Talkin' Cowboys: Prediction Time

bringing you some fires. It say which a chest Friday, we get everything off the chest of Cowboys fans and our own chest, and we give the keys of the game. We figure out what's right, what's wrong with Cowboys Nation, and then we get your set for kickoff on Sunday at noon on Fox. I'm Kyle Yeoman's alongside heck My Harrison, Rob Phillips and Isaiah stand back. Guys. It's been a week, it really has around Cowboys Nation and around the Star.

There's a lot of panic already with an O on one start and some of the injuries that the Cowboys were dealing with. But because it's Friday, because we're just getting started on a Friday. Let's stay positive. How about that, y'all? Okay with doing some positive notes to start off on Friday. Here, I'm ready to say it with my chess, Kyle ready to say it with your chess. So yes, let's stay positive. The first positive thing is Isaiah's back with us on

a Friday. He was not here last Friday. He's here on this Friday. So here's a positive. How about that? Right, there's a positive. Second. The second positive is, let's say how about this Amari Cooper. It was only limited in practice yesterday and we're gonna get into potential injury updates coming up in just a little bit, but he wasn't a did not practice. He was just limited. So that's a positive, right guys? Positive? Sure? Rod? Sure, Roger? Okay, Rob.

He wasn't on the injury report at all forty eight hours before the game exactly. Yeah, So yeah, a little you got a cool T shirt on, Kyle, that's a positive. I do have a cool T shirt on. That is a positive. This is from the Cowboys Pro Shop. You should go check it out and get your own because this is one of the new like vintage lines for the sixtieth anniversary. I thought it was pretty cool. It's got Cowboy Joe on it, so I decided to sport it on the show. You guys will, uh, you guys

will be a part of that. That wow pro Shop games. Man, I sure wish I can get me one of those. I know, I mean not Saiah. Wouldn't you like to have a shirt like that? Would it be cool? You know, I'm still rocking my my polo from like, you know, two thousand and seven years, so, I mean it still works. But the golf tournament they get they give great at the golf tournament. Well that's the thing is, you guys

will get your You'll get your Pro Shop gear. But if you want to go get Pro Shop gear, the pro shops open, you can go look at it online as well, so go check it out. They do great stuff. But here's the most positive thing I could potentially give you guys before we get into maybe some of the

negatives that the Cowboys are having to deal with. But the most positive thing is that as of Sunday at noon, pro football will be back in Texas, and I think that's something to celebrate and there will be fans in the stand still not a disclosed amount in terms of how many fans will be there, But Mike McCarthy's talked about it. We've talked about it all week. But finally football is back in the Lone Star State. It'll be

before the Texans kickoff. The Texans didn't play there in week once, so the Cowboys will officially be the first pro team to play in Texas. And I think that's something to celebrate and get excited about for Cowboys Nation out there, because hey, we get to watch football in our own backyard. And I think that's something positive to look at. But let's look at some of the negatives. And I mentioned the injury report with Amari Cooper only

being limited but apparently dealing with a foot issue. Rob he was not the only one on that list. That was a bit of a surprise, as Tyrn Smith did

not practice as he's dealing with a neck issue. What can you tell me about Amari Cooper and Tyrn Smith and what we're dealing with in the amount of severity that we're dealing with heading into Week one, Man, I found myself looking at the schedule today saying, went to the bye week, like, can the can the bye week, get here soon enough, and then I realized, ooh, it's like two weeks before Thanksgiving, so we got a long

way to go before everybody can heal up. Mike McCarthy was on the fan this morning doing an interview and he said he's not alarmed by Tyrn Smith's neck injury, but it's something they're looking at. And he was also asked, is offensive line probably your biggest concern going into week two? And he said I would? You said yeah, I would say yes, Wow, not good, Bob, not not great right now?

With you with your top three tackles being banged up, two of them will arguably your top three tackles most experienced was cam irving law Collins on injured reserve right now. And with Tyring, I mean, he's played through a lot of things before and so it's entirely possible he's going to be ready to go by Sunday. Get some treatment. As Isaiah knows, they've got a great athletic training staff. Absolutely, but you know it is it's something that raises your

eyebrows because you know you're already down. You got Terrence Steele at right tackle, or you did in week one, So how does that affect the functionality of the offense going forward? And then Amari Cooper being limited. You know, I don't know necessarily if he's any danger of missing the game, but how effective is he going to be because he had to play through stuff last year and they clearly affected him last year as well. So not

great to see that on the injury report yesterday. Heck, is this something that we need to be extremely concerned about whenever it comes to not having Amara Cooper and Tyrants? Man if I don't want to send chills down the spines of Cowboys fans out there, but let's look back at the Jets game last year when you didn't have your tackles and you didn't really have a morning for the majority of the game. But that's kind of what

we're being reminded of right now. Right Hey, fellas, have you ever been to a restaurant and they serve you that mystery meat and you eat it and you ask yourself, what is this? Exactly exactly? It's chick It's chicken ish, right, And then you get home and then that that little girdle in your stomach like it's just like, uh, why did I eat that? That's the feeling I got in my stomach when I saw the ESPN flash Tyrann Smith. Right,

So you got to mistery me bubba. I didn't want to say that, but thank you for go ahead and taking it there. But that's where I met with the news that Tyren Smith in the neck. And then this morning, this morning when I hear Mike McCarthy said, oh no, I'm not not alarmed. Yeah, okay, it's man, this is why why why why? Rob, like you said right before on a Friday, right before forty hours before the why

do we have to deal with this news? But look, in football, I understand you're gonna have little things happen that ebbing flows. And I know, and no one expects to go through a sixteen game season, regular season and expect for everyone to be healthy. And look, we don't have an all pro at every position as a backup. But this is not the week, and especially coming off of a loss in what we've deemed a must win

game in Week two. Who ye ain't that we that we are now questioning whether our left tackle is going to play? Then the PF grade last week on our offensive line was horrible. We ranked the third worst in the league for the first week. We need all hands on deck, and we definitely need Tiring to be a part of those hands. So yeah, I'm a little nervous in the mystery eating my stomach and I'm sorry, I can't get past this. Bubb missing me, bubble guss if I swear we come back next week and we have

a segment sponsored by some baby white company. Anyway, Hey, let's talk about this, Okay, Amary, I can't get it out. Uh, Amari Cooper is gonna be fine, Okay, whatever that is. I honestly think that they're just keeping a keeping track of the mileage that he has on him. Um. You know you mentioned Rob In terms of the training staff that the Cowboys have, they have, um, one of the best, if not the best. And trust me, I was with those guys all the time, so I know I'm unfortunately.

Those guys are absolutely amazing with with Britt Brown and Jim Mauer over there, they're they're they're dope. Um, so they I know they have a lot of technology in terms of tracking, you know, tracking advice that guys were

during practice. I mentioned how fast they're running, how many miles they've ran, So I honestly think they're just limiting his his mileage right going into this big week where I believe that they're going to face the substantial amount of man coverage he's going to have to be on his horse, So they definitely want to make sure that he's going into it at one hundred percent. Now, Tyron Smith, that's something you want to keep an eye on, because if my last name is McKinley or Fowler, my dog

on ears up right now like a pit bull. Okay, because you already know if these guys are already hurting at one right tackle position, and now if you're telling me that this guy is not going to be at one hundred percent, it's a it's a wounded animal, right, I mean, just imagine what a hyena is going to do out there in a safari right, So as you recognize that is that his prey is wounded. So this

is not something you don't want to see him. I don't know if there's a way that you can hire guys on the injury report, obviously not, but they literally just let everybody know on that defense that hey, guess what, he's not one hundred percent, So who we're gonna see what happens if you want to be positive about it. You know, tyrn Anna Marii both had little hamstring meals in training camp, and they were very very careful with

both guys. And I think tyring in particular, like you know, Marie, at least he got some practice work in yesterday, like Isaiah said, not as concerned about that, I don't think. But with tyring Man, anytime he has a little something, they are very careful. Because he's this is an eleventh season. He cannot practice and be ready to go, you know, And so I think they're gonna be obviously very careful

with him. But the problem is, I don't think we're gonna have much of a gauge based on today because if the schedules anything like it was last weekend, I think it is. You know, it's just a walk through today. So the final injury report's going to be an estimation based off of, you know, what happened early in the week. So we'll see if you had to put a percentage on it, rob based off of what you've heard in Tyron Smith's availability going into Sunday, what would your percentage

be confidence level wise that he would play? I put it above fifty right now. I mean I think he might be listed as questionable. I'm not sure, but I think with a couple of days to go, I'm optimistic he can play. But it's gonna have to depend on how he feels over the next couple of days. So but I would put it above fifty fifty. Okay, now that doesn't necessarily make me feel any better, but yeah, I was at least wanting him truthful statement he will

be playing. Okay, a little bit higher up then, yeah, he's one hundred percent he'll be playing. He's not he may not be feeling one hundred percent, but there's one hundred percent chance he's gonna be playing. There's no question about it. You're not going into this game that you cannot lose. And yes, I have been calling it in a must win and it definitely is a must win. You're all in agreement, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, uh, this

is this is not a chance. I mean, being an eleven year pro and a veteran and you know, pro bowler and all that jazz, there's no way that you're not going to go out there and protect your man back there, um and and it's a very very essential game. Yeah, Rob, I don't I don't know what the percentages are, Kyle, but I know it's one hundred percent that we need him to play. Yeah, whatever whatever, we whatever we have to do, no matter how we are, just the game

plan to fit him in it. Let's make it happen because he is. He is a piece to this this week that we cannot afford to lose, especially going up against that defensive line. I mean you already mentioned at Isaiah whenever it comes to tack McKinley, Dante Fowler Junior on the edge, and then you've got defensive tackles who get pressure on the quarterback, which I know Cowboys fans think that's that's a foreign language because it hasn't been

the case over the past five years. But Grady Jarrett gets pressure on the opposing quarterback, even Tyler Davison back there for the Fresno State product. I think all of those guys have a chance to make an early impact and take advantage of a wounded offensive line. And like you said earlier, Rob, whenever it came to Mike McCarthy talking to the media today, he was asked that question, was that the biggest concern moving into week two, and

he said, yeah, it probably is the biggest concern. Outside of that concern, though, guys, what is the biggest positive going into week two? Let's stay positive on a Friday, say it with your chest and turn around. What are some things we're looking forward to and where the Cowboys can turn around on the other side of things and take advantage of something from the Falcons defense. Um, I'll start this one off on a positive note. I think you got two positives, and it's both on the defensive

side of the ball. I think that you've established your second starting corner right um in Diggs and you heard you heard McCarthy speak on it. Um. He feels really confident in Diggs and he thinks that he's earned his spot. So knowing that you have a solid corner there, who is or who's who's rookie? Obviously he's learning, UM, But the fact that you can instill that confidence in him is going to only help him. Now, just make sure that you don't put him on Julio UM, and you

can continue building his confidence. But I think that is awesome that you've established that as as your as your two starters. Now you got your cheeto and you got your and you have Diggs, so boom, you're good there on a on a on a second good note, I think that you know, I pissed off Mike Nolan is good. I think I think an embarrassed Mike Nolan is good for this, for this entire team, for the entire Cowboys nation. So I think he's going to come out a lot

more aggressively than he did in the first game. I think he's not going to sit back and be patient and try to figure out what this team's gonna do. I think he is really going to just self check himself pretty sure he has this week and says, who am I, And I'm gonna go out here, remind everybody what I do and why my name is what it is. Let's go out here and put some pressure on these Falcons. Yeah. Defensively, for me, it's Alden Smith is the civil lining for

that defense. I think what he was able to accomplish against the Rams just showing how tough he can be in run support, and that's we need that, especially going up against Todd Gurley. H We gotta have that defensive vent that can shut things down. Also, I guess and you you said it Isaiah Trayvon Diggs. Diggs to me didn't seem as though the lights were too bright, the moment was too big. He looked like a guy who

had been there before. And we have to keep in mind that he has played some really some big time football in Alabama. So those are the two bright spots to me on the defensive side of the ball. And I just feel like if we just continue to build on that and again build that confidence. I don't know how much you can hide him scheme wise, as far as keeping him away from Julio Jones. But how else do you grade in Isaiah? How else do you get a grade on this guy unless you see him against

the best there is. And so I want to see I want to see where he fits, where he's gonna be, and what the future is gonna be for Trey Von Dixon. You can get a big sample size of that versus these three receivers. Um Um, heck, you got it, you got I don't want no smokes, I don't want no Greece.

I'm just gonna say, I'm just I'm just saying you had an opportunity to I'm just saying you didn't Trial by fire last week on the interior alignment against against Aaron Donald, and you found out what that grade was. I understand. I understand that now. Now remember what you said, now we found Aaron Donald and that we're going to another dog this week in Julio, Joe. But but but then you got a grade. You figured out where you

were offensive line wise against the best. Next week and the week thereafter, we're gonna be playing against these guys. You gotta figure out where you You got to figure out where your team is. You got. I agree, I don't disagree there you got Rob. I love it. I love it. Um. Defensively, you guys hit on it. And I'll just add Brandon Carr having another full week in

practice and maybe he can can get some snaps. I don't know exactly what the rotation would look like, but he's a Vent and he can help in that coverage aspect for sure, either corner or safety. Offensively, I said it earlier in the week. I mean they did some good things offensively, three hundred and eighty yards. They put themselves in position to score points. Last week, they missed

the field goal. They got three points out of two different drives inside the Rams twenty and if they can just cash in better, they'll they'll be in better shape. Um Zeke looked like a beast. He looked as good as I've seen him in years. And Cedie Lamb was really frustrated after the game. Just on the conference call, you could tell he wasn't happy with some of the

things he didn't place, he didn't make. He's very diligent, and on top of that, he showed a lot of flashes in his first game, so I think there's a lot to build on for him too. There are a lot of positives I think they can build on. I love how two of the positives that you guys just

gave were rookies. It was Trayvon Diggs along with the Cede Lamb, who, like you said, had those flashes, had those plays, had the longest reception out of any Cowboys receiver last Sunday, thirty three yards in that first half. Hopefully they can recreate that a little bit against what I think is a susceptible secondary from Atlanta. I'm not scared by the rookie aj Tarell, at least not yet. I'm not scared about Isaiah Oliver. I think they're susceptible

to the Cowboys wide receivers. It's just whether or not that offensive line can give Dak Prescott enough time to throw the football, and that's going to translate to success early on. But when we come back, you're talking Cowboys. We're gonna talk about the keys to the game. We're gonna give each of our keys to the win coming up this Sunday, allowing the Cowboys to get back to one and one. We'll talk about it on the other side of the break when we come back. You're on

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by choosing one of the Star District restaurants. For more information on delivery, takeout, curbside pickup, and dine in availability, visit the Star District dot Com. Once again, plenty of options over at the Star Go check it out. As we are talking Cowboys. The Friday before the Falcons game Week two COWBOYSZ and one Falcons and One noon kickoff on Fox at AT and T Stadium. Fans will be in attendance and the Cowboys will hopefully be back to

five hundred. Now we're gonna give our keys to the game. Heck my Harrison, Rob Phillips, Isaiah stand back. I'm Kyle Yeoman's to how the Cowboys can get back to five hundred and how they can take advantage of what is a susceptible Atlanta defense and what I think could be a susceptible offensive line. But Hecko, we're gonna start with you. We're gonna let you get the ball rolling here. What is your key to the game and how important is it that that gets done for the Cowboys to come

out on top hooks. If you if you look at the numbers from the Atlanta game, you well, Isaiah will have you thinking that this Sunday, the seventy two Dolphins are coming into town. They are not. It's just the Atlanta Falcons. And let me tell you something about the Atlanta Falcons. And let me here's a question for you. If you look at the stat sheet, they had a gazillion yards, hundred yards here, a hundred yards here, a hundred yards there, Russian combined guys almost to a hundred yards.

It looks eerily familiar to another team that plays here in Dallas that also had a gazillion yards. But if you look at the stat sheet and you look at the end of the game, they were losing those games. And look, we're playing ourselves from last year, man, and this is an opportunity for us to exercise those demons. The key to the game is one Ezekiel Elliot period. Feed the man the football, put him in a position

to be successful and he's running angry. You could tell that he's heard all the whispers about all the other running backs that are quote unquote better than him. No they're not. And Ezekiel Elliott needs to have the platform to prove it this week versus the versus, versus the Falcons. That's what we have to give them a healthy dose. And defensively, look, we brought in some guys that we thought we were going to be getting at a lot out of and Poe that didn't prove it last week.

Tristan Hill that hey, he left a lot by the play still to be desired to be made, and we have to make those plays. So upfront, I want to see my deefense own the line of scrimmage. And offensively, I want to see the Cowboys feed Zeke heck. I appreciate you saying that with your chest. I can feel your passion coming through when you start talking about Zeke, you know what, I almost feel like you're about to go out and get a tent too on your stomach

or something. No, but I agree with you, man. I think that the Cowboys Keller Moore, I think they were establishing the run last week. I think that they did a heck of a job giving Zeke the ball. He does look lighter, he does look more explosive, He does look like he is focused and on a mission to prove a point this year. It is disappointment that they got away from that last week because there was never a point in the game where they were out of

the game, right, They were always relatively close. So for them to had gone away from the run, which it had been very successful for them last week, I was very disappointed in that. So I look forward to seeing Zeke. As we have said all offseason and we've said at these days for this first week now going to the second week of the season, he is the backbone of

this team. So when Zeke eats, everybody eats. Right. When Zeke's doing well and he's consistent and he gets his twenty five twenty twenty five carries, guess what Cowboys is dog one magic and the Cowboys are gonna do well even with our offensive line woes, right, we keep talking about the old line. This goes from a great old line to a good old line. By no means do

we have a bad old line. There's not a bad old line here, even with guys hurt, even if Tyland Smith couldn't play, No, you don't have what you want, but guess what, you still have a good old line. So these guys have more than enough, more than what they need. Hand the ball off to this dude, let him get his carries. Let these guys get established and get confident in the front line, and then let's go play action and use your dog oard receivers that you

have out there. You know, Zeke said it in the offseason on Twitter, like, put some respect on my name. He's sick of hearing about everybody saying he's washed up or he wasn't explosive last year. I think people forget you know, no training camp probably affected him to some degree last year. Isaiah. I was kind of curious though your thoughts on this, because some fans media the Cowboys to throw more on first down, you know, they think that it's it's it's not efficient to run, Zeke, and

I don't. I don't agree with that. I don't think you agree with that, and they I think they I think it was a perfect split. You know, sixteen and sixteen run pass on first down, and they were they were pretty successful doing that. So I don't I don't really get it. I mean, I think with a back with a rookie free agent right tackle, you're trying to create some balance and not have him in pass protection

all the time, right, Yeah, absolutely. I mean for everybody out there that wants to pass the ball, throw it around, they just want to see these weapons get utilized, right, and they want to see gallup speed. They want to see Cooper getting down the field. They want to see CD routing somebody up there. They're they're they're anxious, right, They just like, like we talked about right on the other side of the ball. You know, they got these dog on Rose Royce and these Bentley's. Well, you know

the Cowboys have theirs as well. You know, they got some Lambeau's out there. They got a couple of Raris. You know, CD comes in as a McLaren, you know. So, I mean, even you have some weapons and people want to see it. Understood, understood, But understand those weapons are absolutely nothing to you unless you have this run game. And by the way, you have a top three running back, arguably the best running back in the league in your backfield. So you do not simply just go away from him.

You have to find a way for everybody to eat. But in order for everybody to eat, you got to feed the beasts in the back. Hey, Rob, I think those numbers that you're talking about was from those last year statistics where on first down we were awful running the ball, yeah, and so wanting to have more balance, and I think they tried to find that. I was surprised to start the game. We started the game off

with a throw to Amari Cooper. You know, So if things have changed, I think that Kelly Moore is going to just kind of settle down and get that play sheet, that laminated play sheet, going and listening to Mike McCarthy and everybody wanting to know how involved is he in the offensive play call, and he let it be known this is by committee. By committee. He has a bunch of veteran coaches on his staff that are all there for KELLN Moore if he needs that help. But he

has full confidence and KELLN Moore's play calling the ability. Now, Rob, the stats, I've got those stats in terms of the difference between run and pass on first down from the Rams game, it was seventeen runs twelve passes. In terms of the first down play calling for the Cowboys on Sunday. I think the thing that gave me pause about it was just how efficient the Cowboys were throwing the football on first down. It was eleven of twelve Dak Prescott was.

On those twelve attempts, he was able to complete at eleven times. Now, I know a lot of those were either check downs or just trying to get the ball out before the offensive line in the pockets started to collapse. However, the fact that he's so efficient and he's so quick at going through those reads and finding an open receiver and trying to get it into the hands of those receivers, those Bentley's, those McLaren's, those Lamborghinis. Yes, I want to

get the ball into their hands. I really do. I would take some pause when it comes to running the football more, but I'm okay with a seventeen twelve split. I'm okay with throwing the ball around a little bit and changing it up that way. It's not Hey, let's ask the coach on Madden and run a halfback dive right up the middle. Let's not do that every single first down. But I still think there has to be

that mixture back and forth. And I thought Sunday was actually a pretty good experience in terms of throwing the football on first down. Yeah, yeah, And I think they did it less as the game went on, but I think it probably had something to do with the pressure that they were getting into trying to drop back and you're trying to you're trying to make it easier on your line and your quarterback to try to keep the

defense on us a little bit. In a perfect world, I think you probably want it fifty fifty or maybe maybe if it's more your strength, if your protection is there, maybe it is passing on first down, because I think they were at like ten eleven yards when they had completions. But yeah, I don't know when they lose it is this always comes up, this and creativity and and pre snap motion, which we got a dissertation from Mike McCarthy

on that yesterday past conference. I'm excited the fact that he will just answer that question preestamp motion, because that's yeah, it's kind of ridiculous. But at the same time, I mean, he had enough of it, but I think people want to see more of it. When you ask the question about the I believe it was Aaron Rodgers talked about how he's not used to seeing all the preestab motion and all of that from over the years with McCarthy.

That was something that he didn't like to do. And McCarthy said, well, when you with someone for as long as I've been with him, maybe he just forgot that we did have a lot of preestamp motion. So I appreciated him returning a little bit of smoke back at a raw And just because their motion doesn't mean their success. That's that's I think the biggest storyline out of the week. And what McCarthy's thinking, Isaiah, what do you have on the fact that there's no motion, no success. Listen here,

First of all, why say with your chest? I don't think. I think people just see stuff and they're like, oh, this team is doing a lot of this and they're successful, so why aren't we doing it? Yeah, you have to understand the reasoning behind motions. Right, you're motioning right, whether you have two plays called right, you're motioning to see matchups, You're motioning to see coverage. You're motioning to get leverage. Right, you're motioning to widen out certain defenders so that you

can run the ball. There's a lot of different reasons why you motion. So it's not just for show. It's not just something you do just just because he has his reasons. If he's not doing it, he has his reasons as well. He probably sees what he wants. He probably has the defense aligned the exact way in which he wants them to be aligned. So why would you motion into something that's not favorable for you? So I understand people want to see yourself like Kansas City and

the Rams. You know, these offenses that are running around, ripping and running. We're not them, right, We're not them. We're not built that way. That's not how we operate, and we don't need to operate that way. We are who we are, and these guys are gonna be perfectly fine. They're gonna be successful. Now, Kyle, to your point, in terms of everybody that's looking forward to seeing people pass more, you're gonna get your wish this week. There's gonna be

a lot more Man coverage this week. There's gonna be a lot more pressure from Atlanta. So there's gonna be a lot of big play opportunities that guys are gonna have to make it off the ball CD Gallup Coop. They're gonna have opportunity to prove themselves and defend everybody that's out there saying that they need to get the ball more. I hope you're right. I want to see it.

I want to see these wide receivers utilized. I want to see them take up a defense and take advantage and have that separation and have those type of plays that we saw la. I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Sure we lost Blake Jarwin and I hate that for Blake, but I still think this wide receiving corps is not going to see any kind of setback in terms of losing Blake Jarwin as an

added weapon. Now, Rob quickly, before we head into this final segment, what is your key to the game and how did the Cowboys get the dub on Sunday, I'll just go quick. We talked about third down and red zone. Offensively, just taking advantage of your opportunities. I think there were three at twelve on down and that's just that's just not going to cut it. And so you just you got to be better on second down to be able to get there into more manageable situations. Defensively, obviously, the

receivers are what jumps out at you with Atlanta. But Jalen Smith spoke to this yesterday and I agree, you got to stop the run they try to establish. Todd Gurley Atlanta did in Week one, and the game got away from him. When the Cowboys don't stop the run. Regardless of what else an opponent has offensively, they seem to struggle throughout their defense, whether it's tackling, whether it's just us be an assignment sound, So it starts there. They've got to be better that way. And we've talked

about that interior run defense too. That's got to be short up this week too. All right, Isaiah, what's your keys to the game? My keys at the game on the offensive side of the ball. I think that is going to be difficult to establish a run this week. I truly do believe it's gonna be difficult to establish a run just because of the pressure that Atlanta is going to bring. I mean, if you watched the game last week against Seattle, they didn't let cars and get

off at all, right, they didn't. They didn't let him do anything running wise. They played eight men in the box and manned up on their guys and said, hey, beat me over the top, in which you know DK Meycalf was able to beat him over the top a couple of times, right, But I mean, but that's but that's what they're going to force you to do. They're gonna force you to throw a low percentage pass in

order to beat them. So if these guys are gonna have an opportunity to go out there and make some plays as receivers, I think we have to assure that up. And in order to do that, you got to be able to protect Dac. Right, but he's not gonna have a whole lot of time to get the ball out of his hands. So we'll see what happens there on a defensive side of the ball. Mike Nolan Mike Nolan absolutely. I think that I think that Poe's heard enough critics of this week. I think the interior d Lineman have

heard enough. Tristan hit Hill, he did a great job in terms of just hustling last week. I don't think that. I think he just might have some technique things he needs to show up. But Nolan has a lot to prove. I think he has to show up and show out and give not only cowboys nation confidence. But he has to instill confidence that his guys on defense that he's the right man for the job and that he will make sure that they get the things done against this

polting offense. I agree with J Seattle abandon the run up, Seattle, abandon the run versus Atlanta, because I don't believe that Russell Wilson could believe his eyes in their soft coverage that Atlanta was just running it. Even Carson had his opportunities in the passing game last week, So that's where I see. That's why I'm saying Ezekiel Elliott has a bit, has an opportunity to make some really big plays and

continue to move the change. But defensively, I think one of the keys is, man, get off the damn field. Just get off the field. If you can win on third own, get off the field and give the offense the ball back, man, we'll have success this Sunday. I agree, And I think the run game is going to be crucial for the Cowboys because it is going to be difficult. It's not going to be an easy task. I mean, they held Seattle to eighty four yards. That's the sixth

lowest total in the NFL. Last week. So I think overall, if you if you're able to establish a run, I think it opens up a world of possibilities for the Cowboys offense and really getting those receivers into the ball game early, often and throughout the course of Sunday afternoon. Now, when we come back here on Talking Cowboys, we'll give you our game picks. I was the only one that got one right last week. I wasn't happy about it,

but I got it right. I'm gonna see if I can get it right again when we come back here on Talking Cowboys. I'm Jay Novachik, 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 Dear three zero twenty five E tractor that can handle any yard work I need to do, even

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Let's take a listen, Doctor and Cream Soda. Is he a Newcombonelet's music to my ears? Okay, Doctor Bap time pos Music to my ears and mouth new Doctor pepper and Cream Soda. Delas just do back. 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.

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experts and find the perfect or lenses for you. See more, two more or there are gonna be fans in the stands at AT and T Stadium this week? Does the Cowboys take on the Falcons? Thank goodness football is back in Texas physically back in Texas. It's been back for a while, but at least pro football is being played in Texas and there's gonna be fans allowed. Hope everybody stays safe, stay socially distant. The safe stadium guidelines are out on the website as well. Go check those out

before you had two at and T Stadium. But man, it's gonna be a fun week and I'm excited about it. As we get into this weekend, though, it's time for our Friday pick thems, and it's time to decide whether or not the Cowboys will be one and one heading into Week three against the Seattle Seahawks, or they'll be oh and two. Isaiah, stand back. I want to hear from you first, the former Cowboy himself, super Bowl champion.

Who do you have on Sunday afternoon? Well? Well, first, I'm gonna say, Kyle, kudos to picking the Cowboys losing last week. Way to go, Kyle, Way to go, Kyle. You can go apologize, but I want to know, so it's cool you are want to know. I don't like this matchup. I don't like this matchup. I'm torn. I gotta tell you I'm torn. But I know he's gonna say hurry up, so I I am going to I'm gonna say the cowboy Boys will they will win off a big plays twenty four twenty one because they're at

home and they're gonna feed off this crowd. Um, But I am really torn. I don't like the matchup. All right, heck oh, it'll actually Rob. Let's go. Let's go to Rob first. Heck one wanted to go last. Isaiah, you got your crystal ball there, can you help me out. It is very cloudy. I don't, I don't. I don't like this matchup. I really don't. It's really gonna come down to five guys can make big plays if they can't, if they can't convert on some big some big plays

down the field. Can you tell me if Tyrann Smith is gonna play, he's playing? All right, I'm gonna I'm gonna bang on that. If Tyrn Smith plays and he is Tyron Smith or close to it, then I'll go with the Cowboys. But I'm with you. I mean, there's some matchups you don't like so much. Um. I do think the Cowboys, like you've said, have the opportunity in man covers to make plays down the field in the passing game, and I just I think they're gonna be at home with some fans there. I think they're just

gonna be more efficient offensively. So I'll go Cowboys twenty seven twenty four. Okay, Well, before we get to heck my heir, Rob, you sounded like if Tyron Smith doesn't play, you would pick Atlanta. Is that true? Do you think if Tyron Smith is not available on Sunday you would reverse your pick? I'm not saying you're allowed to do that, but would you Yeah, I can do a quick podcast on Sunday. No, I uh yeah, I'd have concerns because I think you'd have We've seen it before with Lyle

and Tyrn both out against the Jets. I mean, you have to It affects the what you can do down the field because you're having to probably protect both edges and devote some more guys inside. So if that's what they would have to do, I'd have more concerns about being as explosive offensively as I think they can be. But I'll still stick with them. We got it, we gotta have it, we gotta have it, Rob. So we may have been do an evergency podcast all Sunday just

to cover you, but hey, it's it's on me. And one of the things that I know about this matchup, and you've seen the statistics, and if you reach a ticker on NFL Network, they will tell you that Dak Prescott has not thrown they touched down against the Atlanta Falcons in his last two meetings. I think that changes his own Yeah, his only two only two meetings against him,

and Sunday, I think we're gonna have a change. Michael Gallup has a lot of opportunity in front of him, and I think that we're gonna go into a high score and matchup. But I see the Cowboys winning thirty five twenty seven, thirty five twenty seven. I like it. And here's the thing, Dak Prescott, sure he hasn't thrown

a touchdown pass against Atlanta throughout those two meetings. He's one and one of those meetings, I will say he also hasn't thrown an interception either, So you got the glass half empty, half full, however you want to see it. I think he's actually played okay whenever he's had a chance. Remember one of those two games, the one that they lost, was the game that he was sacked eight times for fifty yards back in twenty seventeen, so it wasn't necessarily

a chance for him to throw the football. I hope it doesn't look like that on Sunday. Now. I've been asked this quite a bit in terms of where I'm gonna pick this game, because I did pick the Rams last week, and I did have a gut feeling about the Cowboys. That wasn't a positive gut feeling. I was a little scared going into last week, and what I ended up seeing was kind of what I was scared about. And so a lot of people were giving me flack, like you, Isaiah stand Back for saying, Hey, good job,

I'm picking the Cowboys losing. Yeah, I didn't pick the Cowboys to lose because it was my gut feeling. I've got another gut feeling this week. And I mean when you talk about Julio Jones, and you talk about Matt Ryan and that wide receiving going up against his secondary, and you talk about the defensive line from Atlanta going up against the offensive line from this Cowboys team that

has just straight banged up. I mean, Tyrren Smith might be out, Connor Williams didn't look right tackle MALIEK Collins or excuse me, Lyle Collins is still out, and we still don't know what's going on at right now. I still think with all of those problems, I think the Cowboys get a win on Sunday, and I think they bounced high. I think they get a dub and I

don't even really think it's close. I think the Cowboys offense starts firing at all cylinders, even with some of the backups in the offensive line, because I think now they're ready for it. I think now they know, hey, we're a little banged up on the offensive line. I think it's gonna change the play calling. I think there's gonna be a different feel for the Cowboys offense on Sunday, and I think they come out on top. Forty one twenty four final score. Cowboys get back to and then

we turn back around. Yeah, we get our first forty burger this season. Then we turn back around and I think the Cowboys might have a chance to win on the road against Seattle. We'll get to that when we get to the point too. And then all of a sudden, you're two and one. You're feeling great about your team. So that's where I'm at. I think they turn it around. I think the Cowboys get a dub on Sunday. Did I fake you out? Did I get a good lead? Corso fake out? There? You know you did? You did?

Oh you did? I wish you had had to Cowboy hat from Money. I would have screamed, I'm telling you that was that was awesome. That was awesome. So I like that. Ultimately, it's gonna be a fun matchup. I think these are two very evenly matched teams. And I mean we all picked the Cowboys, I believe, except for Rob, who's like a fifty fifty based off a Tyron Smith. But uh no, I got him. I got him. He's got him all the way through. That's what I like

to hear. So hopefully we're all uh we're all two and oh oh wait, I guess you guys would be one and one. I would be two and oh hopefully by the end of Sunday. Yes, I am keeping track. I am keeping tracking. You know what you know, you know what he's doing. You know what he's doing. He's just trying to protect his lead. I am that you throw that shade at us. Okay, Rob, that's all he's doing. Rob,

I'm protected this case. He's tied with us next week exactly, exactly, Guys, it's been a whole lot of fun all week here on Talking Cowboys. Join us Monday nine thirty. We're gonna break down whether or not the Cowboys one or loss. We're gonna give it to you straight. We're gonna say it with our chests like we do every single day here on Talking Cowboys. But tune into the game. If you're going to the game, be safe, wear a mask,

continue to socially distant, Please stay safe. That way, we can continue to have fans in the stands like we will on Sunday. I'm not sure what the specific amount is, if it's even been announced, but be safe, going to safe stadium, look at all the guidelines, follow those two at and then we'll get ready for football and kick off is at noon on Fox. But for heck Ma Harrison, for Rob Phillips and Isaiah stand back, I'm Kyle Yeoman's We'll see you Monday. Go Cowboys. Here on Dallas Cowboys

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