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It's time for the Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com. Were on with Mbar Garcia, Brian brought us, Patrick Walker and Derek Eagleton.
It is Wednesday, March twenty seventh, twenty twenty four, season nineteen, episode number one hundred and seventeen. Welcome to the latest edition All the Break. We are lit from that WBC Mortgage studios at the Star got Brian and Amber here. Patrick's out today. We'll hold it down. We've got lots of different topics that have been floating around the Cowboys universe that we'll get into today. We'll talk about some
rules changes around the NFL. We'll talk about the dak con that contract and what we've kind of been hearing in that way. I think there's some things I want to clear up about that, but we'll have some conversations on that, and then we'll talk about free agency after
the dust is settled. Now in that first wave of free agency, uh kind of giving a big picture of where the Cowboys are, where they're their their positions are of need, and what they are really looking at now as they head into latter parts of free agency and the draft to really round out their their roster before we get here to training camp in July. All right, so let's start first. I want to I want to
start first with the NFL rules changes. I'm going to go through some of these and I have some different thoughts on it, but I want to get your your ideas on kind of what you think. Let's start first with that hip drop rule. Basically, it's a move, It's a maneuver that they want to get out of the game. It obviously can lead to some pretty gruesome injuries. We've seen that happen. The question for me, though, I have for you guys, is is this a fair rule for
defensive players? Because as you're running, so if a runner gets behind you, what else can you really do in order to tackle them, especially if the guy is bigger than you are. Let see it's a defensive back and you're trying to tackle Derrick Henry. How fair is that you now can't use your body weight to be able to pull him back when he's a big guy and has a full head of steam ahead of you.
Yeah, it's difficult.
It's never easy for a defender to have to approach a ball carrier from behind and try and make because everything now is it seems a bad situation, whether it's horse collar and now the hip tackle.
You know, but.
I'm for it. I'm for it because I you know, I understand it's a technique. There's some guys that are really good defensively of wrapping it up, taking their weight and throwing them in the back of the legs or the back of a ball carrier. And we've seen it on a couple of different levels. The Ravens lost their tight end last year to one. We've seen the Cowboys with Dak Prescott in his situation and how he got tackled that one time in the Giants game. You know,
it's it's a dangerous maneuver. Is it fair for the defenders nowadays?
No, it's not. You know, the defenders seem.
To be getting all the rule changes against him, whether it's contact rules, hands the face, whatever rule that you want to make against the defensive player. But to me, this is like the horse collar one. I feel like it's it's the spirit of it is the right way. I don't have a great answer for you as far as what do you do differently, because it is it's a tough way. If you're behind a ball carrier, there's really how else you're going to get a guy down.
You maybe grab on, hold on and hope that everybody else helps you. But man, we've seen some pretty significant violent injuries. I mean, Dak Prescott got hit in the pocket against the Lions, you know, in a same kind of manner, and with you know, with with Hutchinson, Aiden Hutchinson with a hip kind.
Of tackle, and Dak was able to kind.
Of get his legs up, feet up and you know, and not have to suffer that. And you can only imagine him having to deal with that again. And you know, cowboy fans all going, my gosh, here here we go again. But there's no there's no right answer here. But I am I'm all about that part of the game because I think there is some violence to it that hopefully can be avoided in the future.
I've seen a lot of people online fans being really upset and saying, no, might as well just play flag football. But when you look at the grand scheme of things.
I mean, I think.
It is for the better of just player health in general. And you know, it sucks when you lose a key player, not just for that team, but just for the level of the game that you're playing. You want to be playing against good players because that makes it a lot more excited. Now, it is going to be tough to retrain that and apply these types of changes.
We've seen it when.
A defender is attacking the quarterback and you know, hitting them or getting too close and those those yeah, some of those are just insane, some of those calls. But at the same time, it is hard to be mindful of that when you're going through the motion and the movements. You know, when you're playing a game, you tend to just react and go for it and you're not thinking
of where my hand placement. These things happen so fast that I think it's just it's gonna take some time to really get to a point where it's clean and you don't get called or other injuries, further injuries don't happen. I think it's just gonna take time for players you got used to.
You know, the one the one tackle that bothers me, and the hip tackle bothers me. You know, I would hate, like I said, I hate to I would hate to lose players. I'd hate to be on the player personnel side of the coaching side and lose a star player because of that. You know, But it's a tackle. The one that bothers me the most are receivers coming across, tight ends coming across the middle of the field and
these defensive backs are going for their knees. That's the one that you know that I really really cringe about. If they if they would have said, oh, at the owner's meeting, we're going to eliminate, we're going to penalize, we're going to talk about defensive backs going at pass catcher's knees.
Now, you got me really really.
Interested, because I think that's the one that that's that's defenseless right there, you're catching the ball, you're coming across, and now you've got a defensive back at maybe a five to seven yard run and going at your knees to try and get you on the ground. Yeah, that's the one that that's the one that always gotten me.
Yeah, I've heard offensive guys say hit me in the head. Yeah, and this is this is a right and nor should it be the way they do it. But I've heard offensive guys say, man, I'd rather you protect my knees to worry about my head, and I actually would. I actually wonder in that instance if the right answer is the cowt. I mean, the officiating committee should really look
at it. As there's a strike zone essentially, and the strike zone is just above the knee and below the head, right, and that's the area where you can hit a defensile's receiver or you can hit a receiver when they're in the air when they're trying to catch a ball. That's the area that's the strike zone. Anything above or below
that gets you a penalty. I think that's probably a smart way to do it, to protect those guy's knees, because you're right, when you're not seeing that guy and he hits your knees, you can't have some very.
Soon have injuries, and you have some significant injuries there. And I like what you're talking about with the strike zone. But you know, you have receivers that have different height. You know there's some tall guys or some short guys depending on their wide receivers if they're tight ends that strike zone.
I guess it's it's.
Different for every player, but maybe that's something that should be reviewable, you know, if you go it's you know, we love college football and they have the targeting rules, you know, and it stops the game for a few minutes, but you know, you learn about Okay, yes he went with a shoulder legal hit. No, he led with the head. He's fifteen yards an out, you know, and so I anything like that to police the game, I'm okay with.
Let's look at another rule change. They actually changed the challenges to where now coaches are able to get a third challenge if they get one of the first two correct, instead of before it was that you had to have both correct in order to get a third one. I think that rule is fine. I don't have a problem with it. My bigger question is does college get it right better than the NFL from the standpoint of having somebody in the booth, Yes, literally can just review anything.
I've been saying this for you absolutely, because it hasn't slowed down the game right.
And no, you know, we've had some college football games have lasted four hours or so.
We've had, you know, but is it just because of that, Like, no, it's just.
Because of all the stoppings after first downs, yeah right, you know, and now they've kind of eliminated that, so the games have gotten a little bit quicker. Television wants a three hour game, and so you know, you have to try and get him a fan.
I'll take a four hour game.
But exactly the thing, we just want to get it right, you know.
I do feel like though, the ability to buzz down, you know, and to say, hey, listen, we need to review that play. I do feel like that that is the best because we've got coaches, honestly, that don't know when to challenge, and maybe they challenge too much, you know, maybe they challenge at the wrong time. And if you take it out of their hands that way, maybe, you know, maybe you could you get it.
Right more than not. You know.
But I'm i applaud what college football does with the ability to buzz down and say, hey, listen, I need to review this one.
Just give me a minute to look at it, and usually they get it right. Yeah.
That's what I've never understood when you have when you watch college football, why not take the things that do work or seem to be good from it and apply it to the NFL. Like, that's the one thing I still don't understand until this day, because I think college football does do a lot of good things better than the.
They do a lot of good things.
And and and I'm sure Derek is about to get into a rule that you're going to take from the XFL.
We'll get there.
Yeah, So that's sometimes it.
You know, the NFL for so many years is we've done it this way, We're not. I mean the longer you guys have worked in it long enough that when the operations manual comes out about what's going on with the league, it's they could take the date and just erase it and put the new date on there and send it and it's the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. And you're like, Okay, but yeah, that's they're they're they're they're slow to adjust
two things in the NFL. They just they don't want to mess with it that much.
My thing is getting a call right should never be a matter of strategy right, And that's what it is.
Right now.
Coaches are having to strategize on when should I or when should I'm not that should never be a strategy thing that should always be. We just want to get it right because the calls need to be right right. And that's where I think college gets it right.
Now.
Where the NFL, as you mentioned, has been willing to move is in their kickoff, and they've been doing things to take the kickoff out of the game, in my opinion, for many years now because of the safety of players. And I know when when I was coming up, and Brian you probably went to this year. Coming up, playing football special teams was a special thing. Like you get on special teams. That was where you figured out just how tough you really were because you were just going
to run full speed. It was a challenge. And the NFL has taken that. They've been trying to take that more and more out of the game because it is very dangerous. I think they did something really good here and trying to figure out, Okay, we still want to keep the excitement, but we want to limit the the
the potential violence. And I think in this way with the new rules around the kickoff, what it does is essentially takes away that full speed collision that happens, and it still gives the excitement of possible returns and I think actually makes it better. What are you guys thoughts on that and how much do you think this is an advantage for the Cowboys based upon what they have as far as players and their special teams.
Coach watched a few XFL games with this. So the way it operates, if you've got a ball carrier or a returner that can make someone miss. Initially you get through that first wave, it's onto the kicker. You know, you could you could have some seriously good returns just by if you get everybody blocked up and you've got a ball carrier that has vision, has some elusiveness, has some quickness because it's tough.
As they're coming down in a line.
You know, it's you pop that one, and now where's the where's the support? It's a kicker who's standing back there kind of you know, waiting for you know, whatever happens. I've seen some really good returns. You would think that that wouldn't be good returns, but they're really were some you know, and you know, but if you have to, if you have a guy, now I could also see with the ball going out to the thirty five yard line.
If somebody's really bad at this kickoff stuff. Just keep pumping the ball into the end zone, and you know, and do it instead.
Of get out kick it.
Instead of all being the twenty five, it's on the thirty five, you know. And we're not we're that bad covering these things. And we're not going to let Turpin bring back three kicks during a game on us, you know.
So if the ball.
Keeps getting past midfield, I'm telling my kicker kick it out of the damn end zone here. I'm not gonna We're not going to cover any more kicks. So there'll be a strategy with this. You'll see who's really You'll see who's really good at it, and then the teams that are really bad will just go ahead and kick the ball in the end zone every single time and say we'll play defense from the thirty five.
Yeah.
I think it's a it's an exciting new change and I'm really looking forward to it because over the years since I started working here, every year it just seemed to get more and more boring, like nothing exciting.
Well, the Super Bowl was a good example of that. Every kickoff went into the end zone was a touchback. I mean, nobody wants nobody watching watch.
That, but now it brings a different element where you have a real chance and real opportunity to make a game changing play and move.
So I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, when you think about it, essentially, what you're doing is you're playing defense without linebackers or a secondary right. You only have one line of defense, and if you can get past that one line of defense, you got a chance. So that's where it's going to get really interesting. And I love it for the Cowboys because I look at a guy like Turpin and that's what Turpin does. He has the speed and elusiveness and getting that one guy right, and it's the waves that usually trip him up.
It's not the first guy. He usually can get past that first guy, it's the waves of guys that are coming at him that eventually get to him. I want to see how this works for him. And I love the fact that the Cowboys have a special team's coach who was extremely creative, because I think those who are really creative, especially in this first year, they're going to see the greatest success not only on the kickoff returns,
also on the kickoffs. I think there's some strategy to that as well, and I think he'll be thoughtful about that, and I think we can see some really cool stuff that may happen for the Cowboys on special teams this year. All right, Final one. I wanted to get to trade deadline move back one week. I don't know that it makes much of a difference one week, but Brian, you're
a personnel guy, you're a former personnel guy. How much of does that one week help when it comes to being able to have trades for one more week?
Yeah?
I think the NFL for so many years was worried about teams getting to the trade deadline and not having any hope and all of a sudden you fire sell your team, you know, and now you know. I do feel like though, that by moving it back a week, that maybe you give everybody an opportunity to look.
At the quarterback situation too.
I always kind of felt like there needed to be a different trade deadline for quarterbacks because sometimes you get to week nine, week ten and you're like, you know, we got six more weeks to play and we're in the hunt here, but we just lost our quarterback. You know, if you gave me the flexibility of going out and getting somebody, I would welcome that a lot. So, yeah, anything to give you more time to look at your roster and say, listen, we're not going anywhere. You know,
we're going to get some compensatory picks. We're gonna pick pretty high. Maybe we can move on from a guy, you know, if the cap, if it makes sense for your cap, then that's where I think that I think both.
Teams will benefit from that.
The team that's receiving the player will benefit because of the efforts that they're making to go get the guy, and the team trading will say, Okay, we're not going anywhere. We just got a premium pick for a player, and now we're going to use that for next year.
I like it.
Yeah, I actually kind of wish they would allow teams to have that fire sell because I think that adds excitement when you allow teams that are in the hunt to kind of improve their team a little more time to do that, and teams that are out of it to say, hey, if we're out of it, and maybe there's an opportunity for us to get better right now.
Right from the standpoint of getting rid of some pieces, but now going into the next offseason, we got a little more capital to work with I actually think that's a good thing and it's exciting for me.
It's funny you say that, because you know my other job working on one oh five to three the fan we have to talk about baseball.
And last year they a situation.
Where the the Anaheim, the Angels Los Angeles, Angels.
Of Anaheim, or whenever you want to call them out there.
They they did a fire sale and they put all their they put all their guys on waivers Cleveland, by a by a mechanism, Cleveland, the Guardians were able to claim all the players.
So they got all the guys.
All of a sudden, they're getting pitching, they're getting you know, they're getting all these things that they and nobody else had the option to get these guys. So all of a sudden, you're thinking, here we are in a in Cleveland with the time, was in a in a pennant race, was trying to win a division, and other teams are like, whoa, We'll wait a minute. You just shifted the balance of power towards you know. So sometimes the fire sale, I'm
with you on it. I'm also the please give me the opportunity to like claim a guy or two.
Don't don't let no let everyone, don't let everybody, don't let.
My competitor get every single player.
No ways can build that, you can go mechanisms into. I think the salary cap in the NFL will be the biggest detract from somebody being able to pick up for someone to be able to dump their team and somebody else to pick up the whole team. I think that is what you try to guard against. But I do think it's exciting for fans. Trade deadlines in the basket in basketball and baseball, in my opinion, are far more exciting.
Oh yeah, and trade.
Deadlines in the NFL. And I think it's because it happened so early in the NFL reletive to those other leagues.
It's definitely good that they pushed it.
I wish there was longer, honest, I wish it would come at week eleven around there, twelve eleven.
Like December first.
Yeah, yeah, I.
Mean, because that's exactly right at the point where you're like, okay, we're either going this way right way, but you're still in it. You don't know what the result is going to be, and you really could use some kind of trade right now.
Yeah.
The one thing that we all know that working in this organization as long as we have is we know what this team is after Thanksgiving. Yeah, so you know, and you're kind of sitting there thinking, well, if we'd had this player on number first, you know, maybe this guy could help us make that run.
And so, yeah, I'm totally.
I just think it would be exciting. It's more of a selfish fan thought in mind. I know there's a lot of mechanisms you'd have to think about from the business part of it, but I just think we fan standpoint, it would be exciting because I do think teams would do exactly what we're thinking, that those that are in the hunt would make themselves better, those that are not would be looking for ways to be able to improve their chance.
There was a couple of times that when we were covering that Tony Romo team that get when he got hurt, that we were ready to trade all the players. At the end of it, we were just maybe we could trade every one of these guys and we don't have to cover this.
We just thought over next year, YT's start over.
Next we'll see it. We'll start we'll.
See the guys, check out the draft guy, and we'll kept three days of draft coverage for you, and we'll do what we.
Have to do.
Well. We're gonna take our first break when we come back. We're got to talk Dak. We're gonna talk about his contract of some things that came out over the last couple of days. We'll discuss that when we come back, Dallas, Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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It is the second segment of The Breakwhee are live from the SWBC Mortgage studios. At the start the segment brought to you by blockchain dot Com. The first time I've gotten there right in the last two shows, so I'm very proud of myself.
Yeah, doing better.
Let's talk about Dak Prescott. There was a report that came out from me in rap report that was saying and I think, let me just kind of I want to clear some stuff up because I think there was the statement that Ian put out gave a lot of people to the impression that the Cowboys are basically saying, we don't want to sign back to a We're comfortable just letting him go into next year and go into
free agency and we'll deal with it from there. I don't think that's necessarily what they were trying to say. I think there's been some more reporting that's happened since then that's kind of clarified that. I think the whole point of it is they've had some extension discussions, and I think the point of it is, in my opinion, there really is no pressure from either side to get a deal done. I don't think either side is really pushing, like I got to move off of my position right
now in order to get a deal done. I think they both kind of have what they expect, and I think they're sitting there and they're like, well, you know, we'll just kind of let this thing play out and we'll see where it goes. What I don't think it is is that the Cowboys are satisfied at this point just to say he's going to be a free agent. I think there's still the chance that he gets a deal done this off season. There's still a chance maybe
he gets a deal done in season. I just don't think either team, either side, is really at a point yet where they are ready to.
Yeah, move off of the No, you're right. Yeah.
Justina Anderson who covers the league, and you know, I don't know if you saw her her tweet, Yeah, yeah, you know, her tweet was and I'm reading it from her actual tweet. Regarding the Cowboys and Dak Prescott, I'm told the team does intend to work out a contract for their three time Pro Bowl quarterback and has also not closed off potential to consummate a deal for him
this year, per source. While there's currently no offer or intimate talks, the team has not presently charted a path to let Prescott go to free agency, despite some chatter to the contrary. I'm told so that, you know, I think she's onto something here. We had on Nick Harris, who very talented reporter for Dallas Cowboys dot Com, yesterday on the one oh five three of the fan on the g Bag Nation, and he throughout a theory that he had and I've learned this over the years working for you guys.
These walls talk sometimes.
And I asked him a question and he was talking about listen, think about maybe something in November. You know, Nick's a smart guy. Nick's probably heard some things. Nick's probably got some ideas, you know, maybe Novembers. And I like that. That's the first time I've kind of heard that. You know, you got what's going to happen maybe next year, you know, as you get towards closer towards free agency, that possibility as well. So I don't think this thing
is closed off. I will say this and Bobby Belton I had this conversation. If I'm the Cowboys, though, I don't let him get to free agency. That's that's it. All those things that I said about what Josina said, and what you know I just talked about and what Nick Harris said all true.
But if this thing gets to free agency.
I think all bets are off then for me personally, you know, that's just how I feel like it. But I feel like that those guys upstairs, the guys and the gals that work on these contracts, I think they'll do everything they can, and I think Dax Camp will try and do the same.
Yeah.
I think it's an It's a very interesting situation because and we've seen it before where even with his first time extension that we it felt like it took too long, you know, to happen, and then it gets dragged out, and then it gets there and then time passes.
You know, man, they should have done that probably sooner.
Yeah.
So it's just it does take me back to thinking that maybe we're sitting here several months from now, thinking, oh, they really should have taken care of that in free agency this year around this time, right now, and get that done.
But it also presents the option of allowing yourself.
To give you some times, and I know that the Cowboys are fully bought into Dak.
They've said it once.
They've repeatedly said this, they want Dak as their quarterback long term and extend him. But at the same time personally, and I've said it before in previous shows that I'm like, I wouldn't be opposed to waiting it out and see when free agency hits just because it gives me one more excitement, or like, oh, let's see how this turns out.
Oh my god, Oh my god. Yes, and I love.
Dak and I want him here, But it's like, Okay, last year it was a career year for him where we saw him really take a next step, I thought, and this year it would allow me to just either confirmation as to Okay, yes, I'm a thousand percent let's ride this wave even when the team because we.
Know a lot of a stake this year.
So if you're gonna start making a bunch of changes, are you wanting him as your quarterback to stay here while you restructure the whole team? Knowing that McCarthy is on his last year, knowing Mike zimmer one year deal, knowing that a lot of things might change if you don't get to the super or yeah, if you do, yeah, pretty much.
Yeah, So I see both sides.
I see benefits to both sides to getting it done as soon as possible, but also allowing yourself to kind of get another extra peak, sneak peak of what he has this year.
Yeah, I would say right now, I would still say it's probably eighty five percent chance that the Cowboys and Dak Prescott get a long term deal and ends up being here. Now, one thing I would say, Roan, you said there's no way I would let him get the free agency. I agree with that. There's one caveat I have to that, and this is the I think the little thing that's lurking in the back of a lot of people's minds is what is Trey Lance. You went
out and you got him. You went out and you got him, and you're going to have this whole off season with him.
Now.
They've been evaluating him since you got here, so they've been seeing what he is. They'll go through this offseason'll see what he is. They'll get the training camp, they'll see what he is. They'll hell it and plan some preseason game. They'll see what he is. If they think and this will be their determination, if they think Trey Lance is a player and they think he has the capability to be a good starting quarterback in this league.
That gives them some flexibility because now you may still want to sign Dak, but it does, in the back of your mind make you say, eh, we're not willing to go above our budget to do that because we fuck we got an option, right and right now, I don't know that they can say they have an option. I don't know any of us feel con certainly don't
feel comple saying you got an option. But they will have that determination to make as they go through this offseason and go through the preseason and into the season to determine whether they think Trey Lance is a player or not, and that will, I think also color their decision on how much they're willing to give, not if they'll give them a deal, because I think they'll offer Dak a deal and they want Dak to be here.
How much they're willing to give, I think will depend on what they think Trey Lance is.
Man, it's just such a slippery slope that these teams now navigate because if you have a quarterback that's on a rookie deal, that extra forty million dollars makes a sept difference on your team. There's so many things that you can do right now, if you you know, that's why says, hey, you got to find a way to get things done when that quarterback's not getting paid fifty million dollars. And I think there's you know, there's people out there too that you know, I think Kirk Cousins,
you look what he got with Atlanta. And I know he's a few years older than Dak, but there's a lot of similarities.
Between the two guys.
They're both capable quarterbacks. They both win in the regular season. You know, they both seem like they're into the MVP conversations everybody. They have MVP moments where they play at a very very high level. But here's one making forty five million dollars and the others looking to maybe make sixty million dollars. You know, that's the thing about it is you have to and I've said this before about
the Cowboys. I just really believe this, you know, with the way the front office is structured here, they should just continually roll the quarterback through. Just just keep trying to churn the quarterback, you know, and play on these rookie deals if you can, because to me, it's man, it's when you look at how well they draft and
how will they Okay, they have to pay. It seems like everybody you know, you know, having that extra forty million dollars would go a long way right now for the Cowboys when it comes to Michael Parsons and it comes to Ceedee Lamb and others that they're going to have to deal with here. So to me, if I'm if I'm in the front office here, I'm thinking, I've got to get a new quarterback in every four years,
you know, I got I gotta find. Now, you might get blessed and find you know, the Pat Mahomes, or maybe you get the guy at Cincinnati, but you know those are few and far between. Now, you know, you're you're dealing with a quarterback that's probably the sixth seventh best quarterback in the league right now to some people, you know, can you afford to pay him, you know, fifty something million dollars that's the determination.
Of the market sense.
Yeah, And I've.
Always felt like that when with Stephen Jones, the way to work with Stephen Jones, in my opinion is and Diggs did it perfectly with his quarter corner back contract. Don't reset the market if you want to come in three or four that Stephen Jones appreciates that about you, and you're probably going to get the type of deal that you want.
You're going to like, Okay, well, I'm the.
Third highest paid guy in the league at corner, but you know, what's still a significant amount of money.
You know.
I think that to me that it's just that resetting of the market. You know, Michael Parsons is going to probably reset the market, and you know, I don't know how comfortable the Cowboys are doing that, you.
Know, and especially if you have also at the same time CD trying to reset the market or DAK trying to reset the market. Like you've got three of those guys that are trying to reset the market, it becomes very very tough from.
A salary cap stand right, And I just think that to me that But like I said earlier, guys, if DAK gets to free agency, I don't think it's going to end well for the Dallas Cowboys.
I just don't.
And that's that's we're agreeing on that point because my thought is the only way you should let that happen, right, is if you have a viable option.
Yeah, and for him not to do. And that's what we've talked about with Trey Lance.
And the problem is though with you know, now you're you've got so many things that you have to look at with the coaching situation is like, Okay, you make a decision on Dak, you're moving on. Okay, are you moving on for Mike McCarthy too? Now does the new coach is he okay with the evaluation of Trey Lance, you know, the staff.
And continuing to develop.
Yeah, the staff that was here for the previous two years, no, Trey Lance. A potentially new staff would not have that understanding. And now you're going backwards there or you know, so, yeah, it's a that's it's a it's it's a tough They put themselves in a tough spot, but you know, that's what they're gonna do.
They're going to try and do the best they can to kind of figure it all out.
All Right, we're gonna take our final break. We will come back. Let's get some thoughts on free agency. We have a couple of questions from some fans we'll get to as well as is Alice Cowboys dot Comry.
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Back to the break How about this one.
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Welcome back.
Finally, you remember like when they were when they had all the trailers, I'm sorry parked, remember all the like it was like the it was like the lot out here on the field with all the trailers and stuff like that, where all the people hanging out and I'm sure you can walk around and have some fun with some of those people in there.
No, it seemed like a good time out there. I was not invited, but it seemed like a good time out there.
I was just walking by. I'm like going, Okay, Who's Where's Where's this star? Who's that star?
Yeah?
Yeah, Welcome back. Final segment of The Break Life from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. Let's take a question real quick from Ryan Corman. He should he says, should we be as torn up as we are about not signing free agents? To be honest, there were only a handful I was interested in, and once I saw what they got, I was glad we didn't get them. I'll reserve judgment until I see this thing in Oxnar. Should fans be as upset as they.
Are, well, it's understanding. It's understandable to be upset because when something doesn't work out the way you hope it works out, and you don't see any type of big changes, it leads you to assume that the result will therefore
be the same or worse as before. So I understand that because I catch myself kind of feeling that way at times of being like, okay, right now, what have we actually done other than and you tend to forget your own people that you signed because you're like, okay, that's what we already were used to and you have to look at those I mean, they have signed a few players, our key players, but it's still I feel like I haven't received enough because I don't want to
rely in the assumption that they draft well and that those players, those rookies will be ready set go for when the season starts. That's you hoping and assuming that that's how it's going to play. It out because of your record and experience that you've proven to show. So it just it reminds me of Mazzi. No shot against him. I'm just using him as an example, and we're hoping that he can take that step up and take it to the next level this year, and they're definitely showing
that they're wanting to rely on him this season. But that's just an example. You draft someone in the first round, comes in and it's not necessarily the player that you're hoping or wanting them to be in that first year, and it's right now because of the people that have left and the people that you've brought in other than the linebacker position, I don't feel like the team is
currently better than before. I don't feel because before, with everybody that you had, you felt that you were so close, you know, and I feel like it always kind of feels that way, but last year really did feel that way. You're like, Okay, the defense, you think they can be that and take that next level. And then Quinn what he's doing, Dak, He's showing what he's got. You're thinking, you're so close. And I don't want to talk about that Green Bay game, But as far as weapons and
talent on the team. You always feel like you just need one more guy or two more players to be the key players and just the extra boost that you need.
And now you feel like.
You're you're taking a few steps backwards in my personal opinion, as it tends right now with the team.
I'll talk about the green Bay game that was awful and the fact that everything fell in place for you. You know, the health of your team, the collapse by Philadelphia, the last month of the season, the way you won the division, you beat Detroit, now you're the second seed. Everything was set up for you to potentially get the two games at home, maybe have to go to San Franciso, who knows, who knows what was going to happen. Maybe San Francisco loses, and then you get to host all
three games. You know the fact that you've lost so many players, you know, a lot of your depth.
You know that.
You know you're mad about the Green Bay loss. Okay, now you're mad about losing all your depth. You know you're losing your dept to you lose your coach and your debt to a division rival. So now you're really mad about that. You know, the draft has did not work out last year. You're mad about that, but you should also be mad the fact that Tolbert needs to play better. That also Sam Williams needs to play better.
You know, there's some guys other than Jake Ferguson, there's a lot of guys in this team need to play better. You know that we've seen here. The thing that bothers fans the most is, you know you kind of saw Listen, you you you understand about not signing a one technique, but was there one out there that you could have gotten de Kwon Jones from Buffalo, DJ Reeder from Cincinnati? Do we not have any money to go get one
of those guys? Now you've put yourself in a situation where at twenty four and the draft you're thinking, damn, we are we going to take another one technique here because we really don't.
Have one on the roster.
You know, it's a good one sitting there.
Yeah, the Kendrick signing was really good.
You know, that was that was a rally, that was a always going to San Francisco.
Damn.
But then you know, Zim gets on the phone and starts to recruit a little and some of them like, hey, listen, I need you. You're going to start blah blah blah.
You know so that. But I think fans have a reason to be upset. I do.
I just they don't. They see their rival. They see Philadelphia who seems to be always in cap hell finding a way to sign guys, and you continually sit there and get nothing done, you know, or they'll trade for guys, you know.
It's just it's just it's a it's a different.
Way of operating, you know. And it's not for everybody. It's not for a fan base that's disappointed about how the season ended.
I'll say this, I will never be a person that tells fans how they should feel.
Never.
You have a right as a fan. You invest your time, your money, your resources into being a fan of a team. So whatever you feel is fair, that's fair for you. The one thing I will say, and I tend to be and this is I'm going to take my own criticism on this. I tend to tend to be the most optimistic of people. When you think about pretty much anything, I always think optimistically, well, this is kind of good, so why would you worry about it. The one thing that keeps playing in my mind is is I think
the Cowboys this offseason. Story of this offseason for me so far with the Cowboys is you lost your depth. That's the right because when you look at this team, how many teams out there in the NFL you could probably only name a handful. If that have a top five player at edge, cornerback, you could maybe say you got two of those wide receiver, left guard, right guard, and then if you wanted to extend out to maybe
top ten quarterback, tight end. So you start thinking about the level of talent they have, the All Pro level, the Pro Bowl level, They got a lot of talent. They probably got as much talent as anybody else. The question becomes, how are you going to fill in this depth because inevitably one of those guys I just mentioned probably is not going to play a full season this year. What do you have as far as depth to be
able to handle that. And that's also where in my optimistic brain I think, Okay, well, you do still have that second wave of free agency that happens where you can get some there's some quality guys out there. Some of the guys that left from last year that were on this team, like Gilmore, are still out there and available. So there's that second wave and third wave of free agency where you may be able to pick up some veteran guys that can come in and provide that level
of depth. I have to believe they're going to be better in the draft this year because their history says they don't miss often. If you call last year miss, then I'm gonna bet on the fact this year they don't miss, because last year that was a miss. So when you start thinking about it like that, I can paint a scenario in my mind where I can be less upset about what's happening. But again, fans have a right to feel what they feel, and I can understand why some may feel the way they wan.
Well, in my non optimistic.
Mind, that's all you around. You keep me that other tha.
All I can think about is also next year.
All I can think about is next free agency, and how I keep hearing that next free agency is supposed to be even worse than what it currently is right now, and I can possibly imagine something worse than what it's been right now. So if it's not happening now, when because next year sounds like a nightmare.
Yeah, But that's the thing though too, if if they're keeping these guys who I just mentioned are those top players around the league, If they're keeping those guys together as the core of the team, and if they have another a good draft this year, then again their philosophy still remains the same. We're not going to go out and spend big in free agency. We're gonna draft well, and we're going to develop those players. And when those players become free agencies, we're all free agents and have
a much bigger value. We're okay letting them walk because we feel confident that we can keep replentishing. That puts a ton of pressure on your scouting department and on your on your drafting ability. But so far they've been pretty good, and they've been good enough to keep a really good roster using the strategy.
But when do you take that next step, because that's again they keep replenishing so that it's not worse.
Here's a question I don't.
And that's just me saying I'm like, I'm wondering, like, what what is the Mason key ingredient for it to finally happen?
So let me ask you this question. Do you think the Cowboys as they were constructed last year, were a player or two away from having more success in the playoffs.
Man, they know they got overwhelmed. I think, yes, I think that was a collapse. I think that was just an overall team collapse. There's what that was. Defensively, that wasn't the same defense that played in won twelve games, and they've had some problems against some really good teams.
Green Bay was a hot team at the end. Green Bay was.
Playing a lot better. They did a great job of scheming you. You know, I felt like you got overwhelmed in that game. I don't think that was a player away. I think that was I think you just got your ass kicked.
And that's where I look at it and say, the strategy of going all in, as people say in free agency, wouldn't have helped you last year. Because if you were, if you say we were a player or two away, then okay, maybe you should have gone out at some point last year and gone for that big free agent or gone for that big player before the trade deadline. That wasn't the case last year. Because I agree with you, Brian, I don't think they were a player to a way. I think that that was a collapse.
As you say, they couldn't run the ball.
They couldn't run the ball, and they couldn't stop the run, and then all of a sudden, you got it against a quarterback. And then they picked the worst time to have breakdowns in the secondary. You know that they had bus where guys are running free. And so I think that part of it that that game, that game was not going to be about one player that was that was just a total meltdown by the whole entire team in that.
Let me tell you something real quick.
I think with free agency now, the Cowboys will draft, they'll sign college free agents. Those guys would come off their board. They'll spend money on that. Watch how much money they spend on draftable players that they that they circle back on. But I also feel like that they're very mindful of the compensatory game. We probably won't see anybody sign here until after that compensatory period ends, where you can start to sign guys for where it doesn't cost you compensatory.
Picks because they may eat those picks next year for sure.
Exactly.
So I when it's after the draft, yeah, I'm not sure it's it's well after the draft. There's a there's a I gotta get the date of it. But I know they're very mindful of compensatory picks, and you do not want to jeopardize that because.
They got some pretty good You would think they have some pretty good. Yeah, compensatory they will should be coming their way.
They will and that and that, and they don't want to sign anybody now, They'll just they'll draft, they'll sign undrafted free agents. Those guys are generally on their board. That's the first place they start. They might have a fifth, sixth, seventh round guys on the board. Those are the first guys they'll go after, and they'll get that done and then maybe supplement with some other veteran players after after that compensitory period. Ghost by the wayside, all.
Right, we appreciate you guys. Jonas will be back next week.
Till then.
For Brian brought us amberg Garcia. I'm Derek Eeglton. This has been the Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club
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