Cowboys Break: Keep The Change?

We're li from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star and today we're gonna talk offense. This is one of our final two shows before we take a little break here before training camp, and so we're gonna do a two part series year. The first part we'll be

on offense. Today we'll talk about some of the changes that this team has made, where we see areas that they may need still need to do a little bit more, and just our overall thoughts on the offense based on everything that's happened through draft and free agency on the offense. And then next week we'll jump into defense and do the exact same thing before we head out for a little bit of rest. How's everybody doing a name, good, good, great, awesome,

let's jump into it. I was looking through the as I was preparing for this show. I was looking through the list of changes that have happened on the offensive side of the ball. And I don't know that I've ever remembered a time now. My memory is really bad. So that's why I'm gonna ask you guys this question. I ever remember a time when they've made so few

real changes. I mean, when you look at the offense, there are a couple pieces that they changed here and there, but overall, it really, it really is gonna look a lot like it looked last season. You guys agree with that. On the field, yes, but you know, there's a new offensive coordinator and there's a new quarterback coach, so that's

the biggest changes there. Those are things that you don't necessarily will see and well we'll you know, only time will tell how much will it'll actually show on the field. But as far as personnel goes, you know, other than a sixteen year veteran, you know, future Hall of Famer that came back, that's about it. Though. Yeah, it's a good team. Though, it's a good offense, and you don't need to change a lot of things. No respect for the nine year veteran Pro Bowl receiver. No, and again

I'm not saying they didn't make any change. I'm just saying just overall, No, it weren't a lot of changes. I'm like, I'm I don't know if I agree with you or not, Like I'm just trying to think. I mean, on one hand, like you haven't seen a lot of wholesale changes from year to year, But on the other hand, like we're only three years removed from Tony Romo, you know,

So yeah, I guess I see. I mean it's you know, Cole Beasley swap out Cole Beasley for Randall cop and that's really and yeah, I mean, I know, Jason Witten's back, but all the other tight ends are the same, and it's not like he's a new face. So yeah, you're probably right, I think there. I mean, I see it as a lot of changes offensively, offensively because you have restructured your whole offense since a few years ago, and it takes a while when you're rebuilding a team, which

I don't think was expected by anyone. But that's just how it kind of turned out, right, now you have a completely different team, and when you do that, it takes you a few years to get to that point where you're able to kind of glue all the pieces together and give it your all and make it a run to like an actual run closer to the Super Bowl. You know, Yeah, I get what you're saying. If you're talking about over the last few years, then yeah, I

think I think it was being Dave. I think we were having this conversation a while back, maybe a few maybe a week or two ago, about the fact that they've completely flipped this offense. I mean, this wide receiver group if you go back a few years now, just last year. Obviously they want a whole lot of changes, but if you go back a few years, I mean

you're talking about some big changes overall. They've changed their wide receiver group almost together, if you want to go back to twenty sixteen, almost all this offense is relatively new, except for the offensive line, right. So yeah, from that standpoint, they have they've completely flipped this thing. But just in this last year, it doesn't seem like there's been aline. It's drastically different, kind of like a glacier, you know, like they move an inch at a time, and it

seems really slow. But then all of a sudden, all this crazy stuff has happened, because yeah, we're two years removed from the receiver corps being Dez, Terrence Cole, Bryce Butler, Lucky white Head. Yeah, and now it's like none of those guys are all gone, which I guess it's the same from November of last year. You know, Cooper Gallup starting, you bring in Randall cover places calls. So it's a little bit of both. So let's let's look at this

big picture. Let's go back to twenty eighteen, and I want you guys to tell me, coming out of twenty eighteen, what did you think was the biggest issue, the biggest challenge for this offense from what you saw in eighteen versus going into nineteen and what they were going to need to fix. Let's start, okay, coaching, Yeah, I mean to me, that's what I've seen. And again I always use the same example with Chris Rushar and what he's able to do. I think the Cowboys do have a

very talented team. They've had a talented team for several years. But it's how you coach them, how you try to place them in the best scenarios possible, and I don't think I honestly have not felt that way when you watch the offense play and what the coordinator did. Hopefully Kellen Moore is able to bring a whole different game that is able to be more creative and help out Jason Garrett keep his job. But we'll have to see what happens there and how much freedom Jason Garrett allows

Kellen to have. I think that's really well said, because I was going to say, like, my biggest problem with the offense from last year was probably you know, their offensive line wasn't dominant enough to just play bullyball, which it's the NFL. Like you're probably spoiled watching the Cowboys

thinking that was possible. You know, they were so good in fourteen and so good in sixteen, but that's not the norm, and so they couldn't do it last year, and they couldn't adapt, Like, you know, if you couldn't just do the basic stuff well and run people over, they didn't really have an answer after that. And you can blame I mean, you can very easily blame that on coaching. I think they were predictable and stubborn and their Plan b's and Plant c's didn't really ever seem

to go anywhere. Yeah, I agree with that. I don't think that they they can, just like they've said, push people around, and it was evident in the Indianapolis game and the Rams game and they got beat up up front and not having Frederick. It was a good replacement there. Like you said, Plan B. I mean it was a good replacement and Joe Looney, But Joe Looney is not gonna beat out Travis Frederick if he's healthy. We know that. So there's a drop off and it was shown in

those games when you really faced some dominant lines. And let's be honest, Zach Martin didn't play that great in that Rams game either, So it was across the board. But I just think that the red zone that's when you really find out if you could knock people off the ball, and they struggled there. So they needed to They need to step up with their offensive line. I mean, there's all this money invested in this great line, but

sometimes it doesn't show up that way. Will I agree with what you just said, but like I'm I'm reluctant to put it on the line themselves because you lose Travis Frederick before the season starts. Zack Martin was playing with a bum knee. Basically all year. You're rotating rookies and injured guys at left guard all season long. Tyrant Smith has had his injury concerns, which you know, no

excuses in the NFL. I get that, But you got a scheme ways to work around that too, instead of just business as usual coaching, as if your line is as good as a use and your quarterback's got to be able to throw out of it, and sometimes he can and sometimes he can't. I mean, that's that's not his strength. Is just like, Okay, we're down by seventeen points, let's go and throw ourselves back in the game. That's

not the way this offense is structured. Maybe it can be though now when you get a little bit more pieces in place. But that all being said, do you think that that's been their strategy for how they address that or do you think they've done something different this offseason in order to address that, because let's let's look at the bigger picture of that. It's scoring. Really, they just weren't able to score as many points as you'd

like them to. Twenty second in the league and scoring, Uh, they weren't scoring about twenty I think it was twenty one points per game. It's not great, especially in the NFL where points are I mean there are a lot of teams scoring a lot of points. You think they want to score more than that. You could call it. They address that and you could call it bad if you want to. Can't. I mean, twenty second in the league isn't horrible, but it's not great, you know, if

it's below mediocre? True, very true, it's very true. Yeah, if Jason Witten doesn't help them in the red zone, and then why is he back? You know, like, what what is he doing if he can't come in here and be better than the tight ends that that you have and be a better blocker or or you know whatever. He's got to be back here for a reason and he's not just like, well, there's open door policy whenever you want to come back. No, I mean, he's got to be able to help him and I'm not seeing

he won't. I'm just saying that's got to be how do you address it? That's one way you bring in a guy that's that's headed to Canton. Hope, hopefully he still has something left and he's better than Charlton and Jolyn, because if he is, that's an upgrade. Obviously, this is a glass half full projection, but I like to think that bottle bottle all the way full. Right there. The hope is I think that they've added some pieces that can do good things better, if that makes sense. Case

in point. You know, Cole Beasley, really good player, gets great separation. I know he caught the hail Mary against the Giants, but for the vast majority of his career we saw him do all of his work within eight yards of the line of scrimmage. Not trying to undersell him as a player, but you can take that away. We saw it. We saw it for two years. You can take that away. You can sit on him, sit on those routes. You know. The Jaguars didn't feel that way,

and he made him pay. But a lot of teams understood that and he wasn't a factor in a lot of games. I think if he's healthy, Randall Cobb do a lot of that short area stuff. He's also a more dynamic downfield receiver. You saw that for years in Green Bay. He does things that I don't think it was realistic to expect from Beasley. I hate to heap optimism on a rookie, but Tony Pollard, you know, we've

seen what jet sweeps and stuff can do. You know, Lucky Whitehead, going back a few years, what they wanted from Tavon Austin what we saw at times. But he's more of a well rounded player. He can function as a running back, so they seem to think he can take some of that load off of Zeke while also being more of that gadget guy who can make those

chunk plays and do those special things. So I think if these guys play the way that they hope they can, I think they offer the same stuff, but better, more well rounded, and I think that could make them more dangerous. You hit the nail on the head with the kind

of you went through some of these. But what I want to do is I want to go round the table now and I'm going to throw out the guy that they had before and the guy or guys that replaced them, and I want to just get an idea of whether you think they're better or worse in those areas. Let's start first the running back position. Davey talked about Tony Pollard. Basically, the Cowboys let Rod Smith walk, which was no surprise to anyone, and they sighed they drafted

two guys, Tony Pollard, Mike Weber Amber. Are they better at the running back depth than they were last year? I think they are. They have to be. I mean, it's not like Rod Smith was giving you anything that would want to make you keep him at all being productive, so they have to be. These guys are young, they I mean Rod wasn't old either, but it's just something different, refreshing, and that gives you more hope than what you would

have had with Rod Smith back here. Yes, and no, that they're better at running back, probably because he's could be more dynamic. I bet you Keith O'Quinn doesn't think so. And special teams, so because he was a he was a core player on the special teams unit, and so every time one of those guys leaves, you got to replace him with someone. And that could be a linebacker, that could be a tight end or whatever. So it

doesn't mean it's not replaceable. But as for I don't think Paula is going to do what Smith does online and special teams. Let's see if someone that's the trigging part is like specifically here for this position, whether you need more production from special teams or running back when s has to come out. Yeah, So I mean, I mean, and you're right, all that sounds good until on a seventy four yard punt return goes and gets you to lose the game and you're like, guy, they were off

here or whatever. But but I mean, I think you're willing to take that chance because you can replace him with other guys and you can figure out how to how to replace that. You do need a little bit more juice on offense, and he gives you that. So I will say offensively, yes, upgrade. Do you think Mike Webber ends up being his best shot at being able to even make this team is being able to play special teams, because if not, Darius Jackson still sitting there,

and I think he's somewhat of a capable back. We haven't really seen him a lot, but from what we've seen, he looks like he could be capable back. Special teams will be the difference from Michael I think Webber, I mean, from what it sounds like, he's he's learning this game. He's trying to figure this out. His head is spending a little bit and this isn't This is not even easy transition for anybody. And I think it's he's a

little bit more gifted as a running back. But it's very similar I think to what happened last year with both Scarborough. I mean you look at both Scarborough and you're like, he's making the team and then look like yeah, and then you know he's productive at a at a pretty decent college, and and I think that you know a right same with Webber, And uh, Webber's a little bit more of a running back, but I still think he's got that challenge of trying to figure everything out.

It's not gonna be easy for him to make special teams, I do think. And yeah, they both Darius and Webber need to do special teams, and we've seen Darius do it. But at the risk of like lessening the drama. I don't know about that because Tony Pollard is not you know,

he's not your bell cow guy. If if Zeke is unavailable for whatever reason, and I know they think the world of jamaz Ola Walle but I don't think they really want to go down that road either, So like they need a third running back, and if something were to happen to his Zeke, like I said last week, maybe they'd sign one. But they're still gonna be a third running back on this team. Absolutely. But my point is Garis Jackson would be like, oh yeah, for sure.

I mean, I wouldn't write DJ out at all. He told me last week he's he hasn't felt this good since before he got tore up his knee when he was in Cleveland, which you know, I know guys say that every spring, but he's he's a fourth year veteran, like he's been through this, so I think it would be a mistake to completely write him out of the picture. Yeah. Absolutely, all right, let's move on. Let's talk about the tight end position. Cowboys. Let Jeff Swain walk. Obviously, they got

Jason Witten back. Are they better there than they were before? In a chorus? Yes, are they? Oh? Okay, I got a disint. Are they better than they were last year? Yeah? Okay, that's the question. Yes, But I'm like, I'm not just sold that the tight end position is like this strength now, Like I don't feel that way, and neither. Okay, we'll talk about just making sure we're I'm answering the right question. We're the point right now, better than they were, a

lot better. Whatever they did this offseason, was that better than what they had last year? Yes? Okay, all right, all right, let's move on to the wide receiver position. Cole Beasley headed out to Buffalo Terrence Williams. I don't even know if he's been signed by anybody. I don't think he has. Cowboys. Then go and get Randall Cobb. And you know, I threw in there just for kicks a little bit with Cedric Wilson, a guy that didn't play for them last year, and and so I'm kind

of excited to see what he can bring. But he's a new piece for them in some respects. We'll see if he can actually make the team and if he can actually provide something for them, because that depth charts tough in the wide receiver room. But looking at where they were last year to where they are this year, are they better? Yes? If that's all we're answering. Yes, yeah, I mean, and I think you actually miss and not.

I mean, the two guys that are gonna make them better than they were last year are Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper because Cooper. This is a whole offseason that they didn't have. He was just on the fly. And if that's on the fly and it can be better than you know, sky's the limit there. And then same with Gallup. I think he has a chance to really be a dynamic player in this offense. And just those are the those are the big steps that I think.

I don't know about the difference between Cobb and Beasley and then all those other guys you mentioned someone's going to emerge, and it sounds like John V. Johnson's going to Canton. So I mean, I'll you know, he's he's seen those before, right, We're seeing those every year. Yeah, I'll tell you what though, just out here he's he's got he's got some some juice. That's great. You know what I want to see with those kind of guys. I want to see after about two weeks of training camp,

what are they doing? Because we see these guys every year that will kind of catch your eye during OTA's even when you get to training camp the first week, Oh my god, they're doing great. How we're gonna manage to keep them on the roster. He's on the week, right,

I get it. And then at the time you get the second week, it's like they just kind of he's on this team right now, Lance Lenor, he's a training camp champ two years right right, Yeah, has to tell you who they're not beating his Byron Jones, you know, I mean, that's that's a that's a good thing. He's a Pro Bowl No, I'm just saying he's not out there. I mean, he's a Pro Bowl cornerback. That that. I mean, all of those guys. You know, when you lose a player like that and you know he's not taking the

reps and stuff like that. But I just think that overall, I think those two top receivers and then cop are going to make the whole group better. The thing what also helps, going back to your question of being better and other than last year, just knowing what you have a wide receiver somewhat you have a better idea of the group. You're not starting the season with the mindset of, oh, let's just have all these wide receivers in here and

try them out and try this and that. Now you have I mean, they're still going to try different things and put guys different places, but you have a clear vision of what you have in the wide receiver group. Yeah, I love this top three, the top three wide receivers. I think that's a good group. And if they can all stay healthy, I think the Cowboys can really get some production out of the wide receiver right receiver position.

And the one guy that seems to be forgotten in this is is Alan Hearns because Hearns as the fourth guy and he's you know, saw him on the field the other day doing some pretty good stuff. Did not expect him to be doing what he's doing after seeing that, in like, I didn't even know if he'd be back again. So he has a chance to really help them. That gives them some quality depth that can do a bunch

of different things. I've been saying for a while that it's like, well, your top three jobs are safe, and then everything else is a free for all. I think it's probably the top four. I think Hurns is on this team because of his He's a veteran, he can play both inside and out, but he is beloved. Can't understand how much I think that means, and so especially

in this organization. And you know, and we're leaving out a guy that was picked eighth overall in the draft a few years ago, and I think Austin, Yeah, another wild card. Don't don't know what they're going to do with him. That'll be an interesting one, just because you know, obviously there's there's a lot of talent there, but you

just haven't seen it yet. I'll say this about watching just a couple of practices that we get to see, we get to see one another one today, it just seems like the guys are just wide open, like like there's a guy always running free. And I don't know if that says anything good about the defense. I'm just saying that this offense, it just feels like there's somebody wide open, like a running back here. And you know,

I understand there's no pass rush show. You can sit there and go to your seventh read, but it just feels that way. You know, that may suggest and again I'd have to look a lot closer to know that, but it may suggest that maybe they're scheming guys open. You know, something that I don't think this offense has really done a lot of over the last several years, but you see a lot of other teams doing it quite well, being able to figure out ways to get

guys open. By scheming it versus man on me and you can beat your guy, you know, I mean, then again, get d Law out there to rush, you know. Yeah, let's see. Let's see how how much time you know Dad has. But he's throwing the ball well, and it seems like he's making good reads. All right, let's take

our first break. When we come back, I'm gonna ask the question of all the things we've talked about in all the positions on the offense, which position still give give gives you reason to be concerned going into the twenty nineteen season. We'll talk about that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Well, a player can look good on paper, it's one he's out on the field that you really find out what

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At the start, we're gonna be ending today at ten to fifteen because we have locker room and coach garrets press conference, no Prescot press Scott is just locker room and then practice with these guys will head out other way around. I know, but I'm just saying fans don't. They won't be able to go. So it's directly you're right correct. So but we're gonna get some stuff for you guys, have some articles and some videos that will be producing today out of all that stuff, so you

can see what's going on again this week. It's the final week of OTA mini camps start next week. I think that's gonna be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Um, and then everybody goes away, except when we won't go away. We won't be on air, but the players and coaches they go away. They get away for a little bit, and we will be heading a training camp in late July. So then it's that it's that dead period that we

all dread. I guess all the listeners probably probably dread a little more than we do, but that little dead period and then we'll be back up and running an ox end of July. All right, So let's talk about We're talking about the offense, and I wanted to get

your opinions on the on the overall offense. So thinking about everything we talked about, all the players, whether if they've changed out not being a whole lot, um, is there a position on the offense and if so, what is it and why, um that you still have concern

about going into the twenty nineteen season center center. Yeah, because we saw last year that you know that Looney can he can do a decent job or a good job, but but you know, they struggle against some of the overpowering defensive fronts and we'll see, And Frederick keeps saying, I don't know until I get on the pads on so we'll see. He's not going to commit to saying I feel better or whatever. So who knows if they've upgraded there. You just don't know if they have. Yeah.

One of the things about that syndrome, from what I understand, is the strength is the part that goes. And so you're right. Until he puts on pads and has antoine woods in front of him and he's having to move antoine woods against his will, that's when he's gonna find out if he's strong enough to do it. And so

you know you are you are gambling. We'll not gambling because you still have Joe Looney there, but but it is still a guess until you get to that point where you're having to see if he can really do his job. Absolutely, And I mean, you know, Connor Williams looks great, but it's it'd be interesting to see how the left guard position shakes out. Um, Tyrant Smith, you always wonder about his durability. Um, how's Lyle Collins gonna? You know, it seemed like he bounced back after the

coaching change. You know at midpoint last season. How does he kind of carry that momentum going forward? I mean, just based on bodies, there's all the reason in the world to feel like the offensive line should be better this year, but gotta gotta see it. Yeah, it's offensive line overall, as you're um and a tight end. I mean, you know, Jason Witten is definitely going to the Hall of Fame, but he took a year off and I

think he would even admit that. You know, he wasn't as good in twenty seventeen as he was in even two thousan you know twelve, that was when he set the record, right, So you know, he's thirty seven years old and we still don't really know about Jarwin and Schultz behind him, so and feel better about it with him there. But I, like I said before, I don't you know, I don't think it's just this super strength

on the offense. Would you like to have seen them go out and do more at the tight end position this offseason? Whether that be in the draft, which questionable, whether you get somebody that late as far as you were picking, but even in free agency, do you think they should have done more? No? I don't think so, because yeah, whoever you draft in the second round, third round, fourth round, they're gonna have question marks. And and this is the the same with what you've got with Jarwin and Schultz.

I mean, like, you've got guys that I think would be comparable to anybody you would draft at that stage, So why not let them develop and see? And then you've got Witten, So I don't know what other guy you could bring in here. I just think that these guys need to grow and this is the time to do it. And now if it's this more of the same, then yeah, next year, you know. But but if Schultz or Jarwin are going to do anything, let's let him do it. It would have been an amazing year to

draft a tight end even at fifty eight. You know, if you really wanted to, you could have like trade it up for a Nerve Smith or you know, Jay Sternberger would have been there for you. But as soon as Witten decided to come back, you kind of just put all that on hold. And that's fine with me. I mean I kept saying, it's like, even, okay, you draft Jay Sternberger, like will he have the play strength

and the wherewithal to really get snaps? In this offense because Jason Witten is going to take some and then you still got these two young guys that you want to find out about. So where does a rookie fit into that? So if the alternative is Jay Sternberger being inactive or just wait until next year to address the problem, I'm fine with that. But that is a position where they probably need to spend some resources. I don't think it matters that they didn't do it this year, but

that day is coming. Are we writing off freeco? I mean to make the thing well, I mean, here's the deal. He's been this is going to be his fourth season I think to play football. Yeah, but I understand that, but that at some point you have to be able to make a decision to say, Okay, it doesn't matter that he's not played football at this point, we have to make a decision is he going to be able to play football at a high level? And if he's not, and if you think he's not, or do you think

it's gonna it's gonna require a lot more years. You really don't have a lot more years, right, No, I think that was it for him. As far as this is the make or break, I'm not saying he won't make the team. I'm just saying I don't think he gets any more chances of like, let's just let's develop him. This is it. I would never dream of writing him off as a chance to make the team because he's still here. Man, the depth chart doesn't really demand that.

You have to know, right, and I feel I mean, I feel like we've said make or break for him every year since his rookie year probably, so I'm not writing him off to make the team. But if he's going to make meaningful contributions again, I want to see it before I just believe that it's going to happen. Yeah, and I want to see it in a real game because I know he can box out you know, a practice squad. Yeah, he can do that in the preseason. That's not impressive anymore. So the question is it will

even be able to make the active roster. Now, you got Jason there every week last week, I mean last year he was active for what fifteen out of sixteen games. That was also because Jeff Swain was hurt for a good part of the year, So you know, I wonder, I wonder now what that means with Jason being here is he even if he's on this team, is he even going to get an opportunity to really show you anything? A lot of weird A lot of weird stuff there. I mean, they're going to keep a fullback, so that's

a spot. You know, do they keep three quarterbacks? Do they keep four tight ends? They've got an absurd amount of depth on the offensive line. How many guys do they feel like they want to keep there? I don't know. That's also the development of Schultz. It will be a part of that too, in jar Rom because last year, right at the end of training camp, he I mean, Schultz wasn't better than Rico last year that training game. Now, I think as the year went on, you saw he

improved a lot more and Rico kind of stayed right there. Sonny, he passed it, which is why you're a fourth round pick. And so as long as he keeps doing that, I think it'll be hard for Rico to make it. But if they get to the end of camp and it's close again, I don't know what happened. I mean, I'm not saying they're gonna cut Shoulta, just meaning I think they might keep a fourth tight end, giving him the I don't see, like, why would you keep four? They did last year. I get it last year, but I

don't think they've kept less than four. I just think they wanted to keep him and they just don't want him going to Yeah, but I mean, you gotta be smart about it. You've got other positions that you probably need a deeper, you know, depth there. But and then another one would be going back to your original question. I was going to mention the quarterback position, which hopefully something that you won't need during the year. As far as the backup quarterbacks, what I'm seeing in practice is

still doesn't excite me. You know, you see them completing some passes, Mason some, but at the same time, there's nothing that makes one of them stand out versus the other. It's very similar in a way. You know, they each have their own qualities, but nothing that really makes them stand out. And that concerns me in that aspect, because God forbid anything happens to Dad. But we know how

the NFL works and it's unpredictable. Any injuries can't happen any given moment, and I don't really feel comfortable with the backup position at this time. But let's talk about alternatives there. Let's assume for a second that there's some free agent out there that's a veteran that you think maybe we can go get him and bring him in once you get through a training camp, because you don't

feel very comfortable about those two. How comfortable do you feel with the idea that even though it's going to be a veteran, it will be a veteran that's coming into a system that they don't know having to now not get a lot of snaps, but be ready to jump in at a moment's notice to relieve if Dad should go down. Versus having these two guys that, regardless of what you think their skill level is right now,

they do it at least know the offense. They've been here for a while, and you feel maybe a little more comfortable with the idea that they can step in at a moment's notice and actually give you relief. That's one of those like it's a great idea in theory, but I mean, and I don't know this, we haven't seen enough of them. But like I think back to twenty fifteen, You're like, well, he's he's been here, He's

been here all through the offseason. He knows this, he knows that, and then like the game starts and you're like, this guy doesn't have it. He just doesn't, which you know, only time is gonna tell. Like yeah, I mean like basically my read on it, and not to write off Mike White too early or Cooper Rush for that matter, but like they're comfortable in the knowledge that they're probably screwed if dec gets hurt, Like that's my that's my read on it. You just think they know, well that

goes down. I mean, they're like, he's he's he's twenty, he'll be twenty six when the season starts. He's never like I don't think he's ever missed a snap, you know. I know he got hurt in Washington, but he came back. You know, he's never missed time. He's built like a tank. He's young and healthy. I think they're just like, you know, if something really horrendous happens to then that's just that's

just some really crappy luck. And we've got enough money to pay out everywhere else that we can't afford to have an eight million dollars a year backup, you know whatever, ten million dollars year backup sitting on our roster. And I'm not saying, you know, I'm not saying that's necessarily

the right idea. That's just the strategy that they are pursuing right now, because I don't you can't convince me that they would feel comfortable starting either of those guys for more than a game or two if they had to. The one thing I will say, though, is we don't know when we're not there seeing practice, what those two

guys look like. Because even at that though, when we go back to a few years ago when Dak, when they made the decision we're gonna go with Dak, and I know most of us, and I'm talking about the media, most of us are like, crazy, You're crazy. You're saying we're just going to roll with Dak versus going out and getting a veteran that's actually done it. And then because and mainly that was because of what we saw

in practice. In practice, he wasn't a good player in practice, but what we saw when the lights came on all of a sudden, this guy turned into a really good quarterback. And so he turned into a good quarterback. But he also, you know, none of these guys that we see in practice, preseason games or whatever. They ever really get to play behind Zach Martin, Tyrn Smith, Travis Frederick. They don't. And

they don't really hand the ball off to Zeke. They're handing the ball off to Strew Ben Melina or something like that. I mean, And so I just feel like, you know, got great players make you look better. And I'm not saying and Dad, you're right, he does turn it on. He does. He does play better when the lights are on, which is good. I don't know if Mike White, Cooper Rush do that as well, And I'm

not saying they do. I'm just saying we got to be a bit careful because you just don't know what what would happen if they had an opportunity to get in the look better. They'll look look better, right with those lines, But they're also being said there's also better players on the other side that are manually breaking up those passes they throw. And speaking of Dak, you know how you mentioned, oh, he's not a great practice guy.

There's something about him this year. I don't know, it's hard to tell, but it's hard to say that he looks confident because he's always been a confident guy. But there's something that when I go out there and watch him, and yes, he misses some passes, but something about him makes me feel like he feels a lot more comfortable and just a lot more secure and more knowledge of what he's doing. I don't know if you guys notice anything different, but that's just kind of the air I'm

sensing from him that it's different from previous years. There's some kind of growth, and it makes me feel like he's going to have a really good season to the point where he goes out there, he's gonna be more clean, he's gonna be able to do certain things where he's contributing more on the offense. And it's early for me to say, well, maybe John kidnap because he just got here. There's no way you could have made that change so quickly. But something about him makes me really excited. All those

things might be the cause, and that sounds good. We don't know that, but the effect is he's throwing the ball much better. That's just clear. You could see that, and so all those things probably are true than they're helping this at the end. The end result is he looks like he's more confident because he's throwing the ball down the field better that that's the one thing for me. Seventeen to twenty five yards, those passes look better. I mean,

we've seen the deep ball. He'll connect every now and again, and definitely you know, knows where to kind of you know, dump it off and make some plays with his legs. But just throwing the ball, you know, intermediate, that looks better to me. I agree, I completely agree. I always try to guard against feeling too optimistic about something I

see an OTAs, but he looked last week. He looked great, He looked crisp, He looks accurate, especially when you compare him to every time we see him at practice for a previous year, it's just like, Wow, what is he doing? And then he yeah, the game comes on, lights come on, and he does better. But when he comes to practice, I think we've seen a big change their improvement that

it's noticeable. And honestly, this this should be if you look at the progression of quarterbacks around the NFL, this should be the year when you should expect to see a jump in Dak Prescott. And what I mean by that is, if he's going to be your quarterback of the future. They're gonna be some games a Dak's gonna win with his arm Like that just happens with quarterbacks. You see it as as they get farther along. Sometimes

happens in third year, sometimes in the fourth year. But you see that, you see that maturation into oh my god, now they're winning because of this guy, not necessarily because of everything else that's around him. And I think that that's that's what he's gonna have to do in order

to really kind of prove that out. I think I just laugh because you said this is the year you're gonna see a big jump, like he's gonna see a big jump as well, and no doubt, paid, no doubt his big book will be a lot, yeah, a lot heavy, a big jumps. We're gonna take our final break when we come back. We're gonna play a game of CEO. No, we haven't done that in a while. Amber's got some questions for the crew. Will do that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Your

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Mortgage Studios at the Star. Well. This will be our next to last show next week to our final show before we take a little break here heading into training camp in late July. So what we're gonna do. Right now, it's gonna play a little game of CE or No. Now, these are all questions. Yeah, these are all questions that have fans sent into me, and unfortunately they kind of hit on the subjects and topics that we've already been talking about. So we're just gonna wrap it up, do

a little summary. So start off with Rico Gathers. Does he make the team? CE or no? See see, okay, see I'm gonna go see Oh wow, that's as always these are. This is what I think will happen, not what I would do. David, do you want Rico Gathers to make the team seven? Well, that's like I just, you know, anything personal. I have nothing personal against Rico Gathers to this point. I just I'm not sure the purpose that he serves. Yeah, question is if you were

making the decision with would Rico make this team? Probably not, and that would probably be no. Let's say if he if he makes the team, you know, there's gonna be a lot of praise. Just like Christopher Shark gets a lot of praise, There's gonna be a lot more praise on Doug nust Meyer. I mean he you know, he's he's having to really do a lot of teaching with these younger players, and if he can get him to be a guy that can kind of understand, you know, who to block and leverage and how to get him,

you know, pushed out. I mean, it'll be it'll be a big win for him if the user can can get him kind of to that level. The most interesting part about all of this is that he looks the part. You look at him, he's huge, he looks like he

would be strong. He has athleticism, right, and so you're you keep That's the part that's hard to say he's gonna not be with the team is because you're just like, man, at some point, doesn't this just have to click with one of those things, whether it's blocking, whether it's catching, one of those things. Yeah, I know, and they're they're the NFL is literally Peppi's owner is always my example, Like you look at him and you're like, that's a

defensive end for an NFL team. Scouting loves him. Scouting absolutely in love with Rico. Yeah gathers. So I don't know, you go, I don't know about the coaching, but that's why they they're looking at the attributes, right, They're looking at the attributes that this player has and they're like, if you could just tap into that and get him to do one of those things really well, which everything only did it take Graham and Gates, but they at least played football, I know, But I mean, how how

long when they were pretty good early? Right? I mean Graham came to football pretty late too, and yeah, I think I mean he blew up in like his second season. Yeah, I just this is it, this is the time. I mean, it's not gonna He's not gonna make the team, I don't think, because he's like, well, we just want to see if the light will come on. Either the light comes on and he makes the team, or if he doesn't,

I think you move on. Maybe he's something I really didn't think about until we were just talking about this. He could be a beneficiary of Kellen Moore just as much because let's maybe maybe you just wake up and stop trying to make him a complete tight end. Jimmy Graham's not a complete tight end. It never has been. He is a red zone threat. So if Kellen Moore maybe uses him that way, stops trying to turn him into Jason Witten and just recognize that he's a maybe

a one dimensional, but very talented player. Yep, maybe this could be a bigger run getting the box out and catch the ball. I promise you if he was a on forty eight yard field goals and more, if he was a one two jump guy, he'd block at least three kicks a year. I mean, tell me how he couldn't He can. He's huge, and he can jump. He can rebound, lead the nation in rebounding one two jump. Time it up right, He'll block some kicks if those guys that can push in front, there's no way that

he can't block a few kicks. That right, there is a turnover if you can block a field goal that's fifty yards. Yeah, but that's it. I mean, maybe it is Kellen roll for him. Kellen Moore is about to revitalize like nine careers. Scare ready? All right? You mentioned Jason Witten with all the weapons that that has now in having him back, does Witten surpassed the five hundred yard mark this season? C or no? Five hundred? Uh yeah? Say no, no? Yeah, to many other weapons? I think

so five hundred yards. He's gonna have like sixty five catches for five hundred yards. I don't believe that's my guess, that's that's what he was doing. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm I wouldn't say I would say no, And I would probably put him somewhere more like about forty catches thirty eight and more like about yeah, maybe about three hundred and seventy yards somewhere in there, because I just

think there's so many weapons on the team. I think they're gonna be looking at gallop down the field quite a bit. I think that Mark Cooper's is gonna get his Randall Cobb. I think, you know, backside of the backfield gonna catch. I mean, there's there's not it ain't a lot of if this, if this, I haven't checked on the fact, and like his stats for all his years, but this guy says that beside he did five hundred

besides his rookie year every year. So Jason Witten is gonna eat half of the dump offs that Zeke got. You know Zeke at seventy seven balls last year. You think, yeah, I do, that's that's what he'll do. And like I said, like he'll hit five hundred, but it'll be on a lot of catches like that means you also think that he's going to be playing the number of snaps that he played before left been saying that since then. That's sign that's an upgrade to me, that getting some of

those catches with Zeke because it's good. Yes, every year, Zeke's gonna go sixty yards seventy yards with one of those screens, but but it's usually a design play. It's not a dump off play, and a dump off to Witten, I think it will still get you more yards. So I think that's a better that's a better safety valve to have. I think those dump off is gonna go to Randall Cobb and maybe Tony Pollard more than they'll

go to Witten. He's gonna hit five hundred. We might see him get the ball in of but well, it can be tricky because Zeke we always talked about him getting those little yards and it all adds up at the end. I see Jason Witna being kind of the same thing where it's not very many yards, it'll be, you know, close. If Zeke catches the ball thirty yard line and goes forward and he gets to the thirty two thirty three after a hit, if Witton catches at the thirty. It's at the thirty. Yeah, there's just not

a lot of dragon going on. Do we still have time? Oh no, we don't have to be the end, all right. So we're we're done, We're out of here. We will be back next week. We'll get into the defense. There's a lot of positions we gotta hit. There. Some different changes at the Cowboys have made till then for Nick, even Dave helm and Amber Garcia. I'm Derek, he goes from. This has been the break Live one Dallas Cowboys dot

Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.