Cowboys Break: Roster Shuffle

We are live from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star, got Dave and Nick with me, and we got a special guest with us. We're gonna get to him in just a second. Just know, during the show today, we got a lot to talk about. We're gonna get to the fifty three man roster, see if there were any notable cuts that these guys need to point out. We might even talk a little bit about one Cam Newton, who is sitting out there as a free agent right now. We'll get to that a little later in the show.

And of course we're going to start getting you guys ready for Cowboys Versus Buccaneers. That happens next Thursday night. It opens the NFL season, and that is why our special guest is here once again this season. We're very, very proud and excited to have Bucky Brooks of NFL Network joining us twice a week every week to walk us through his thoughts on the opposing matchup and give

us his scouting expertise. What's going on, Bucky, Hey was going on, Gus, how you doing, We're doing, We're doing well, and we're gonna start this thing. Obviously the Cowboys have. They opened the season against the defending Super Bowl champs. And what most people I wouldn't say, I'm not gonna say most what a large number of people believe maybe one of the greatest quarterbacks or the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL and Tom Brady. Check this out.

I was looking at some of his numbers. Tom Brady last year was third in passing yards. He was second in attempts. He was tied for second in touchdowns. He was third in twenty plus yard passes, He was four in forty plus yard passes. Is there anything that was that you saw in his game that would suggest he was declining even a bit that maybe in some alternate

universe the Cowboys could exploit. Well, No, I mean, I think anytime you're forty four, forty five years old, you're having to deal with different issues because you're older, you need more rest and recovery, covery to be able to play. But he's playing at a high level, and we just don't see players at this age play at a high level. When I think about the Buccaneers offense and how they

liked to push the ball down the field under Bruce Arians. Look, it's it's a tough matchup because it's not just him, it's the pieces around him, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and on. You you then have Rob Grenkowsky and Oj Howard in the middle. They've done a really good job of surrounding him with the right kind of playmakers to allow him to play at a high level at his advanced age. Yeah, Tom Brady's awesome. What have you, hey, Bucky? What have

you seen from the Cowboys defense? Though, like from their defensive tackle, defensive end rotation, from what Dan Quinn is trying to do, that's gonna maybe get after him at all. Well, you know, the one thing is we really get a chance to see what Dan Quinn wants to do because he was on the sideline due to COVID stuff. But based on what I got a chance to see in training camp, they'll have some unique packages where they can kind of throw some different things at Tom Brady to

try and get him off his game. I think it will be interesting to see what does it look like when we finally get a chance to see Michael Parsons, Jaylen Smith, Layden Van Dersh on the field at the same time. How many of these subpackage sets and formations where they use where they have guys standing up and moving around and trying to disrupt the rhythm of the game. I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm gonna say this, Michael Parsons might end up being the lynchpin of the

Dallas Cowboys defense based on his versatility. How does day Quinn utilize his vast talents in his unique skill set to throw off with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers want to do? Okay, Buck, I mean, tom Brady's great, He's awesome. He doesn't seem to be showing any sign of decline.

But I can't help but think about how heavily the Buccaneers leaned on their running game during their run through the playoffs last year and playoff Lenny was that was that an aberration because I don't remember their rushing attack being really all that impressive through most of the season. Did they just get clicking at the right time. I know their offensive line is fantastic. Just what's your opinion

of that and where they go from here? Well, I mean, I think if you follow Tom Brady and you look at how they play how he has always played in New England, they basically morphed into the New England Patriots at the end of the year. When you watch the Patriots played throughout the year, you see them start out Tom Brady will sling it all over the yard, but then come November December they kind of undergo a metamorphosis

and become a power football team. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers basically followed that blueprint and down the stretch, more traditional old school heavy sets, running the football a lot of time, Brady to throw off play action, which is why he was able to take those shots, and then if they needed to, they could spread it out. I believe Tampa will kind of pick up where they left off. They'll try and run it, They'll try and grind it because

it sets up play action shots for Tom Brady. But then at the end, if you're stopping that, they'll open it up and they'll let Tom Brady do what he always does. I'm gonna ride off that question a little bit, Bucky, And I know obviously you know of Geo Bernard he was a pickup for them as a free agent. How much do you anticipate that he will factor in what

they want to do from a passing standpoint? Because he's a guy that has averaged forty three receptions per season with Cincinnati over the eight years that he's been in the league. Had forty seven receptions last year, So a pretty productive guy coming out of the backfield. That's more than the type of production that they were getting out

of the two backs they had last year. How do you think he factors in and adds that extra dimension to that Tampa Bay offense it's running because the Tampa Bay offense is really the old New England Patriots offense except Bruce Arians has signed off on it. So Geo Bernara will play the James White, Shane Vereene Rex Burkhead role in this offense. Many you will see him screens,

slip out option routes. They'll go empty and put him on the backside and let him work one on one against linebackers, and then occasionally he may touch it on a draw or delay or mister direction run. But he gives them that true pass catching back out of the backfield, something they didn't have a year ago. When you were at training camp, did you see Trayvon Diggs making plays or do you see him getting beat up by a

Ceedee Lamb because he covered him a lot? And if so, do you feel like he's the guy that has to match up with Evans or you just keep him on his side because there's gonna be a good player over there. Yeah. No, I don't think you can match up and travel against the tam Bay Buccaneers because if you travel him, there's still two other guys that can make plays. And Chris Godwin is terrific on the backside. He's been a Pro

Bowl player. But i'mnna be honest with the guy who has the toughest matchup is the nickelback whoever has to check Antonio Brown is in for a long day. Because the Antonio Brown that I'm hearing When I talk to people down there, they're talking about, Oh, this is the old AB, the AB that used to get loose and used to dominate the league. The quickness is back. He had an offseason surgery to kind a clean up some issues he was having with his lord byty his legs.

If that AB shows up, good night. Trying to figure out how you're gonna cover to Tampa Bay Buck and using space because each of their wire receivers can win their individual matchup. Cowboys got their own AB. They'll throw on him. Yeah. I just asked you about the offensive line, Buck, But you know, if I'm looking for a weak point, it's certainly not the quarterback. We already talked about the running backs. It's certainly none of their pass catching options.

Donovan Smith and Tristan Worth's are obviously great. But do they have a weak point on their offensive line? And is there a guy on the Cowboys front that you think can exploit it? Because I don't think I love the matchups at offensive tackle. No. I mean I think the same blueplant and recipe to deal with Tom Brady exists.

You have to pressure Tom Brady up the middle. It has to come up the gut because Tom Brady is a mobile and so when you bring pressure up the gut, what it does is it forces him to get off his spot. It makes him uncomfortable, and he tends to get rid of the ball sooner than he wants to because he doesn't want to get hit. So it's not

necessarily an individual matchup. It's more dan Quinn bringing pressure through the a gaps, finding a way to create overloads, and one on one matchups where you can attack Ali Marpett and Alex Kappa and see if those guys are up to the task. You have to bring the pressure up the middle where Tom Brady can see it and also feel it to disrupt his rhythm as a passer. All right, one more question for you here, Bucky. You

are out there training camp. You got a chance to watch the Cowboys based upon all you've seen that they've done in the off season and the development of the players that were here last year that are still here. Outside of Parsons because you already mentioned him, what area, player specific thing that they're doing gives you any reason to believe that this defense will be better than they

were last year. Number one thing is they're connected. Dan Quinn is holding those guys to a standard, and you can tell when you watch them practice. There's certain things are being communicated in meetings and they continue to be communicated on the practice field. I see more effort, I see better execution because the defense appears to be simpler, and I see guys playing fast. Also, because it's really a mix of zone and man. I saw a ton of Cowboys getting their hands on the ball for a

very young secondary. It's really important that you're very clear in your communication. I think dan Quinn has clearly communicated the expectations. He's pared down the scheme to allow those guys to play fast, and with the assistance of Joe Wick Jr. I think everyone is a little more detailed and that should produce better results. All right, buck Well,

appreciate you. Man. We'll be back with you on Friday so that we can talk a little bit about the Cowboys offense versus the Bucks defense and get your predictions of what you think is going to happen opening night night next Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We're

gonna take an early break. When we come back, we're gonna get into the fifty three man roster and talk to you guys about what we saw, what we think about the cuts that were made, and what we think might happen today as a result of some of those moves. We'll be right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Before there was a draft. You get sized up at cowboy by three simple factors. The crease at his hat, the bend of his brim, and his unbending attitude a man.

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Welcome back. Second segment of The Break live from the SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. We just finished our segment segment with Bucky Brooks. We're gonna get back to a little more Cowboys Buccaneers talk a little later in the show, but now I want to talk about the cuts. Yesterday was cut day in the NFL. Not a popular day.

It's a tough day for a lot of players. It for a lot of players is it signifies the end of their career and so it's not a positive day, but something that teams have to do obviously to get down to that fifty three man roster. My first question for you guys were. Was there anything that was notable or even surprising as you saw the names that were

on the list of cuts surprising? No, notable, Yes, just in the sense that it's the most disjointed and unfinalized roster I've ever seen them put together, Just in the sense of everything that is still to happen, which is probably, yeah, a solid fifteen percent of the roster. There's six injury guys that they've got to find something to do with, five COVID guys that have to come off at some point, and a handful of other things they got to do. So,

I mean, it's really just the jumping off point. Yeah, it's the league has changed to the point where it's just a two day thing now. I mean it's really more than that. It's three or four days because of what's happened with the COVID list. I mean, I think the Cowboys, I'm not saying they're using the list, I'm just saying, but because of the way it's stands right now, they'll probably go up until Wednesday or Thursday before we really get an idea what this roster is gonna look like.

That there are guys not on the roster that that are going to go in your first two rounds of your NFL fantasy draft. I mean that that's how good that they are. They're not even on the roster right now. And then then there's guys that are on the roster that will probably be on the practice squad. So it's just it's just kind of a tricky thing to figure it out. But like surprise, like yeah, I mean you'd

like to. I mean you'll see a deep snapper on the tammy that they're gonna snap the ball, you know, this year and you know, Matt Farneyack Kamara can't imagine them being on the fifty three they are as of right now, and maybe they are. I don't. I don't know, they might be, but it's yeah, there's there's there's a lot of stuff that's gonna so I mean, just to break it down a little more clearly, um Sean mcun's gonna go to injured reserve. Josh Ball is gonna go

to injured reserve. Francis Bernard is gonna go to injured serve. Neville Gallimore. I think they're six in total, Elite Turner and Calvin Joseph probably as well. So that's six guys that are going to come off, and there's about five COVID guys, so that makes sense. But then they're going to come on that four will come on probably this weekend. Noah Brown just went on that was that they just kind of snuck that in there on roster day, So

no will probably be gone longer than everybody else. Everybody else should be back by the end of the week. Here's the surprise that I saw in the list, because there's there's used to just be here are the cuts and that's yeah. Now there's twenty six lists, not a different list that you go on it. The one that that kind of surprised me was just, uh, johncy Golston passed his you know, physical and he's on the team, just like that. He's here. He's back, yeah, which I

leaped into this. I thought maybe they could put him off, take him off PUP and put him right on IR. Apparently they can't do that. Yeah, so he's just he's there. They thought, you know, they can bring um. They thought he'd be ready faster than the six weeks he would be gone if they put him on PUP. But I'm just gonna go ahead and guess we can write him onto the game day and guaranteed for like a month.

But he's on the team. But I'm curious. I think there's seven d ns on the roster right now, and so I'm I got my eye on Bradley and I I got my eye on a Zoo Kamara. Which it's a really cool story for him that he made the initial fifty three, but I won't be surprised if that's not the case by the end of the week. Like

just a lot of moving parts. Yeah, I was telling Nick, you were mentioned that you were a little surprised about Kamara as well, But my thought was, you know, he has his body is to me, seems a little different than a typical defensive end, looks a little leaner. You could maybe see him running down on special teams. Maybe that's a role for him there and and maybe they needed that with some of the guys that maybe they won't have that they thought they were gonna have running down.

So who knows how they're gonna use him and how they evaluate his special teams play and how that may have may have contributed to him being on the roster right now as opposed to being off the roster right Yeah. Um, that being said, Um what what guys I guess that are not on the roster right now, are you expecting will be back come tomorrow or whatever? Whenever they make those final moves for practice, like the release, get like

a Darians like and Darian Thompson. Those kind of guys could see Thompson, I could see Hamilton maybe justin Hamilton, well, Jake, first one problem they need along a long snapp Yeah right, yeah, yeah, I just wonder how that is for a veteran guy. I mean, to just be released, you know, like it

probably doesn't sit well. Nobody wants that, even if they're coming back, even if it's a technicality, just depends on how it's approached, like if if if there's a sit down and it's like, okay, man, we're gonna cut you, but this is just procedural back at the end of the week. Yeah this, you know, I think it's probably like all right, I'm fine, right, I'm fine here, I'm good. But but yeah, if you're if you're the sensitive type,

it might yeah, it might not feel good. I think for a long snapper, maybe it feels better than if you're like Dari and Thompson. You know, it's like, well

they would they didn't cut Jeron Curse. They could have done that just as easily, but they think maybe they think the least of me, where with a long snapper it's like, you know, we need you, we know we need you, like there's not other yea, or the flip side of that, you could just be happy that they're going to bring me back, so I'm going to have a job like that. That part of it probably is like, Okay,

I'm good now. You're probably sitting on pins and needles a little bit until they actually do it, because you're like, you just never know in the NFL what will happen. But but yeah, I think you're probably a little probably a little bit grateful that you're at least going to have an opportunity to come back. That all being said, let's talk about one player in particular that was cut, That is, that was not cut from the Cowboys roster. But my question for you guys is shit that Cowboys

maybe consider taking a look at him? One Cam Newton cut from New England. We have talked probably more than any other not more than any other position, but it's been one of the major positions we've talked about particularly to the backup quarterback. Um, do you think the cowboy should go out and take a look at Cam Newton? Yes, absolutely, take a look for sure, should definitely take a look

at his Should they sign him? They quiet? Then depends on the look because to me, to me, it depends And I we answered, both of us answered this mail back question, and I think you got completely different answers. So you're you're gonna that doesn't shock me, Well, no, but but you're gonna get different aspects of it. For me, I'm looking at, like what the question that I'm asking

is is are you ready to be a backup? Because it looks like he tweeted some things about QB one and all this stuff which didn't really you know, I guess Belichick didn't like that on his Twitter or whatever, because you know, it doesn't doesn't matter what they think. He's not a QB one. There is he going to be a QB one? Does he still feel like he can be? And is this a good role? Because to be in the backup is not just being ready, it's also being supportive of the guy in front of you.

And you know, they always have to decide is it's a good situation for him to be in. Is this good for the whole team? If Dack feels an interception, are we we're looking at we're looking at goal line packages for him to I don't know. I mean, I'm just saying I don't know if it's a great fit and for And we always frame this in terms of like should the Cowboys do it? Does Cam Newton want to do that? Like that? Cam Newton is a league MVP. He's been a star in this league for a decade.

His whole thing is superman. He was the man. He's arguably the greatest college quarterback I've ever seen. Uh when I'm sorry, Texas whatever. Um He's he's been the man since he was like eighteen years old, is right? Is he ready to just be like, yeah, I'll stand on the sideline and clap for Dak and help him game plan. You know, I don't know. He might he might say retirements better than that, or you know whatever, whatever situation might exist in the league where he could conceivably be

a starter again. And it's not here unless Dak gets hurt. So I don't know if he's ready for that. UM. On my from my standpoint, as he vaccinated. I'm sorry if people, you know, it's none of my own business to ask or whatever, it's the cowboys business to ask. It's the cowboys business to say. Is it a good idea to be bringing you around the most valuable asset in our franchise and having you sit in meetings room with some meeting rooms with him all day every day?

I think that is paramount. Do you think that's going to affect his ability to get a job anywhere? Yes, and it'll be you know, yeah, I mean teams are gonna well I should take that back because urban Meyer had no problem saying that it was. Well, he's recinded it that yes, more yeah, quickly reccandid that rookie mistakes. But privately, away from microphones, everybody in the league is going to check the vaccination status of everybody that they're

going to bring in. And again, like, the fun part about the way that the NFL has designed all of this is we don't even have to get into the debate, the stupid debate of whether or not it's a good idea to take the vaccine and blah blah blah. The rules are what they are, regardless of what you think of it, and the league has made it drastically harder for unvaccinated players the waiting time to get into a team. You know, we saw that with Malie Cooker, the protocol

that he had to go through. He wasn't available to do stuff for a week after he signed. The frequency of testing. Um, what you're like, the traveling you're allowed to do. This whole snaffoo with New England started because he went to Atlanta to get his ankle checked out. But there's way more involved in that if you're not vaccinated in terms of how hard it is to do that. So life is just a giant pain in the ass

if you're not vaccinated. And then you get into the fact of and I know the vaccinated people can pick it up and spread it as well, but it's way harder, like all of the numbers suggest that. So on top of it being a pain in the end, by the way, you also don't end up in hospitals and most instances, sure that's also good thing. And so do you do you want to invite all of that into the quarterback room.

The extra pain in the butt, the thought that Cam could be gone for ten days at a moment's notice, and that it's substantially easier based on everything we know for him to potentially contract it and maybe spread it to your best player. Uh no, thanks, sorry, Yeah, if he if he's vaccinated, if he if he has gotten it since camp started, or if he decides to absolutely if he's ready to come in and be a backup. But that's that's line one for me quote Jason Garrett.

To be honestly, I think it's kind of a moot point for the Cowboys just because I will be shocked if we get four or five weeks into the season and Cam Newton isn't a isn't on a team and looking at the possibility of being a starter. And the reason why I say that is because, as we all know, in the game of football, they're going to be injuries. We know that that is a certainty some team is going to lose their starting quarterback here in the first

few weeks of the season. When that happens. You look around right now and the quarterbacks that are out there on the on the free agent list, he's one of the few that actually have the credentials that he as So to me, I don't see a scenario where he would where he would subject himself to being the backup yet because they're still going to be opportunities for him as a starter. I love when this happens. We can

actually we can solve this live just like that. Tom Pella Sero has is one of the reporters that has access to the waiver claims as they happen. Dallas has claimed, Will Greer, here we go the third round. You mentioned that third round to day you did? You came off as I mentioned it, I meant heard of the gay. Well maybe it was you. I could used all the time. I look kind of like, go ahead where I don't remember him at all. I love, I love connecting these dots.

He was the West Virginia quarterbacks, West West Virginia by way of Florida. Oh, he came to Florida where I kicked our butts, where his offensive coordinator was who for a year, Doug Nesmyer. So you love to see the way that these dots get connected. He was a top one hundred pick for the Panthers from what I heard, did have a great camp. Obviously, he got waived in favor of their backup whose name escapes me right now. So I'm not sitting here telling you he lit the

world on fire, or he wouldn't have been available. But but I like him as a development guy. He had he had top one hundred talent. This will be his third year in the league. He's got experience with nuss Meyer, which I bet plays a factor into this. So yeah, now Cam Newton coming here seems even less likely than it already did. Ye, But I don't think that was

going to happen anyway. Yeah, I look at that more as that sign signing to me or that claim to me is really more about replacing the role that maybe de Nucci had where he may be. Now, now you don't bring back a Denucci to your practice squad. He becomes the guy that's on your practice squad that you try to develop and you see where it goes, and maybe even in a few years you see if he's

actually developed into a player. Well, but when you claim a guy off waivers, he's on your roster, he doesn't go to well, but I'm saying they could still move him around. Like my assumption is my assumption is, well, I'll put it like this. I would be again, I would be shocked if they roll in two week two three four, with three quarterbacks on the active roster, would you guys not be with Will Greer being here? Now?

I think that seems like a certainty, because if I'm not mistaken, if you claim a guy, you have to keep him for three weeks, right, three weeks so they can't do anything with him, and I don't think he's not ready to know and then yeah, yeah, he's not gonna really do anything for you, That's what I'm saying, Like long time. Maybe he has to stay there for three weeks. I would be shocked they held him there

all season, right, doesn't that seem a little bit? Yeah, you wouldn't expect three quarterbacks on the roster all year, especially if you get to a situation where you need it. But as it stands right now, I mean, they've got a lot of things working for them that they can they can have three quarterbacks on the roster right now. I would bet they keep I don't I think they keep three for at least the first half of the season or so, Like, you're not even gonna know what

you have in Greer for a month or more. He just got here. He's gonna need and he's not gonna get a ton of practice time. Anyway, you have to keep him because of the waiver claim, and I assume they claimed him because they thought they wouldn't be able to get him otherwise. So I just I would imagine they'll be going with three quarterbacks for a while at least. I'll be interesting. It'll be interesting to see once this all shakes out. You're right, it was like, this is

not what typically happens on cut day. You kind of know that what happened is what's going to happen other than obviously filling in your practice squad. But there's a lot of moving parts still. Yeah, well, and anything can happen. But it kind of seems like if they're going to do that, then that's probably it because for now, because you sign any of these other you know, we have a list of what ten twelve veteran guys that were cut.

Sez he was he was waived, which means he you know, they claimed him off waivers, but there was veteran quarterbacks probably ten, ten or twelve that were released. And if you're going to bring one of those guys in and Greer, now you've got two guys that don't know the offense and all that, so it doesn't seem likely now that

they're going to do that. Seems like Cooper Russia the backup, And Jerry actually mentioned that on his call yesterday with the Fan He said, you know, the way you have to think about it is Cooper Rush has been here for a while. He knows this offense. So if you're replacing him, you're kind of setting yourself back, at least in the beginning with regards to having somebody really ready

to step in and take over. So yeah, I think that's probably the general theme at this point is that what you have a quarterback is probably what you're gonna have for the foreseeable future. If they were gonna if they were going to replace Cooper Rush as the backup, it would be with a Cam Newton type of player. And even then you probably want to give Cam a few weeks to get up to speed on a completely

new offense. But and so I think this only emphasizes that, you know, when Cooper Rush is the backup at least for I think probably the first half of the season realistically, and they have to make a roster move and it hasn't been announced yet. I mean that claim has gone through we're kind of talking with our you know, PR department right now to figure out what the what the corresponding move is, and they got to do something, and I'm sure they have turned it in to the league.

We just were not aware of what they've done just yet. So that's you know, it could be one of those guys getting released. It could be you know, I don't know. I mean, there's there's a lot of things, you know, that they can do with this roster, and so I would think three o'clock today, we're gonna have a much better idea of what this roster will look like. All Right, we're gonna take our final break. When we come back, we're gonna talk a little bit more about Tampa Bay's

offense versus a Dallas defense. We'll also take some calls. Call us eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven. Again it's eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven. We'll be right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Hi, I'm Clint Tillison with United Aggin Turf. Before you can park yourself in front of the game, park yourself in a John Dear and

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the Star. Let's talk some Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus Dallas Cowboys that happens this third next Thursday night kick off the NFL season. On paper, you look at this Tampa Bay offense, you look at this Dallas defense, and it seems like it's gonna be a very very daunting task based upon what you saw from both units last season. That all being said, based and I asked Bucky this question earlier, I'm interested to see what you guys have to say about it based on what Dallas has done

this offseason. How convinced are you that they will be better this year? I'm not convinced. I'm just not. I mean, I don't know why we would we would be convinced. I mean really, because convinced is a strong word, you know, I'm and I'm just not. I've seen I've seen this play out too many times. I've seen the defensive coordinator that's like, oh man, this guy's good, this guy's got it.

He figures it out, and you know, I mean, it looked better than what we've seen but you know, like Bucky said, from what we saw in the and then you know training camp and the guys getting their hands on the ball and all that stuff. Did they did they face a numb umber one quarterback at all? I mean a few days of DAK and then that's it. They didn't face one in the preseason. They didn't face any starting quarterback other than Trevor Lawrence. And that didn't

look good. But they had they didn't have the starters in there, but they the starters have not faced they number one quarterback, and now they're going to face the best quarterback in the history of the of the league. So now I'm not convinced of anything. I am convinced that they'll be better in the sense that it's almost impossible for them to be worse. I mean, how many times in all of your years watching football have you seen a pro defense surrender two separate three hundred yard

rushing performances, which they did. Um I went to I didn't say, I didn't say, it's never happened. That was pretty bad, And yeah, she was pretty bad. It was Was it better? No? One? That's the thing is probably like a little better, but not like they were they still bad, Yeah, but they that draft, like, I don't think they got a player even close to what they got right this. It would just it would be statistically hard to be worse. And but that's that's as much

as I'm willing to say. You know, I'm excited about Micah some of the you know, I noticed this yesterday. Doesn't mean they're good. Does not mean they're good. But they didn't cut any of their free agent signings. You know, there was no Haha, Clinton Dicks, there was no Jasper Brinkley. The guys that they've brought in they think can have a role, Brent Urban, Carlos Watkins, Jay Ron. I know,

but Poe and Whorley made the team last year. So does not mean that they're good, right right, right point does not, But it's at least a step in the right direction that they didn't have to cut any of the not yet. I think that could still happen. It could happen. No, all eleven made the team with Charney. You know, I'm still surprised Semifohoko made the team. I am. I just I didn't see make a play or anything. I actually looked this up. We know, we know that

they like to protect their draft. But I was actually stunned. I'm I was stunned when I looked it up, how much the length that they really go to to protect their draft. Will took over in twenty fourteen Will McClay. Sorry, if you listen to this show, you know who Will is, Well, we just signed We just say Bill, oh boy, okay, sorry, um, he took over eight seconds ago. They've made seventy picks with Will running the draft process, and all but ten

have made the team as rookies. And of the ten that they have cut in that time span, seven of the ten or seventh round picks. Okay, so three the other three sixth round pick Rico Gathers, who they gave a lot of money to to keep him around. That's right, So that's that's almost like cheating. Yeah. Uh, sixth round pick Marquez White from a few years ago. Hang on, I put this in a tweet lost. It's got to be the fifth round. It's gotta be a Michael Jackson.

Oh yeah, you're right, Yes it was he yeah, yeah, who they wanted to bring back on the practice squad and he's one of the very few guys he made it to the practice. I looked this up at his name. He got claimed off the practice squad later in the season, but he did make it initially, Michael Jackson, and then there were five Chaz Green, Martin Zacha, Jalen Smith, Cedric Wilson, and Connor McGovern. All were placed on season ending lists like they didn't have rookie seasons, but they were obviously

still on the team played. If you get drafted, if you get drafted before the seventh round, they're gonna do their best to keep you. But here's great. But here's what But here's what I think is missing from that great story. But here's what I think is missing from that is you didn't normalize it for me. What is that? Oh, I don't know. I don't have time to look at the other but my point is. But my point is, if if that number, that number is what it is.

But what we don't know is our teams out there, do they keep more than that? Do they keep less? Is this right there at the average? And this is what typic happens with teams because you're trying to infuse yet you're trying to keep young talent around to develop them. But we don't have to normalize it because we're not worried about them. Well but no, no, but when we'm all I'm saying is when we get to the training camp and we're talking about guys, we need to put

more emphasis on that number because it's this team. But understood, understood. I guess what I'm trying and what I was trying to glean from, that's just from my own personal knowledge. Like do the Cowboys protect their draft more than other teams? That's where I was going with that. I don't know. I think the whole league protects their drafts because that's how you keep salary downright. But and that's why you know when a guy I'll first, this has burned into

my brain because he wound up here. Vince Mayley was a fourth round pick for Cleveland a few years ago and they cut him as a rookie, and it was like headline news. That just doesn't happen, Like if you're picked in the like it's rare to see a guy pick that early get cut as a rookie, Like fourth round picks make the team because you don't want to admit that a guy you took that highway he sucks. So I don't know the numbers for the rest of the league. But to Nick's point, I said it all

throughout the offseason. I was like, if you're a fifth round pick, that doesn't mean you're safe. History indicates that, it doesn't mean we're gonna We're gonna write that story at some point, you know, like going into like next

year or whatever. I mean, it's it's really it's it's really good to know that because but but to me, the second year, I mean, like all bets are off, But but but are they like this is what I want to know, was was Bradley and I is he that much better than Rondelle Carter or is he better at all? You know, I hope you know, if it's close, they'll probably go with with the you know, the draft pick.

But I mean they're probably very happy to put Reggie Robinson on IR for the season because they didn't want to have to cut a fourth round pick who wasn't going to make this team. Yea, he was at the bottom. He was nearly of your depth chart there, yeah, that position yet but now you know, he comes back, he's goes to training camp, he gets cut next year, you know, it's three years removed from the training from the draft, and it's like, man, it's too small of a sample

size because it's only two years. But since McCarthy got here, they kept their whole class last year, including Ben de Nucci, and they kept this which they might still cut Farniac or they could maybe they could cut Simmy. I kind of doubt it. But that's so eighteen straight rookies making the team interesting. Yeah, definitely getting back to the conversation on the Bucks and the Cowboys. No, that's fine. That

was a good detour. That's a detour we're taking outside of Michael Parsons, though, what's the most convincing thing that you can give fans hopes that the Cowboys will be better? Like, name a player or a position or something. Looking at me like I've got something to say, and I don't. I can give fans a reason to believe that maybe they are better than they were last year. What player other than Michael Parsons on defense are you excited about?

I think it's Randy Gregory. I mean I am. I'm so excited about Randy, but I'm not ready to just to sign him that status, you know, like they're gonna be going against JP. He and Shaquille Barrett. Tampa fans have every reason to believe that that is a fearsome duo among the best in the league. I'm excited about Tank and Randy. I'm not ready to be like, oh yeah, especially Tampa's tackles are great Donovan Smith and Tristan Worths.

I mean, Tristan Worf's was like all pro as a rookie. Like, I'm not ready to just be like, yeah, Brady's going to spend the whole night on the ground. I'm not ready to say that at all. Well, you're forgetting Dan, of course, by the way, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not expecting I don't think And that's why I've been wording these these questions the way I have. It would be foolish not to recognize the fact that this defense is coming off one of the worst performances in club history.

So to think that they're all of a sudden gonna be among the best defenses in the league, I think is foolish. But I don't think that that doesn't mean they can't be improved. And that's where I'm trying to figure out, is where are the areas where you can see some level improvement. You talk about players that you're like, well, maybe that could be Like I look at a Treyvon Diggs and I'm like, if he's better, which we see the trajectory that he could be better. If he's better,

maybe that's an area where you could see something. I do think the safeties. I think the safeties are better than your safeties last year. That doesn't mean they're great. It means I think they're better than they were last year. So that's what I'm looking for, is what are those areas where you could see areas where they could be better. I got I got one on third and seven, third and eight on Then when they get to the nickel, I think that Kean O'Neill and Micah Parsons will be better. Uh,

in the linebacker position, those guys will be better. I think with having Randy Gregory on the outside, I think some of the past rushing combinations that they have Dorance can help with their With that, I think you put your safeties back there. I think they can get off the field better than they have before. Mainly because of those linebackers on nickels. We don't have to pile on Jalen Smith it's it's a dead horse, no point to it. But um Prescott Pylon, I don't Pilon Prescott. Don't like

that nickname at all. Doug Nasmyer, go back to the well and try again. I just um all, I can remember running Ram through the building over the last few weeks, I think. But um, I this defense, they're going don't know if they're gonna better. They're gonna be a lot faster and a lot more athletic. When you add Michael Parsons to the mix and Kean O'Neill, a former safety playing linebacker, and you hopefully take a guy who's not fast enough to be a star at this level take

him off the field more often. That's that's gonna make a big difference. I think. So. Yeah, Like I think I said that. That was our other mail back question. I was like, just get to the ball quickly and confidently. That's really like that is like the baseline expectation for this defense, and if they do it with more regularity than they did last year, they should be a lot better. Yeah, a lot a lot better, meaning middle of the pack instead of just absolutely the worst. You can be middle

of the pack if your offense is special. If the offense is special, like we think it can be, your defense can be considered middle of the pack. That could be good enough if your offense a special. Well, I will say this though, I think a lot of the things I saw last year, the problems with this defense were just basically mistakes, mental mistakes, guys not being where

they're supposed to be. I don't think it was a lot of I was in the right spot, I just got run over, or I just missed the tackle, or I think a lot of it was and guys are just out of place. And so I think if you can get that part right, I think this defense takes a jump. Like now, if you're at the bottom of the legue, that jump might get you to twenty two. You're still out at the top half of the league, but you're better. And that's where I think there's room

to grow here. Regardless of what what else you think of this defense and what they've done. I just laugh, and I you know, some listeners give me flak because and I agree, like sometimes I tend to like over inflate the opposition, like I just always think that the opponent is way better. Yeah, yeah, I am, Well, they especially when you don't give me a reason to be honest,

you're a pessimistic kind of part I am. I think of myself as a realist, but sure, um, but the opponent is funny, Like, this isn't college football where you get too up against little sisters of the poor, right, But there are opponents on this schedule that I'd feel way better, particularly on defense. You know, like if the Dallas defense, if you were getting Carolina in Week one, I'd be like, all right, yeah, let's see where this goes,

and maybe they'll do this better. You just look down Tampa's depth chart and you're like, that's gonna be a problem. That's gonna be a problem. That's gonna be a problem. And Tampa's got a great defense too. Yeah, but I'm a lot more maybe even better than the offense. I'm a lot more optimistic about the Dallas offense being able to get some wins, whereas I'm just like, well, we don't feel good about the secondary, and this is the

probably the best receiver cords in the league. I know Dallas has something to say about it, but if Antonio Brown is really back to who he was, that's terrifying. Tom Brady speaks for himself. The line speaks for itself, like just if you did it player by player, you wouldn't. I don't think you would take a Dallas player across the entire matchup. Probably. Yeah, So that's just this is as tough as it it's in terms of opening the season with a brand new staff and a brand new everything. Yeah,

that's gonna be a rap for us for today. It's a good way to wrap it up. Sorry, sorry to bring the mood down. We will be back on Friday and we are going to talk about the Cowboys offense versus the Tampa defense and all that. Although that defense

is really good, I agree with you. I think there are some matchups where maybe the Cowboys can find some some ways to move the ball and hopefully and generate some points because this might be a game where they have to generate a lot of points in order to win. We'll talk about that on Friday. Till then for Nick even Dave helm and I'm Derek Hilton. 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.