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Cowboys, Let's go.
Are you ready for a break?
Yes?
Are you ready for a break?
Absolutely?
Ready for a break?
Yeah, and so much for that.
It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with Nick Eatman, Brian brought Us and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton.
It is Wednesday, September sixth, twenty twenty three, Season nineteen, episode number twenty five. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break with live from the SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Start, presented by Blockchain dot Com. Let's go ahead and give it in their their attribution here early in the show, and we'll get this thing. Roland, thank you guys for joining us. We got a lot, we got to get into one.
We are in week one.
We are definitely in week one, and it's the fun time of the year because now.
We of the Dallas Cowboys.
And mid season four, Miller Light is not our sponsor.
But when did that change?
Have you not been paying attention?
Do we not say that every show?
No?
Are you serious?
Not since the end of last last season? No?
Oh my god.
Well, somebody's not welcome to the break.
Yeah, it's just one of those things that is just my ear turning into autumnile.
He can't here like, it's just it's getting bad. Age is catching up to you mid season four. Age just catching up to you.
All right, Sorry, here's we're gonna do today.
We got to talk about some injury updates. Patricks can give us an update on Tyler Smith. Let just so everyone knows, at this current moment, Mike McCarthy is also talking to the media, So we've got our trustee, our trusted reporters, Nick Eatman, Nick Harris that are also in that press conference. They'll be giving us some updates as well. So Patrick may at some point revised whatever he says at this point with regards to the injury status of
a few players. Let's talk first about Tyler Smith. What do we know based on what we'd known yesterday about his MRI.
Well, it looks as if based on yesterday, it's being described as a hamstring strain. But like brought Us said before we came online, that's no different from what the Cowboys their diagnosis was on Monday when he exited practice, So that kind of falls in line with what Jerry was saying on Tuesday when he spoke one to five point three of him the fan and saying that as of yesterday he didn't have any concern about Tyler Smith's
availability for Sunday night. We'll see if that changes here in real time when McCarthy starts speaking, and if so, then we'll update you guys before the show was over. Sam Williams obviously no change there as well as we know it prior to McCarthy speaking and prior to practice getting underway within the next hour, so he's.
Dealing with the turf toe.
There's optimism there, but not nearly as much as you'd see probably from Tyler Smith and then from there. Donovan Wilson, no change in what we know from yesterday. But today is going to be one of the bigger days for him. This is where the Cowboys really kick things up in practice. So let's see if he's still on the cords as he was on Monday, or if he takes part in even individual drills, which would be a step forward for him.
Yeah, I guess that we will find out today on all three of those guys, because they will be back out of practice. We'll start seeing a little bit more of how they're moving and probably get more of an update on how they're progressing throughout the week heading into this first game, Let's start turning the page to the Giants, and we're going to talk about the Giants here in the second segment, Brian's going to give us a scouting notebook.
We're going to talk today specifically about the Cowboys offense versus the Giants defense.
But before we do that, I'd like to at least lay out four.
Fans what we think are the biggest storylines for the Cowboys heading into this week one game against the Giants on Sunday Night Football. I'd like to go around the table in each of you, I'd like you to give me what you think is the biggest storyline for the Cowboys heading into this game.
Let's start with you Patrick.
Can Dak Prescott continue his winning against the Giants?
I think too. I think yeah. He's up to ten games now.
He has not lost a game against the Giants since twenty sixteen, his rookie season, And if you talk to Dak Prescott after those after he defeated the Giants last year, he kind of alluded to using the two losses against the Giants in an otherwise stellar rookie season as motivation to continue to beat up on them as much as possible. So he's got the twos to do it. To say the least, yesterday we talked about Deuce Vom Brandon Cooks.
You have versatility in Hunter Limpke, and you know the tight end room and how tight ends usually dominate at MetLife Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. So for me, the question mark is as we try to find out if this Cowboys offense can met serve and doing so, can Dak Prescott extend a ten game win streak to an eleven game win streak, which would give them a very nice leg up going into or going into Week one or Week two, I should say, because they will have not only going to want to know, but at the
expense of a division rival. So I want to see if he can stretch ten to eleven.
The big question for me going in will be, and I feel like, is has the offensive turnover at coaching on the coaching staff. Is that going to make a difference. Are we going to initially see this offense, is it going to come out blazing or is it going to come out struggling, and I don't think it has anything to do with what's going on in the preseason with playing the players or not playing the players. I think Mike McCarthy again him getting back on the horse, is
the primary play caller. But there's a lot of turnover. There was turnover at running back, there was turnover at quarterback. Coach, there was turnover on the offensive line. You know, here we are, we're in the situation now we're in the regular season. I know they had three preseason games to try and iron some things out, but things come fast and furious during the games. Is the coordination there with
the offense. Is the play caller, the OC everybody on the same page in order to put these offensive players in the best position to succeed. I feel like the defense will be ready to go. The uestions I have will be the offensive staff. Can they come out of the gate with it blazing?
I mean, I think we're all on the same stuff.
I'm trying, don't try.
I think we're all on the same page as far as that. Because we haven't seen this team come together and play a game just yet. The question for me is is can this team be better than last year. And everything we've seen at training can, for me, in
my opinion, indicates that it very well can. But we know how elusive or how training cap magic happens, and you're not necessarily always seeing what you think you're seeing, and then the season starts and then you start seeing, Okay, these are the holes, these are their weaknesses and all that. So I think, like Brian just presented, just everything coming along, I'm not necessarily scared or concern about the Giants and
we'll break them down and famous last words. But but historically speaking, given the past years, the Giants haven't necessarily been a huge threat for the Cowboys, So on that aspect, that doesn't concern me so much. It concerns me can
they all come together as we think they can? So super excited and Mike McCarthy, he's being very very protective of this week and just covering everything and nobody's gonna see anything and this is top secret because no one has seen anything happen yet, so hopefully he puts on a show this weekend.
Yeah, it's interesting, Brian.
You mentioned all the turnover and all the change, and it does make me wonder if we get into this game and the offense starts slow. I know you said you wouldn't blame too much on what happened in the preseason, but is it fair to say, because there's been so much change and turnover, change the personnel, play call or all those things, if it is a slow start for the offense, maybe the fact that they didn't play the preseason could be a reason why.
You know, I from my former background of being in player personnel, I disdained the games, the preseason games. At times, there were five games. If you played in the Hall of Fame game, you talk about holding your breath sitting there watching games like please get up, Please get up. You know, and we saw what happened to overshown, and you know, and there's a primary piece of a you know, a player that even though he was a rookie, I had a plan for him, and I don't right now
have a suitable backup for him. I don't think I do. But it's so hard for me. I understand. The reason why I'm taking the approach of I've not I don't really care about preseason football for your starters is the fact that I felt like there's not a better defense than they could have gone against. I'm talking about the offense. You know, there was a reason why maybe Mike McCarthey doesn't like to work against the Rams or the Chargers
or Seattle, you know. I mean, he played the preseason games, he kind of figured out some things about some of his backup guys. I don't think we all knew that TJ. Bass could play as well as he did, but three preseason games he earned his letter jacket. He played a ton of snaps, you know, with the way, and you learned about Awesome Richards along the way, you learned about Juan Yea Thomas along the way. I'm good with that. That helps me going forward when I'm building my fifty three.
But the fact that I got to work against I couldn't block MICHAEH. Parsons, you know, but I knew that was going to be a problem. But the times I did block Michael Parsons, Hey, look, it's a positive play. I just kind of feel like those Tuesday Wednesday padded practices probably got them more work than eight to ten plays against Seattle or Jacksonville or the Raiders. That's kind of how I would rather take that scripted type of practice is and get that work.
I wasn't keeping up with anybody else's preseason, but just out of curiosity, do you guys know.
Andy Reid, Andy Reid, well not withheld Andy will play as guys.
Yeah, But like I'm just curious as to like how many other teams did the same as the Cowboys of just keeping their starters out.
There's there's a few, like the Rams are a team. I mean, there's coaches, some of these young coaches. I know with Andy. Andy's the flip. Andy, You'll say, well, Andy, they won the Super Bowl. They play, But a lot of it has to do with the health of your team. You know, Zach Martin was not in camp for the
majority of it, you know, until we got back to Dallas. Basically, you know, if you're asking me to put Dak Prescott out there with the unknown offensive line just so we could get five, six, seven snaps, I don't find that very sensible, not at all.
Not.
All I need is all I need is awesome Richards to bust on a play and then Dak get hit that part they do. You know, in a this they're not going to hit Dak, but in a game, they're going to light him up. If they get the chance. We saw what happened to Tony Romo in a game in Seattle. You know, Dak's I almost said freshman year, first year in the league. You know, I mean that those are the things that happen when you play guys.
Yeah, I'm right there with you, and I've been an advocate for sitting these guys, these starters for the entirety of the preseason for that reason, and then eloquently put by broadest when you talk about who they were going up against, who this offense was going up against daily in training camp, for me, the only scrimmage that you could have held that would have been an equivalent of what they were going up against in practice anyway, would have been either against the forty nine ers who would
have had to have Nick Bosa and they didn't because he's holding out, or the Philadelphia Eagles defense.
With the starters playing.
If it's not one of those two, I had no interest in scrimmaging against those those kinds of defenses because if you look at what we saw every single day and Oxner, the level of competition for this offense in Trevon digg Stell, find Gilmore and Michael Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, the list goes on, and all I'm Alik Hooker, j Ron Curse. What benefit would you have gained from playing them in a preseason game?
The offense?
I mean, because the only thing that you're doing is risking them unnecessarily against defenses that aren't as good as the defense you're gonna go practice against anyway. So I saw all of that to say, I was all out, and I'm glad that Mike McCarthy and the staff chose to sit Dak Prescott for all of those reasons and the additional reason though Zach Martin wasn't there and Tyler Smith and Tyron Smith. Smith is still working for chemistry. But then if you played Dak, you gotta play Tyron.
But then if you play Tyron, then you're risking Tyron Smith, who has had injury issues in the past every single year for nearly the past you know, most of the past decade, is.
Just not worth it.
So for those that are wondering, well, what if they come in and have rushed, my question being contextually thinking, what would make you believe that they would have rust against a New York Giants defense that's not nearly as good as the Cowboys defense they win against every single day.
Well, I'll tell you this, I personally think both things can be true. I think there is a real possibility they get into this game and it doesn't flow as smoothly offensively to start the game and maybe even throughout the game.
I think that's the nature.
Of you've got a new play caller, You've got a lot of new parts. I think that is very, very realistic. I also agree that you don't necessarily need to play your starters in the preseason because, by the way, you're not gonna be doing all the things you're gonna be doing in Week one in the preseason, So it's not like you're really gaining an advantage because you're gonna just run out there and do some vanilla stuff and get
your starters off the field. That's not really getting them ready to be able to operate an efficiency.
So I think both things can be true.
I do expect that the.
Offense will probably get better as the season goes along because mich McCarthy will start figuring out a little.
Bit more like what am I doing?
Right?
I mean, what am I doing?
My personnel They're going to start figuring out morell We know what Mike likes to do in these situations, so it makes sense Dak's gonna have a little more autonomy this year.
According to reports. If that's true again, as season goes.
On, he will get better and he will get more depth, and the rest of the offense will know, like Dak likes to do these things in these situations. So it's going to get better as the season goes along. There's a real possibility it won't look great at the first In the first game, because that's just the MAGA football.
Two years ago against Tampa looked great even though they couldn't run the ball. Dak lit them up. You know, Tampa was not I mean that was But then last year again the rematch in Dallas, Dak and the offense did not look great. So you're you're kind of caught in between. I only I do agree with you about there's advantages and disadvantages of this. But to me, the fact that I have a healthy offense going in well with the exception of what's happened with Tyler Smith, but
overall I'm pretty healthy going into this game. Uh And you know, and so we'll see how that.
Plays honestly, I think more so than them playing or not during the p seasons, something that I think will be very beneficial and that was a really cool opportunity was just having Dak calling plays in that last game against the Raiders, right, and just them working together because most of the time it was Mike McCarthy alongside with
Dak next to him, and that rarely ever happens. So I think them working alongside, going through plays, okay, letting Dak, seeing what Dak would call in certain situations, and just kind of getting the feel of more of that what he's thinking, what the quarterback is thinking versus Mike McCarthy, and then hopefully examining after, you know, getting back in
the building and just going through things together. And I think that just it's a whole different perspective that I think was and can be very beneficial for their relationship and what they can be doing in the offenses.
Yeah, well, Greer probably wishes he called plays all three games, just the last one, you know, because Will Greer, you know, now practice squad with the Bengals spend Will Greer looked the best he's looked all camp in that final game against the Raiders.
All right, we're gonna take our first break. We will come back and we'll get into the Scouts notebook. Brian's gonna break down the Dallas offense versus the Giants defense. Will do we We'll do that when we come back. Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio.
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He's dealing with a lot of things in that room. I think I.
Threw him off because I threw blockchain in at the beginning. So he's like they're giving He's also.
Working with the lighting, yeah, and the press stuff all right.
Speaking of the pressler, we did get a quick update on some of the injury issues.
Patrick, what are we hearing?
We did so?
Donovan Willson neither Donovan will Send, nor Tyler Smith nor Sam Williams will participate in practice today. All three of them will be off to the side with the rehab group with Britt Brown. Mike McCarthy did say that the hope is to ramp all three of them up to get in some practices at some point this week.
So that's where we are on all three of those players.
So basically, we don't know much more than we knew before. We'll just keep an eye out and see how they progress throughout the week heading into the game. Brian, let's get to the scouts notebook. Let's talk Cowboys offense versus Giants defense.
Yeah, this one would be an interesting matchup just for the fact that the skill players that the that the the Giants have be a little bit different than what we've seen in the past, going with rookie cornerbacks at a couple of different spots for them. They if you want to everybody knows about the Giants is that you're going to have to deal with their front. But I'll come back to that. I want to focus a little bit on Deontay Banks and then Trey Hawkins. Those are
two rookie corners. Banks was selected in the first round out of Maryland and Hawkins was selected in the sixth round out of Old Dominion. Now Dori Jackson will be the starter opposite Banks. But when they go to Nickels, So when the Cowboys get an eleven personnel, that means and you're going to see that probably a lot. Yeah, Dori Jackson will kick inside. Banks will play one corner and Hawkins the other. Okay, let me tell you a little bit about what we got with these two rookie corners.
Is with Banks, this guy has got ideal size. He's got the physical side to his game. And I know why the Giants did what they did with Wink Martindale the defensive coordinator. He is big about this and when it comes to his ability to pressure, he turns into man to man coverage situations is what he does. So Banks is a press man corner and then also to Hawkins is a press man corner. So both these guys are kind of sturdy, long guys and you know, not afraid to kind of mix it up at the line
of scrimmage. So he's going to play man on the outside and he's gonna that way he could bring his pressure packages in this football game and they run, Yeah, they can't. They can't. Both of these guys can run a little bit. So we'll see if Dallas can, if Dallas can find ways. Now, the thing with Hawkins is that when you watch him play, he has troubles when routes break inside on him. So keep an eye on how they attack him. Both these corners, believe it or not,
have problems when you go back shoulder on him. They don't cover it. They kind of get with you. But both guys have struggled with I was talking with a scout that watched their practice against the Detroit Lions, and the Lions kind of ate them up on some back shoulder stuff. So keep an eye on on that. So but with Hawkins, again, young guy got some length, banks, he's got something. Both these guys will tackle. Both these guys want to be physical in the way that they play.
So and then adri Jackson is a guy that in the slot, he's comfortable playing that role where he can kind of carry guys all up and down the field, all inside and stuff. So again, young group on the outside, and they're gonna probably have their moments where they're going to struggle a little bit but both are gonna probably play pressman. Dallas is gonna have to win on the line of scrimmage. Okay, up front, now you're dealing with with with with Dexter Lawrence. I think Dexter Lawrence is
the biggest problem here. Three hundred and forty pound type of a player. You know, he had seven and a half sacks last year. Okay, twenty eight quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss. He on the on the two games against Dallas, he had the five tackles in one quarter. Dallas did a pretty good job of handling him. Another guy you kind of need to keep an eye on, though. I know everybody talks about Cavon Thibodeau, and his first start against the Cowboys was in Week three, did nothing.
In Week twelve he had five quarterback hits. So his game got better as the season war along for him. Aziz Ojelari, they him around, Yeah, they move around, they move him around. Yeah. Aziz Ojelari is the one guy that I think that you need to also keep a close eye on. This guy had five and a half sacks and seven games. Okay, So every time you're thinking about dealing with Thibodeau, you got Ojelari. Now again you're
gonna have to deal with that. But the power that they play with inside with Lawrence and then the outside pressure they get from Ojelari and Thibodeaux will be a little bit of a factor there. And the young corners. How can you take advantage of the young corners on the outside, two rookie guys veteran inside on the nickel though again struggle with some inside breaking routes, Gonna play man coverage. Maybe some back shoulder throws might be in the in the carts for the Cowboys this week.
What I love about that is that exactly hits on my biggest matchup as far as once I was looking at dissecting the excuse me, the Giants defense and looking for weaknesses, and their defensive front is one of the stronger ones as are as it goes in the NFC East right now, Commanders, Eagles, Giants, that's what the Cowboys
are up against. But if the Cowboys can protect up front and really execute as far as getting the ball out quickly, which we believe they will do via the Texas Coast offense, then these young corners, I mean, you gotta test them, and you gotta test them often. I love the fact that Brian said that, you know they struggle a bit when it comes to back shoulder. Well, guess what we saw him An Oxnard that Dak Prescott has become kind of lethal with that back shoulder right
ceedee Lamb Brandon Cooks. So I think that's something to exploit there. But I harken back to, you know, seeing what Aaron Rodgers was able to do against a young guy, and Kelvin Joseph, seeing what Trevor Lung Lawrence and Peterson were able to do against a young guy and Kevin Joseph. This is what the Cowboys need to do. Look at both of those young corners and say, we know that you have some ability. But number one, here's the psychological game.
Because when they line up, they're lining up coming from not I mean not Power five schools, Maryland, Old Dominion, No knock to those schools, but it's a different level. Okay, you saw Jaylen Torbert struggle with that. They're going to be primetime week one against the Dallas Cowboys lining up against Cook's lamb gallop. Sometimes, is it going to be? Is the moment too big for these young guys? Maybe maybe not find out test them early, try to rattle them,
get in their nerves, get in their head. And I think that's something that Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer are very capable of doing, and they have the talent on
the offensive side of the ball to do it. So for me, as long as you can get the ball out quickly, which will help neutralize guys like Dexter Lawrence, my former dog Azizo, delay some of these other guys Leonard Williams, then you can really take advantage of those young guys because yes, so Dory Jackson is going to be on the field, but primarily when they're in the nickel set. Put these young guys to the grinder. Seriously, talk to me about their ability.
I'm talking specifically about the Cowboys wide receivers, that group you just mentioned about their ability to get off press because that obviously is something that giants are gonna want
to do and they got long guys. And typically when you got long guys, especially when youre trying to get the ball out quick, they have ability to be able to if they got good ability, they can get you off the line scrammants, draw off your timing, and then because they're long, if it's a slant route, they can get that hand in there like they have the ability to be able.
To cover those kinds of routes.
What do we see from these from the cowboys receivers with the guards getting off the press, Well, what.
We've noticed been the practices an ox Nard is that what's the one thing that the McCarthy and Schottenhammer trying to create for DAK separation separation because they understand that some of the things that he's had to deal with with the turnovers have dealt with some contested throws or not finishings routes and things like that. So to me, when you start to talk about the route combinations that I would run against, I would I would drag these
kids through traffic, is what I would do. And we saw that a little bit in an ox Stark with the crossing routes, the underneath stuff, the seed lamb. You know, with the old the old administration, it was more run routes and then kind of get to a spot here you got the cowboys with when you talk about cooks and lamb and got these guys play better on the move. Gallup is a little bit more of a vertical player.
But if you could run, if you run receivers through trash, and especially if they're going to play man coverage, you know the way that Wink Martindale wants to attack you with the blitz, then you have to be Then then you have to put them to task that if you run them through and all of a sudden you've got uh, say, you got Ferguson and now you've got picks, you're creating these opportunities. They're going to try and create a lot
of separation. I think that's where the Cowboys could definitely do some good in this football game because these young kids, Yeah, they play well in man, but like I mentioned with Hawkins, he tends to have a little bit of a problem when you run him inside, like in that trail and like the eyes turn into oh I'm running through the forest here right now, and then you lose track. But that gives Dak a little bit easier for a throw. I think that's the whole thing with the Cowboy offense
this year. How can you give Dak those easier throws and these receivers have the ability to play on the move.
Separation that's the word that's the word. That's something that the Cowboys receiver struggled with last year. That's something that the Cowboy maybe a little bit to do with scheme that as well. So you got McCarthy's calling in the plays now in coordination with Schottenheimer and Dak Prescott. Dek Prescott's going to have a lot of feedback in that as well. And you have the you have the skill set, you have Cooks, you have Tobert ready to take the
lead gallop looking for a bounce back. CD has now ascended to the role of WR one. So separation is now a thing in Dallas, and that's exciting.
I think it goes along, sorry with like confidence looking back at where they were.
Confidence.
Okay, listen, my eyes are sensitive. It's very bright in here.
I'm not trying to act cool. So just okay, I thought were.
No no, no, no, no, no, Maria.
Go ahead. I'm sorry, I.
Don't know what the heck I was saying. Confidence.
Confidence, there we go, Okay, let's go back.
Confidence. I think this team, looking at where we're at right now and looking at where they were at the same time of the around last year, it looks very different. You look at what happened at training can be They talk about the receivers. These receivers have speed. Everyone seems to be on the same page they are. They just have better chemistry with Dak And it's just as opposed to last year we were wondering, Okay, who's gonna be
the guy? There were a lot of questions in the wide receiver groups still even wondering, can't see the lamb really be the number one guy for the Cowboys? And this year I think you more set, you know what you got, and there's a lot more confidence in the aspect of Okay, everyone knows who can do what. Everyone is on the same page. They've been practicing, they've been
connecting a lot. And at the same time, this if it goes well, which I have a feeling that it will, and you talk about these young corners, it should be a really really good matchup for the Cowboys and them being successful in this game, in the passing game like that should give them a really good boost of confidence to start the year. Ride and then trying to face Aaron Rodgers week two here at at and T Stadium.
Protection about this game, because if you're going to run, if you're going to try and separate on routes and crossing routes and stuff like that. Man, it has to be you cannot let dexter Lawrence and Ojulari and Thibodeaux just wreck shop up front.
Would this be more of a running game or passing game or just.
A think it's going to be if you if like Patrick was talking about, I think if you could protect, I think you can make some place. To me, I'm not I don't know if I really want to challenge inside with Lawrence and then now even though with Martin and then also steal on that right side and throw in a better blocking Ferguson and then what we get from Schoonmaker as a blocker. I think, you know, there
there's some there's some opportunities. But again, I think it's going to be more when it's at I think it's going to be more when you're talking about going at Thibadeau, because he wants to get up the field so much so if you could find a way to widen him and then attack that that gap that he's that he's on the outside, and I think that's your best bet.
I'm not Lawrence and and those guys inside, and you know, I just think it's a it's a difficult ass to sit there and have to move those guys all day.
I think you have, like Brian said, I think you have opportunities to run, especially with you know, a guy like Zach Martin on the field, and if Tyler Smith does take the field, then you have that power inside as well. Tellabiadis looks like he's taking in another step over his Pro Bowl season last year, so you'll have opportunities to run.
I think you need to attack.
This Giants team in space and on the outside, and that's how you're going to.
Neutralize those pass rushers.
That's also going to set you up for plays down the field because now those safeties they're going to start cheating forward. They're going to have their eyes forward because they're getting attacked at the second level more so than anything. That's when you tell Michael Gallup or Brandon Cooks or Cee Lamb go and then it gets past them. It's over the top and that's a big play. So now they have to start playing back a little bit. So guess what, there's the yo yo. It opens up the
underneath the game. So I think all of it plays into the next thing. But for me, the primary goal would be to attack outside in space at the first and second level and then let everything else open up.
Because of that.
Yeah, if you go back and watch the Thanksgiving Day game, they were able to hit some plays on the edge. Pollard's quickness was a problem for the Giants when he hit the hole and he was able to second level that thing. That's where they were able to make some good.
All right, let's seacon, our final break will come back. I got some questions for these guys about this matchup. One of the questions I'm gonna have for you, guys, I'm gonna give you four names. I'm gonna have you rank them in order of how important they are to the Cowboys offensive success this particular week. Tony Pollard, CD Lamb, Jake Ferguson, and Brandon Cooks. We'll talk about that when we come back Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Back to the break, Do you eat sleep Man? I was getting kind of thrown off there, Beam help me out a little bit. Do you eat sleep? Breed Dallas Cowboys Football? Tell us how you spice up the game for a chance to be named the twenty twenty three Cowboys Fan of the Year, presented by Captain Morgan and win exclusive prizes plus a trip to Super Bowl fifty eight. Nominate yourself for another today at Dallascowboys dot Com Slash Fan of the Year Welcome back.
Final segment of The Break.
We're a lot from SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. As I as I said before or the Break, the question I have for you guys right now is I want you to rank these four players in order their offensive skilled players, and I want you to break them in order of how important they are to the Cowboys offensive success, particularly the particularly this week against this team and the matchups that we just finished talking about. We're talking about Tony Pollard, Ceedee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, Brandon Cooks.
Let's put them in order. Brian, you're up first.
One more time because I was answering a text message. I'm sorry, I'm doing like eight things.
I know, I get it.
Tony Pollard, Ceedee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, Brandon Cooks.
As far as okay, Ceedee Lamb Cooks. The other two.
Again, Ferguson and Pollard Pollard, Ferguson, so what was Jordan again, Lamb.
Lamb Cooks Pollard, Ferguson explain, I feel like you're gonna have to find it. We just went through this whole thing with the giants on the you know, with what's going on at their corner situation with the two rookies. I think you have to take advantage of that. Then when if you could take advantage of that, then you're gonna be able to need to run the ball a little bit. You can't just totally go into a passing game.
They're going to talk about balance. I think Pollard in that point, his ability to pop some runs, you know, get you some positive yards, kind of stay ahead of the change, I think is always a good thing for the play caller to deal with. And then Ferguson, I think is kind of the wildcat player in this thing in a way, or the wild card excuse me, the kind of player where Okay, boots waggles ball to the outside,
maybe him on the drags and stuff like that. Maybe that's two or three first downs in a game with him. So if he has five catches three first downs, I think that's kind of but you got to win on the outside, run the ball a little bit and then two or three first downs from my tight end.
I think for me, I would go Cooks, CD, Ferguson, and then Pollard. I think. I mean, I love everything that CD has shown so far, but I cannot go with cook as Cooks as number one right now because
I've loved every single thing I've seen from him. And when you talk about these young corners and the speed and the ability that Cooks has, not that Cit doesn't, because he does, but it's just something fresh, and I think he's been having great chemistry with Dak and it's gonna be this game to me right now, the way I see it, it'll be relying more on the passing game. Ferguson I mentioned before yesterday how for some reason, every game against the Giants, Titans tend to do very well.
So I can see a game where he has a good game too in the passing game, and then Parler. I still the running game. I still have questions. I'm not one hundred percent sure there is a lot of talent there, but also what's happening with the O line right now? Questions there are they gonna be able. I don't want to sound like I'm liking confidence to start the season with the O line because you still have
veteran guys. They are very well experienced, but there's still some question marks for me as far as the running game.
For me, I'm going to go Lamb, Cooks, Pollard Ferguson.
And my reasoning is, and I love and we all love everything Brandon Cooks is put in front of us in training camp. You can't help but love it. And I feel that he's going to want to hit the ground running. Cowboys gonna want him to hit the ground running. They're going to try to take advantage of these young corners that we talked about. So between Cooks and Lamb,
you're going to see a lot of targets. I just think Lamb is walking with a different level of swagger than we've seen him in his young NFL career.
I mean, he just he.
Looks every bit the part talk about confidence, His confidence right now is absolutely bulletproof. It is the exact opposite nearly of what we saw going into the beginning of last year when he was trying to figure out and navigate being the top wide receiver and there was maybe some self doubt that crept In can I do this. But now he's walking in like I'm the man. I am absolutely him. So I think that he wants to prove that and he's going to play off of any
success that Brandon Cooks has as well. So I think Lamb is going to be the top pro or the biggest impact player for the offense then Cooks, which is right, there's like a one A one B equation. I struggle between Ferguson and Pollard only because to Ambarn's point, tight ends typically wreck the New York Giants if you're in the Cowboys uniform. So I think that Ferguson, which also goes to Brian's point, he will have some key third
down conversions. He'll have some key plays in the middle of the field that's going to help Lamb and Cooks keep things uperating on the outside.
But I think once you established.
Lamb and Cooks, you're gonna hit Tony Pollard like Tony Pollitt is going to give you that pop, gonna give you that big play here or there. And that also goes to the running back group as a whole. Douce vall Ricododo. So I think that as far as impact goes, Ferguson he could walk away with it. You know, a day where it was fifty yards receiving, but if you look at, yeah, the catches, it was you know, four catches fifty yards with three of those were third down conversions.
But then in all in all, when you go back and look at how the game flow went, I think Pollard will have had a bigger impact than Ferguson.
So that's that's my line.
One of the better, real quick, one of the better two point plays they practiced with it Camp involve Ferguson when they drove cooks inside and like picked and then Ferguson just released so stuff down on the goal line when you start and you know we're you're going to have to replace that ability to hammer the ball. Then they're like when you had with when you had with
Ezekiel Elliott. So maybe it comes to be a little bit more deceptive, and maybe that's where Ferguson also one of those five catches is something a little creative in that time.
One thing I will say, I kind of agree with the Amber on the order of cooks and Lamb taking cooks first. The reason why I say that is because I do think that teams will go into this year thinking, Okay, the one player I think that they'll look at, or if you want to even pay two players. Pollard and Lamb are the two players that opposing defenses, at least at the early part of this season, are going to say, if you're playing the Cowboys offense, those players you need
to be concerned with. I think it is incumbent on Cooks and McCarthy early in the season to force teams to recognize that Cooks can beat you deep and he can do it regularly if you let him. He can also beat you on crossing routes that he could turn into a forty yard touchdown.
Right.
I think that's where it changes the whole dynamic and makes this offense really go. So I put Cooks maybe as the most important offensive player at least in the week one for me, because I think it changes how defense is going forward. Will have to respect the Cowboys offense. I think what we saw last year in that final game against San Francisco, they basically said, we're gonna take Lamb away who you got, and I think they have to for that's why the Cowboys went out and got Cooks.
They got a foce Opponents to realize Cooks is a problem, and so you can choose which one you want. But if you're going to devote a lot of extra attention to Lamb, we got a guy that's gonna kill you another side.
You know.
It's funny Lamb had that he was not very good the first half the game that was played at the Meadowlands, and then in the second half he just ate the Giants up. He took over that third quarter. I believe it.
That was just coming out part that was that.
Was when all of a sudden. So if you could get something like that, you know, start right off the jump and then like you said, get Cooks down the field. I think, uh, it's five really good names to to think about that have to I think, have to play well.
The Giants defense just doesn't have the personnel to match up man to man against the Cowboys offensive personnel. That's just the bottom line. So if you can protect up front, you're not buying these rookies.
I'm not buying these rookies.
And Banks is a Banks is a good player.
This isn't me saying that these guys don't belong in the league. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying they're trash.
I'm not. That's not what I'm saying.
I'm to go ahead and say it if you want, Yeah, I mean San Francisco Matt, I want to douse.
Yeah, that will make me no different than the engagement farmers. So objectively speaking, yeah, I don't want to be a shady guy. So objectively speaking, these guys have skill sets.
Those two rookies, they have skill sets, but their skill set right now is nowhere near as developed to the point where you can look at them and look at who they're matching up against, the Lamb Gallop Cooks, maybe Kelante Turpin, whatever the case may be, and objectively sit back and say that's a matchup that works in the giants favor. It absolutely does not work in the giants favor.
So attack those young guys. See if the moment is too big for them, See if the lights are too bright, because I promise you, the first big play that one of those young guys gives up, they're going to try and start sinking into themselves a little bit, and then you can snowball that impact and then really have a field day against that particular guy or both of those guys, which then makes the day that much harder for those safeties back there, because if your corners are struggling, your
safeties are in for a long afternoon.
But it starts with protecting up front.
All right, appreciate you guys, join us.
We're back tomorrow.
We're gonna get into the Cowboys defense versus the Giants offense.
Till then.
For Patrick Walker, Brian Brodus, Amber Garcia, I am Derek Gilton. This has been the Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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