Cowboys Break: What's The Problem?

episode number eighty two. Welcome to the very latest edition of The Break, live from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. It is Christmas Week. We've got all kinds of goodies for you guys all week Monday through Thursday. There will be no show on Friday, but Monday to Thursday we got a lot of great talk for you, better talk than you'll hear anywhere else. And I'll put that, I'll put money on that. This is the best talk show and all the land, definitely, and anything has to

do with the Dallas Cowboys. So we're glad you guys joined us. And so let's first talk about this. Cowboys win. Cowboys get three straight road wins, which I don't care who you're playing I don't care what the margin of victory is. Getting three straight road wins is a feat and it is a tough feat to accomplish in the National Football League. Let's start with some storylines. Nick, tell me what is the storyline for you of this game. Well, they won three straight games on the road, and then,

I don't care what. It doesn't matter who you're playing. That is a feat. That is an accomplishment. Like you said, I mean, I think you took it. I mean, they won three straight games comfortably. For the most part. They dominated this game, and their defense is, you know, off the charts right now. Their defense is just absolutely carrying this team. And that's that's the storyline to me. As they can win by fifth team points and it felt

like fifty. There was a period of my afternoon where I was I wasn't mad, but I was I was troubled by this team. I mean, you keep the talents is there, you see it every week and you just keep saying, well, this team sucks. They'll finally get on track, like they'll finally get on track against this miserable team, and they didn't Ceedee Lamb had a terrible game. Dak was fine. He wasn't great. The ground game actually got going,

and so that made it even more disappointing. Dalton Schultz got going, Like the stuff that we said they needed to do to get back on track happened, and they still didn't look good. They scored two touchdowns, they struggled to score twenty one points. As an offense, I mean the defense, they might be the best in the NFL right now. In all honesty, I got nothing bad to say about them, but offensively, you're just like, this secondary's decimated.

I've got a friend that works in New York media that was like, if they can't get on track against this secondary, then they might not have a hope. And I was like, yeah, I think you're right. And they didn't. And so I say all this because I was just signing sitting there, I was like, what the hell is going on? They're they're gonna be in trouble at some point because it's not gonna be Glennon and Hinuchy and

Taysom Hill forever. And then I went back to my hotel to write, and I was cranking out my stories and doing this and that, and I look over and I'm like, damn, Tyler Halley's about to maybe beat the Packers. What the hell's going on? And I went out to get a drink with a friend of mine after I was off of work and spent the whole night keeping an eye on the Saints score, and I was like, what on earth is going on down in Tampa? What

the hell is happening in this league? And like by the end of the night, I was like, you know what, ten wins is ten wins. Three of the road wins is three road wins. Who gives a damn how you do it? That's I went full circle in the span of about four hours where I was I started like as soon as the game hit zero zero's, I was like, they're not that good, They're just why can't they get this right? And like by the end of the night, I was like, screw it, they got they Look they're

happier than everybody else in the NFC right now. Thank you for walking us through that, because I think there are probably a lot of fans that went through that realization moment last night where they may have started with man another game where they didn't feel great about a win, even though a win is a win, but by the end of the night. They're like, man, December football is hall. Hey whatever, you get a win, whichever way you get it, get in and how you fit in at this time

of year, But what's your storyline of the game. I mean, I feel like everybody just calls me a pessimist, but I mean I'm not happy, sorry, and I get it. A win is a win, and I get it. Three road games, yes, applause for you guys, But I just I don't know what else to say that I haven't said before. And it goes week after week, and like they've said, you keep waiting for them to get going. You're like, Okay, well it's not that bad. We still have a few games. You look at the opponents. You

can do it. I mean, these other teams are not playing great, so it's doable. You get to see you get to see the Giants, and you're thinking, this is a perfect game for them to kind of click again on offense. And great thing from Zeke and Paula, and I'm sure we'll talk about them. That was good to see them going. But it just sucks not to be able to get the kind of offense that you're looking for to finish out this stretch and Dak, I don't know if he is gonna. I don't want to say

that because I think he will. In my heart, I feel like, yes, that's what I want, and I think he will. But it's just it's not happening. We have not seen improvement from Dak. Even though was it Jerry that was saying that he saw some improvement from Dak. I missed Jerry last night. I thought Dak looked better yesterday. Actually, I was just about to go there, I actually think and I saw several people on Twitter saying that they didn't like Dak still not playing well, and I was like, really,

I thought Dak played an efficient game. Like his stat line. Check out his stat line. He's twenty eight thirty seven. He had two hundred seventeen yards, touchdown, no interceptions, a ninety eight point six rating. That's a pretty good day. Now, of course you factor in some drops, which that ain't his fault, right, And and I look at this and I'm like, he would have been right there on the custom of a three hundred day had he just gotten some basic catches from some of these guys. I just again,

I don't think that this was a bad performance. By dad. He's had some bad he's had some stinkers. We've talked about that. I don't think this was it's just I think it's it looks worse because you never saw it flowing, you know. It just doesn't seem to have that kind of rhythm that you're used to see in earlier on in the year. But to me, it's just it's not meeting the expectations. It's not he's not meeting the kind of level that he can and he said that before.

But I don't know. We'll see how they keep going to finish out December. So let me let's talk about it just from a big picture offensive standpoint. They had two touchdowns. Now, those two touchdowns when when they had short fields, they had the bought the New York Giant, they got the ball to New York Giant thirteen and the twenty nine. That's when they scored touchdowns. They were two or five in the red zone, which red zone

still continues to be a big problem for them. What do you think was the overall problem with the offense still in their ability to be able to move the ball and get points. I think this is just a continuation of what we've seen, which is I was going to say this off of what AG was just saying. Teams are forcing them to do the death by a thousand cuts thing, like they just and they can't break out of it, and they're not consistent enough to string

that together. And sometimes it's Dack's fault. Yesterday. Yeah, I mean, if CD makes those three catches, that's probably as much as sixty yards and continuing several different drives that you have scoring opportunities. But like I said, I feel a lot better about it after everything that happened yesterday. But Dak went back to this a couple times in the press conference where he was like, well, that's how teams are playing us. They're gonna put a shell on us.

They're not going to allow any big plays. And I'm just like I thought, y'all had the best receiver corps in the league, like I, and this is a giant secondary that's completely decimated, like they didn't have they don't have most of their good players like Covid reeked havoc on them, and they still weren't able to open things up and have any have really any downfield passing attack.

I mean, I think I wrote this in my story like a Mari gallop and CD accounted for like seventy yards of offense eighty eighty yards basically, and most of that was CD, who had the worst day of the three. So that's just it's disconcerting that they just they're they're having to string together all of these smaller plays to really put together scoring drives and that's that's not what I envisioned. And they don't run the ball well right now,

and they haven't been running it well. We've seen that, and that you have to run the ball in a game like that. It's easy to sit and watch the game from the TV or from the press box or whatever and just think, well, you got to open the ball up. But if you're down on the field and you can see that, like it's not a day to pass. It wasn't a day to kick. It wasn't a day to pass. I mean, it's a tough place to throw the ball around, and so if you're not gonna throw

it deep, you can't throw it deep. You can see what was happening with the ball. You have to be able to run it, and this team is struggling running the ball. So kind of a one dimensional team, And I mean, and that's not a huge excuse because I mean, if you're gonna do anything, you're gonna have to go through Green Bay and the weather conditions are gonna be tough there. So but you know, it certainly wasn't a

day to throw the ball around the yard. Let me ask you about the running game, because if you look at the stat line, Tony Poler had twelve carries seventy four yards a six point two average. Zeke at sixteen carries fifty two yards a three point three average. You look at that, in your natural inclination is to say they were running the ball with Tony pretty well, like the average is six point two. Zeke was the one that you look at his carries and he's had a

three point three average. Is it that simple or there other things that don't help? Okay, ask the question. It's not that simple because and I and I gotta go back and look. But I mean sometimes on second and two, if you get or third and two, if you get two, yeah you did your job, and then that kills your average and all that. But there's no doubt Pollard around

the corner. I mean, I mean, I think it worked well yesterday and inside outside a little bit more for Pollard or running the ball better average, of course, But you know, I thought the touchdown run wasn't was a good play by Zeke and a good good hole by Connor Williams and be honest or so you know that they they got to run it more efficiently though, if they're going to, especially in conditions like that. And I'm not saying it was like a dust storm out there,

but it was really tough. I mean that's why, I mean everyone wants to cut the kicker. I mean, he missed two extra points in the meadow lands. I think I think he'll be fine. I actually thought Zeke looked pretty good yesterday. I'm looking I'm looking back through it to see like you're seeing some ones twos and zeros in second half, Like particularly in the first half, I thought he looked good. I mean the first touchdown was like, very nice run, very good blocking by that was great

blocking off. And so I wonder if he kind of wore down as he started taking more hits. I mean, he did carry the ball sixteen times. I'm at this point, I think, unless unless you're willing to take the steps to sit him down which doesn't seem like they want to do that. And that's fine. I keep saying I don't really want to do that, but like, unless you're willing to do that, I think it's probably time to

consider Tony having the larger workload. And that's ironic because Tony's dealing with an injury as well, but he has had more success over this second half of the season, and that's pretty healthy. Yesterday, yeah, he looked fine. He had a couple where he was like one broken tackle away from going maybe not the distance, but a hell of a lot further than he did. So I definitely I thought Zeke ran about as well as he has

since the bye week yesterday. But if you're not going to sit him down and give him a chance to get healthy, then I'm ready to say Tony should probably have a larger percent of the workload. So, Nick, you didn't think the running game even what they needed yesterday, Well, I mean I just felt like it was borderline to

one dimensional. I mean it was. It was a tough day to throw out there, and when you're throat, when you can't throw it deep, you're gonna have to lean on the run, and that's not been their strong suit. They ran okay, one hundred and twenty five yards, but they needed to run it better in a game, In a game like that, I mean, that's that's all I'm saying, is you're gonna get into games where, maybe some cold weather, you're gonna have to be able to lean on the run.

And that's just not something they've been able to do lately, is lean on the run. I'm not I'm not really worried that much about the passing game too much. I think I think they'll get back on track the next couple of weeks. Just that's that's what I thought this, that's what I thought this would be, which and you're right, the conditions. The conditions aren't perfect, I guess, But I just don't know what people are wanting. I mean, you're ten and four. You're ten and four. This is a

great football team. This is a great football team. I wanted to feel like they're not pulling teeth to get three hundred and twenty eight yards of offense against a terrible teams. I mean, that's what I want, And I get I mean, like like I said, I get it. They're ten and four. They jumped into the two seat

in the NFC yesterday. Like I'm not saying you need to be unhappy or think that they suck, but it's very fair to wonder what happened to the team, to the offense that was just cranking out four hundred yard games like it was nothing. Is it fair to say? And actually, we're gonna take a break, but I'm gonna pose this question before we'll come back and talk about it.

Is it fair to say that maybe what we saw Denver say after that game, which is teams are not playing them the right way, what we think we saw from what Denver did was we're going to force you to drive the field. Is it not fair to say that this is what you get when teams say we're gonna make you drive in small chunks down the field and Dallas is gonna have to figure out how to they sustain drives yesterday, but at this point they're gonna have to sustain that and figure out how to get

in the end zone. Is it fair to say that they are doing what teams are giving them the ability to do and that may just be how they're gonna have to play in order to win. We'll talk about that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. At ATNC, everyone new and existing customers get our best deals on every smartphone. Why because you deserve it for turning your living room into your office and your gym. We're teaching. Grandma had a video call

and teaching her again. It's the button on your left Nana, Okay, your other laughs. It's not complicated. Everyone deserves something new, So ATNC has given everyone new and existing customers are best deals with every unlimited plan on every smartphone, even the latest ones. At T may temporarily slidated. Spec at the network is spasical restrictions and acceptance may apply. Hi. I'm Clint Tillison, I'm Jay Novachek, and we're both with Turf,

the official tractor provider of the Dallas Cowboys. So if you need a tractor to bail some hay, I'm more to cut some grass, or a gator to get some chores done, get a John Deer at unanatag in Turf and then let's get to work. Hey Jay, that's my line, well not today. Get to work with a John Deer tractor package that's just right for you and your budget. Visit unantaginturf dot com. Before there was a draft, you

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you deserve that? Doctor Pepper zero sugar? The zero you deserve is finally here. Back to the break all right times running out to visit the start to get your photo of Sandon presented by a monument really Santa Claus. We'll be at the Cowboys theme cottage at the Star District across from Ascension and the Star Boulevard from through December twenty fourth. For more information, book your photos at

the Starter District dot com slash Sandon Welcome back. It is the second second of the Break Life and s WBC Mortg Studios. At the start, we're talking about the Cowboys win over the New York Giants. They win twenty one to six. Before the break I was asking this question, you look at how the Cowboys played yesterday. They complete a high percentage. Your plat passes a lot of underneath throws. I thought, I thought they ran the belt the ball efficiently.

I thought they got what they needed out of their running game for a game like this. Their defense played outstanding. Is that not the formula maybe for how Dallas needs to play? And we need to maybe give up that whole idea of you know, you can throw for three hundred and fifty four hundred yards and win games, and maybe this is a better, more sustainable way of winning

football games. Yeah, I mean That's something Kellen Moore is going to have to realize and if he hasn't already, is that you know, you can win games kicking field goals with this defense, not with just with all defense, but with this defense in a game like that, you got to understand. And I don't think it's bad to say, I've said this on the radio this morning. I mean Doc is a bus driver right now. That's what he needs to do is drive the bus. This offense is

not what it was before. And this is a defensive football team. So you know, yes, be less conservative down in the red zone, kick field goals, put your best unit back on the field. I mean there are certain games where you have to do that, and I think every game takes on a life of its own. When you're facing Mike Glennon and Taylor Heinekey and those guys, you know, be smart, don't don't And I understand why

they're turning the ball over in the fourth court. I mean eight minutes to go, they're doing these bootlegs and stuff like that. I mean that's just the arrogance that I still don't think that they've gotten out of and say this is not what we need to do not at that point in the game, run the ball, punt it, and let your best unit get on the field and

take control. Do you think that was about them? Them also wanting to get this offense on tracks, so they're like, we're gonna keep trying, keep trying, everything this thing going, Like, you know, that's the only thing I can think of, because you're right, just if you watching the game, you're like, just put this thing away. Why are you doing that? Well, you don't have to. I'm like Dak struggles with impatience

and greediness. I mean, maybe he would take issue with that if he heard me say it, but like every week he's like, yeah, that was me being greedy. You know, he held on in the ball too long because he was looking for Amari further down the field. He had Michael Gallup open. He said that himself, and that's a recurring theme, like he's frustrated by not having the plays that were there for him earlier in the season and he's trying to get it. Reminds me of me playing Madden.

I say that all the time, like when you're when you can't get it working, you just start forcing stuff and you're like, I'm getting my damn stats. I don't care, and I'm not saying that Dak cares more about stats than wins, but you get accustomed to that, and you also know you have the talent to make it happen. And that's why I disagree with with that, not completely, because I do think that there are important elements to

playing this late season, December playoff football. You gotta be able to run the ball, you gotta be fundamentally sound. But just too much talent on this offense for me to be like, you know, you guys, just run it three times and put the defense back on the field, like And that's what's frustrating about this game is even in the conditions again, CD left like fifty sixty yards of offense on the field with just simple mistakes that

a great receiver shouldn't make the crosser to Amari. I think it was the very first possession of the game, Like Dad can make that throw in his sleep, or should it could at one point in his life, and he just can't right now. And that's what makes it frustrating, is like again I keep saying it like you're you're

just slightly off and they just can't make it. Click, and so imagine how much more devastating this team could be if you're adding sixty two one hundred more yards of passing offense, getting into the red zone two or three more times a game. And it's just frustrating because it's it's not like they're just banged up beyond belief and don't have the horses to make it work. They

just can't get it right. Ever. See, my concern is look at the opponents that they've been playing, and I don't I don't want to diminish what the defense has been doing because I think they're playing great, like really really good. But look who they've been playing lately. And the last game that was like the toughest opponent, I would say it was the Chiefs, right, would you agree? They held them to nineteen points? But then look at what the offense did only nine points. So that's my concern.

It's like, what happens once you move past these quote unquote bad teams. What happens when you get to the playoffs, maybe against the Cardinals. What does the offense do for you? Because and I was gonna ask you, I mean, do you still fully believe that you can and you mentioned I forgot what team that was that was all about defense, and they got to the Super Bowl and one who was it the Giants a long time ago, And it's just like, I'm finding it very hard to believe. And

I get it. A lot of people say, oh, defenses win championships, but when you see the way that this offense has been playing, I'm just like, it's scary. It's it's it's concerning because as much as the defense is doing for you, what are they doing when they give you the ball back? Nothing? So that's my problem. This all they got yesterday on the two turnovers, they got

two touchdowns. They had four. Yeah, I'm saying, but on two of those when they got the ball in favorable field position, not not what would be typically when you get it after punt. Let's say, like they turn those into touchdowns. But in the most part, and like when they get to the red zone, they still have issues with the red zone. So that's that's the thing. Is the talent that they have. We know, we've seen it, and that's the problem with such a talented offense. They

should be playing better. We've seen them playing better. And Nick kept saying. Nick kept saying, oh, ten and four. How can you be mad at ten and four? Well, you can't. You can't. You keep saying no, but you can be mad because you look at I get it. The win is a win and it's great. And at the end of the day, if that led you to a trophy, you still have the trophy. But the thing is, even when they were playing better, you were seeing the

struggles that they were having. They were still having struggles at the beginning of the year with how amazing they were playing, but the difference was that they were able to overcome things. They were able to make adjustment and do better. This part of the season, they are unable to do that. They haven't shown the quality of being capable of overcoming things, even though they got their players

healthy for the most part back. So let me ask this quite good, I mean, you and I are typically aligned on this, but like, they've won three in a row, so clearly they've overcome not being good. Like I have to give them credit for that or finding ways to win these games, which in December you have to be you have to do that in December and in January football. But let me ask you this question, because I thought this was something very interesting that Mike McCarthy mentioned last week.

He was talking about December football, and he said, basically, early in the season, you can play and you win on you can win a lot of games, and you can move the ball offensively through scheme because teams don't know what you're doing. You can catch them off guard. As soon as they catch up to that, you can give them something different. He said, Once you get to December football, it's no longer about scheme. It is about the ability to execute. It is about the ability, it's

about your technique. Is it maybe a possibility that we overestimated how good these offensive skill or offensive players are. I'm not saying skill, offensive line the whole thing. Are we overestimating how good they are? Where now it's no longer about scheme. Maybe they got by early with scheme.

Maybe scheme got them those four hundred yard days. Maybe what we're seeing right now is that when teams know what you're gonna do, they just can't execute to the level to be able to put up thirty forty point No. Simply put, they gave Dak forty million in the offseason. They gave Cooper twenty million the year before that. I'm not talking about the money. I'm asking you, are they good enough? Why do you get paid that type of money? Amari Cooper has never not had a thousand yards season

in his life. Well, like they've given contract They've given contracts to people who haven't live until so all of a sudden, guys are not good. No, I'm asking you the question. I'm asking you the question. Is there a possibility here that if they were doing all these things early in the season, and we all agree they're not performing at the level that they were performing early in

the season. Is it because possibly that it's caught up to him that the scheme was the reason why they were getting so much success early and maybe now that teams know what they're doing, they just don't have the ability to put up those kinds of points. And you have to settle for the fact that this is a good offense, not a great offense, and you hope your defense continues to be great. I mean, you're not going to have runs like they had in September and October.

Everybody gets that. But they've scored five touchdowns in the last month. No, lie, they're better than that. They just are. Like, that's at what point? And what do they have to do to make you believe that what they're showing is just who they are. They go, I gotta win, and they gotta they gotta win in the playoffs, because it doesn't matter. You can win all these games, thirty one to ten, thirty seven to ten, we could be sitting here,

they could still be ten and four and nothing. None of that's gonna matter if you go to you don't go to Green Bay and win, or you don't go to Tampa or whatever and win. So so I'm sitting here and saying, I'm here, hey, well, well this is this is a good this is a good team. They're they're tending for that. They're like, what second best record in the NFL right now, They're they're they're a good team with a great defense and an average offense. That's

what it's looking like right now. But like even if it was an above average offense, that doesn't mean it matters if you don't go to and win in Green Bay. So I mean, I I'm sitting here and saying I'm not saying it's like all fine and stuff. They're still gonna have to go and execute in the playoffs. But I don't think it's I mean, I just don't think it should be disappointing or embarrassing or anything because this football team is leaning on its defense now, I mean

that they their defense is special. You have to have something special to win, and they have something special. They just flipped on this. It's agree. I'm not disappointed. I don't know what they're gonna do. What they're gonna do, I just think and to answer your question more directly, every win buys them another week where I'm like, okay, like we started to clock back over, they get another opportunity to go out there and and this is gonna

be fun. Not so much this game. I mean, this will still be a big game, but you get a chance to go against Kyler Murray and the team. I know they just lost to the Lions, but it's still good. Still have been. They've had the best record in the NFC basically all years. So you get a chance, and it's fun to think. You get a chance to test yourself against that type of opponent without the stakes being as high like you're gonna be in the playoffs. So

that's fine. This isn't gonna make or break your season, and so that'll be that'll be a fun measuring stick. I just think, and I swear I'm not trying to take away from anything the defense has done. They've been amazing, Uh, Taysom Hill, Taylor Heineke, and Mike Glennon. He was they scored nine points. I mean, I'm just saying, yeah, it reminds me like we did his best if they scored that point. We did this last year or too, where they beat Cincy, San Francisco and Philly and they forced

a bunch of turnovers. And again like, I'm not trying to take that away from them, but it'll be Rogers at some point, or Kyler or Tom Brady, whatever it's And that's so that's I think. It's not disappointment, so much is concern of like you can get away with this right now, you won't be able to forever. I know we're on the same page. And to answer your question, like I still strongly believe that they are really talented,

it is there. It is one of those I'm not a musician, so I don't know, but when I see someone like with a guitar or something and it's just like they're turning a knob to the sign and he's say, and then you just needed to turn something. I've been looking to turn it around just one bit. Like that's how I feel this off is. It's just like I've been looking for. They're kind of flat right now. You gotta get them, you gotta get them right. You've nailed it.

I've been looking for an analogy, and that's perfect. Like you can play the song and it'll be fine, but you like, it's not right in the pitch then, and even and even to the average listener it sounds okay, but to the person playing and it's I'm just a tash, gotta find that turn and then they'll be right there. Like that's how close I think there really are. And I firmly believe that the talent is there, and I really hope that they're able to show it before the

season ends, at least in the last two games. Honestly, I'm gonna be honest, you got I'm not so convinced. I honestly believe this offensive line is not performing at the level that that kind of great offense has to

have from its offensive line. I think as a result of that, this offense is not able to operate at the optimal level and they were able to do it earlier in the season when number when they were healthier, but number two, when they had a situation where they, you know, would just they could do some things with skin. And I think that's all caught up with them. And I know, I think defenses know exactly where they need to affect this offense because of whether there are deficiencies

in the offensive line. And I think that's what shows up. And I don't think they will solve that this season. I really don't see. I think they might because I going back to the run game, I thought you could tell a noticeable difference with Connor Williams in the line up. Let's take a break because I want to talk about that, and I want to talk about if we think Connor Williams made that big of a difference because this was a better running game than we've seen the last several weeks.

We'll take our final break, come back and talk about that. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. I want to use what the pros use. How about the official men's skincare brand or the Dallas Cowboys Jack Black. Right now, you can get the Jack Black Starter, a curated collection of Cowboys locker room favorites for just ten bucks with free shipping. The Starter includes four Jack Clack skincare favorites plus a full sized and tense therapy lip bomb. Go to get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys and use

the code word team JB. Let's get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys. The Jack Black Starter ten bucks free shipping. At ATNC, everyone new and existing customers get our best deals on every smartphone. Why because you deserve it. We're turning your living room into your office and your gym. We're teaching Grandma had a video call and teaching her again. It's the button on your left Banna, Okay, your other laughs.

It's not complicated. Everyone deserves something new, so ATNC is given everyone new and existing customers are best deals with every unlimited plan on every smartphone, even the latest ones. A teen t may temporalislidated spec at the network is basic. Restrictions and exceptions may apply. Hi, I'm Clint Tillison w Man. I'm Jay Novachek, and we're both with Turf, the official

tractor provider of the Dallas Cowboys. So if you need a tractor to bail some hey, I'm more to cut some grass or a gator to get some chores done. Get a John Deer at unitedagin Turf and then let's get to work. Hey Jay, that's my line, well not today. Get to work with are tractor package that's just right for you in your budget. Visit unanataginturf dot com. Before there was a draft, you could size up a cowboy by three simple factors. Decrease at his hat, the bend

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to United to get yours today. Welcome back. It is the final segment of the break Life in SWBC Mortgage Studios at the start did mentioned earlier, I want to keep reiterating we will not be doing shows on Friday. These guys are going to get a little time to spend some time with their families. On Chris, what episode is this? Do you did? I forget the number? It was eighty two? Thank you, we can move on. Okay, good, we all know what that is, all right. I didn't

think I needed to say it, but eighty two. We know who it is. It's to the goat, all right, good, all right now, Dave, you brought at this point right before the break, and I thought it was interesting. It was one thing something I noted that I wanted to give you guys all a chance to sound off about. Had Connor Williams back at left guard yesterday? Had Connor mcgovernment back at his fullback, whole package, whatever whoever they

want to put him. And I think to me there was no coincidence that the running game seemed to be more efficient yesterday. Do you guys think that that was in large part due to them going back to that lineup? I mean, I think there's there's always gonna be more to it than that. You need like eight people doing their jobs right to run the ball well. But yes, I thought Connor made a difference. He got a great he sealed the alley for Zeke on the first touchdown.

He got to the second level. They used his athleticism to pull him on. Some of the players to the outside. They looked like themselves like Zeke. It wasn't like the most amazing run of his life, but he ran like the stretch, play to the edge and looked for the whole like you know, like we've seen him do a million times. I feel like I haven't seen him doing that in the last six seven weeks, and he was doing that yesterday for decent, if not amazing gains. And so the reason I said that at the end of

the last segment was put Connor with tyring. Hopefully he'll be back sooner rather than later. Maybe maybe you're cooking with something. They're both more comfortable in those positions. I think. I think Connor Williams is more comfortable starting, and also they pull with him a lot more. He's a lot more athletic. And then strangely enough, I mean Connor McGovern seems to be just a better player in this whole package.

I mean, he does a nice job of of, you know, having space and then finding the guy in blocking, and I think they're they're doing different things with him. I think both of them, though, are in a better spot. And I think that they can run the football and be a little bit more versatile, especially you know in the red zone that they didn't they didn't really do anything in this red zone. But I honestly think they kind of took their foot off the gas a little bit.

I think you get in a game like that. I think that they were a lot more conservative with some of the play calling and just and you know, we're not getting throwing an interception in that end zone. You're not gonna do anything. You're gonna get your field goal, get your points. We saw it. Third and seven, Yeah, third and seven in a draw at the middle. Was that because of ze I mean Dak, was that because of their phraserline might miss again, whatever it was, But

they went and took the points. And I think that was kind of a combination of Hey, let's just let's just keep this thing going. Let's just keep stacking points. Because Mike glenn is still throwing balls. As as as disappointed as I was by the offensive performance, like I think there was a very deliberate they're not beating us as long as we're as long as we get to like fourteen and fifteen whatever points, Like, they're not going

to score seventeen to twenty one points. And I think that was part of their philosopher standing at the ten yard line at the end of the game and they're they're down there and I'm on there with you and Shannon, and I'm like, they're not gonna score. There's no They're They're sitting on the ten and they're like, they're not scoring, ye, and they're just not They're not gonna get in like who That's why I called this team of must watch defense,

because somebody's gonna make a play, somebody. And every time, I mean thinking an interception in Dave's like in the press box, was that digs Was that digs And I was thinking it too well, it was it was almost like there's disappointment because it's Hooker, you know, because you want digs By the way really well, he's playing really good football, play outstanding, I mean Pro Football focus had the best defensive player in football yesterday. Um, but like

I'm always looking for Parsons. I'm sure the quarterback is too. Every snap I'm looking for Parsons. I get mad when he's on the bench, like picking a break. What are you doing, hell, rookie, it's not it's probably. I mean, it's kind of bs that we've gotten this far into the show without really talking about the way that they played.

I mean that they were amazing, and I know the Giants suck, but Parsons switching off of a guy to take Gala Day to the to the pieline on and break up the pass without drawing a pass interference as a linebacker, may are you he insane? Is the best defensive player this year in football. And I don't care what anybody has to say, because I don't care whatever guy you name, I'm gonna say he doesn't do all

the things that Michael Parsons does. Good job, good job all three of us yesterday for not jumping on side. So I was so ready. I was so ready just launching him in full debate mode and like talk him down to New Yorkers were just going at it about and their best New York accent. I can't stand but go ahead. They're just going at it, how mica, I mean, compare him to Derek Thomas. What you don't have to be compared to the best that ever played the game.

And then then the guy came over and it was like he had one hundred and thirty five tackles as a rookie. Everyone who can just go f themselves. I'm like, whoa, whoa, We're taking it there. You know, people are like weirdly defensive of LT, considering like every franchise has a guy like LT. Yet well just a guy like that, like a Hall of Fame, goat caliber player, all time player. Yes, And I like it would be easy to say, like throw some jab and be like, well, yeah, you've been

pathetic for the last five years. Of course you're going to cling to your history. But like they've won Super Bowls more recently than the Cowboys have, So what are you so defensive about? Like, the comparison is just the fact that Michael Parsons has a really, really good chance to win two awards that no one has done in the same season since Yah Lawrence Taylor. That's what. And if you compare Lawrence Taylor I'm not saying he's Lawrence Taylor.

What I'm saying is compare their rookie years. I think Mica is making a comparable He's having a comparable rookie year. And that's that's the part that to me can't like, don't get lost in the fact you brought up his name, like no players should be at a point where you can't bring up his name like he literally Mica is having a rookie year. That's just it's historic in my opinion, Let's just go down the line and make sure everybody gets their flowers. DeMarcus Lawrence maybe, I mean, one of

the most dominant games I can remember him playing. It's amazing what a guy can do when he's finally got help and not being double teamed all the time, and he's got Michael pars second with him. Wow, Okay, cool, Just not don't want to give anybody else some shine. No, but Anthony Brown. Anthony Brown got picked on on Thanksgiving and every team he's played since has tried to pick on him, and he's like, no, you're not doing that. Like he's been awesome for the last three weeks. Treyvon

Diggs ten picks speaks for itself. Malie Hooker's coming on Jayron curse the play he made where he took the guy. I don't know if it was Saquan or Booker, but he came from the backside. He's just he just never stops hustling, like he just wants to hit somebody all the time. And it's fun to be in the Pro Bowl. Neville Gallimore just bullying the interior of the line. They didn't have Tristan Hill or OsO DIGGI zooa. He was fine with that. I don't know if did Randy even

notch a stat. He might not have, but like that's just why stats are kind of bs, because he was giving them fits all day. He I don't know if he did. Look I don't, Okay, No, Randy Gregory had one tackle for loss and nothing quarterback hit and he I mean he You're talking about them not scoring from the ten yard line, Like that's why if you give Randy Gregory a free run at the quarterback, you're the play is not going to go the way that you

wanted to. They were awesome, Layton Vanderesh. I thought he was more physical than he has been in recent weeks. Probably let the team in tackles, which you know, like they I mean, you gotta consider the opposition at times, but like, I mean, they're dominant. What so seventeen points against the Saints really thirteen points against Washington because of the pick six and then six points. I mean, it

speaks for itself. But I was gonna mention earlier when Nick started talking and making his point, it's like, how cool is it the fact that you see so many different players making a play like names that you're like, oh wait, who was that? Oh I don't have a graphic for that guy. Okay, let's just put a generic graphic out. Sorry. But and you compare to the offense again, how we were talking about the offense earlier on in the year. It's like, oh man, everybody on offense is

making plays. Everybody's getting like you got all kinds of different weapons on here and now somehow and that's the crazy thing. Somehow the defense is becoming what the offense was earlier in the season, and everybody on defense is winning something. And if it's not one guy, it's the other. So when you see and I was thinking, I'm like, I bet I wonder how upset Mica is at this game that he wasn't able to really you know, show up on numbers or big plays like that. But that's

the amazing part. And that's actually where I was going to go with this, and I was trying to get I need to pull it all together. A number of the plays, big plays that other guys got, go back and see what Michael was doing on There were so many plays where he was really the guy that created the situation. And that's why I mentioned it to you.

I didn't want to take shine from anybody, but I think the reason why this defense is playing at this level ultimately comes down to a guy that soul can do so many different things and can affect the game in so many different ways like Mica can, and it's creating all these opportunities. And by the way, all these guys are capable when they get in those situations to take advantage, which oh, sorry, go ahead, and well, you know, I only I get to talk to these guys after

the game. I don't get I don't get the guys on the podium. So I've talked to Dak only once and that was Minnesota when he didn't play. I've talked to Michael one other time, and it was New England. He was pissed, so he didn't like coming to see you. No, No, he was pissed because he didn't play well. He was gonna go to the podium, except for when Diggs got that pick. They flipped it. So I thought he might be kind of upset a little bit because you know,

he had one tackle or whatever. Now he I think he understood and and and he you know, he answered the LT thing again and you know he said, no disrespect to him at all. You know, I'm not at that level. I'm just trying to make my own way and all that. But um, but you're right. I mean he did a lot of things. I thought that the play with Tank that he knocked him, you know, the first interception, I think he was coming around the edge just stepped up just a little bit. He had to

step up. But um, you know, when I when I make my mental highlight reel of what Mike has done this year, the freaking the pass breakup on Galladay, I'll be in there. So like people can talk about him not having a great game, I thought he made one of his like five best plays of the season. Like, yeah, that in New Orleans sue with Herbert interception, the Herbert sack, the Taysom Hill sack. Yeah, the Saints play this play.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but yeah, I mean that's on the short list, like and yeah, I mean it's obvious the way offenses have to account for where he is. Yeah, he's He has been a remarkable player for Dallas, and I think when when it's all said and done, I don't I'm not gonna make a prediction of what he's

gonna be long term throughout his career. What I can say is this year has been one of the best seasons I've ever watched the defensive player play, just from the standpoint of all the things he's had to do. I mean literally going from I'm gonna play linebacker to know this week I'm gonna put my hand on the ground and be a defensive end like he has done things that you just don't see players, not just rookies, player is doing NFL, and it's done it at an

extremely high level. If he were a linebacker, he'd be going to Pro Bowl as a linebacker. If he were a defensive end full time, he'd be going to the Pro Bowl as a defensive end he has been. He's at that kind of season. Lawrence had a great quote last night where he was like, that's the beauty of it when you like, you gotta play all eleven of us, it's not just one guy. It's a good quote. But the really fun thing is that he's wrong because they've got like nineteen guys that you I mean, you know

they got I can't. I still can't believe I'm saying this, Like they got more safeties than they know what to do with. Donald Wilson's not even playing right now. He'll be back eventually. You would assume Osa and Tristan will hopefully be ready for this game. How does that work? They were ruled out what sad Saturday, and it's well, it depends on it. They they could get a ten day they'd missed the next one, yes, but Cedric Wilson only missed four days, just as recently as last week.

So I think we're gonna protocols. We're gonna have to readjust the way we think about some things with the new protocols, for sure. But yeah, no, I mean this defense is incredible. There's like seventeen or eighteen legitimate playmakers. I think it's gonna start getting a lot better for the NFL teams. And it's not a coincidence either, but it's gonna start getting better for teams. The numbers of cases and players missing, I think are about to go

down dramatically. So yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that. As soon as we get some more clarity on what the protocols are and what they mean, we'll talk about that a little bit more. All Right, we appreciate you guys, Joannas. We'll be back on tomorrow. We're gonna start getting ready. We've got a short week here, so we'll start getting ready for Cowboys versus the Washington Football team that will

be for the division. Assuming tomorrow night there isn't a tie between the Washington Football team and the Philadelphia Eagles. That still is the one slight chance Cowboys app to clinch the division this week, but otherwise that will be the game for the division next weekend. We'll start talking about that tomorrow. For Nick Even, Dave Helmont, and Amber Garcia. I am Derek Eagletson. This has been The Break live

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