Cowboys Break: Jamal Adams Factor

Nick Eatman in here with me. We got Amber and Dave both at the Star in different locations, and we got our special guests, as we do every Wednesday and Thursday. Bucky Brooks, NFL Network. Bucky, what's going on, man, man? It's all good. How you guys doing doing well? Doing well? We're ready to jump in and talk about the Seattle

defense today. We talked about the offense yesterday, and by the way, if you guys miss that, you can always go back and check it out on our website, our mobile app, connected TV app and hear what Bucky had to say about the offense. But today we focus in on Seattle defense and I'll start where we normally start talk to me about their greatest assets, the greatest strengths,

and their greatest weaknesses. Talking about the Seattle defense, the greatest assets are the two players that they have in the middle of their defense, Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams. Those guys are coming to the centerpieces of the defense. Everything runs through them, and they've done a great job of utilizing them in a variety ways. Particularly Jamal Adams.

They have really unleashed him. Pete Carroll and Ken Norton have basically gone back to their USC playbook and they have made Jamal Adams their version or Troy Polamalu, and that shows up on tape. The biggest weakness is their secondary As bad as we think things are in Dallas, they're worse for the Seattle Seahawks. When you look at their coverage. They've given up seven hundred and thirty one yards to wide receivers. That is the most through two

games in the Super Bowl era. Six receivers have had seventy plus receiving yards. It is a problem. And so this is a matchup where the Cowboys have an opportunity to really make it a fast break basketball game because the problems that the Seattle Seahawks can present to the Cowboys, they can flip it around and do the same thing to the Seahawks. Can you talk a little bit about the run defense. Yeah, So the Seattle Seahawks have been

solid against the run. And they're so solid against the run because Bobby Wagner does a great job of filling the middle. But more importantly, he communicates what is coming to his defensive mace and they jumped the snap. They're only given up two point nine yards per carried running backs. They're doing a great job of playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. All you have to do is look at the last play against New England Pagris and Cam Newton to know. So their defense is stout,

but people are taking the path at least resistant. They're going at them. They're trying to attack them in the passing game, and that might be the best course of action for the Dallas Coutboys. So two first round picks and I think a third round pick was what it took to get Jamal Adams. That you're saying, is he playing like that? Even though you also say the secondary looks terrible right now? I mean, how's that kind of working as far as is he living up to expectations,

but also he just needs also help around him. No, no, no no, like Jamal Adams is well worth his weighting goal. Like he is a gold jacket player. When you look at his numbers, his numbers are favorable to Troy Palamalo through the same time. And what he has done in Seattle is take it to another level. He leaves the team in tackles, sacks, quarterback hits, tackles for losses. They're putting them in the box and they are blissing him off the edge. He is everything that they needed. He

is Cam Chancellor plus in their defense. So yes, for them, they needed another disruptive playmaker. He has given them that. And even though he is listed as a safety, they're really playing him as a hybrid linebacker. He is anything and everything they need him to be. He's the energy bus for their defense. So I'm curious, Bucky, that was an amazing stat. By the way, most yards by receivers in the Super Bowl era through two games. I hadn't heard that, But I am curious not to let these

guys off the hook. But how much of this is product of circumstances because they go up thirty one twelve on Atlanta pretty early in that game, and obviously you have to pass your way back into that and they even had you know, they had a two possession lead on New England heading into the fourth quarter the other night. So you know, I wonder how much of that is the opposition needing to throw the ball a lot to

get back into games because Seattle's offense is so good. Oh, some of that is true, like certainly when teams are chasing points, you can kind of get a bunch of garbage yards. But also think part of it is a byproduct. I sat there and saw the scheme a year ago, Rod Marinelli and christ Ray Shard. You saw some of the single high safety looks, not a lot of disguise. They're gonna line up and play Cover three or Cover one, and they're going to say that our athletes are better

than your athletes, come and get us. And what has happened. There have been times where you can get the stle Seahawks and Jams through formation alignment. Sometimes the personnel matchups you can create these favorable opportunities. And when you look at the matchups that the Cowboys have particularly in the passing game. I mean, we can talk about it Maury Cooper and Ceedee Lamb and Michael Galla, but then Dalton

Schutz emerging in being just a solid checkdown option. They're going to stress the defense and they're gonna make those guys hold up. And because they don't do a lot of what we call split safety, looks not a lot of two deep coverage, they're gonna be some opportunities. The thing is, you got to cash in when you get those big player opportunities, Bucky, when you mentioned the linebacker Bobby Wagner, and then obviously they got kJ Wright, who's another guy's been there for a long time with him,

a very very very solid linebacker. And then obviously they're doing with Jamal Adams. Now they're adding in the first round pick Jordan Brooks, who it sounds like he's going to be a starter this week now with Bruce Irving going out due to injury. Give me a scoutter report on Brooks coming in the league first round pick. Give me a scout report on kind of where he fits in with this linebacking corps and what he brings to

the table. Well, look, He's an energetic player. Anyone that watched him at Texas Tech, he's a sideline and sideline player does a great job of being productive. When you talk to people in Seattle about what they like in players, Pete Carroll prefers guys that just are super athletes and they have instincts. All the other stuff, the measurables don't matter. When you look at Jordan Brooks, he is a classic example. He is a guy that is a terrific, high energy player.

He was very productive during his time in Texas Tech. Not necessarily the biggest linebacker, but he's slippery and he gets around the ball. The thing is, he doesn't have to really do anything extraordinary. Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams they gobble up everything that happens within the ten yard box. He just needs to be a guy that kind of fits his gap and plays his role. I don't have high expectation for him to be an immediate impact player, but he certainly can be a solid performer for them,

very very early in his career. I want to ask you, we saw Dak Prescott throw a lot down the field during training camp, and we've seen it during games and some really successful plays long passes. After what you mentioned about their secondary, would you be expecting dak to take more risks and throw down the field a lot more? You know, Look, I think if they have opportunities where they can push it down the field, I think they have to. I think the big thing that sets up

the big plays. You have to remember Ezekiel Elliott has average one hundred and twelve yards per game against the Cowboys in the two matchups. The best way for the Cowboys to play this game is to control it with their offense. That's how they have to play, and so Ezekiel Elliott can create big play opportunities if he is able to run successfully. We've talked about the stinginess of the Seattle Seahawks run defense early in the game. Somewhere

in there, there's gonna be a test of wheels. Can the Cowboys run the ball or Seahawks know they have to run it and are they forced to drop Jamal Adams and play in eight man front and one on one on the outside. If the Cowboys can run the ball at some point, I think there will be some big play opportunities on the outside. Because I look, I like Griffin and though in dumbbar on the outside, but they can be had. I think is about setting of them up and being able to push the ball down

the fieldball play action, Bucky. You feel good about or should Cowboy fans feel good about? What they saw at a Terrence Steele and Brandon Knight. And then also with the matchup against Seattle, is this one where you know the Cowboy if Tyrand Smith doesn't play that the Cowboys should feel okay about it because of who they're playing and the experience of the other two guys. They should feel better because there's not a dominant force on the

Seahawks defensive line. The problem is you have to count Jamal Adams as an extra pass Russian. They bring him ten to fourteen times a game. He is rushing relentlessly off the edge, and so part of the reason why they want a blitz is not necessarily to try and get Jamal Adams home freely, but they want to create opportunities for their guys to get one on one matchups. That's what the fifth rusher does. And so yeah, I feel good about night and still being able to hold up.

But can they hold up with the stunts and games that are deployed at the line of scrimmage. One of the ways the Cowboys negated it last week when they were having problems with the Falcons, they went up tempo, and by going up tempo, what it did it wore down the pass rush because now you can't sub. You also have to simplify because you're worried about communication flaws. In a weird way, the Cowboys would benefit from playing

what I say, faster but under control. They can play fast and keep them at the line of scrimmage but not necessarily operate at a frenetic pace. By keeping them fast and not allowing the Seahawks to sub, they can wear them down and eventually kind of have their way with this defense in the second half when the game kind of becomes a conditioning matchup, which Bucky this is.

This is a better question for John Schneider. I think, so I hate to put you in a tough spot, but that I'm looking at this Seahawks pass rush and I just don't understand the thought process here that you know, they didn't really make an attempt to get jadeveon Clowney back. Obviously, Everson Griffin was linked there for a long time too.

For my own experience. You know, when the Cowboys don't sign a guy, they say it's because they like what they have, But it doesn't seem like the Seahawks have anything. I mean LJ. Collier's there are are they sky high about what he's done in the first two weeks? Like who are these pass rushers? And why didn't they try harder to get more? Well one, I think the Jenevian

clowney thing is he's more myth than player. He's a guy that's probably a better run defender than a pass rusher, as evidence by the fact that he's never had a double digit sex season and he only had three sacks with him a year ago. So I don't think they were necessarily fired up about bringing him back. Everson Griffin would have been a guy that I thought they would have considered based on the way that he played, the

way that he's been consistent. But look, sometimes when you are any value where they're end the decision, you fall in love with the guys that you drafted. They took LJ. Carre, and I'm gonna be honest, I didn't see a first round player in LJ. Carr as a pass rusher, But they have to go with them. They got to try them out there. Part of the reason that they're able to mask it is really because of the way they're

utilizing Jamal Adams. And so when you talk about why didn't they upgrade the rush, I think part of their upgrade the pass rush comes from Jamal Adams coming over. So when they give up two ones and a three to get them, part of that was with him thinking, Hey, Jamal Adams is going to enhance our pass rush. We're gonna treat them as the fifth rusher. That's why we're

okay with the guys that we have up front. Bucky, real quick, before we end this segment with you, I did want to ask you a question about just the bigger picture of how the Cowboys strategically in in this game. I did hear you're talking a little earlier about, you know, ball control, and if you look at this team, obviously the matchup says, hey, Cowboys should be throwing all day. This is a run defense that's pretty good. You got a pass defense that's not very good. Cowboys actually have

a ton of weapons in the passing games. I'll throw the ball. The problem with that is you want to keep the ball out of Russell Wilson's hands. In a scenario like this, which way do you think the Cowboys ultimately go. Do they go of going the path the least resistance or do you think they stick to trying to pound the run and trying to control the ball

to keep Russell Wilson off the field. I think what you do in these things, I think they play fast early and then slow it down late, meaning I think it's very important, and we've seen the past two weeks the Cowboys need to play with the league the way that they're constructed with their defense, and so they have to figure out a way to grab the league early so then they can dictate the terms and control the game.

And so maybe in the first quarter you see Dak throw more to see if they can get some quick points on the board and then get back to running. The teams that have had success beating into the Seahawks throughout the years had been able to line up and play big football, meeting big sets, run the ball kind of persistently do it. I think the magic number for

the Cowboys is thirty two. If they can get time of possession between thirty two and thirty five, US I think they're controlling the game and that is the way they want to play it. All right, give us a quick score and prediction on this game. What do you think it's gonna happen? Oh my gosh, I mean, I think I think this is a I think this is I think this is a track and it's like watching

this in the Rockets Player. I think this is gonna be a game in the high thirties because I don't believe either defense would really be able to stop it. I think it's a game where the Cowboys can win it. The key factor is Ezekiel Elliot. If Ezekiel Elliott has over one hundred yards, I think the Cowboys winning. They win by three or more. All Right, we appreciate your time, Bucky. We'll have you back next week on Wednesday to talk a little bit more about the next opponent, which will

be the Cleveland Browns. Till then we're gonna take a quick break, we're gonna come back. We're gonna dissect some of that stuff that Buckey talked about. Well, it's gonna get into some injury updates on some players that the Cowboys really can't afford to lose that are right now on the injury report. We'll talk about that when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio. We're back in a tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds.

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It is the second segment of the Break. We are live from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star. We have Bucky Brooks joining us in the first segment to talk about the Seattle defense versus the Cowboys offense.

A lot of interesting nuggets there. Before we talk more about that matchup, let's talk about some of the injuries that the Cowboys are experiencing yesterday, and I guess the biggest one that popped up was Treyvon Diggs, who did not practice yesterday with the shoulder injury coming out of the game against the Atlanta Falcons. Let's start first by just kind of talking about what we've heard from coach McCarthy with regards to his injury and his status. Nick,

why don't you start there. I didn't listen to coach McCarthy this morning, so I don't know, but I talked to Stephen Jones. Okay, well, tell me Steven say one thing about an injury to Treyvon Diggs. He talked about how great he's been. He's a pros pro already in a second game, thinks he has a chance to be really great, and he's looking forward to that matchup against

DK Metcalf. That doesn't suggest anything to me that he doesn't expect him to play, But I bet McCarthy also gave nothing when he talked to the media, But I don't know Dave would he he gave, He gave a little something, you know, Mike. Mike is um, he's he's guarded with his injury stuff. But he did say, you know, he said he didn't practice yesterday, heard his shoulder in the game. Direct quote is we may try to work

him into individual and go from there. So I mean that that sounds optimistic to me, and I expect that he'll you know, ease into the lineup at least by a Saturday, if not today, So I'm not super worried about him for Sunday. But Stephen did also add that Brandon Carr will be playing cornerback, So which is I mean, somebody's got to play cornerback, and I don't think it's gonna be Reggie Robinson, so I would think. So you're looking at Jordan Lewis, tray Von Diggs, Brandon Carr, Daryl Worley.

It could be worse. Yeah, I was laughing, well not laugh but I'm like, oh my god, when I saw them us yesterday that that came out, it just took me back to the conversation we were having yesterday where we all sounded pretty concerned already with thinking that we had Digs available and healthy and good to go, and then that happens, and then I'm like, what are what are they gonna do now? Which promises the question what

do you think they do now? I know that Nick just mentioned Brandon Carr playing a corner, but how comfortable are you guys filling with what the Cowboys currently have in case that Digs is a no go? H dis Yeah? Well, I mean if Digs gotta play, if then yeah, no, did I mean dig Dig needs to play? Yeah, you gotta figure this one out pretty much it if they need to, you know, I I don't want to sound two crafts, but they got to shoot it up, then you gotta shoot it up. I mean, I just you can't.

You can't afford for him not to play in this game, right, don't get the Chargers doctor? No? Right? Wow? Sorry? But well even if he plays at one level, well yeah, I mean no, I mean, yeah, news flash, the secondary is a concern. I mean that's been the case since time immemorium. It feels like um and obviously you add Anthony Brown to injured reserve and and Cheeto's not gonna play this week. I don't think so you should be concerned,

but it's the situation that they're in. I don't feel great about it, but I wouldn't feel great about it if everybody was healthy. This is a dynamic passing offense. So here's the real kind of Sorry, dude, here's a real problem that you have. It's Thursday. Are we seventy two hours from kickoff? So there's not a Sterling More out there? Or Tyler Patman or Question Huff. Tyler's here in Dallas. I mean somebody like that that's played that you could just I mean, you can't do that anymore.

You have to go with what you have. That's why you have this bulk he practice squad, and I'm I'm not even sure is is Savion Smith on the practice squad. I think he is? He is? Okay, Yeah, I mean that could be an option. You have to throw him in there. Or Westry yeah, or Reggie Robinson. I guess

you know. Here's the thing about Reggie Robinson. He was he was drafted because he could play special teams and he developed into a corner he's probably not ready to play corner, but he's probably gonna be playing in this game. And you don't have to learn a whole lot to go rush to the punt and try to block a punt or block a field goal or something like that, because that's exactly what Cheeto. I think that might have

been what got hurt. What Cheeto got hurt on was trying to block one of those field goals off the edge. So you know, Robinson might play this week, but I don't think you want to playing for you know, playing on defense. I think what it suggests to me is whether you know, no matter what happens, whether Dick's plays or doesn't, the fact that you're down Cheeto, you're down Anthony Brown, and Trey Vaughn won't be one even if he's playing. That suggested me that we could probably expect

to see a lot more zone than man. I would expect. I wouldn't think you with the corners, you're gonna be running out there. You want to be playing man against some of those wide receivers. And by the way, when you run man, then you're also making yourself more susceptible to Russell Wilson and him getting out and running. So I suspect I suspect that the Cowboys will be running a lot more zone try to keep things from getting behind them and trying to manage you know, I don't know,

I don't I forget the term dave. You might remember what what Brian used to call. It is like a rally and tackle kind of defense where you kind of just stay back and as soon as the ball gets completed and then you run up and you try to make the tackle. I almost think you have to. Yeah, you gotta kind of employ that kind of defense. You can't be I don't think you can run a lot of man with these corners up against those wide receivers.

I just don't, you know, not trying to be funny here, but but when did Anthony Brown got hurt last week? Right in Wednesday's practice or Thursday's practice, I mean, hurt his ribs for three for three weeks. I don't know what they're doing in practice, but I'm just saying maybe it's a more of a like, let's let's take Diggs back a little bit. He's banged up a little bit. He's gonna be fine, but let's don't rush him out there. And this. You know, you mentioned the movie The Program

the other day. I mean, when people watch that movie, they see practice, that's what people think about when they go to training camp. They think, oh, it's gonna be like that movie where they just Oklahoma drill the whole time. I don't know what's happening, but I'm saying it got physical enough for Anthony Brown out three weeks. Maybe they're just trying to hold Diggs. I don't know. Yep. All right, um, let's move on. Give me a quick update two on

what we know about DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyron Smith. What have we heard there? DeMarcus is back. I believe his wife went into labor yesterday. I assume there were no complications, so congrats to them. But he's back. Mike McCarthy said he was going to start with the rehab team and try to work his way in, so again, I mean, you know, keep an eye on it, but I feel optimistic about that too. Tyring not so much. I think

he's with the rehab today. So that's two days in a row where I don't think he's going to be involved in the you know, the football portions of practice. So I leaned toward thinking this is another week where they don't have Tyron Smith. And and you know, I when I talked to Stephen yesterday and that interview is going to go up on our site today. I asked about Lyle Collins, he's eligible to come back next next week. His answer was, you know, we're going to see how

it goes. You know, it's a long season. You know, we're not trying to rush anyone back. So I kind of the sense that maybe not next week. Yeah, that's cool. I don't know. I have a feeling that they may be a package deal, Tyrn and Lyle. They may just be back about the same time. Not on purpose, but just that might be the way this thing later this year, oh later this next month, next month sometimes which is you know next month. Well, but I mean when I just did that read of it and that's next month

the Browns. You know, I was gonna say, it's easy to feel like you don't have to rush him back when you're going against the no name front like Seattle. But I made that joke yesterday, like, let's see how urgent they feel about these injuries when Miles Garrett's on the tape next week. Yeah, it's a whole different prospect when you're having to guard against Tim versus some of the guys that they're going to run out this week. Yeah, all right, let's let's move on. Let's talk a little

bit more about this Dallas offense versus Seattle defense. And I asked Bucky this question. I want to ask you guys this question. You look at again, he threw out some of the numbers of how bad their past defense is and how good the rush defense is. And you look at that, and you say, cowboys have to be salivating. Dak has to be salivating. The receivers have to be salivating at the opportunity to be able to carve this defense up. But that all being said, you also want

to keep the ball out of Russell Wilson's hand. So I don't know that you want to necessarily be bombing and just you know, three and out, And because that's the risk if you're going up tempo and you're moving quick, your defense is now back out on the field. So which way I'm gonna go around the table? Which way

would you opt? Would you opt for? Hey, we're gonna just really try to pound Zeke and try to control the clock and try to control the game, or do you say, hey, our best option for every single game we're gonna play is to score a bunch of points. So if we get in a track meet, guess what we think. We think it favors us to be in

a track meet. Let Nicholas start with you place him up, let's run and you have to because if Seattle's gonna play that way and put Jamal Adams in the box, of course their secondary sucks because of it, because one of their best safeties just going up in the box. I mean like he's leaving those people out there out to drive because that's what they have to do. I'm not saying it's a selfish play. I'm saying Seattle's thinking we've got to help and put him up closer into

the line of scrimmage. But by doing that, it's leaving those corners and say in that other safety exposed. So I think you got to take that advantage right there. I think you gotta, you know, throw the ball and score. You got you gotta put up some points and you know, just hold on tight for the end because you have to. You have really no other way. Amber. I think that when you're facing an opponent, you have to try to

attack your opponent by their weakest point. And with the Cowboys having three great wide receivers and then a quarterback that has shown that he's capable of making those throws and connecting with their his receivers, I think that that's a I mean, I love seek and I think they always need to try to run the ball as much as they can, but in this scenario, I think that they have to take advantage of that week point for the Seattle defense and really put to use their three

great receivers and Dak's arm. Dave ask me, yeah, both barrels. Let's go like you both barrels all the time every week. It doesn't matter. You don't invest these resources into the passing game if you're not going to use them four hundred and fifty yards last week. I know they were climbing out of ale, but you have that capability, you don't shelve it. Passing is how you win in today's NFL. And then if you if you're fortunate enough to build a second a lead, especially in the second half, then

you let Zeke go to work. When everybody's tired from chasing the receivers all day, then you let Zeke do his thing. I think that's that's the formula for success. The Cowboys really haven't had the opportunity to do it yet. They fell behind early to the Rams, they fell way way behind to the Falcons. So hopefully they can utilize that strategy a little better this week, because this defense seems susceptible. But that's that's what I want to see

him do every week. You know that was perfect set up, Dave, Because I have a little NuGet I'm going to drop on you guys. I was doing some research last night and I saw this, and I don't know if you guys may not be as surprised by it, but I was shocked at this number. Right now, through two games, Zeke is third in the NFL in rush attempts. Now,

that's two games with the Cowboys have fallen behind. One of them they fell massively behind, and you would think in those games running back in the running game completely goes out of the window. But he's right now. He has forty four rush attempts. He is set third in the NFL um in rush attempts and also third in the league right now in rush yards. Of one hundred

and eighty five. How surprised are you that the Cowboys, despite the fact that they've fallen behind in these games, have still been able to keep the running game going and actually to add a clip that's higher than the vast majority of the league. Yeah. Well, the thing about it is, I don't know who's who's first and second on that list. I would imagine maybe Chubb or or maybe Henry. But the thing is is who are the top backs in the league? McCaffrey, Hurt, Barkley Hurt, Levion, Bell, Hurt.

I mean, a lot of these guys that are getting them, they usually get a lot of these carries or a lot of these touches are well, he's not one of the best, but he didn't want it to be up there. He's making a lot of money. I mean, I mean, Dalvin Cooks probably got some too, But I mean, I guess it is surprising. But but you know, they still ran the ball with Zeke a little bit there to try to get back at you know, into the game.

They got it close enough where they didn't have to completely abandon, so that that was that was important scoring to make it twenty to seven twenty nine to ten, all that kind of stuff that that made it close enough we didn't have to just throw it out the window. Here's a better staff for you, Derek. I'm looking at it right now. It's it's Derrick, Henry, Josh Jacobs, and

then Zeke. Zeke is the only one in the top four carry you know, the top four leaders and carries, who's averaging more than four yards of carry, which tells me they're they're using him a little bit more efficiently than the other guys. But that was gonna be my answer. It's not super surprising because the Cowboys are probably one of like six teams in the entire league that has a real deal featured back where there's no real split. And yeah, I mean sa Quan and McCaffrey are two

of those, and they're hurts. So now you're talking there might only be four teams that have a real deal feature back. So um, yeah, it's not super surprising. Um, I would like to see them be a little less predictable, I think. I mean, they've been fine, but again, I want to throw the ball. But having said that, Zeke has been explosive and efficient enough that I can't complain too much like I remember it was the Cowboys first

play of the fourth quarter against the Falcons. They handed off to Zeke on first and ten and I was so mad at the play call. And then Zeke carried three people eight extra yards for eleven yards. So if you're doing that, it's fine by me. Absolutely. What do

you think ever, I mean, it's not really surprising. I feel like we've talked about this in previous years, where maybe we don't think that Zeke is getting the ball enough, and then you just know that those little yards end up adding up, and he still makes it up there in the top of the least list of running backs. And I feel like week one, honestly, I don't remember how much he got as far as yards, but it seemed like he was the only one carrying the offense

at least on Week one. So it's not surprising to me to see where he stands right now. All right, we're going to take our final break. When we come back, I want to ask you guys a little bit about I know that Bucky talked about Jamal Adams and how

they're using him to blitz. I want to talk to you guys about how concerned you are, particularly looking at how Dion Jones was able to blitz last week and create some problems with the Cowboys early in the game, and how you think that translates to this next game against the Seahawks. Will do that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio since eighteen sixty five. Stetson Hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas, and Stetson is proud to be on the field with

America's team. Want to show your Texas and team pride too, You can by purchasing your own Stetson. You can look just like how the flag guys do on field at every home game. Stetson Hats the official crown of all self respecting Cowboys and your favorite football team. Get yours today at Shop Dallas Cowboys dot com or at Stetson dot Com. I'm Jay No, a check former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Back in the day, I was the guy who always got the tough yards and that's

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Cowboys The Jack Black Starter ten bucks, free shipping. We're back in the tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new doctor pepper and cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor bad cream soda. Is he a new combone. Let's music to my ears? Okay, doctor music to my ears and mouth, new Doctor pepper and cream sodas Just back to the break. The next time you go to at and T Stadium. Make sure you know before you go you need to wear a mask, keep distance, be prepared

for cashleist transactions. Please be aware of all safe stadium policies prior to arriving at AT and T Stadium. Visit Dallas Cowboys dot com slash stay Safe Stadium for details. Welcome back. It is the final segment of the Breakway Life from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star and let's get some more conversation going on this Cowboys

offense versus Seattle defense. Last week, it was noticeable early in the game how Dion Jones was being utilized to blitz the Cowboys and on one of those created a big Playum, talk to me about Jamal Adams and knowing that that's how they're they're one to use Jamal Adams, are using him in the in the in the in the pass rush. Are you had all concerned about situations where you got guys blitzing that aren't necessarily your typical guys. It's not your front four, it's not your lineback because

you got a safety blitzing. And in situations like this again with an offensive line, that's why you want to keep continuity is because all these things, when you have guys kind of showing up to blitz, it's all about knowing who's gonna get whom. And now you've got this new kind of player that moves all around the field and is blitzing from different points. How concerned are you, guys with an offensive line that's had little, relatively little

time together. Let's start first with you, Dave, super duper concerned, because that's that's the problem is, Like you know, especially against this pass rush, I think it's a favorable matchup. Or you know, if there's ever a week to have two backup tackles, it's probably against an opponent like this in terms of the one on ones. But that's what good defenses do, is they don't just let you go

one on one against the defensive end. Seattle or excuse me, Atlanta overloaded the left side of their line Terrence Steele and didn't have any idea what was going on. In those first couple series, Dion Jones had two sacks before anybody or two pressures at least before anybody could blink. And now you talk about a guy like Jamal Adams who can do it at a high level off the edge up the a gap like pretty much wherever they

want him to. And I think that's gonna be a heck of a problem for two guys who have started. What this is Steele's third game, and it'll be I think nights third start as well. Yeah, so communication is going to have to be key there because I can just imagine them, you know, messing up who's got what and passing guys off to each other. And I would imagine ability will create a sack or two or at least some pressures for sure. Amber. This is gonna sound simple,

and it looks perfect in my head. And I close my eye and I envisioned this game. I see the offensive line pushing everyone up to the front, Dad taking several steps back, getting out of the pocket and going back as much as he can, and then finding a wide receiver open and connecting with them. That sounds amazing, but I know that's how the NFL works and how

as simple as that. But that's the ideal. So with that being said, I'm just hoping that Kellen Moore is able to utilize Dak's feet and legs a lot more in this game to get out and try to run away. And I know, Dad got hit several times last week and it did not look pretty at all. But at the same time, I think you really need to create a combination of that, given the the guys that you're playing against with and then the old line that you

currently have. Yeah, I mean it sounds simple, you know, but you gotta just fill the void I mean where he's coming from. I mean that's where I think Atlanta tried to do that with linebacker Blitz and Dalton Schultz ended up hurting them down down the line. You know that, as Bucky had pointed out a couple of times this week, that they slow I mean they rushed to the tempo,

which slowed down the Falcons rush. But also I thought, you know, getting the tied end involved a little bit more, uh in putting Schultz out there, that that made the Atlanta have to account for him. So it's gonna be it's just gonna be a chess match. I mean, yeah, Jamal Adams gonna do some things they haven't seen before. But I mean you have to you have to pay people.

You know, when they Blitz I mean Bill Partslsho say it all the time, A good quarterback wants them to blitz you you begged them to blitz, because that's gonna free up the middle. And as long as your guys can get it blocked for a second, you got receivers who can win one on one, you should be So I think that this could actually help the Cowboys. Yeah,

I think. I think the tackles are one thing, But I think this is the kind of game where we're going to find out the delta between Travis Frederick and Joe Looney. Because when you have a team like this defensively that is predicated on showing you so many different looks, and they have a player who jumps around from all these different spots, and somebody's going to have to make sure that everybody's on the same page, especially having some

inexperienced guys on the outside. Make sure everybody's on the same page with who's gonna do what right? And and this is where we've always heard Travis Frederick was great. He had the ability to be able to diagnose what was going on and be able to make the right kind of line calls and adjustments, and that helped this team, this offensive line be as as efficient as possible. I'm

I want to see in this kind of situation. How many times do we see the Cowboys end up in a situation where they're not really prepared for something, something comes at them, they don't adjust well, and it ends up being a disastrous moment for them. So I think this is this is a critical game, particularly for Joe Looney in my opinion, just as much as it tackles, because we're going to see how well he can manage that part of doing his job as the center of

this offensive line. All right, Amber, give us some questions here that you've gotten from fans. I think we got time for a couple before him, before we in the show. Okay, the most common question that I've been seeing a lot lately is why are are in the Cowboys bringing some guys in and signing them on defense? Obviously special especially in the secondary. We've talked about Earl Thomas a whole lot,

but other than that, realistically, what guys are they? Are they really out there that the Cowboys could actually use? I thought it was kind of ironic that not only is Snax Harrison about to be going on visits, but he's visiting the Seahawks. Obviously, even if they signed him, he's not going to play in this game. But a guy that a lot of Cowboys fans have clamored for over the line a few months is it might be signing with a team they're gonna play. I would definitely

be interested in doing that. I think Snax even lives here in DFW, But between Dantaripo and Antoine Woods, it just doesn't seem like there's a ton of interest there, which it's a bummer for me, but it is what it is. I guess yeah. I think the other thing

to consider here is just think about the numbers. Before teams could have what seven guys on their practice squad, and this year they can have sixteen sixteen, So that's nine additional players all thirty two teams that normally would be out and as free agents that you could go and kind of pick, you know, who you might want to bring in if there's an injury or whatever that are now on other teams. Now you can maybe go

get a guy somebody's practice squad. But my point is like the number of players that are available to you is much less than the number of players that would normally be available to you. And that's why I think right now there are slim pickings going and looking on the free agency market, just guys that are not on a team at all, like the guy and guys you're gonna find out there. We aren't the kind of guys that are going to come in and immediately be able to help you and help you in a real way.

Like they're guys that have some serious concerns, whether they're injuries, whether they're really old, and just kind of their bodies are kind of crappy. I think that's the thing with Delaney Walker, Like a guy with that kind of production still being out there, there's probably something to the fact that his body's just not able to play football at the cable at the level that you need him. It's a good point. I mean, thirty you know, that's about

three hundred players more on practice squads. Not to mention, it's easier to get a guy on injured reserve. Not to mention, you got some guys that have opted out before the year, So you're probably looking at over four hundred players that typically are out there that aren't. So it does kind of dwindle it down a little bit, all right. I think we can all agree that this

game is gonna be a battle between offenses. So this person is asking between the two offenses and looking at what Bucky said on the secondary, what offense are you expecting to actually go out and score more points or being more productive? So you're just asking us to pick the winner here on a Thursday, I guess. So. I mean, I don't want to. I don't want to give too much of it away, but I guess I probably will anyway.

But I mean, I mean, the Cowboys have the superior talent on offense, even even with Tyran and Lyle Out. I think they're they still have more talent on their line. They have a deeper receiver corps, even though the Seahawks have good receivers obviously. I think I give the Seahawks the edge at tight end, obviously, but I think the Cowboys have the edge everywhere else except quarterback, which is the most important position in the sport. I obviously think

the world of Dak. I thought I thought I was gonna combust with pride when Bucky called him one of the five best quarterbacks in the league yesterday. I agree with that. He said, ruff up into the time, stopping are talking romantic. He said, he's getting there. Okay, He's one of the top he's one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Says he's Frisco. He's not Dallas. He's in Frisco. He's getting there. He's one of the He's one of the five best quarterbacks in the league.

The problem is that Russ is arguably the best. Uh. It's him and Mahomes in my opinion, So that is going to be very tough for the Cowboys to overcome. Well, I will say this, Dave, I actually think this is one of those games. And McCarthy actually mentioned it this

morning somebody asked him about it. I think this is one of those, you know, those games it kind of helps you figure out where you are, and I think just like it's going to be like that for the Cowboys, they're gonna figure out where they are based on how they play this team. I think it's the same thing with Dad, because I do think this is gonna be an offensive game, and I think both teams are gonna have opportunities, and ultimately it's gonna come down who who

actually blinks first offensively. And I think this will be a good great, a good grade a grading opportunity for Dak If Dad can go into this game and match Russell Wilson point for point and ultimately end up putting his team in a chance to win. I think you really do start now talk saying, hey, he's every bit as much in that top five in the NFL as any other quarterback you'll make an argument for because he's gonna have to outduel this guy in order for the

Cowboys to win. In my opinion, sure, yeah, I mean, and that's what happened when in the Falcons game, when those those two tackles that were out and you know, he kept kind of you know, carrying them back into the game, and he was he was the best one on the field. So yeah, I mean, this is a good benchmark game for him, uh to to get there. And you know, it doesn't matter be as far as the negotiations aren't going to happen, as far as contract goes and all that until the end of the year.

But you know, and ultimately how they finished is going to be the biggest key for him. But but games like this will be member, you know, memorable if if it's if it's one of those duals shootout type games. I mean, if Tony Romo beats Peyton Manning. If you know, that changes his whole career. He got close, he didn't do it, though he was dueling, but he didn't beat him.

And I think people still kind of remember that this is a This is a potential legacy builder for sure, because and I know how stupid this sounds, but if they handed out the MVP after two games, it would be Russ. Yeah. Again, I know that that's absurd, but he is playing the best football in the league through two weeks. So if Dak beats him in a national you know, it's gonna be the Fox Afternoon game of the of the week, whatever they call it, It'll be one of the only games on TV in that window.

The whole country is going to see it. If he outduels Russ, it's going to do a lot for his reputation. All Right, guys, appreciate you. We're back tomorrow at eleven thirty. We'll be giving you our predictions on what's going to happen to Sunday Cowboys versus Seahawks. Till then for Nick Eaman, Dave helm and Amber Garcia. I am Derek Eagleton. 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.