Cowboys Break: What We Know

to another edition of The Break. I am live from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star, got my crew with me, Nick Eatman, Dave Helman, Amber Garcia. We got an our hour of Cowboys talk with you guys today. A lot to get into. We will be joined here in the maybe later in the first segment, but definitely by the second segment by Bucky Brooks. He is our guy that we bring in to talk about or to

scout for the other team. He's gonna give us a scouting report on the Rams defense today versus a Cowboys offense. Before we get to that, though, we're gonna talk a little bit about some injury updates from coach McCarthy. We'll talk a little bit about the Rams match up with these guys, um and in the third second, we're gonna do it in something a little new. Today, we got a game for you guys called I know, I think, I have no idea. We'll do that all. In the

final segment, how's everybody doing today? We're doing good. We're doing great. Good girl to be here. Get this thing, Roland, We're gonna do this. No one ever asked you how are you doing? Derek. Wow, that really touches me. And because nobody really ever asking me how I'm doing, So I appreciate you. Look at the look on Dave's face. Um, so I appreciate you asking how I'm I'm doing great. I'm doing great, happy to be back at the Star and happy to be on the show with you guys

one more day. So let's jump into this. I would never ask you, no one ever asked you because you're the most consistent person in the world. I mean, you're always the same. You might be frustrated by a couple of things, but you're always the same. So that's what we always know. How you are. You're good. I guess that's a compliment. I hope that's a compliment. All right, let's jump in. I do want to do something a little different today, and I'm gonna do this every day.

We're gonna go around Robin, not everybody today. Every day we're gonna have a different person to do it. But every day we're gonna start the show, and I'm gonna throw out a question to one of you guys that's just gonna be kind of what's on your radarf for today? Today? Nick gets your day, So tell us what's on your radarf for today? What? By the way, this can be anything. If you notice something on social media this morning that really piqued your curiosity, feel free to talk about it.

But Nick, what's on your radar for today? Well, I think judging from what the story that came out yesterday with Dak Prescott did and did an interview with his brother and talked about a lot of different subjects and so it was a touching article and videos. So if you we get a chance to actually talk to Dak today, and I'm sure a lot of that stuff's gonna come out, So I think that that is something that'll be on our radar right there. Just what Dak says, and you know,

as he's gets ready for this first game. I mean, he's got other stuff on his mind as well. Yeah, I don't know if you guys heard that interview. I was listening to it this morning on the radio when I was on my way into the office, and I mean literally I was almost in tears listening to his brother talk about his brother Jas, who had taken his

own life a little earlier this year. I think it was Draft Day actually when this all happened, or at least when the news broke, and just hearing him talk about how excruciating that was for him was very, very emotional. And so I'm looking forward to to hearing Dak talk a little bit more because I'm sure he'll have some questions. There'll be some questions for him on how he's managing and how he's dealing with all of that while he's trying to also go on with his life and get

ready for an NFL season. So it will definitely be interesting to hear a little bit more from him. Before we get to Bucky, I do want to talk to you guys a little bit about some injury updates, as well as talking a little bit about what we expect this matchup to be this weekend versus the Rams. Let's start first with Mike McCarthy. He talked about some men guys that came back from injury. Yesterday Cheetah bay Woogia,

Davier Woods, and Mary Cooper all returned to practice. Dave, what did he say about what those guys or those guys coming back and what they're what their outlook is for playing this weekend. I mean, in my experience, coaches don't love to say people are going to be available days ahead of time, but I mean, you can just look at the practice report. You know, Cheeto Cheetoh was full for the first time since he got hurt, and

Xavier Woods wasn't even on the report. So when a guy's not listed, it obviously means his injury is far behind him enough that they're not even limiting him. So I expect both of those guys to be available, which you know a week ago that didn't necessarily seem as likely. So that's really encouraging. The one, you know, the one guy to keep an eye on is probably Jordan Lewis.

I don't get the feeling that he's going to be available, but with Cheeto back in the fold, you know that still gives you four or five corners that you can work with even without Jordan Amber. With that being said, Jordan Lewis, how concerned to you that he's not maybe not going to be playing. I think we probably all agree that if he were playing, he's probably your your third cornerback. He's it's the cornerback that would probably come on in the instance that you're in nickel defense. How

concerned to you that Jordan may not play this weekend? Well, I mean it is concerning, especially for I think he's a guy that has experienced and he had a good year last year. But I am concerned just passed from this weekend, Like how long is he gonna be He hasn't been able to practice yet, and he missed a good amount of training camp, So how much is that gonna push him back as far as once he's able

to get in there and start practicing. It goes back to what I was asking yesterday, how long does it really take a guy that hasn't done much on the field to get acclimated and get back into that football condition. So that raises question marks. I have question marks about Amari Cooper. He did have a good camp and you know he's shown to be a great player. But at the same time, we know how much he dealt with that injury well on the foot, and I think now

it's what was it a hamstrings? Yeah? Yeah, so but still it's still same part of the party, you know, the whole leg area. So it concerns me as far as Okay, are we going to have to deal with having to watch Amari Cooper's foot feet leg throughout this whole camp? Is it gonna be available a year? How is that going to affect the whole wide receiver group, which I know we have great guys, but at the

same time, it does it does concern me. All right, we are now joined by Bucky Brooks his Seconday joining us. He joined us yesterday gave us some really great insight into the Rams defense. I'm sorry Rams offense. Today we're gonna talk about the Rams defense. Welcome to the show, Bucky, Hey, thanks for having me on. Real quick, Um, I'm gonna get this thing started. I want to first focus in

on the defensive coordinator. Uh. This last year, this last offseason, the Rams made the decision that they were gonna move on from Wade Phillips as their defensive coordinator. A name that's very familiar to Cowboys fans, and they hired Brandon Staley. Let's first start by telling me a little bit about why Wade's defense felt short in twenty nineteen that ultimately

led to his firing. You know, it's funny because I don't think the defense didn't play that well, But with Wade Wade Phillips's scheme is one that is pretty simful. They're gonna bring five man pressures, They're gonna play a lot of man to man and over time, teams understand exactly how to attack their defense, and so they fell off a little bit. I would say their falloff was more due to personnel. You had Aaron Donald, but you didn't have a complimentary set of Russias that could consistently

get it done. Dante Fella played well Clay Matthews, but they didn't get the same kind of rushed they got in previous years, and so that kind of left him up there with Brandon Staley. I think the big thing it's all about Sean mcvay's fascination with Vic Fangio's defense. Vic Fangio's defense has always style me the Ram's offense in the past. He wanted to bring more energy into the coaching staff. That is why they're so young. With

Kevin O'Connell on offense Brandon Staley on defense. They wanted more energy and they felt like that energy would resonate and connect better with their players. But we will see because Way Phillips was one of the best to ever do it from a defensive coordinator standpoint, we'll see if the new coordinator, Staley can give opponents problems with the schemes. Before we move on to Nick asking his question, I did have a follow up on that. Which do you think is a bigger deal the fact and I'm not

talking about Brandon Staley here. He's never been a decordinator, so no one knows what he'll do. Or he's never been a decordinator, so he lacks experience. I think the lack of experience is a big deal. The more that you're around the National Football League, it's all about being able to make adjustments and make adjustments in game. Does he have a wealth of knowledge to be able to make those adjustments If his original game plan isn't working,

Kenny switch it up on the fly. When you think about these long time defensive coordinators, they've seen at all, and so there's little there's few things that you can do to surprise him. With Staley his first game calling it, how is he able to adjust if the Cowboys do

something that is unexpected? That is the big thing when you're dealing with an inexperienced coordinator, which you would expect that there will be a lot of unexpected things because nobody has seen what the Cowboys offense is going to do over under Mike McCarthy. Dave, go ahead with your question next. Yeah, Bucky, I mean, I feel like you kind of touched on it because Vic Fangio's imprint on this, in my opinion, is huge. But what I know about Vic Fangio is his defense has always had, or at

least recently had really top notch edge rushers. You want to talk about Khalil Mack obviously, Von Miller, not to knock Aaron Donald, Obviously he's amazing, but like, it doesn't look like the Rams have that. And you know Sampson Nebucom has been great as a role player for them. You mentioned Dante Fowler, they don't have him anymore. How do you feel about their ability to generate pressure off the edge because it seems like something that they're kind

of lacking right now. They are lacking that. You know, No, Dante Fowler, m clay Matthews Junior isn't there. So yeah, you talking about Sampson Ebuka stepping up, and then Leonard Floyd. Leonard Floyd was drafted high to be a pass for rush She coming out of George never really materialized with the Bears. Would now of the Rams have him and kid? He be a guy that can generate pressure for me. I think having schemes and doing all the stuff that you want to do that Vic Fangio has been able

to do, that's great. But if you don't have the same level of talent up front, you can't play this scheme. And if they are being a little more reckless and aggressive, but they don't have to cover guys to hold up. Sure you got Jalen Ramsey, but can Troy. He'll hold up on that corner all by himself. Do you roll coverage to his area to help him? I mean, there are a lot of unknowns and uncertainties and question marks

about this Rams defense. And when you throw that in on top of a new coordinator, I mean, I think they're going to be trying to figure it out as the game goes on, and that's not a good prospect when you're starting out of season against what I think is a very experienced coaching staff. Hamberg, you're up, Well, we saw the We've seen the Cowboys wide receiver group have a good camp, and we've seen Dak Prescott trying to throw down the field more during this training camp.

But last year we did see the Cowboys struggle in completion and we saw them dropping several balls. So I just wanted to ask you, as far as the Rams secondary goes, how are you guys expecting them to be? How good are they I expected to be as far as takeaways this year? Well, obviously they got one hundred billion dollars man and Jayleen Ram Jayleen Ms just signed that big contract. He's one of the best shutdown corners

in the game. The problem is they only have one of those guys, Troy Hill, and the rest of that secondary. Really you're dealing with some newbies, some inexperienced guys. I like Taylor Rapp in the middle, But if you can get him isolated one on one, I think it all goes into the Cowboys favor. We talked about these three wilde receivers Michael Gallup, Ceedee Lamb and Amari Cooper. However, you elect to play your coverage, somebody is going to feast on one on one coverage, and oh, by the way,

you have to build your scheme to also stop Ezekiel Elliott. However, the Rams want to play Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore can play chess. They have all the cards. It's just a matter of how they want to go about attacking this Rams defense because their talent is superior to the rams defensive talent. Nick all right, I think Nick's having some technical difficulties. I'll go on with another question. Jerry

might not have. Nick Um real quick, let's talk about I guess from the standpoint of of the Rams mess matching up against the Cowboys. I think you kind of got to the point of that right there. But talk to me a little bit about what you think is the biggest area of mismatch, Like, where's where is there the biggest area that the Cowboys can exploit? Is it maybe their run defense? Is it? Their past defense is running up the middle? Obviously with the air and Donald

that are probably not. But where's the area where they're most vulnerable that the Cowboys could take advantage of. I mean, I think the biggest vulnerability for the Rams is certainly in the secondary. And the reason it's in the secondary because I don't believe they can feel a consistent pass rush outside of Aaron Donald. Now by himself, he's a one man wrecking crew, and so the Cowboys have to devote extra attention to make sure that they keep him contained.

But the rest of the guys, I think you feel good even with Cam irving plan at right tackle, they don't have an imposing threat coming off the edge. So if they're able to get time and Dak Prescott has enough time to attack down the field. Michael Gallup CD LAMB, I think those matchups are in the cowboys favor and I think they could work on those matchups early and often, and if the Cowboys are able to play with the lead. I will say this, Aaron Donald is a disruptive pass defender.

He is not necessarily the guy that is trying to take on double teams and do all of that against the run. Getting the lead early is critical. That's why the first quarter matters more in this game than other games. You want to play from in front. If you're the Dallas Cowboys, Nika, you're back. All right, We're gonna go with Dave given us give us another question. I Actually it's funny you bring that up, Bucky, because it seems like it's been a talking point on Twitter the last

couple of days. Is you know, analytics are obviously a bigger part of this conversation than they ever have been. And it's kind of a surprising talking point that Aaron Donald. Obviously we all know what he can do to disrupt the pass, but people are trying to say that he's an average or even a below average rundefender. Allow our awards in your mouth, but you're kind of suggesting that he's not as good at that part of his game.

How true is that exactly? Because from my very elementary understanding, he's pretty great all the way across the board. No, no, no no, Look, he's a disruptive player at the point of a tech. But if we said he had had Aaron Donald on the show, he would tell you I would rather get after the quarterback. He stops running backs on the way to knock in the quarterback down. And typically what happens is when you run at guys like it.

No Phillips did in the past. He let Aaron Donald freestyle a little bit, put him on the move, let him shoot through gafts. Is Brandon Stanley going to do the same thing or is he going to ask him to play a little more traditional at the point of attack? And so, if the Cowboys are able to run the football and kind of what I say, soften Aaron Donald with some of those body blows where he's having to deal with a big offensive line leaning on him down after down after down, how much is he going to

have left to really get after the passer? That is the big thing. So it's not necessarily an indictment on his run game, but it's saying I would rather make him defend the run than free him up to come after the passer, because we know he's a dominant pass rusher for sure. Which as a follow up to that

real quick, and I said this yesterday. I know the Cowboys and Rams played in twenty nineteen and the Cowboys won easily, but I think the game that left an impression on Cowboy fans is obviously the playoff game that they lost a couple of years ago. Aaron Donald they did a pretty darn good job of holding him and checking that game. It was in Dominican Sue that really metsed with them in the interior of that game. So

we know Mike Brockers has been there forever. Is he on that level or do they have a guy that can team with Donald? You know, if they can keep Donald under control, is there somebody else that can wreck that game plan because of the attention that they're paying to Aaron Donald. No, I don't think they have anybody

in the fold that can do that. We can talk about Sebastian, Joseph Day and Michael Brockers being inside as complimentary players, but those are not the guys that are going to give you the kind of headache and problems that Aaron Donald wood or like in Dominican Sue Wood. So I think the big thing will be can you run it and establish it early? Because there are a couple of different ways that the Cowboys can come out.

The Cowboys can come out passing, see if they can put two quick scores on the board and then get Zeke established and begin to control the game using their offense basically as their defense. We've seen them do that in previous years when they've won the NFC twenty fourteen, twenty sixteen, twenty eighteen, that was kind of the approach. You have to be able to really make the Rams play from behind. You want to make that defense have

to kind of play in even steven defense. So punishing them inside made me running at Donald to see if he can hold up against the double teams at the point of attack. All right, Bucky Man, we appreciate you question for you. All right, but finish up. I was gonna ask you, with no preseason games, are you expecting this game to kind of start off slow and maybe they get it kicked in by the second half of the game. You know, I actually think this game will

will get sloppier as it goes down. I think the biggest advantage will be the team that is in the best condition, the team that has the most depth and the best condition. Without preseason games, without a full slate of scrimmages, no one has played sixty minutes, and so we can talk about training and doing all those things, and off season football is only you only get better

playing football by playing football. So the advantage will be the team that has the most depth and the team that is in the best condition, So look for one of these teams to play at a faster tempo to see if they can bring that conditioning into effect very early. We've seen the Rams doing in the past, where the Cowboys elect to play at a quicker tempo. I know it's something that Mike McCarthy typically has in his bag.

Will you see the Cowboys go no huddle and rip off four or five plays to see if they can test the depth of the Rams defense? All right, Bucky, before we let you go, I'm gonna put you on the spot here. We usually make our picks on Fridays is Thursday, so I'm gonna ask you to give us a pick. Looking at this matchup, who do you think wins this game? Oh? I think the Cowboys win this game. I think the Cowboys had the advantages on both sides

of the ball. Offensively, I think they have overwhelming talent. I think they can overwhelm the Rams from a defensive standpoint. People will not talk about the Rams offensive line, but the Cowboys front seven have a decided advantage. And if there's one match up to wats look for everything Griffin to where our Andrew Whitworth Andrew Whitworth is a declining player.

Everson Griffin is a high end player. He should have a dominant game and if he hits Jerry Golf a couple of times, it will change the tenor of this performance. All right, man, Well, we appreciate it, really great analysis this week. Love that, and we'll be hitting you up next week. Have you back on next Wednesday and thirds it still then, appreciate you join us. We're gonna take

a quick break when we come back. Well, thankfully getting Nick back on here and we'll continue talking Cowboys versus Rams. We'll be right back to Dallas Cowboys dot com. Since eighteen sixty five, Stetson hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas, and Stetson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Want to show your Texas and team pride too, You can by purchasing your own stetson. You can look just like how the flag

guys do on field at every home game. Stetson hats the official crown of all self respecting Cowboys and your favorite football team. Get yours today at shop Dallas cow Boys dot com or at Stetson dot com. I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Back in the day, I was the guy who always got the tough yards, and that's why I run with John Deer today. In fact, I have a John Deer three zero twenty five E tractor that can handle any yardwork I need to do,

even the tough yards way out back. So if you have one acre or a thousand, John Deer has the equipment that's just right for you. Visit a John Deer dealer today and run with us. We are the official tractor provider of your Dallas Cowboys. Want to use what the pros use? How about the official men's skincare brand of 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. That's get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys did Jack Black Starter ten bucks free shipping. We're back in a tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor Pepper and Cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor bab cream Soda. Is he a new combone that's music to my ears? Okay, doctor time, music to my

ears and mouth new Doctor pepper and Cream Soda. Delics, Just do bay. Back to the break Welcome back to the second segment of Break Live from the s WBC Mortgage Studios. At the start, appreciate you guys taking some time with us. We just finished our interview with Bucky Brooks against some really interesting things he had to say. Hope you guys are enjoying that. We're gonna have him on, Like I said, every Wednesday and Thursday. He'll be a part of the show giving us some good analysis on

the opposing team's offense and defense. Um, let's talk a little bit about the Rams matchup. I had some questions for you guys. The first thing I want to hear from you guys about is you know, how do you think the Cowboys handled the challenge of Aaron Donald Dave. I know in the in the segment with Bucky you talked about how you know last time Cowboys played they

actually handled him pretty well. Relatively speaking for Aaron Donalds and Dominican suit I was given him a lot of problems, but he still is a dynamic player, and I would say probably the most dynamic player on their defense. That being said, how do you think the Cowboys managed that? Let's start first with you, Nick, Well, I think that you know, we'll see where he lines up. I mean,

like that's the thing about preseason games. You don't know, and not that he was going to play a lot of preseason games anyways, but they handle him with with whoever's in front. It'll be Connor Williams, it'll be Joe Looney, it'll be Zach Martin, and then but it'll be a

combination of all of those. You have to find out where he's gonna line up first, and then you know, that's where the it's so important for the line calls for Joe Looney to be on point with what he's doing and where that they're going to shift things towards Aaron Donald. They have to, because even Zach Martin I think would have problems with him one on one. Amber Well, you know, I hear the name Aaron Donald and I'm like,

oh wouch. Then Bucky came out here making it sound like the Cowboys are gonna be able to handle him. No big deal that. I mean, he did speak of how good of a player he is, but he somehow brought down my anxiety level a little bit going into this game. I think the Cowboys just find the way. I mean, there's nothing else to add to what Nick said is basically who's in front of him, and maybe get a couple of guys to help detain him, and

we'll just see. I mean, with all the current problems that the Cowboys are dealing with in the old line, he'll be interested to see how they figure out the right matchup there, Dave. I just think, and you're not wrong, Age in my opinion. That's sort of why I'd rot it up to Bucky is. I think the world of Aaron Donald and he's gonna make some plays in this game, if I had to guess. But he doesn't have a ton of help, you know, like I said in the playoffs a couple of years ago, he had in Dominican

Sue to make plays when when he couldn't. You know, they had Dante Fowler during you know, their their success over the last couple of years again, Sampson evycom good role player. I don't think he's ever been asked to do this much. And Leonard Floyd first round pick, but who has not really grown into that type of talent. So Aaron Donald's gonna make plays, if I had to guess. But I think, you know, between those three guys, hopefully, Hey, Rams, if you want to put Donald in front of Zach

Martin as often as possible, that would be great. But between the three of them, I think they can deal with it. And I just don't think there's anybody else in that front seven that scares me, Like for you know, the fact that Lyell Collins can't play. I would like to think this is a favorable matchup for for Im Irving or whoever else plays that spot, that they should be able to handle that while everybody else worries about

Aaron Donald. Yeah, if they move him around Donald a lot, I mean theoretically he can do any I mean, yeah, they play him all over the interior. He's lined up at end on occasion, like, they can put him wherever they want him. But I would guess that Connor Williams and Zach Martin are going to do the bulk of

that work. And you know the interesting thing there is, if I were the Rams, I would probably look at this like, I really want to have him matched up on Connor Williams because I want to test Connor Williams strength. That's been the area where he struggled throughout his career. Now it may be very different this year. He may have corrected some of those things. He may be a much stronger player at this point than maybe he's been in the past. But if I with him, that's how

I would look at it. I would look at opportunities to be able to really challenge him, and that may mean I get an overload that side a little bit, so I late Joe Luney, I isolate him, I isolate Tyrant, so they're all having to worry about different guys, and then see if I can get Aaron Donald one on one to be able to get the best of Connor Williams.

I think that's their best matchup. Because I agree with you, Dave, I don't think they have a ton of other guys on their defensive front that really are gonna in a one on one situation. I think would really take advantage of the Cowboys let's flipber to the other side of the ball. And I look at this receiving corps for the Rams and I think, personally, I think it's their best position by far as far as just depth and

the guys that they throw out there. You've got Cooper Cup, You've got Robert Brooks, and you've got Van Jefferson, all quality receivers. Van Jefferson being a rookie, but still quality player from everything that we've heard of him going into the draft. That being said, how well do you think the Cowboys are equipped in the secondary to be able to handle a group of wide receivers that are this

deep and this good. Let's start first with you, Nick, I don't think it's a good matchup for the Cowboys. I think the Rams would get to Checkmark if you were doing that, you know, old school and Tangibles type, you know, down the line. Just because Robert Woods, Cooper Cup, they're they're better receivers than what the Cowboys have at corner, at least what we see. And the Cowboys are banged up there. Cheeto has been banged up. Jordan Lewis may not play. Anthony Brown is one of your best players.

I got a rookie over there at Treyvon Dick, So just a lot of question marks. Cooper Cups, I think one of the more underrated players in the league. He may not be that well known to everybody, but he scores touchdowns. He scores a lot of touchdowns. He's a good red zone player. Amber I just think this is one of those games that I hope the Cowboys defensive line is able to create some pressure and help them out, help the secondary out. But that was pointed at me.

We'll see. I'm not gonna start the argument again with you, but we had last yesterday. But I do think that the this is one area where the Rams do have an advance an inch over the Cowboys. Dave Nick took the words right out of my mouth, Like, you know, I always talk about how underrated I think Ryan Carrigan is. Cooper cup is kind of entering that conversation in terms of, like, I just don't think he gets the credit that he deserves.

And if I were the Rams, I would be leaning on him because I mean, he can do a little bit of everything. He can play inside, he can play outside. But you know, theoretically we think Jordan Lewis would be the Cowboys top choice at nickel back. He's probably not gonna play. You're probably looking at Daryl Worley and maybe a little mix of Anthony Brown as your slot guys. I would be trying to take advantage of that matchup.

If I were the Rams, I think Cooper Cup can be your your safety net and also a big play threat. You know, I would be trying to get the ball to him as offen as possible. That's not a knock on the other guys. But you know, I don't. I don't dislike, you know, all for all the trash people want to talk about him, Like, I think chet Woods Cheeto can probably hold his own against Robert Woods more often than not. But I just worry about Cup's ability to get open inside and outside. You know, I will

say this, Dave, I actually I agree with you. The Cooper Cup is a very, in my opinion, somewhat underrated player. I actually think the same with Robert Brooks. I think Robert Brooks is a really, really good ride receiver that doesn't always get I'm sorry, Robert Woods. I'm thinking Robert Brooks from back is that the Packers back in the nineties, Robert Brooks. Yeah, Robert, No, Robert probably play he probably played Boks right, probably, so maybe I'm getting it all reviews.

But no, Robert Brooks. I think he is a guy that is that is I'm sorry, Robert Woods. Sorry, very very very rated, very underweight rated player. I think he is a really good right, a really good wide receiver. And I actually think that that's where you're in this if I were looking at these matchups, I think that's the guy that I'm more worried about, even a little bit more than Cup for this particular game. All right, final question I have for you guys on this Rams

Cowboys matchup. How concerned are you that Jalen Ramsey will take Amari Cooper out of this game? We saw last season there were some games when Mary matched up against some of the premier corners in the league where he wasn't at his best, He didn't have his best games. Do you think this is one of those games. Let's start with you. I don't care, Nick, Let's start with you on the road. It is a road game. Wait, but there's no fans, so I don't know that's a

good one. I don't know. I don't know what Marie Cooper is like with no fans. You know, we've seen this before with with other guys that try to, you know, match up with him one on one. It's not good for the Rams to do that. It's really not like if Jayalen Ramsey or anybody wants to say, well, I go one on one with a Mary Cooper, that's not a good matchup because that that means that the other guys are gonna go one on one with their second

and third guys. So I don't know, good luck with that, because I don't think Jaylen Ramsey will win every matchup with Amari Cooper, and then you've got you're kind of you're you're fixing your whole defense around based off of that matchup. So I think the Cowboys would welcome if Jalen Ramsey does that. Yeah, shadow him, follow him, hold him to hold him to two catches for fifteen yards. I don't care. That's why I drafted Ceedee Lamb. That's

what he's here for. Go ahead, like shadow them all you want, Like I'm sorry about your fantasy team Cowboy fans. If Amari Cooper catches, if a Marie catches two balls for fifteen yards, but Gallup has eighty five and Lamb has sixty and two touchdowns. I don't care, and so that's just kind of how I feel about it. Um, if they want, if they want Ramsey to travel with Coop, that's that'say, okay with me, because we got three of them, that's what they're here for. You agree with all that,

Amber absolutely, not just three, Not just the receivers. We got the running backs too, who can do their own things. So I'm not worried about it. The Cowboys have enough weapons on the offense, all right, Dave, Dave's writing about the fantasy team. If you got Dak, that's pretty pretty good. Zeke is good. Other than that, I want no part because it's gonna be a week to week thing. Yeah, it's good for the team. Yeah, absolutely, all right, we're gonna take a final break when we come back, So

go ahead, Dave. What you got? Oh? I just I've got Jarwin and I feel good about it. That's all I'll say. Nick does too, don't you. Oh no, you didn't get him. Nick, I know you were trying to get him. Didn't get him. We're not gonna get into fantasy talk. It's a tough tough subject for Nick right now, are we're gonna take our final break. When we come back, we're gonna play our game. I know, I think I

have no idea that when we come right back. Because this is Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio, we're backing the tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor pepper and cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor pepper and cream Soda. Is he a new combone? Let's music to my ears? Okay times, music's myyars and mouth new Doctor pepper and cream Soda? What Delias just do? Back?

I want to use what the pros use. How about the official men's skincare brand of 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 Black skincare favorites plus a full size intense therapy lip bomb. Go to get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys and use the code word team JB. That's get Jack Black

dot com slash Cowboys. The Jack Black Starter ten bucks free shipping since eighteen sixty five. Stetson hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas, and Stepson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Want to show your Texas and Team pride two you can by purchasing your own Stepson. You can look just like how the flag guys do on field at every home game. Stetson hats the official crown of all self respecting Cowboys

and your favorite football team. Get yours today at Shop dot Dallas Cowboys dot com or at Stetson dot com. It's funny as we travel places, often we find the places we want to travel aren't really places at all. They're people, their grandparents, moms, old friends, and new nephews. That's why at American Airlines we've been using enhanced cleaning measures so you can feel confident every step until you get to them. So as always, our people can't wait

to take you to yours. American Airlines, you are why we fly back to the break. Welcome back. We're in the final segment of the Braake. We're a lot from the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star and we got a little game for you guys today. In this final segment, we're gonna call this game, I know, I think I have no idea. What we're gonna do is we're gonna start. Each of us is going to start our sentence with I know, and we'll go around and

see what everyone knows. Then I think what everyone thinks, and then I have no idea and what everyone has no idea about. All right, so let's start first with I know. I'll go first to kick this off, so you guys get an idea of what the game is. I know the Cowboys are the most talented team in the NFC East. Anybody agreed disagree with that? I don't know it. I don't know that. I think I know it right now. I mean, if the Eagles didn't have

so many injuries, I think they could probably argue. But they're just they're so banged up right now, you know, losing starting offensive linemen, losing receivers, their quarterbacks skimpy. What else is new? So yeah, I mean, no, I agree with you right now? All right, all right, let's go with you, Amber. I mean, I'm sorry, Nicko, Jeff. No. Basically, what I was gonna say is I know that that doesn't always matter. That's what I know talent. I mean,

it's great. It's great to say it's good to have the players, but I know for a fact that having the best players doesn't always mean you're gonna have those NFC East hats at the end. Yeah, Frankly, I think they had the most talented team in the NFC slash year and it didn't obviously make a difference. So yeah, they did. This one could go into the I think category, but I'm gonna choose it for my I know, I know that Blake Jarwin is gonna have a really good season.

Dak Preske is gonna utilize him a lot. Blake has had a great, amazing training camp. In my eyes, he's done a great job catching the ball, blocking, getting open. I feel that Dak is gonna it's just like he gets in the area where Dad feels comfortable, So I think he's gonna DAC is gonna be looking for him quite a lot. Regardless of the fact that we keep talking about all these amazing wide receivers that they currently have. I think that Blake Jarwin is gonna be that safety

blanket for Dak Prescott throughout the season. What are you doing stealing my talking point? I'm the Jarwin guy. I've been the Jarwin guy. Okay too, So answer this question. Usually we're usually aligned. If you guys both think he's gonna have a good season, defined for me, what you call a good season statistically? What would be a good season for him? That's a very it's a very good question because there's obviously a lot of um, there's a

lot of competing people for targets. Like I understand that a successful season first of all, Like I'm looking for splash plays more than anything. I don't need him to catch a hundred balls. That would be weird. But I think he's got great potential to be a red zone mismatch. It's been something that's been lacking from this offense in my opinion. So you know, I think he's got the potential. What Yeah, I think he had three touchdowns last year.

I think he's got the potential for somewhere between six and ten if they use him in the red zone the way that I think they can, and then you know, if he catches fifty balls for seven eight hundred yards, I think that's doable. All right, Nick, What do you know? Well, I know I suck at technology. I know that I know that I'll figure this out at some point before Thanksgiving. I know that I know Ezekiel Elliott is a dang

running back. And I say that because I feel like there's this narrative that he's gonna just turn into Alvin Kamara or something like that, because he's working on his past and receiving and so, yeah, that's nice and great, and I know we try to get him the ball more and get him more in the passing game, but he's a running back. They need to run the ball. He's gonna be the guy running the ball between the tackles. If all goes right, he's gonna be running out the

clock in these games. And so yes, he might be a little bit more as a pass receiver at times, but on third and one, third and two, you know exactly where he's gonna be and where he's going to get the ball, and they got to figure out how to pick it up. So yeah, it's nice and cute that he's getting a few passes here and there. He needs to be running that football, and I think that's exactly what he's going to be doing. All right, Dave,

tell us what you know. I know that Dak Prescott is going to have the absolute best season of his career. It won't even be debatable by the time it's all said and done. I think that's true for a variety of reasons. I think he's gotten better every year of his career, and that was with coaching sometimes getting in the way of that. In my opinion, he's got more talent around him than he ever has, and that's saying a lot because he's been on talented offenses for most

of his career, with a very few exceptions. I think he's going to downplay it, but I think he's got a chip on his shoulder about not having a deal. I know from having a relationship with him that he lives off of being doubted. He wants to be doubted.

He wants to be able to shut people up and uh, you know, it's a first world problem, but not getting that deal is a way to fuel that fire, in my opinion, And I just think, you know, adding Mike McCarthy, having Kellen Moore here to to add to continue that, you know, the continuity that he already had, I just think the sky's the limit. I'm I'm not brave enough to say I think he's gonna win MVP, but I

think he's gonna kill it. I think, you know, you know, thirty thirty or more touchdowns, best efficiency numbers of his career. And I think the Cowboys are gonna make the playoffs, which was the big knock on him last year. So I'm just I'm buying Dak stock all day, every day. Awesome, Amber, what do They're gonna make the playoffs? So yeah, he's gonna have to have some clutch moments if they're gonna

make the playoffs. They went what one in six against playoff teams or winning teams last year, which people that don't like Dak love to trot that out. They never point out that that's never been the case in any other year of his career. He's consistently done that against winning teams every other year. I'm very confident saying that's an outlier. So yeah, he's going to be clutch. I'm not saying, you know, they're not gonna go sixteen to O, but he will have moments. So Amber, what do you think?

I think that the Cowboys should be better in the red zone this year, mainly because of all the offensive weapons that they got. I saw certain and again it's it's just so hard to evaluate everything during this training camp practices. But from what I saw, I think they're gonna have some improvement there and be able to score more points than they wear last year. So that's what I think. Though we'll see, all right, Nick, what do you think? I think Dak's numbers are going to go down,

and I think that's a good thing. Every thing that Dave just said about him having a good year and he said a great year, and he said it's not going to be debatable. I think it will be debated by people that look at numbers because I don't think

he's going to have as many passing yards. But I hope he doesn't because again, like I said, I think these games need to be different in the fourth quarter, running the ball a little bit more, not having to sling it around because you're down twenty one points or something like that. I think his numbers go down, Some of his stats go down. I think his quarterback rating goes up. Turnovers, you know, hopefully those go down. I think his numbers won't look as good. I think he'll

be a better player though than he was last year. Dave, what do you think I think that we are glossing over some of this team's issues in the back seven and this kind of I mean, we talked about this at length yesterday, so we don't have to do it too much. But everybody's happy at training camp. Everybody looks good. You know, Layton and Jalen looked amazing throughout training camp. We all feel good about what we saw from Trayvon Diggs. Derek thinks that the safety position is as good as

it's ever been apparently, So everybody's feeling real happy. And you know, the NFL is not usually that tidy. You know, teams know what your weaknesses are, they know how to exploit you. I don't think the world of Jared Goff, but he is a pretty good quarterback. He's got some damn good receivers. I just think that's going to be an issue for this team probably, And that's not to say, you know, they'll still win games, but it ain't the

legion of boom back there. And I feel like people sort of a lot of rose colored glasses this time of year, is what I'm trying to say. Just to be clear, I don't think that the safety position is the best it's been in a long time. I think it's better than last year. But I will say this real quick. What I do think is I think Trayvon Diggs will be the best cornerback on this team by the end of the season. I think I've seen enough so far that I think he is going to be

a really, really great well. I think that's my point. That's my point. I actually think there's I think there's two parts of the eggs. I think there's two parts of that led this team in time for one year. Right, No, I get all that. I don't think. I don't think, to be honest with you, they have another premiere cornerback. I think they have a bunch of guys who are okay, at best pretty good. I don't think they have a

premiere cornerback. I think trey Von Diggs has the kind of acumen that I think he can end up being what the Cowboys have been longing for a cornerback, not just a guy that can actually cover, but a guy that can get his hands on on balls and actually

turn the ball over. And so I think from that standpoint, he's gonna make some of those plays this year, and by the time the season is done, we're gonna be talking about him in that way, he is actually a game changer because he will make plays and turn the ball over what the Cowboys haven't consistently had a cornerback to do that in a very very very long time.

So there's me though, why you think he'll take too many chances Because I think he's a I think he's a guy that'll hit two home runs a game and strike out three and and and I don't I mean in a strikeout just one out, but in in football, a cornerback, if you if you give up a big play. I think he's a guy that can get interceptions. But I think he's also going to be a guy that will get double moved and get beat deep. And so

that's what's kind of scary. I think he can make big plays for both teams, and that's not always good for a corner I would I would be more worried about that if I thought the Cowboys were gonna be offensively challenged. I think the Cowboys are going to score a ton of points. And so if you're gonna score a ton of points, then to me, I can take a cornerback that may give up give up some some

big plays. If he's also gonna make some big plays, right, um, But if you if you're playing really really close games that are you know, twenty seventeen games, then I think in that instance I would agree with you, and I'd be a lot more concerned with a guy that can give a big play, because that usually would end up being a game that you would lose real quick. Before we end the show, let's get to I have no idea. Let's start first with you, Amber. What do you have

no idea about? I have no idea about many things, but one of them, Honestly, I have no idea if Kellen Moore is actually gonna be able to have another great year. I wonder if the whole sophomore slump applies into coaching or not. You know, he had a really really good year last year. But and we keep talking great, amazing things about the offense, all the guys that they got and how intelligent Kellen Moore is and all of that and the changes and not being so predictable anymore.

But at the same time, you have to kind of take a step back and be like, Okay, anytime we talk so highly about something, we've seen it before. Where then the year starts and it doesn't turn out to be that way. So I just have no idea if Kellen Moore's offense is actually gonna be as good as

we keep talking about Dave. I mean, it would be easy to say I have no idea if we're going to play sixteen games, But in the interest of not being a bummer, I think we all know what's going like, we know the stakes with COVID, so we can just address that as we get to it. But as far as football, I have no idea how much I should believe in this offensive line. And I know that I said at the beginning of the week, and I still feel this way. I'm concerned about Lyle Collins not being there,

but I'm not that concerned. But just in general, the whole, you know, the whole puzzle of this thing. Lyle's already on injured reserve. Tyrn Smith has basically been a lock to miss three games for you know, three or four years at this point. I mean, that's just a given. Connor Williams is coming off of an acl and I just, you know, I have no idea what this thing. And for that matter, he doesn't miss a ton of games.

But Zach Martin is dealt with injuries in recent seasons as well, um so and and they're still good when they're all healthy. But I guess that's the thing is I have no idea what my expectations should be for how they hold up. And that is a concern because you need those guys available and playing well for everybody else to look good. Nick, what do you have no idea about? I I you know, I don't. I don't have any idea how how these games are going to

go with the setup of everything. I don't. I don't know what having no fans is that going to help the road team? Now? Is that? Is that going to neutralize things? Does it? Does it affect the fans? Are they going to pipe in crowd noise? I mean, are they going to do it more for home teams or less for when when the visiting team? I mean you're factoring in the fact that all that you know, there's a lot of Dallas fans typically that go to games

in LA. I doubt they're doing that. I'm just saying, what does it look like when a guy catches a pass on third and nine and he has a fourteen yard pass late in the third quarter, What happens. I don't know. I don't know is Ze gonna be feeding to who for what? I mean, Like I just I'm not sure what's going to happen with an empty stadium. I don't know. I will end this with I have no idea what Jalen Smith will be as a player this season. Last year. I don't think he had his

greatest year this year. During training camp, I saw some things that were very, very that made me have a little different opinion of him, because I thought he looked good, particularly in past coverage. I thought he looked much better than what I'd seen at any other point in his career. Here with the Cowboys, I'm interested to see is Jalen Smith capable of getting back to the player that he

was in college before that horrific injury. I think since he's been with the Cowboys, we've seen moments where he looked really good and made some outstanding plays. I don't know that we've seen him put it together consistently throughout an entire season where he looked like he was the athletic specimen that he was back when he was with

Notre Dame. I'm interested to see, and I have no idea right now if this year would be that year and if we actually get to that point where we get to see him play at that level of football. I think the Cowboys would love that if their their bet on him pans out to be that good. But I completely have no idea on how that's going to turn out. Fun game. We appreciate you guys being playing along here with I know I think I have no idea.

We'll be back on tomorrow. We're gonna get you guys ready for Cowboys versus Rams Toll then for Nick Eatn, Dave Helm and Amber Garcia. I am Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.