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And so much for that.
It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with mbar Garcia, Brian brought Us, Patrick Walker, and Derek Eagleton.
It is Monday, November twenty seventh, twenty twenty three, Season nineteen, Episode number seventy seven. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break. We are alive from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star and today we get to talk about the Cowboys win on Thanksgiving Day versus the Washington Commanders.
They win forty five to ten, a blowout, huge game from the standpoint of just looking at the Cowboys adding another win and trying to keep pace on the possibilities that maybe they can pull closer to the Philadelphia Eagles before that matchup a couple of weeks from now. But we'll talk about what happened in this game. We'll also have a little bit of talk on some stuff that's happening around the NFC and a little update on Shaq Leonard.
Cowboys seem to have a little interest there. So we'll catch up figure out what we're hearing about. You guys in the building, now, we got to figure it out. Get it done.
You guys in the building, you had to figure it out. Did the rest of us outside the building can't help you?
The building? Here we go out? Yeah, all right, So.
Let's talk about this game. Let's start first going around on the table. Let's get some storylines of the game. Let's talk with you Patrick, what was your storyline of this game?
I think for me, one of the biggest storylines is just how prolific Dak Prescott continues to look. I mean, there is a lot of good to take away from this game, but if you look at it from the aspect of he didn't play a perfect game and still had four touchdowns and over three hundred yards. I mean if he example, if he connects with Ceede Lamb on that deep route down the middle early in the game, that's one example of a throw that he definitely wants back.
I mean, this might be a five plus touchdown game four hundred yards. So it just goes to show that the Cowboys, you know, can continue if they can continue to be resilient and when things don't go their way, particularly on offense, if they can just you know, stick with what's working for them, then they can absolutely continue to be dominant. The play calling for Michael McCarthy, I was just in love with it, the way he tortured some of those mixed coverages, some of the zone looks
that he was getting. You know, talk about that touchdown down the scene to Cavante Turpin. It put the defensive back in another bind, something that we've seen happening here recently. Ferguson Schoolmaker touchdown. That was another example making the defensive back half to choose, knowing that whichever one he chooses, it's.
A touchdown either way.
So as long as the protection continues to hold up and they continue to be resilient and the play calling continues to be what it is along with execution, I love with this offense.
Be.
Offensive, creativity.
I mean Patrick talks about it, but if you look at what they were able to do, they're continually finding ways to manipulate the defenses the past, to Ferguson, empty set three wide receivers, you line up on the right side, you know, as Ferguson's going vertically. Then you know, turping goes out and now you're moving people. The flip play to Pollard on third and six, you know, in order to get the ball to the edge, and how you bring guys in motion to get the blocker out in front.
The doubtle screen was a really creative play call at the time. Kick lead peel Boem, it's a touchdown right there with your blockers, you know, and then he mentioned the turpin touchdown. You know, it's when you put people in a situation where you run, you know, you get trips formation three to one side, run two to the out, and they all they all vacate, and now you have a speech. And the commanders did something. They gambled on
the play. They tried to run. They took their safety curl and put him as a linebacker like he was gonna blitz, and then they tried to drop him in coverage. And Dak saw it all the way. He's like, listen, if you're gonna play too deep and put that guy on my slot player and make it like you're trying to disguise it, I'm gonna make you pay for it.
And that's what they did.
You're starting to see a lot more creativity with this offense when it comes to how they manipulate the play in order to allow their receivers and their backs to have success.
To me, three things that kind of stood out were one consistency that now and we've been talking about this every week now, that is just becoming something that is more consistent of this offense where you can see trends of them doing it. You talk about you mentioned Dak him being that quarterback consistently showing up from since that game against the forty nine ers.
Everything took turn there.
Then the running game, that's something we've been talking about on the show as well and something I've had my eyes on. And Tony Poller he ended up de night with seventy nine yards, which is still it's pretty good. And then you add a sprinkle of Rincodal there he only had like eleven yards, not much, but still the incorporation, yeah, having them Dak just a running game as a whole. And then also the ability of seeing of them utilizing multiple weapons. Now you're not solely relying on one on
City Lamb. Let's say you're not soly relying on City Lamb or let's say a Brandon Cooks. Now you're seeing them consistently using multiple weapons with the help of a little bit of the running game added on top of their Yeah, he hit.
So many different weapons in that game, and it kind of, to me is just one of those things where I just love the fact that, especially like the Turpid play was the one that kind of showed me if you're going to it, and you have to if you're an opposing team, you have to pay attention to those guys that are on the perimeter. You got to pay attention to CD, gotta pay attention to Cooks. He's getting going,
got to pay attention to the tight end. If your fourth cornerback or third cornerback or whatever is gonna have to try to try to deal with with Turpin.
Yah, good luck with that, right.
There's not a lot of teams that have had that level of depth, and that's where this offense can really go. They got a ton of offensive weapons and now they're using all.
Of the Turpin ran basically a forty yard dash on that play, yep, you know. And the way the way that he was able to and and give Dak a lot of credit because he saw it was too deep and he knows if he's sending Turpin through the middle of that defense, you know, the commander's trying to cover it.
Kind of a funny.
Way there, but you know, that's that's what you do. You put pressure on these teams to have to deal with you in that way. And and and Ambar's right, it's just not CD. It's it's you know, you got I think it's a second straight game where cooks led the uh, the the group in reception, in yard and stuff like that. So you know, good for the good for them to continue to get things. I think that this was a game too that Pollard, We're starting to see it where maybe things are coming back to him.
You know, we all like the next gen stuff, those fifteen plus mile an hour runs and stuff. He had several of them in this game. That explosiveness, the way to get him to the edge, to around the corner and stuff like that. It was all not the heavy lifting in the middle, but it was more on the outside in the edge, and they were really able to take advantage of that.
And also what you know, kind of going back to what Brian was saying, when it comes to the creativity, the play calling. It's really getting fun as far as even pre snap because you know, we talked about it quite a bit as far as the Cowboys ramping up their use of pre snap motion and how it directly correlates over the past five six games with their offensive explosiveness.
Obviously execution matters as well, but you look at what they did against the Commanders, almost seventy percent of their offensive snaps pre snap had some sort of motion involved.
So the Cowboys have and Mike.
McCarthy have completely leaned into it and to the point where now they're right up there rivaling the likes of like Kyle Shanahan and how often he runs pre snap motion. So if you love to see that from the Cowboys, and you should because it reveals where the mismatches might be pre snap, then that's another reason that this Cowboys offense should continue to be consistent in what they're doing.
That had a third and six play where, if you remember, Lamb came back for the ball and ended up getting fourteen yards in the play motion left to right. So they're doing things to not allow people to bracket or double covered Lamb. Yep, but they're also knowing Okay, on third and six, we want to get into football.
So let's get him on the move.
He goes past the sticks, comes back for the ball, breaks a tackle like he seems to do all the time, and you get fourteen yards. You know they're just looking to get a first down. That turns into a fourteen yard play all started because they left right motion to get him going up the field.
And it's also when you're talking about guys like Ceedee Lamb, Brandon Cooks, Cavante Turpin, this motion helps them in their skill set as well, because you're not asking them to go from zero to have to beat the guy off the press or whatever the case may be. They're already in motion, they're already moving, legs are already moving. So it's much easier to go from second gear to sixth gear than from the first gear to six gears. So when you add in that capacity as well, I mean
it's working and I believe it will continue to do. So.
Yeah, I think one of the things that that fans need to do is the need to give some credit to Mike McCarthy because absolutely, for years, for real years, fans have been clamoring for scheming guys open, figuring out ways to get guys open and not just relying on we can beat you because our guys are better, right, And that's what you're seeing right now. You're seeing this scheme and the scheme of what they're trying to do. You see the offense actually creating opportunities for guys to
get open, and then they're taking advantage of it. The quarterbacks taking advantage of the receivers are taking advantage of it. And I think a lot of credit has to go to Mike McCarthy, and that's not something that always happens with fans.
It's got to make it take the time to give that credit to Mike and car No.
That it's kind of starting to work out.
No, no, that is finally clicking and it's working now now, you know. You take a seat back and you're like, Okay, I guess that was pretty quick. And the fact that he was able to turn things around.
You know, but they were not very good the first five games, absolutely not, and.
We're all questioning.
But now you think of five games looking like okay, when you're making a change like that, big, that's fair. Five games should be kind of the grace of like Okay, it took this long to make I.
Think we're at the point now we can say just let Mike cook. Okay, let them cook.
I got a bigger question for y'all looking at how this this offense performed over the last two years. This has been an offense that has always been in the top of the league. They're consistently there when Kelvin Moore was the offensive coordinator. Do you think this version of the offense is better than the version last year in the year before.
Yes, I do.
That's good.
I do, and I do for the reason, maybe not for the running game aspect of it.
But what they're doing throw the football.
And I think your quarterback plays better in this kind
of where you create opportunities for him. And I'm not saying you have to scheme guys open all the time, because that two point play, he threw that thing through a hole that you know that we've seen that ball get intercepted before with Dak you know, And and I honestly believe he wanted to throw the ball off the pick to to Ferguson on the drag and he pulled it back and and and give Lamb a lot of credit for keep running, you know, keep running this route
because he found he found a hole. But man, if you tell me that, I think the passing game is better because of the way the combinations of the routes are scheming guys open. But I think we're still trying to kind of figure out that running game from the from the old the old days.
It took me a moment. I had to really assess, and I'm going to go with yes. Also, I think that obviously the run game was better, you know, I want to say back in the day, but over the past couple of seasons. But when you look at when you compare the passing attack, it's it's not even that it's simply a three headed attack, which is what everyone was kind of looking toward. Brandon Cooks, Michael Gallup, Cede Lamb, Well, it's really City Lamb, Brandon Cooks, Jake Ferguson, Jaylen Tobert,
Michael Gallup, Cavante Turpin, Jalen Brooks. I mean, you have all these weapons, and then if Schoolmaker can start to contribute as a receiver as well, you combine that with what are we talking about, pre snap motion and creativity and the play calling and misdirection and then what else are we talking about? Dirty deck has arrived, he's using his legs, he's extending plays, he's making it hard on defensive backs with long coverage windows against highly skilled receivers.
So in that capacity, in those capacities, absolutely, this is a better offense.
Well, the offensive lines making it easy on you too, right now, Finally, yeah, they really are.
Which there was a time this season that we didn't know if that would come around.
No, there was a lot of big questions there about you know, and to me, it's when your center plays better and your right tackle plays better. This offensive lines generally pretty good.
And to that point, if you go back and you look at the Cavante Turpin touchdown Terrence Steel Zach Martin, they gave Dak Prescott just enough time to read, do the pump fake, to drag the dB to the right to Cooks, and then release that ball to Cavante Turpin. If that protection breaks down, that touchdown doesn't happen. Maybe he dumps it off to Ferguson on the right. Maybe he dumps it off to poll on the lift and the release and maybe you get the first down, but you don't get that touchdown.
Well, they had they had a deal.
They had a deal too, And I believe it was one of the plays where it was a third and eleven, just just remembering plays from the day and Cooks caught the ball inside and he's running a route where Dak flushes left and Tyron Smith just pins everybody to the inside. And Tyron Smith by pinning everybody there, that gets Prescott to the edge and now he's able to set his
feet and make the throw. So here you are you throw a ball for you know, for a third and eleven play, it's been a twenty five yard game, you know, because your quarterback's mobility, you were receiver smart enough.
To find the hole in the zone.
And then also the quarterback also sets his feet and makes a really really nice throw and you get that pin everybody pinned to the inside there on the on the pass rush and Dak was a single time two games in a row, now, right.
I was going to say, the biggest difference, uh to me between the two schemes and the changes is just the way DAK is playing as a whole. Because even with Kellen Moore, we saw creative plays, We saw them filling up the stats sheets, you know, being the top
NFL offense. In the NFL, we saw them utilizing different weapons as well, But now the way Dak is playing, to me, it just gives everything else like a whole sense, like a different sense of confidence and comfort level on the field, Like you go out there and you can trust him and not not that you couldn't trust him before, and he's always been a great leader, but there's just something a whole like just different, and I get it, like the running game is still missing and you do
need to keep improving on that. And I like to think it's more of the injuries that have happened and maybe that's what's kind of messed up your running game as a whole. But also, uh, it's just I just see everything leading back to Dak and just being more comfortable and using his legs and running and him just having it really being able to connect with his receivers so well, like knowing now where this player is going to land and get there some of those long deep passes down the field.
I mean, he's shown a lot more of that happening this year.
They haven't turned the ball over to and that's really really helps.
I think Deck's channeling his girl, dead energy. I think that's what's really going on.
Shout out to him, congratulations, your life is changing forever, young man.
All right, let's let's take our first break. We come back.
I want to talk a little bit more about that running game and is this running game at least what we saw from Tony poll this game is that what the offense really needs. Is it a little different than what they had last year, but is that sufficient for what they need in order to be effective.
We'll talk about that when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Do we take Missus Clause out of this one? Did she?
Was?
She go back home?
I don't think so.
I thought there was a couple of reads before Missus.
If mister Clause er, my guess is missus as well.
Maybe they realized I can't read this read very well and they'd start taking words out of it.
That's I think what they did right now.
I don't think that's what they did.
Missus Claus was not there on Friday night, just letting you know, okay, let her go home.
Yeah, I don't know. It was part of it that she was part of the original stuff. So I was there though Santa.
Was there, all right?
All right?
Maybe she just got Santa set up and then she's like, I gotta other I got I gotta get out here.
All right.
Let's talk about the running game, Tony Pollout. This game had thirteen carriages for seventy nine yards, a six point one average, really good average, one touchdown, then had another six receptions for twenty four yards. All in all for fantasy players out there, really great fantasy day. But that being said, is this what this offense really needs from the running back position? I mean, these aren't Goudy numbers, but these are numbers that maybe this is what the
offense needs. If you're throwing the ball as well as the Cowboys are throwing the ball, maybe this is what you need from the running back.
So do you guys think I agree with it?
I mean, we mentioned several times on the podcast that I specifically I know that I feel like the Cowboys should continue to use the pass to set up the run until further notice, you know, until a defense presents itself that forces you to flip that, continue to use the pass to set up the run. And doing that, all you need the run to do. The run offense to be is effective enough to make the opposing defense respected.
That's all you need it to be. You also need your running backs.
To be able to be receivers out of the backfield as well.
Tony Polter can do that.
You saw Rico daldod he can do that with the touchdown on the quick screen. You know that you can get some flecks out of Hunter Lipkey if you were to do that as well. So really all you need is from your running backs. Three things. One, be excellent in pass pro because again you're trying to set up the run with the pass. Second, make sure that when they are taking the handoffs that it's respectable games. Doesn't have to be tearing off six seven yards a game, just respectable four and a half.
That should do it.
And then the third thing is be an effective receiver out of the backfield, and that'll keep opposing defenses from adding guys to the box and if you you know, can add them to the box, and that just helps you out from the run game.
So one hand washes the other.
Yeah, I think if it's that type of performance, I'll.
Take that every week.
I mean, it works out perfectly and I'm okay with that type of running game performance especially. Yes, absolutely, but it does concern me. I'm trying to think, okay, one matchup, but I still don't feel like you can't solely rely on or depend on the running game.
That is still an.
A non no. Like you know, we were talking about consistency. I can feel like the Cowboys can consistently show up with Dak Prescott in the passing game. The running game. That's a different story. You don't know, that's a gamble, that's a whole gamble. You don't know if it's gonna work out or not just yet. But the good thing and the promising thing is that it's starting to trend upwards and you're are to see improvement. But yeah, they
still need to get better. Don't get me wrong, and I'll take that all day, but it's just something that I don't think can be relied on.
I don't know if they can kill a game, a close game, if they had to, if they had to get into a four minute offense and kill this game. I don't know if they can do that right now because they play so many blowout games. I do know on third and six they can get fourteen yards if it's blocked well and the runner explodes the way he did on the edge. They're running some toss stuff that they seem to be playing perimeter football, which I think is really really good.
I like that.
I'm with Amber. I'll take the one hundred yards a game for sure, but I'm not sure I can hang my hat on finishing a game if I had to, if it was closed and you got the ball and we got to get three first downs and this thing's over. I don't know if they can do that right now with the way the running game is currently is.
Yeah, I agree with you on that, And I also think the other challenge will be what happens when you get into a game where you can't throw, And what I mean by that is the weather doesn't allow you to throw. We know that game's coming up here in December where they're gonna have to travel to Buffalo. I don't know how many people saw this sweek in out watching that Kansas I think it was the Kansas State, Kansas.
State and Iowa State.
Yeah, and the whole field is white and snow is just like you can't really even see everything completely.
And I was.
Thinking December and Buffalo, that looks like that could be a possibility. And you get into a game like that, you got to run the ball. There is no throwing the ball downfield like the Cowboys are doing right now in those kind of conditions, by and.
Large, So if you get in one of those games, can you run the ball.
Yeah, that's the thing. I think in Buffalo, you worry about the cold, but you worry about the wind.
Yeah.
That's another one that's going to affect a passing game quite a bit there. And you know, I give Josh Allen a lot of credit yesterday that the conditions in Philadelphia were. Yeah, it's pretty awful, and he was throwing the ball around pretty well. But he's used to that. He played at Wyoming, you know, he Buffalo's his home now.
You know, these quarterbacks, they adapt. But yeah, it does affect your ability to move the ball when you have to deal with elements, and mainly to me, throwing the ball as always been wind.
That's the one that kind of gets you.
Yeah, and that's one you definitely can face when you get up to Buffalo.
Cacember, Yeah, no doubt about it.
All right, let's talk about the offensive line. Yesterday, Dak was not sucked sacked at all. He only got he only got hit twice. Yeah, sorry, yeah Thursday, Sorry, I'm away off. And then Paula obviously we talked about the day that he had talk to me, specifically about the interior offensive lineman Tyler Smith, Tyler and Zach Martin. How did they do against those two, those two big defensive tack.
That was a big win because I believe you only got one pressure off the pass rushers that you had, so going into that game, I know on on on one O five three the fan on the pregame show that we do one of the things. I felt like if the Cowboys were going to have success on offense, it was going to be on Martin, Beattish and Smith to be able to hold up against the inside too. I wasn't so concerned about what was going on on
the edges with this Commander's defense. It was inside, but the amount of dropbacks you had and the lack of pressure there, the hits and all that, I think they did a really really nice job of holding up inside. You just worry about those two guys pushing the pocket and affecting it, and Dak had no problem at all, even there were a couple of times where he got to step up and throw balls. So helmet stickers for those three guys. For the way they played against those two commanders tackles.
Yeah, it's one of the best, you know, interior tandems in the entire NFL. And you could put them up against anyone and they'll probably have a phenomenal day. So to see how well Tyler Biadish played and Tyler Smith continues to just play lights out. And we talked about Zach marr and in a couple of cracks in the armor. But the Army looked pretty good on Thanksgiving against some of the best and strongest interior defensive linemen in the
entire league. So like Brynce helmestickers to those guys, because Dak Prescott really had some time in that pocket as far as the interior, which then forced the issue to the edges. Uh, and that you know, the commanders don't have the horses at the edges anyhow, they don't have chance, you know the Montes switch. So winning on that interior basically set the Cowboys up for success.
There was really only one negative play Pollard had got trapped behind the line for a loss. But man, that made beyondish my man Mark. We interviewed Zach Martin to down the radio. I think he left his I think he left his buddy Tyler Biodish out on the island on that one. It was a real wide technique there and Alan was able to get it and Zach's like I'm going around him, and poor Beiondish is like like he's trying, but you know he uh, Alan got.
In the backfield and it was it was yeah, it was that was.
It was really one of the only negative plays that you saw that those guys made against against you.
Well, we had a plenty of discussions wondering how long it would take for this online to start being in sync and on.
The same page.
It was about four games, uh, which is about ride with a lot of what you guys were saying and Nate was saying on his show. But they just seem like they're in sync now they're they're not. Everybody seems to be on the same page and knows what the other one is doing, so it's not the whole And also not getting beat one on one, which happened a whole lot in the last several.
Weeks Philadelphia with the right tackle was kind of a.
They have several games where you could see just one on one battles of guys just getting beat which is not common. It's very uncommon for these guys. They have experience and they're big, tough guys that know what they're doing. But something was off either way. The point is they're in sync now and everybody is holding up their own job and doing their own thing.
They're gonna need these guys to play now now now starts Thursday. The run where you're gonna have to You're gonna have to be really good upfront if they're going to if they're going to compete for the division title, it's going to have to be with those guys the way that they play.
All right, let's take our final break.
When we come back, we're gonna flip over to the defensive side of the ball. Man some some interesting things to talk about there, including a record breaking day Ford Ron Blam will be back Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
Todd thought it would be secure to jog in the cheatah Savannah. Todd believed the big cat repellent he bought online was reliable, and now Todd is trying to be faster than this cheetah that can run eighty miles per hour. But the good news is Todd has at and T five g It is fast, reliable, and secure, and he learned the best thing to do is stop running and toss her the backpack with the beef stew at and t five G fast, reliable, secure, It's not complicated.
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Welcome Back. It is the final segment of the Break.
We are alive from this s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star and now we got to talk about the defense. And I'm kind of remiss that we've gotten to the third segment and having mentioned.
Deron Bland because he deserves his own segment.
There you go.
This man has broken the NFL record for the number of pick six is in.
A season now with five.
In my opinion, he should be I don't care what else apples the rest of the year. He should be Defensive Player of the Year. But that's neither here nor there. Talk to me first about Dron Bland and what he's meant to this team so far, this to this point of the season.
Wow, I mean, that's that sums it up for me thus far. When you look at this is a second year guy who flew out of the gates as a rookie led the team in interceptions with five, but that was at Nickel. Come into this season, he's at Nickel again. You lose Trayvon Diggs. He immediately gets bounced to the outside. Question is can he even remotely fill the shoes of Trayvon Diggs, who's a record setting cornerback in his own right, and here he is five picks six is later. That
question has been answered just magnificently. So he's playing fantastic football. He's your resident ballhawk. You have a lot of ballhawks, but he is the He is him when it comes to the hawk and the ball. But what's even more insane is it's not the interceptions. It's the fact that he keeps finding the end zone. After he gets the
interception that picks six against the Commanders. He looked like a punk returner after he got that interception, the way he set up Sam Howe with the angles and forced him to turn the wrong way and then forced two wide receivers to collide into each other. Allah Mike Vick in Minnesota in the playoffs. I mean, I can't.
I don't have enough.
Adjectives to describe how great the Cowboys need to feel about the Ron Bland. And there's still several games enough to play in this regular season. So might we get six? Might we get seven? It's insane. It's insane what he's doing. So I hope everyone's enjoying this in real time because you're going to look back on this years and years from now and realize that you're probably never see anything like this again.
Yeah, well, I'm sitting on a couch my teeth falling off, and I'll be like, oh, yes to my little grandkids, Yes, I was a press box.
And the interesting thing about the press box, you know, there's no cheering in the box, but when I tell you the press box kind of exploded a little bit like, oh my god, I can't believe he caught it, and then like is he gonna take oh, and then people are just like losing their minds.
It was.
It was actually a really cool moment because you're not supposed to cheer in the press box, but everybody was just amazed by what was happening.
No, no, it was absolutely amazing to just live that moment and live his experience, like enjoyed that through his eyes and like his presence, Like you feel like you're living it with him, even though you had nothing to do with it. But even when we were out there waiting outside the locker room, you could hear how loud the locker room got and them cheering, So that that
is the coolest part of it all. It's just seeing your teammates, how they react to it, how they celebrate you, and such a big win and such a cool thing and he's you know, he's like having to do all these interviews after the game and all kind of nervous, don't know what's say. But now his gloves and what else was sent to the hall shoes, his shoes.
He's clean. So that's really cool.
And one of the things that pick and now his stuff is sitting in the Hall of Fame.
It's insane. It's insane. And I told him you wanted to be remember and.
Now you will be. Yeah.
So it's awesome to see great things happen to great people. And he's he's such a humble, nice guy.
If he doesn't pick that ball off, he had a rough day. Yeah, he really did.
He let's get to yeah, no, seriously, you know, Samuel, Samuel ran him, ran him around a little bit.
It was a battle out there.
You know.
He was targeted eleven times. He gave up eight receptions overall for one hundred and twenty yards. You know, that's that's that those are the things you live with when you play in the National Football League. You you're going to come across some receivers that we've talked about this in the in the the build up to the game, felt like that you know mclauren and really didn't talk
about Sam whole helld a lot. But if you're a Commander's fan, you got to kind of be proud about the way that he played in this game, you know, because yeah, he was you know, and that's the first receiver that the Cowboys had given up that had one hundred yards, so uh, you know, and you have a three hundred yard passer on the dot and one hundred yard receiver on the dot. Yeah, and so it was a it was a rough game for him that way.
Anytime you have a corner that has ten tackles in a game, that usually means they're going after a guy. And they felt like that they can double move him, they felt like and a lot of teams are doing this now because of how aggressive he plays, you know, and how he's able to position himself to get these interceptions. Uh, it's incredible the ball skills he has. But you know, uh, I'm surprised. I thought that more people would attack Gilmore on the other side. It really hasn't come out that way.
It's it's been more about now Gilmour on the other side against Terry McLaurin. He was McLaren caught one ball, six targets, you know, and when when you're dealing with that way, so overall other than Samuel, but they made a point to get Samuel over on Bland in this game, and he's gonna have to be He's gonna have to be ready for that because people feel like that they can move him now with that aggressiveness he placed with.
Well, I'll just ask you this question, Brian, if are you okay with the idea of giving up ten doings, say twelve catches for one hundred and twenty yards or whatever, for one hundred and twenty yards, giving up that not giving up a touchdown those he didn't get beat deep, and still having the ability to get those pick sixes.
Are you okay with that?
Because for that kind of cornerback, the picks is going to take those chances. That means sometimes he's probably gonna get beat a little bit. And that definitely means if he's gonna have to come up and make the tackle and it looks like he was making those tackles, it wasn't like he was getting beat deep, didn't look like he was giving up a lot of big plays. No, he would just have to rally and tackle. Would you be willing to give that up?
The pick sixes are worth four sacks if you want to play metrics games with that. If you look at with the percentage of a what it picks six means to as opposed to what a sack means, that's like getting four wow sacks.
That's crazy.
So no, I you know, I'm just pointing out that. You know, this kid's an incredible player. Don't get me wrong. I'm just saying though he had a rough day, you know, when it comes to I'll take the pick sixes all day. I'll take the way he come. Now, eight receptions for one hundred and twenty yards. If one of those is a touchdown or two of those is a touchdown, maybe we're talking a different game. But you know, I just you have to be able to he is. Teams are not.
Even though he's had so much success. This team did not shy away from him, and I wonder if other teams are seeing the same thing. That's the only thing I'm pointing out here. I'm not trying to discount the player at all, because he's a hell of a football player. He's I was more worried about losing a really great slot player than I was. To me him playing for Diggs was never going to be a question who was going to be in the slot. That was my question
right there. So he's got to be ready that these teams are going to they're going to work on him, you know, and and and he's he'll make them pay, but he but he needs to be ready for that.
When you look at a Curtis Samuel, I think of him as a very skilled guy that knows how to get open, can work in the slot. Some what are the kind of guys do the Cowboys face that that maybe teams say because you said they made a concerted effort to make sure they put got him on the land.
I think of a guy like Devonte Smith. But what would be another guy that maybe the Cowboys have to play that you look at and you're like, that's the kind of player you'd have to be aware of if they're going to do those kinds of things.
Maybe he'll yeah, you know, he'll or waddle. All those guys that can really really run, Yeah, you know, it's because what happens is their speed. Their speed will make you nervous, you know, their ability if you if all of a sudden, they fake like they're breaking in on an indcut and you have to chase that down and Land can chase. But you know, we're talking about about some guys with some elite speed.
So if you know, the whole.
Thing about selling routes is you know, Samuel did a really good job of selling his routes and and you know, and and it it forced forced Bland to have to kind of got putting some bad situations there.
But you're gonna play some teams.
I mean, what about a buffalo with with Diggs, you know, and that crew, and then and then there's the Gabe Davis. Is it gave Davis is a you know, there's guys that can make plays there. They're they're going to face some wide receivers down the stretch here that I think that they're they're all going to have to be on their A games.
All right, real quick before we end the show, Patrick, what do we know right now about Shack Leonard?
Uh He's scheduled to be in the facility here this week, early this week obviously, if not tomorrow, which is correctly tomorrow's Tuesday, Okay, I feel the uh per multiple reports it will be tomorrow but I'm hearing it'll be no later than Wednesday. Obviously, the Cowboys have a game on Thursday, so it won't be then. But Cowboys have a lot
of interest in him. Initially, they were doing due diligence on the medical aspect of it, trying to do some digging seeing what they could come up with their Obviously they're at the point where they are satisfied with that portion of it, so they invited him to come on down. And obviously the interest is mutual because yesterday he was
at the coach game. So he's catching a flight for Indianapolis to come sit down and talk with Jerry, Stephen McLay in the front office, McCarthy, probably some former teammates Stefan Gilmore, Brandon Cook. So those relationships exist here as well. And the Cowboys they as long as those talks bear fruit.
I mean, they really do want him, and they are also up against the reality that there are other teams that want him as well, one particularly being in your division who just went ten to one, who might have lost that.
Cunningham the second line back correct due to injury, so.
He's scheduled to be here.
Cowboys want him to stick around so fingers crossed because Brian, myself, Derek and Ambar, we all want shaqu Lynn hay Shack.
If you're listening, yeah, when you get here, stay here.
Yeah, that's how you come on through it.
Yeah.
I think the one thing you always have to appreciate about the way that Jerry Steven will.
Like those guys. They recruit very very well. Yep.
And usually when they get somebody in the building out in PACIFICA, the agents usually kind of work things out.
So hopefully that'll be the case. You mentioned Philadelphia.
I know it was that Josiah Anderson said that Philly wasn't interested. I had people in Philly tell me they were interested, So you know, hey, everybody's getting information nowadays. But yeah, the injuries to the Eagles is something that is now have a little bit of a concern to them. At the linebacker spot. You clearly saw that late in the game that Buffalo was able to run the ball inside and they just weren't good enough to defend the run.
I don't think they want to get into the playoffs with a leaky defense when it comes to running the ball. They have those two big inside tackles and they got Fletcher Cox. It's even nicked up right now too, so they might be a little bit of a bad spot there with the injuries.
When you start thinking about it, really there, their secondary is probably the weakest part of that defense. Now if you add linebacker to that, now you got some real problems on that defense.
So I agree with you. I think they would probably be in the mix.
But what I do love is you put Jerry in a situation where he's got your sell. Hey man, I'll put him up against almost anybody when he's got to sell.
They have.
They have the fire power to get this deal done. They have the the personal connections gil Moore and cooks uh than Gus Bradley. And when you know you have that, you have the beauty of the facility as far as wooing the player. You have the offense that's come alive. You have City which I think the City City as well met magnificent. It's not a hard sale. And on top of that, you also have the cap space to get this done.
Are killing Dallas?
No, she said, it's not a hard I got.
I got you're trying to say, Dallas.
When you look at team and yeah, there's some they're in the hut crap about the covers and all, but the reality is that, I mean, you just walking this place and it's amazing just.
Walking around the locker room and meet with the players and the coaches, and it's like you said, it's not a hard sale, and the Cowboys have the cap space to get it done because it's not like they're trying to sign the guy to it, you know, a four year, you know, market setting deal. I mean, you're trying to get him for the rest of the season. So you got the money, you got the power, you got the the influence, Just get her done.
I think I think this is one of those moves that I think could really pay dividends for the Cowboys. I think they can really use this player. And I think as time goes on, they will see how much they could use this player.
Elace that overshown yet.
Have they No, they haven't. And that's honestly the guys.
Yeah, the guys that they have here have been doing it job. This guy was not a linebacker, but all was not a linebacker when the season started, and he has done an admirable job. But as you get closer to the playoffs, and we talked about you get into that weather where you have to run the ball. Guess what there maybe if you're in that kind of weather, that means the other team has to run the ball too.
And we haven't faced that kind of just pounding, relentless, rushing attack to see whether Bell can really hold up.
Something happens, Scott forbid, you.
Still need if nothing else, you need, you.
Have nobody else really to take care of that.
And also also, if nothing else, you keep him out of Philadelphia by keeping him here.
No doubt about it, that may be the most important here.
It is.
All right, We appreciate you, guys, Jones. So we're back tomorrow.
We're gonna start breaking down Cowboys versus Seahawks.
That happens. It's Thursday.
Till then for Patrick Walker, Brian brought Us and Amber Garcia. I am Derek Eagleton. 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.