Cowboys Break: Predicting the Game

the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star. Me and Nick are actually in the studio for the first time together in what maybe seven months, and we've got Amber and Dave who are at their own locations undisclosed locations, but we got a lot of stuff to talk about. We can get you guys ready for Cowboys First Rams. That happens this Sunday. And I don't know if everybody else is excited, but I'm really excited after watching football last night, live football, actual action games that meant something

in the National Football League. It was really really great. You didn't watch hockey. It's boy of that to set up. I was gonna say, man, seriously, you gonna do that to me, Like, you know, I can't. I've been banned from talking about hockey. Yeah, no, I'm talking about the NFL. And I know Dave he's got on this LSU hoodie. I'm assuming he enjoyed that performance by his guy last night. Nice performance by the by the Chiefs overall, but your

guy kind of showed out a little bit. I mean we were we wear a college gear on Fridays during the season anyway, which because there's no college games yet, it doesn't mean that has to change. But I mean Clyde Edwards Zilaire I said it when he got drafted. It is gonna be the best fit of any first round pick, even more so than Ceedee Lamb. And I'm feeling good about it. I'm feeling good about it after one week. Kind Of hard to mess it up when

you come in and become the starter in that offense. Like, if you mess that up, you probably shouldn't be dropped in the first round, right, But he's perfect for what they're trying to do. I mean, do you remember that play where the Chiefs just everybody just went forward and nobody went misdirection? Because I don't think it happened like every time there's someone going in motion and then they go back the other way and it's this fake option here. It's get your head spinning. I mean, but he fits

perfectly into what they're doing and everybody can run. Yeah, so you got misdirection and everybody can run. That's very very tough. It looked good. It looked really good. Himmer, are you doing today? Good? This is not typical Amber. Yeah, this is not typical Amber. Let's jump in. We got a lot of stuff we want to hit today. I first want to start, Um, there was a little bit of news that broke this morning, not a big deal, but I do want to give it some context to

Marcus Lawrence. Cowboys signed him to a one year voidable extension. Um, I guess talk about the two terms of what the deal is, and then kind of what it means Nick the terms. I'd rather Dave do that, because Dave actually wrote the story. But I know what overall, what it means is that they're just trying to clear up some money, not so much for this year, no, not for a safety that's sitting out there, but to try to sign their quarterback next year and they could roll over some

money for next year. So these these moves are just to just to make sure that if the cap is flat next year or even goes backwards, that they've got some money to sign these players include especially Dak. Yeah, I think the big thing is good Dave, Oh good day. No, it's it's just so Tank was on a sixteen million dollars salary. They converted the vast majority of that to a signing bonus. It's something we've seen them do a

million times. They did it with Zach three days ago, and they did it with Tyron Smith about a month ago. The difference here is actually they added another year to Demarcus's contract, which allows them to spread out the rest of the hit, which that's wonderful. You know, it helps them manage the cap and it's avoidable years, so you know, if for some reason they don't want him at that point, they don't have to keep him. So pretty smart bit

of bookkeeping. But yeah, to next point. You know, it's impossible to predict what the salary cap is going to do because we don't know how many fans are going to be part of the games this year and a million other things, but it's a very good guess that the cap is not going to be two hundred and ten million, which it probably would have been in a normal year. So when you think about the fact that you either have to tag or sign back, you probably

need all the spare change you can get. Yep, and that's going to be the most important part is that tag. They will need that to be able to at least give themselves some leverage that if you call that leverage in their negotiations. So they got to make sure they got room to be able to that very least tag him to make sure they keep his services for next year, regardless of what happens with the long term contract. Let's

move on. Let's talk a little bit real quick, and just to clarify direct five, because I see a lot of people asking or not asking but commenting on social media whether this is for DAK or clearing space once again for Earl Thomas. So for sure we think this is meant for DAK Prescott's contract for next year. Well just think about this critically for a second. And I'm not talking to you specifically, Amber, but I've gotten a

lot too. But even even if they did get Earl Thomas, after everything that's happened, like you don't need thirty million dollars to sign Earl Thomas. You just there's not a player available right now on September eleventh that would cost that much money. Clowne's not out there. He wouldn't have been that expensive anyway. He signed for like half of that. You don't need that much money to bring a free agent in. So even if they want Earl Thomas, this

isn't what that's about, yea. So it all points to the fact that this is about future planning, knowing that that the salary cap could go down or could stay flat, and they're gonna need to again, They're gonna need to tag the quarter back, and they will probably have some free agents that they want to look at, probably on their own team, that they may need to resign as well. All right, let's move on. I want to talk just

a quick moment about Dak Prescott. And we didn't mention yesterday on the show that Dak that Dak was going to be meeting with the press. He did have a conversation yesterday a press conference with the media, and he

talked about his mental health. That that was something that came up a little earlier from an interview that he'd done back during the offseason, and I think it really blew up, mainly because Skip Bayliss had something to say on his show about it and and essentially said that, you know, as the quarterback of the Cowboys, maybe he shouldn't be talking about this publicly. I want to get you guys as thoughts because I think it's for me. It's pretty clear that talking about mental health is a

good thing. I think for too many years in our country, those kinds of things were things you kind of swept under the rug. There were things you didn't talk about publicly because it made people think of you, or at least people tried to get this sception that meant you

a week. And I think the best thing our society has done in the last i don't know, maybe five to ten years, it's being more open about having those discussions because it then allows people to understand that this is something that happens to a lot, happens to a lot of people, and it's not a sign of weakness. It is really just something that happens. It's like any other medical condition that you have to treat, and you have to be open and forward about treating. I'd like

to get your y'all's opinion on this. Let's start first with you, Dave. Yeah, And you know, this is something that I've gotten a lot since I've tweeted about it yesterday, which is, hey, I don't like to pay attention to what Skip Bayliss says. I try not to, and I think most of our listeners probably agree. He's a joke, he's a fraud. His opinions are less than worthless when it comes to football. But I kind of draw the line when you're offering opinions that could really damage people.

That was really the big takeaway for me is to have a national play platform and to go on TV and to insinuate that Dak Prescott is weak for seeking help or wanting to talk about it, ignoring the good that that could do. That the face of America's team

is telling you it's okay to get help. I just I just couldn't stop thinking about the idea of somebody who's having a terrible year, just you know, in the worst place, seeing that and just further confirming their untrue, you know, thought that there's nothing that they could do and that they shouldn't talk about it. I absolutely hated it, so I don't like to give Skip Bayliss the platform,

but we need to address that. I mean, it's a it's a dangerous rhetoric, and I mean I agree with everything you set, like, good for Dak for seeking help, good for Dak for talking about it, because you can't underestimate the impact that it has when somebody that visible is willing to go on the record about these things. And I already had a low opinion of Skip Bayliss,

but it's it's on another level at this point. I actually want to want to get an opportunity for Amber to talk about this because I know Amber, this is something that's really personal to you. Tell us a bit about about how anxiety and that kind of thing has affected your life. Well, I dealt with anxiety ever since I was really young, and for the longest time, I mean for years and years and years, I just didn't understand what was going on, and I didn't know what

anxiety was. So something that a lot of people don't know, people that don't necessarily deal with this issue, is that it's a big deal there. Anxiety and depression are hand in hand, and there's a very very fine line between anxiety, depression and then suicidal thoughts. So you have to be really really careful with your words. And I think one thing that has been the theme for this year is basically shut up and listen. Listen to others and what

they're dealing with. So this is one of those things that if you it's really hard for someone to understand for someone that has never we dealt with it. So in that case, if you know somebody that is dealing with it, whether it's a family member, a friend, or someone you know, the best thing that you can do is just take a step back and listen after your ears.

Because the one thing, I will say, the one thing that has helped me the most has been able just the ability to talk about it, hearing other people, knowing that you're not alone, knowing that you're not awadough that this is not it's more common than you think. And yes there are different levels of anxiety. So you just

need to be really really careful. And being a female in a world that female are perceived as you know, sensitive and weak, maybe it was really hard for me as a female to come to a place where I felt okay accepting that and just talking about it where I didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed. So for a guy like Dak being a man and being in such public eye, so much visibility, I think that it takes great strength that he was able to open up and talk about

the issue. And I'm very happy, very very happy that football is back, because not only is it gonna be able is now able to get out of that fund, being out of his house, being surrounded by teammates, being surrounded by people that will take him to filling in a much better place, but also the fact that he's being able to find a comfort level where he's okay

speaking about it to other people. Because once again, when someone like that that many many young people look up to says something like that that speaks about anxiety, I alt really know for a fact that his words has already helped many many people. Yeah, and I will say this, after dealing with you Amber for a number of years and working with you and learning more about you in your background, you want it mentally tough as people I know, so we know this has nothing to do with being weak.

This is all about medical conditions and it's something that

people should talk about. Is something that people should take seriously and be willing to have that conversation, and especially coming off a situation where remember, Dak lost his brother to suicide this offseason, and so this is something that's very personal, I'm sure to him at this point because he realizes the importance of creating the environment where people feel like they can talk and express themselves on these issues, rather than getting to a point where they feel so

isolated that, as you said, Ambridge starts dipping into that those suicidal thoughts and can certainly lead to some really, really really tragic situations. Nick, did you have some thoughts on this, Well, I just I think it's it's sad that, you know, when you put guys in here. He says he's a fan Skip Bayliss. He says he's a cowboy fan. I don't know if I buy any of that, but if that's the case, that's the sad part about this is is that he's thinking of Dak Prescott as the

player and not Dak Prescott as the man. And we cruise five players all the time for being boring and not opening up and telling what they think, and then they go out and then they actually do that. They show how real they really are. There's a real person dealing with real issues that everyone not everyone, but a lot of people have and they just don't make thirty

one point four million. And you know, the America's team franchise quarterback and so you know, it's it's just sad that that, you know, he took it there because he's thinking, is this guy mentally tough to be the quarterback for my Cowboys? When in reality it's I hope this guy's okay. And so you know that's you know, I don't think he should be fired. I don't think that, but I just think, you know, he should have a much better

apology than that, but than what he did. And you know, when your bosses have to come in and apologize for you, that's not good. That's never good when they just they just pull vault over you and say we don't think like him, right, And that's that's exactly what happened. Go ahead, Dave, I'm sorry, I which I hate to even I don't

want to give the dude any more airtime. But if he calls himself a Cowboy fan, he absolutely is a fraud because how could you, I mean, whatever you think about him as a you know, if you don't think he's the best quarterback in the world. Fine, but like, how can you criticize Dak Prescott's mental and physical toughness

if you know literally anything about him? Like his whole story is about being a resilient, whether it's being under recruited in high school, whether it's losing his mother during a game week during his college career, leading a team to a thirteen three record as a rookie, playing through a broken thumb, playing through a sprained ac joint with the division on the line last year, Shut the hell up, Like it's I mean, there's more important stuff than whether

or not Dak is tough. But that's ridiculous and it just further shows Skip Baylis is full of crap. Well said Dave, We're gonna take our first break, We're gonna come back. And now we got a season preview for

you guys. I got some questions I'm gonna throw out to this crew, and we're gonna look back at training camp and give you some idea of what we think of this team heading into the season, and also look back at last season, talk about some of the things that we thought were challenges for this team last season, and talk about how much we think the team has addressed those issues heading into the twenty twenty season. We'll do all that when we come right back. This is

Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio. We're back in a tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor Pepper and cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor Baba cream Soda. Is he a new combone that's music to my ears? Okay, doctor time, music to my ears? And mouse new Doctor pepper and cream Soda. Delas just do ba? I want to use what the pros use. How about the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black.

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want to travel aren't really places at all. They're people. They're grandparents, mom's, old friends, and new nephews. That's why at American Airlines we've been using enhanced cleaning measures so you can feel confident every step until you get to them. So, as always, our people can't wait to take you to yours. American Airlines, you are why we fly Back to the Break. Welcome back to the second segment of The Break, live from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star. We're talking

Cowboys football. We're gonna get you guys ready for Cowboys Versus Rams. That happens this Sunday, Sunday Night Football, seven twenty pm. Central Time. Nick is actually going to be on the plane and gonna be giving you guys some updates along the trip. I think, aren't you gonna do a video tomorrow night when y'all get into LA. I just gotta I thought you were saying, I gotta like step up my tweet game, because yeah, you should. I know, I know you should, because Dave won't be there to

build you out on Twitter. Dave on Twitter, Yeah, they will not be and there to be able to build you out on this one. So send send me what you want to say. I'm gonna be eyebrow rubbing and I'm gonna be there. We go LSU recruits and what the Mariners are doing, plus everything else. With the Cowboys, You're gonna feel so lost, lost and I was gonna

use the word naked, but that sounds weird. But without without your crew with you, like without all of us together on the road, you're gonna feel so isolated, like you're just gonna be with players. It's not gonna be fun not. I mean, that's definitely gonna be funerary. And I saw the like what we're supposed to you know that they said that you are allowed to go on a walk. If you want to go out, that's walk

and go on a walk, don't stop anywhere. I was about to say the hotel, but I forgot it's probably not good to say what hotel we're I don't do that. But it definitely seems like a nice trip in La. But but except I don't know. I mean, it just can't go anywhere, It can't do anything. So I gotta get the Netflix. We're gonna be fans showing up outside the hotel waiting. There might have been if I would have just thrown out right, have been a whole crew

of them. Yeah, I bet there are. They'll figure it out. They were. They always do. They always show up wherever we are. I mean, you know, that's a good point. I thought about that, even from like training camp next year or whatever, like just just a player walking off, Hey Greg, will you sign this? Take my sharpie and my football helmet that I have, and can you sign it? I don't think. I mean, well, they're definitely not gonna

allow that to happen, not gonna allow to happen. They're just saying that's just the kind of a fundamental part of the fan experience that now it's like, man, I can't do that. Yeah, it's it's gonna be different. It's gonna be very different. But I will say this, watching the game last night, I actually thought, you know, this doesn't feel different as a consumer, as someone watching the game they had. I think that the number I heard was somewhere around like fifteen thousand at the stadium. But

whatever the number was, it didn't seem weird. You could hear some noise, so it made it feel like a real football game. There was nothing about that that felt off awkward or off to me, So I actually thought it was a It was a well done telecast for that game. Bro. There's gonna be a lot of places, including this one, that don't have any fans. Yeah. The question is the noise that they're gonna pipe in does that at home make you feel like you're watching a

regular football game or not? We will see, But last night I felt very very normal. For it looks like a fourth preseason game out there. Yeah, I just I didn't even notice the crowd was there or not there? You know, all right, so let's jump in. Here's what we're gonna do. I did crowd shots. The crowd shots were weird, but yeah, sorry, go ahead. Yeah, And honestly, that's that's the part I didn't really worry so much about, like the crowd shots. I was thinking more just from

my as I'm watching the game, what I'm hearing. You know, you you watch a game and you expect to hear the crowd roar at certain moments. And that's what I thought I would miss is those moments. But I didn't. I didn't for some reason. I just didn't miss it. It felt normally a good job. All Right, here we go. What's what we're gonna do is I have a whole list of these best of or worst of type questions. I'm gonna throw them out to you guys in this

first segment of this UH this season preview. I want you guys to kind of base it on what you saw during training camp. I know we're a little limited, but you guys got a chance to see a good amount of practice. So I want you to base this on what you saw in practice and give me your best answer for each one. All right, So let's start first with who was the best offensive player uh coming out of training camp. Let's start with you, Nick, best

offensive player, I would say probably Tony Pollard. Maybe, I mean, I think there's another answer there, but I'll let the I'll let them have it. I think Tony Pollard was really good, and I think, you know, I don't know if he's the best player. But Zeke didn't do a lot either, so he got a lot of he got a lot of reps and he did a nice job. I think you're going to see him in a lot of different ways. He looks more comfortable, looks quick, very

quick and fast. So I thought he was really good, all right, Amber, Just so I don't pick who I'm sure Dave is about to pick. Maybe I'm just gonna go with another guy, Sack Martin. He was a guy that he's just as great as he's always been, but

he's been consistent. He was consistent all throughout training camp and the fact that we know the struggles that the offensive line has been going through during this time with injuries and all that, and given the fact that he dealt with his own injuries last year this year so far, he was all there doing what he needed to do and at a level that we've all gotten used to see him from him. So that would be a guy

that I would pick Dave. I mean, let's be clear. Yeah, Zach Martin, you know, Tyrn Smith when he was practicing, even Dak Prescott like, it's not fair because the wide receiver position is so skewed to jump out at you. We all know that. But the answer ceedee lamb. He just he showed up and he bawled the hell out. There are a lot of expectations on him. There's a lot of hype about how good he could be, and

he delivered on it. He did something amazing basically every day except for the day that they gave him a veteran's day off as a rookie, and I think that says a lot about just how good he was. He was consistently awesome all through camp. All right, let's move on best defensive player, Ambu. Let's start with you best defensive player. Um, I don't want to say this, but I need to take stop being prideful or whatever. I'm

just to me. I have to mention Jalen Smith because how to admit, he did have a really really good training camp. He did surprise me in everything that he was doing. He was very active. He looked like every move had a purpose. He was uh just everywhere you looked, he was all over the field. He was getting to the quarterback in certain locations depending how they were utilizing him. So I think he was a guy that definitely was consistent all throughout camp and stood out to me, Dave,

I think that's the right answer. Age, And you know we're not We're not here to hate on Jalen Smith. Like he deserved criticism last year, that's fine. He deserves a lot of praise for what he looked like in camp. Um, I think that's the right answer. But since you already said it, I'd probably say to Marcus Lawrence, Um, it's not really fair because he was going against backups all month, but he looked awesome. Nick, Yeah, those the those are

the right answers. And because of you know, going up against the offensive tackles that you know that weren't weren't top notch, I would I would say Jalen Smith would be my answer over to Marcus Lawrence. But but yeah, I mean he looks good and they've said it best. I mean, you know, he had some moments there that the moments he had were in past care rich and

that's what I think. He looks really good. At right now is being able to run with these tight ends, and so I think I think he's you know, he's looked the part right now. We'll see what happens when the lights come on. But um, I think you know, he tweeted out yesterday right or he posted something he's ready. Yeah, you know, kind of shocking that none of you guys went with Alden Smith because that's who I would have

I would have thrown out there as a guy. But yeah, maybe you'll use him on this next next category, who's the best newcomer that's not a rookie? Nicholas start with you the best newcomer? Yeah, yeah, I mean I like that one. I like, Um, I mean because we haven't seen Dan Tarpod just yet, and I'll say Alden Smith because I haven't seen Everson Griffin really dominate to that point. But every day Alden Smith was doing something. So yeah,

I'll say Alden Smith. I got him as the comeback player of the Year in the NFL, so he better be Oh wow, Dave, it's definitely Alden. I mean, he had a great camp, he looked really impressive, and he got to go against Tyron a lot more than Tank got to go against Lyell, so he had some success against starters as well. But honestly, if you look around like there aren't a lot of other great answers. I mean, haha, didn't even make the team. Daryl McCoy got hurt on

the first day of practice. Dantari posa nose tackle, so I thought he had a really good camp. But Alden kind of wins by the fault. You're starting, right, there's an answer. You don't want to throw him in there, there's an answer. Let's see, no good, there's another answer out there. I'll see what She's all right? Who you got? See what? Ag says? Uh? I mean, that was the

guy I was thinking of right off the bat. But one guy that I thought of at the beginning of camp was Andy Dalton, just because I'm not used to seeing the Cowboys have a backup quarterback that is actually

performing good. You know, he wasn't perfect by any means, but at the same time, it was someone that gave me come for to see to say, like, Okay, if for whatever reason Dak goes down, I feel comfortable and confident enough that the offense will be okay with this backup and we'll be able to get the job done, which is opposed to previous years where I never felt comfortable enough to say that. That's a great answer. Yeah, it is a great answer. Well, I just thought, thank

you Gran for once. Greg Zerline is a guy, I mean, all right, really good y'all. Y'all are better than y'all are better than me. I'm thinking like offensive and defensive starters, y'all, those are both great Ansa and Dalton. Yeah, so yeah, their line has been money. I mean he's been so good, really really good. You just hope you can carry that into sea. But nothing will matter if you shake that first extra point off the post. And god, this guy all right, So give me your best rookie. Let's start

with you, Amber, best rookie you during camp? Should I should? I make even and say, let's not throw CD out of it and give me your best room now to take the first two out. No, I think you gotta put him in there too, because well you're kind of right. Yeah, has anybody been better than Trayvon? If you don't, yeah, I mean Diggs is right there, right there, So let's take those two out. Okay, give me your best rookie. I know yours is Nick, but we're gonna go with

them first. Oh yeah, Bernard Francis, who didn't make the team. No, I mean out of those three guys, honestly, I don't know who else stood out to me that those are the three main guys that right off the bat, they've been able to catch your attention, so honestly, and I'm trying to think, I'm like, well, who else is a rookie? Rico has three guys? Ricco was pretty good. He made the team. That'sh Why are we hayting? Why are we

hating on my guy? Bradley and I that's he had a good camp out well, but was has he been like fully consistent? Though? I guess I'm seeing him more as a guy that all throughout camp completely stood out, I would say, I mean all, I feel like most of the rookies, except for like CD, kind of started slow, and I think that was by design. I said it at the time, like it really seemed like the coaches limited their snaps to kind of ease him in in the first week or so. But once and I got involved,

he was pretty consistently disruptive. And obviously you know you're talking about the second and third strings. I don't know how many opportunities he had to go against starters, but he was pretty consistently popping out there, uh you know, getting sacks, getting multiple sacks and practices. I think I charted him with three during the scrimmage that nobody actually got to watch. So yeah, I thought, I mean, for

the most part, Bradley and I was consistently impressive. In my book, I think the thing to remember here too is that with these rookies, like the first time they were in the building for the most part, as far as I know, was that training camp. So you know, they had no offseason to be able to come in and start figuring stuff out, start doing some small season work,

like they literally showed up for training camp. And so the fact that that you had rookies that maybe weren't as consistent throughout training camp, to me, I'm I'm just happy to see that by the end of camp they were doing things right. And I think by the end of camp you had several rookies that I thought at least made me think, hey, I saw some flashes. So they may have a little something, and you give them a little bit of time, I think they may be

pretty good. Let's go ahead and take our first, our second break, and we'll come back. We have some more areas of the season preview we're gonna get into, and towards the end of the show, we're definitely gonna do predictions. These guys are gonna tell you what they think is gonna happen on Sunday, Cowboys versus Rams. We'll be right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio since eighteen sixty five.

Steps and Hats are American made with pride right here in Texas, and Stetson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Want to show your Texas and Team pride two You can by purchasing your own Stetson. You can look just like how the flag guys do on field at every home game. Stetson Hats the official crown of all self respecting Cowboys and your favorite football team. Get yours today at shop Dallas Cowboys dot com or at Stetson dot com. I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end

for the Dallas Cowboys. Back in the day. I was the guy who always got the tough yards and that's why I run with John Deer today. In fact, I have a John Deer three zero twenty five E tractor that can handle any yardwork I need to do, even the tough yards way out back. So if you have one acre or a thousand, John Deer has the equipment that's just right for you. Visit a John Deer dealer today and run with us. We are the official tractor provider of your Dallas Cowboys. Want to use what the

pros use? How about the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black. Right now you can get the Jack Black Starter, a curated collection of cowboys locker room favorites, for just ten bucks with free shipping. The Starter includes four Jack Clack skincare favorites, plus a full sized and tense therapy lip bomb. Go to get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys and use the code word team JB. That's get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys

The Jack Black Starter ten bucks, free shipping. We're back in a tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor Pepper and cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor Baba and cream Soda. Is he a Newcombonelet's music to my ears, Okay, Doctor Batime, pass music to my ears and Mouse, new Doctor Pepper and Cream Soda Delas just do bay Back to the Break Welcome back. It is the final segment of The Break Life from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star. Nick and I

are here, Dave Amber at their own locations. We are wrapping up the show. In this final segment, we have a few more questions we want to get to on the season preview, and then we're gonna ask some predictions for the upcoming game Cowboys versus Rams. Next question for you guys is what is the best offensive position? And this is the area where I want you to kind of extrapolate beyond just what you saw on training camp.

Knowing what you know about this team, knowing about what you know about the different players and what you saw on training camp, what do you think is the best offensive position that the Cowboys have as far as the starters are, depth the whole nine. Let's start first with you, Dave. I mean, you know, I think we all know about the receivers. That's fair, but okay, I I think I'm cheating a little bit. But like in a vacuum, in a perfect world, it's probably offensive tackle. You got a

probable or possible Hall of Famer and Tyron Smith. You got Lyle Collins, who's one of the three or four best right tackles in the game. Camera Maybe he's not amazing, but he's got a lot of experience to be your third tackle. And then I really like Brandon Knight. I mean, that's four pretty quality tackles. Obviously, the problem is the reality that Lyle's not currently healthy and Tyrn has a lengthy injury history, so it's not as good as it

could be. But when everything's right, probably tackle Nick. I'll say running back actually, and yeah, I know they have some a lot of good players at receiver, but you know, I think they have arguably the best running back in the NFL for what the Caboys were trying to do in a perfect compliment to him and Tony Pollard. So I would say running back is the best position that they have. Hamber I was gonna say running back as well, but I guess I'll just go with quarters. I mean,

we're basically naming the whole offense. Now we talk about the wide receivers, running backs, I'll mention quarterbacks. So now Dave talked about the old line if they're healthy, So when you look at it, I mean, that's that's pretty all. I mean. The quarterback position has never been better than it is right now. Right Well, I guess you could say when Troy Aikman was, you know, was really good.

I mean, but Dak is, But when when that was the case, though, I don't know that his backup was as proven as Andy Dalkway, as Wilson or yeah, I mean, yeah, it's I mean, you just look at this quarterback position. Actually, Amber, I agree with you. And by the way, guys, it's okay to agree. It's okay to you. Guys have the

same answer if you think that's really the answer. But I'll say this, I agree with you Amber on the quarterback because I think, especially in a year like this one where at any moment, COVID can shut down a player, right, I think that in a year like this, having a position like quarterback that's as strong as this one is, I don't know that I can look at any other team in the NFL and say, have a better quarterback

situation than the Cowboys right now. And in a situation like that this year, particularly with COVID, I think that that's a that is a huge advantage for the Cowboys if the Cowboys have a situation where heaven forbid, Dad comes up positive for COVID. I don't think anybody feels like you're walking into that game and can't win. Most teams they lose their starting quarterback for a week due to COVID. They're probably gonna feel like it's gonna be a tough, uphill battle for us to get a win.

That is a huge advantage this season. So I think I think they're they're very, very strong there, but I think even more this year it's a it's a pronounced strength for this team. Because of that, I'm wading into waters that I don't fully understand. Would I mean, like the late seventies when they had Stabak and White were probably better than this, Right, Yeah, maybe because you had somebody. What I will say though, is at that time White hadn't proven anything yet though he was a young player

that hadn't played very much. Yeah, but you're talking about two quarterbacks that are proven, like they've done it in the NFL. Right, right was a Hall of Famer and actually when he retired, this is how weird the game is when he retired, he had the all time record and for highest quarterback rating, it was like eighty three

point one. He retired as the highest now is to fire Yes, absolutely absolutely, but no and not get your point, But I just don't think at that point Ginny White hadn't had a chance to prove himself, so it was kind of an unknown at that point. That's what I'm saying. I was just trying to give a shout out to any of our older fans because I'm you know, they had good quarterback Depp at one point I was I was not alive, but I just wanted to throw that

out there. All right, let's jump to the next thing. Best defensive position. Let's start with you Amber, best defensive position. Um. I mean, we could talk about the defensive line, but one position that I thought was really good was linebackers, just because of what I saw at camp. Initially, I was feeling really really good looking at Jalen Smith, looking at Layton vander esh, I really had my doubts on Layton and in the whole neck injury, I don't know.

He doesn't want to talk about it anymore. He says he feels perfectly fine, and he was moving around fell we find during training camp, but um, I don't know how that's gonna go into the season once you start actually hitting people. But in just all in all, I think that the linebacker position from what I saw a training camp was really good. All right, cornerback, No, I'm just kidding in a way. No, No, definitely not pass rusher. I mean, I don't know if it's an out, if

it's a linebacker or a defensive end. I'm not really sure how they're you know, gonna list them. But the pass rushers I think are the best, uh on and it's gonna get better if it when Randy Gregory comes back. But but I think from Griffin d law Alden Smith. You know you got Dorian's armstrong in this third year. Hopefully he can he can step in there and I and then you also now with Randy Gregor, I think that's their their best position. But they're good enough to

make the safety position better. They have Yeah, they have to get to the quarterback two seconds go. All right, good Dave? Those are those are the right answers, either one of those. But I leaned toward the pass rusher. Yeah, I mean you got two all pros and Smith and Tank and a four time Pro bowler and Griffin hopefully adding Randy Gregory to the mix. You know, Tyrone Crawford is better than he gets credit for. Yeah, they're pretty nice,

all right, next question. By the end of last season, I'm gonna throw out a couple of different areas where I thought they were concerned for the Cowboys. I want you guys to tell me which one you thought was the biggest and how well they've addressed it this offseason. And by the way, I'm gonna give you a few, but you feel free to throw in another if you think that there's another right answer here. The first one, I'll say is the secondary and then giving up big

plays and not getting enough turnovers. The second would be special teams and the challenges that they had there. The third would be the offense kind of basically not showing up in games where they were playing good teams around the NFL. So those are three I'm gonna throw to.

You feel free again throw out another one if you think there's another big, glaring problem for the Cowboys last year, and then tell me how you think they addressed I can act like a fan that's listening right now, I'd be like coaching in game decisions, feel free to throw that in if you choose them. I mean, well, yea, they addressed it. Yeah, they addressed that, so they should be better there. Uh those are good ones that you picked. I'll say, um, what was the actual question though? Are

you saying which one is? Did they address the best? No? I'm saying which which of the three do you think was a bigger problem? And then how well did they address it? This office special teams I thought was the biggest problem. So I think they addressed it well by getting you know, a veteran coach. Not only that, I think I think McCarthy has a better feel for the special teams and it puts a little bit more on it, emphasis on it. So Uh, the kicker the punter I

think are both healthy. They got a dynamic punt returner if they want to use them. They also have CD they can put back there too if they want. And you know, I just think the special teams was addressed. Amber Am I the only one like I feel like either? I just completely forgot this. But when I heard Fassil, how do you say his names? Fossil say? Talk about Chris Jones and the fact that he was dealing with a back injury or what was a back injury last year.

I like, to me, I felt like I've never heard that before or is it just me? No, it's been mentioned, but it's it's definitely not a widely talked about storyline. He played through, definitely played through some things. Yeah, So, I mean that was just surprising, But I think that the main one would be, Yeah, special teams overall, and another thing that it's hard to again look at it at training camp, but the whole red zone issue that

was a big deal last year as well. Based on what they did at training camp, it seemed like they were able to get in the end zone better. But again that's just training camp practices. We don't know how how that's gonna go down in an actual real game. Dave, I think, which I mean, I've spent a lot of this week saying that I'm concerned by the secondary, which I don't think it has. They did what they could, but I mean, I don't think it's better than it was last year. Derek. You and I you know, we

can have like a handshake bet about that. But I think one of the things that concerns me is like when a lot of times when the offense didn't show up last year, and I don't know, I don't want to make excuses for him, but like injuries and not having guys available, it's a big part of that. I mean, you know, Cooper played three snaps against the Jets. He sat out, he sat I'm drawn a blank. He sat out of another game. Michael Gallup missed some time. Obviously,

both of your starting tackles missed some time. And I think they did again. I think they did what they could. They drafted Ceedee Lamb, they brought in Andy Dalton in the event that Dak gets hurt like he did at the end of the season. But I guess I'm not you know, the fact that Lyell's already on IR just doesn't make you feel great that you're going to have a perfect season of availability. So I'm a little bit concerned about how they might weather some of those storms.

Guys think that I don't know if we have even asked this, but do you think that if Andy Dalton was the backup quarterback last year, that he plays the Eagles game. That's a good question. I don't think I really don't. I don't think that. I think they would try to get Dack to play. Not only do would they try to get Dak. I think he would be a situation. And I think most teams do this. They defer to the guy to some degree, like if you

can play, which we saw he could play. I think they would have deferred to him and said he can play, and if he wants to play and can play, we'll let him play. Now, if we get into the game and we feel like he's not effective, maybe you pull him. But I think they would have let him go for it. Yeah, I don't know. Do you all remember how many times he threw in practice that week? Yes? Zero? Do you remember how many time big old doughnut? But I mean

he's big old zero. I don't. I mean, And yeah, you defer to the guy, and the guys always going to try to play, but like if you're not throwing by Friday, you're not gonna you're not ready to be useful. And they went with it. They went with it last year because they had Cooper Rush. But if Andy Dalton had been here last year, I think they would have been like, no, it's like when you sometimes you have to take the ball away from the pitcher that no man that night? Was that donut? Was that how many

passes he threw? Or is that how many playoff wins Andy Dalton has. I'm saying, okay, well because because of that, I don't care about that. He got him to the playoffs five times, so clearly he's capable of winning games in December, not not January. I'm just saying, you're moving the goalposts. Who cares? Well, I'm just saying that we want to clutch quarterback you want to play, And I'm saying I'm not saying Dak has proven that he could

be clutched. But I mean, Andy Dalton is a great backup quarterback to have, but he's not a guy that you want to start. Nobody wanted him to start for their team, but I think we have to just say what it is. He's a good backup. Everyone was so happy to have him as a backup. But if he has to be a starter, who's gonna be real excited about it. How do you know nobody wanted him as

a starter. I think he I mean, it might not have been a good team, but I think he had offers at playing time that he turned down because of the circumstances. I mean, but what but starter for what starter to groom this kid? You just drafted that he can take your spot. I mean, well yeah, And that's that's my point is he was like, no, I don't I don't want to go play in Miami. That sounds

like a disaster. I'd rather back up Dak Prescott. But I the guy, Like, I mean, I know they never won a playoff game, but like, let's not act like Andy Dalton's not a three time pro bowler who helped the Bengals win nine, ten eleven games on several occasions. Yeah,

like that, that's a thing that happened. I think the thing is, And I kind of get your point, Nick, I think the thing is, at the end of the day, decks it was a better quarterback in my opinion, and you're still gonna try to especially going into a playoff game, You're gonna try to go with the guy you think gives you the best chance to win. Now, that would have been a decision if they would have said no, no,

That's what I'm saying. That would have been a decision whether they thought by Sunday, because I don't think the decision would have been made on Friday. By If by Sunday they felt like he can't throw the ball accurately, he can't do the things he has to do as a starting quarterback, then I think they would have felt much better about sitting him than they would have if

they had Cooper rush behind him. But if they felt like he could throw the ball, they felt like he could play the position, they felt like he was healthy enough to play, I think they would have still opted to go with him and it looked like he could actually play by Sunday. If the answer is that they would have played Andy Dalton, then shame on the Cowboys in that coaching staff are making Cooper rush the backup

because that means he was never going to play. He got all the stamps and he's not good enough to play over a guy that was a bump shoulder. So I mean that, you know, that's what I like about this staff. Give your chance, you know, a chance to actually go and compete with get a backup in a pick him up, Let's see if he can be the backup, because you never know what's gonna happen, all right, real quick for you in the show, I think. But great day. Sorry,

I just a dirty little secret. In the NFL is like a player's availability often hinges on how good the guy behind him is. Like, you can get a guy to play if the if the alternative is terrible, whereas if the alternative is not terrible, you're like, ah, we can probably make this work anyway. I can kind of agree with that. All right, let's sake before you in the show, I do want to get predictions. So we're gonna go down the line. Everybody tell us who's gonna

win and what the final score will be. Twenty Dallas and zero line hits the game winner. It's gonna be a little, it's gonna be a little, gonna be sloppy at first. It's not gonna be great, and they're gonna have some they're gonna be some rust issues there. And don't throw the Chiefs out there, because the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. They yeah, they have this thing rolland I think the Cowboys are gonna both teams are gonna

get off those slow starts. Zero line hits the game winner twenty three twenty All right, Amber, alright, have you checked on the weather? Why are you asking me? I'm not the weather guy, Like I'm not the dude is always looking at the weather. But it is a close stadium, so doesn't matter. Talk about the only only in bat situations, no weather in the stadium. Um, I think that. Shoot every weekend, every weekend. Come say, I just they completely

pulled me. The Cowboys pulled me. They got me believing this year once again. And I'm going for the Cowboys to win this game, and they are gonna actually score at least thirty points. They're gonna get in there and gonna score points a lot more than what Nick said. Okay, well i'd say, um, maybe it's something like twenty seven thirty or thirty twenty seven, whichever one goes first. Okay,

the Cowboys win. I know we've talked about this before, but like I like, ag came to being a fan so late in life that she's still sort of figuring out what it means. Like she's like, this is this is stupid? Why do they make me feel this way? Right, and the rest of us are just like, yeah, like that's that happens, Like it's all I've ever known my entire life. Yeah, it sucks, it does. It does suck. You're right, it's the best worst thing ever. Man, I feel like I have a good grasp on the Cowboys,

but how do we really know? And I know even less about the Rams. I know I'm not afraid of Jared Goff. I'm very afraid of Aaron Donald, but not really anybody else on that front. Seven I do. I think the Cowboys will win, but yeah, sloppiness and the Rams are better than we're probably expecting. I think it'll be tight, but I'll say Cowboys twenty seven, Rams twenty three, all right. I actually think this is going to be

a high scoring game. I think the Cowboys will do some things that we're not expecting, and but we will certainly see the high powered offense that we expect to see. There may be some some rustiness, but I think that'll go away relatively quickly. I think the Rams actually will be pretty good offensively. I think this Cowboys defense will make some plays, but I think the Rams will still score some points. I think I'll be a high scoring game.

I think it'll be a close game. I think the Cowboys end up pulling it out thirty one twenty eight in what will be a really fun game to watch on the first Sunday night football game of the season. All right, we appreciate you guys joining us. We are back on Monday. We're gonna tell you what went right and what went wrong for the Cowboys. Make sure you check out the game on Sunday seven, twenty pm Central and Sunday Night Football. Until then for Nick Even, Dave

helm and Amber Garcia. I am Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.