Cowboys Break: More Dez Discussion

April Episode number five. Welcome to another edition of The Break Live the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star And I'm so happy and I know you guys are so happy to have me back on the air talking about Cowboys football. Do you feel like you still belong here? Wow? I thought I was talking about like I come fightsty today? So that did, Junior? Feels kind of weird. How long did it take you to remember whatever stupid episode number that was? Actually it took me like about five minutes. Yeah,

I had to. You're like, I think one year? What year? Does it say? Twenty eighteen? No? But what season? What? Fourteen? Season fourteen? Yeah? So what were your season six before mister eighty eight got here? Oh? How many years? How many seasons have gone by here. That would be right. He was here eight years, so yeah, that would be right. That was a segue, so we can get into that the news. Thanks Nick, all right, so let's talk about that.

Is that news or the olds at this At this point, it's the news because, as if Twitter is any judge, if you say anything on Twitter about Dez Bryant, it lights up, and I think that means it's still relevant.

People are still talking about it. It's one of those people still care, but they'll be quick to say, like, why are we still talking about that, but then they'll go on to tweet their opinions about it, right, so, and and to be honest with you, I think this is probably going to continue until Dez Bryant is signed by a team, which we'll get into that a little bit later about where we think he could end up. But I want to start first just kind of with the basics of the fact that, you know, a week

ago this time he was still on this team. And then obviously the news comes down last Friday, and the big question I have for you guys, and it seems like the one that's predominantly predominantly what I see that fans are still kind of wrestling with is what was the reason. Why was it performance? Was it money? Was it his locker room presence? Why is does Brian no long on the Dallas count Clearly wasn't about the money.

I mean, I'm just saying just because Das did say that Jerry didn't even offer him any, like, you know, to cut down his salary, so it wasn't even on the table. I'm not buying that. I'm not saying that they did offer him. I think his agent and Dez made it perfectly clear that don't come with that mess. Don't don't try this when you look at the other

players around the league. I mean, I think money was a factor, and I believe the fact that they didn't even get that far because I mean, we watched the meeting. It wasn't very long. We will watch the arrival and departure. Yeah, right, So I don't know. I just I think money is a factor here. I really do think it's I don't think it's everything you just said. I think it's the fact that and you put up with certain things. There's a lot of expensive players out there. There's a lot

of players. The productions declining a little bit. And there's players that are disruptive in the locker room, but when you kind of put them all in one teo, then you end up having to make a decision. And I think that's kind of what happened here. Yeah. No, I mean, I don't know why. I don't think you can single out any one factor, but I don't I don't think it was purely about money. I don't think it was purely about performance. I don't think it was purely about

the Molotov cocktail that is Dez's personality. But you bring all that together and it brings enough people on board that they decide they want to make a decision. Like if if Dez was declining and he could be a pain to deal with and he only costs six million dollars a year like Alan Hearns, then maybe you keep him.

Or if he is costing twelve million dollars a year but he's a model citizen and a guy you never have to worry about, maybe he's still here, or if he's still catching sixteen touchdowns and he's a pain in the butt and he's you know, and he costs seventeen okay with it. It takes all of those things to combine to get enough people on board to decide to cut him. So I don't think you can single out any one factor. I don't think it was purely about money.

I don't think it was purely about his attitude. I don't think it was purely about his production. I think it all kind of holds hands together. I just think that even after Jerry saying how they could afford that money, you know they could afford that technically, but in someone

that is productive. Aside from that, you go into a meeting and the fact that you don't even discuss that possibility with someone that has been here for eight years, I mean, it tells you a lot that at the end, money was one of the lower factors of this whole issue. But I do think that when you start talking about the money from that standpoint, I think a couple of

things have to be factored in. One. Des made it clear, and I remember him making it clear back when he was asked by media during that at the end of the season, will you take a pay cut? And remember he kind of talked himself right out of that pay cut really quickly. He was like, well, I don't, well not hell no, like so hilarious. He made it clear that paycut was not an option for him at the time, and I think it's kind of convenient for him to come back now and say I would have taken a

pay cut. That wasn't what he was saying at the time when the season ended. And I think the other thing has to be factored in is if you have a guy that you already think is somewhat volatile and a little bit unpredictable, and then you say, hey, by the way we're gonna make we're gonna ask you to take a pay cut. We're gonna ask you to do it at a time when maybe you feel like we're

kind of forcing your hand to do it. Are you going to get a guy that's even more volable, volatile, and more unpredictable once he's on your team the next year at a lower salary. So maybe it becomes a situation where it's like either we're gonna have him here at the Mountain we're paying him, or we're not gonna

have him here. There isn't an in between. It kind of makes me think of the Mafia, like it's like, well, you don't have to kill me, I'll just move away, and it's like, yeah, but like you're still you know, might come back, like still might be a problem. Like you once it's true, once you make a decision that you can live without a guy, I feel like the pay cuts off the table at that point, which I mean, I don't think I think you're right. I don't really.

I don't know that money was the biggest factor. I think it was about more than that. But money partly precipitated the conversation exactly. The salary is what starts the conversation, and then you get working into the rest of the dynamics and you're like, all right, let's just is it worse, Let's just move on. Yeah, okay, So yeah, I was just gonna say that, you know, the timing of it has been in question. You know, they tried to get Sammy Watkins on the first day of free agency and

they didn't land him. If they did, they would have had to cut him on the second day of free agency just to probably get him on the salary cap. So I yeah, I mean I think that they tried to make this work, but um, you know, I know, Dave, you think that they could have done it a little earlier. Or a lot earlier, and they probably could have, but you know, it is what it is. They did try to cover their basis, and you know, I think getting

Alan Hearn's probably helped with that too. It's like, Okay, now we've got players in here and that we can go ahead and do this, and but I don't think they're a better, better football Teare's question. My question was going to be, as of today, are they a better worse or are they the same than they were a week ago. They're worse than they were a week ago, but that's okay. It's like if you sold your car

for ten thousand dollars, Okay, that's that's pretty good. But if you don't go get another car, you know, I mean, then you're not really in good shape. I mean you obviously obviously obviously need to get another car. You need to get another receiver. They're not better right now. But if they use that money to something that will help them, like a safety or another free agent in any position out there that can really help them, then I think that you can say this could be a good move.

But as of right now, I don't think they're better because of this bothered. I saw you tweet that the other end, I was like, oh, okay, you kept saying that all over see it. I'm like, oh my god, Okay, we get it. It's the you are. It's not the type of thing that an unbothered person does, is just tweet about an unbothered person that's kind of unbothered so they don't have time to tweet about it. Has he

been unbothered about anything? I'm the type of pathetic loser that sets up draw notifications for like the Cowboys, big time players, because I want to know what they're saying and when they're saying it. Typically, like Dez might tweet or retweet something like once or twice a month, and starting last week around the time that the news about the meeting came out, I mean, he's tweeted ninety times

since then. I'm like, you don't seem very unbothered. For a guy who keeps saying that you're unbothered, Well, all you gotta do is look at one of the tweets, one of the first tweets he put out after the decision was made, which kind of said basically, I need fans to know. I think those were the exact words. I need fans to know that this wasn't my decision.

And it's very clear that he has a I think he wants to make sure that he maintains his reputation with Cowboys fans and what for whatever reason, I think that's important to him. Um, And so he's going to be kind of all over this thing, I think, to protect whatever he can protect of his relationship with Cowboys fans. Well maybe not Cowboys fans, but I think that's very

perceptive on your part. I hate, I hate to plug something that we didn't make, but I highly and and you saw me tweet about it last night, I highly recommend anybody who likes this team to watch this show all or nothing that's coming out. I think it's it's very coincidental that the not it's smart, but coincidental that they knew to focus on Dez as much as they did with all the hours. If you got an opportunity to focus on anybody on this team last year, who

would you have been focusing? But I mean, and I think the storyline showed itself, you know, and there's I mean, if you want to know about the Dez dynamic, it's all in there. You know. God what I wouldn't give to have like a thirty minute off the record conversation with Derek Dooley, just that I mean, and you know it, it's nothing scandalous, but you just get a better sense for what that relationship is like. And the reason I bring it up right now is because you're talking about

worried about his reputation with fans. I think never like Dez was never able to get over like perception, Like it bothered him that people thought he was falling off, and it bothered him that he wasn't getting opportunities to prove them wrong, to the point where it becomes a factor in his attitude with the team and the attitude of the way people deal with him, and the types of conversations that are being had, and the ego massaging.

And you know, it's funny because like, I don't I don't think of Dez in the way of like a typical receiver, like I need my catches, I need my stats. It's more like I want to win so bad and I don't feel as though I'm being given enough of an opportunity to help us win. And it comes to the point where, at a point it starts to be a detriment, and you can see all of that play out on that show. I really recommend if you're really curious about the dynamics at work there, it's well worth

your time. So now it sounds like it sounds like you all kind of agree, because nobody stepped up to disagree with Nick that the team is worse off at this moment than they were with Dez. But I want to do one. And I've brought this up before, I want to bring it up again because I want to get your opinions and see if it's something I'm making too simplistic or if it really does matter. You go back two weeks four through six of twenty sixteen, when Dez was out with injury, and you look at how

this offense performed. First of all, the team went three and on that stretch they went to Green Bay and gotta win, which I thought was obviously the most impressive of those three wins. During that time, they averaged twenty seven points per game. Zeke had one hundred and forty three yards rushing per game. Dak put up two hundred and forty yards and two touchdowns on average. Per game.

Offense was working really really well. Is there at least some thought that maybe you can get additioned by subtraction here removing, and we saw this at the beginning of last year. It seemed like in some of the games early the season, there was this concerted effort, whether it's by Dak, whether it's by the offensive coordinator whomever, to try to get Dez the ball, and they were trying to feed him. It wasn't connecting, but they were giving

him a lot of targets. Do you think that maybe taking that out of the mix and allowing the young quarterback to just sit back, look for the open guy, and get the ball to whoever that is, rather than thinking, I gotta get the ball to eighty eight. Do you think there's something that helps this offense on top of the fact that this is a running offense and this is all about Zeke in my opinion, So what are your thoughts from that standpoint on how this team is

relatively what they were a week ago. I loathe the term Dak friendly, like I'm so tired of hearing it. I don't want to hear it ever again. So I hate the fact that I just said it. But a Dak friendly offense is like five receivers who are gonna shut up and do their job and take what he can give them and let the running game be what it is or what it should be. And Zeke's gonna take top billing and Dak's gonna throw to the guy that's single covered, and it's going to be hunky dory.

And Dez was cool with that in twenty sixteen because they were winning games. And I mean, I really do think that is his bottom line. Like I said, I don't think of him as a diva in the sense of, like, I don't care if we're losing as long as I get my one hundred yards. But again, he cares in the sense that he wants to win and wants to be a part of that. So when you're winning thirteen games, it's no big deal. When you're trading wins and losses and getting your doors blown off, it's a little bit

bigger of a deal. And I think when I think of Dak friendly, I think of guys who aren't going to make noise about what kind of role their plan. It's like, I got three catches for twenty today, cool, I got eight catches for one twenty today cool? And know that you are not the primary function of this offense. So in that regard, I'm reluctant to say that they're better right now, but not because of their receiver corps.

Like they need a linebacker, they need a left guard, they need us Like that's the stuff that I'm worried about. If you tell me they come out of the draft with that stuff, and if you tell me that they improve their defense and maybe get a guard and don't improve the receiver cord, Like if they don't draft a receiver, I still think this team could win games. I think they should draft a receiver, but I think this receiver corp could could do the job fairly well within the

structure of how they want to play offense. I think Dak friendly. I mean, first of all, the whole Romo friendly, Dak friendly. I think Jerry created that every quarterback in the league Breeze friendly in the Saints, I mean, that's what that is. I mean, it's it's the receivers that mesh with your quarterback, and in this case, with Dak being the quarterback, I mean, they need receivers that know where they're supposed to be. That's one thing that Romo

helped Daz more than anything. Be told him where to line up and he did it for eight years. And that's you can't expect Dak to do that with all the players on the field in his rookie year and in his second year, and he should be able to do that now. But also, you know, I mean Dad's not one hundred percent there yet. I mean he's he's still learning. He's still got to be a better quarterback. They took away the short and intermediate easy throws for

him last year and he couldn't beat him. So they need players that can get open nowhere to line up, run good routes and be able to kind of move the ball down the field. Maybe some deep threats what will help as well if he can you know, make that throw. But you know, he's not Troy Aikman. He's not Romo. He's not Romo at the end of his career, which is that what everybody's trying to compare him to is what Romo was at the end, not what Romo was two years ago. But he's a different player. He

gets it done different ways. He's a runner, he can he can flip over the Cardinals defense. He can make plays like that. So it doesn't have to be the exact same way. But I think what made Dez great it just didn't mess anymore. Dez could have a great career somewhere else. I just wasn't going to happen here, right, not where this quarterback is in just developed they made.

They made the decision. They've grown with Dak, which is fine, and I don't think it messes that well with des and needs to go and find a quarterback that he can mesh with the receiver. The receivers that they have here I think can be fine. I mean, I said it the other night. A lot of people disagreed with me. I don't care. They didn't have a thousand yard receiver when they won thirteen games. Dads caught fifty balls and he was clutch. I'll argue until my dying breath. Das

was great in twenty sixteen. His numbers weren't, but he was great, right, which is what you want in this offense. You just want to play well receiver that can make plays when necessary. Yeah, right, absolutely, yeah, And that's I mean. So I would draft a guy, but I don't. I certainly don't think they need one at nineteen. UM. I think I'm very intrigued and excited by what Alan Hearns might be able to do here. Um and and the

guys they have here are fine. I don't you know, like defensive coordinators aren't losing any sleep about them, but I think they can do the job, because defensive coordinators should be losing sleep about your line and your running back hope. I mean, that's the hope, right if the run, if the line resumes what it was in two thousand, well, and that's you know, I don't care about the wide receivers. If you tell me that they have a badass left guard,

you know, that's that's what I care about. Ye. All right, We're gonna take our first break when we come back. I'm gonna ask these guys if they think Dez Bryant was set up to be the scapegoat in this situation, because I think that's another thing that fans are wrestling with. And then we'll talk a little bit about some of the other players on this team and how the Cowboys move forward after this release. Do that women come right back?

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of the action. Back to the Break Welcome Back. It is the second segment of The Break Lock from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. It's been explosive from first little segment of the show. It's that time of year, and before it was pretty explosive too. If you remember the Eagles ower, Yeah, it was amber once again.

So let's let's get back into this. One of the things I've noticed as I've been talking to fans over the last couple of days on Twitter, couldn't help yourself last night talk the same thing happened last week, Like after this happened, like I just had so much I wanted to say, but it's hard sometimes to say it

all too. But anyway, I what I kept getting from a lot of fans was that there was just this uh, this narrative that Dez was set up to be the scapegoat here that if you look at Dez and if you want to say he dropped off, then you have to say all the receivers dropped off, and Dak isn't taken enough of the blame, and Jason Witten certainly isn't the player he used to be, so why is he

still here? And it's just all these narratives about that that really point to the fact that this was so unfair for Daz and why does versus all of these other guys. What do you guys think about that? Do you think that this was a situation where where there should have where other guys maybe should have been the guys that will let go and you keep Daz Or do you think that Dez really was kind of the scapegoat for whatever reason? Yeah, I mean probably, but that's

that's the way the business works. Two thousand and ten, the Cowboys came off a playoff win and they went one and seven to start the year. Wait Phillips gets fired, White Wade Phillips only gets fired. He's the head coach, He's the scapegoat. Offense wasn't doing well. Defense wasn't stopping anyone. Somebody gets fired. All those people that you just named, they don't make sixteen million dollars or count sixteen on the salary cap. That's just the way that it goes.

And he is the most volatile of him as well. And nobody knows what's going on. And don't let a former player that played in nineteen eighty six and one four. I mean, they don't know what the locker room is either. They know locker rooms in their day, but they don't know this one. They don't know what Dez was causing. You know, and this team, you know, this team was good to Deaz. Let's don't act like, let's not say that they weren't. They were really good to him over

the years. He had an issue, he went a wall, he cut himself with soup. They they did a nice job with him, and so you know, it wasn't the first time he was cut was Friday. Okay, that's really I mean that that's a really good point. And I'll be the first to say I think I think they botched the way they did this. I just there's got you there's because I don't know, Now do you say they botched it. I just we had this argument already, I think, and I know, I know it's a business.

It's a cutthroat business. I get that, but I just think they're there are better ways you can handle guys who have been the face of your franchise, especially, and you disagree with me, that's okay. I think the writing has been on the wall forever that you probably weren't going to get anything for Dez. You've been talking about cutting him forever. His salaries enormous, He's gonna be thirty this year, and he's been declining. That's why you're talking

about getting rid of him in the first place. Who's gonna give you anything for that? And so rather than to hold out for a month hoping that you can get a sixth round pick, I just think maybe you could have done a nicer thing and been like, look, your future's not here. Best to I mean, they did the same DeMarcus, where's the franchise sack leader? He's gonna be in the ring of honor one day. They cut

him right around the start of the league year. I don't remember if it was before or after, but they I mean, you know, he came in, they had they hugged it out. He was in Denver three days later. Dez, they like, we haven't met with him, even though they talked about they needed to meet with him in January and February and March. Like, I just I think that's a little ridiculous, and I think there's a better way

they could have done it. Having said that, to Nick's point, this team spent the last ten years helping him grow into an adult, because Lord knows he needed to help. I mean, even as recently as twenty sixteen, the guy disappeared for two days because he was afraid what an MRI was going to show on his knee, Like literally just bailed on the facility, Like didn't come to work because he was afraid of what the doctors were going to tell him. And that was at twenty eight, let

alone at twenty twenty one, twenty two, twenty three. So I mean, that's there's a little bit of both sides there. But what you don't know is what were the things

happening behind the scenes. Were they looking at let's say, for example, in this draft, Let's say that they were like, you know, we kind of think we want to make this move, but there were a couple of people saying, hey, if we make these move, this move, we really believe that we got to feel good about the fact that we can get a receiver in this draft that we think and provide this whatever this is right, whether that's in the first round, whether that's in the second round.

And I'm not saying any of this happened. I'm saying I'm just painting the picture. What you don't know behind the scenes is there could have been those kinds of things, and until they had guys that they brought in that they spend some time with, until they had a chance to really fully evaluate the draft class, until they had a chance to maybe convince some people in this building that had to sign off on it as well that

this was the right way to go. I think there are a lot of things that could have been happening behind the scenes on this, and I don't think that they owe it to a player to say we're not going to do our due diligence just to let you go early. They I think they got to a point where on that Monday was when the team was going to show up to do workouts, you couldn't have him on the team at that point if he was not going to be a part of the team going forward.

And so they gave themselves all that time to kind of figure out all the things they needed to figure out. And then they got to that Friday and we're like, we can't wait any longer. We got to go ahead, make a decision. Here's what we're gonna do. I went to LSU and it is a bad school. Is absolutely bad. I mean, we got an awesome football program. I can't do basic math. On March twenty third, I said, Alan Hearns is here. Now he does this, and he looks

like that. And Deonte Thompson's here too. He looks a lot like Bryce Butler. And now they have seven receivers. Something doesn't add up. And sure enough a month later I was right, and so was any other dummy who can look at the depth charge. Yeah, but if they if they draft a receiver in this draft and they get the guy that they've been targeting, then what you don't know is was that a part of the equation And they wouldn't have known. This team they don't pay

about the fact, so they went through this process. Team pays people hundreds of thousands of dollars to go and look at these guys all throughout the fall, and then they kick it into high gear as soon as the season's over. I think they probably had a good idea that these guys were available long. That's why it's called due diligent. Is because they had a good idea doesn't mean that you don't take every opportunity to learn more and do all the things you feel you can do.

Before they wanted Sammy Watkins, they wanted, and he was cut if they got him. Absolutely in their mind, Dez was cut. Now I get it that you don't get that player. You still you still think, well, maybe we hold on to him, but not when they get Hearns. They get Hearns maybe, but Hearns is not the same caliber. I don't think, and I don't think they looked at Herns in the same caliber as the way they looked

at Sammy Watkins. But so getting him, I don't think that necessarily immediately said okay, this is our replacement for Dez. I think it was more like, okay, well maybe that's a piece, maybe that works, Maybe there's some other things that we can do. I just don't think that that we know everything to be able to make that to be able to say that they could have cut him earlier. You're absolutely met earlier. I mean not because it wasn't a negotiation. They were meeting to tell him at some

point that he was going to be gone. But they have to make sure everything was set up the right way in order for them to make that final decision. I'm not I'm not gonna go with him. We don't. We don't have to agree. And you know, hey, a or what do you think? They don't know him anything, but they left, They left the Ring of Honor candidate twisting in the wind for six weeks that they did that,

and they don't. They don't owe it to him, not too you're right, but then don't throw C. J. Anderson at me either, because he's not a Ring of Honor candidate for the Denver Broncos. That's my only point. But either way, Dez is gonna still come back here, is still gonna be a ring of onund a guy, still gonna have him on that great jacket, and he's still gonna you know, he's still gonna go up there and wave at the fans and most like things. Because guess

what when when it's all said and done. Jerry kept that relationship in Tech and I'm sure he and Desmit still continue to be close like they've always been close. You're You're probably right, but it's I mean, I just think I think they could have handled it better. But it's over now, and they're gonna draft somebody next week and it'll be a new era of Cowboys receivers and it's whatever. And and like I said, I don't I

don't think this team is screwed without him. But my my dumb self has known Dez is probably gonna get cut since February. I think we all saw the writing on the woods. Zac absolutely so, we all saw the writing. But again, we want the ones having to make the decision, so we don't know how complex that decision was. The vast majority of NFL teams have this stuff figured out way quicker. That's my only path. I don't know about that.

There are there are other guys that get cut, and during this time of the year, there are guys that will get cut. In June, there will be guys that get cut going into training camp. There will be veterans that get cut. Wing training camp is done, like it happens. That's the NFL. That's how it works. I guess these aren't guaranteed contracts. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, Darren, I don't know what else to say. All right, let's go on. And actually you kind of

led into the next question. The next question really is about the draft. Do you think that the Cowboys? I guess let's look at it both ways. Do you think the Cowboys will? Do you think the Cowboys should draft a wide receiver with one of their first two picks this next weekend in the draft. I definitely think that they will. I don't know about that if they should, I think if if there's some other options there, a linebacker or a safety, if that falls into them, maybe

even guard. But I do think that they will. I think they're gonna take a wide receiver in the first two picks, and they brought in a bunch in the thirty visits, and they've worked some others out, and there's a lot of names out there. It's a pretty deep class I think, so I do think that they will. It doesn't have to be pick nineteen, but it needs

to happen. I think they will and they should. And like I said, it's not for twenty eighteen, it's for the four years beyond that, because if you take a look down the depth chart, it's kind of scary to think, like, none of those guys really have a concrete future here. Hearns is on a two year deal, Thompson's on a one year deal, Beasley's in a contract year. What Terrence is the guaranteed portion of Terrence's contract is over starting after this year, So the last two years of his extension.

I mean, if you want to, you could release. Yeah, where's witness on his deal? Well, it's like changed, it's something. I mean, he's here through twenty twenty three if he wants to be or something like that. But so the wide receiver corps there, there's not much there. And Ryan Switzer and Noah Brown, but you could cut them and there's no ramifications for doing that. Those are miniscule contracts in the grand scheme of the NFL. So, yeah, they

need a guy. It doesn't have to be nineteen, but ninth Thursday or Friday, pick nineteen, pick fifty, pick eighty one. I would bet I feel comfortable betting a substantial amount of money that one of those picks will be a receiver, all right. I think it depends. I mean, am I thinking about the future or am I worrying about this year? It depends on what's Garret or Stephen Joe. I don't know. If I'm Jason Garrett, I think you always worry about

this year. I think I think your personnel guy can think about the future, but better if you think about this year. Because we've seen quick turnarounds, you've also seen quick plummets, so things change quickly in the NFL. Well, if that's the case, if I'm focused on this year, then honestly, wide receiver is not so much of a priority to me, at least not for the first and second round. You guys seem like you buying large. You guys seem like you're pretty okay with what the Cowboys

have right now. If you think if they lined up tomorrow, you feel good about where they are, wives there would be positions that are in more trouble than that. Yep. Now, does Alan Hearns know the offense like you want to? If you, you know, throw that part in there, the same it would be with a rookie, with a guy you bring in you know, Yeah, so the same story there, and I don't think they're any worse, but they're not any better. We haven't seen them play yet, but I

think right now they're just neither way good. That Well said bring yeah, I mean today, And that's the point I will, you know me, I run the risk. I don't want to sound like a Homer. I'm not. I'm not sitting here trying to say Alan Herns is gonna put up twelve hundred yards. But the last time you saw dis put up twelve hundred point well, and that's that's part of it too. I Mean, we spend all this time talking about how he's dropped off, so it's

not crazy. It's not crazy for me to think that Alan Hearns can have an eight hundred yards season if he's healthy for sixteen games, which is what Dez was doing in the first place. So I like, yeah, I mean the guard spot, the safety spot, the linebacker spot, that's where if they're playing a game tomorrow, that's where I'm freaking out. I'm not. I mean, wide receiver could be better, but it's far from being the biggest problem spot on this team. I think Dez Bryant was set

up for failure, but not not by anyone's doing. I mean he signed the deal, but the contract he signed and the offense that they adapted, and to get this line and to get Zeke and to be run oriented and have all these options, it wasn't suited for a guy that to make sixteen million a year. He's never going to justify those number, his numbers with the contract. So it's it's not I mean in a setup for failure.

Sounds kind of harsh, but I'm just the reality of it is, he can't get those numbers in this offense. When you've got Written, you've got Beasley, you've got Terrence on the outside, you're trying to run Zeke to the ground. I mean, it's just not going to happen. And then we saw in two years it didn't happen. It was okay when they won thirteen games, it was not okay when they won nine. And now he's cut for it. It's it's the same thing he wanted, was the same

thing that almost that pretty much got him cut. I said this on the Monday Draft show I did with Brian that I mean, when you have Tony Romo, I mean, when you know he's capable of making those throws and doing those types of things. A receiver makes sense to have a seventy million dollars receiver. And we said this way back in January. They signed Dez to a seventy million dollars contract, thinking him in Romo had at least two,

if not three or so more years together. They played two less than two complete games because Dez got hurt in the season opener. They and then they played the Miami game together half so give or take three full games. They got three games out of that duo. Before you know,

life changed their situation. And in the narrow where your running back cost twenty million dollars, your left tackles one hundred million, your right guards about to be seventy million, your center's sixty million, and your right tackle is twenty million or whatever Lyles contract is, it doesn't make a ton of sense to be paying a receiver seventy million dollars. It's just it's not the way they decided to construct this team. The resources are all invested in the running

back and offensive. It reminded me of Joey Galloway back way back in two thousand. They traded two first round picked for him, and like what did they do? And I mean, and you think about it now, but they

traded him to be with Troy Aikman and EMMITTT. Smith, and then Galloway got hurt in the first game, and then Aikman got hurt after that, and they never really played more than one game together, and then it didn't look like a good trade, and he's playing with Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson, and it's like, well, what a

bad trade. But it wasn't set up that way, So you're right they You're right, Romo Dez pretty the twenty fifteen Miami game was the only complete game that Dez and Tony ever played together after Dez signed his extension. It's like I said, Dez got hurt in week one, broke his foot, Romo broke his collarbone in week two, and then they played Miami together. Romo broke his collarbone

in the next game and never played again. And there was a touchdown pass in that game by Romo to Dez that was, if I remember correctly, was Let's had two in that game, diddie. I know Terrence had one. I don't think Charrens had one. Dez had one, but it was one of those plays where it was they were kind of on sync again. You know, they were about to run the table and get in the playoffs. Yeah, that's what somebody would have you believe. All right, looks

like our let's like our final break. When we come back, I do want to ask the question, what do you think Dez ends up he wants to be in the NFC East. Is that possible. We'll talk about that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot com. Radio. Cowboys fans know that the second best of anything simply won't cut it, and your skincare should be no different. A long time locker room favorite of the players and

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So let's get back into this. The final topic I wanted to hit on, Dez Bryant is around where he's going he had me made it clear from the moment the decision came down that his preference is to stay in the NFCC wants to play the Cowboys twice a year. In my opinion, that's making a kind of an emotional decision. I don't know if that's the best thing for him, but I want to hear what you guys have to

say about that from the standpoint of emotion. Where you think he actually does end up thinking about the teams in the NFC East um and where he could possibly fit. Where do you think he ends up? Jerry Cutler cue it. Don't care? Oh, I was wondering. I was like, you don't care. Really, I don't believe you. I don't care. Go to the Giant. I mean, you're not. Why don't you care? Because he's not gonna do anything with it? You don't you think he's just done. Don't think he's done.

I don't think he's gonna hurt the Cowboys. Oh no, But what happened to care about it? And that what happened fourteen when he went up there, he made this great catch. They called it no catch. He lived with it. Twenty fifteen, he goes to Green Bay, what happens. He was he was a problem. He dropped passes, he was thinking too much, he forceded, he pressed. He does that. And I think if he goes and plays the Cowboys, I don't think he would really gonna be so amped

up that. Yeah. I mean he's not. He's not done and washed up. He's gonna be a good player for somebody esprecially if he gets a really good quarterback. I think Baltimore is a great fit for him. I'm just not thinking he's gonna hump back quarterback. I think he's a good quarterback. I don't think he's a great quarterback. He's a good quarterback. He's I kinda thinks he's a great quarterback. Though personally was Tony great. I think at

what at what Dez did well? I think, yes, I think, And I think Fla Flacco has flirted with greatness, especially in the postseason. There's not many quarterbacks better than him. I'm not a Flacco fan. I think I think I think Stafford's better than Flac. Okay, I was about to ask you that because I was gonna call you crazy if you didn't know. I think Flack, but I think he's good. He's been only ten years. He knows the offense, he knows what they're trying to do in Baltimore, and

he would be good for him. Um, you don't have to have remarkable you don't have to go to play with Brady and Rogers. But I just think it would help him. I don't. I just don't think he would come back to Dalla and just absolutely annihilate them. I think he'd be so amped up he'd take an ivy in the second quarter. I okay, I don't care either in the sense that, yeah, I don't think Dez Bryan's going to hurt the Cowboys. I just you know, I worked with the guy for five years. I want the

best for him. I'm interested to see what happens next in his career all out in the AFC. The I mean, this is just purely selfish, but the football fan and the native New Orleanian in me, God, that would be exciting to see him in New Orleans. Absolutely, it doesn't. Honestly, I think that's probably of all the teams I can think of in the NFL, I think that's one of the better fits. It is because of the quarterback. It's a great fit for him. I don't think it's a

very good fit for the Saints. Why because they have a younger, better Dez named Michael Thomas. That's true. They just got Cam Meredith out of Chicago. Willie sneed's back like they have, and Drew Brees doesn't need marquee receivers he never has um So I would love to see that selfishly because I'm a des fan and I grew up a Saints fan. But I don't think it'll happen,

but it would be cool. I think I think you would see that fifty fifty ball completed at a higher percentage if you were with a quarter backs and so from that, I think he would go right back to

doing what he was doing with Romo right. And the way I think that helps that team particular is the last year, what we saw is that team was starting to transition into a run heavy team, like they had a lot of They had two really good running backs, They ran the ball very effectively, offensive line played well.

This forces teams to respect at least that fifty fifty ball, which teams weren't doing last year against the Cowboys, they weren't respecting that for whatever reason, whether you want to say it was Dak or whether you want to say it was dead for whatever reason, they weren't respecting it like that, they would be forced, I think, to respect

it with a better quarterback. I just think Breeze already has a back shoulder jump ball monster and Thomas and to that guy, you don't need Danna's gross If I was putting money on it, Houston just makes too much sense, it really does he. I mean, he wouldn't have to leave Texas. They have an exciting young quarterback. He wouldn't even be the focal point of the offense because Hopkins is there. I just I mean, if I had to handicap it, I think that would be what I would

look at. I'm just not really sure Houston. I think he might have the same issues in Houston that he had here with a young quarterback. I just don't know that. I don't know that that quarterback is better than Dak necessarily as a passer. So I'm not sure that he'd be able to take advantage of what does Dez does well in the same way that I don't think he and Dak could get on the same page to take advantage of it. He did say I'll see you guys twice, and Houston would be a team that he would you

would see him twice. He ain't playing in that preseason. I was gonna say, I would hope he's not in the PAS. He didn't say, I'll play it twice twice. That's good point. What do you think, camer I just think. I mean, you guys keep talking about having great quarterbacks to help him. If you're a veteran eight years, you don't need the ball being put right on your hend. Like, yes, you need to make good throws, but it depends on what kind of receiver you are. Dez has never been

a guy that just gets a lot of separation. So the quarterback has to throw it to him knowing he looks covered sometimes and you have to throw the ball in a spot where he can make a play on it. But how many times did we see Okay forgot the bath throws from Dak. Let's focus on the good throws. What he did, throw it right at him and he still dropped a ball. How many of those did we see? It was plenty, I think does and that's I mean, nobody is completely blameless. Dak has a lot of stuff

to work on. But yeah, you know, I'll plug all or nothing again. I forgot about the Giants game where it literally hit him in the face. Mat. I mean, there were plenty of balls that were right where they

needed to be that did not get caught. That a receiver that good, making that much money, you know, people want you know the one that really I feel like that was the one where everybody was like, something's got to happen with this dude, which was the Seattle one which turned into a pick and people are like, Dak threw that too hard and it was behind him. Yep, both true. He makes seventy million dollars, make the catch, catch the damn ball like that, and you gotta make

that catch. Absolutely got to make that call. And more than anything, I'm just really curious to see how he's going to be able to handle these emotions because we know that he's a super emotional guy, and we've known we've seen that team on the game to the bad to the worst, but then we've also seen, for example, remember when his dad passed away, the game he had, Yeah, I mean he had a pretty good game. Yes, that's

so I'm trying to see. I'm curious to see how he's gonna filter this emotion, like is he gonna be in a good way or is this really going to affect him? And that's I mean, don't just go to the NFC East so you can try to get revenge against the Cowboys. That's because you're gonna wind up in Washington and that's that hasn't worked well for very many other former Cowboys. Um, I would hate to see that.

As somebody who likes Dez, I would hate to see that, not just because they would have to play him twice a year. Yeah, that quarterback's not gonna yeah, neither one to help him. And I think all of this, I mean, he hasn't don't. I haven't even heard about him going somewhere, and I think, you know, we're a week away from the draft. I think at this point teams probably want to take a look and see what they can get.

So he could be waiting a little while. But I mean, why would Baltimore want to sign him if they love Ridley exactly? And Ridley sitting there for him at what sixth Yeah, yeah, so I mean it's gonna be kind of quiet right now, but somebody's gonna sign him. Training camp with somebody if you have a wide receiver need, and you can sign Dez on a one year, nine million dollar deal, or you can draft DJ Moore for five years at eighteen million dollars. What's the better deal?

I mean, I just I was about to say, I wish that when the schedule comes out tonight, which we haven't really talked about both the schedule comes up, I would like to be, Oh, that's where they're gonna play Deaz, you know, but we won't really know that. Yeah, unless you know, but that'll be an extra piece of content for us later when he does sign, and we can write the story like, well, stretch this thing out. Yeah No, I mean, we're just gonna beat this thing in in

the ground. Get ready Cowboys Nation. Specific to the NFC, still, do you think that there's any team that he fits with? I mean, he said he keeps mentioning the Giants. Obviously, the Eagles just finished paying alshon Jeffrey, So my assumption is they're not necessarily in the market to spend more money on a receiver. I think he would be great in Philly. I don't think they'd need him. I don't think they would want a great Yeah, So you look

at it. From that standpoint, I don't know that he's a great fit in Washington in my opinion, but I guess it could be an option if he wants to be an mcst the Giants. He keeps saying that that's the one he wants to go to, and that's when he would think be most intrigued by. But I look

at it as they already have that headache. And what I mean by that they already have that guy who is really good, who's a good wide receiver that's asking for more money, already making a pretty good amount of money, and now you're going to bring in another guy who can be equally as they did that monstrative on the sideline in the locker room whatever, they did that lacrosse combine to raise awareness for the Rattlers who are opening

their season here two sundays from now. Yes, um, and one of the lacrosse players was a Giants fan, and they were like, you want Daz on the Giants And he was like, well, you got enough Dred on a receiver already, We're good. I thought that was really funny, man. I don't first of all, you said they got a good receiver who wants more, he's a great He's great, Okay, yeah, what I was meaning, Yes, I should have said a great receiver. I mean probably among the best two in

the league. Two A. Yeah, who's one? Just Abe Abe by himself and then him and Julio. Julio and Odell would be two A. In fact that ab doesn't miss gang like he plays and he's as good as he is. I think he's either one of those three. Yeah, honestly, I don't. It's there's not a lot of separation there. And you wonder if Dez wants to go to a place, like ho said, anywhere he would be the second guy. He'd be the second guy with the Giants? Is that where he is in his career? I mean, and there's

nothing wrong with that. I mean, those guys get paid too, and they could make plays and make a difference. I just I don't know if does he or does he want to go and where he could be the number one guy. I can't see him being the second guy, like just because of how he I mean, yes he can be, but just because of him and who he is, his personnelity. Go back and want to go back to your point about channeling his emotions, though, I mean, this is is one of the first times Dez Bryant has

been humbled in a long time. If I had to guess, so, I mean, how he reacts to that is probably going to say a lot. Like if I mean, if he's not willing to be the number two, he's probably going to be in for a rough time. If I had to guess, I mean, I don't think anybody at this point's gonna pay him number one money. No, nor do I think any I don't think there's any team out there. I'm just saying no, no, absolutely, But that's he's probably going to need to readjust his ego a little bit

and maybe he can get that back, you know. But right with Alshan Jeffrey, he took a one year proved deal, he proved it and they paid him good money. Which how well he manages this speed bump is probably gonna say a lot about how the second phase of his career goes. Right. So we'll see, let's talk about that NFL schedule it comes out tonight. We'll find out what the Cowboys schedule looks like, anything especially interesting that you

guys are will be looking for when the schedule comes out. Tonight. I do not think. Yes, oh, get in there, see just top. I'm just work New Years. I don't want to in Philly. That's what I'm looking at. Tired of years for New Years. No, not Philly. The rest time. I don't care. Let's just let's just do it. Let's just do it. I don't think they'll the Giants in Week one year, Please God, I just don't. Please God. The Giants were horrible last year. The Cowboys were average.

I mean, but there's still great ratings. Okay, Well, if it's the great ratings, I mean, he's it great ratings because it's up there, or is it? I mean, if if the Giants and Cowboys are so great, then they'll be great on October the eight understood. But you always want to open with something that's gonna bring people in the tin. Well, you know what I want, the big game that's gonna bring I'm gonna bring it. I mean, I think they'll be just don't know. I don't want

to see that again. It's been it has been. I've worked here since twenty thirteen. It's been the Week one game five of those years, or four of those five years, or whatever it is. Honestly, how both teams were last year, especially the Giants. I mean, now, that doesn't sound like a much exciting game to me, Like, yes, season opener, Yeah, it was bad last year. You were the first one to admitute. You guys didn't believe me. That was like no, no, no, no no. You said they didn't play well. They beat

a team in the NFL by sixteen points. That's all I said. That's a good game. That's a good such thing as Week one guesses I'm gonna I'll start it off because I know I said no the Giants they go to Seattle, right, Yep, I'm gonna say Week one Sunday Night Football. The Eagles will get the first one. On Thursday. They'll play whoever, Falcons maybe or Vikings. I think the Cowboys play at Seattle Week one Sunday Night Football. That would be so great because I could go to

a Mariners game. Hope you really think Seattle, because y'all has had a lot of changes too. You really think they didn't make the playoffs either? Yeah? Do you think that brand's big enough for opening weekend Sunday night football? It definitely is. Or maybe it's a Monday night football. But we hadn't played on a Monday to start a year in a long time. Didn't they do that in twenty eleven Jets? I think it was Sunday was Sunday.

I don't remember number eleven. I wasn't here. I just know we've we've never opened on the road in the time I've worked here. So I just one of these years they're gonna make us do it. Seems weird have years in a road. We've been home Giants, Niners, Giants, Giants, Giants. It's yeah, So I think I think they opened on the road. Seattle is a good guess, um, Panthers. How

about pant Sunday night doesn't look good for Seattle. You're right, that would be more of the three o'clock Yeah, I just I don't see that as a Sunday night opener, opening weekend Sunday night. Earl Thomas, now that can always before any of that happened. I mean, he'll be a tough safety for them back there like he always has been. Cowboys at Panthers Week one. Okay, I don't, I don't know. I just I feel like they're gonna they got they

gotta go on the road. One of these years they have to and then the other I said this to Nick, this is more about us than about the team, but it would be interesting. But I just Christmas. Christmas Day is a Tuesday, so week whatever. That'll be Sunday, the twenty third, we're playing Christmas Eve. Monday night football. We're playing Christmas Eve. I just feel it in my bones. We're at home, all right with that. I don't see it on Christmas Eve. I'm not all right. Not one

host Christmas Eve at Houston. I could deal with that. You could deal with I could deal with that now. I could deal with that. In fact, you'd put all your whole family in Houston. You always just do it there. Well, Houston is already going to be a trip where the whole family goes down, so might as well. Yeah, Christmas Eve, I'm okay, Well thanks, I'm out Thanksgiving. Probably an NFC team,

but it doesn't have to be. That's we were arguing about that the other day and arguing, no, well, we were having a discussion about it the other day because it used to be like, oh, well that'll be it's on CBS, so that'll be an AFC team. But it doesn't work that way anymore. So it could be anybody. It's Fox. Could you could you see though? It? Are we going to Jacksonville? Jacksonville coming here? Jacksonville coming here? Could that be a Thanksgiving game? Sure? Any literally, any

that could be. That's the kind of game that I think could be kind of interesting for a Thanksgiving game. Because of the success of Jacksonville last year. You know, I don't know, you certainly wouldn't put him on Opening Night.

But when you got a brand as as high up there as far as ratings as the Cowboys, and you got a young, up and coming team that you're trying to get a little bit more than I'm thinking as a marketer right now, you're trying to get a little bit more eyeballs on this young, up and coming team and a brand that's consistently been down at the lower half of the of the league. Maybe this is the way to kind of put those brands together and lift

the one that's that's lower. My favorite, it's funny that it's funny that the team that just lost the AFC title game is the low brand and the team that didn't make the play yea, but it still is what it is. The sexy Cowboys Thanksgiving games that I can remember, or Division games like the I mean RG three and as going Toto toe in twenty twelve. The Redskins game

in twenty sixteen was phenomenal. That's That's the game where I think I really and truly brought bought into DAK because Cousins was just zipping them up and down the field, and Dak was answering right back, like making all the throws. Terrence Williams made that great catch in the corner. Um. I just I think it's fun when division teams play on Thanksgiving. Are you got certain that going back to

the opening weekend? Are you certain that the Cowboys, since they've played the Giants so many times, you certain they wouldn't put the Cowboys against the Eagles opening weekend. The rumor is that that's gonna be a Minnesota Philly. I get it. I'm just saying, are you are you certain that that wouldn't be something that the league would consider. I know they don't often do division games like that, but they've put the Cowboys up against the Giants opening

weekend for I'm positive they considered it. But it just seems like there's a lot of smoke about Minnesota being that team and here the schedule day is always kind of annoying for a couple of reasons, just how much they keep it so tight, you know, yeah, um, but also when fans, you know, like, oh man, we got a hard schedule or have an easy schedule, or I mean, just imagine if you were a team last year fast, I mean, rewind a four year and your last four

games of the season, Like, who do we end with in December? Like, well, we got the Saints at home, we got the Eagles at the Vikings, and the Rams. Yes, that's nice, those fourteen that's yeah, it's four teams that none of them had more than seven wins last year. Yeah, and they all win the division and they're all you know. So my point is is that regardless of who's you know what it looks like forty nine Ers, Cardinal ho mean, whoever Cowboys, We've seen teams jump and teams go one

way or the other. I mean, the Giants looked like a really tough, tough matchup and then they weren't last year. So you just never know about about all that stuff. That's why I never get worked up. We look way too much fun to daydream about the possibilities to ignore it them. But the things that we look at, like our whereas Christmas gonna be, Where's New Year's gonna be? You know, like you know, yeah, I liked. I'm like, all right, what Saturdays of LSU games? Am? I gonna

have to be traveling? That's what. That's the first thing I look at, Like, if we're flying, we have to fly on Bama game day. I'll get my own flight, I really will. I'll fly on Friday night or whatever, and make sure it's just important to be sitting somewhere. I don't want to be on an airplane having Mickey giving me a score updates. Ill it's thirteen to ten and the third quarter, Thanks Mick. This is my life like it's life or death, I hope. So I don't

know it'll be that close in the third quarter. By the fourth it'll be way worse. All right, guys, we appreciate you joining us. It was a fun show. We'll be back next week on our normal time Wednesday at eleven am. Told then for Nick Even, Dave Helm and Amber Garcia. I'm 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.