Cowboys Break: What's New?

We are live from the s WBC Morta Studios at the Star. We're talking Cowboys football today. We're talking Cowboys versus Seattle Seahawks. Big playoff game for this weekend, the wildcard weekend in the NFL. Cowboys will play the Seahawks this Sunday, I mean, I'm sorry, this Saturday night at at and T Stadium. We will spend quite a bit of the show today with Dave giving us his scattered report on the Seattle offense. We talked about the defense ester,

we talked about the offense the other day. We're gonna talk about defense today. How's everybody doing today? Great? Yeah, awesome, Let's jump right in. Let's talk about this injury report there were two guys that did not practice. Both did not practice on what would have been I guess I'm confused on Friday, on Wednesday, what would have been a

Thursday with David Irving and Xavier seue Philo. Are you guys at this point thinking that Xavier suel Philos is unlikely to play due to the fact that he has not practiced this week? At this point, I am yes, because it's Friday in Cowboys world at least, and he is not at practice. Jason Garrett also said today that he is not going through the walkthroughs, So he's not even doing not even doing walkthrough just to know what

his mental reps. Yeah, to me, suggests that he does not have a very high likelihood of playing in this game. How concerned are you, Verry? He's way better than Connor Williams. Yeah, Hunter Williams did not play well in that first game against Yeah own, hopefully he's better, you know, better player. But I mean, I don't think it's a coincidence the team started winning once they put him in. I mean, it's not just Cooper. He was a big part of it.

And so I think he's a better player, and I would like to see him out there more than Connor Williams. Yet you want to have a few things that are different than that first game because they kind of kick your ass the first time around, so you want to have some things that are different. This is a noticeable difference to me, and him not being out there is a big deal. They will talk a little bit about that defense, but in that last game they were able

to hit. They hit Dak ten times and they they've sacked him five times, So a defensive front, they had some You with the whole turnover thing. He didn't throw an interception, they didn't let the ball the ball lose and that's a big thing with him when he comes to plane. So I'd be interesting, a curious to see if he can do that. It managed to do that again with more struggles on the outline. We're talking, we're talking Dac right now. Yeah, he had he had two

turnovers in that So y'all game two. I'm talking about like the last game. Oh no, Yeah, he's been great at ball security the last two weeks in Seattle. No, not so much, which we'll get into it. What has given the Cowboys problems this year? Interior pass rushers and Seahawks have a good one. So yep. They fumbled twice in that game against Seattle. Zeke did Dako just throw two picks? Yeah? And both of the interceptions they were I mean, yeah they were. They were kind of free

plays a little bit. But but you know, sometimes when you put the ball in the wrong place, that kind of stuff ends up happening. And certainly on the second when you could make the argument that he probably shouldn't have made that throw into that particular coverage. But I will say, in defense of Connor Williams, I would much rather have a healthy Zavier suea Philo. But he's not healthy.

So I think I said that yesterday. I think I'd rather have a one hundred percent healthy Connor Williams than a Xavier sue Philo who you know, can't put any weight on his foot. And I don't think that's that That sounds like a recipe for trouble to me. Um, So yeah, I mean it's definitely concerning, but you know, you gotta make do. And in times like I keep thinking, Oh, he's gonna play, he's gonna play. They're just gonna wrap the crap out of that ankle and just wrap it

and wrap it and wrap it and help it. You row him in there, but the crap out of that ankle. You're absolutely right, though, how often do we I mean, every it's a very it's a common theme on our show, and like he's gonna play like they're shoot it up, wrap it up, shoot it up, get him out there. But every now and then you come up against the problem that you can't do that with and just can't

fix it, can't rule him out. But if he I mean, he's not even going through walkthroughs, that to me suggests that they are preparing Connor Williams to have to play this game because if nothing else, to walk through, make sure that mentally you know what right to do so that when you are healthy, if there's a game time decision, you're a guy, if you're a guy that can you know, tape it up and shoot it up, then then you're probably going through walkthrough And they're like, all right, you

can't practice, but let's make sure you know your assignments, right, That's not the case here, So all right, let's talk about some of the guys that were limited. Dave. Yesterday you mentioned Tavon Austin being limited this week. He also is joined by Sean Lee, Zach Martin, Tyron Smith, Tyron Crawford, and Darien Thompson as guys that are limited. How concerned are you about that from standpoint of Tavon Austin and what you talked about yesterday him being limited this week

when last week he was full. We actually so I asked Jason Garrett about it today in his press conference. He said, you know, he's coming back. He came I think, Garrett said, he played fifteen snaps. He kind of came out of that, you know, favoring it, trying to you know, listen to your body type of deal. He was at practice today, he was fielding punts today, he was taking part in things. So I guess that's a good sign. And Jason said they're optimistic about his availability for the weekend,

so we'll see. Now. Most of the guys on this list of limited are guys that are kind of been a similar boat from the standpoint of they've been hurt, they they're veteran players, and it made me wonder if this is more just one of those things where it's like, well, we're limiting them because we don't necessarily want to overwork them and practice their veteran players. We want them to be ready for game day. Take it. Tavan and Thompson are the guys that I'm watching in terms of their availability.

Darry and Thompson strained his growing in practice yesterday. He wasn't he was out there, but he wasn't practicing. He was doing rehab. The other guys, I those are all those are veteran guys. It's not the same situation to you, Tavon as these other guys. I know, Zach's gonna play, Tyrone's gonna play, Tyrone's gonna play. Yeah, Derek, I mean that's standard injury procedure. Those guys are playing. I wasn't gonna say it's a short week, but those three guys

it hasn't been. Tyrone and Tyrone and Zach all didn't play. But yeah, I do think the short week is, you know, it's something that they're trying to manage as well. I do think Tavan and Suafhilo are tied together on this. I think that if Sua Philo is going to play and then you need more offensive linemen. I think Tavon's a guy that maybe sits, but the fact that he was working on the punt return team as the punt returner on today's practice makes me think he's going to

be active for the game. And if Darian Thompson is now limited with with what I guess as a growing injury, it's just happened. That also gives you if he if he ends up in a sea, make a decision that's he has been participating. But I could not definitively tell you what he's what he's done. He's special teams. That's what I was trying to figure out. Just now. I'm like,

what what if he's been active. If he's been active and he can't play, yeah, Dry and Thompson, Um, I think that that he could be released and you put it, put a little guy out, put a lumbo or somebody that that can run down on Maybe possible if he is playing and he can't. I mean, I don't think it's like what if we don't have him for the next game, Like, nah, you'll be fine. Yeah, yeah, I would agree with that, but he I mean, if they don't,

he's a candidate to being active for sure. All right, let's go ahead and jump into this this Seattle offense that I'm Seattle defense killing me with this to all off of my days and everything. But let's jump into the Seattle defense. Obviously, the one thing that jumped out to me as I was looking back at the previous game to this game. It wasn't really I don't know that we talked about it enough on this show, how dominant their defense was, particularly in the first half. Catch this.

In the first seven possessions the Cowboys had, Seattle held them to a three and out. Now, one of those was an interception on the third play, but five of seven possessions they had three plays and then they got rid of them and then Seattle took over. It's it was a in my opinion, a pretty stifling defensive front or defense that the Cowboys face, and the Cowboys really didn't find any answers to it until the second half,

and that was still very marginal. Dave talked us about that, that Seattle defense, so well, I'm gonna sort of undermine what you just said, but this is just my opinion. Yeah, and I don't I don't want to make excuses, but like that, the main thing that jumps out to me from that game, and I'll throw the Carolina game in there is that it was just like it was off

offensive execution, like unbecoming of the NFL. Basically, Like it was that it was atrocious, and it was so atrocious that I tend to put more of it on the Cowboys for just being bad than the Seahawks for being good, you know what I mean? And I felt the same

way about the Carolina game. Eight points, thirteen points, however many three and ounce what was their third down percentage in those games, Like those were numbers so far below the average of what you see in the NFL that I put more of it on the offense than the defense. And I think that's why you saw this team go out and spend a first round pick on Amari Cooper. They're like, we cannot continue to play this way, like it's embarrassing, for lack of a better word, like that's

what this team started out. And if you go back and look, I know he fumbled twice. Ezekiel Elliott ran for one hundred and twenty seven yards in that game, Like it's not like they couldn't get anything going. They were just so unbalanced. They could not protect ac he could not throw the ball. Oh no, I was just you asked the question, and I have the answer. Three of thirteen third down in that game, second worst only to Carolina. Embarrassing again, like just not like you play

bad offense sometimes in the NFL. That was so bad. It's just it just was not professional football, at least not the standard that you come to expect from NFL teams. Weird that last week's was by far the best third down without your your you know, goal line running back. They found a tight end eleven of seventeen on third down. They have been so unbelievably better since they got Cooper, and it's not all it's not all Cooper, but obviously

it has a triple down effect. Uh So I want to start you know, I don't want to take credit away from the Seahawks, but I kind of just basically did you did? Yeah? No, I mean, I'm sorry, that's but but but just to be clear, I don't think

you're saying the Seahawks defense isn't good. You're just saying the Cowboys had as much to do with that poor performance as absolutely and and not like oh we can't we were shooting ourselves in the foot like no, like you didn't have players like straight up like you couldn't block them, you didn't have a receiver that could get open. That's Dak's picks were both volleyball to quote Nick, and that's because nobody could get separation on anything in that game.

So anyway, all of that said, this is a good Seahawks defense. They're not the legion of Boom. Their middle of the pack statistically, and I think that's you run into a scenario where maybe the stats lie a little bit, like I think they're better than you know, Okay, they're sixteenth overall, seventeenth against the past eleventh and scoring decent. I think they're better than that, as evidenced by things like they have the fourth best red zone defense in

the NFL. They have a better red zone defense than the Cowboys do, which we've been talking about how good the Cowboys red zone defense is all year. They get kJ They've got kJ right back, which is a big deal. They got two studle you pair him with Bobby Wagner. Right missed the first game with a knee injury. He missed the vast majority at the season, really, but he's been back for three weeks now. He appears to be

playing like the same guy. Who was pretty good. Um, you've got a fourteen sack end and Frank Clark, you have Tyrant Smith fits in that first game, just absolute fits. Jaren Reid is a guy. How do you do you? Just like they? Is there a list somewhere on the internets like these are all the king I'm just saying all of them? Yeah, okay, coretty much. Well he's got ten and a half sacks, second round pick out of Alabama. Um, he is a ball, that's you know, the first game

was in Week three. He hadn't really had a chance to establish himself. But he is well established. And this is this isn't the same Seahawks pass rush from years past where they went like eight deep. But those two guys concerned me specifically read because of how much trouble we've seen these these dominant interior pass rushers give the Cowboys. Um, so this is that's a huge number two and a half for an inside he has played. I know in that game he played outside a little bit because there

was one sack that he got up against. He's a he's a versatile player. He can do both, but he's primarily played on the inside. Gotten a lot of his push from the inside too. Um, the front is really what concerns me here actually something to watch, uh there? Which you know again you manage guys in the playoffs. I get that, But basically their entire secondary is on the injury report right now. We'll see what today holds. But Shaquille Griffin their best corner and Brad McDougald their

best safety have not practiced yet this week. Didn't they have a safety earlier this week that was put on IR. I don't know if he was a backup or special teams guy, but I thought, I remember you mentioning that sety that went on IR. It's not IR, guys. I just noticed that because it usually you'll see it on social media and then it just kind of pops into my head. But the last time we argued about this, I was wrong. I'm not I'm not making a definitive declaration.

You tried to tell Hollins was out and I was like, no, he's right here on my sheet. Um, yeah, we don't trust that SAT anymore all the time. Tedrick Thompson is their de facto starter with with Earl Thomas obviously being long gone. He's at a Colorado He's on the injury report as well. He's not on injured reserve, he's limited. He's been limited this week in practice. So the front impresses me a lot more than the back, which is obviously not the case from previous years. And any I

don't nick what you got nothing? Oh you're shaking your head? No, what is it like? There was a reason why there was a pause there, and I wasn't even going to look up and make eye contact with anyone, So I thought what Dave just said was going to be one of those moments, and I was trying to get out of it. So I have no idea what you're talking of. Good implied, No, it was good. I was trying to stay out of it. It's my fault the implier. Yes you said it, you said it, So I was just like, oh, man,

I don't even want to touch this. So I just stayed out of it. And now imagine I'm scared. I'm scared of the red zone again. I know the Cowboys had success with Blake Jarwin last weekend, but I'm concerned if they're gonna be whether they're gonna be able to keep this up or not and actually do it once again in the red zone and with the other guys in you got Zeke and all these other tools, and

also like using Dak running the ball. But like you mentioned, why were they in running defense and red zone defense? They're allowing a touchdown forty nine percent of the time, which is fourth best in the league. Cowboys are at fifty one. They're ranked seventh, and when the Cowboys played them before, Cowboys with thirty three. Cowboys only scored a touchdown on one of the three times that they were in the red zone. One time ended up an interception.

I like it at all. I think you're at and hey, Blake Jarwin, do it again please because this could be a big week for it. It's gonna be interesting. You know, Jason Garrett loves to say at the Seahawk they run you know, it's it's Chris for yards scheme. It's the cover three scheme that has taken the league by storm because it's been so popular in Seattle. Uh, you know, they're they're famous for you like, we're just gonna play our guy. We're gonna play man up. You know, we're

not gonna follow you all over the place. Although I'll be interested to see if that happens this week. Because Shaquille Griffin can play all over the field, did they try to shadow him with Amari Cooper because the rest of their dbs are banged up? Trays as he is as well? Yeah, Tray well, yeah, he hasn't practiced yet. Trey Flowers is their other corner, Like they don't they don't have the corner tandem that they're used to having. I don't think like the strength of this secondary is

their safeties as certain. McDougall's having a great season. Obviously when Earl was there it was better. But so I wonder if they try to adjust that to recognize the fact that they are injured, that maybe they can't just play their man straight up the way they would prefer. Also, you bring kJ right back into this thing with um with Bobby Wagner, and now you've got two really good linebacker who can do a little bit of everything. It's obviously gonna make things tough in the running game, but

the short passing game too. You know, you try to check down, which Dak loves to do with Zeke, you're probably gonna have two guys right there. And same thing for the tight ends. I hope Blake Jarwin can find some similar success because I think it's going to be

tougher against these guys. I would think, though, that this Cowboys offense with Amari Cooper is better suited to be able to defeat a single safety high type team where the corners aren't across the board significantly better, because one thing we know about this offense over the last month two months of the season is in in an offense that's starting to find its way when it comes to

hitting some of those deep balls downfield. When you got a single man downfield and there's one safety back, he's having to choose which side he's gonna go to, and he's gonna have to make the right read on the quarterback to be able to know where he's going. I think you can the Cowboys will have some opportunities. I also like the opportunity of Amari Cooper facing man a lot. If he's facing man coverage, I don't care who it is, even if it's it's Griffin. I think that he is

good enough where he's gonna make some plays. I think they're much better suited to take advantage of that than they were the first time. Around one hundred percent and that's straight up. I mean, like that's why they couldn't do anything like they could not they could not beat

what the Seahawks wanted to do. They could not force them to adjust, which is one why I wonder, Okay, how are the Seahawks going to handle this or they really they're gonna trust themselves to do that against Cooper, maybe they will play more zone than we're you're used to seeing. And on top of that, the other thing, at the end of the day, I don't really care, because that's why you brought Amari Cooper here in the first places. He's gonna have to make some place. This

is I don't think. I don't think you can win this game with Amari Cooper having four catches for thirty yards. And really, I mean unless somebody else really steps up, really steps up, though, Like, no, I don't think. I mean, I think the way I look at that is if a Marie Cooper forces Seattle to pay more attention to him, that creates opportunities for other guys. That's how you would win it. But it has to be those other guys stepping up. Yeah, I think it has to be other

guys stepping up. If he doesn't. Somebody is gonna have to step up and do something greater than what they typically do. It could be a Maria. But if they say we're gonna take Amar away, somebody else is gonna have to be the benefactor of that. And guess my point, you're right, But I don't trust Blake Jarwin or Michael Gallop to Cole or Cole to blow up against this team on this stage. Like I mean, that's one thing against the Giants. Yeah, I haven't seen it on a

consistent enough basis. I don't think you can take away Zeke and Mary Cooper. And if you do, then you're not a good team, that's the hope. You're just not a good offense. You're not. You don't have a good coordinator, you don't have a good quarterback, you don't have a

good system. If you're if you get to the playoffs and you allow a team to take away your running game and your best receiver, especially when they're when they're fourth overall picks and there and they're supposed to be catalytic players like they are, I would agree with that. I don't think that you can take away both. I will say this though, that's that would be if you're a Seattle, that would be the beauty of playing single

safety high. That means you got that extra safety down in the box that you can use to be able to help against the run, and you can shade your safety the safety that's deep, you can shade him till Maury's side to hopefully keep him in check. That's my point though. If you do that, then it's up to the Cowboys to figure out. Now, if they're gonna play that way, how much can Beasley can get single? How

much can Cooper beat you in man coverage? How much can dact because they're playing man coverage now, take some of those runs because everybody is preoccupied with the guy that they're holding, that they're trying to that they're trying to keep up with. How much can he turn that

into a fifteen twenty yard rundown feel scramble? Right? That's where I think that again, if the Cowboys, if everything works out for the Cowboys playing against this kind of defense, I think they can actually do something this type of defense. I'm I'm fascinated to see how this running battle shakes out, because we already I mean, Wagner's Wagner and kJ writes back, and he appears to be playing like his old self.

And we talked about their defensive line. It seems like they should be well equipped to limit the Dallas run game, but they are given up one hundred and thirteen yards per game, which is so so And we've already seen Zeke actually like he had a really good day against this team if he doesn't turn the ball over, if he doesn't step out of bounds. It was a mentally weird day for him. Like, yeah, it just seemed like

he was off. That it was a game unlike any we've ever seen from him before, Like he just he put balls on the deck way like twice as often as he normally does. He stepped out of bounds on what would have been a touchdown. I've completely forgot about that until we started getting into this thing this week. That, yeah, it was weird. I think after that game, Nick phrased it as like he played his best game in his worst game at the same time. Yeah, like it was one of his worst games as a pro, in which

he also really had a nice outing. So we've seen him do it before, can you do it again? I mean, and it's simplistic legs are rested up. It all. It all comes down to that for me. All right, Look, but you know dak is averaging two hundred and seventy four yards per game since Cooper got here to seventy four to seventy four. Receiver makes a difference, not bad, right, but the receiver matters, the catcher matters. I don't think

he's throwing. He's not throwing the stop. He's not throwing the Cowboys to a win on this defense, I don't think. And they're not. They're not this jugger not But they've been here before and like a lot of those guys are gone, but a lot of them are still here. I mean, Wagner and Wright were there for the whole thing, like they get it, So I think Seek needs to be there. All right, We're gonna take our first break

when we come back. I have a list of things that happened in that game, just observations from the first game. And what I want to do is I'm gonna go through the list, and I want you guys to tell me number one, if you think they will be the same or different, and how much you think they matter. We'll talk about that when we come right, back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. If you're like me and you love I mean, if you have a thing,

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com slash Football. Back to the Break, Welcome back. This is the second segment of The Break live from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star, talking Cowboys and Seahawks. Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna go through a list of observations from the first matchup in Week three, verses the Cowboys versus and the Seahawks, and some of

them it's pretty apparent there will be a difference. But I want you to tell me, if there is a difference, how much you think that difference will matter, or if it's not going to be a difference, and so you don't think it's gonna make much of a difference, all right, So let's start with the first one. In that game, as Dave alluded to, the passing game for the Cowboys was very It was really not that good. Of course,

Amari Cooper was not a part of the team. Prescott went nineteen to thirty four, fifty six percent completion rate, one hundred and sixty eight yards, one touchdown, twoptions, and then a fifty four point five quarterback rating. And by the way, that touchdown was a fricking handle. It was basically what it was was It was a it was what Actually one of our callers mentioned this a couple of weeks ago. He talked about how in the red zone, maybe the Cowboys should think about a shovel pass to Tavon.

That's exactly what it was in that game. That was their only touchdown was a shovel pass to Tavon. I think they were at the three, I want to say, and he gets into the end zone. Exactly what Tavon could theoretically bring to this offense, not what he has brought to this offense. It's actually the only touchdown the Dallas Cowboys have scored against the Seattle Seahawks in the last three meetings. Wow, so you don't know that that's

they did not score a touchdown last year? Field goal fest, Dez drop fest, ugly, ugly, ugly, and then twenty fifteen four field goals, Greg Hardy picked off Russell Wilson. Terrible, terrible game. So much so, how much of a difference do you think of Marii Cooper makes in this game? A big difference. I mean, go, I'm looking at the snap count for the receivers in the first game, and I mean, Alan Hearns had forty one snaps. Last week

he only had ten against the Giants. And I did have a nice catch, but only you know, and Deontay Thompson remember him twenty eight, Terrence Williams ten and guys that aren't doing anything. They're not playing any kind of football. Hearns sort of is. But but those three guys right there,

he's not playing. He had ten snaps. I'm just saying, that's how big difference it is, Michael gall that's from the standpoint of how they they literally they have shrunk this this rotation at the wide receiver not trying, yeah,

exactly excitements, but love that Kurt is a drop. They so literally they started the season with receivers that they have gotten rid of or down literally you know, quite literally, like they were like, we can these guys can start, and then by week six it was like these guys can't start right, And so that's where guys don't even need to be here, that's where that's where we are in. So I think that Cooper not only is a difference maker on offense, we've seen that. I think Michael Gallup

is a different receiver as well. I think the combination of those two guys and the it's a little mensition, a subtraction of one Earl Thomas, it makes that whole passing game going on the list, Oh, I think it will make. It makes a difference because he is a wide receiver that can definitely get open or it's so good that he demands double teams that should theoretically help other guys get open, and it's just it's Earl Thomas

not being on the team that actually on the list. Okay, no, I just said that Cooper just solidified the whole wide receiver position. And like they mentioned just now, back then, that's when the Cowboys still had a whole mess with the wide receiver. They don't know what that we're doing, just rotating everyone now, and that that was a problem because you don't really by not giving so many opportunities to one guy, they don't really have the chance to

kind of light up and get going. So it changes everything not only for Cooper, but for the other white receivers as well. Okay, Zolan else see the name or hear the name Cooper and just think Cooper Rush. I used to not anymore. I need to like even a little bit Jonathan Cooper. That's who I think of. No,

I like Cooper, Yeah, from Amari Cooper. I mean, you don't walk through I got to catch a flight later today and I'm going to walk through DFW Airport and there's not gonna be a ton of Cooper Rush jersey's hanging in the store. So there's gonna be a ton of Amari Cooper jerseys. Not my point. I'm not saying who's more significant. I'm just saying I still think of when I hear Cooper. I don't think of Amari guy because I say it most of the time, you just say it as one am Mark Cooper, Mark Cooper. But

I just think Cooper. I'm thinking Cooper Rush or Jonathan Cooper, Winnie Cooper, Mari Cooper, I'mari Cooper. So Nick, you did mention Earl Thomas, So let's flip over to Earl Thomas. And yes, obviously Earl Thomas makes a difference. My question would be, though, and goes back to what Dave was saying earlier in the show, the secondary is not the

strength of this defense. They've been doing it this year mainly with the fact that they have a good pass rush, They've got good guys down in the strenches, and their linebackers are really good. That being said, how much is a difference does he make in a defense where that's not really the best of what? Okay, here's what. To me, the difference will be that, for some reason is extremely lucky with defensive backs and linebackers who can't catch his passes.

I mean, there should have been at least four or five more interceptions, three or four more pick sixes this year because he's thrown it right to people bad reads and he's been lucky in the sense that they've dropped it and Earl Thomas didn't. Earl Thomas caught one off a shoelace Earl Thomas caught ball that was deflected four times by Jarwin, So he's not there to catch those passes which other people to not catch. Which it is

a valid question. I'm not trying to make fun of you, Derek, but like, yeah, it's gonna make a difference that a generational talent is not in Seattle's secondary. Yes, I think that's fair to say. My question, though, was how much

of a difference? Is this a situation where do you think it Well, I'm just saying, do you think that this is a defense that goes from being one that you just say, hey, I don't know that we can really pass very effect can expect to pass effectively against with him back there to one that I think we got opportunities when without him. That's my point, how much of a difference. I know that he makes a difference.

We all agree with it, like we all agree that he's that he makes a difference for their team, But their defense has played well without him most of the year. That's no, and there's still a good defense. And that was the point I made, is all right, Dak Prescott is not passing them to a victory. I don't think like you're gonna need balance, You're gonna need the run game. So a difference, but just you know, they they have not fallen apart without him, but still a difference. Okay,

let's move on. Let's talk about Zeke Elliott. That in that game, they obviously ran the ball signific fickantly well. Zeke had sixteen karas f one hundred and twenty seven yard seven point nine average, did have the mistakes. Do you think that we will see a different za, different Zeke this week? Do you think that with the addition of a guy like kJ Wright, maybe the running game isn't as effective as it was when they were in Seattle.

I think you've got a better chance to have a more focused Ezekiel Elliott than he was in that game. And we're not talking like he was you know, space Mountain here. I mean just he's stepped his foot, stepped out of bounds. I mean, you know that he doesn't normally make a play like that, and he normally doesn't fumble either. You know, he had a chance to score another field goal or touchdown there on that drive. So I think he will just be a better player than

he was, and he was pretty good that day. I agree with you. The combination of probably Connor Williams at left guard and then kJ Wright also being there worries me. It definitely worries me. And that's why I think it's gonna be. I think that's like the story of the game. And Connor, I mean, was playing in that game. And again I'm all for Suafila trying to that's a really good will to fread this thing out and maybe play. But I know you're right, Connor was in there. They

ran for one hundred and twenty seven yards. I think he's better. Yeah, I would hope. I would hope every player is better in Week eighteen than they were in Week three, especially a rookie. Um that's it's still dead. That's gonna be the other thing too, Remember that was that up until Indy. That was their biggest deficit of the season. And your running back's not going to factor as much in the fourth quarter when you're down twenty

four to six. So here's the thing. Hopefully they don't let that happen and he can have a role in the second half. Sick almost always has a good game.

Like some are more noticeable than others. Some it's just one of those that they stop him in a few yards, but then at the end of the game, those yards just all add up and he's still a good game for Szik So as far as him and especially after being rested and he the energy there, the focus is there, So I have no doubt that he's gonna be good and he's gonna be able to do something for you, whatever that is. He's gonna do something in like twenty

it's a great point in twenty nine NFL cities. Eighty five yards is like at a boy way to go and here Pittsburgh when Bell is there and probably La it's like eighty five that's all you had. Yeah, you didn't get a hundred day. Yeah, yeah, all right, it's like our final break. We'll come back. I have about four other things that were observations from the original well the first meeting between these teams this year. We'll talk about those when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys

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Ordtson dot Com. Today back to the Break. Final segment of The Break Live from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star, Nick tell us a little bit about Tommy John. Well every day, I'll tell you this every day, And Jason Garrett brings a certain player up to the front of the line to do like the final five jumping jacks. You know, it's like, this is the guy and this is the last practice before this first game, and who did you bring up? Jack Prescott. So I'm

gonna go with script number four as well. And also because it says crunch time is when you've got to stay cool. I think this is Dak and this is when he's got to stay cool. It's definitely crunch time. Nobody keeps their cool better under pressure than Tommy John. Tommy John underwear is the best. It's got the best fabric, it's got the most comfort, no adjustment needed. Tommy John

Shop Exclusive Cowboys Underwear at Tommy John dot Com. Four Slash Cowboys, get twenty percent off your first order, and when it's time to be crunch time, stay cool, Dak and Tommy John and the Cowboy fourth quarter rolls around. It's a three point game. You maybe got two possessions left, and it's the difference between legends and goats. Like, you're not gonna want to have to worry about your underwear, That's all I'm saying. Nope, you need to stay cool

and undepressure. Right. I am packing Tommy John for Saturday, no doubt. Cowboys, Well, I'm bringing up game. I'm bringing an outfit just in case I get delayed. You know, I'm thinking ahead smart. Yeah, so Cowboys, the one with the says cowboys down that way. No, No, you ever wear that one. If it's like laundry day and there's still and left, it makes me feel a little too. Who's gone, Yeah, that's done, Like, who's gonna see it? Well, okay, well that's no, I mean somebody you'll see it. Yeah.

The other day I had them one to my wife was like feeling like a fan of day Huh she had and she hadn't sings. She's like really, I was like, well that's I just got him. I got him. Yeah, I got him for free. But okay, yeah I get it. So yeah, can be a little bit be proud, be proud of wearing Cowboys on you and especially that area. Yeah, well just saying I wear him shorts. Go get the mail bams. Kidding? Okay, interesting neighborhood is all right, let's

get back into this. I had some more observations from the game. I want you guys to tell me how much of a difference or how much you think they will be different and how much of a difference they would make in this game. Zeke in that game only had three catches for eleven yards and one thing that you would notice on the second half of the year, Cowboys have been very much have been a lot more intentional about getting him involved in the passing game. Do

you think that will be a difference this week? And how much of a difference does it make in the Cowboys being able to win? Well, he was very involved. He actually could have had a lot more involvement there if you wouldn't have stepped out of bounds. That they actually had eight targets in that game. They just weren't connecting for whatever, you know, what I'm gonna go look at that if it's hard to think about now, the dude basically has eighty catches. But like we talked about,

he was not part of the passing game. W he was, it was one yard in front of the line of scrimmage with his back turned. And for the record, I still think they could utilize him more creatively as a receiver down the field, but it's hard to argue with the results. Yeah, he's a checkdown machine, but he turns those checkdowns into four or six, eight, ten yards, And yeah, I think he's gonna I think it's definitely gonna be a role because Dak is probably gonna have to check

it down. He's gonna need safe places to throw the ball. The big boys have kind of lowered it down as far as passing game and his involvement later in the season. No, no, I'm about to give you a sat that you're not gonna like, give me a stat hit me all right? Before Cooper got here, twenty five catches for Zeke. I don't really have the targets here, but what twenty five catches and then since then in the last eight games, fifty two catches, So doubles in the last and yeah,

I mean down the stretch. These are the last eight games just in catches five seven twelve six five seven six four. That's all with Cooper there. So why does it feel like it's gone down? Though it doesn't to me, actually using him a lot in the passing game, but I don't know. To me felt like at the beginning of the season they were using him a lot more. Maybe there were more mistakes and maybe that's why I

noticed it a lot more. Well, another theory I would suggest is I think it's definitely fair to say he made more big plays in the passing game in the first half of the season. Detroit comes to mind. He scored on a screen against who was who would that have been? Touchdown? He had touchdown against Detroit, touchdown against at at Philly, and a touchdown. These are catches you touch at Philly and then New Orleans he caught. Yeah, so well no, so that's not even completely true. It

felt he had big plays. He hasn't made as many big plays since Thanksgiving in my opinion, meaning like touchdowns or thirty yard games. But that's but go look at Atlanta. I don't think he had a reception over nine yards in that game. But he just was consistently there, consistently moving the chains, and it might not be pretty, but it's certainly important, Bill that you point out. I was just pointing out that he had a thirty four yard or against Atlanta, but I kind of wanted Dave to

just go with it. Yeah, oh, back down near the goal line, right either most of him. I remember, thirty four yard catch? How many? Yeah, it was a screen and he took it down into the red zone and they probably didn't score if I did it because Beasley dropped it right first drive of the game. Oh yeah. How many catches did he have in that game? Seven

for seventy nine. Yeah, So that's what I'm saying, Like, that's what they were doing in the latter part of the year when they were actually having a success in that little winning streak. I thought they got him very much involved in the passing game and he was making a difference. And that's what I've been waiting for since obviously really since the time that they drafted him, because when they drafted him, that's one of the benefits that actually I do well, I don't have his I don't

have his target tallies from September. But I know over the second half of the or no month of December, he's second behind Cooper on the team in targets. You know who's third, Carlin Blake Darwin and targets, targets, targets. How about that? You know what the apples Darwin's um. Darwin's stats look a lot like Jason Witten's rookie year. He caught thirty five passes his rookie year and I believe, I believe twenty eight or of making a lot of

comparison between those two lately. Did he break his jaw at any point? Not yet? Oh God, Jarwin, not trying to try. Jacket Jarwin? Is that world jacket jars? Oh gold jack gold jacket Blake, We're there yet, stop it? Oh no, you can't compare Wit his Witten number one, never had three touchdowns in the game, and he's never one Player of the Week exactly. Yes, get out of here, just over here, Slandering, one of the greatest players. We're

almost at being the show. But I did want to at least get this one in obviously that last but her why because I'm something that Jason did to him? I won't say it on He's just buy her her. We have see Actually, y'all have another show tomorrow. I don't. That's why I'm like, we need to talk about the game. But y'allre like now, no, no, no, I'll just I'll text y'all my prediction tomorrow. Okay, So notice he's not gonna call in. Yeah no, no, four sheets, not no,

not at eleven. I'll probably be hungover if I had guess. That's twice this week. Man, what can I say? It's this whole side of the table, the youths of today. We're gonna go in the show tomorrow. We will get to that final question of how much the venue matters. Last time they were in Seattle, it matters a lot. The Seahawks haven't beaten somebody with a winning record all year on the road, Thanks Dave, Cowboys. Only loss at home is to a team with a winning record. That

a playoff. You want to be on the show tomorrow. I'm just trying to fit as much stuff, h It's important. The seahawks earner is good on the road. They lost to the forty nine ers on the road two weeks ago, oh four and twelfth, San Francisco. All right, it's important. We appreciate you, guys, John Us. We'll be back tomorrow for Nick Keaton, Dave Helm and Progressie. I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been to break live on Dallas Cowboys dot

Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.