Cowboys Break: Run D Issues?

twenty twenty two, Season eighteen, episode number forty four. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break Life from SWBC Mortgage Studios. At the start, we are presented by Miller Lite, the only beer of the Dallas Cowboys, and we are today going to focus on the Los Angeles Rams their offense versus the Cowboys defense. Who'll spend quite a bit of time there. Brian's got a game for us in the third segments around too, lots of fun. Maybe we

get to it today. We thought we'd get it to it yesterday, but these guys talk too much, so we'd wanted to argue, so we didn't get to it. But uh, but let's start first. Let's get some catchups on on some injuries and some stuff that Mike McCarthy had to talk about let's let's start with Dak Prescott. What's he going to be doing this week? What's wrong? Nothing? I was gonna start with the moan Clark, but go you know what, I guess you should start with the quarterback.

I probably need to, but I will say this, of all the names I got on this list, that's the one that has a star by it. Because the Moan Clark, I think we all have been waiting to see him get out there. So, but let's start with Dak. Give me an update on dec. What are we? What are we looking at there? All right, Adam, there's just some something flying around trying to kill it. I don't like things flying around me, smashing guys. Okay, silence, all right, give me an update on dec. Where are we? Yeah?

I don't I don't really know. I'll be honest with them. Why don't you tell us? Don't know what the coach said? Yeah, y'all get in to see now. Now he's a boss, so he actually has to go to meetings. Now. You can't always just go to press conference with Dak. Again, it was always going to be that thing's not gonna get near me now it's dead. I think Ambar like

wounded it to its flying in circles up. The thing with Dak was always going to be about the healing of the wound, the rotation in the joint or the thumb, and then the grip strength. And from what I've heard, they've had a little bit of swelling. Dak is always going to work hard at this. Britt Brown's gonna work hard at These guys are going to try and push and push and push. And I'm not saying it, you know,

it's it's the it's that's the reason. It's like they push so hard and then all of a sudden some swelling reappears and things like that, and then it turns into you can't grip the ball correctly. And that's where this thing's at right now. If they can get the grip strength to be where it needs to be for him to hold the ball and be able to throw it,

then he'll be out there practicing. And but you know, the more that you watched last week, they were talking about, well, they're gonna shoot for the RAMS game, shoot for the Rams game, and I just was like watching him, you know, you never heard about him in practice. Today he threw this, and or he did this, or he did that. You

never heard that. It was. It was just him kind of watching things, you know, helping, being in support, and so you're like thinking, well, and I asked after the game on Sunday, I said, where are we out with the quarterback? And I got the definite, Hey, we're gonna try and shoot this thing for Philadelphia. We're gonna try. We're gonna try and see if it works. So I know, on my station on one oh five three, the fan, I you know, I was like adamant about that. I

was adamant about it on the postgame show. That didn't think he was gonna play. And so until he gets that grip strength, then once that happens, then we can start the clock on what game he could be back for.

All right, he seemed to McCarthy seemed to be getting a little annoyed with all the questions being asked to him about like the specifics of what are the things specifically that Doc is doing as far as his rehab, and he just it was pretty funny, but anyways, he doesn't know all the details, doesn't want to get into it. He's basically at a good spot the doctor visit went well, the stitching and everything. The healing has been looking very good.

Obviously stitch stitches are out already, but he just very clear. He's just he's good on his rehab and what he needs to be. Yeah, and I don't you know, he says he doesn't know all the details or whatever, like there's no way that's right there, Like there's no way as a head coach that. I mean, it's okay not to say the details to the media because he's very annoyed by you can tell every week he's like he's always throwing shots how every everybody's reporting different plays and stuff.

He hates how it's covered. You know, he hates every Tuesday morning on the fan when Jerry gets there, doctor Jerry goes and says that kind of stuff. He's not used to that. But you're not a coordinator, you're a walk around coach. You know the details of your quarterbacks if you don't. Yeah, But I think I think the difference is And this is where the Todd was the one that asked the question. Todd Archer friend of the show,

he was, he was actually the question he asked. And I don't know if McCarthy didn't take it right or if Todd was actually asking this, but the way it kind of came off was literally, what are the exercises and rehab regimen that he's doing to repair it? And McCarthy's kind of like, I don't really know all the different exercise Well, you know, that's what he was more getting to, I think, And that's what I think he

was a little bit annoyed by. Was like, do you guys want me to tell you he's doing, you know, thumb wrestling and I don't know what you know? So I think that was more of what it was, and I don't know if it was what Todd was asking. I think that's the way he took it in my and he's not the only one. Belichick the other day did that thing with mac Jones and he said, like he said day to day like twelve times and said,

what am I a doctor? I'm like, yeah, you probably well in this role as a professional NFL coach, yeah, you kind of have to be well. And then the question was asking to follow up though, well, okay, the people that are doctors, what are they telling you right?

You know, and he's like, you know, it's stated, we'll see That's the thing about it too, is I think, I mean, I think you both have shed light on it the right way and and I to me, it's I think Mike really has He's never had to do this, He's never had to deal and he's what you know, the season now, the fourth season here with the team, third third season with the team, trying to think now where we're yeah, you're three, okay, so you're three Okay. He's never in Green Bay. Trust me, I spent five

years of my life up there. They don't have an owner, you know, they don't have somebody, they don't have a general manager. Ted Thompson was not coming out and Teddy would tell you far less than what Mike McCarthy would even tell the Green Bay media. So Mike is I think there's a level of frustration where Mike is like, I have to stand up here and answer these questions because what's happened, is it? You look at the timeline for DAK returning, it's kind of like the stock market.

It's way up, it's way down, it's way up, it's way down, it's way up. No, it's flat now and now it's up again. Now it's I mean he's having that message. He's having to deal with the expectations of the general manager, you know, and what the general manager is selling the the hey, he's gonna be back. He's gonna be back, and Mike's never had to deal with that, you know. And that's when you work for the Dallas Cowboys.

That's the voice you have to as a coach. You have to know that you're going to get questions because the general manager talks twice on our station and we we're glad to have him. And he talks immediately after a game, so you have three opportunities in a week to try and pin Jerry on what's going to happen here. And you know, so I think that's the thing that he might be getting really frustrated about. Yeah, you're right after a game when dad got hurt against the Bucks.

Gary comes right out and talks and McCarthy hasn't even hit the hit the podium yet, and what he is saying is not the same, it's not it's not the same thing. He's not as the definitive about him being out for a while. And you know, all this started when they didn't put him on ir too, and they didn't put him on IR. It's like, well, you know, could the same with Gallup. They didn't put him on IR because he did come back in the fourth game. Point and now you know, but they didn't put Dak

on IR. And there's different reasons for that. And it wasn't about just playing. It was about being around the team. Yeah, point right. Coaches know exactly what's going on with they know, but they definitely know. And I again, like I said, I don't know that he knows a detail like literally today he's gonna do this exercise and this exercise and this exercise. But he's certainly you're right, he knows the prognosis of his quarterback and what's going on with his quarterback.

He may not always want to say that, and in some instances he may not have to if he were on another team. Sure, and this team, he's got to always be aware of what did the owners say, because that's an equally more powerful I should say not equally powerful, more powerful voice in your own building who talks regularly.

You got to be aware of it. I wish I wish Mike would have come out today and said, well, he's gonna do the flaming procedure, right, and then they're gonna money, and then they're gonna go into Jones rehabilitation system, and then they're gonna I mean, it had been funny if he had just listed all all these terms that everyone's exactly what he's got. He's got gamekeeper thumb, and now and they're dealing with it in a what you know,

and everyone's in the press. That's gamekeeper thumb. Yeah, that's actually a real gamekeeper thumb is a real injury. And by the way, real quick, it's it's a scouting term. It's a scouting injury because back in the day, people used to when they collect birds, though, and you and you reach down to get the bird, your thumb would jam into the ground and so it was like you would break your thumb or you would have an injury.

So they called it gamekeeper game being birds and you're gathering birds and these people would slam their thumbs into the ground and suffer injury. Yeah, and we now use it as a scouting term. There is also one called xbox itis where and I think Derek has that Derek has in your thumb, like messed up. It's gone down quite a big because I don't play as much as

I used to. But it used to be like a huge yeah, even a blister, it was just like it was a callous that came from the actual bone that was just kind of this big and I was that was I used to play a lot of tank. That's why I stopped playing the guitar. I was gonna, oh yeah, like, oh my god, this is painful, and I quite Yeah, all right, let's jump back in. Let's let's get an update. Actually talk about Deman Clark. Where are we with Damon Clark?

He's back, Actually he's never never was never here, So I don't know if he's back because he's never he's been here. He's been here. Yeah, neck and back and um, he's you know fifth round pick that they that they drafted with hopes that he could you know, be further along. And I think that was one of the issues, Um, you know, when when he got hurt right after the Senior Bowl. The doctors and trainers have different opinions on

these guys when they could come back. And so I think there's some teams that didn't want to draft the board off the board, and they got him in the fifth round. And I don't think anyone really thought it would be this early in the season that he would be starting to practice. Yeah, that's the thing about it, coming at it when you that's my alma mater. So I watched him play that. The Cowboys stole one here

and the Cowboys. The Cowboys have a great history of taking guys that are injured and saying, Okay, we'll be patient because they do trust Jim Mayer, they do trust Britt Brown. This kid right here, you talk about a guy that, I mean the last two years LSU struggled to be five hundred after a national championship team. He never quit, he never wavered, He played hard. He's a

big guy. You you watch stand next him physically as stand next to him, and you're going, man, this guy he's like that Micah Parsons kind of big body guys McLain kind of big yes, yes, yes, And you know bru Cox is a smaller more cover. This guy can cover, This guy can rush, this guy can tackle, this guy takes on runs. This guy if he doesn't, I'm just tell you if he if he's not well, real quick, if he's not injured or they the Cowboys were the ones that found the problem with his back neck area.

They if he doesn't, he's a maybe a late one, early two draft pick. He's he was on a lot of boards. I never moved him off the board because I'm thinking somebody's gonna take I had him in the second round, I know, on my board, and when he was taken by the Cowboys, I'm like, here they go. They stole one. They did their homework on a guy. Yeah, he didn't mess around. That's what he doesn't do. You know.

Jody Camillis used to say on my favorite coaches of all time used to call people some jf as, some Johnny f around. Yeah, just sitting over there. He didn't do that. This guy is business approach. He I mean, he's come in from day one, and I think that's one of the reasons why he's already ready to play is because he or not ready to play. He's ready to practice. We'll see what happens he starts practicing. But like his commitment to rehab and getting better, it has

been here from day one. He's not one that's You're not going to see a lot of our social media interviews and fun little what's your favorite color? I don't think that's gonna be him. He was here from the very first mini camp. You remember when we were standing there going through the drills as much as he could, I mean, taking the steps and all that. He has been mental reps from the day from day one, and like, he's here to play and if he can contribute at all,

this could be, like you said, it could be a steal. Yeah. Wow, that's that gets to be really excited because you talk about the strength of this defense and I think that maybe they are just kind of one or two tweaks I don't even want to say players, but tweaks away from really kind of taking that step to where we're

talking about a really, really extremely dominant defense. And he might be that piece, right, he might be that guy linebacker, which linebackers the position we talked about a little earlier this week that sometimes you get like you have a little bit better play there. This guy wants to be in every tackle. That's when you watched him play at Lshoe He I mean, he played under defense that was struggling and he but every single play you're like, that's him.

That's him again. I remember last year and Dave was you know, we're talking about arkantas LSU game and I was like, he goes like, you guys are gonna win, and I was like, I don't. I don't know. He's like, we're not very good this year. And I was like, well, who's number eighteen? Because I've seen him play and number eighteen is a famous number. Yeah, yeah, and he got the number, but like, you know, we don't have any players. It looks like that, and um, you know, I mean

that's just how good he is. He just he just pops out and he's a linebacker. He's not just I mean looks like a defensive end though. Yeah he is he an off the ball guy? Or is he a play off the ball you could do? You could, you could play this guy anywhere. He's got that kind of I'm not over selling this because he's an LSU guy. I'm just telling you when you watch him play, he rushes, he attacks, he spies. I mean, they're they're Nick's talking

about it that. I'll tell you what. This guy sounds bigger though many I'm kind of like, no, no telling me, I got another telling you this guy. This guy legitimately, you know, when you start to talk about the best linebackers in the country. This was one of them. This guy was one of them, and people took him off the board because they were scared of his back and that situation. And you know, I'm like when the cowboys took him, I just remember sitting here in this in

this exact spot and thinking, they stole another one. They stole a guy that people are just going to sleep on and because of an injury, and uh, you know, good for them. I got him practice, But I promise you, and he gets the opportunity to play, you'll find out who that cat is, all right, real quick, we do need to get one more name, Jake McQuaid. We find out yesterday as an injury is gone for the time. How did you guys not give me a look as

a workout on the steep snapping thing? Oh you should have. I actually thought that was funny. You were talking about her on one or five out three the fantas day and I was like, that actually have been a great bid. If we could have run, Brian, I would have. I would with a long gray man Yeah running out there. Yeah, I'm here, I'm here, guys. I've weren't a GoPro like a chess go pro you know, and done the workouts like what Jeli Manning did. I would have done the

same thing. Brian Anger said no to that. I know they appreciated how you guys fell your names. He heard about the story where you broke the holder's thumb finger finger. To this day, my buddy Todd Tomlinson, who's in UH is in South Carolina. He's got a hook. I go, if you're watching, he's got his little pinky as a hook. And I snapped a ball load to him in the Kentucky game and it smashed his finger against the kicking block out and he didn't want to get it fixed.

He just kept So this day he's got a little bit of hook because of me with your name on. Yeah. Yeah, so that's what. Yeah, I would have I would have warned the go pro gone out there kind of. I wouldn't have, you know, I just go out there, Hey, I'm ready. You know we're in the grays, gone out there trying to cover seem like chu so fun. Yeah, that would have been. That would have been good. Um

they got I know that there's two guys. I don't know if the names have been out yet, and I don't even have studied Overton I think is one of them. They have two guys are gonna put in the practice squad. Basically they're gonna call them up on a game day elevator. So they had to get Will Greer on the team. So mcqui will go to Ir Greer. Greer, you only get three call ups for the practice squad, so he's

been this would be he's already had three. There's no more elevations on game day for him, so you know they're trying to get He'll be on the team for however long until Dak comes back, and then I guess they can move him back down. So at that point they got to cut him to be able to get him back to the practice squad. Correct, Yes, yes, yeah, he's now a fifty one or fifty three Tucker Addington and Matt Overton or the two snappers that are now on your practice squad. Yeah, and you know, and we've

seen you know, backup snappers. And I was asked on the on the radio this morning, there's gonna be a problem, and I'm like, I was here in two thousand and one and and so I know that Congo was no, not him, It was we brought in Mike Solwald and Randy Chevrier. One guy was driving a truck and it was I couldn't remember chev He was about to he

was about to take a big truckload to California. But like man, I mean, it was almost like the movie Major League when he was like, well, I got another guy on the line with White Walls, I mean, let me go manage the team. And it was like that. And the snaps, I mean, I mean he basically had a bad snap in a game against Atlanta and broke the kicker's foot because he tried to pick it up. And you know, so it was it was bad. It

can it can it can go bad. Well, so they're playing the Falcons, I believe it's just like two thousand and one, and it was it Maybe wun't Chevy, it was Soul Walled had a terrible I mean, this is like to win the game or late in the game and there's like a fifty yard kick snap goes over his head. The kicker, who's like a also he was a teacher before the Cowboys called him to be a he goes, he goes to pick up the ball, he

gets tackled, it breaks his foot. He's out, so that they replaced the snapper like that was your last nap. The kicker he had to get a new kicker. Shockingly, this was not a good football season for the Cowboys. What are you again gonna be like, No, no, he's not wrong, he is not wrong. I mean, I don't know. I think every day Saints, I go, this guy knows, this guy knows what's going on here today it was and it was that was your last snap? It was you know, and and the same thing happened in two

thousand and five. I mean, I think the LP story is one of my favorite stories. It is time. I love it. And he just just because he was in California and we're there, I don't know, you might need him to come back. I'm about to say, like can we make like what are we doing? Let me just tell you that. Let's call him side. We got cookie and he'll yeah, yeah, he's eating a cookie. There's no doubt he's eating a cookie or pushing somebody and keep moving. Yeah, yeah,

all right through. But I can tell you what's the radio? This is, this is what this is what would happen? LP? LP drives into the parking lot. He's about to walk in and he's in the security guards there and he's like, I'm yeah, I'm here. I'm about to gonna fill in here for a few games. And Jason Witten standing at the door as a new security guard. He's like, no, no, you're not You're not doing that. No, thank you. Now,

I got a big mural up here. You don't. Because Jason Witten has the Cowboys record for two hundred and fifty five career games. H lp Letticer has two hundred and fifty three. Yeah, you think Witten's gonna let lp come in here, snap the ball three or four times and break kids record? Now not happening. He's got a mural. He's gonna call Charlotte. He's like, Nah, this ain't happen him. He was one of my favorite guys. I'm kidding, I think to that. I think, but I'm thinking that Witten

has that much power. I don't know if he does, but uh, because if so, he would have been a coach. But um, no, kidding, kidding, I'm just saying, you know, yeah, he didn't get released. I mean you know, he got he got cut, but um, you see him going up to Jerry's office. No, no, I think they're going you know, it's not like, yeah, I mean that they could have signed LP when they had him, you know, and he wanted to come back and play. So I don't think

that's gonna happen. They got the younger guys and and you know, most of the time around the league, college, high school, most snaps are pretty good. You would think these guys are gonna be pretty good. Yeah, So I just I just hope it doesn't throw off what we got going right now at the kicker, because there is a rhythm to it, and I'm a little bit concerned about that because the kicker is doing a really great job right now. Anything messing up his mojo. They told

McQuaid wasn't snapping, Well, he wasn't. Yeah, that was a question that there were people in the organization or like maybe some of the problems that you were having a training camp might There were people walking up to me in the preseason like, hey, listen, I know you guys are busting on these these kickers right now, but just watched the snaps in practice and tell me what you think. But but this Matt Overton, he's a veteran, he was with he's a tenure guy. You know he's been placed

one Seattle, Indie Jacksonville. I mean he's done it Chargers. This guy's done it in games. Yeah, all right, it's like our first break. When we come back, we'll jump into the RAMS office versus the Dallas def This is Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio. Todd thought it would be secure to jog in the cheetahs savant. Todd believed the big cat repellent he bought online was reliable. And now Todd is trying to be faster than this cheetah that

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studios at the Star. This segment is brought to you by blockchain dot Com. Let's jump right in Los Angeles, Ram's offense versus Dallas Defense. And I know I usually start with what do they do best? But I'm going to alter that this week and say, other than throwing to Cooper Cup, what do they do best offensively? Yeah?

What you're gonna get this week is I feel like that with the protection problems and studying their games, studying their all twenty two, it was really more about the forty nine ers did a great job on the outside of covering, and I mean covering is they couldn't get the ball quick enough to Cup or they couldn't get the ball quick enough to Higbee. They try to get the ball to Row Robotson and it just hasn't worked out as well as they I think they've hoped. They

struggle at the offensive tackle spot. They've been banged up inside. The thing that they I think that they do the best is they're going to try and control Dallas's rush with while we saw I went back and watch two games this pass game and I went back and watch the Arizona game just because of their defense as well. You're gonna see the wide receiver screens. You're gonna see the screens at the back. This quarterback is very comfortable.

And when I talk about Matthew Stafford of throwing it from any arm angle, he will throw around rushers when they go up, he'll you know, he's got that little flick he'll throw over the top. He is a really, really good deliver of the ball. When it comes to the screen packages, I have a feeling they're gonna try and not only do they run the wide receiver screens,

but they run the running back screens. Too, and they're not gonna let Dallas tee off on this on them with their defensive line, so it's would be ball down the field. You're absolutely right, it's Cooper Cup. You know. They're trying to get Robinson involved. They just can't. I mean, he just can't get They can't get him going. But him and Higbee are the guys that the main people you have to stop. They're gonna throw the ball to Henderson, They're gonna throw the ball to Acres if they can.

And it's probably going to be to control your rush through some screens. They did in two games that I watched. It wasn't just okay, we need to do something to keep San Francisco office. They did it also against Arizona. So get ready for that to kind of control your rush. We know they are vulnerable at the offensive line. I

think that's probably the areas the greatest vulnerability. My question for you is what part of that offensive line is most vulnerable that the Cowboys should be focused on trying to really exploit. Yeah, they have there's we'll see what happens with David Edwards, their guard they drafted, you know, in the fifth round in twenty nineteen, he's been banged up. They've been playing with a gain named Bobby Evans, who is a third round pick in two thousand and nineteen,

and they just haven't been very stable there. The center Brian Allen's been nicked up as well. Note Boom is a kid that's interesting. I think a lot of it when he gets in trouble. He's the left tackle and he gets real tall. He you know, he doesn't play with very good knee bend, and so what happens is people take him back and or they'll beat him with quickness and he just hasn't been able to just because he's so tall, and he just can't without a base, he can't move or slide. So that's a that's a

big problem for them in that regard. And then this Rob Haverstein's he's a veteran guy, but I mean he's kind of a he's kind of a maller brawler guy. He's not really a great athlete. I think Tank will have some good rushes against him, because Tanks really good of when a tackle throws hands. Tank is good on the slap and then get his get his left shoulder or his right shoulder underneath and then press that way.

And Hammerstein is not that I don't think he's a great athlete, because I say he's a mall er brawler kind of guy. Their their running game is they're capable. They're capable of running the football. Cam Akers and Henderson they can run the football. They just haven't had a lot of space in the games that i've but there there are some times where in that Arizona game where they got the ball on the perimeter and that's the

kind of the things that's now my new thing. Watch perimeter runs against teams that you play against, if they have guys that are capable, when they miss up perimeter runs, it's bunch formation and then they get kind of muddled and confused on who they're supposed to block their receivers. Struggle with that a little bit on the edge, but they're capable team of doing it. I was just I'm

just feeling old. I remember note Boom being in high school, covering him in Plano Senior High here right, Yeah, I know he was a guy plan ol guy and then went to TCU. Yeah, playoff singer. Yes, Okay, he's uh, he's you know, he's made a good career for himself. But you know, like you said, I mean that that is their issue. I mean, I'm I'm just trying to figure out, like, you know, how do the Rams win this game? Like like in their favorite to win. I know,

how they defense? No, I think their running game is it has not gotten off. They got to good running backs. And by the way, if you hadn't noticed, Cowboys are towards the bottom of the league when it comes to stopping the run. Somehow it hasn't reflected in points that they're giving up because at the top of the league in not allowing team to score. But they have not

been successful stopping the run this season. When you look across the games they've played, and this game looks to me like that kind of game, I guess that's a were a question for you, Brian. But how to that point then, because I was looking at the running game, what it's looked like, I'm like, Okay, yes, they're good running backs, but it's not something that's taking off just yet. How has the opposing teams that they played they have a good defense. Yeah, when you know, that's what I

was saying. I was watching with Arizona and then I was watching with with San Francisco has got really good safety play and they've got linebackers that can really really run. And now, okay, that's your that's your trick right there if you're the Cowboys. Is you know when the Cowboys have looked bad defending the run, it's it's been a defensive end and then it's been a linebacker not getting

up and it's not it's a corner playing wide. And it's also you know, you watch some of these teams play, like the forty years, their corners were coming up and making plays. They're they're they're you know, willing tacklers. I mean even watching the even watching guys you know like Ramsey play for them. When we get to their defense, Ramsey will force Ramsey will come up and make a tackle. You know, your corners tend to play and I'm talking about Brown too. I'm not just talking about you know

they play wide. Yeah, why you know Brown and Digs, they tend to stretch and they get they get pushed and what happens that creates that seam or that space too if they get the corner. I mean, I think it's really it's been really really hard on the Cowboys because They're not just one guy gets blocked. You get an end gets blocked, you get a linebackers, it's a step light, and you get a corner that plays wide.

You're gonna give up some stuff off the edge. And I think the opponents that did have faced the rams, they don't play that way. You don't see now, we'll see if if in fact that you know, there's times where with I think, with curse being in me personally, my adjustment for taking I put curse on the field and I take bar off the field is what I do, because I mean bar to me is he hasn't seen this.

He I mean, they'll be motioned across or the jet motion, and then they'll be the handoff behind it, and you'll see him eyes on jet motion going this way. Balls come in the other way, and you're going no, no, no, no no, no, you've got to get over here. And then vander esh has been like he's having to kind of make up for the defensive end getting hooked, and then all of a sudden there's not a forced player

behind him. And I don't know if it's all on Vandersh either, but they when they play bad against the run, it's usually it starts at the end and then the linebacker and then the corner. That's usually what happens with them. And I'll throw this out to Amber two. You talked about trying to get a comparative of kind of the Cowboys relative to the teams they played. Check out this

for Washington. Washington last week put up one hundred and forty two yards on the ground against Dallas, And there's three previous games they didn't get more than eighty eight yards on the ground. They almost doubled or well almost a chunk run. Yeah, they almost doubled what they'd been doing previously. When it came to what they did last week versus the Cowboys, that's the first thing they loaded

to me. And then when you look at the Cowboys numbers, they've given up one fifty two, one sixty seven, one forty two. Like you look at what they're giving up on the ground. Typically that's a recipe from disaster defense. For some reason, it has not been for them. But I mean it's still a small sample size. But are we sure these aren't hollow numbers because well, I mean they're not scoring. They're not scoring. Yeah, by the way, Yeah, the scheme is don't give up anything big and also

get after their ass. And so what happens is is the outside edges and some of the lanes to run the ball. But when they get inside the twenty, I mean, Barkley broke off a thirty five yard because he's a really good player and scored. When they get inside the twenty, though, things are shifting down there there. There's you know, they're squeezing them out and they're getting field goals and so you know, I mean, yes, those numbers are usually when you run like that, you're gonna have a success. But

I don't know, I think dan Quinn, it's not. It's almost like that these are trend. Can the Cowboys play against the team that doesn't get penalties? That's the key? Yeah, right, And if you're gonna play that style of football, which is we're gonna run the ball, we're going to take these long drives because we've seen teams do that all seasons. To the Cowboys, they'll have him on these long drives.

The problem is most teams can't successfully not have the penalty that kills the drive because somebody, because somebody's athletic on the defensive line, it gets held right, So now instead of like the other day, you know, they had a had a thirteen yard run in the game and then it gets a holding call brings it back and then what happens sack punt? You know that. I mean, that's the kind of thing, you know, if teams are able to stay ahead of the chains against the Cowboys defense.

And actually Cincinnati did it in the second half of the game. Remember on the nineteen play drive they went on, they only got one penalty along the way, Dallas had a penalty. Since they had no penalties, Das had twelve men on the field. And if I'm not mistaken, same thing happened in the watching game the one touchdown dropped the head, They drove the ball down the field and they had no mistakes. And if you can do that and play mistake free football, that might be a way

to neutralize his defense. You find a way. If Dallas gets you in like long yarded situations, they kill you, right they if you play if your medium to them or stay ahead and don't get penalties, that tends to be a little bit more problematic for them. And here's the other thing. A note. Right now, opponents are averaging five yards per attempt on the ground against the Cowboys, if you can sustain it, there's something there for him you can make. You can move the ball, but you

just can't. You can't have penalties. And once they run into a team that can do that clean, they can play clean on offense. That's gonna be a problem for the Cowboys that they got to prevent. They got to prevent Matthew Stafford from being throwing interceptions and stuff. There were a couple in the San Francisco game in the red zone. He should have had one that was intercepted there. I mean, he will, he will give you the ball.

But I have a feeling that they're gonna they're gonna they're gonna try and run the ball on you in this game. And I think they're gonna run screens. I think whether it's screens to Cup or did these backs they're or Higbie, they're going to run screens to try and keep you from rushing. That's gonna be their form of a running game too. All right, we're gonna take our final break. We'll come back. Brian's got a little game force. We'll have a little fun here in this

final segment. We will right back this is Dallas Cowboys dot com or the season is finally here. For months, we've been gearing up to win. Now it's time for the team that performs on any field. United egg in Turn with John Dear zero turns for mowing, Compact tractors for loading, many excavators for digging, Gator utility vehicles for hauling, implements for grading, pay tools for bailing, United agg In Turf for winning the official Laggin Turf equipment supplier of

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com and start your free trial for NFL Plus today. Yep. And it's a good thing too. If you got one thing I miss working, I miss work with you guys, getting that, getting a nice little Yeah, I have to get a paid for that now. Yeah, Derek used to hook me up. Yeah, we do have. We do get a few of those codes every year. I got so many people asking for him now, can't get to you, Ryan, But yeah, maybe next year you get to me earlier. No pay, I I don't mind paying. It's a good

thing to have, it really really is. All right, let's jump back in, Brian, you got a game for us? I do? I do you remind me that I was old at an old man moment there for a minute, Uh I do. Let me pull the game up. I have it here on my phone. Uh. Just feel free to talk among yourself while I do this. All right, here we go, love games we go. Yeah. Yeah, sometimes

I forget what I'm doing on the radio. All right, all right, what I've done is the Cowboys have had to run through several guys that have been backups this year and backups and you know, usually you're kind of like, you know, I don't know, I don't know how this is going to work out. What I would like to know is give me a letter grade and give me a reason why you give your letter grade too, on

these backups and how they've played. And it's funny because there seems to be so many more on the offensive side of the ball as opposed to the defensive side of the ball. But give me. I'm gonna say a player's name, give me a grade as I go around the room, and bar, I'll start with you first, and give me the grade and give me the reason why

the grade. Okay, here we go. Tyler Smith, Tyler Smith, Alwa's played for you, I would say, you know what a a because one being a rookie too, the different changes that he had all throughout training camp without being like completely certain and where he was going to play. Then all of a sudden, now he has to play

tackle and be your starter. The amount. Yes, he hasn't played every single snap like completely clean and stake free, but I think he's done such an amazing job so far, and he's kept it at minimal I think one of the issues for him going into the season, or questions I would say, was the penalties. Would he be able to stay penalty free? And I think up to his point, like, he hasn't necessarily been a problem in that aspect. So

I would say, what did I give him a? Yeah, he's missing the plus, but he got an A Derek I would I'm not gonna give him. I'm not gonna put him on a curve. I think he's he's a good player. I would give him a B minus. Um, I think he's played well. I think there's still some

areas for development. I think there's some plays that you noticed from him where you're like, oh, and you, oh, you may have gotten away with one there, like those kind of moments that pop up that maybe he didn't get caught, but you know, like that was not a that was not a good rep for him. I think there's still some development to work but for him to work on. But quite frankly, like he is. He is definitely the left tackle future. There's no question about that.

And the fact you found that and you feel good about that, I think is what the story really is. But I give him a B minus. Yeah, I give him A B. I think he's been good. He's been really solid. There's some things like you see and then you know, but but there's but I think he's you know, he's growing and he's he's doing it. He's doing an early nice job. But I don't I don't agree with the curves as well. Grading on curve. I mean, if I was a teacher, he can't do that. You graded

for what it is. So I think it's a B. But um, I expect to be sitting here later in the season and it would be an A. Yeah, I agree, and by next year I expect. Yeah, for the next five to seven years, he is consistently A A A yeah. I went, I went B plus on him myself. Okay, Nick, I'll come back, you'll swing it the other way. How about Noah Brown? Noah Brown, I'd give a B plus. I think he's been a good, solid receiver. Um. Again, and not off of expectations. I wasn't expected him to

be like that. Um, he's he's he had a game where he was an A plus and won the game for them. Um. But he's he's been he's been really good. Not not the guy that would tell takeaway number one you know, corners that have to go and find him. But I think that for the role that he's playing, I think he's been really good. Yeah, I gave him

a B plus as well. I was kind of like maybe a B but I think what you said there at the end, like just what he was able to do that the A plus game, yeah, is what gets him up to a B plus for me, because there was one game they don't win without him, yeah, Cincinnati, Yeah, they don't win that game without him. So I think from that respect, i'd give him a B plus. But

he's been really good again, really good. Yeah, B plus as well if it was based off expectations, and probably gave him an A plus because I did not expect him to be anything that he's been so far. But another thing, he comes out and I saw someone on Twitter coming this, it's like you guys are basing your opinions or analysis on a guy that he didn't necessarily like. He's now getting those kinds of opportunities, therefore he can

showcase what he can really do. I don't think that's fully true because we have seen him in other occations and he hasn't been that guy. But I think this year. Yes, he's he's doing what I did not expect him to do, and I thought the Cowboys were not gonna be able to survive this first few weeks at the wide receiver course while they were waiting for Michael Gallup in Washington to come back. I gave him an a myself because my expectations were every year we kind of see him

have a great training camp. But he's he's backing it up. He had an opportunity last year. I mean he did have an opportunity. Cedric Wilson played better than him and that's why Cedric Wilson was able to get what he went. Okay, Ambar back to you, Donovan Wilson. Yeah, B plus B plus. I love the guy, you know what, Give him an a. I feel good today. Give him an a. I just love him. I love the way he plays. I love the passion that he has, the way that he's not

afraid to make those tackles. He just needs to work on some of those things to kind of be more thoughtful on his moves. But as soon as he cleans that up, and I think he'll just come with a little bit more experience. But once he cleans that up, he will be an A plus player for me. Yeah, I'm I want to give him an a plus because I look at how he's played. I look at the fact that he is a better curse like right now, right now, he is doing a lot of different things

for them. He's making a lot of it plays that that I think they need from him right now. The only thing that's a knock at all is that I don't always think he's the smartest guy when it comes to some of the things he does. Yeah, I just, I just I don't think he's always really thinks about the game the way he needs to. That's the only knock I have him. But even in those situations this year, I don't know that he's killed him with that. And that's what makes me still say I kind of think

I want to give him an A plus. He's been as good as anybody on this team through the first four weeks. Yeah, I give him an a minus. Uh. I think that you know, he's since he's been the starter, they're they're they're undefeated. The game that he didn't start against the Bucks, he got a pick off off Tom Brady there. I think that he's come in and done a great job and the fact that I'm not saying

he is a even a poor man's Troy Palomala. Yeah, but he reminds me of that safety because there are times where he's back there in a blitz and there's times where he's forty yards down the field. He guesses right a lot, which means he's he's instinctive and around the ball. If he can clean up some of those over reckless, over aggressive penalties, that that's really that maybe you will never get out of your system if you're

going to play that way. Sometimes it just happens, and maybe that's a part of why he's able to do all the other things he's able. But but yeah, I think he's he's been good. This isn't based off expectations. Is based off a guy that's come in and the defense has gotten even better in three games. Yeah, I went a minus as well. There. I think you're right about I think everybody does a Really, you guys painted the picture what the player is. I'm saying, Okay, how

about Nick, how about Jake ferguson Um. I would say, again, this is not an expectation thing. I would say probably a B minus. You know, he's been good. In the preseason. I thought he was really good. He caught everything they threw at him. Um, you know, I thought they held their own when when Schultz was out, and then they did a enough job. I mean he nothing has has gone backwards with some of these injuries, but nothing too

flashy either. Um. I'm thinking about you know, I'm not thinking about me bringing home a B minus because there would have been a party. But I'm just saying for most people, a B minus would have been like, hey, good job, you could do better, you could do better, keep it up. But but you know B minus was that was pretty good. No, no, not my house. Well

we're still here. I mean, there's a party from I would give him a B. And the reason I give him a bus because I think for the role that they've given him, I don't think they've really asked him a ton to be that guy down feel for them, But what they have asked him to do is block, and I think he's been really good. Okay, do this

for me. I'm sorry. Then this put both the guys together, put him and him and him a shot together as one player, as one as one player, I'm stepping up into the A A minus range because I think the both of them together and this is gonna sound sell him in four games, I get it. But they certainly are making Yeah, they're really making me think like once this season is over, if this continues as it's going, I would be shocked if Dalton Schultz is back here

next year. I think you can command a higher number on the free agent market than what the Cowboys would be willing to pay him. They have those two guys, see what happens when Dak comes back, because sometimes some guys rely on different parts of the game. And I mean, I remember there was times you gotta go back and look when Aikman left and Akman was hurt. Novicheck didn't have great games never but but but it was just more of that's what Dak would focus on. So Dak

might get it back in you'll see Schultz's numbers. But that also is again that goes to my point. I think that's going to drive him out because I think the Cowboys are gonna look at it like do we need to pay him top of the market money, because I do think they think that he plays like he should be paid among the top tight ends. But they would probably look at it and say, our two young guys, we think we can get the same thing out of them for a lot less money, even combined for a

lot less money and what we can pay. And I think that drives him to free agent. Mark, how about you, ag? I would give a minus and just they've been doing everything that the Cowboys have asked them to do in a good way. And I remember during the draft, I was looking at a film and all that, and I'm like, uh, you know Fergus and I was like looking at his stuff, I'm like eh. But then now when he got here, he started making those catches, I'm like, okay, especially at

your backup position, you need those guys, someone that can block. Anyways, I know we gotta go. But a minus good And the final one is Cooper Rush a plus plus plus plus plus, Yes, that's all. I gotta say. Stickers everywhere, stickers. Yeah, that's a full paper full of stickers. As a minus, yeah, just because you know, but he's getting better. Every game is umbers are getting better. They're kind of leaning on him a little bit more. I don't think he helped them.

I don't think he was the reason they won every game, but he's certainly not the reason that they've been losing it because they haven't. And so you got to give a quarterback credit for that. Yeah, I give him. I give him an AA minus. It's more about the fact that I don't think they're asking as much of him as what they put on Dak. But it does make me question, like, should they put that much on deck?

Maybe they need and maybe you get a little bit more out of Dak by not asking of him when I think that, because I think Dak has asked that too. If you have some of the quotes, I think Dak has kind of mentioned that too, Like, it's not it doesn't have to be this difficult. Let's make it simple, right, So, thank you guys for playing. All right, thank you for that game. That was interesting, that was fun. We'll get back to uh some more talk tomorrow. Actually tomorrow we're

gonna jump over to the Los Angeles Rams. I'm sorry, Los Angeles Rams defense. That's the part that that could be a little bit tricky. Sure we can talk about their defense versus the Cowboys offense. Still then for Nick Eamon, Brian broad Us, Namba Garcia, I'm Derek Eagleson. This has been the Break Live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This is been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.