Cowboys Break: Tough Game to Pick

We're life in the s WBC Mortgage studios. At the start, it's a freaky Friday, so we're gonna figure out what's gonna go on This Sunday. Cowboys will face the Washington football team in Washington at noon. Uh, Nick, you are making that trip to Washington. Um, luck with that and we'll get back here. I know it's gonna be fun. Well, bet, this is one of the ones I'm not really like. Oh man, I really wish I was going because going to that stadium, it's just get yeah, and we're getting great.

We're getting in really late. Uh. You know, normally you get in about five o'clock five thirty, regardless of what time it is five to thirty. It's getting in a lot later than that, like seven thirty. You just got turned around, and well, I think like you're going out. No, you're like you got to be in your room and get some food and call it a night. Right. Almost named the hotel we're going to, But that's probably good. Enjoy the food. It's the only place, you know, who

knows what the food's gonna be. But the press box is the only place where I've seen media go. I'm just going downstairs to get food. Like literally, media will go and buy food at the concession stand rather than eat what they have in the press box for free. That tells you a lot about the food that's offered in the press box for free. I mean, Dave, worst stadium in the league, Dave, you know what. I don't hear him right now, but I bet he's gonna be like, yes,

by far, we lost, Dave. Um, Well it's a good start. But I will answer the question, yes, best worst stadium in the league by far, not even for lots of reasons, for lots of reasons, not not even closer. Who knows. I don't even I don't I don't know where I'll be who knows what it should It should be interesting. I mean, this is gonna You know, the Cowboys play well here. I mean nine out of the last twelve they've won, but with probably a lot more to do

with the team than the they're facing than the stadium. Yeah, but what I'm saying is is that they play well there. I mean, and it doesn't not always with the team. I mean this, We've seen bad football teams go in here with Matt Castle as a starter and they turn it around and they win. So you know, it's always been a game where the records don't matter as much. And this time, you know, both teams are struggling, if you will, struggling. All right, let's go ahead and jump in.

Let's talk a little bit about this roster. I have a few different topics we need to hit there. Let's get some injury updates. Let's start first with Zach Martin. What are we hearing about Zach Martin. I guess it's going to be me here since Dave's out. I think Zach Martin has is gonna be a game time decision. But it doesn't look like it's it's It looks like there's a better chance that he doesn't play in this game. He hasn't practiced so far this week. They don't do

a lot today. They'll do some stuff tomorrow. I think he goes on the trip to Washington, but I don't if I had to guess right now, I don't think he will play in this game. What about Alden Smith? He had an injury last weekend, has been practicing limited on a limited basis this week. What are we thinking about him for this weekend? I think he's got a much better chance to play. It seems like he will be. Uh. He's not only going on the trip, but it looks

like he is going to play in the game. Mike McCarthy said said as much that he thinks he expects him to be out there. Talking about Sean Lee and Cheetobe Owoogier, both guys are guys that have been on IR. They're eligible to return at whatever point the team games in ready, they've started that process. Where are they right now in their recovery and return they I don't see him there for this game. Dave and Naber might have different thoughts there, but I mean, I think and I am.

I can you hear me now? Yes, yes, we can hear you, Sean Lee Cheeto, Hey, Sean Lee Cheeto. No, that's not that's not happening. Um, they are practicing. It's good to see him out there. Don't look for them on Sunday. UM, don't look for Zach Martin on Sunday. I think you already said that, UM, and Randy Gregory is worthy of being on the forty eight. That's a direct quote from Mike McCarthy. So, and what do you expect Randy Gregory's role to be this weekend? What do

you expecting to see from him? Well, I would assume it's kind of similar to what we've seen from him in past years, where they don't necessarily put him out there the whole time. They're just kind of easy him in, give him some reps game Dave reps. So I wouldn't be expecting too much, but but at least seeing him on the feeling getting him back onto that because we know how different and real game is compared to practice. So I would expect them to just kind of easy

him in it. But I'm super I'm really excited to see what happens. I know that we all none of us expected Adam Smith to do what he has been capable of doing. And I know we've seen this from Randy Gregory in the past, but I am excited to see if he can bring something similar, something fresh, some extra energy to the defensive line. So we'll see what all he does. Dave, I want you to take me back.

I want you to take the fans they're listening right now, take them back to the time when Randy Gregory was playing for this team and give me a scouting report on the type of player that he was good and bad. I mean, I think, I think, fortunately, it'll probably be pretty similar, just because he was in a similar situation in twenty eighteen. He was coming off a lengthy absence because of suspension, and they used him as a situational guy,

you know, an obvious passing down guy. I think he finished he finished that season with only like twenty five tackles because he was you know, they played him on a pitch count basically, But he had six sacks and twenty five pressures. So when you put him in a situation where he can go get the passer, he's pretty damn good at it for a guy that hasn't gotten to play a lot of football. And then obviously. You know.

The downside is I guess you would call him a very undisciplined player because he was good for an offside flag or two seemingly every single week. But man, he's he's fun to watch. Like I think about that. I think it was against Tampa in twenty eighteen, he stripped Jamis Winston in the pocket and Jalen Smith recovered it and returned it for a touchdown, and it was kind of like this moment where you were like, Wow, maybe the Cowboys were right about these guys. And two years

later now you're questioning it again. But it was a really it was a really fun moment at the time. That's probably that's the biggest Randy Gregory memory that I have. But I mean, for a guy, like I said, you know, for as little football as he has actually played, he has shown some real potential if he can play a little bit more disciplined. And Nick, I heard you this morning on a one h five dot three the Fan.

You were doing a hit there and talked about Randy Gregory and some of your recollections of him and what kind of player he is. What are your thoughts with him coming back? What are you expecting to see from him, and where do you think he'll be as far as you know, the kind of play you can can get out of him at this point his career, you know, it's it's it's hard to say. And of course I mentioned there on that show that I temper all the raving about what he looks like in practice because they

still go up against the Cowboys offensive line. So how do we judge anything right now with that? But if you know, if he looks quick and he's put on some weight and you know, and it's been good weight, looks like it, you know he needed to bulk up some and so you know, if he can be a player that can kind of help with the run game at times but also get around that edge, just be better than what they have and that shouldn't be that hard.

I mean, if he can just provide a little bit of a spark, I think that that'll be something that this team has been missing for sure. Questions do you think he can do that with such a long layoff? Yes, I mean I can't say no. With watching Alden Smith. I mean I just I know they're different people, different players, all that stuff, but you can't I think Bucky said it too. I mean, when you see Alden Smith, you can't say no, it's not possible. And I think they're

not going to give him a huge role. I mean, he can't have a big role going there on pass rushing downs. Try to be disruptive. He can probably do that. And I did not remember that he was the one that made that tackle against Jameis Winston. I mean, I remember Jalen Smith, but I didn't think I thought it was d Law. I didn't think it was Gregory that made that. So Stephen Parker safety was moved to the active roster. He's a guy that they've been kind of popping up on game days, but now he's on the

active roster. Was this a move because they expect him to play more at safety or is he a special teams guy? Or is this a situation where they just added a little more depth to their secondary. What do

you think, Dave? I mean, he's been in there playing safety the last couple of weeks, so I would imagine it almost you know, it seems like they're doing this thing by committee because they don't have somebody that's good enough to just nail down the role like Xavier Woods is out there, and then depending on the snap, it seems like sometimes it's darry and Thompson, sometimes it's Donovan Wilson. And I think they'll probably throw Stephen Parker in the

mix as well. I know they've been really impressed with what they've seen from him in practice. I can't say that it like he's jumped off the tape to me watching the games. But again, it's like safety by committee, Like if you don't have one guy that can do it, you might as well just throw numbers at it, right right, all right, we're gonna do this. We're gonna check our first break a little bit early. We're gonna come back, and we're gonna dive into the Washington football team versus

the Dallas cowb Boys. Ask some questions for you guys about both the offense and the defense and how we think they're gonna perform this week. We'll do that. We'll actually have some talk in the third segment about the NFC East. An interesting game last night between the Eagles and the Giants. We'll talk about that a little bit, and we'll get our predictions for the week. We'll do that all when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio. We're back in a tasty treat

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friends and new nephews. That's why at American Airlines we've been using enhanced cleaning measures so you can feel confident every step until you get to them. So, as always, our people can't wait to take you to yours American Airlines. You are why we fly back to the break. Are you craving at and T Stadium's famous Cowboys cheese, steak, nachos or Cowboy rita? Yeah? Okay, well, Derek, when you're watching the Cowboys at home or at the office, bring

your favorite stadium fair to you. Price your online order for pickup or local delivery every week this season. Check out the menu at at and T stadium dot com. Slash at home Interest. You're all going to do that this week, Maritas, something we ought to consider. Now. I don't know about the Cowboy readers. You know, Amber gets a little while when she starts drinking, So I don't know about that. We got work to do. What about nachos cho, I could go for some nacho? What'd you

say nacho? Because I'm Hispanic? Nick, Wow, that was not what you was saying. I don't think, I hope not. I didn't even say anything. That's the problem. She can't hear. You're the one that said that. Clarify yourself. Now, I'll talk about the Cowboy reader. Was that what she was getting it? I guess no. I just heard Nick say Nacho's Oh okay, See that's what I thought. It's part of the read All right, let's jump back in. Let's get back on track. We're live from the SWUNBC Mortgage

Studios at the Stars. The second segment of the break, let's talk about the Washington football team versus the Dallas Cowboys. That happens is Sunday at noon in Washington. My first question for you guys Washington. Washington has the third worst scoring offense. Dallas has the worst scoring defense. Which one will be better this weekend? Washington's offense or Dallas's defense. Let's start with you, Amber. I would like to think that the defense he's able to start doing something better

than the previous games. But based on just everything that has happened this season, I mean, there's no way that I can sit here and say, oh, yeah, they're gonna stop Washington regardless of them not having a great offense like we've seen it happen. I mean, they have not really been able to stop anyone. I really thought that was gonna be the case with the Giants, and the Giants ended up scoring over what was the thirty points. I don't remember the exact amount of numbers, but I

just I it's gonna be a tough game. But the Dallas defense, it's gonna end up allowing points, just like they've been allowing points all throughout the season. Nick, you know, I think that Layton vander Esh's return and being back for this game, I think this is a type of game where you'll see him really be a part of the defense. I think with a wide open threat with Arizona, with Kyler Murley running, I think it's kind of tough to you know, he's not He's not that quick of

a linebacker. He's aware. But but I mean I think in a game like this, I think you'll see him out there more and I think that he'll, you know, that will help this defense. I think Randy Gregory will help some there off the edge, so they're getting some players back and then they're just not going to be facing guys that that should, you know, hurt them that bad. So I think I think the defense has a better chance of step it up. I think I think Washington's

offense is what it is, Dave. I don't trust this defense at all to do anything different than they have done. I mean, I agree with everything that they've said, but I mean you still got Terry McLaurin and he can run really fast in a straight line, which is all that anybody has needed to do over the last month or so. Um. But I will say the one thing that gives me confidence is Kyle Allen is awful in

terms of like pocket presence and taking well. I mean he's not very good anyway, but like he's off in the pocket. I saw a staff this morning. He's got the second worst EPA when it comes to strip sacks, only behind Daniel Jones, who you will remember the Cowboys got a strip sack return, you know, and return it for a touchdown against him. So if they can get to Kyle Allen, then they should be able to you know, make make some hey there. Obviously they've got to do that.

They haven't been consistent, but I would like to think that they can turn his bad pocket presence into a short field or two, which would go a long way to help in this offense. Yeah, I agree with everything you guys are saying. And I thought it was interesting that up until Dave, nobody mentioned Kyle Allen, because that, to me is the interesting part. Like, you look at all these teams of Cowboys have played, he is by far, in my opinion, the worst quarterback that they've paid played

to this point. Now I know that's also that that's the death nail for the Cowboys deep. It's like as soon as we start throwing out those kinds of edicts, that's when they just get completely roasted. And everybody's like, Kyle Allen's ready for the Pro Bowl. But my point is, I think this is the this will be the quarterback that is probably least proficient of all the guys they've played so far, and I think because of that, I don't have a lot of faith in the defense right now,

the Cowboys defense. What I do have some faith and is in the fact that Kyle Allen hasn't played very well, and because he hasn't played l well, I don't think he gets going this week. I agree with you, Dave on McLaren. I think McClaren is the one guy you got to be really concerned about, and so I think they'll get some plays. He'll get some plays out of this defense. I just don't think it'll be enough. I think when you look at the two, I think the

Cowboys defense will be better. All right, let's me want to the second question Nick, you mentioned a little while ago. One thing we know is that the Cowboys defense they can make someone bad look good. So there's that. I mean, it's to the point where it doesn't even necessarily matter who the opponent is. It's now up to it's just

all on the Cowboys at this point. It's it's all up to them, like it's up to them to be able to start changing this whole narrative because right now, like I can care less who the opponent is, It doesn't matter if they're at the bottom of the list. The Cowboys still will make mistakes and end up making them look good. I agree with all of that. What I'm saying, though, is when you look at this Washington offense, this there is not really a good comparison of a

team that they played. I know, we think that the Giants are bad. To me, the Giants are light years ahead offensively than what Washington is. If you watch offense, their offense, they just are not I mean, they're really really bad. So you're right there, there's bad versus bad. My question then becomes which one is worse? And I think in this instance, this may be the one offense in the league that the Dallas defense may be better than.

But we'll all see, And you're right, Amber, I do think what we've known and what we've seen over time is that sometimes you get you look at these kind of matchups and you're like, well, certainly Cowboys get it going here, and for whatever reason, it doesn't get going. So there's a real possibility that happens. Let's move on to that second question, Nick, you mentioned about Layton vander

esh playing last week. I want to take you guys back to last week, and I'd like you guys to tell me how you thought he played and how much of a difference do you think he made in this defense, particularly last week against the Arizona Cardinals. Nick Le'll start with you. You know, I was just looking at his snaps right now. He played fifty percent of the snaps fifty one percent, so that you know, there wasn't a lot,

and that might be by design. I would think, you know, they want to see how he comes out of this game. I thought he played. Okay, I didn't. I didn't notice him a lot. Obviously he's only a play out there half the time. But I do think again, I think a game like this he will play more. It'll be you know, they'll run the ball more. It'll be kind of in the trenches a little bit. And I think this game suits him better. And I think you'll you'll see, oh, Layton,

Layton's back for this game, Dave, Yeah, I agree. I mean, I'll just say I didn't really notice him. He played fifty percent in the snaps. I think he had three tackles. That's to be expected. I mean, not only has he been off for a month, but again no offseason. He was out for most of last year. I would it's gonna take him some time. We talked about the play that Darius Butler broke down the pop pass to who

was a Kirk or whatever one that Anthony Brown. Yeah, if you go back and if you go back and watch that, Yeah, if you go back and watch that play, Anthony Brown, Why are you still in the end zone? Jalen Smith? What are you looking at? Leyton vander Esh diagnoses the play beautifully. He just happens to be on

the wrong side of the formation. So that was really encouraging to think that, you know, his instincts are still with him, And yeah, I would imagine he'll continue to improve as he goes along, and playing a bad offense should only help with that hamper. You know, one thing that I did notice is his energy. I mean he out of the whole defense. I mean, he was a player that he was noticeably more energized than everyone else

on defense. And I'm sure that's a product of a competitor sitting watching the game from afar, seeing the way that his defense is playing and him not being able to help out. So I'm sure that that has something to do with Okay, now he's ready to go in there on the field and do something. So the one positive thing, and I'm sure he's going to get better this weekend, but that's something that was good to see, just a player in there with some energy, bringing some

extra little spark into that very dull defense. One of the things I noticed, it's funny, one of the things I noticed about him was there are a few plays that he came very close to making that he didn't end up making it. Obviously, that's not good enough for a guy like him, we expect better. But like you said, Dave, I think the thing about that is in most of those instances, the reason why he was even close is because you could see he recognized what was going on early.

He just didn't have the whatever it was to get there to make the play. Part of that, it's specifically on places where he was trying to chase down Kyler Murray. Is Kyler Murray like. He's a different level of speed and quickness that sometimes can make even the best defensive players look foolish. But that all being said, I actually like the fact that he did look like he recognized

what was going on. It's one of my biggest critiques of Jalen Smith over the first six weeks of this season is that he doesn't always seem to recognize what's happening quick enough and then be able to react quick enough. I think we were seeing those things from Layton. Now he's got to get hisself back into the right kind of shape and I think he'll make place for this defense. All right, let's move on to the next question. Last week,

Justin Hamilton and Neville Gallimore played more against Arizona. How did they play? And are you ready to play them more than Don Terry Poe at this point? At this point, who I think we all agree has been a disappointment. Let's start first with you, Dave. Yes, absolutely, I mean yeah, I mean, you know, Justin Hamilton is kinda he was a little bit of a Twitter star. I guess if you're like looking for a positive, that came out of

that game and just looked like he was active. It looked like he wasn't getting blown off the line of scrimmage. You know, he's not Aaron Donald or even half of that, or you know Snacks Harrison at his peak, like's not he's not at all pro nose tackle. But it just seemed like you were getting better push and you know I hate, I mean, better, better pursuit all of that stuff, better athleticism, I mean, we we all agree Poe has

been a liability for this defense. I don't know how hard it is to upgrade what you've gotten out of that over the last four or five weeks. Amber, I'll be honest, It's not like I sit there and absolutely like focus on the the tackle position during the whole game. So I did have to pull out the stats for this one. And I know we all know that Dantari Po has not nearly been doing and been doing enough at all. But based on the stats, in six games, Dontari Po has been able to accumulate a total of

seven tackles. And then you look at Justin Hamilton in just this one game he got a combine of three tackles, so nearly on stats, I'm gonna go with absolutely, get Dontary Post out of there, put Justin Hamilton, let him do some more things. I mean, look, he's almost caught up to Dontarry Post stats in just one game versus six games that he has played, So yes, put him

in there. They do need a change because he hasn't been working all fair, Yeah, I mean, typically stats for your defensive tackles shouldn't They don't matter as much typically because you want them to just be there clog up the middle. Other guys make plays. But over the course of, like she said, six games, I mean you can you would imagine you get a few, you get in there, and that's the thing. He's not clogging up the middle po I mean, he's never gonna win any foot race

or anything like that. We understand that, but that's not his job. His job is to be in there, take these double team blocks and let other guys free them up. And that certainly isn't happening. So if what's the benefit there, I mean that there hasn't been any benefit for him. And so yeah, I mean, anybody, he's got to be better. Hamilton's hungry, ready to go. He looked active. I think he'll be better in this game as well. Yeah, I'll tell you the stat that matters for defensive tackles rush

yards against. And we've seen this rush defense be horrible and a lot of that, A ton of that has to do with the fact that up the middle he gets washed out and moved out of the way, and on the outside he is not doing anything to help his linebackers out. They are regularly getting an offensive linement on them before they even get into the play and they aren't able to get off those blocks a lot

of times. So I think both ways, you have to look at the defensive tackle and say, especially at one technique, can say you're not doing your job if you're getting just run on like that. Right, are you laughing about? Just an inside joke, I'll tell you at the break. Oh god, I got a good staff play. All right, wait for that. All right, let's go to the next question. Next question, Dallas or Ken Dallas slow down Washington's pass rush? And if so, how Let's start with you Nick man Um.

I mean, you gotta get the ball out quick. He would love for the Cowboys to be a good screen team. And I don't know, they're not terrible. They're not terrible at it, but they're they're not like they're not great at it. But this is the type of game where you would you would want them to be to be great. But the problem is is the the Red team doesn't

blitz as much like like the Cardinals. Did you know the real Red team like they blitz all the time, And so you know, it's this team just rushes with four, so their linebackers are in position for screens and stuff like that. You gotta get the ball out to your receivers, slants, bubble screens. They're gonna have to go and make plays and make make you know, get the ball in their hands, break tackles. That's one way to do it. The running backs out of the backfield, and I think this has

got to be a huge game for Dalton Schultz. He's gonna have to work those linebackers work the middle of the field and you know, just you gotta get the ball out quick. But those those guys have to be ready to catch the ball. Dave, I've already made it very clear how scared I am of this pass rush. But if you're looking for optimism, don't forget. They really padded their stats against Philly in that season opener. They sacked Carson Wentz eight times that day, so they have

half of their total from one game. The last three weeks they got they got to Daniel Jones once, they got to Jared Goff once, they got to Lamar Jackson once. So yes, they're very good. Clearly, you can mitigate that if you're about your business now. I mean, Baltimore has an amazing offensive line that's really not fair. But the Giants. The Giants don't. And we know firsthand from watching the Rams that they're just great at getting the ball out of Jared Goff's hands, Like that's one of the keys

to their success. So it can be done. I don't know how much I trust the Cowboys to do it because they are not as creative. You know, they'll they'll run running back screens, but like you don't see the tunnel screens and the jet motion the stuff that the Rams do with Robert Woods. We haven't seen that from them. Um, you know, maybe they dusted off this week. I kind of doubt it. So it's on. It's on the offensive

line to play really well. But I mean, at the very least they need to design, you know, short drops and quick throws for Andy Dalton. Um. I think it's possible, but I don't trust them to be as successful as some other more creative offenses. Yeah, I was just gonna say about that, Um that you know, Dave, You're right, they don't. They're not creative like that except for two point conversions. It seems like in the two point conversions. We see some like cool plays with the market Cooper

flipping around. Yeah, maybe do that. I mean there's a lot of second and five. Yeah, there's a lot of third and two, third and three situations. So you know, you don't have to be right down there to do some you know, let's have some fun. Yeah. The other thing I'll throw out two. Dave and you mentioned this about the about what you see from the rams. It was I think against the Giants where you saw the Cowboys running a lot of boots. They were just doing

some different things that were kind of these misdirections. I combined what Dave said and what Nick said. Nick, you

were talking about Dalton Schultz in that game. One of the things they were doing, they were going on those boots and they'd have either a tight end or they'd have another receiver coming from the opposite side of field going on a drag across the field, and it would create these interesting little plays for you because the defense starts flowing one way because the handoff looks like it's going one way, and then the quarterback boots around and he's got room, he's got time, he can make a throw.

So I want to see some of that. That's what That's the kind of stuff you see from the Rams all the time, that that misdirection. They show you one thing, they get you flowing one way, and then they go back the opposite way. I think the Cowboys can do it. We saw it in the Giants game. Question is can they do it with Andy Dalton and can they be consistent with it enough to where they keep this defense

off balance. If you can get this defense off balance, then I think that front four has to pause just a bit. You slow down just enough that helps your offensive line and maybe that means the Cowboys can have a chance of being able to complete some pass. All right, here's my final question on Washington versus Dallas. Can I can I ask a question? Sure? Absolutely? Going back to that, Let's say let's say they do go into the game,

start off the game with like creative plays like that. Offensively, Kellen Moore has this nice little plan game plan, but then we see that's not necessarily working, it's just not falling. I mean at that point in the game, let's say, what second quarter, are you wanting the Cowboys to kind of keep pushing that or do you at that point decide. Okay,

let's just take it back. Let's just try to play more conservative because I mean, one of the things that we heard, I mean last week going into the previous game with Andy Dalton, would the Cowboys be playing some more conservative football based on the fact that they have Andy Dalton a quarterback and not that Prescott. Well, let's

be click, we'll see good, Dave. I mean, I'm not asking them to be like crazy aggressive, like if you go, if you go watch some of the stuff that the Rams did to the Cowboys, like it's it's really simple stuff, just you know, boot bootlegs that get goff moving out of the pocket or get you know, I don't understand why the Cowboys don't like jet motion, like just I mean that what Christian Kirk did the other night, like

give the ball to the wide receiver moving across the formation. Um, these are these are basic things that most football teams do. Like I'm not asking them to pull out Nick's flee flicker in this game. I think that would be a terrible idea. So I don't want them to be because Dalton don't get murdered. Maybe I don't, I don't, but everyone's trying to get Zeke get everyone's and he's going to pitch it back. But when you're running without anybody getting in your way, then you can kind of get

both of them, right. I just that's that. I don't like that either, Dave. I'm with you. Go ahead. I don't want them to get crazy aggressive. I just want them to be more creative and how they get the ball out of Andy's hands. Yeah, I totally agree. This was not about getting crazy. This is about just misdirection, show things a lot of play action. And by the way, in order to get play action to work well, you

gotta run the ball well. So I think they have to give a healthy dose of running the ball and show that they're committed to running the ball, even if it doesn't work as well early on. You gotta show that you're committed to running the ball. And that means that if you go three and out because you're running a little bit more, that's okay, you gotta punt it. But I just think in a game like this, you got to show them that you're committed to the run.

That'll help you create those play action opportunities and maybe help your boots and that kind of thing. Because teams have to start really really paying attention to the run. I'm really interested to see if they get in third and short, even down on the goal line. I think you've got to go back to the Antoine Woods package. And we didn't see it last week or even the last couple of weeks, but I think it's it's important because that offensive line is night. When you go big

on big, you're gonna lose. You're gonna lose. And hopefully that they're not stubborn enough to think just run them over because they won't think. You gotta get some big, bigger guys in there. And I think, you know, Antoine can certainly help with that poem. I'm gonna take our final break. When we come back, let's talk a little

bit about the NFC East. Where the Cowboys stand right now in the NFC East, and where those other teams stand, and what we think is going to happen, and the big question, who do we think is the team to beat in the NFC East. So that when we come right back, this is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio since eighteen sixty five. Stetson hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas and Stetson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Want to show your

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Monster Jam Monster Jazz. All right, welcome back to the final segment of the break Leaf nest WBC Mortgage Studios at the Are and I want to take a little time here in the final segment to talk a little bit about the NFC East. This division is not very good. They have one win against a team that has oh no, I'm sorry. They don't have a win against a team that has a winning record. The closest is San Francisco, who is now three and three, so they're five hundred.

At least they did get a I think it was the was it the Eagles that beat the forty nine ors three? So there's one win against the team that's five hundred. All the rest of the wins have come against teams with losing records. Majority of the wins have come against each other basically. So this is a team that is not This is a division it's not doing very well against the rest of the NFL. But they

got to send somebody to the playoffs. And so the question for you guys is, based on what you've seen through six weeks, who is the favorite in this division to go to the playoffs. Let's start first with you Am, where you have that look like you have something burning to say, because I will never, ever, ever pit the

Eagles for anything at all. I cannot stand the Eagles, but I gotta be fair and say that I do think that looking at all the games so far, the Eagles are starting to turn it around a little bit. I mean, they have had some competitive games. So it's

a tough one. It's a tough one, and the worst part is that it's all so situational football, like so situational moments, where if they couldn't clean up if everyone in the NFS well, between the Eagles and the Cowboys, if they can start cleaning up their game a little bit more and stop making so many little mistakes, I mean, they can start really turning this whole season around and making the nfcas look a little bit better than what they've been looking like so far. But it's it's pretty

close between the Eagles and the Cowboys right now. I have seen more competitiveness from the Eagles, though, Dave. I mean, I think it's the Eagles absolutely. That's not to say the Cowboys don't have a chance, but I'm just tired of not I'm tired of not seeing this team make any progress like Mike McCarthy said earlier this week, like, we're not a better team in week six than we were in Week one. I mean, and it's been six weeks,

it's been almost half the season. We have not seen them fix any of the things that are contribute to their losing ways. Then you look at the Eagles, which I mean, you know they've they've been much more competitive. You know, they haven't beaten anybody impressive, but neither have the Cowboys and their injuries. They have a lot of them as well, but their injuries seem like they're like,

they're gonna get some of these guys back. They're gonna get Miles Sanders back, They're gonna get Zach Ertz back. Jalen Raager will be back eventually, Lane Johnson hopefully they'll give him a chance to get healthy. Most of the Cowboys key injuries aren't coming back, Like you're not getting Tiring and Lyle, you're not getting Dak Prescott back. So I think the Eagles have a much better chance to round into form over the next five to six weeks

than the Cowboys do. And until I see some notable progress from the Cowboys and just playing cleaner football, it's hard for me to think that they're just going to magically turn it on, especially knowing that so many of their best players are done for the year. I mean, first of all, let me apologize to Carson Wentz because I said Andy Dalton might be the best quarterback in the division. He's not. Carson Wentz is a much better quarterback.

Just kill my next question. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but that doesn't mean that your next question might be who's the best quarterback in the division whatever. I'm just saying, Carson Wentz is better than Andy Dalton quarterback one of the other's great throw to win the game needingtime you're throwing to a five five running back, you have to drop it in there. He did a nice job with that, but Evan Ingram catches the ball and they lose. And

then I don't think everything Dave just said. I don't think he even says all of that if they lose that game to the Giants, because this shows just how bad they really are. Now they are going to get healthier. I agree with that, and I think the Eagles are the team to beat over there because they seem to figure it out. They have a better quarterback, and they're going to get healthier than the Cowboys. I do agree with that. But they're they are not good. They're not

good at all. Anybody can beat them. Oh, don't don't get me wrong. I don't think they're good. Yeah, but they don't have to be good to win. Ye, you're right, this whole like they have, nobody's beating the team doesn't matter, doesn't care. Yeah, but yeah, the way they played Baltimore, you know, they went up there and fought with them and probably you know, could have tied the game and

all that stuff. You don't really I don't know you say that about the Cowboys, but I mean they okay, well they compete with Seattle too, so I mean, but it's just that you can't judge anything except for last week because nothing this is all you know, that was all before Dak got hurt. Now it's just what is this team? We still don't know what this team is. Well,

that's that's the point I would make. Is I think two weeks ago, we thought, or at least I thought, this was a good to above average offense and a bad defense, which made the team an average team the NFL. I figured they'd be a seven and nine, eight and eight, nine and seven type team. Since then, we've had one game to see Andy Dalton as a starter. And again I'm not placing all the blame on Andy for what we saw last week, but what I know is in the one game I saw him as the starter. This

offense is a bad offense. This defense is a bad defense, which makes us a bad team. This is why right now, I don't see any scenario where the Cowboys will be better than the Eagles by the end of the season unless somehow they can turn around what they're doing on offense. And maybe there is a possibility that Andy Dalton, you know, he's just starting to kind of getting some reps, he'll

be better. He'll get this offense able to manage or able to be able to move the ball, even with this offensive line, because you gotta work around this offensive line. You're not gonna get healthier there. But maybe he gets to the point where he can move this offense in the same way that Dak was with the offensive line

he has. But as of right now, I don't see any any reason to believe that the Eagles are not the team to beat based on what I've seen so far, and that the Cowboys have two teams on their schedule that you're like that they're not gonna win, probably Eagles, and I'm sorry, not everyone else, I mean, no one else on their schedules, Like there's no way I could win. The problem is Philly's already played both of them. Yeah, didn't beat him, played him, okay, but it didn't beat him.

But I mean, and the Eagles will probably play all of those teams the Cowboys have as well. So the schedule of the injuries, all that, the quarterback, all that seems to point towards Philly. All right, real quick, I want to get your your opinions on the best quarterback in the division. Nick, you've already said you think Andy Dalt, I mean, I'm sorry, you think Carson Wentz is the best quarterback in the division. I assume, yeahs you're not putting one of those other two guys ahead of him.

So let's go to Amber and Dave. Let's start with you, Amber, who do you think is the best quarterback in the division. I have to judge based on just the games that I've been able to see, and it's not much and probably not fair because Carson Wentz has had far more games than what we've seen from Andy Dalton this season. But in regardless of certain people making comments and saying, okay, well, Andy Dalton actually played an okay game, it wasn't that bad.

I saw it pretty bad. I did not like when I see what I saw Maryland, and maybe because my expectations were a lot higher coming from a veteran guy, but the way that I saw him play it just did not inspire me anything. It just looked like a guy with no experience, like I expected him to be more polished. But again, gotta be fair and say, okay, well, he hasn't had the first team reps as he would when he wasn't a starter, you know, so at this point I would agree with Nick. I would go with

Carson Dave. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but like you can go find audio of me before the Cardinals game saying everybody, let's calm down. I know Carson Wentz has had a rough month, but he's still a pretty darn good player. And he is, I mean, he's He's had a lot of problems. Obviously, the injuries are insane. It seems like he's lost some confidence but he is still a quarterback that's capable of willing his team to victory, which he did last night and he

almost did against Baltimore. And I just don't think Andy Dalton's ever been that quarterback. I mean, what was what was the line on Dalton when he stepped into the starting lineup, It was like, well, with this supporting cast, he could be pretty good. Carson Wentz hasn't had a supporting cast since twenty seventeen. Like he's it's a mass unit up there, and he still finds ways to piece you know, competent effort together. So it's it's Carson in

three years, though, who do you think it'll be? You mean, when Dak's back, Dak Prescott? I mean, it's Dak right now if he's healthy. Yeah, I agree. I mean, here's three years, though, I still think it's Dak Prescott. You're assuming Dak won't be here? Is that? I mean, he'll probably be here, But I mean, do you think Daniel Jones will be up there? Honestly, I think Daniel Jones.

I think Daniel Jones a really good quarterback and the only reason, the only reason I'm not putting him ahead of Carson Wentz right now is because of the factor that Dave threw in, which is he's not able to will his team to win like Carson Wentz is. But I'll say this, if you watch that game last night, there was some absolutely dumb throws that Carson Wentz made. There was one that was the interception where I don't know who exactly he was throwing it too and why

he thought that was gonna be a completion. And then the other one where he's scrambling out of pocket he goes back probably twenty thirty yards and then runs forward and throws opposite field. Should have been intercepted. I mean, he does that kind of stuff where you're like, what is this guy seeing? What is he thinking? So I don't think Carson Wentz is a right now. He's not playing like a good quarterback to me. He's playing like an extremely average quarterback in at moments on the side

of of of being a bad quarterback. But that's what you got in this division right now. Nobody's better than him right now, I guess is the problem if if if Jones takes it to the house and doesn't get tripped over the eighteen yard line or whatever, I think there's a different opinion about him all the way because it's like, man, that guy just took an eighty eight yards and now instead it's like, nah, he's not he's not athletic. He trips and fall. I don't think anything

like that. Before they still score on that drive. You're right, Nick, If if Evan Ingram just catches, I mean that was a beautifully thrown gay. Yeah. If Evan Ingram just catches quarterback, but he ain't bad, I don't know. I just said that about Daniel Jones. He's going to be pretty good. And Markley and those guys get there, you know, with their offensive coordinator. I mean, they're gonna be good. But I think that Dak. I mean, I still think Dak is the best quarterback he will be, but he can't

sleep on him. I mean, I think Daniel Jones is gonna be good. I think it's a real possibility in three years, like you say that Carson Wentz will be the third best quarterback in the NFC. So I totally think that's a possibility. I'll move on before that. About that, all right, let's get our predictions real quick before we end the show. Let's start first with Dave. Dave, give me your prediction for this weekend. I don't remember the last time I hated picking a game this much. I really,

I know, I'm so serious. I hate it. I don't trust the Cowboys. I don't want to pick them to win. They don't deserve to be picked to win. But I still, like, you look at it on paper and you say, like, I still think the Cowboys are a better team except the one big caveat that the thing that the that Washington does the best is rush the passer, and that's get's gonna be a huge problem for this offensive line. And I just think I think it's gonna be a sucky,

ugly game. I think the score is gonna be something awful like eighteen to sixteen, like a whole bunch of field goals, maybe a miss two point conversion somewhere in there. And I'll just I'll take the Cowboys very reluctantly, but I'm not gonna be surprised if I regret that on Sunday. All right, Amber, I know I've said this before, but I mean it this time. I'm serious. If the Cowboys loose to Washington, that is it. Next week, I'm picking

the Eagles, and then I'm picking Pittsburgh. I'm picking at the opponent for the rest of the year. I'm serious. We'll just know going in who Amber's picking, like, right, yeah, don't even asking me. Okay, okay, I won't take it as far as the whole season, but at least next week I'm definitely peaking the Eagles if the Cowboys lose this weekend. Now, I just to say something I'm gonna say twenty seventeen, I, like Dave said, I absolutely don't

trust the Cowboys whatsoever. But because it is against Washington, I'm just gonna go ahead and say Cowboys win. All right, Yeah, I mean, neither team deserves to be picked. I mean, but what I keep thinking is, is Washington break over there. You know that they do every every day for forty five minutes. There's no way you can pick their team to win. There's no way you can be like, whether they're gonna win, they're gonna you just they don't deserve

to be picked. Neither do the Cowboys. I agree with both of them. I think it's gonna be an ugly game. I think it's gonna be I picked that earlier to twenty to nineteen is my pick. I think. I think the oddsmakers have it as a one point favorite free Cowboys, and that's all they get. For me. I'm gonna say twenty nineteen because because Washington missed an extra point or

something like that. I mean, I know the Voto confidence isn't good, but you shouldn't because that really, this team's only played one game and they got beat thirty eight to tend to the Cardinals. That's that's why we're all so reluctant. None of this that we've seen before even matters. It's one game that they put on tape, and the tape should be burned. And that's the point. Right now.

I want to see how Andy and this offense response, because if I see what I saw last week, then my expectation for the rest of the season is that this is gonna be just a as Amber called yesterday's show, this is not gonna be great, right, So I do think I do think though that I want to give a little more deference to the Cowboys just because I think Washington's offense is worse than Dallas's defense. That says a lot, but I really do believe that, and so

I think at the end of the day. That's the difference. I think the Cowboys get a win sixteen thirteen. I don't think it's gonna be a lot of scoring. Everybody makes sure you got lots of food and drink because you're gonna need to entertain yourself at moments during this game. But I do think the Cowboys get a win sixteen thirteen.

And we'll be back here on Monday to tell you if we were right or wrong and what happened and what went right and what went wrong for the Dallas Cowboys till then, for Nick Even, Dave Hellman, Amber Garcia, I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been the Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a pretty of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.