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Cowboys Break: Where to Start?

Oct 14, 201943 min
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Episode description

With so many issues to tackle, the crew does it best to hit all the problem areas after the Cowboys’ loss to the Jets.

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Transcript

Speaker 1

The following. He's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Lets go. Are you ready for a Break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely? Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that. It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton. It is Monday, October fourteenth, twenty nineteen, Season fifteen, episode number sixteenth three. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break.

We are live from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. We've got so much to talk about today. The sky is officially falling in Dallas and the Cowboys get a loss to the to the New York Jets twenty four, twenty two. Sorry, I was kind of moving around, and I'd hate when when people don't start things off right, you know, you get off to a bad start. He kind of just messes up the whole show. Is that like a microcosm of what we saw last night or yesterday?

UNI all season? Yeah, pretty much all season. So it's been a lot. It's been a lot to deal with kind of watching this team and trying to make heads

or tails of what all is going on. So I figured the best way to attack this thing today was we're just gonna go down through some of the different things that were problems for the Cowboys yesterday, and I want you guys to talk about how that relates overall to to kind of your opinion of how much it affected the game, and really all these systematic things are they just kind of things that you're seeing in spurts

at different times throughout the season. I really appreciate you taking this approach because I have so much on my mind that I'm worried that I'm gonna forget something too. So he didn't even ask if we're doing Okay, we're not known, Okay, tires, no bummed out, But we got a lot to talk about it, and we got to help these guys get through this. So let's start first

with Nick. You mentioned it, the slow starts. Look at the first half of the offense Cowboys punt field goal, punt, turnover and downs, punt field goal again, just not nothing, I mean to getting nothing out of the offense and the first half, and then the second half field goal, missfield goal, touchdown, touchdown. It's just it's they're getting off the slow starts. It seems to be something that's continuing

to happen. The question to half for you guys is do you think this is about preparation or is it about execution? That was the big question in the locker room last night. Where do you guys fall on that? Um? I think the fact that it's been six games in a row. I mean, I would imagine in preparation, and I say six because those first three wins they were they still had slow starts. They didn't, you know, just jump out of the gate. So I would say preparation.

I mean, it's both, but but I mean the fact that it's it's their job to kind of come out and figure out a way to get this thing rolling. It didn't help that your best wide receiver is out in the first drive of the game. I mean, And but it was their fault for only saying we got four guys. That's their fault. Not saying Devin Smith would

have made a big difference. But you know, they were he was already banged up, and then to have him go out like that, that's on them and all that though we're gonna get to that that's gonna be actually be our second problem We're gonna talk about as the injuries. But Dave, I've been I go back and forth in this all years, like you know, how much how much is the is the preparation? Like is it on the is the head coach and the coaching staff to not have a team ready to play? Is it on the

players to execute? I mean, you can talk about drop passes, you can talk about bad protections, you can talk about miss tackles, blown assignments, Like again, how much is coach fors how much his player? But I will say, you know, I come on here time and time again and I said, you know, say what you will about Jason Garrett, but the one thing is like he always has his team ready to play, Like they they give him a full

sixty minutes, they're blah blah blah blah blah. Like I feel stupid for thinking that right now, because I mean, how can you feel that that was the case against this team? They looked flat and bad in the first half. They sort of got it together, but even like, they didn't look in spiring down the stretch of that game either, so they didn't seem prepared to play. They also didn't execute to nixt points. Probably a little bit of both, but it all was bad and all deserves to be

criticized right now, Yam, I agree. I think it is a combination of both things. What it's crazy to me and I still can't understand. And I understand that every year you do have a new team and you can't necessarily compare it to the previous one. But the Cowboys were able to keep the whole team basically from last

year and improved on it as far as talent. So what blows my mind is when you see even the defense, when you talk about the defense what they were able to do last year, and then you look at how they're performing this year, it makes absolutely no sense in my mind as to why there's been such a big difference there in dropping down rather than going up. And as far as the offense goes same thing. They do

have talent. We've seen them having talent. We talked about this team during training camp and me and myself and a lot of us were really excited about what this offense could look like and they're not necessarily performing that way. So it goes to both the coaches know what they have in their players and it is up to them to kind of figure out exactly how to place them

in the best position as possible. We're going to talk about that defense a little bit later as well, but I want to ask you guys specifically to the offense, and Nick, you and I mentioned we talked a little bit about this in the press box last night. Do you think that maybe the inexperience of the play caller offensively could be a part of the issue that we're having here. You know, you start off the first three

games of the season, offenses were clicking. Yeah, maybe they got a little bit of a slow start, but they

were clicking. They were scoring a ton of points, and it at least feels like by the time you get to the New Orleans game, either you run into a defense that's that much appreciably better, which I don't think if you look at all three of these defenses they've lost to that they're that much better than defenses around the league, or the argument can be made that those other teams have now adjusted to what they saw in the first three games from the play caller and that's

affecting now the offense's ability to get going. Do you fault Do you think that there may be some credence to that as far as how the offense is performing. This honestly felt like the New Orleans game all over again, with the exception that they actually got some success in the running game. You know, Zeke had one hundred yards, so it didn't look as ugly. But it was just unimaginative, boring, vanilla, whatever you want to call it, that's what it was.

And maybe Marii Cooper being out and Randall Copp for that matter, maybe that's part of it. But I kind of doubt it because they did it against the Saints too, and maybe that's a better defense. But I just I'm not in the mood to make excuses for it. I got home last night and I was thinking about this, and I took the time to go through the play seat and figure it out. So this is and and I can just I can picture it with crystal clarity. They had thirty four first down opportunities in this game.

They ran on seventeen of them. And you say, oh, well, half and half. That's that's balanced, right. Taking out the end of game scenarios where you have to pass, you cannot do everything you want, just the main the rest of the game where the whole offense is at your disposal. First and ten they ran it up the gut seventeen out of twenty four opportunities. That is a seventy one

percent click up the gut. Just runs to zeke up the gut, maybe a couple of stretches, you know, stretch plays out to the side, but just here goes zeke first and ten seventeen out of twenty four times. And that is so unacceptably boring and unimaginative and not going to work. Oh and also, just in case I need to further emphasize it, those seventeen carries went for fifty yards,

which is two point nine per a tempt. They had one explosive that's a twelve plus yard run, five that you would call good, which is four or more eleven eleven of the seventeen got less than four yards, and a few got negative. Like so, I mean, it sucked, It wasn't good, and they just kept doing it. And you can say what you want about establishing the run.

I thought they killed the second half. They killed the clock in the second half of a game that they were trailing by fifteen or eighteen points at one point in time. Did not get a single bit of a sense of urgency. I know, their offensive tackles were out, and you know, maybe you don't want to expose Dac to getting hit more than he already was. But the Jets have a pretty crappy offensive line and they managed to do just fine getting the ball out quickly, running

screens to receivers and stuff like that. I feel like I'm rambling, but I thought the play calling was pretty atrocious yesterday. And whether that's Kellen Moore or Jason Garrett or a mixture of both, I don't know, but it wasn't good enough. You talked about them running and not finding success. Sorry, what do you I mean? You know, people started talking about like Jason Garrett kind of dipping himself in there with Kellen Moore and the play calling. A couple of games, they go, who do you think

is actually calling full on the play calling? Honestly, I have no doubt that Kellen Moore's calling the plays. Here's where, Here's where you don't really know, right. I remember this back from when Parcels was here. Um, if you have it, the kind of head coach that somebody's calling the plays, but he's saying all right here we go, it's first and ten. I want to see a run here. Okay, well, yeah, the guy might be calling the plays, but he's calling the plays based upon what the head coach is kind

of directing him to do. What I don't know is how much direction is Jason giving in game to Kellen to call the play. We know Kellen calls the plays, you can see him down on the sideline calling the play. Still know how much direction and how much direction is Jason giving him before the game? I want to see us half balanced. So I want to come out of the game and feel like we got fifty percent run, fifty percent pass. Who knows. I don't know that any I don't know that. I don't know if you either.

You guys have heard that. But at this point, I think the only thing we left with is we know Kellen calls to play. Is we just don't know how much influence Jason has over that. Sean Payton actually had a really interesting quote that made the rounds after the Saints game. He said it before the Saints game, talking about Kellen Moore and just about how it can be hard as a young play caller to establish your own voice.

Yea and I mean overrule the coach and you like, no, this is what we should do, and that makes sense, and maybe that's part of what happening. What's happening, I mean, it's it's an impossible thing to know, like what's going on in those headsets, and even you know, you can have conversations with people, but it's even as bad as that was, it's far too early in the season for you to be getting to that throwing people under the

bus stage. So there's no way to definitively know. And that's why, like you know, I just assign it to everyone and say figure it out, whether it's callin Garrett, whoever. All right, let's check our first break when we come back,

let's talk about these injuries Cowboys were experienced. Not only do they go into the game with a lot of injuries, throughout the game, they kept losing players and it seemed like Nick, as you pointed out a little earlier before he went on the air, it was the same position. Let's talk about that when we come right back. This is the Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Well, a player can look good on paper, it's one he's out on the field that you really find out what he's made of.

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through rocks the door. Single game tickets You're on sale down, get them before they're gun First to go quarterbacks Prescott pushes up the middle touchdown. Visit Dallas Cowboys dot com to get your tickets today. Back to the break, Welcome back. It is the second segment of The Great Blackness WBC Mortgage Studios. At the start, we're talking about the Cowboys lost twenty four twenty two to the New York Jets. They now fall to three and three and a big

division game coming up on tap this Sunday. They'll face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football boat teams at three and three. Very very important game. All right, let's get back into the game against the Jets, though, Nick, talk to me about some of the injuries. I know you were you were before we went on the show.

You were kind of charting them all and kind of putting all the numbers down, and you made the obviously the observation that these are all just like I think, it's at four positions, which is when you think about that number of injuries that they had, it just being guys at three or four positions. That's a big, big

hit for a four team. Yeah, and definitely when you have, you know, two corners and two receivers and two tackles and you find yourself playing in a game against the Jets with Brandon Knight starting at tackle, a guy that nobody you know, really thought was going to make the team much less start game six, um C J. Goodwin, who we don't really consider a corner as having to

play corner on the goal line. Cedric Wilson's having to play wide receiver and he you know, has a decent game, but also had a critical penalty in the game just based off inexperience. You know eighty three I forgot his name, actually, Brontell Bryant. You know, he's playing receiver on the goal line. So that's what happens when you have multiple injuries like that and you know, um it was. It's not an excuse,

it's just reality. I mean, when you keep having injuries like that, you lower yourself to the standards of the team of an one fourth team like the Jets. And they were hungrier than them so that, you know, and they won the game. But you can't just keep having injuries and think it's gonna be fine. It's not. I mean, that's why they play it. Yeah, I mean, it's not an excuse. It's just. Man. If I'm a if I'm a piste Off fan listening to this, it sounds like

an exclusion. And I know, I know, I know that's not what you're trying to say, But I mean, I'm I got the team stats right here. They outgained the Jets. They were better on third down, they won the turnover battle, they ran the ball better. Let me make what didn't they do better? This is this is where I think that the problem is, and I wrote this this is this team isn't deep enough to play like this, and

the depth is not as good. And I'm not talking about Brandon Knight for for Lyle Collins or Cedric Wilson. I'm talking about Michael Gallup not stepping up and making plays. How about Zach Martin and Travis Frederick. And I'm sorry, and I've said this all several times today, but Jalen Smith getting three tackles is unacceptable, Like he's unaccepta that's unacceptable now for a drive for a quarter maybe, but for three for the game, one solo tackle, two for

DeMarcus Lawrence. I mean, that's the depth that I'm talking about. Next not next man up, But you're already up, make a play and we need you. That's the problem, I think, And that's the key when you start talking about these kind of situations, when you have that many starters that are out, it's not necessarily the guy that's coming in to replace them that needs to step up, because guess what, he's just himself, like there's a reason why he's not

starting in most instances. The fact is it's all those other guys that are being highly paid. It's all those other guys who are making Pro Bowls and All pros. Those are the guys that need to step up and do more and be able to be counted on and relied upon. I don't know the number of times I saw, particularly the two offensive linemen there in the middle, who are supposed to be some of the best in the league, that we're giving up letting their guys get by creating

pressure in completion. So if you want to talk about guys they need to step up. To me, it's not so much about those other guys. It's about the guys that this team should be counting on anyway to make plays. I thought third and one down on the five yard line was the play of the game, cheese, because you know that that's one where they just run it right up the middle there and and again. This is what I don't understand. I think, I think Tom Brady and and that you know Dak. I think Dad could beat

Tom Brady in a fight. But why can't Dak Prescott get one yard? I don't I don't understand it. I've been tom Brady gets the yard on a quarterback sneak better than anybody. Time you keep saying third and one, and it was it was third and a ruler like, maybe just did it yesterday, Sam Darl did it yesterday, and just lean forward first out, it's gonna have the guy is six two, two thirty. If he can't get you a handful of inches, what's going on? It's it's unconscionable.

And and again it just it feels arrogant. And how many times do we say that where it's like, we do what we do, we don't worry about the other team. Maybe you should worry about the other team, especially if two fifths of your starting offensive line isn't there. Maybe a telegraph plunge up the gut on an obvious running down isn't the way to go. Like, if everybody's healthy and it's twenty sixteen and nobody can mess with the Dallas O line, awesome, it ain't that sneak the freaking ball.

I don't even care that. I don't even care that the fourth and two was such a bad play call because it shouldn't have even got to that point. It looked like Paul Horning and Jim Taylor from the old Packers' days of the you know they'll sweep like that, like what is that right in front of us? And we were just like this ain't gonna work. Sam Darnold had a know. My buddy John Machoda tweeted it out this morning. Sam Darnold yesterday was just like, well, you know, it's

it's the cowboys. They do what they always do. They they played a lot of single high occasionally two tried to stop there and that's it's a different it's a different thing. But again, like the do what we do. I really thought that we're moving on from that kind of mentality that clearly, I mean just literally like the Patriots got where they are because they don't do what

they do day anybody else. And and I you can tell I'm frustrated because I hate bringing up the Patriots because there's such an outlier that it's unfair to compare anyone to them. But adapt your personnel and your decision making to the situation at hand. People you put fantasy face, yes, I do. Do you do you like having a running back for the Patriots? No? Why because you can never count on one because you never know. Yeah, I mean I'm sorry, can Old the Walley get the ball once

down there? Like like we would all be shocked as hell if if you know, something happened. Fullback to snucking in that story I wrote in August about how he was going to have this big, improved role. Doesn't so good? Something different, it's but it's always got to be fourth and inches for for Dak to maybe do the quarterbacks, and why not third and one, because if it's first and goal at the four yard line, you know, I

like my chances there. Yeah, and it's it. It feels like like color by numbers, remember that, Like it's like, well, it's it's first intense. So we run and and we get it to second and six, and then it's sucking and manageable. I'm so tired of the word manageable, Like I think it's it's it's it's just frustrating. Garrett was just pissed off about about that and just said, I'm we're going for it on fourth and two when that wasn't the right decision. I think that was a bad

decision by Jason to do that. You already got stopped on one yard. Now it's fourth and two at the at the six, I mean, yeah, let's let's let's go there. Because I didn't reminds them. Sorry, it reminds me of the loss to Houston last year. And you know, I think they punted and Garrett was like, well, it was a long one and we hadn't been running, which, by the way, uh you know, they wound up, you know, establishing the run kind of worked. Zeke finished with one

hundred yards. They ran the ball well after halftime. They were averaging like two point eight yards per carry in the first half. Like it wasn't really there for him. Uh So to act like they had all this confidence that they could get that after getting stuffed on third down is some reason. If you kick it at seven six and you kick it off at the twenty five yard line, I just don't think. I just don't think it's going to be a seventy five yard touchdown to

eleven whatever. Robbie Andrews don't think that's happening. Well, you think about that whole thing. And next thing I want to go to was the coaching decisions. I think there were a couple of decisions. You can you can look at it and it leaves leaves you kind of scratching your head a little bit. Obviously, on third and one we talked about other things they could have done rather

than telegraphing they've running up the middle with Zeke. Now again, they may have thought of it from the standpoint of Okay, this is why we have Zach and this is why we have Travis. But as I haven't mentioned, they are not playing consistently over the last several games. Like Zach and Travis that we've known in the past, they probably who they've been, they probably have an easier time buying four inches of space for the linebacker quarterback to push

the ball across the line. Yeah. Probably. You don't have to take four steps back from the line and hand it off to the running back. You just just fall forward and get it. Sorry, no, no, that's fine. I guess the question I have for you guys is, even with that being said, whatever they did on third down, do you think, and Nick, you've already chimed in, do you think it was the right decision on fourth down

to go for it? Because if you look at like the numbers there guys out there, to do these numbers, everything says that in that situation you're the likelihood of you getting is probably greater than the likelihood of you not based upon where you were in the game though, in the game situation, do you think the Cowboys should have taken the points rather than going for the kick?

And don't forget Maha would have been the one that would have been kicking, and so you have to factor that into There's a lot of stuff you have to factor in, like you know, uh, they're gonna get the ball back after halftime, so you know, it sets you up in a good position going into the half. I don't I'm not ever gonna kill somebody too much for going for it because I like the aggressiveness. Yeah, I mean, analytics tell you that that that's not a bad decision.

Could they kicked the field goal maybe yeah, And I wouldn't have hated that, but I don't. I don't want to trash him for going for it because I get so mad when coaches play too conservatively. It just again, it shouldn't have gotten to that point. And then on top of that, didn't not don't think that's the right time to run the whatever that was Joe Burrow for

Lsuho does that all the time? Actually? Like the quarterback speed the option power thing, like I guess, yeah, I don't know, so, I mean, how that worked, we would have been saying different, Well, the story would have been different and the way we talked about them. So that's kind of how it goes me. I'm not as upset as them doing that. I'm more upset to the for them getting to that point. You know, they should not have been at that point and the things that they're

doing right now. I mean, it's just I'm just so confused by this team. I'm really really confused. I don't know what to make of it. I'm not ready to say, oh, they're gonna suck all season long, because I truly believe

that at some point they're gonna turn things around. But the story of this team is like, oh, well they are how this isn't is going They do it kind of too late, you know, so this is where you need to start making it happen and not wait later in the season when you're facing teams are even harder

to go against. So I don't know, the big the big and yeah, like you know, not to sound like an apologist, this doesn't really mean anything other than that they're nowhere near as good as we thought they were, Like they were three and five last year. They get they righted the ship, like that's all still in play. I'm not ready to worry about that yet. But you look at what's coming on the schedule, like NFC contenders, Division games, AFC contenders, good teams like this is this

was not a good team. And to know that in December when you're let's say eight and seven, and I mean big deal, you lost to the Saints like they are awesome, they're rolling without their so that's fine. You're gonna lose games, but like to look back and be like, man, we could be a full game up if we had

beaten the New York Jets. That is a tough pill to swallow, and it will almost undoubtedly come back to bite them in the butt, even if they climb into the playoff race, it will almost undoubtedly come back to bite them. You know what really pisses me off, And I don't know why this comment piss me off so much last night or just hearing about it. It's like, oh, we're gonna have a clean slate every week. It's a

clean slate. We're gonna focus on this upcoming team, which I get that's what you kind of have to do, but no, like, look at the crap you've been doing in the past. It is a problem. And like when Jerry Jones was talking last night and he said he made a comment about, well, we wont the turnover battle, Okay, what did that do? Didn't really do anything. So it's like, just I'd rather them speak about this team more honestly,

like they they're feeling for it. But at the same time, I understand why they speak the way they do, but I'm just I don't know how to feel right now about this team. I think what we all know at this point after watching what we've watched is, at the very best, this team, as they've performed this season is an average team. They're three and three. They've beaten some bad teams. I mean yeahve beaten some bad teams. They've lost to some good teams. They've also lost to a

bad team. So at the best case scenario for what they've shown this year, they are an average team. It could you could say that they're worse than that after losing to the Jets, but at the very best, right now, they're performing like an average team and we'll see where it goes from there. This doesn't necessarily predict the future, but that's what we've seen to this point is that they are very, very very average. Let's take our final break. I want to come back talk a little bit about

the defense. Also need to talk a little bit about the kicker. We'll do that when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Your new apartment's big. Such a great deal, that's okay, just okay? What's not doing right about the subway? Well, I bet you don't even notice it after that's my neighbor. Angus a deal that's just okay, not okay. Get a great deal with America's best network. Come into an AT and T store and learn how to buy one smartphone and get second

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Welcome back. It is the final segment of The Break Live and the SWBC Mortgage Studios at Stock and Not Tonight, they got the happy hour going on right at the Hunting if you're in the area. If you're in there, it definitely comes. Check it out. Zeke will be there tonight. I'll see if Zeke can make some sense out of what we saw yesterday. Turner, Brad Sham, Taylor Stern, Zeke and Zeke. Yeah, I not in that order, but he'll be there. He'll be there. Go check it out. It'll

be a good time. He's scheduled to be there. Let's he's scheduled to be there. Neighborhood services at the Omnie tonight. Happy hour six o'clock at the Star. Yes, all right, cool, let's jump back in. Let's talk a little bit about the defense. Sam Donald had a really really great day. Twenty three or thirty two seventy two pass or completion rating I mean completion percentage three hundred and thirty eight yards, two touchdowns, interception, quarterback rating of one hundred and thirteen

point eight UM. And if I'm being honest, I kind of was a little bit concerned about this last week just because we hadn't really seen Sam Donald work in that offense with Leveon Bell, who was a big addition for them, but one game this season, and I thought they played pretty decent against a really good Buffalo defense. That being said, obviously, yesterday we saw a pretty good offense from the standpoint of at LEAs how they moved the ball. We'll see how the season progresses, and they

have New England this week. We'll see how as the season progresses, how much of that was the Cowboys being poor on defense and how much of that was really their offense being able to click. But what did you guys see and maybe how they were attacking the Cowboys that created all of these extra all these opportunities in their passing. They blocked, They blocked up front. I mean, this is a team they gave up ten sacks against the Eagles, and they gave up two to Robert Coyn

and that was it. And they had they did a really nice job of keeping a pocket clean for him. For the most part. They ran quick routes. I mean that they threw that ball out quickly and those guys made place. I think the Cowboys have issues that. I mean when you think about what's no pressure up front, The linebackers aren't playing well. The cornerbacks really weren't playing

well either. So in the safeties, I mean, Jeff Heath made a terrible play to give up a ninety two yard touchdown, so to go back to the fourth and two. Another reason I don't kill them for that is say what you will about Rod Marinelli's tenure here, Like they don't get enough takeaways, blah blah blah, Like they don't do that. Yeah, Like they don't give up the whole

thing in twelve freaking seconds. Like you're like, well, you know, the worst case scenario, they'll grind it out and kick a fuel goal and like you got some work to do, but big deal, Like that's what you've come to expect from Rod Marinelli's defense. And instead they gave up the longest play in the NFL this season, I believe, the longest play in Jets history. Um, and again, you know Robbie Anderson, Jeff Jeff Heath has has had millions of ups and downs in his Cowboys career. We don't need

to get into all of them right now. That doesn't typically happen there. It happened against Detroit last year. Terrible angle against Golden Tate, terrible angle yesterday. Anything, its ramps against Robbie Anderson, just bad. Um. They kudos to the Jets for game planning quick throws, which you know, like I said, if the Jets can do it, I don't know why the Cowboys can't do it. Um. And even still and you know, it's it's Monday morning. I need

to go back and look. But you know I've been the one championing to Marcus Lawrence and that the pass rush has been playing well on tape and not so much in the stats I didn't see yesterday. You know, big big ups to all of y'all that that fight with me about that because y'all win this week. Like I don't. Even even with all the stuff the Jets were doing, they didn't. They didn't. It wasn't good enough. By the way, they were not doubling him no yesterday

for the most part. They kipped him every once in a while, but for the most part they were leaving him out there on an island, and just I tweeted this. You know, they got a sack on the second play of the game, and they drew a couple of really huge holding penalties, which it's not a sack, but it effectively works as one because it backs the offense up ten yards. But it felt like that went out the

window as the game wore on. UM. Well, in the Jets second drive, well they got okay, what this felt to me like they were almost back to back, which they weren't really, but it was all while the Jets had the ball, and you got a penalty on Cheeto, then the one on antone Woods that I'm like, what are you doing? Man, chill out? And then you get another one four field goals on the same drive. The four penalties, I said, that's exactly touchdown that or something.

Check out the last drive at the game. Oh yeah, I mean we were right behind that side judge and he was just holding the flag. I mean like he was just like ready, like let me say this about that. Um And I know we argued a little bit before the show, but to me, if I get it that that point in the game, I'm not calling past interference on on Witten. I understand that the two at the passengers for the two point conversion, but it's it's in place now to to look at it. And this is

the biggest play of the game. I mean, they score, the game's tied. If they don't, the game is over. Just like that. So just you know, humor me and say we're gonna look at it, but we're going to look at it because it's a booth review. They looked at it and they said no passing interference. Just tell me that. But the same with the past interference on

Cedric Wilson. Are you sure they didn't because everything that happens after the two minute is all reviewed from upstairs, or I should tell us then they should say no. No. What I'm saying is they just they watch every play in the last two minutes is the way I understand it, and they all to all penalties after the two minutes are not reviewed from upstairs, and they immediately like they look at every since. No, no, not penalties, but they

review everything. Right, I don't know that especially well tell me, I mean, then then stop the game for just a second and just say that the plays under review, and then just say that's all I'm saying the same with Cedric Wilson's past interference. They should have done that, I don't think. I think the difference though, is I don't think they can actually call a penalty from up there. It's not they're gonna stop the game and say, oh,

there should have been a penalty on that play. Yes they can, because if if they didn't, wait, what about the Saints Ramps game? What would have happened? Then they would have had to call the game and say, you know what, he speared him in the head. That's kind of a penalty. We're going to call that, right, That's what would have happened. Honestly, I don't know what this new rule. I don't know if that's that was what

it was designed to do. Because if not, then then that play against Saints and Rams is going to happen again, because yes, you know what that is all I'm saying this is what if the guy would have grabuate you know, Whitten's jersey? He didn't, he didn't, but what if he would have had that? Just Just look at it real quick, because if not, the game is over. I still have yet to see an NFL game where someone from a

booth calls down a penalty. That's what I haven't seen, So I don't know that that would be the rule that they could do that that if not something that was not called on the field they called out and say no, that was the Saints Rams game. That I understand you, I understand you. All I'm saying is I have not seen that happen in the end on Cedric Wilson. They should have looked at it because it was a touchdown. They should have said, are you sure that that happened? Oh,

that certainly was a back haul in my opinion. But I can't. I can't. I can't bring myself to care about the Whitten thing because it's for me, that's the epitome of let him play, Like I can just look at it. Just tell me, yeah, we looked at it. If that's what would make you feel better, that's fine. But like if I as a fan of good defense, I constantly feel like defenses aren't allowed to do anything anymore and it cheapens the game in my opinion. So like I thought that was a good no call, I've

got no problem with it. I don't need to get into the OPI people are mad at me because like, I don't think that was a terrible call either. Honestly, I think much like defensive pass interference, like did Anthony Brown interfere on the play in the Packers game last week? Probably not, but he didn't play the ball, and that's what the refs are looking for. Cedric Wilson, I thought looked like a guy who was more so trying to get in the way than runner out, Like he wasn't

looking back towards the quarterback. He didn't really look like he was running arout. I think refs looked for that. Maybe that's not what he was doing, but that's what it looked like to me. Again, And honestly, rudos to the Jets defenders because I think they kind of sold it too, like Adams, you know, probably ran into him on purpose to make it look more like a pick than it was. Problems. If that's the way that it's being called, it needs to be called consistently. Because there

was a play earlier in the game. It was third and four, the Jets at the ball um they did the exact same thing. Brown gets rubbed and you remember he goes downfield. I think it was who was that Crowder? Twenty four yards. Yeah, it was exact same thing. And that's my problem with with these rub routes. It's like referees decide when they want to call him and when they don't. You watch a Patriots game, and I know we've spent a lot of time talking about referencing Patriots,

but it happens almost every single play. They have all these games where they're rubbing these guys, and I'm like, it's it's hard to watch as a fan when there's not consistency and how things are being called. You're you're, you're right about that, and that's rub routes are frustrating because like it's it's a staple of offenses, these datas and and I don't have a problem with it. Um, I don't think Jason could have challenged it though. That's

the problem I have. I don't think he can. He can it's a touchdown touchdown because wouldn't scored, so it's a touchdown allows are reviewed from the booth. So that's another problem too. I mean, you couldn't be able to challenge that, and again it's probably not gonna matter, and

I'm sure he's probably gunshy with challenges. Now, he said that this morning his radio call, he was like, no, when it comes to these offensive pass interferences, I mean, it's it's it's very well documented that the league, he said, the League has actually told him, has articulated to him that this is going to be a very very high standard by which they would apply to reverse a call

or to make that call after the fact. And so it's it's just not it's not in the best interests all the time to actually throw the flag, even if you could. The thing for me is that you cannot. You cannot have watched this game from beginning to end and think that two calls or no calls by the officials or absolutely. I just so what they deserved what they got yesterday. Honestly, they deserved what they got yesterday because they had a lot of opportunities to write those wrongs, right,

they missed opportunities yesterday. So you still put it back on them that they just didn't play good enough game to way I get true. But I mean I do think that a call here or there, I mean, like the third the third and one play, I mean that that was probably the difference in the game. If they get that first down, they probably score a touchdown. They're not getting a touchdown seventeen seconds later, you know, down the ninety two yards. I mean, yeah, I think that

isn't a difference in the game. But just like you say that, they didn't deserve to win, just like they say that. I'll move on to the next topic that I wanted to hit, which is Maher. He had a forty yard field goal. Forty yard field goal changes this game. It changes the complexions game if you just look at the score. Yeah, it changes the outcome of the game. And that's a field goal that should be makeable for an NFL kicker if he man is the forty yarder.

Though he made that forty yarder for you, and the sixty two was short. Like, no, we're not even talking about Brett Maher today. It's the same thing. Three point tier or three point tier. I mean, yeah, he missed the forty. But you have to you have to deal with it because you know, I believe this, he gets cut tomorrow for who Bret Maher is gonna get claimed

by somebody? Okay, And here's my question on that. Here's my question because I believe wholeheartedly there isn't a lot out there on the way for a while obviously, But do you think that the Cowboys made a mistake by not going and finding somebody that can provide more competition that maybe they find a guy during training camp that's a bit more reliable than Brett maher Is. Yeah. Probably My guy, Cole Tracy still is. He's getting ready for the XFL Draft. And I can't make a sixty two yarder.

He can make like a fifty five yarder. Take that, and if you can be consistent forty and in, I'm definitely in on that. I'm with Nick though, and listen, it's not good enough. He's like, he's a seventy five percent, eighty percent kicker. That's not good enough. But it's what they have right now. And we talk about it with other players all the time. Is you got to put

your guys in position to succeed. If you're asking a seventy five percent kicker to kick four times in a game because you can't score touchdowns, that's probably what you're gonna get. Killer that drive, right there was an absolute killer to do that on the twenty three yard line and to get one yard coming out of the fourth quarter to get one yard, so you're trying to throw a deep pastor Winton, who's never gonna make that play. I'm sorry. I like winning them, you know, as much

as anyone. But they put him in situations. And I said this to Dave in the press box. What year in his career does he make that play? Does he go up deslike and make it? Okay, you're not gonna do that. That's not a smart play. Definitely not in that kind of situation. Right, and then then a second one or second and ten, one yard, third and nine incomplete forty yard kick. I think I put my computer up.

I was. I was like, it told I mean, no, no. As soon as he got the third down, you said, if Mars the Maha has to kick this field goal, he's missing it. And you're like, if he made the sixty two, the just the law of averages, he's not making this. And law of averages again, is you know he's he's been hitting seventy five to eighty percent, he's

struggled from close range, he's already made three. Like, I'm a big believer in that stuff, and I'm not trying to tell you that you should be happy or satisfied with the job that Brett Maher is doing but like we all knew it. Everybody here was like, well, like he's bound to miss this one because he's made the other three to miss and then but but he did it anyway because you aren't good enough down in that

part of the field. And I struggle to blame Brett Maher for that because the offense put him in a position to fail more or less. All right, we appreciate you guys joining us. I know it was a lot for twenty or third will we will pick some of these topics back up. There are a couple of things we didn't get to today. We're gonna hit back up tomorrow, so make sure you join us at eleven thirty for more talk on this game and more talk on the Cowboys for this season. Till then for Nick Even, 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.

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