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It is Thursday, November twenty first, twenty twenty four, Season twenty, episode number seventy two. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break. We a love from that. WBC Morgan Studios at the Star, presented by LGLG is the world's number one O lead TV brand for eleven years in counting. See why at LG dot Com Forward slash o lead Evil. How's everybody doing today?
Got excellent?
Fantastic.
I'm feeling great, man, I had such a great night's sleep last night. I'm nice and energized. Here, ready to go and uh, let's do it. Let's talk some Cowboys football. We got a lot of injuries to go through. This might take an entire secment. We'll see how it goes. But later in the show we're going to get into the Washington defense versus the Cowboys offense. We've got some fan questions lined up here. I've got a few coming from Twitter. I've even got one coming from Blue Sky.
We got a lot of questions we got fans. We're going to get to that. If you haven't gotten on Blue Scott makes you go check it out. It's actually a pretty cool little app there, and maybe you can work for some of the toxicity of Twitter, just at least a versify a little bit. We'll move around a little bit, but we'll take some questions from both. You can hit me on either Twitter or on Blue Sky and I'll try to get to some more questions if I can here throughout the course of the show, we'll
start with the injury report. Let's start with some of the guys that are returning from injury, Deron Bland, Chum Doga, Brandon Cooks, Marshawn Neeland. What are we hearing about them and the possibilities of them playing this weekend? Knowing Deron Blam was full participant, Yes.
Yeah, it sounds like Deron Blands in line to make his season debut on Sunday, which will obviously be big for Mike Zimmer's defense, it would be the first time he gets to utilize them in a game. As far as Brandon Cooks and Marshaw Neeland go, as long as they stay on track of where they are right now, the expectation is that they could be lifted off of
the IR now. As far as corresponding roster moves, that's where I think it might get a little bit tricky with maybe a guy like Chew Maidoga because you look at Marquis Bell, He's expected to go on the IR with his shoulder dislocation that's most likely going to require surgery.
So you do have one spot you can.
Use with Brandon Cooks, Marshaw Neeland, Chew Malidoga, then you got to kind of figure out one or two more so, but as as long as they can figure out roster correspondence, then I think Brandon Cook's, Marshaw Neeland, Chumleydoga would be ready for Sunday Yeap.
Which those guys you think has the biggest outside of Deron, which we know would have an immediate impact. Of those other guys, who do you think could have an immedia impact, particularly thinking about Brandon Cooks and Marshawn Neelan.
Yeah, I think a case could be made for both, but if you're looking for maybe the bigger impact, I still look at a veteran like Brandon Cooks, especially with this offense how it's been playing or not playing. Rather, I think he just kind of adds a layer that this offense desperately needs right now.
Absolutely, I think it's Cooks, I mean, and I'm so happy for Kneeling coming back because I kind of felt like that he was one or two sacks away from really kind of figuring this thing out. Then all of a sudden it was going to be six and a
half sacks. You know that his play was. He went from a guy that I really didn't think it was a great pass rusher coming out of college, and then you watch him at practice and training camp and he started working against you know, the Rams, the preseason games, all those things, and you were kind of encouraged that he was kind of figuring some things out. And then he gets hurt and unfortunately, so I'm excited about him,
but they need somebody. They need an offensive weapon, and you know Cook's route running ability, but to get open, secure the ball, make plays, they desperately need a guy like that. He surely can.
Help talk to me about Jordan Lewis, he missed last week's game with a neck injury. Yesterday we good here, should all right?
Good?
And then obviously two veterans I think they are are okay, but Eric Kendricks, Ceedee Lamb both limited as well, those just vet days. Are we concerned at all about those guys?
No concerns of no.
Good all right?
A couple guys didn't practice at all, Hunter Lipke, Zach Martin, Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson. I think that the talk has been that Jake probably is not playing this week.
That's true.
What about those other three?
Yeah, looking at Zach Martin, going to continue to go through the week. Mike McCarthy spoke on it yesterday and there were some things today. Today's a big day for Zach Martin. So once we come out of today, we'll probably be more news tomorrow as far as his availability. But I think this is a little bit more serious than the usual nick and bang that Zach Martin has gotten used to over the course of the last week.
Nick and Bang, Nick and Bang never heard that, but I like, yeah, Nick and Nach or a bang and bang I don't know, but Zach Martin's been battling a lot with his body last time years, but I think this one's a little bit more serious than you know, the random ankle or shoulder or whatever that he typically plays through. This one, you know, he not only had the ankle injury, but he kind of got punched in the throat in the game too. That was kind of the moment where he was on a knee, kind of
was shaking his head. And so I think a couple of those things might be a little bit difficult to play through on a short week.
Yeah, yeah, he's the one. The one that they're worried about is him Smith. They feel like can be ready to go. But but the Martin one when you ask over there about you know, well, hey tell me about Martin and like what do you what do you want to know and where do you want to start kind of thing. He's he's been battling through a lot, he
really really has. And I thought you made some points about it yesterday talking about how he's you know, we we kind of talk about the level of how he's played, but it's just man, it's just tough with all the injuries that he's had to deal with.
Yeah, I remember a graphic this is many years ago we put together on DeMarcus.
Where before all the things that were last.
Yeah, the last year he was here, and it was like he had like these little target signal symbols that we put on all the different parts of his body that were hurt. And I want to say it was like seven or eight different areas where it's just like injury injury, injury injury, and it's like these veterans man, they get to point their bodies are just so beat up and they really do just need kind of a break. They just need to be able to stop. And if they stop for a little bit, some of the stuff
could actually heal. But when you're going through a season, there is no stop, There is no pause button you can just you got to keep going through, at least how they look at it. Got to keep going through. And that's what he's doing. He's battling through. And you respect him even more for that.
Yeah, I a lot of respect for Zach Martin on how he's handling.
This year because I'm sure it's tough.
He talked about and Ota is about how this could be his last campaign and how his body's kind of not responding to certain things, and you know how it has his first ten years, and for the season to be going the way it is and him still fighting every week and trying to get back on the field even in anticipation of three games in ten days, that's not easy on anybody, much less his A lot of credit to Zach Martin for sticking it through.
Yeah, he's one of those guys. I mean, he's not gonna hurt hurt his finger and be like, oh, I'm sorry, guys, I got something. He's a guy that's he's gonna try to be out there no matter what, like, and he's shown that all.
Through this season.
So it's one of those things that sometimes maybe you need somebody else to be the one to pull you out and sit you down.
Just for your own good.
But curious to see what kind of happens with him for the rest of the season, because if he gets to a point where they're no longer mathematically.
Mathematically yes, yeah, got.
There in their run to the Super Bowl, then there's no point really.
Well that's also the interesting part because if this is his last campaign, I don't know that he wants to finish it on ir right, So that's where you you probably have to you want it, You probably should deframe playing for players. They're playing for seventeen games. They're playing because when has been Parcels used to say during football season, football players playing football.
But that's he's not like any other player, like you know where his career is gonna lead to after he leaves and all that. So it depends where you're at physically, because if your body is hurting, like, what's the point of you putting yourself through that? You don't you have nothing else to prove.
Other than it is it maybe the last time he puts on pads for the rest of his life, And that is something when you're giving that up and you've done it all your life, that's something that I think can motivate you to say, I don't care that we're not playing for championship this year. It is my last. These are the last few times I had to suit up with the guys I call my brothers in this battle, and I won a battle.
He signed up for seventeen weeks. Yeah, that's that's really how it. We're And you make a really good point, though, you really do.
That's the logical point it is, it's very like.
Why why do we keep why do you do you? But for him, you know, I just remember players like we had a guy Eddie George, Derek remember Eddie George. I don't know if you ever remember Eddie George running back. Okay, Eddie George.
He wasn't aund for that, yes, weren't.
Around, but Eddie George. We had Eddie George here and it was the end of his career and he had a streak of a consecutive streak of starting for running back. It was a really impressive streak and we got the bright idea to inactivate him one weekend, yeah, you know, and it ended his streak for what you know, and that ruined him. That just ruined him because he was playing.
He was so he was so such pride about playing every week in that streak, and one weekend we decided, now we're going to activate somebody else because the head coach wanted to, you know, to prove a point, and it was not there was no reason to just let the guy keep playing, you know. And that's that's what
these players do. They sign up, especially the really good ones. Yeah, the really good ones know that like Derek says that, hey, there's gonna be a time where I'm thirty three years old and I'm not going to put a uniform on anymore. That's still a young guy. Yeah, you know reasonably, that's a young guy. So you want you want to have
that memory. You want to You don't want to go out like Eddie George did, where all of a sudden, you know, people you know are looking at you and you're like, oh, I can't do it anymore, But but you keep playing, you keep playing, And I think that's where I think that's.
Where Zac only he really knows his decision.
He can or can it.
We should have left it up to Eddie George to keep playing, which he did. He wanted to play. We took that away from him that one day and it wrecked his streak. You know where he could have gone out as you know, not Eddie George to finished with the Dallas Cowboys. That wasn't any good at the end. It was man Eddie George, the warrior who played up one hundred and fifty something straight games at running back.
You know, That's how he should have been remembered, not by a guy that had ended his career with the Cowboys and ended the streak with the Cowboys.
Not only did Zach Martin sign up for seventeen games, he signed up to be a leader for this team. I would be shocked if he does not care about the future of this team, especially as it pertains to the offensive line.
Young guys like Tyler Smith.
Tyler Guidon spoke to Guidon in a locker room yesterday about how Zach Martin has been helping him through this season. So there's still a lot of value in Zach Martin being on the field, even if it might not get seen this year. He could see value and what he puts into the field this year in these seven remaining games, being remnant effects down the line whenever this team can win.
So I think the older I get to, the more I realize because I go through it now, I'm starting to go through it in my life. You start realizing there are things that you have to give up because your body just can't do them anymore. And I think that's a hard thing to do. And I'm not a professional athlete, obviously, I never I haven't done this all my life. But there are things as you get older you start realizing, Man, I just can't do this anymore, and you really want to do it everything in you
want to do it. It's just something you have a passion for, you love, and you start realizing there is an end date on it all, Like there's an expiration date when it comes to the things that you want to be able to do, and you're going to have to walk away from some of those things at some point.
That's why it really touches me for somebody like Zach and seeing him go through this right now, go through this season, go through these injuries and get to the end, and I'm like, the right thing to do as an organization for a guy who has given you so much throughout his career is to let him be able to say, if I can figure out a way to gut it out and get out there, let him get gutted out and get out there.
Yea, even though that it might be hurting the team.
Yeah, And quite frankly, I would actually look at it a little differently if they were playing for something. Back to your point, amber if they were literally right now in a situation where they're battling for the division, I might be like, hey, you know, Zach, Hey are you looking at the best of the team or what's best for you. Maybe you have to go with what's best
for the team. But the fact that that isn't the case, I think now I would even be more so like, hey, man, if this is what you want to do, if you feel like you can figure it out and you can get out there, hey I'm going to be behind you.
And oh yeah.
And I mean not to keep this conversation going so long. But the way I see it, again, like I said, personal decision for him. Let him make that decision. But it's one of those things that if you're out of the run, if it gets to that point and then you're already getting beat because of the injuries that you're dealing with, you know, that could potentially lead to something worse.
You've gotten through your career to this point of your career where you haven't had anything major, major, like really affect you in that way, and now you're out there and who knows what kind of injury that you getting beat can lead to to where now that can potentially affect the rest of your life. You know, because he's a dad, he has young kids and all that. So I'm saying, like I don't know again, live it up
to him. We'll see. But either way, whatever the decision is, whether he plays or don't play, I'll support and that it goes back and wishing the best regardless.
No doubt doub All right, we're gonna take our first break.
We'll come back.
We'll dive into this Washington defense and some of the challenges there and some of the opportunities because they're both when you look at this defense we'll be doing when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radial.
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Back to the break.
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Welcome back to the second segment of the break Life in that WBC Mortgage studios at the Star. This segment's brought to you by blockchain dot Com. All right, Washington Defense. Right now, they are fifth in passing defense, only giving up one hundred and eighty four yards per game.
Through the year.
They are also eighth right now in sacks with twenty nine. Who are the best pass rushers in how they match up against this offensive line.
It's funny you look at Dante Fowlers at Darren's armsto. You know, right, Dante Fowers had a hell of a year.
Franky Louv too.
Absolutely, People forget Fowler was a first round pick. This has been a player since he's a player.
I think it's more so just like in comparison to what he was in Dallas, which he was good in Dallas, but it was very situational. He didn't get many snaps and I mean I think back to the force fumble that led to Leyton Van de Rush's final touchdown in his final full game. I think it was his only
touchdown in his final full game. He had his moments in Dallas, but it looked like that they were trying to maximize his athleticism by keeping him fresh throughout the entirety of games, whereas Washington throws him on the field and is like, Okay, go be as athletic as you can on as many snaps as you can. And now he's on.
A Pro Bowl pace.
So this is eight and a half.
Yeah, give me, give me one moment a lot, But.
I think, yeah, I think he had eight and a half. I think Frankie Lulu has seven. I think it's what they got.
Yeah, he gets after the quarterback, but it's it's the athleticism that's that's really maximized. And I think that's probably the concern that you look at whenever you look eight and a half, Yes, whenever you look at how these tackles could defend him.
Is he better at this point? He's playing better as a pass rusher than.
Armstrong in my opinion, yes, yeah, absolutely.
I think Armstrong is your guy that can get in the backfield in the run game and is still definitely a contributor there. I like this front. This front is still learning, it's still young. Outside of Armstrong and Fulor, it's still young. But I do like this front. I think think there's some there's some gaps in the middle that I think you could exploit. But overall, I think I think they've done.
A good job.
Yeah, Nick's gut, I'm absolutely right. I mean they they They did have a big loss and Jonathan Allen went out and he got hurt in the UH the Baltimore game. He tore peck muscles, so he's done. But Newton there, the rookie from UH from Illinois, is a nice player for me that you know. Deron Payin, we've talked about him. He's been a pain and you know what, UH for the Cowboys for some time. You know that for a while there, they got rid of all their pass rushers
last year. Remember they shipped all those guys off. And all of a sudden, Dan Quinn comes in. He's like, Okay, I think it's interesting to me. And I think Nick makes a really good point about this. The fact that they're playing Fowler like full time. If he was here in Dallas, and with the injuries that Dallas has on the edge, that might be your best pass rusher. Wait, well, of course, Michael Parsons, But did you know Fowler playing more snaps for them, and he doesn't look like he
gets beat down, war down and all that. I mean, they're actually rushing him off the right side and he'll flip sides. But they make Armstrong and Armstrong has always kind of been a right side player, you know, So they've put Armstrong on the left side and let Fowler rush from the right side there. And he's explosive, he's quick. They run games. But they I mentioned Frankie Louvo and he came from the Carolina Panthers. Dallas played him last year.
He's one of the better players we talked about at Carolina. So he signs as an unrestricted free agent. Quinn's using him or Joe Witt. They're using him like they use Michael Parsons. You know, he's like he's a linebacker. Off ball, he stands up. They put him in the middle, he rushes a gap. Sometimes he'll go on the outside. It's not a hand down guy, but they kind of move him around, and when you start talking about him and
Bobby Wagner, they got two linebackers that create pressure. You know, they bring and they've been blitzing a lot more there. Their numbers they weren't the first five weeks of the season. They their pressure numbers were not great, and then all of a sudden, Joe Witt started blitzing more and they went from near the bottom of the league to the top of the league when it came to pressures off blitz and so. And a lot of it has to do with the ability to get to like say Payne Newton.
Those guys pushed the middle, Fowler Armstrong off the edge, Frankie Luvu he'll rush sometimes and be effective. And then Bobby Wagner rush sometimes. You know, if you look at if you look at this secondary you're talking about pass defense. I'll tell you what there's I see why they made the Marshawn Lattimore trade, which hasn't they haven't played with him yet because they've got a rookie in Mike Standers
still who's playing. But if you look at quarterback ratings against these guys, teams have had some success throwing the ball on these corners and then uh Bcnogany he's playing the nickel for him, and so yeah, no, okay, I mean that's that's my but that's what I'm saying. No, it's it's there's possible. The pass rush is good, which helps their past defense because they they they you know Dan plays. We all seen Dan play. It's twisting, it's Russian.
It's putting two good rushers on one side and Russian it's blitzing a linebacker through. You know. But these corners, there's another thing I was watching. I went back and watched every touchdown they gave it up, gave up, had given up. They give a five touchdowns to tight ends in the red zone. You know. So you talk about safety play, Jeremy Chen and Kwan Martin and those guys, they they've they've struggled with teams that have Now here's
your guy. Unfortunately he's you know, Ferguson is is banged up, and game it could be could be you know, the Michigan Wolverine Legacy game. But yeah, so to me, there's opportunities here. But this front makes it really and you said it, he liked the front. You're absolutely right about liking this front. But I do feel like that kind of with with Saint Jews and you know, and Sanders
Still and those guys. They've given up some stuff. You know that there's been quarterbacks have had some pretty good ratings against them, but the pressure's been hard to deal with.
I think if I was going up against this secondary, the guy that I would be maybe not trying to avoid, but the guy that I think I would rely on him being in his spot when he needs to more often than not.
As Jeremy Chin.
I do like what Jeremy Chen not only brings in coverage, but he'll step up in the run game and lay hat on you too. He does a really good job covering in the middle of the field from their strong safety position. I've liked this secondary at times, and then there's times where I'm like, this secondary is still reeling from being so.
Bad last year. Yeah, I think, Yeah, they go.
After a guy like Emmanuel Forbes Junior in the first round back in twenty twenty three, and he.
Just hasn't paid out for them.
I look at how they threw him on the field early last year, kind of to how Dallas has thrown Tyler Guidon onto the field early this year. In the sense of like maybe those guys weren't ready, and I think it kind of stunted Forbes growth. I'm not gonna speak on guidance just yet. I think he's still got a ways to go, but I think it's stunted Forbes growth in some instances, and he's just not physical enough
at the end of the day. And now you see a guy like Saint just who comes in and has kind of overtaken him in the depth chart, and you look at some of these other young guys that they're trying to put around them, Tyler Owens, Mike Sanders still, and then that's why they go get Latimore. Like you said, Latimore did not practice yesterday.
Hamstring, right, yeah, hamstring.
So this is a game where Brandon Cooks can come back. He's gonna be used, yeah, because he's a guy that can not only get open across the middle of the field and maybe account for a guy like Jeremy chan As the veteran presence he is, but he could also get downfield.
Now, can Cooper rush get the ball to him?
This different question, but I think I think having Brandon Cooks in a game like this would certainly benefit this team.
Can I ask him a draft question real quick? Sure, not for this draft.
But there we go.
No, no, no, but Forbes, Yeah, do we now have to think about slightly built corners that play in this league?
Cool?
After what you saw with Forbes.
I mean Nate Wiggins is also from Baltimore. He was a first round pick out of Clemson or second second round pick first round, so somewhere in there out of Clemson. He's another guy I think that you look at he was one hundred and sixty five pounds the comount. But yes, this is a physical league, and I think with especially with the way defenses are playing up on receivers now and having success doing so, is throwing physicality on these
receiving cours. And if you don't have a guy that can throw a hat around, then you better be step first step mirroring those routes every single time.
Yeah, I don't say, And that's the tough thing to do.
There's only about three corners I can think of that can actually do that.
That's one of those interesting things. I was having this conversations weekend with someone about Travis Hunter and they were like, where do you play him? And I was like, you know, I don't know. And the one that they made was he's really slight, and how does that one hundred eighty yeah, how does that affect whether he should be a cornerback or whether he should be a receiver. And maybe, to your point, Brian, maybe that is what makes team's sake.
Put him at receiver first, put him at corner receiver both.
I'm doing both.
I'm not playing him at both the entirety of a game. Yeah, but I'm gonna play him here when we need him and I'm gonna play him here when we need him there.
Like you use both of those abilities. But that's a that's a.
Draft, that's a whole different conversation.
That's a Sorry, by the way, you've seen East Carolina here, Yo, let's talk about he's good. I mean, for Herod's name, good player. Okay.
We talked about the challenge. The challenge obviously, there's defensive front and trying to stop their pass rush. Here's the opportunity. Right now, they are thirtieth in the league and rush defense they are averaging giving up five yards per rush attempt, thirty first in the NFL in that area. They've allowed one hundred yards plus rushing every game except for one this year. They've given up one hundred and fifty plus in five games this year, and there have been two
times they've given up two hundred yards plus. Yeah, where are they most vulnerable in the run.
For that, I say in the middle. I say in the middle. It's young in the middle with guys like Jerseon Newton. You do have Deron payin in the middle, but I think that's where you can find some success. This is personnel aside. You see some mirroring between last year's dan Quinn defense in Dallas and this year's defense dan Quinn defense in Washington. Now, again personnel aside, because
there are some similar personnel guys. But I think overall dan Quinn's specialty is getting after the quarterback in pass rush and maximizing athleticism in pass rush. Well, when you're maximizing athleticism in pass rush, then you're not maximizing physicality and stopping the run. So I think you see the similarities there, and I think you attack it in the
same sense. Now, does Dallas have the offensive personnel to over physical over physical those guys, then I don't necessarily believe so, especially if a guy like Zach Martin is not playing. I look at a guy like Bobby Wagner, that might be that that guy that you have to get through to find success in the run game overall.
But there are some instances where you can find some success, not only in the middle, but if you can somehow get outside and not let these edges seal seal the edges, then I think you can get outside and one on one with these corners. These corners aren't going to tackle.
Or no, they're not. They're not, they're not. So yeah, you look at it. He's absolutely right to me that if you block Bobby Wagner, there's your there's your chance right there, because he's your leading tackler when it comes to run stops. I mean, he's got seventy tackles. And then and then what's funny is it starts to be their safeties. Because that's a that's pretty that's pretty telling right there, that all of a sudden it goes linebackers to.
Safeties, not defensive tackle defensive tackling.
Yeah, yeah, it's it's so that that shows you that they deal a lot with having to you know, to to do in the in the in the running game, they do.
A heavy box a lot.
I didn't, you know, it's funny. I didn't look at that part. I could look up here at the break, but I didn't look up. I didn't look up because I didn't think. Because Dan had always played with the safety and stuff like that, so you'all naturally think, but they don't play with the safe. He did it because he didn't have linebackers. But I'll look it up here
at the break. What I thought was interesting is, you know, just if you look at a metrics thing, this team gives up more rushing first downs than even the Cowboys. That tells you something, you know, when you look at it. I mean, they've given up. They gave up ninety three. They were the tops in the league when it comes
to giving up first downs by rush, you know. And Dallas is right there with him, and and we all understand how bad Dallas's run defenses, and how many times it feels like it's they're giving up first downs every time somebody hands them the ball. The Commanders are worse at it than the Cowboys are even so that's something to kind of keep an eye on. But can you run the ball, can you block the front? Can you block Bobby Wagner. That's the big issue here.
Is this a game you would elevate Dalvin Cook?
You know he's gotten I mean really over the last few weeks. It just seems like all of a sudden, it's like everybody's thinking, you ask him to get him in, and then they finally make him active and get him in, and then all of a sudden, it was like, yeah, nah, we're not going to do that.
Yeah.
It's it's if this is a if this is a defense that you think you can get around and you can find success in outside zone, then I'm activating Dalwin Cook.
You asked that every week, you asked for outside zone every week?
True, you do, especially against a defense like this, I got because I don't trust this sidery.
I stopped. I stopped asking for outside zone Dalvin Coach.
Well, but let me ask you this.
At this point, I think ric o'dowdell can do it if if you don't, necessarily the question is just can you can you go into a game and say we're going to commit to run the ball at Rico down because even in this last game, it's numbers weren't great, but they didn't give them ball much and maybe it got away from him. Who knows. I think maybe they
got away from the running a little quick. But the fact of the matter is, like you, if you're going to go into a game, this seems like the kind of game you Sho would be able to go into and say, we are going to be committed to running the ball because the last thing we want is for that team to start figuring out that they're just gonna come and rush our passer, because that ain't gonna be a good outcome.
Derek, this would be a great game to Trey Lance to run the ball a bunch, and.
I'm with you on that too.
You know what I'm saying, a team that can't play run defense, and you're gonna go in here and you're probably gonna throw the ball fifty times with Cooper rush again. You know, Okay, then then that's what I'm saying. This is a game where I don't know.
If that's the case, then we need to have another Travis Hunter conversation next Monday.
I'm just saying though that that to me is this is what coaching is. Go try and take advantage of something that's not working for the other team. You know, he every week. He asks that, hey, well run the ball here, run the ball here. Run They don't run the ball here. You know, how do you watch? How do you watch these games? And we break it down and you see Carrie after Carrie after Carrie after Carrie. They're watching the same damn film.
Mm hm.
You know, how can you not sit there and say, man, they'll look very good. They're at on the edge. They really look like they're trying to get up the field. They're getting kicked out a bunch here. You know, it's like me watching the down in the red zone. It seems like the tight ends catching touchdowns every time. But do you think they'll throw a ball to a tight end down there at no? Yeah.
Yeah, let's sake our final break. Let's come back. We got some questions lined up. We'll hit those when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot com rado.
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Back to the Break, Connecting changes everything.
Welcome back.
Final second of the Break, Live from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star. Let's get some questions. Got a question here from Chris Johnson. He shit, he said, Should they get turping even more snaps after what he did last week?
Absolutely?
Yeah?
When I look at only two slants run all year, why not do it more? I don't understand, So yes, the answer is yes for me.
Absolutely yeah. Maybe maybe two maybe two throws the span Ford and the other nine to you know what I'm saying. Yeah, I mean try and find ways. I'm not just talking about getting the ball at or near the line of scrimmage. Work some combination routes with him, you know, try and free him. You know, see if you can see if you could get some stuff with you know, if you could bring him on some cross and stuff, you can
hit him on the move. That fourth down pass he had against Atlanta they came back, they could have thrown at the game against the Falcons, they could have against the Eagles, they could have done it and they didn't hit him. Guy finds a way to get open. I throw him the football if I could. He's he's one of the legitimate play He.
Was just jogging like that wasn't even the fastest he was running, So expect him to be a lot faster and hopefully but these things that we always ask for is just it never happens. And that's what drives me crazy and like insane because I feel like we watch something completely different than they watch. But then they're the experts. So then I'm like, wait, like why am I like? Are we watching the same game? Are we watching the
same plays? But again, I am sure they have their reasonings and there's a something reason why to why they choose to play the way they play. But like an example, going back to you, I know we've always talked about lip Key for the longest time, and we've seen him a little bit here and there throughout the season, but it's never been like a commitment to use like your best players or these players that can be a lot
more dynamic. And he's one of those guys that is very quick, very he can make those cuts and you just get him the ball. And not to switch back the conversation, but when in the last segment that you were talking about committing to the run, I'm just thinking, I'm like, Okay, we keep asking them to commit to the run, but then more often there than not, the runs are unsuccessful. So it's like, why would you keep trying to run the ball when you're continuously being unsuccessful with it?
My thought would be number one, I think you have to think about how are you running the ball? H Are there some more creative ways that you can try to run the ball? Going to Brian's point about maybe using Trey lance a little bit more, I think there are things, you know, right, there are things you can do to change up what you do. It doesn't mean just keep doing the you know, power to the wall, power run right up behind the guard, like if it's not working, it's such work.
Commanders doing it works yeah for them.
But but I'm saying, like find find some other ways to do it. You know, I've seen some lesser skilled teams run the ball effectively against Dallas. Particularly, go back to that Arizona game last year. They ran the ball at will. They didn't do that to most teams in the league, but they found a creative way to do it against Dallas, taking advantage of some of the stuff that they knew Dallas wanted to do, and they gash them.
I think there are some ways you can figure it out to be able to really if you're going to commit to the run, to really be able to effectively run the ball. And I just don't know that they've done that enough.
Well, we'll keep waiting on it.
We'll see if this is the weekend, Like.
Guys, tell me when you're in your press box, see tell me next week if they did what you wanted to do.
Yeah, the numbers say this is the week where you should at least consider it, right, you know, you should at least do something to try that. All right, let's go on to the next question. This question is from Bill bourn K. He says no, starting two rookies was risky, but any way to determine if if poor line offensive line play is due to coaching scheme, coaching scheme, or misevaluating talent. Even with the three vets.
Going all three, I'm not going misevaluating just yet.
I think the thing about it is it really hurt them that their right tackle took a step back, and then the and then the drastic fall of your right guard, coupled with the rookie center who's never played center, I think the biggest learning curve. And the kid's gotten better. Guidan's gotten better at left tackle, Yeah, he really has. It's you know, is it to the point where you know, is it is it like watching Tyler Smith play out there his rookie year. No, but I think that that
just the right side of the offensive line. How quickly it fell off. I think there's some things with the you know, with the coaching as well. I think the scheme, particularly Derek, we just talked about it the previous question. I think there's things about the scheme that you have to question that probably aren't right, probably not conducive to how you're playing. So I man, I'm a I hate to be a ride the fence guy. I do feel
like it's all the above. Yeah, you know, just Mark D on your scantron for all the above.
For those out theres who don't know what a scantron is, we used to take tests on these things called scantron's mark.
You know, look, I'm not that I'm young Mark D for all the above, right, yeah, because that's where this thing really at when we do the autopsy. Seriously, when we do the autopsy, start in the brain and go all the way down to the toes, and you're gonna figure it out. You know, it's there's a lot of things. It's not just one thing. There's a lot of things that's happened to this football team this year.
I think I'm gonna go with coaching and scheme. I'm not gonna go with misevaluation just yet. I think there are a lot of individual problems happening on the offensive line.
There was a word you said in there that said coupled.
I think you could couple everything together and it ends up being four very big problems that I think you have upfront. We could start at left tackle. I'm under the impression that your left tackle is not the guy you wanted to start Week one, but you had to. I think the plan was to start too many dooga at left tackle, because you see whenever too many doga is starting to get worked back in. Mike McCarthy says, yes, yes, that's gonna throw a healthy competition back into that role.
He was starting at left tackle up until he got hurt in training camp, and everyone was kind of looking around, like, all right, so wins Tyler gott even run with the ones.
I don't think he ever was going to.
I think he was going to get snaps, absolutely, but I don't think they wanted to throw him out there with just fourteen career starts and start at left tackle without playing the position in Week one against Miles Garrett.
I don't think that was the plan.
That's an interesting point.
Left guard.
I think your left guard is accounting for a lot of things happening around him. I think he's playing well. I don't think he's playing as well as he was last year, but I think he had better pieces around him last year. Your center is a rookie who was still trying to figure things out. I think he's gonna
be a good player. I think he is, but he is having that rookie curve where okay, hey, definitely when you look up in five years, and you look at all five years on a window, you could be like, Okay, yeah, that was his rookie year, but I think he's going
to have a good start to his career. Your right guard is is coming down a little bit, and as we've talked about on this show, and your right tackle is not playing well at all, and unfortunately, I think that's a that's a situation where you're gonna have to look at it from from a holistic approach in the offseason and figure out is that the guy for the future. But when you pair all that together, I think you
have a big problem. It doesn't matter what the coaching or the scheme is at that point, but I think when you do look at the scheme, this is a heavy, heavy zone scheme offensive line. And I think this type of offensive line needs to be gap schemed because I think if you have young guys up front with a running game that is not necessarily producing at the level that you want it to, make it a little bit less complex, make it a gap scheme offensive line.
And it just hasn't been so far.
Explain gap scheme.
Yeah, gap scheme going after one guy on the defensive line, shout with Jerry Madaline, That's what I.
Was thinking when you started talking about gap scheme.
Gap scheme is basically you're lining up on the other side of the line of scrimmage and you're going after one guy. Where a zone is zone scheme, you're going after an air and you're trying to push guys that are out of that area. But that's where things can get complicated. Really good offensive lineman can do that well.
I think they do that because you have a guy like Zach Martin and they've just been used to doing that because you had a Tyrone Smith, you had a Zach Martin, you had a Tyler Biadis who was good at.
Times and doing zone scheme stuff.
But I think now whenever you have young offensive linemen and you're having to account for a lot of things happening around you, that zone scheme can get really complicated. And also you don't have a running back in your backfield who I think can I identify those gaps a little bit quicker than guys you've had in the past.
And that's where I have a problem with this whole situation. It's like, what have you tried to do differently to see if it works? To see if it helps them be better. You haven't, and you keep just running the same things every time basically without being successful. And it's just like, try to help him differently. You rely on two younger players on youth there, which is not ideal on unoffensive line, but I think in their moments, I mean, they've done okay, like enough.
For what they are right now in their career.
And then with Terrence Steele, the question is like it always makes me wonder. I'm like, why you've seen him be better, You've seen him be a solid guy, So what happened there? Exactly? Why are you regressing so much? You don't all of a sudden just lose power, lose muscle in that way, lose the ability to know where to place your arms and do the type of work
and like get beat up every single time. So I and he's as far as I know healthy, like coming from last year, I remember him saying he's and they always say the same thing, like I felt, I feel the best I've ever felt. I feel the best I've ever felt. But that leads me just because I've seen him be better and play better, it leads me to think it's a coaching thing. It's a scheme thing that is just not working out for them.
Yeah, all right, we appreciate you guys. Join us back tomorrow. We'll wrap this thing up. Get you guys ready for Cowboys Versus Commanders to Leven for Nick Harris. Brian brought us at Amber Garcia. I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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