Cowboys Break: Show-Time!

Season seventeen, Episode number seventeen. Welcome the latest edition of The Break Life in the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star and Nick, all right, give me a seventeen seventeen about Quincy Carter. All right, it's Quincy car today here on the Break. Thank you, Jason Jeyer, Quincy Carter, Kellen Moore all right, Okay, I think it's the most fascinating number in Cowboy's history. If you really did love when Nick has takes, like if you were gonna do

a documentary on a number seventeen would be a good one. Yes. So you know, you guys know, Nick has been pitching this idea of doing a documentary on the number seventeen for a while. I think so I think there's some very interesting players and interesting stories that have come from seventeen and not to derail not Sam Hurts, Sam Hurd and Don Meredith and Quincy Carter and Harold Carmarchael. Yeah, okay, Um, I don't know about Dwayne Harris. I don't know what

he really did, but it's a pretty decent player. Decent players, better player, better player when he left. I mean, I think it's pretty good for Oakland for what I'm saying. Like, he was a pretty good player here too, So he was a rare player of it that could return kicks, return punts, and recover. Yeah, it was a pretty good at it, you know. So all right, let's just think

Dwayne Harris would be talked about it. No, I when we do stuff like this, I just imagine the guy who just he needs to know about Zach Martin status and we're like, yeah, Quincy Carter, let's talk about him. Sorry, everybody, He'll be okay, Yeah, I know he'll be okay. All right, so let's jump in. We do need to talk about Zach Martin. Obviously, the news was out days ago. Zach Martin tested positive for COVID. He is now on the

on the COVID list. Jerry kind of suggested yesterday and then again today that there's still a chance, like there's still a chance that maybe he could possibly play this week. What are we hearing right now? What do we think is his status at this point with regards him playing on Thursday. It's the doors just like cracked open and the Cowboys refused to close it. Okay, I mean, we can joke about doctor Jerry all we want. But Mike

McCarthy's the same way. Like he I just got back from his press conference, and the reporters were more or less like, tell us that Zach is out. Tell like, give us the clarity that this is done. And he was like if and Mike literally said, if any player is capable of getting on a plane Thursday morning without having done anything and playing against the Bucks, it's Zack Martin. I mean that should make your eyebrows rates. He did come back again. You know, this is a big story.

He was asked a few follow ups and pressed to clarify, and he was like, I do not think he is going to play. That's what that's a direct quote. I do not think Zack's going to play. But he didn't rule it out entirely. Um, I would rule him out. If it was me, I would rule him out. Is this some gamesmanship going on here? Is that? What do you think? It's just the optimism maybe, But let's also

remember this. He tested positive for it, okay, so he has it Ceedee Lamb just said too yet two days ago that he finally felt like back to normal again after being out for like a week. So like we're worried about tests here and positive and all this. Can he fly up to the game. He still had COVID, He still had, you know, and it's something he has

to deal with. And so I don't know. I mean, I'm not the doctor and all that stuff, but I just feel like and we're gonna find out, I mean, or they will find out today, like in an hour or two, because you gotta pass two tests in a brow so he's got to pass one today and you don't have to get tomorrow just in order to get there. So we'll find out. It's not going to be one of those game time divisions. So is it not explained this because we did have a tweet from Joe Franziu

say and explained the two negative tests. So it's not as of tomorrow, Like he can't have his first pass tomorrow and then pass thirty. Didn't jump on a plane, No, I don't think. Okay, it's two negative tests spanned out over the course of forty eight hours. What you just suggested would be two over twenty four, got it, okay, So you would need so so as of today, we will know by tomorrow whether it's even a possibility. If he didn't get a negative test today, there's no way

it works. Well. We also don't know too, is he is he talking to our our training staf and saying my throat hurts or I've got whatever issue whatever. The negative symptom free and the negative tests only come into play once you don't have symptoms. And the report Sunday was that he had symptoms, like he had a loss of taste or smell. I think so, yeah. I mean that's what makes it seem so unlikely, is like if you're a close contact and then you get your tests,

then we're good to go. And I think that's a really good point that I've been thinking about this whole time. Is you know we do this all we do this almost every week. Like DeMarcus wears you know, famously playing against the Saints. After all, this isn't that, this is

a illness, you know. I mean, yeah, if you're throne hurts or you don't have the proper lung capacity, shouldn't be playing football and probably no, definitely obviously, yeah, but definitely no, definitely And then and then you know, you got to get the negative tests, like this isn't a matter of fighting through a stinger. This is you have to get the test to say, well, you need to say.

I tend to agree with you. It's easy to get wrapped up in the drama of like, well, they could put him on a plane, and it's like, is this really the best idea, especially seventeen game season, Let's maybe just maybe chill. I mean, it's gonna be a challenge, of course. I mean Calum McGovern to start and start against those guys and a suit and be the VEA and oh it's yeah, I mean it's it's it's an uphill battle for sure. But I just I think it would be smart for everyone. Once he is ruled out,

let let let us run its course. It's gonna do whatever it does. I just feel like we'll find out today. He'll probably be out. That's my guests as well. But I do think it's really interesting that the decision makers in the organization are not quite ready to rule it out.

I mean, well, to be honest with you, until there is until he's ruled out, and I would be like them, I would be like, there is a small chance, but I'm gonna hold out hope because I think we all know how valuable he is to what they want to do. That's all I was gonna say. I mean, I'm not breaking news here, but how damn good do you have to be to be a guard and to start off a show like this and talking about is he gonna play? Is he not going to play? From the guard position?

You gotta be a damn good player, and he is. He is that. That just goes to show from the day he got here he is a he is a guard. And when the news came down on Sunday that he had tested positive, like my whole Twitter timeline was, everybody's like, we're screwed. This game over and it's like, yeah, you're right, Like, you gotta be pretty good for people to think that highly of your impact on the game. I was driving home and heard that it was a national radio thing.

I don't even know what chance. It was just national thing that a little ticker you know this, you know, my Mets did this, and so and so did this and this college thing and this guy's out and and it was like a cowboys are at all Zach Martin is, you know, tested positive and he will miss the game. And it was just kind of this last little line.

I'm like, it's cool that he made the news, but it's just you hear that stuff all the time and you think, uh, it sucks for him, but like living in it here, it's like, man, like the world's ending. He's high up on the list of guys you'd probably want to be able to play this game. I mean, honestly, there are only two guys in my opinion on this team that would have been a bigger blow for the

Tyron Smith and Dak Prescott. Exactly right, That's exactly right, and more Tyrn because of the position he plays not as well, Like I think why the reason why I say that, I think Zach is a better player, but I think the position that Zach, the position that Tyron plays, means you have to have him here. I looked at I looked at you sideways because I thought you were saying you'd rather have Tyrn for this game than Dak. I was like, Andy Dalton main here anymore. That's not

what I was saying. No, that's not what I was saying. I was saying, those are the only two players I look at on this team that would have been a bigger blow had they lost them going into the skin. It's all about It's all about the If you just put them all on the board and say where are they and then where's their backup? There's not there's those three positions have the biggest drop off because they're that good. From quarterback to the backup, from the left tackle to

the backup, from the guard to the backup. I mean, you know DeMarcus Lawrence to his backup is who like Doren's Armstrong, And it's a it's a considerable drop. But I'm just saying you can function, you can function, and Zeke to to Pollard, any receivers to those guys, you can function better. Those are the ones that goes to show how good they are. And also the backup is not because at this time a year ago, Dak to Andy Dalton is certainly not the biggest, bigger gap than

it is to Cooper Rush. Sure, So so answer this for me, how much does this change your expectation of what Dallas can do offensively this week? I mean, we know it's it's it's you're one of your best players, if not your best player, But it is the guard position where sometimes you can kind of absorb that a little easier, let's say, than a tackle being out. How much do you think that affects what they can do offensively? Yeah, they asked me. I asked, I gotta asked that this morning.

I don't and I think the world is Zach Martin, but I don't think this is a loss that just drastically alters what I want to do because and this is it's bad. I get these are two great defensive tackles. I'm not saying that they're gonna be fine, but it gets dirty in there. You can double team, you can have Tyler Biadash helped Connor McGovern out, and you know, tight ends and running backs can help tackles. But in my experience, when this team has lost the starting tackle,

that's when we've really seen stuff go south. And part of me thinks like yeah, but pressure up the middle is the quickest way to get to a quarterback. It's the quickest way to move him off his spot. Dak's athletic enough to deal with and you know, if somebody breaks free on the right side or the left side,

he can make do with that. I get that argument, but I think the options in the ways that you can kind of muddy that stuff up in the middle, And the fact that Connor McGovern did start eight games last year, he's not this isn't his first rodeo, So I don't think you have to just drastically alter the game plan. Yeah, I do think that this has a potential to make them a lot more one dimensional, which is something they cannot be against the Bucks or any

team really, And so that does worry me somewhat. You know, he's so great. It's not because he's out there win an iron Man contest for how strong he is. I mean, I'm not saying Zach isn't strong, but I guarantee it's a combination of technique, strength, just understanding of what he's supposed to do, and he can help move people off the ball. That's what I worry about this team with

Now you just look at the interior. Connor Williams never been the biggest, strongest guy, Tyler Beotish, don't know what he is yet, really still young. And then we got Connor McGovern same boat. Those are your three middle guys there. I just don't I just don't imagine on third and one they're gonna just be blowing those guys off the ball for a first down. That's what I worry about a little bit with you know, can they be is

can they beat multidimensional? I don't know. Finance Lavante, David and Devin White are good enough as it is, but the amount that they blitz and have blitzed in the past against guys like that, I mean, it's like I said, it's it's problematic. I'm not trying to paint it otherwise. Huge game for the tight ends. Those tight ends have got to be for two reasons. Number one, they're going to be asked to do some blocking in there that's

not their strong suit. But also hot routes. They're gonna they're gonna turn around from five yards shoult up the field, same with Jarman quick stuff like that. Those guys are gonna have to be ready because when they do blitz and that you know, when when Tampa brings all their exotic looks, those guys are gonna because you know on the outside, those they can win. I mean, I think that's a plus for the cow I mean, whoever they've got tampas their cornerbacks. The Cowboys have better receivers I

think than Tampa does corners and saved. Oh yeah, I believe that that's the Cowboys win right there. But can they get will they be able to block long enough to get there? The tight ends are going to the ones that are probably gonna have a few catches and help move the chains. One other thing to note about this Indomican Sue, who is a guy that probably will we'll see a lot of Connor mc government. He's just

coming off the COVID list himself. I think he was reactivated yesterday, has missed I think a little over a week, so there will be some questions about it. Is he feeling completely back to normal? Is his wind up to par playing in that hey there in Tampa Bay that could offset some of this a little bit. But again in Donma Kong Tou we all know is a great player and so no matter what, it's gonna be a tough matchup from a governor. I know it, do it?

We know it? Man who doesn't mean well, I don't know. Hey, that's I thought about that this week. It was Sue who bullied them in the playoffs a few years ago, more so than Aaron Donald. We talked about this a couple days ago. He's been a free agent like four times. Oh yeah, just doesn't ever see like a guy that the Cowboys have ever looked at ever. And I'm just he just continually just plays on a different team and

kicks their ass too. So I don't know. At some point, you know, at some point I would have signed Randy Moss, you know, after he keeps beating you all the time, I would have just had him on my team. Say this guy, we're gonna take our first break when we come back. We're gonna talk a little bit about the Cowboys versus the Buccaneers. I got a few questions for this guy. These guys we might even talk a little bit. We need to catch up on the status of Lyle

Collins too, when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Before there was a draft, size up a Cowboy by three simple factors, the crease at his hat, the bend of his brim, and his unbending attitude a man. Stetson didn't just protect him from what life through at him. It projected a rugged, unstoppable spirit. Stetson hats are still American, made with pride. Right here in Texas, there's still the unofficial crowd of all self respecting cowboys, and Stetson is proud to be on the

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tailgate just got jealous. Welcome back to the second segment of the breakof and s WBC Mortgage Studios at the start. If you are in Dallas, this is your opportunity this Thursday to be able to go out to that new lighthouse at AT and T Stadium to be able to watch the game. They will have a watch party there for you to be able to watch the game with other fans. Lots of different cool things you can do during the game or while you're hanging out. Let the

kids run around. There's a big field out there, and as Nick says, anytime you see a field, people to start running. So start if you got kids all around. If you got kids, you know how important it is to get them out to run because that means they'll go to sleep at night. So get your kids out there, hang out, bring some chairs, and just watch the game with a bunch of other Cowboys fans. It'll be fun. Doors open at five thirty, kickoff seven twenty. There you go,

All right, let's jump back in. We need to catch up on Cowboys versus Bucks Before that, real quick, give me an update on Lyle Collins. What's his status off the stinker? Status is good? Practiced full yesterday Mike McCarthy said, no problems coming out of it. Yesterday was a padded practice, So that's a good sign. He's gonna play just well. I mean, we'll see how that goes. I know, you know, I don't think him being available for this game completely

alleviates my concerns. That was never my concern. Like, if you have a stinger ten days before a game and you've got all that time to rest up, I expect that you'll be fined by a game day. It's how well do you hold up once people start mashing you fifty five sixty sixty five seventy plays a game and then you got to turn around and do it ten Well, they'll have a longer week this week, but you know, my point six day of schedule. It's it's something that

I want to keep an eye on. I'm not trying to alarm anybody, but I've been through this before with other players. Stingers have a way of being a recurring issue. So I think he's gonna play, hopefully, it holds up really really well. What about Tyan sec He was the only guy that showed up on the on the Mike McCarty says, he's fine, he's limited, but he's thirty six years old. I think guys like that kind of manage him. He's fine. They send a new um injury report. It

was actually two guys. Chauncey Gholston another one they did, which we kind of expected. They said he was full, and I my eyebrows like shot up. I was like, he was full. I would just get full. Yeah, he's one of your inactives if you want to play the inactive game, which isn't as fun as it used to be. Different. It's different roster numbers now, you know, you don't even know how many guys are on the team because they can elevate different players. They're going to elevate two guys

tomorrow from the practice squad to the roster. And if I was a betting man, I would say Darry and Thompson and Jeremy Sprinkle are probably the guys on that list. Seem like great bets to me. All right, let's jump into to Cowboys versus Buccaneers. Uh, this Buccaneers team. As you start looking at them on paper, like, it's very, very impressive. Not only did they win the Super Bowl, the first time in the salary cap era that a

Super Bowl team has returned twenty two starters. So basically, they're running it back, really running it back with the same guys that just won the Super Bowl last year. They scored thirty plus points in their last six games straight and eleven times during the twenty twenty season. What do you think is the most important key for the Dallas defense to be able to win Thursday? Get a turnover or six, No, get some turnovers, I mean, get

get a few plays. I mean you have to you have hard to do Tom to throw it away off well, I mean rip the ball out then, I mean, I mean, that's that's the thing. That's what they have to do. Keyan O'Neill was brought in to do those things. Micah Parsons was brought in to do those things. And we saw a little bit of that in the preseason, a small sample size there, but we did see Kean Onneon

on that Arizona game get the ball out. We saw the ball on the ground and Parsons went and got it take advantage of those things because just just you know, there's some quarterback you played Ben, but don't break. Tom Brady will kill you if you do that, because he'll just say, okay, I'll just take my eight yard take a drive without me. So they're gonna have to to, you know, win those battles that they can win and

get the ball out. And I'm not saying you have to get lucky, but like we said, this is an uphill battle. You have to do things unorthodox to win this game. And that's gonna be some turnovers and making some plays and then cashing in on that when you do. I don't disagree with anything you just said, and I agree Ben don't break isn't going to work against Tom Brady.

But at the same time, I can't help but think about how easy this defense made it on opponents last year at times with the broken place, and that's with this receiver corps and a quarterback who's hard to rattle and knows how to take advantage of guys. I just worry about that, and I think you gotta be aggressive. That's a hard middle ground to strike because you gotta be aggressive. I would like to blitz Tom and make him uncomfortable. That's why Michael Parsons is here. Kean O'Neil

can do some of that stuff. But at the same time, you're I mean, if you're giving you know, if you're giving up two play scoring drives, two plays seventy five yards Antonio Brown. I'm just thinking about like Christian Kerr last year and what the Seahawks did to them. You're not winning that way either. You got to make them

work for it, is my point. So just maybe time that stuff really well, like look for the right opportunities to take those chances, because I think this is going to be a big enough problem if you're not giving up easy points, and I just frankly, I'll be surprised if they don't, if they don't have like a single bust that leads to an easy touchdown, I'll be impressed. You think both those things can be true in some respects.

And the reason why I say that is because I agree with both of you that this is a game where you gotta be a little more aggressive. But in being aggressive, that means sometimes you might swing and miss, which means you could give up a big play. But I think that's also necessary. I think if you're gonna win this kind of game, you're gonna have to be aggressive, which means you might have to give some up some back.

That that's on dan Quinn to find that balance, because I don't think you can afford to just throw the kitchen sink at Brady all the time and hope that you get home every time. But when you take those shots, they've got to work, they I mean, and that's have fun. That's why you make that much money. I guess. I don't think there's a perfect answer to that. I think you're gonna see. You know, we haven't really seen what

dan Quinn's can do yet. I mean, I hope not, because I mean, that's that's not the point of the preseason is to go out there and let those guys run around. But from a you know, exotic scheme, blitz is all that I do think you're gonna see guys coming from all different areas and it's gonna speak to

the versatility of your other guys. You know, when when a d law or Gregory drops into coverage, can they do that because because Jalen's blitzing or Ylan Layton leylan Leyla Yeah, Um, if you can combine those two guys into Leyland, I mean, there'd be a damn good player of Leyland. But no, I mean, but but Layton and and Mike and all those guys. You're just gonna see

it coming from different directions. And you know when when when somebody's asked to do something that's out of their realm, like a press rusher to cover or vice versa, they're gonna have to They're gonna have to do it with no drop off. And I think that's gonna be the biggest key here. I can't help but think about when they announced the number change rule. Tom Brady was pissed he didn't like, which I thought was hilarious because he's like the greatest ever. Surely he can identify the mic

no matter what they're wearing. But cowboys gotten eleven, they got a nine, they got a corner playing seven, they got some goofy stuff out there that might jump in there, and eighteen at safety. Let's get just different, Let's get whacky with it. Let's get whacky with it and try to Yeah, I'm being tongue in cheek, like, I really don't think that's gonna help confuse the best to ever do it. He didn't like it. He didn't like it, and every little bit of help something. Honestly, I just

think it's probably for him. It's just like I have a way I do things, and and so this is gonna cool force me to do something different. I gotta look at things a little differently than I have for the last who knows, like since most of us were young men, like you've been doing this for a long time as a change, you know. All right, Let's talk about the other side of the ball. Tampa Bay last year was top rushing defense in the league. They didn't give up a lot of yards on the ground. You've

lost your offensive lineman, your best offensive lineman. What's the most important key for the Cowboys offense to be successful? Communication among the offensive line? Probably Tyler Beotich has only started four games. Zach Martin is probably not going to play. So you've got Connor McGovern who would be making his ninth start, and Lyle Collins playing his first regular season game in two years because he was out all last year.

So and Todd Tod Bowls is a wizard if you think, and I know Kansas City's line was compromised, but guess what so is the Cowboys right now? So, like I said, Devin White, Lavante David, we hope the Cowboys are gonna get wild with it. We know the Bucks are, or they should anyway, And so communicating finding those blitzes, I'm sure they're gonna stunt. They're like, they're gonna do things, you know, And Sue can play a little bit of Andy can play tackle. You got Barrett, you got Jpp.

These guys can do a lot of scary stuff. And with that much youth on the offensive line as particularly in the middle, that's something I would try to exploit. So those guys are gonna need to be on their p's and q's. Yeah, if this was me, you know how I feel about trick plays or flee flickers or stuff like that, but I would. I would probably if I'm killing Moore and I've got six, seven, eight nine of those in the bag, I'm probably throwing three or four or five of them out in this game. I mean,

I'm saying to use them. I think it's important. I think, not only do you want to you gotta do what you can do. I mean, because this man on man is not going to win this game, you know, this isn't a big one bet because they won't win, They're gonna have to do things differently. I also think with week one putting some of that stuff out there, it's it's going to get even out when you play the Chargers and you play the Eagles and you play so they're gonna have a chance is to be is good

or if not better. I like to throw some of that out there on tape, and this is a perfect game to do it, because this is a game that you need it. And also, like I said, get it out there on tape. Show people what Pollard can do out of this slot or what you know, maybe this trick player or something like that, because I think it serves more than one purpose. All Right, we're gonna tack

our final break. We come back. I'm gonna ask these guys, if you're looking at the season and projecting, what do you think is the ceiling and what do you think is the floor for this Cowboys team in terms of wind? Will do that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Hi, I'm Clid Tillison with United Aggin Turf. Before you can park yourself in front of the game park yourself in a John Dear and

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I'm Jackie Flash. What see? I want the latest smartphone, but the best deals are only for new customers. So to get a new customer deal, I change my name to Jackie Flash. Okay, But the best smartphone deals at AT and T are for everyone, new and existing customers. That's huge. Then guess who's getting a deal. Is it Jackie Flash, Jackie Flash? It's not complicated at AT and t our best smartphone deals are for everyone. Restrictions apply. Is it att dot com for details? New Doctor Pepper

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get sized up a cowboy by three simple factors. The crease in his hat, the bend of his brim, and his unbending attitude a man. Stetson didn't just protect him from what life threw at him. It projected a rugged, unstoppable spirit. Stetson hats are still American, made with pride Right here in Texas. There's still the unofficial crown of all self respecting cowboys, and Stetson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Find a retailer nearest

you at Stetson dot com. Slash Cowboys Back to the Brink, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders making the team returns for another exciting season. Don't miss the season sixteen premiere on Friday, September seventeenth at nine to eight Central on CMT and it's season sixteen for the CMT making the team, it's pretty impressive. You see a lot of those that are on for

sixteen years. No you don't. All right, welcome back at his final segment of the break Life in the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star, We're gonna get you guys ready for Cowboys versus Bucceteers. We're gonna get to our picks here in just a second. Before we do that, though, looking at the season as a whole, what do you think is the ceiling? And what do you think is the floor in terms of wins for this team? And it cannot be seventeen and zero, Nick, you gotta give

me something more than seventeen and zero. All right, what do you think is the ceiling? What do you think is the floor? Convenience store with a lot of slurpees? Seven eleven? That is my floor floor. Okay, I thought you were about to say that was the ceiling. I was like, whoa, I'm sorry. Seven wins, eleven wins? I mean, but guess what, there's thirty one. There's twenty eight other teams in the league that that's probably as well. There's some that aren't going to get there, and there's some

that are probably gonna be better than that. But I mean, I think that's where we are in our in our NFL right now, and that's where the Cowboys have been for a while right there. And so if you're asking me what that range is, I think this is a team is good enough to be better. It would better than what it is last year over six and ten. So I think they'll be better than that. But um, if are we asking for a specific I mean, I think this is a tenant seven football team. Okay, I

think they're gonna go ten and seven. I don't know if that's good enough to win, to win the East, It's going to depend on I Well, I don't. I mean, you're right, I don't know either. But I feel confident if if Fitzpatrick is solid and they are a little bit better on offense with as with as great as they can be on defense, I mean, I think can be scary. They can. Fitzpatrick has a pretty long resume

that suggests that he isn't that consistent fizzles out. But also I think the thing you got to think about there is they have the kind of defense that might be able to allow him to make some of those mistakes totally. If it turnovers, they can create situations where he can get the ball back after he gives it away. So, you know, I think ten wins is enough to win this division. I don't know if the Cowboys are capable

of getting there. Yeah it could, it could be, but I think that they're gonna have to, you know, beat Washington in that to those ten wins, and if they do December twenty sixth game, it's gonna be big, yeah, huge, Yeah. But that's what I think they are. I think they're better football team. I think Dak will make them better. I think those guys coming back, I think dan Quinn's gonna make them better. Um, but I mean it, we'll

find out. I mean, like I say every year, I think the Week two season, the Week two games is gonna be very very important to see just where they stand because it's gonna be hard to tell him maybe after this one unless they win. If they win, then then then they'll be like, Okay, well the parade will go here and then it'll go down this street and then we'll go this street. If they be at the bucks Man My goal after this game is to stay

even win or loss. I just want to stay even because I don't know that this game is gonna tell me Mark back for Friday, because he's gonna come in here, come in here, like, oh my god, Derek's gonna come in here with a foam finger on his hand. If they win, yeah, but if they lose, we sure lyles even is he good at all? Like or no, he'll just be like, well, this doesn't even really count. Let's talk about the charger on his like either way, win

a loss. I really think my goal is to come back after this game and be like it unless I'm looking for different things. I'm looking for specific things to win and the loss like they could get blown out in this game. Honestly, this is we'll see about them just second good day. When you say ceiling, I just assume it means best case scenario. Basically everything falls away if everything goes their way and they're healthy all year and the defense gets substantially right well yeah, well I

know best case it's already not a best case scenario, right. Well, if it gets a lot better starting week two and the defense substantially better, they're forcing takeaways. Dak is who we think he is, and the ground game gets back up so that they can lean on teams in the second half. The ceiling, I think is like twelve or thirteen wins. Like I think they're that good. If they achieve all of those benchmarks. They won't be though I don't. I mean, they're already banged up. They haven't shown any

inkling that they can be that insistent. We still don't know what this defense is, so the floor is the defense is just as bad. The floor is probably what we saw in twenty nineteen because the personnel's pretty similar. I know a lot of names have changed, but the level of talent seems similar. And that was an eight and eighteen because they were inconsistent and any fishing. So you can't go eight in eight this year, I guess you could go eight eight and one um in the face.

I swear if we have a tie game like that'll be a saltis. I hate the rule. I hate it's ridiculous that you have a tie. I think. I think it's one of the one of the reasons why in the US that we don't love a soccer as much as other countries, because there's no way I think that that hurts, I really do, but I just didn't ties with terrible. I'm sorry, Dave Good. The ceiling is probably I mean sorry, the floor is probably like six or

seven wins and so split the difference. The realistic scenario is, I don't disagree with Nick, but I don't completely You can't know. No, No, I'm nine and eight, nine and eight and win the East. That's my expectation for this team. I'm not sold on Washington, definitely not sold on the Giants,

and so nine wins prefer mentioned the Eagles. H No, well worth mention here, but not so nine nine wins and win the division is what I think they are capable of, and I will be uh disappointed if they can't at least get to that, barring some sort of crazy rash of injuries. Again, you know, that's what they're paying that to do that. They're paying him to be a quarterback that can that can carry the team. I mean, that's what going well and and I I like, I

think he has the ability to do that. Um. Like I said the other day, I've said this a couple of times. I think he's good enough. He's going to keep you win games. He showed that last year and the team wasn't very good, and he's he kept him in games, uh didn't always win though. That's the that's where his next level's gotta be. You gotta win those games.

You got to you gotta complete that pass in Seattle, you got to make those plays in Cleveland and all against Cleveland, things like that, And so I think, and he's got to be better in the first first half two to not to get to that point, you know, because this is a team with Zeke and the offensive line that's still built to run out the clock and win games if they can get to that point. So that's gonna be the big key, killing Moore and himself. They got to come out and be way better in

the first half. All right, real quick, give me your picks for this week Cowboys versus Buccaneers Thursday Night Football. Dave, I can't pick him to win this game, just I mean, it was already against him. I keep saying this stat but you know, they started playing this Thursday night. They turned the Thursday night game into a spectacle around two thousand and four. I'm well aware of. The Cowboys won one of them in twenty twelve against the Giants, but

the track record for the home team is outstanding. It's like fifteen and three. Yeah, Brady's one of those losses. He is he lost to the Chiefs in twenty seventeen. I think I get it. The odds aren't in your favor, home crowd hanging a banner. They are a much more. They've been together, They brought everybody, bought everybody back. Jordan Whitehair is the only injury of note on that entire team. It's just it's a lot to go against, even when

you don't lose Zach Martin right before the game. So sorry, sorry, I can't pick them. Um. I think Bucks thirty four twenty four, and it's gonna be a little dejecting, I think. I mean, if they lose by double digits to open the season, that's a bummer for everybody. I don't think it's an indictment on the season. I think this is this is what happens when they put you to go against the best. UM, if they win, it'll be that would be amazing and all that like, and hopefully they do.

But I can't pick them thirty four twenty four Bucks. I'll go with Tampa as well. I can't. We haven't seen it. We haven't seen them do anything to say that, you know, they're going to be better. And of course we didn't see it in the preseason, and we couldn't. We didn't allow that. But you know, Tampa's bringing everyone back. There's there's just look at the question mark. They don't have a lot of question marks on what they're doing.

Their question marks are can they keep it at the same level Cowboys question marks are you know, is Dac back Zeke return to forms the line hold up? They got bigger question marks, So there's no way you could go in there and expect them to win. I'm gonna say twenty seven twenty one, I think they'll keep it close. I do think the Cowboys will fight, and they'll be

will show you know, they'll be you know better. I don't think it'll be a moral victory, if you want to go down that road, but I do think that they'll they'll keep this close with Tampa, and I think they lose the twenty seven twenty one um and I got Derek. I also think it's going to be hard to pick them this week. Although I do think it will be a close game. I do think that this is going to be one of those games where I mentioned earlier in the show, they've now on there on

a six game streak of thirty plus games. I think that continues. But I do think Tampa is I do think though Dallas, as is the case typically when Dak has been on the field the last couple of years, they'll match them and they'll they'll stay in this game, or they'll get back into this game and they'll make it interesting. I just don't know if at the end of the day they have enough to be able to

overcome losing somebody like Zack Martin had. It is a huge loss to go against a team that again has returned all twenty two starters for a week one of a season. To lose one of your best players, I just think that's going to be a lot to overcome. But I do think Dallas will make a run of it, and I think it'll be a very interesting game. Oh it's all well, actually it isn't always interesting. That's some of these Thursday night openers have gotten kind of out

of hand. It was a while ago, but like Seattle beat the crap out of Green Bay when they hung their banner a while back. So I don't know. I just there's just a lot of factors working against them. And you know, the first team offense hasn't really they didn't really have a preseens and by the way, you're

playing against a team that their offense and defense. Not only did they not have to worry about having a preseason, they played a whole season together last year, So they're very comfortable with each other, probably more than most teams

would be in a first week one game. I see this as being a little bit more low scoring than you guys didn't I said twenty seven twenty one, But I could see it taken a little while to get both teams going, which could help the Cowboys obviously if you keep it, if you keep the score relatively low. So I just I just feel, especially from Dallas standpoint, I think they'll they'll take them a little bit to get get going in GEL so hopefully hopefully they can

withstand that. You know, that's just what we've seen. We've seen slow starts out of that. I want to see if if that can change. That's we talked about that earlier this week. It's one of the more frustrating things about this team is that they start slow. That would be awesome. If they flip the script on that, I would not I would not be shocked though, if this game, you know, flips the script, I wouldn't be the most Cowboys thing ever, which I'm so like. That's the thing

about the NFL. Once you think you know something, and the more you think you know it, the more it has a chance to flip on you. Friday Friday could be really fun. I hope it is, because I'm getting back to Dallas in just enough time to like drive here to do the show. If they find a way to win, I'll come in here and say and do

whatever you want me to. I'll eat all I'll happily eat all the crow I just I'm just saying, yeah, don't I'll see that they win, you know, a big surprise because this is this is the best football team. You know, this is the best football team there is but the best quarterback to ever play so and I think arguably the best coaching in the business right now. They get a lot of things working for him. So

I'll be really shocked if they win. Can they win, Yeah, of course they can, but it's it's gonna take some uncharacteristic things from Tampa Bay and and the Cowboys. Well, well, I think, well, I think the important thing is we're gonna learn some things about this team. I think we will learn where's this defense in their in their you know, their trek to try to be you know, back to that middle of the at least middle of the league type situation. Where's the run game? Where is that? There's

a lot of question marks that. Well, we'll start getting some answers on that this week. You gotta hit him. Oh yeah, you gotta hear it is. I can't. I can't believe that we're playing a game in two days. Like I was like, that's day after tomorrow. I said that we've we've this has been circled. I don't. I don't know if a season has ever centered so much, not for me anyway, on the opener, just we've known

the schedule since April. They've been in camp since July twentieth, like they had to be the Hall of Fame game. All it's been this. I feel like we've been talking about the Bucks for eight months. Well I know, because it's like like in June they get asked, what about September twenty third, what day of the week is that. It's like, well, September ninth is a Thursday, so that's a that's a third, you know what I mean, Because you know September ninth is a Thursday. You've been writing

it one hundred times. So here we are. That's a rap. We'll be back on Friday. We'll tell you guys what went write and what went wrong for the Cowboys. Still then for Nick even Dave Helmet, I'm Derek Eagleson. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.