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It's time for the Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com. We were on with Mbar Garcia, Brian brought us, Patrick Walker and Derek Eagleton.
It is Thursday, September fourteenth, twenty twenty three, Season nineteen, episode number thirty one.
Welcome to the latest.
Edition of The Break. We're Alive from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the start, got the full crew back with us today, and today we'll be talking about the New York Jet offense versus the Cowboys defense.
Throughout the course of the show.
We hope to get some questions and there we haven't had questions from fans in a while, so you guys can hit us up on our text line. Eight one seven two nine zero three two nine eight is the number.
You can also call us if you want to talk to us. Eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven.
We'll get some phone calls throughout the show, hopefully and uh and hopefully hear from you guys about this upcoming matchup Cowboys versus Jets. Let's jump in and let's start with an injury update. Yesterday on the injury report, Brandon.
Cooks pops up something. I don't know that I was expecting.
I don't know how many were expecting that, But uh, tell us what's going on with Brandon Cooks and the other guys who have already been on the injury report over the last week.
I definitely was unexpected when it comes to Brandon Cooks, no injury reported from him on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Pops up on the injury report on Wednesday with what's described as a knee injury. Brought us did some research as well. He noticed it was nie is what they're calling it.
Yeah.
I talked to Brandon in the locker room on yesterday and he said, quote unquote, I feel good. He did defer to Mike McCarthy as far as injury prognosis and availability, which just makes sense because you know there might be some gamesmanship in any of that nature. But he says he feels good. Cowboys are going to keep him in the rehab group today because if it is nee soreness, obviously, you want to rest that. Tyler Smith, he did, he
had a workout on yesterday. Mike McCarthy was impressed with that. He also said that Tyler Smith is pushing to play, so that gives me indication that if this were you know, a playoff birth or playoff seating them or something like that, Tyler could play. Cowboys are just being cautious because it's a long season. He'll be with the rehab group today as well. Donovan Wilson had a workout yesterday what Mike
McCarthy called, quote unquote a big workout. He said, Donald did more yesterday than I expected, and that means Donovan Wilson might actually get some burn in practice today, which goes with what Mike said yesterday as far as Donald being slightly ahead of Tyler in his recovery. So I expect to see Donald, you know, maybe limited in practice today, but that's definitely an upgrade over what he's been to this point. So looks like Donovan Wilson definitely had a
good shot at playing against the Jets. Tyler Smith, we're still feeling that out Brandon Cooks if it's just knee soreness as as indicated, then you rested and he should be a go, but we'll see how the week rolls out.
When you talk about that knee, Brian, from what you were hearing, is it soreness that came from something that happened in the game or is it just where.
Yeah, it's in the game. It was something he got, He got banged He got banged up a little bit in the game. Yeah.
Yeah, with older players you just kind of worry like, is it just soreness just because of use.
That that can be something you said on yesterday that it did happen in the game. But the good news is is that he was able to finish the game, so he didn't miss any snaps due to the injury. So that's a good sign as far as where he is with that knee.
When he has problems, it's the soft tissue injury stuff. That's where that's that's something that's been with him throughout his career.
Okay, talking about did you mention Jordan Lewis there, Jordan Lewis?
Okay, So Jordan Lewis was a healthy scratch on last week, which was a bit of a surprise given you know, my conversation with Jordan and Mike McCarthy's press conferences talking about how Jordan was ahead of the curve. I spoke with Jordan Lewis on yesterday just to confirm that it was indeed a healthy scratch, and he said it absolutely was, And it was exactly what I kind of speculated on Twitter when I said maybe the Cowboys want to see
him in practice for another week. That's basically exactly what Jordan told me in the locker room yesterday. He said the coaches came to him and said, you know what, You're ready, but we want to see you in practice ramp up a little bit more this week. So the strong expectation is that Ambar that Jordan Lewis will.
Be on the feet. Got a double check what you're saying from now on.
I'm telling you what I'm told. I'm telling you what I'm told.
So Jordan Lewis, based on what he's telling me, he's one hundred percent confident that he'll be on the field against the Jets. Obviously it's coach's decision, but if you take what Mike McCarthy just said this morning about Jordan Lewis, it seems to be they're in lockstep right now.
So that but you know, it's what's you know, it's I mean, I love what you guys are saying here. You only dressed forty eight of these rats.
I was just about saying that, you know.
And all of a sudden, now it's it. And maybe there is a little bit of a sense of urgency from guys like Donovan Wilson and others when you start to see the success the defense has with backup players in there. And if you're a coach, you have to be very mindful of Okay, do I want to take Marquise Bell out of this lineup right now? Do I want to take Janier Thomas out of this lineup right now?
And you know, that's where we got into a little bit about with duce Vaughn and how many plays is duce fond giving you a game to be able to carry that extra running back there? You know, do you need a defensive player? And nothing against duce Vaughn, but there are going to be some healthy scratches along the way. It'll be interesting to see, you know, with Dan Quinn and the guys that he fights for, the guys that
Bones Fossil fights for. But you can only dress so many of these guys, and then when they start coming back in the lineup, then all of a sudden you're looking at a situation where some other guys are not going to be able to dress. And I think it's it sounds real simple to say, you know, pull them in, plug him in, pull him out kind of a thing, but it really doesn't work all that that easily, especially when you have guys that are playing pretty well.
I even wonder what's the role for a guy like Jordan Lewis, particularly on a week like this where my suspicion is that the Jets will go into this game thinking we want to run, we want to run a lot, And it makes me wonder if Dallas is going to be in a situation where defensively they want to go heavy more and maybe they want to have an extra defensive line and an extra linebacker, an extra safety more
so than having that third cornerback on the field. Because of the running game that the Jets pose, the problems that that running game compose, it makes me wonder, like what would be his role this week as a fourth cornerback, presumably in this in this rotation right now.
Where my mind goes with that is an excellent point that brought us brought up last week when it came to Jordan Lewis is the package against the Saints where it was Jordan Lewis, Spine and Alvin Kamara. So when you look at the skill set of a guy like Breise Hall who can be explosive out of the backfield, Dalvin Cook who can be an explosive receiver out of the backfield as well, Jordan Lewis has shown that he can,
you know, spy those guys effectively. So maybe that's a potential world for him in a game like this.
Yeah, And I was gonna say, like this kind of has been his story in his career where something else happens and he's kind of left out in a way, but yet he finds a way to be back in the group. So I think at the end of the day, I mean, the coaches know dan Quinn has kept him
here for a reason. He knows the talent that he has he will be used this season, and I trust the decision that they make in whatever time or week they decide to go ahead and plug him in because you can't have too many of those guys and you were talking about who are you gonna dress?
Who are you gonna sit?
Right?
I mean, it does sound simple, but it is a problem to a good problem.
It's a great problem to have.
So and it's one of those scenarios that we haven't had, haven't always had that in different past, previous years where we're sitting here like, man, you're sitting out a really talented player, what else are you gonna play?
And you have so many weapons? So it's something super exciting.
I think it goes to the credit to the defensive coaches in the way that they I've always felt like that if you give these defensive coaches players, they will figure out how to play eight to ten plays with a guy. They'll figure out like, Okay, this guy can come in and help us here. You know, where as you mentioned in the past, maybe it was a little bit more focused on Okay, these are you know, these are thirteen fourteen guys that we're going to play and
everybody else. But what you do is you learn that guys like Marquise Bell and others and Janie Thomas and those guys can play because they play three preseason games and then you watch them in practice and then all of a sudden that carries over to the game. So, but these defensive coaches do a heck of a job of getting guys involved, and then it makes you like to say, well, how do you take that guy off? I mean, seriously, you know Bell is a guy on
the field making tackles, big body guys. To Derek's point, we'll get into the Jets and what they're probably going to try and do to you comes Sunday. But you give me these many big body guys on the field that I can handle. If teams are going to try and spread you out and play a lot of wide receivers, then this is where all of a sudden, Jordan Lewis finds a roll back into the game, right.
And I think that's the interesting part here is I think every week mixing on the defense, Yeah, there are gonna be some talented guys who are gonna be inactive every single week every day.
They've got so much talent on this defense that it's going to be a matter of and it probably give you a little indication as what they're.
Thinking schematically on what they think the other team is going to try to do to them and where they think they want to be heavier or lighter depending on.
Who they're playing.
And the cool thing that I really appreciate about this coaching staff is that they've shown not to glue themselves to a player, not to get too attached. They're not afraid to switch someone out, someone out. The only exception that really comes to mind, I would say Kelvin Joseph, but they had to they really have other options. But then Terren Steal, That's the only other case that comes to mind to where they stuck with him and they were right. Turns out to me that they were right.
So it's something that again back in like Jason Garrett's era, when I first started working here, I never saw that they would stick to one guy and just ride the whole season with that person. This coaching stuff just gives guys opportunity.
It was always that next man up thing. It was like when we need you be ready kind of a thing, instead of using everybody on your bench. You know that that administration was more locked into okay, are these are guys? These are twenty two guys and player twenty three on does not really matter here.
I think when it comes to how you're going to figure out that forty eight. I think it might be a situation where Noah Igbinoghni, who had an explosive debut for the Cowboys with their Special teams touchdown and I had a great conversation with him. Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you go to Dallas Cowboys dot com and check that out. This might a situation where he finds himself
inactive to bring Jeordan Lewis in. Yeah, then because you want to if Donald is in fact going to play, you still have to have that depth just in case, right, So Marquispell, Jeye Thomas, those are also going to be special teams guys who knock on wood. If they have to come in defensively, they can come in and be available.
But I think this could be a situation where when you're trying to figure out numbers game Igbinogany although the explosive game in week one and it would not be a knock to his talent if he were inactive in week two. It would just simply be trying to figure out the scheme for this particular week and who needs to sit, who needs to play based upon the personnel that the other team is present.
They already dress for specialists if you count C. J. Goodwin, because he really doesn't play any defensive snaps for you. So now you're you know, that's an extra guy that you have to account for because he really is a specialist in that way. So it's a it's it's a it's a it's a little bit of board gymnastics to try and figure out, but a lot of it has to do with what your your your facing scheme wise.
All right, we're gonna take our first break.
We will come back and jump into Jets offense versus Cowboys defense.
Brian has the breakdown. We'll be back Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Back to the break, Okay, let's see hey. Rally Days presented by seat Geek gives fans NFL fans an experience of a lifetime the day prior to the Dallas Cowboys home games on September sixteenth, Enjoy activities at Miller Lte House, get a behind the scenes tour of AT and T Stadium, and more. Visit at and T stadium dot com slash Rally days for more information and to get your tickets.
Today, welcome back, second segment of The Break live from the SWNBC Mortgage Studios.
At the Star.
Brian, Let's dive in Jets offense versus Cowboys defense.
Go Okay, let me finish this text real quick and I got that done. All right, here we go. Yeah, with the Jets, this is where when you start to watch the tape. I don't know if the plan versus the Bills was to play with twelve and thirteen personnel in this game time that Aaron Rodgers was in there, but as the game wore on, that's what they did
when Zack Wilson came into the game. So it was initially, you know, it's only four plays, you really kind didn't really figure things out for what they were gonna do with Rogers, what the plan was going to be. But when Zack Wilson came in the game, he saw more tight ends in the game. Twelve thirteen personnel, two tight ends, three tight ends. They're going to load up on the edges with multiple blockers. They appear to they run the ball better when they get in these personnel groups that
twelve and thirteen personnel group. They'll use this in a form to help also with pass protection, so they'll keep guys in. I think this is a game where you're going to see them trying to deal with the Cowboys in with spacing more than just maybe some one on one block. And when you put tight ends in there. If you put a tight end in a wing, what does that do? It takes a man and removes him two gaps. So sometimes you can create spacing to help your blockers not have to deal with a pass rush
that's going to come off the edge. But look for them to try and help them use that to help them also in that running game. Zach Wilson I mentioned he's going to be your starter. This is his third season. He still doesn't look super comfortable as a player. You could really see some hit and miss in him in his game. Accuracy will come and go, Receivers will bail
him out at times. I feel there are plays where he's just made up his mind where he's going to go with the football, and pre snap he's just like, Okay, I'm just going to throw it here and then hope for the best. I don't think he's a really a natural player for the position right now, you know, there's kind of some throw the ball and hope for the best. I'm not sure there's some real progression as far as reading what you're going to do defensively to him or
he could see that. So maybe with dan Quinn you try and fool him a little bit with some alignment and then rotate some ways, and he has a tendency not to see everybody on the field, so it might be a way to kind of take advantage of him. The offensive line, in my opinion and is a better run blocking unit than they are a pass blocking unit. At this point. They'll pull, they'll trap to get blocks. Crack toss where you take the wide receiver inside you pull guys to the edge is a good play for them.
They double team at the point of attack, but they'll struggle at times to get second level blocks. When center Connor McGovern had a real trouble getting to the second level and when he didn't do that, the play resulted into a tackle for loss. There. Twist stunts by the Bills were a problem for them, especially on the left side of the offensive line. That's Lake and Tomlinson and Dwayne Brown. They didn't pass the stunts well enough. Resulted
in some pressures over on that side. Cowboys like to move the front, like to kind of try and and mess with your blocking schemes a little bit mess with you with the way that they rushed their guys. When rushing McKay Beckton the tackle, you just need to keep pushing the edge on him. He's not when rushers stop with him, he then has a chance to recover. You just need to keep pushing on him, pushing on him, pushing on him, and it'll put him in a blocking spot.
There vera tucker the guard, he'll struggle with power, so you can knock him back as well. So they've got some issues with their offensive line. Like I said, I think they're a little bit better run blocking group than they are a passing group. Running backs Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook will be a problem. Both have shown the ability to make the first man miss in order to create space. I've seen tackles just facklers bounce off them and attempt to wrap them up. They're powerful running styles.
Hall is outstanding reading the blocks and then allowing them to develop and then getting through the hole. That's something that he when he sees that all of a sudden, you see it kind of develop and then he finds it and then he goes and he's a hard guy to kind of bring down in that in that there's just no hesitation in his game. Both backs will play in the backfield at the same time, they'll set up plays off that. Nathaniel Hackett is not afraid to run
screens with either one of these guys. That goes to your point about maybe with Jeorge Lewis being in this game, but he'll put him in the backfield. He'll run one one way, throw the screen back, or he'll throw a screen or a swing to the other one. But he's trying to do some things to create some issues with him with formations. Both catch the ball well. Both can make plays on the ball with it in their hands. A wide receiver, Garrett Wilson, he's got the potential be
one of the best receivers in the league. He became a full time starter, like in week thirteen of his rookie season. He's become their like their go to guy. He's had five receptions, one touchdown, Three first downs of his five receptions were first down. His body control, his balances impressive. He's a dynamic playmaker in every sense of the word. You can play him inside, you can play him outside. He gets and you get productive plays for him as you're going along there. There's a real looseness
to his game and the way he moves. You know when you watch him, there's not any tightness to him. He's one of those guys that's he kind of flows and you know when he's running routes and you have to be careful where he'll send you one way with like a little move and then get back the other way and create that separation. So when you feel like you got him covered, he finds ways to come up with the ball. So I think he would have really
really benefited from Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback. I think Rogers would have just abul have had a great combination together. But that's not the case anymore. The next guy you kind of need to worry about is Alan Lazar. We all know Alan Lazarre from the days of when he was with the Packers. He's got this sizeable catch radius
due to his length. So he's one of these real long guys and he's always kind of making plays, but he can win fifty to fifty balls and two of his four receptions resulted in first downs against the Bills as well. So those are the guys that you kind of need to worry about when you focus in on
what the Jets are trying to do. I think their quarterback could be fooled in some things, maybe some coverage things could kind of make him feel like he's got the right read, but then you do something different and it causes him to turn over the ball. So I think that's a good thing that he's playing in the game and not Aaron Rodgers, to be honest with it.
And in this morning's drop of the Science Lab Week two, I focused in on Zach Wilson and I talked about it, you know, briefly in the lab Coat this past Tuesday, and how he performs poorly under duress. One out of every four of his throws are bad throws when you pressure him. Forty percent of the playbook in Zach Wilson's career has been play action that goes to what Brian is saying, you have to eliminate and at least try to contain Breese Hall and Dalvin Cook when it comes
to that offensive line. We talk about Brandon Cook's dealing with you know a little bit of an injury, Cowboys dealing with some injuries. Well, Dwayne Brown Macai be Beckedon both popped up on the Jets' injury report yesterday with
a shoulder and a knee injury, respectively. So those guys aren't healthy, and those guys being less than one hundred percent already being already struggling against the pass rush for a Buffalo Bill's team, and then now you're going up against a much better pass rush, and the Cowboys name of the game is to stop the run, beat up on that, beat up on those guys in the trenches, and really make Zach Wilson turn him into Sam Darnould Allow twenty nineteen against the Patriots.
Have him out there seeing ghosts because.
He is a young guy going against a veteran defensive coordinator, going against veteran impact guys on defense. You can have him out there seeing apparitions thinking okay, well, this is the read, this is the coverage. And because he does not progress well, he doesn't go through his progressions. Well,
that's why he is so poor under Durest. Because he's already a guy who doesn't read his second and third checkdown well, So if you force him into those, you're going to force him to give that ball away and then come the takeaway game.
So let's talk about's dive into this a little bit. I want to talk specifically about those running backs for a second, Reese Hall last week, he was the better of the two. Ten carries one hundred and twenty seven.
Yards, had a long run, very long run.
Yeah, Dalvin Cook at thirteen carries for thirty three yards, not as much production.
But they gave him a little bit more.
Do you think that part of the split there is about the fact that they're easing Breeze haul back from the season ending injury a year ago as opposed to this week where maybe they ram him up a little bit more. Because Resol really scares me because not only is he a good running back, he has that speed that he can go. He can go the distance on any particular play. Do you think he'll get more opportunities this week against the Cowboys than maybe they gave him last week.
I feel like that they're going to continue to play with both backs. I feel like that they the numbers. What I saw with the way that they ran the football and with Dalvin Cook. Dalvin Cook is and we remember Dalvin Cook last year in the game in Minnesota. It was an absolute disaster for the Vikings offense. But Dalvin Cook, I think average almost seven yards of carry last last time against the Cowboys run and Dalvin Cook scares me because there's that physical side. He's one of
those guys. They you handle the ball, he hits you, he hits you again. He seems to kind of get better as that goes on. So don't I don't see with the situation with Hall. As good as Hall was last year until he hurt his knee. I just feel like that they're committed to playing two guys because they could throw the ball to either. And this is the thing that that this is going to help Zach Wilson,
in my opinion. The fact of just saying, okay, let's split the load between because they're they're going to have to run the football in this game. I just don't see like it in this saying they're Okay, we're going to load up with Brice Hall here. I think it's going to be like Briess, you know, maybe it's two three plays and then it's Dalvin Cook two three plays
and then it's back that. You know, I think they're going to try and just keep the snap count that way because if they if they they're gonna if they go into the season now with Zach Wilson and it is going to be his his team the whole way, they're gonna just completely destroy Brice Hall by week seven
if they just yelled. So, I think the carries are still gonna the bound even when the Giants or excuse the Jets leave here, I think you'll see the carries balance because that you just don't want to wear out Brice Hall to the point where he's not any good in week ten or week eleven for you.
Yeah, they didn't sign Dalvin Cook to not utilize Dalvin Cook, and obviously that would have been the free agency conversation. Dalvin Cook wants to play, and the conversation would have been, we're going to play. It's going to be more of a two back system, which for the most part you've seen the NFL kind of going to nowadays more than that true bell cow back. I mean, you know, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard for the past few seasons have been that for the Cowboys, So I think that's what
Tobrin's point. I think that's what the Jets are looking to build over the course of the season. So I think it'll be a pretty even split for the most part. Brece Hall was more explosive in the touches he got last week. Dalvin Cook got I think ten plus more reps, but you still see it hover around that fifty to fifty mark.
As far as red count is concerned.
When you go back to last week's game against the Giants, what did you guys specifically see in the running game in that first series that the Giants had when they had so much success on the ground, what did you see in that drive that that maybe they were having success with that maybe Dallas is going to have to figure.
Out how Sure, Yeah, if you go back and really watch, like guys like Clark and others were having problems, they were catching blocks, you know, and then and and the and the Giants did a really good job of coming off the ball and getting into them, and then you know, Dallas not playing off those blocks. So you got guys, so the linebackers you yeah, a lot. Yeah, I thought there was a couple of times so Clark Well, Clark overran one that ended up being a big But the
quarterback runs hurt them more. With with when you looked at what Saquon Barkley was, it was a five yard carry five, you know that kind of the quarterback runs were the ones to me that were pretty alarming. But when you looked at when you looked at what with Barkley when he carried the ball, to me, that was
when Dallas really struggled of not the disengage. When Dallas is bad against the run, their guys get get caught and then turned and now it creates these gaps and then you get when they when and then all of a sudden, linemen are up on second level. And that's the problem we were talking about with the Jets a little bit here. You know, their center wasn't as good, but when they got when they with their combinations the way they blocked, they were able to get some hats
on hats and then you know, create space. And that's what the Giants were able to do in that early in that game, is the double team blocks and then getting somebody to the second level and then being able to attack where they blocked. There was there was a couple of times there where I felt like the Giants could have really gashed the Cowboys pretty well. There was a tackle one of the safeties of who came up and tackled Barkley on a play that could have been
just huge. I thought it was one. I wasn't sure if it was Himbercurse, but I just remember it just hitting so fast and then having to get over there and make the tackle. When Dallas is bad, they catch blocks they've got they can't they can't just go toe to toe. They're kind of built to play more on the move. With the exception of your two inside guys. You know what people think. People think that if you just put Mazy and Hankins in there together, that it's
gonna get cures running game stuff. It really doesn't always work that way. What do teams do when they play against Vidave and others. They run the ball to the outside, They run the edge nobody. I mean, you don't be stupid enough to sit there and run. Think you're gonna run. Yeah, I mean if your center can't hold up against Hankins, or your center can't hold up against Mazzie Smith because or your guards can't hold up you're not going to run the ball inside. I mean, having those big body
guys inside great, But what did teams do? Teams become creative with the way they run the ball. It's more, especially with the Jets, it's down block, down, block, loop guys around, trap guys. You know, if you get spacing in there. You know, guy gets upfield, you trap him, ball goes behind him.
You know.
This isn't like nineteen fifty eight anymore, where you just hand the ball inside and just run. So having Mazy and Hankins in there at the same time, yeah, good. But also it's about it's also about having Tank play well. It's about Vanderesh playing well. It's about Clark playing well. It's about one of those safety stepping up and playing well. You can't let guys block you if you want to be good in the running game. And that's when the
Cowboys are bad at it. They don't get off blocks well enough.
I feel like that the New York Jets are going to look at that film against that the Cowboys did against the New York Giants and some of those scripted plays they're probably going to borrow as far as quarterback mobility, because you look at the runs that Jones was kind of rattling off against the Cowboys were very decisive runs. Those weren't checkdowns and take off that was called Those
were called plays. And then you go against a guy like Zach Wilson who is just not good in the passing game, particularly under the wrist, but when he takes
off in runs he averages nine yards a game. So I think the Jets are going to test the Cowboys and try to put them on their heels with that first, mixing in a healthy dose of Breee and Cooks and cook I should say, but if you can neutralize that, and if you're the Cowboys, you also you're looking at that Versus Giants film and you're saying, well, what went wrong when Daniel Jones went off? How did we get stuck on? What block did we get stuck on? And
then that way you can improve. So if the Jets try to deploy that, you have an answer for they would.
If I'm the Jets, I would rather die in the running game than die throwing the ball. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna at least I'm not gonna tee off on a QUI I'm not gonna let you tee off my quarterback. This is the only one I've really got left. Yep, you know I'm not going to let you. The one strength the Cowboys has is cover and rush. The one thing that they're still trying to prove is they could shut people down from running the football.
Which Mike mc party talked about that this morning is press conference. He said, we better be comfortable with that, stopping the run and doing it over and over and over again, because every team that they play, right is probably going to come in with the same game plan, run the ball.
Yeah, this is a.
Perfect game to use the score board as the eleventh defender, right, because if the Jets are going to run, run, run, okay, well be it defensive touchdown and or special teams touchdown and or the offense getting off to a fast start and finding pay dirt. If you start to run up the score a little bit and it becomes a two possession game.
You take them out. Take There you go. Now they can't run the ball. There you go.
All right, We're going to take our final break. We we'll come back.
And I got more questions for these guys on the matchup Cowboys defense versus Jets offense.
We'll be back Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio.
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Head to the Pro Shop at Arlington Parks Mall in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, September twenty third, between eleven am and four pm. Four Cowboys Collection on tour. See rare team archives, customized headwear and grab a gift with a purchase and enter for a chance to win a giveaway. Stay tuned for more tour stops coming throughout the season. Probably should have read that before I read that. How about that? But go see that. That's that tour, that's the archives stuff.
Right, Yeah, it's part of the tour.
That's great. Yeah, go check that out. That's cool.
All right, here we go, final segment of the break Let's talk Cowboys defense versus Jets offense. Give me an assessment on Mazzie Smith. This last game you mentioned in the last segment, Brian, how do you think he played this last game and whatever snaps he actually got?
You know what, I thought Mozzi Smith was better than what he'd shown in the preseason, and I feel like that there's there's he's starting to understand what his responsibility is he understands that he's not playing against Purdue or Indiana or Michigan State over there. He's playing in NFL games. And if you don't play with quickness and you don't get off the ball, then you're going to get blocked. These these linemen are good enough enough to be able
to hook you, to turn you. Uh, they'll play with leverage, you know. But he's starting to understand there are times where when he is in when he has problems, he doesn't get off the ball quick enough.
You see everybody else go ye and especially specific.
Yeah, but it was yeah, but it was better than what it like. There were plays in the preseason where it was down after down after down where you're watching and it's it's especially it's especially noticeable when you play next to Osa, who is like standing on their backfield by the time you're going to come off the ball there. So he's got to realize movement and initial quickness is
more important to him than power. And the minute he figures out that when he gets off the ball, teams will have trouble blocking him because of his size and power. But he's he's it's it was better. It was better, And I'm not chilling for the kid or chilling for the for the the scouting department. But you can honestly see there was a little bit better getting off the ball. Is that was chilly? Chilly?
Like a shield?
Well, no, I'm covering for him, covering for covering.
Yeah, so like a shield, you're shielding, covering.
Yeah.
Okay, I just yeah, I don't know what you were saying, but got it, thank you.
So I guess from that standpoint, and you mentioned it that last segment, I think that we did see during training camp there were times when the Cowboys did use both mazi and and Hankins together. And I know what you're saying, Like, it doesn't solve everything together. It does make me wonder though, if if we might see that more from the standpoint of as you said before, one of the big issues there in the first in that first drive was the linebackers were getting offensive linemen in their laps.
They couldn't get off the blocks.
If you've got those two guys up front, does that also now make them tie up those offensive linemen to where those linebackers can float to the ball if they are deciding to go to the Yeah.
But the thing about it it is those two guys in front have to hold those those I mean to me, if you stand there and just take a block, take a block, and guys willize like, okay, we're in position, and then they'll just go and hit and then go.
You know, they'll just like and it's not like a hand check or something like that, but you just go hip to hip and then bounce it and then go knowing that, Okay, this guy's not gonna do anything like if you try and double team, like say like OSA, he's going to find a way to attack that He's going to attack a shoulder or he's gonna get through by the time you get or make it difficult for you to double team. These bigger guys they kind of
stand up and take on. But then people realize like, okay, they're not going to do anything other than just stand there and then we'll take the guard and go ahead and go up. Yeah, you know, so you have to be you know, just if you're gonna if you're gonna take on double teams, make sure you're on you're pushing to get on the other side of the line of scrimmage, because if you just stand straight up, you know, the ball is still going to probably go to the outside.
You know, those linebackers are still going to run, you know, to try and get to the ball. So to me, it's more about, yeah, take on blocks, but take on blocks on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Don't take on blocks two yards on your side of the line of scrimmage.
When you look at the tight ends from last week we all talked about yesterday, they had some issues there catching the ball. What do you evaluate from the standpoint of their ability to block?
I loved it, I absolutely loved it. I mean, you know, in the post Jason Whitten and now post Dalton Shuts era, the question was with these young guys not could they make plays. We saw them make plays with the ball as pass catchers last year. The question was can they upgrade the blocking Hindershot as an undrafted guy, he came in, wasn't the best blocker in college, but he started to make some strides and you see that in the game
like on Sunday against the Giants. Jake Ferguson was a better blocker last year, especially coming out of school, but he even upgraded over here. So while we can rightfully say we need those guys to start catching the ball, and Jay Ferguson didn't log any drops last year, so I'm I'm just gonna go Millie Vanilli and blame it on the rain. For Jake Ferguson, Hindershot has dropped some balls, so you know he needs to show consistency in his
pass catching. But when it comes to blocking, I think it was just a plus from those two guys.
That's a Grammy Award winning group. By the way.
Yeah, okay, I kind of my turn to talking about Okay, let me speak. I forgot I had a voice, but now I'm just kidding. I mean everything that you just said. Patrick is Well said you talk about Luke's kommaker and you were trying to figure out or we talked about his ability to blog. That was one of his selling points for the draft. He got drafted for that because
you had questions about can these tight ends block? And that was the one thing that you were still missing in that group and in the offense, especially when you talk about injuries happening in the old line. You need some extra help that can co men and block for you. So kudos to them. They're done a great job, and I believe such a short amount of time. I thought it would take longer for us to start seeing that part of the game progressed throughout the season.
They were able to present that present.
That right away in week one and to the point where you're not needing to force or hurry a guy like Luke Schoonmaker to get in the game to hopefully help you balance out the game as far as I come in and help you with the blocking, so you're not needing to force that aspect now that these guys are showing the improvement in that area of the game, so that's really good for that.
There'll be a challenge this week to block the guys that the Jets have. Though the John Franklin Myers is a good player. We talked about Carl Lawson potentially playing in this game. They play that I mentioned they play without spacing with their what they call the wide nine with the wide guys, So it'll be a little bit more of a challenge for the guys to block because I feel like there's a little bit better quality of
some of the some of the defensive ends. These guys play the run really really well.
Is there any concern you guys have for the Dallas defense getting gashed in the run game because they are so eager to get after the quarterback, especially in a game like this when you know that quarterback does not do well with pressure.
I think they've shown more discipline that in that area as far as knowing when to pin their ears back and when to drop gears and be able to drop back and say, okay, well off the snap, I'm on full go, but oh recognize this is now a run play to the edge, drop and then covering the flat. I think they've done an exceptional job over the past couple of years as they progress more and more in dan Quinn's system and being able to go from top gear and dropping down a couple of gears in real time.
So I mean, when you talk about talent like Breeze Hall Delvin Cook, they're gonna get their plays. The question is can the Cowboys limit the number of those big plays that happen and bottle cap the size So you don't want an eighty plus yard from Breeze Hall because that can be a game changer depending on the situation. But I've seen those guys the Cowboys defense in real time, especially guys like Sam Williams who last year had only
one gear go eat. But this year he's already making progress and improving his run defense, and a part of that improvement is knowing when to recognize that, Hey, I thought this was a past play pre snap, but I recognized in real time this is now a run, and he would drop down a couple gears.
So kudos to those guys.
So I'm not as worried about it as I was in say twenty twenty one or twenty twenty specifically.
Well, in the second segment, I think, if I remember correctly, you mentioned something about Wilson averaging about ninety yards per run and Brian you were talking, and you've mentioned it too as far as like the Jets possibly taken last week's film and them looking specifically at that first series and how the Giants were successful in that first in
those first drives. Do you feel, though, because you mentioned Brian, how they would be in their quarterback but looking at again to the opposite of that that the running game plus a mobile quarterback is kind of what is the weak length for this Cowboys defense? Do you feel that they would show some confidence or that a guy like Wilson would have some confidence to take off with the ball and try those Sure.
I mean, that's the thing that to me, especially if you're well, if they're if the Cowboys are so willing to get up the field, if you're willing to create you know, lanes, you know rush lanes and stuff like that, if you're able to you know, the twist games and stuff like that, maybe you get two guys that get blocked together and all of a sudden, there's a lane to run. Yeah. Absolutely, I could see Wilson just taking
off and running with the ball. The biggest fear of the Cowboys have is that teams will run the football on them. That's the biggest fear because what will happen is all that pass rush stuff that they do will not matter. If teams can move the ball by just
running the ball. But they could also where you down running the football and all of a sudden, now you're not so not so anxious to go and rush the passer because you're thinking, okay, here comes a run, and now you're playing like gear down, and you play gear down, and all of a sudden, wait a minute, they go play action on us, and they hit us over the top, or they hit us with the tight end play or they throw it to the back.
But knowing that you lost Rogers and you're only starting week two, do you as a team go ahead and give him that livery to be free to run, or do you try to protect him a little bit more.
They protect him when he throw when they throw the ball, they'll protect him with putting extra guys tight ends in the game to allow again by spacing, to keep the rushers off him, but they'll also keep those guys in.
They've kept tight ends in and kept it back in and then just played with just two wide receivers running routes, you know, So that's kind of to their game plan is they feel like the best chance they have of getting the ball out was to keep tight ends in and keep it back in and then just try and see if they can win one on one on the outside. So they're gonna do everything that they can not to let this rush affect him. But the way that they're
going to do it is they're gonna run the football. Absolutely, that's how they're gonna do it. They're gonna wear you down running the ball. They're gonna make you play run defense in this game for sure.
All Right, I appreciate you guys. Jon us back tomorrow.
We will wrap up everything, get you guys ready for Cowboys Versus.
Just till then.
For Patrick Walker, Brian brought us Amber Garcia. I'm Derek Eagleston. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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