sacks Derek he missedtobered up the sidelines, he had he had doubtle on in the flat. There's two options. He took neither of them and Geydon couldn't keep his
guy blocked long enough and then it's a sack. You know, ball's got to go down the field. Ball's got to go. You can't sit there and think that you've got time to come back. You know, even though Cousins, I mean the touchdown that he had that that you know went the you know where he just said and looked at the whole field and McCloud ran all the way across to Wilson. You know, you have time to do that. You don't have time with this offensive line to sit
there and look at every single read. You've got to determine, Okay, what's my best option here, get it out there and see what happens to you on the play. You can't hold the football. Two options you took neither, and the team suffered a sack.
It's been a I mean, such a tough season. And Dyk in this game, yes, he had some positive plays, but at the same time, there are so many of them, and you mentioned those two specific ones where he just didn't see guys open. He some of the decisions that he has made are decisions that he wouldn't be making at this point of his career that you expect such a veteran to be more aware of what's happening on the field.
Now.
Obviously the offensive line is not giving any kind of help. I mean, they made a non existent pass rush be existent and.
Made them look good.
When we talked about this matchup being a positive matchup, and even Dak mentioned it, and my McCarthy kind of said, like this was a good matchup for them where they could create some positive plays and it wasn't that way. You cannot convert on third downs to save your life. Even the fourth down attempt couldn't do absolutely anything, and some of the other players, I don't think it's all on that. Given Jake Ferguson the way he he's moving around.
I don't know if it's hurt or if he's dealing with something, but he his movement on the field, it doesn't seem like the usual self, like the Jake Ferguson we saw last year or his first year. So it's just something's happening there as well where you can't even trust your tight end in that sense, and.
Then you feel receivers with him.
There were moments like he had some catches there, but moments where he's just not being athletic enough.
He had the bost yards after catch, you know, I mean the first play at the game, first played the game, and then there were a couple of other runs. Yeah, he got put in some bad situations though, with him trying to break free balls were on the ground, or he's having to go up one hand catch and stuff like that. So really a little bit of both him and Dak with that situation.
But his athleticism, I think it has declined from what I've seen in this season overall, he's kind of declined. But then again, you can't single one person out because it's been such a collective decline from the offense overall. So it's just it's really hard to pinpoint exactly where the problem truly stins from.
Well, they It's like I said to me, sometimes you get really good play calls and then sometimes you get like I was really indifferent on the fourth and one jet sweep. I mean, I got to give Atlanta credit. Ellis made a good play. Now the problem with that, now, if Ellis doesn't make that play, well, Baits is standing right there, and to your point, Ferguson's struggling with Baits. You know, he's struggling to block Baits, and then by the motion they're playing man all for now is uncovered.
He's coming with or he's got man to man coverage with CD. He's so he's running with CD. So now you've got guys in that area. If if Ellis doesn't make the play, Baits is likely to make it. Alford's going to be right there. I was indifferent. I'm I just like, get the damn first down. You know, just get the first down, don't you know? To me some I mentioned your margin of era is so small you can't afford. You almost have to be sound in the way that you just run the ball, get the first down,
and then move on. They came back to the play a little bit later on and it worked for him.
Great. That's why I'm a little bit indifferent.
But to me, I'm like, get the first down, keep the drive going, and if you want to go back or come back to plays like that, feel free to do so.
But you got to give Atlanta credit.
Ellis made a great play, but they had two other guys there that were that probably would have made the
play too it had been stopped it for a fourth down. Yeah, you know the stuff, Like you say the screenplays, there were a couple of screen passes day threw were perfectly called for the right situation, you know, and they get you know, the one time Dak kind of very casually instead of maybe throwing the ball over at the top of Matthew Judon kind of kind of just those a little sidearm and Judn just knocks it down and you're like it was almost like Dak was just too casual,
just you know, get back sell it, get him to go up, or if he goes up, then you could throw the little side arm. If he stays down to the ground, go over the top. But those are good calls, but they're not they're not rewarded. He's not rewarded. Now I'm yelling at Mike McCarthy for being a you know, doing a terrible job calling plays, But when he calls a good play and then I watch it and I'm going like, well, that's on his players right there. That's
a great play call poorly executed. They they just they struggle, and you mentioned it. With any type of rhythm, everything is you know, the old the easy button thing. They never get to hit the easy button. Everything is hard. Everything is so hard for this team in all areas of their game.
Well, I think at the end of the day, I think it's it's just so apparent to me at this point that most of these things we're talking about, Yeah, stem from the offensive line, their inability to be able to get like that play before the fourth and one when they do the Jets sweep. They do that because on third and one they try to just run the ball.
They can't move anybody. They get no game.
And I think it's the fact that at some point you gotta do something different. You can't just keep literally running into a brick wall because your offensive line really isn't getting any push, and so it leaves you in a situation where you got to do all these exotic things to try to convert a third and short or fourth and short, and that's what gets you into into trouble. Like those are not plays that you should necessarily have
to run on those kinds of situation. You should be able to line up and say we're going.
To power through and we're gonna get a yard. But they can't do it.
Yeah, there's not confident that this is not telling anybody news here, but there is not confidence in what the running game is. And something that Rico Dubtlel had said in the locker room yesterday. We're talking about that third and one where they were lined up in shotgun and they handed off to Rico he didn't get anything, and it led to that fourth and one jet sweep.
It to CD he said that they saw.
Things in film during the week that allowed them to see some success running the ball out of shotgun. It's like, okay, yes, I understand that, but you're third and one gun right, you go under because you trust the personnel that you have, you trust the interior offensive line that you have, and you go get one yard. I never understand running the ball second and one third and one fourth and one out of shot.
Totally with you on that.
Into discussion, someone's like, well, that's part of the West Coast offense.
I go, bs, I go. I was.
I was in the I was in that West Coast offense. They used to hand the ball to Tom Rathman or hand it to Roger Craig and Joe Montana played underneath center and they hand and they got pushed and all that to your point, Yeah, the thirty one play, they get zero yards because Smith and Guidon missed their blocks. They don't they don't handle the they don't sort it out well enough, so they're going to get a negative play or a zero a zero carry on the play
because they don't get the they'll get the blocks. So yeah, it's just it's it's it's it's mind numbing sometimes some of the things, like you said, I just I just want them like just do some simple things.
But the simple things are hard. Yeah, there's nothing, no easy button, no easy button.
I will say this, this is actually at the beginning of the game. That first drive, those first three plays are the first drive. They they were like bam bamba, and I'm like, yeah, I'm like, is this the game where they're going to find that ability to really be able to efficiently move the ball. And what happens as soon as that happens, then you get into that point with it right outside their red zone. They were right at the twenty one and it's just like the Braakes.
Got hit and it just they just started to smutter.
And that's the thing, like, even when you saw that immediate success, it's like they couldn't sustain it for more than three plays and then it all went down.
Yeah, game of twenty seven, game to twelve, game to fifteen, and then doubtle for two and then they run the screen that loses four yep, you know I mean, And that's the just be and it's a hard block. I mean as a hard block for Martin to have to make because the linebacker Eli was just like he's playing man coverage.
Yeah, he just kind of slow plays it. So plays it and let's Mark get outside and then Book run inside of that. You know.
I say, I was so impressed with Kate Nelly's yesterday. I saw him as a productive player going into the week, but oh my goodness, he was all over the place. He was really talented player.
All Right, we're gonna take our first break. We'll come back.
We'll talk more about this offense. Let's talk about Rico o'dowdo and what he was able to do yesterday. I think that was an interesting storyline, certainly thinking back to what we've talked about of what we thought the Cowboys should be doing with their running back position. We'll talk about when we come back Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Welcome back. It is the second segment of the Break.
We are alive from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star and this segment's brought to you by blockchain dot com. All right, let's talk about Rico Daddell. Yesterday he was twelve twelve carries for seventy five yards a six point three average. Really, he was the running back for them yesterday. Nobody else had more than two designed runs in that game, including including Cook. That all being said, do you think that this is starting to be proof that if the
Cowboys would just rely on one back, ric o'dowdele. He is their best running back that maybe they can get again a decent running game. They don't have to have a great running game, but a decent running game, and it can be at least productive enough for them to get things going as they should be going.
Yeah.
I agree.
I think at this point, if they don't make a move before tomorrow to bring another guy into that room, I think you just start handed the ball to Rigo Dawdle twelve fifteen, eighteen times a game, just to let him build confidence. I sent still you were in the Rico scrum, yesh I since a little frustration from him from how the season has kind of played out, and then this kind of being his moment of being like see,
I was telling you. Somebody had asked him, do you feel like whenever you get the carries throughout the course of the game, you were able to sustain momentum. He's like, That's what I've been trying to say, Like I'm a guy that when I get my carries, I get better as the game goes on. I need that to get going. He was very honest about that. So it kind of just I was looking around, like interesting, so he's right.
He's right.
Yeah, I heard the same thing, and I kind of it kind of raised my eyebrow to a little bit, like I wonder how much does he is he really?
Has he been saying that? Has he been found?
You've said that before.
I've heard him say that before weeks and weeks ago, and I mean I just thought I didn't think much of it, because it's like, yeah, typically if you the more you do it, the more rhythm you can get. So but I mean, this whole seekh thing that happened, it makes you wonder what's going to happen here in the running back room after what happened this weekend.
Brian, what do you think of the whole Zeke thing?
You know, I think there's a lot to it, and I don't think it's just about meetings and missing meetings and things like that. I think there's a lot more to this. And you know, I'm probably not my not my area to get into, you know, but there's some things that other people will get into and uh, you know, they'll figure all this out. I know there's some some legitimate concern for Zeke, uh you know, in the organization about this whole situation and what he's dealing with and
stuff right now. But like I said, it's, uh, it's something that probably needs to be taken care of here in the next few days if they can.
Yeah, it's it's not one thing. I think that's probably the biggest thing to take away from what you said there.
Yeah, it was all.
It was kind of a shock that it all went down the way that it did. Him not obviously traveling with the team obviously. I don't think it would have been a surprise to anyone if he would have been inactive, because I think the reality is we we started to hear little things last week from Mike McCarthy about running.
Back by committee. He said, I'm not.
Really into that. I don't think that's the best way to go, So we kind of could have. Now in retrospect, you'll like, well, he was intimating that they were going to stick with Rico in this game, and they felt like that was going to be the best option. So at that point, it is, it doesn't surprise me if if Zeke is inactive, because if you're going to do that, then Rico's your guy.
Yeah, I think there's like you say, there's there's been reports you know, and Nick and done a fine job with his reporting as well. I just kind of feel like that this is something, like I said just a little earlier, it needs to be taken care of now, you know, they need to either do what they need to do to move on or try and get the situation. I kind of feel like that I don't see this as being just like you said, the one one thing. This is just a culmination of a lot of things.
But man, they need to make a decision on this. They really do.
I'll tell you what.
I hate to see this, I really do from the a Zeke that we have gotten used to seeing since twenty sixteen and to you know, have this type of reunion and it be an opportunity for them to kind of be able to find each other, not only the Cowboys and Zeke, and then at the end of the day it's just not worked.
So it's sad to see at the end of the day.
Yeah, it's one of the tough things about bringing bringing a guy back that you already kind of let go because it does have the potential that they didn't go really wrong, because it does kind of bring up if things don't go right, you can bring up a lot of old feelings, and that's when you really start getting into tough situation.
These players struggle too, you know. I mean you can hold their hand and watch over them here while they're at the Star. It's when they leave the Star that you've got to be a little bit, you know, a little bit mindful of you know, like, hey, what's you don't always get to kind of you know, run their lives and when they're off the field, and so you know, those are things that you have to deal with. I mean I dealt with as a personal guy everywhere I've been.
You know, they off the field stuff can can really really hurt you with your players, and that can hurt you with.
Your locker room.
Well, and we were talking about this right before the game. It's like, this is the kind of drama that happens when you're losing games and everybody's in a bad mood. People start pointing fingers. You're not happy of what this person's doing or that person is doing because you think you're right, you know, and that's you think.
You could be better, You think you could be a part of the solution. There's a lot of that.
Maybe they give you more, give me the chance, let me keep trying and maybe then so and again this is just in general, this is the kind of stuff that happens, and it sucks when things like that start occurring and not everyone is on the same page.
But this is where we're at.
Yeah, so much of the drama that that the Cowboys have experienced this year is a result of that. It's the levels of frustration. What happen with Trayvon, Like that was just frustration. You lose and you get on these losing streaks and things aren't going well and you're losing guys to injury, Like, people get frustrated and sometimes that that ends up being more dramatic than it would be if you're winning, when you just kind of like let things go by the way. Trayvon's had moments when people
have talked bad about him before. When you win in twelve and five on a season, he's kind of like, whatever, I don't care what that does.
You know what I'm saying.
It's just it's different when you when you lose it. Yeah, when you're when you're losing, it just creates a.
Lot of nobody to hear. Nobody wants to hear they're doing a poor job.
Or the reason for the losing, the reason for the losing.
Yeah, and you know we you know, I mean, trust me, I I we all work in a business in the media where I mean, I know with radio we have the texts and all that and the fandom. Those folks can ruin your day. You know, they really can't. And nobody, if you read it, yeah, nobody, and I choose. You know, there's certain like certain comments I go look at it podcasts, and people will ruin your day. They absolutely will. They
have no feelings for you. They don't care about you, you know, like you know, you make a comment and it makes you wonder, why why am I even comment? Why am I even trying to Why am I trying.
To educate people? It's it's my job.
But yeah, people, people can find a way to ruin your day. They really can't.
All right, We're gonna take our final break. We will come back and what flip, what are the other side of the field of the ball. We want to talk a little bit about this defense and we certainly have to at some point get to what happened on special teams with their thought of maybe trying to convert on fourth down we'll talk about that when we come back.
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Back to the break.
At and Z Connecting changes everything.
Welcome back.
It is the final segment of the Breakwayer Live from s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Style. Let's talk about the defense. Yesterday they held Atlanta. It's one hundred yards rushing b Jon Robinson held to nineteen carries for eighty six yards of four.
Point five average.
Although it sounds like a pretty good day with this rushing defense. I think it was a win. I would call it a win. What would you guys say about their their play yesterday?
Yeah, yeah, you could say it's a win. The thing that's creeping in the back of my mind is the double digit mistackles like those eighty six yards from Jon Robinson could have easily be fouw.
Let's also put that in context. That's Bejon gay it is that now.
If they hadn't had a mistackle problem all season, I'd be like, that's all Bejeon because that's who Bjeon Robinson is.
But just wanted to put that in.
And and they did a good job against Tyler Algier, which we were talking about it during the week. He's more the physical guy. He'll run down your throat six carries eighteen yards three yards of pop. So I think they did a good job in limiting Algier's physicality. But yeah, Bjon, he's gonna get his But whenever you have your your arms around his legs or arms around his midsection, you gotta bring him down because if you don't, he will you pay.
He will make you pay.
Yeah, that that's that's a that's a tough ask.
And you know, you really you caught a break with Drake London being knocked out of that game. And but at that quarterback, he's super efficient the way he plays, He's very comfortable moving guys around. They took advantage of your rookie out there the left corner. I have seven targets, seven receptions, and you know, and and you just worry sometimes about his confidence.
He was really you know, I mean.
You had a chance, he had him backed up and they flipped the ball to the outside and he's got it. He's two yards two yards you know, from making a tackle right there, and and and and you know, now making them punt deep in their own territory, said they extend to drive, you get to run some more time off the clock and punt the ball down the other end of your your field. But you know, he's just he's really struggling with and he hasn't played. I mean, he plays and then he's out and then you know
he's got a shoulder problem. So how much is he willing to tackle? And I'm just talking about him, you know, but you've i mean, you've got some you know, some of the things that we talked about they did, and that always makes me happy when we bring up the fact that they use mccuamu a little bit on pits.
That's something we talked about.
And you know, the first yeah, the first he had one catch, the first, yeah, kuamu. They shoveled around on him and and and that's that on pits.
That's good.
They brought over shown one time on a just a straight rush and it was the first third down of the game and they got off the field and they didn't do anything after that since. And you know, he makes you wonder. You know, you're just kind of like, damn, we told you to cover pits with a taller guy. Well done, Bring this guys a rusher. They'll have problems
blocking him. They did all incomplete and well done. Now you're off the field, and then you're like the rest of the game, you're guy going where is this?
Where is that?
And want to fill is a product of Carl Lawson getting home a few times and then.
Carl give Carl lost in some credit.
Carl.
And by the way, oh so Diggy Sewah played a really good game, you know, and last you were expecting that against the forty nine ers. He played like he he should have played against the forty nine ers. He played like against the Falcons. You know, he was he was very disruptive. You know, he was a really good player for him overshown.
Those guys did a nice job. Yeah, you know, but you just didn't have enough of that.
I said that last week about Osa, that you know, if there was I think it was one of the games we were playing. We asked the question, what would you change right now that you don't think they will, And I was like, man, go hard at defensive tackle because I'm not happy with either one right now.
I think I could get more out of out of Osa even right.
And surely enough, yesterday he showed me exactly what I'm like. If you give me that every week, that's that's what I want, because you put that with the pieces that you're missing right now in defense.
Now you're working with something. But that's also Osa. Like Osa has been throughout his career, He's had games like that. This is not new. He can play those kinds of games.
I just want to see it as consistently as he showed yesterday. I wanted to be able to put that together game after game after game because he's definitely got the talent.
And this is an important year for him being a contract here, so he needs to really stay these games. And I mean, if we're looking at a situation now, and if you're a fan out there and you're saying, hey, this team's not gonna make the playoffs, what is there to keep watch at keep watching these expiring contracts because the better that these guys play down the stretch is a little more likely that these guys will be back next season. Oh so Digizua, I think, is a perfect
case of that. You look at him expiring deal. Okay, if he can stack games like he had against Atlanta yesterday, maybe there's a situation where he's back as a three tech next season.
Or is he go the other way?
Though?
Let me ask you that.
It's happened in his career where he plays, he's a very good, like college player, He plays thirteen really good weeks, and then the from week fourteen through seventeen there seems to be a little drop off in play. Maybe it's
going the other way. I hope for his sake, he might be in a situation where he's thinking, like every week that I don't perform it's probably costing me money in my pocket, not just with the Dallas Cowboys, but with the Indianapolis Colts, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the San Francisco forty nine ers, whoever else is looking for a defensive tackle three technique. If my tape is not good enough, it's hard for people to give you a whole lot of money.
Yeah, that's what I start wondering about.
To your point, Nick, is if a person like him that has an expiring contract plays really, really well down the stretch, does it end up putting him out of the range of what the Cowboys are willing to pay, Because again, you.
Got you already got a guy in dak.
Who's making a ton of money, and then CD and you're thinking you got to get Micah and Micah done at some point, and Trayvon's already been paid. Like there, it's only so much money they talk about all the time. You only got so much in the pie. If he starts getting that point where he's starting to get really good and teams are looking at him like on this second contract, he's one of the best defensive tackle three techniques out there, the number might push up higher than what you.
Can do happened George Armstrong?
I believe I think George Armstrong got out of the ability for them to pay him.
What you know, so and if that happens, then good for him.
Absolutely work and.
You know you want to wish all of them well at the end of the day and in their career and get the most money they can, especially at such position that you don't always get paid the highest in that regard. But overall, I think it's to me looking at this game, and there are many, many different kinds of frustration.
But to know that.
The final score and the score looks so much nicer than what the actual game was and looked like. But and it's happened throughout the season, You've had games in your hands. Yes, the defense has not played well, but they've done just enough, especially taking into consideration the amount of injury that they've sustained this season. But yet it just all comes back to the offense not doing enough
for you. Imagine with all these closed games, had the offense scored just one more time, two more times, how we would be sitting here in a completely different scenario. Had you had Dak running the ball a lot earlier in the season, we would potentially be here in the total different scenario. Same with the running run in back situation. I feel like you should have figured that out a long time ago and not here trying to play like Okay, who do who? Who are we going to plug in?
And I mean all these Yeah. So it's just it's just weird because sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy in the sense of like, men, I feel like all of us see these things weeks ago, and then it's just like they're running behind like a like like a few weeks behind of us of what we're seeing as far as like when they decide to start making some of these changes or trying some of these things.
So it's just it's so annoying. It's so annoying because.
I truly feel like there are a lot of talented players on this team. We've seen them play at a very high level. And to think that you've wasted all these opportunities where you could be standing very at a very very different position right now and you're just you're just not.
So it's just I don't know.
What sucks, depending on if they make a coaching change, and we'll see if they do, but they need to revamp the whole entire defensive tackle room in my opinion, that that that that needs to that. Whoever, whatever, if the new coach comes in and he's maybe it's a defensive coach or he brings in an offensive coach, brings in a defensive coordinator that has an idea this this this tackle room needs to be. If if Os goes and Mazzie Smith goes, and Linvil Joseph goes and.
All that, that to me, that's I have no problem with that. But they're going to.
Have to redo that whole room in my.
Opinion and my under Oh sorry, I was going to my understanding and correct me if I'm wrong. But money wise, we're worse off right now for this upcoming free agency than we were last.
Year right back, and CD gives you a lot of flexibility in that sense. We'll kind of see how everything shakes out.
Though.
I think there's going to be more opportunity, but there's that's too early.
Really.
I think there's a lot of money that's that's on the books that you can't get rid of because of uh that was already money that was gonna be that's gonna catch up to.
Well, we've got things kind of earmarks. So it's every time you think, every time.
You think they have one hundred million dollars in cap space, it's all spent. Yeah, That's kind of how I And even when I worked in the organization, that's I'm like, wait, wait a minute, We've got this amount of money. It's like, no, that money is already spent, and I'm like, oh okay.
So yeah, and that's that cycle where you you kind of keep being forced to rely on the draft and develop those talent. And again, we know the history that they have in drafting players. They've been really really good at it. But when that comes time and developing and all of that. So it's just it's gonna be a wild one this off season.
All right, real quick, before we end the show, I do want to get your opinions on that play. The Cowboys decide on fourth down they're going to try to run a fake punt. What were your thoughts on just the decision and then the decision to do that versus keeping that dak in the offense on the field, if you're going to go forward and try to convert it that way.
I it was it was a very clear fake punt situation. I think first off, so I don't think you were necessarily catching anybody off guard because it was the middle of the field, fourth and short.
I just I don't understand.
Going one on one with c J Goodwin and throwing up the ball to c J Goodwin one on one.
I don't. I don't understand that personally.
I I if you had a Jalen Brooks out there, Okay, that makes a little bit more sense.
But we have Flinoy on the other side.
Side six probably the better option.
Yeah, yeah, he had absolutely no shot at that.
Also, on fourth down fake punt situations, pass interference is not a thing, so he can just mug him and be completely legal. So I don't I don't understand throwing it up one on one in that situation. I think I would try to get the personal protector who was one day Thomas and then it was Marque Spell after Thomas came out, get him out in the flat or something like that instead.
That's it was.
There was.
There was no doubt he was just going to catch the ball and throw it no matter what. Yeah, almost ended up being a pick six.
It did.
I mean it really should have been probably, you know.
So yeah, it's and you mentioned Flinoy. He's the gunner on the other side of the field. He's six ' three, he's a wide receiver. He's used to running routes. He's used to kind of pushing off and going up and getting the ball vertically like that play maybe high point in the ball. To me, that's kind of a mismanagement if you're if you're going to do stuff like that, give yourself the best chance. Taller receiver against a smaller corner.
That's what they had on the outside there. But they went corner against corner and it was too easy to play for them to have to make it's.
Three yards, why not just drag you know, Yes, it's uh harder than it needs to be.
Be careful what you asked for. We've been asking for creativity. I mean, give them credit. It was kind of quote unquote different.
Should we ask for success rights creative success with.
Those objectives that you use, and.
I just want success. I don't know, I don't care if it's creative or not.
Just give me success, Dallas.
That was a tough one.
All right.
We appreciate you, guys, Joing. So we'll be back tomorrow. Brian's gonna have a little game for us. Uh, we're going it's funny, go inside the brain of Brian brought us and we'll move on. We'll move this this thing along into the next one. The Philadelphia Cowboys will play the Eagles next weekend at at and T Stadium. So till tomorrow for Nick Harris. Brian brought us in, Ambergarciam Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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