Talkin’ Cowboys: Stroud for Stride?

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This He's Talking Cowboys Straining live.

From the Dallas Cowboys World.

Hours at the Star in Frisco.

Touchdowns do Tisay twenty patient Touchdown.

And now your hosts Isaiah Standback, Patrick Walker, Josh Rodriguez and Kyle Yeomans.

It's a wonderful Wednesday edition of Talking Cowboys presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company, live from the Star in Frisco, Texas in the swb C Studios.

Welcome in everybody.

We've got Patrick Noci Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Tommy Aresh, Chris Beam in the backup.

Kyle Yeoman's glad you were with us, and uh.

Of course today being a Wednesday, which means the Cowboys defense versus the Houston Texans offense preview is upon us.

We're gonna break it down for you.

See j Stroud and company still playing really high quality football in the month of November. No doubt, Cowboys defense trying to build off of a couple of things that they've done well over the last couple of weeks.

But glad to have Tommy back to the building three straight days. You're you've already beaten Isaiah's record in that chair. Yeah.

Well, like I told you guys before, if I do half as good as a job as Isaiah does, I'll be happy.

So I'm sure. I'm sure you'll do at least fifty five percent.

I'll take it.

I'll take it on.

Such a hater.

I do like your shirt A Little Little Stranger absolutely, yeah, eighty Forever a Stranger teams like to come next year, right, yes, yeah.

Yeah, they're all thirty years old, still in elementary school.

Be great, Okay, yeah, sure, they're going to the most recent season. And of course, you know who has his hand in that mix, right, mister Krueger himself. You know what I mean, Robert and Robert England has his hand in helping orchestrate that storyline.

I didn't know that that's cool? Did you?

Did you watch the most recent sy Okay, I'm cap. You know he's the one that's in that that dark jail cell. You could kind of halfway see his face halfway not and he's tapping his hand like this, which is a reference to Freddy's clothe and you it gives there's a reason it gives nightmare on Elm Street vibes. It's because Freddy Krueger is involved the goat, so I love that. But I wore this today because I mean, we're talking about the Cowboys obviously, and more and more.

I'm just starting to feel like we're trapped in the upside down. So that's fair, you know. There you go, Yeah, we are third place in the division. You kind of hit that. I have told you.

Guys on occasions, I'm an excellent singer. Don't give me any credit at all.

Because I'll give you the credit. I want to see more of it.

Well, this is talking, not singing cowboys. That's another show I'll start with.

It is talking cowboys and is singing cowboys and his dancing coupboys and.

Whatever we want it to be, crumping cowboys.

I want to Josh needs to come up with a song like right as.

I don't know if you're a song writer as well.

Yeah, I need you to write a song over the despair of the Cowboys season, like a sad cowboys song.

It's not gonna be said. It's gonna be more like like Patrick Shirt. It's going to be like a heavy metal banger.

I'm down for that, you can, you can turn those into sad songs.

I should Patrick a really good Cowboys song on the other day on TikTok oh.

Yeah, you remember that one I do?

Is it the guy the fan that it's a rap?

Yeah, he's like slowly but surely making an album out of it every week that was and he's kind of put him together some bangers just in terms of like the beat.

So I'll leave it up.

We don't have a music license. I wonder if he would let us play it.

On the shot.

Probably not, I don't think so. Even if he probably.

We'd probably get the hook from upstairs.

So you call the principal's office for that one, might as well do it.

We're not getting the red absolutely get called into the go for Patrick.

So first and foremost, yesterday we did speak about the breaking news. Dak Prescott said to get his surgery this morning or at some point today in New York. That'll end his season and to help as much as he can with the quarterback situation. Will Greer was officially yesterday afternoon officially signed to the Cowboys practice squad. Corresponding move is the release of rookie defensive back of Money Johnson. So Monny Johnson was cut loose to make space for

That player as an emergency quarterback.

So interesting decision for the Cowboys as far as housekeeping is concerned, to choose to put Wilgear on the practice squad as opposed to the active roster, especially considering you're about to ir Dak Prescott, so you will have that seat.

But that does create the question mark.

And I was telling Tommy and Nick Eatman, I think that is kind of dog geared for Brandon Cooks. I think Brandon Cooks is just about ready to come back. I don't know if that means it's twenty one day practice window will be opened this week Today I'll check with Mike McCarthy during the press conference to see if that's the case. But he's not the only one who is eligible for their window to be open. DeMarcus Lawrence

We'll see if that's the case.

Deron Bland, we don't know where he is right now with his I just if I'm a betty Man and I'm not Rogers, so just relax if I'm a Betty Man Roger. Yeah, I don't see Deron Bland going this week because the tone just doesn't sound well when you have the conversation around the building. But we will see what happens with Kawanya Thomas. He missed last week in concussion protocol. But keep an eye on these potential IR activations.

I saw Marshawn yesterday in the training table just walking past, and I.

Was like, Hey, what's up going, what's going on? I haven't seen you in a while. Like, we're definitely going to say what's check? Yeah, what's up? Coat? Uh not yet hopefully that would be awesome. It would be but I was.

Like, hey, what's up, haven't seen you in a little bit. And we kind of talked for a minute. I was like, so you're feeling You're feeling good. He's like, bro, I'm close.

I'm there. I'm right there.

So we're getting there with Marshawn Neil and he didn't give me anything breaking news wise, but he feels like is moving in the right direction and.

Absolutely in good spirits. So good news there.

I think Brandon Cook's getting back helps this offense significantly. Then it forces kind of the trade that you made with Jonathan Mingo. It forces him to be a wide receiver three as opposed to an automatic wide receiver two and need him to get into that role. Whether he's ready for that or not, we haven't seen it yet in a Cowboys offense. Cowboys offense had forty six yards passing this past week, so it's not like I'm expecting Mingo to come in and light it up.

Yeah, just really quickly shouts to Patrick for figuring out the Willgreer emergency QB situations. I think, like a lot of people, I just assumed that, Okay, he'll be the emergency well in.

This that's something I had tracked, so initially I thought it might be like a Max Dugan situation as far as because they worked him out, so I was thinking maybe that was going to be the QB three. So that that article I wrote that week, as far as the impact of that going down, I said, my expectation was that they will add him to the active roster,

But if you.

Elevate him and put him on the active game day roster, then you more or less have to figure out how to play him. Otherwise you just wasted the game day roster spot because there's not that emergency exemption.

Well, you could put him on the active roster and just make him inactive on game day.

No, he doesn't.

Part you can if you elevate him and make him active for the game day roster and you don't play him, then wasted the game days. Absolutely, that's what I mean, because you can because you don't get the emergency QB. She exactly, because keep in mind, Trey Lance was consistently inactive, but he was available to play in the event of an emergency injury today.

Because he's inactive. But now it will if you act. If you elevate him and then put him on the game day roster, he's taking up a spot.

Yeah, and you can't elevate him and keep him an act correct, That.

Is correct, that's the distinction. So interesting that they chose this route. But you know, I wonder if stranger things have happened.

A banger the I wonder if there's more moving.

And shaking that's going to happen that allows him to be on that fifty three man roster with him now and Sunday or Monday. But because I mean you talked about dak in that move. If Brandon Cooks isn't ready and they aren't going to move him in the active roster, it might be dog eared for Brandon Cooks, but they could move Will Greed.

Yeah, that's that's true if he's not ready. I mean, do you expect Brandon cook.

Brandon Cooks sounded like he was ready to play last week. Now, of course this is the player talking, and he hasn't started a prize.

This isn't the medical team talking. This is the player talking.

But as far as the player goes and speaking with the Brandon Cooks, he was of the belief and was operating of the belief that he was on the right track for Monday night football. He quite literally said or intimated that when we were talking to him at the locker at his locker last week and the week prior, and he was like, yeah, man, I'm trying to see all on Monday Night football. So but then you have the conversations around the building and it's kind of tempered

And I assume you'd want to not rush him back. But it's like, if he's ready, use him, of course.

And if there's any player that you would be comfortable with saying, you know what, this get him practicing on Wednesday, playing him him on Sunday or Monday, it would be a Brandon Cook who's been in this league, who is one of the best players around as far as taking care of his body, knowing his body, being in tune with his body. So if there was anyone you'd be comfortable with that, I said.

People also not to mention what he suffered wasn't an actual injury, correct with an infection that has healed on long Yeah, And I guess a lot of it has to do with maybe the infection around the rehab that he needed from the knee and from the scope that he he had.

But usually there's not a ton of rehab there period, right, And that's a point. It's not like it's a lingering insurance.

Once an infection is gone, it's you should be good.

So we'll see, Yeah, we will, Uh Tommy out of those guys. DeMarcus Lawrence, Dron Bland, Brandon Cooks, Marshawn.

Neel and who do the Cowboys need back the most, specifically for Monday or ye for Monday.

For Monday.

I mean, you look at last week and how even in the week's past two at how teams just kind of have picked on Kaln Carson and it's just march downfield for offense. Like we were talking about AJ Brown yesterday, he had three out of his receptions were on Carson for seventy four yards, and it could have been worse. I mean, I still think back to that wheel route to DeVante Smith where if Jalen Hurts puts it a little bit better, that's a touchdown.

And you know it is.

Rough for a rookie like that, who has his confidence kind of taken away, I think.

But Keitlin Carson is still a really good player. But Deron Bland is a really good player.

Oh yeah, and he's your exactly and you need that back, especially when you look at this Texans offense. I know we'll talk about them a little bit more in a bit, but they've got speed at their skill positions. They've got a great trio of wide receivers, even With Stefan Diggs out, it looks like Nico Collins is on track to be back for Monday Night football. So all the help that you can get in the secondary, I think is going to be what you want in this game.

Oh man, he just may.

I was just about to talk about Diggs is not going to be in the fold and that makes me one sad that we don't get traymar versus Stephan.

I was kind of hoping for, ye finally Digs Bowl football.

God, you're playing nice with them now, not that one specifically, but then you turn around and you've got You've got Nico Collins you had to deal with as well.

Everyone's gotta be tough. Any other news and notes before we take our first break, No, we're good on that.

Yesterday was a nonpractice day, so yeah, we're we should have a lot more information and will tomorrow morning news and notes.

Demo feel pretty good about it. He said he was good.

He's good, and there's no concern as far as any major injury. What I'm tellingday, what I'm told is it's Breseidas that he's dealing with, So it could just be a rest and rehab situation this week.

Maybe he's d and P.

Did not participate on Wednesday, Maybe Thursday, kind of work him back in to walk throughs on Friday and Saturday. Maybe that's the plan. I wouldn't be too concerned by seeing him d and P. But as we'll talk about it tomorrow today with the Cowboys defense and the Houston Texans offense, that's a concern for me simply because he's not one hundred percent. Yeah so, but we'll get to that. But as it stands, as far as news and Notes are concerned, he's seventy percent chance.

He should go gone against Houston Texas.

Pretty strong chance. There's a good, good spot, good percentage.

All right, when we come back, we're going to take our attention and look at some of the matchups for this Houston Texas team. Tommy alluded to it speed on the outside. Which level of the Cowboys defense is going to be challenged the most when we come back. More talking Cowboys right after this. If you're looking for fresh American roasted coffee that gives back, you need to head to your local grocery store.

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I three you guys for a lot. Yeah, you thought I was.

Gonna say through you a nice little curve ball here. We've got a lab coat coming up in the next segment, so we don't go anywhere.

Patrick's gonna let the Cowboys have it. I don't know exactly what you're going to talk about.

We'll tease it at the end of this segment, but I figure you're probably gonna.

Let the Cowboys have it, probably, so yeah, that's probably about right, all right.

It is the seventh all time meeting between the Cowboys and the Texans. The Cowboys have won four, the Texans have won two, and the Cowboys have won four of the last five, including back in twenty twenty two. That was a weird game, and a Texans team that was just kind of starting to turn things around had some guys on defense that they were confident in, Jalen Peatree being one of them, the former Baywood prospect playing safety,

Games as you do now.

They've got weapons on offense, and it starts with CJ. Stroud as well.

Josh, when you look at the three levels.

Of this Texans team, the pass catchers, the running game, and the offensive line in the trenches. So passing game, running game, trenches, which one do you feel like they're at their highest with?

Ooh, I think they're highest with the passing. I think CJ. Stroud, once he is able, once he's afforded time, is going to be able to pick you apart. I think, well, we've talked about it before. Anytime the Cowboys are going up against a team and their weaknesses, they find a way to strengthen those weaknesses against the Dallas Cowboys and the dast Cowboys defense. So I'm a little worried about that.

Yeah.

Nico Collins thirty two receptions, which is third on the team, but he leads the team in receiving yards, right, I mean seventeen point seven yards.

Per catch and has missed four games and.

Has missed four chance in doing so three touchdowns, including a sixty seven yard or earlier in the campaign.

Here there big play threat. Yeah, I don't like what you don't like their big play threat.

And if you're gonna see Nico Collins on one side, you're going to see Tank Dell on the opposite side, who's having a nice who's having a great season. Thirty five srabs four hundred yards. Yeah, he's legit. The only I guess good side of it. And it's unfortunate, like we talked about earlier, But the only good thing that the Cowboys don't have.

To deal with is Stefan Dicks.

It's the fact that he's not in the fold and they don't have that three headed monster at the wide receiver spot.

But they've got a guy named John Metchi, Yeah, who just caught his first touchdown pass, his first career touchdown pass, former Alabama, former Alabama guy, and unfortunately he had to deal with I think it was cancer. Yeah, his rookie season that kept him out. But now he's he's here, he's a viable threat. I mean, he had a great game last on Sunday night against the Detroit Lions. And you know, you add in Dolton Schultz, a guy that Cowboys fans are very familiar with. That I'm just saying he's.

There, but I wouldn't know.

We're talking about here.

To kind of to kind of build off of what Josh was saying, You've got an opportunity here. The Cowboys do defensively at the line of scrimmage this This Texans offensive line has not played well at all this year.

CJ.

Stroud is one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the NFL.

But the flip side of that, CJ.

Stroud is one of the most successful quarterbacks when throwing under pressure this year. So you've got to find a balance on that. I think that you've seen some positives come along in these past couple of weeks. In the past rush for the for the Dallas Cowboys and Michael Parsons being back in the mix is certainly going to help that.

So it all goes back to what we talked about yesterday.

Football is a line of scrimmage game, and if the Cowboys can get a good pass rush against CJ. Stroud of the ground, they can they can take an advance and a chair.

Twelve twelve touchdown, six interceptions, So I mean at two to one touchdown interception ratio, it's not like he's lighting it up until it taking care of the football and no, it's not bad, but it's not it's not like tops.

Of the league or anything.

Speaking of most pressure though, he's been sacked thirty four times. Do you know the only other quarterback that has been sacked.

More than he did Williams?

Williams thirty eight times.

Why did you do that to Tom? I just we're going to blow past that because that was that was a knife.

Get the kids some help, man.

I was going to try.

I was going to try and say, I was going I thought you were alluding to Dak.

I thought, oh no, what is he at? Probably twenty something right to be, he's up there.

He almost took the sack last week on the side.

We're talking about yes one one pressure.

I went back and looked at that and it was it was pretty agreed.

It has potential to be pretty scary for me. I'm going with the ground game.

I think that the ground game is what's going to decide this game for the Houston Texans, all the Dallas Cowboys.

And mixing up what nice thanks.

Joe Mixon is in fact quite resurgent in a Texans uniform. He was always very solid, a very good player for the Cincinnati Bengals, but seems like he's refound that top gear with the with the Houston Texans. But it's not just him, it's it's just the totality of it. So when you talk about the Cowboys consistently struggling against the run, here are the top five rushing game outings for the Houston Texans. Two hundred and thirteen yards, one hundred eighty seven.

But talk about C. J. Stroud, Yes, the Lions got after him.

They sacked him four times to kind of secure that comeback victory.

But he has ten first downs on the ground.

And as Tommy said, he excels at throwing the ball under pressure.

He's going to be a problem for you.

So if you can't bottle up Joe Mixon and that rushing attack, and if you can't keep containing on CJ.

Stroud to allow the pressure that.

You're inevitably, inevitably going to get against him because the offensive line is struggling, then you're you're just in for a very long day. So for me, it goes in that that order stop the run game for c J. Stroud to then throw, but then keep him in the pocket while he's throwing so your pressure can get home.

Otherwise it's you're you're just in.

For it or spy him.

Okay, here's here's my problem with that this week. Problem with that. Here's no high five. Because I love the idea. I love it. I love it. I love it. Everybody who follows.

This show knows I made it huge advocate of Marveon overshown spying mobile quarterbacks. It is no secret. But we just talked about he's dealing with birth sights in his knee. We are dealing with a less than one overshown and we don't know how much how much that's going to affect him because we don't know if if this is an eighty.

Percent demo, is this a seventy percent demo? We don't know.

But being that he is outside of Micah, he's the most explosive player on defense outside of Micah, So some of his explosiveness might be siphoned away from him because of that. Bresid is in his knee and that's advantage c J. Stroud in the Houston Texans offense. So that's my concern there because they're going to put a lot of pressure on the defensive front, which includes.

The linebacker corps. Demo has shown.

He can go into demon time demon moe like he did last week against the Eagles, but if he's not completely healthy, what does that look like? And that that's why it's a concern for me there.

I think at least you're doing something about his mobility, the dual threat that he has. I think as long as you have a player there, it doesn't just leave him open.

Yeah. No, I agree with that.

Yeah, question being I haven't seen it yet, but I will say I'm willing to start wondering, at least for this week, if Demo is less than one hundred percent, which.

Clearly he is.

What is because marrist as fast as hell as well.

Yeah, maybe you spy with Maris this this particular week, But I'm with you, just put a spy on him of some sort.

But maybe it's Lea Fouen.

Because you didn't against Lamar Jackson and you saw what happened.

Yeah, yeah, I see, But I c J. Stroud and Lamar Jackson are not cut from the same about to say that's fair.

I mean, and c J.

Stroud is running the ball decently, like, let's not get it twisted. I mean, he has one hundred and forty eight yards. He's second on the team in rushing. But one hundred and forty eight yards over the course of ten games or however many they've played, is it nine games.

He's not rittling up a lot of yards. It's not like he's wrapping.

It's the escapability, it's the extra he will move the change.

And I will say this second half because Marion Overshown got injured at some point in the first half and he was on demon time right, kind of went quite in the second half before they ultimately said, you know what, let's shut this down to not make this worse.

Okay, you're talking about demo demo.

So he said he was he'd suffered the injury in the first half against the Eagles. Yeah, and then he sat down and that was And then what happened in the second half with Jalen Hurts there was started running right because no spy was there.

More dangerous than Stroud is, Like Hurts is a more dangerous runner than Stroud is. I don't know if our defense, the Dallas defense is strong enough on the back end to take a defender and say we're going to try and limit c. J.

Stroud's mobility moving forward.

I would rather have that guy available to do fun of different things because I'm not sitting here thinking, oh, c J. Stroud's going to run for one fifty on us when he hasn't run for one fifty all year long.

Exactly.

Sure, if he goes if he starts running like that crazy in the first quarter, you just adjust it. Make an adjustment. That make adjustments. I know it's a novel concept. Make an adjustment when need be if he does it early, But I don't know, if I'm going into this game saying, oh my gosh, circle the elusiveness and running ability.

Of c J.

Strouds. He does good things, but it's not a game changer.

Account for it, yeah, but accounting for it is different than game planning for it.

Fair enough, and game planning for it means put a spy there.

Let's let's keep a defender severely assigned on CJ.

Stroud.

I don't know if no, I'm with you, Kyle.

I think that it's more important to get that extra defender on the back end and they throw the ball.

So well, this is but I hope versus I mean, here's the thing. C J.

Stroud's legs are something that can I don't even know what.

That was like like us. Well. J.

Stroud's legs are something that can get the Texans first downs. But I think that the amount of space that's going to have to be there for Stroud to pick you up a first down is going to have to be I think enough to where if he gets it, you just throw your hands and say, you know, good play, good play, and.

You just take it. If c J.

Stroud beats you with his legs in this game, that's one where you just throw your hands up and say, you know, we respect that. I don't see it as as big of a threat as some of the other quarterbacks they've played this year, Like even brock Perdy I think was more of a like, you know, you just throw your hands up and say you know you got it. So you know in this game specifically, and the reason I say that extra defender is going to be so crucial when you think about the middle of the field.

If you get Nico.

Collins back, that's his bread and butter. That's where he's been his best in those inbreaking routes, and the Cowboys have struggled in the middle of the field to defend those crossing patterns and things like that all season long.

So I don't.

Disagree with you guys in the sense that c. J. Stroud's legs aren't respectable enough to where you would want to consider putting a spy on him. I just don't think it is that viable of a threat to where you take a guy like Leah Owler take a guy like Overshown out of the equation in coverage.

I'm looking at the QB rushing leaders over the course of the twenty twenty four season. I'm a little shocked at how far down he is.

He is eighteenth out of the quarterbacks in twenty twenty four and rushing y just below the middle of the pack.

Yeah, here's some names that are in front of him, Sam Darnold, Gino Smith, Brock Purty, Justin Fields, Drake May, Caleb Williams, Anthony Richards and Josh Allen.

Daniel Jones Nicks Williams.

But but that's the point, is I agree with you in the fact that there there is an element there that the Cowboys have struggled with, and that's mobile quarterbacks.

Period.

They have not been good against them outside of what they did really against justin fields, and I don't think that was really their fault. I think it was justin fields not running the ball, and against the Cowboys.

Mobile quarterbacks in that like they're willing to escape the pocket and not just a Lamar Jackson type.

Correct as willing to get out of the pocket. Yeah, like we're having running.

We're having troubles that players in the pocket. We're having trouble with players I mean.

Across the board. It's true, It's true.

Josh all right, So running game check, we've talked about the passing game and their attack, their offensive line wise, you mentioned that there's a spot there for pressure. Is that Does that mean that they're playing poorly upfront or is that just a plain and simple c J. Strouds may be taking too much time in the backfield.

No, there, they're playing poorly up front.

You know, early in the season, Kenyon Green at left guard was just getting.

He's a name Cowboys fans might remember from the Draft show. He was being on the Draft show. Cowboys fans wanted him. He's been man.

Yeah, he was getting old, and I believe he's injured, so I don't think he's okay.

Yeah, so he's not playing in this game.

But even when he was, even when he was earlier, like he really and he got pushed back.

It seems like on every rep.

And you know, I think that when we talk about the run game too, you look at this as an opportunity as well for the Cowboys, especially on the interior of the defensive line, to have an opportunity to limit Joe Mixon. Look at what Detroit did to him last week on Sunday, twenty five carries for forty six yards one point.

Eight yards carry.

And when you look at what the Cowboys have done the last two weeks, they've held Bjeon Robinson and Saquon Barkley tow a combined one and fifty two rushing yards. You take that all day, any day of the week, considering what those two guys can do. So if they can put up something similar against Joe Mixon, you take that and you just you've got to find a way to stop cej strouding this offense in the back end.

My concern there is and you're right one hundred percent. You also have to make sure that you're accounting and for the fact that look at Atlanta, right, Bijon, you bottled him up on the ground, but they used him as a rever backfield. That's the right point, Sakwan. You bottle him up on the ground, but in critical situations use the receiver out of the backfield. So just keeping

And I think part of it is the front seven and the defensive line doing their job at a better rate on the ground. I get that these receivers are elusive. That's the modern day NFL, and the way these running backs are utilized is as a receiver as well. But if you can hold those guys accountable in between the tackles or right there at the line of scrimmage, I'm.

Cool with it.

I'm cool with the occasional leak out and the way that they kind of you use those guys in the flats. I've liked what I've seen the last two weeks, and I want to see it again against Joe Mixon.

And Joe Mixon doesn't scare me nearly as much as B Jean Robinson.

And uh and no disrespect, but no disrespect.

Joe Maxon is a very capable running well. He's consistent.

Yes, he's very very extent, and he's had the best yards per carry this season since twenty eighteen. He's at four point three, which is respectable, I think, especially when you have an offensive line with as many issues as you see now. I also think that the tackles on the outside there, they're having a solid year there, they have solid grades and everything, but you're seeing some mental lapses with the offensive line, and that could be attributed to scheme as well.

Well.

One thing gets attributed to is that the offensive line of the Houston Texans they can be had on the interior. Yeah, that's what that's that's applying that much more pressure to the tackles because now they can't simply operate as edge guys. They're sitting there wondering what the guy to my if you're the left tackle, what's happening to my right? If you're the right tackle on my left Seventeen sacks allowed between Kenyan Green and Shaq Mason at this point in

He needs to take another let's go now. In addition to.

That Giants performance, baby dude, he's.

Been bad since then.

On a bigger note, on a bigger note, I'm going to draw a nice gold circle around osa odiggy Zula.

Yeah. I think this is a game where.

Eat against the Houston Texans. From that three text.

Spot, Yeah, so attack those guards, those offensive guards for the Houston Texans, and the rest of the line just falls apart at that point.

I I kind of would welcome the prospect of trying to stunt Michael Parsons to the interior that offensive line, because I would you're.

Talking from Dan Quinstill, I would just that is quite literally.

I would line him up against that and have him rushed against that Laramie. Yeah, because you know the Texans offensive line has been great, but you've.

Still got still playing well.

So either that or keep him on the right side and let him meet there. Carl Lawson against Laramie Tunsell. I'm down right, and Carl Lawson's played well. He has played really well, and I feel like.

We haven't talked about.

That come a long way since the practice squad.

Yeah, him being a third rotation of Ed Rusher is absolutely in.

His firsture year. Yeah, I think that would be fantastic. He would be a great third edg rusher.

Then the unfortunate side of things is that he's the second edge rusher on the roster, not even in the third string, right, He's the second on the roster.

Similar to what last year what was his name.

Fowler, Dante Jr. Similar to what domer Dante Fowler. It's what he brought you last year.

I think that's what you can expect when you have a healthy defensive line.

Yeah, hopefully some of those guys back flick we talked about in the opening segment with d law Marshawn Kneeland getting close. All right, when we come back, we've got some lab coat pat what we got on the dock at today.

We're going to talk about the Cowboys' defense and what they're allowing per game versus the Cowboys offense what they're allowing per game. And the question is is it all the defenses father they're allowing so many points per game? And is it all to the credit of the Cowboys as far as the points that are being scored, No, it's not. We're going to talk about just how much this team needs to turn around, and that's what's scary going into this game.

So lab Coat coming up right after this.

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To Talking Cowboys.

Back, You're Talking Cowboys. This segment is brought to you by the Official Smile of the Dallas Cowboys.

Please do inidvisil line go get your.

It does please.

Chris Beam in the back doing great work as always one lion er Beam. We've got Tommy Yarish filling I'm for Isaiah Standback who will be back tomorrow. We've got him on Good Morning Football, representing for Cowboys. Nation today, Josh Rodriguez, I'm Kyle Yellmans, and now it's time for Patrick.

No see Walker in a little bit of lab coat.

All right, So let's talk about this Dallas Cowboys. Look me in my eyes when I tell you this. This is horrid football that is being played in twenty twenty four. This is so far below expectation that the expectation is back on the horizon where fifty miles past.

The expectation in the wrong direction.

GPS is let you be wrong, recalculated please yeah, wance God. The Cowboys defense right now, they're allowing just under twenty nine points per game, which is second to worst in the entire league.

Bo can I guess who's last go for it? Uh? Carolina? That is correct?

Okay, all right, so good company.

But this is what I will say to you if that's had the number over. This is what I will say last forty the defense.

Shout out to the defense.

Improvement is being shown and we're seeing progress. We saw the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles that was a different defense than what we've seen over the previous eight games period. Unfortunately, and we talked about it earlier in the week. Things got out of hand again in the third quarter. But that's also attributable to the fact that time of possession started to get into the eagles favor. Defense started to get gassed for the Cowboys. Now that

What does that rain, Pat?

That's nineteenume, that's two third worse than the league. So you're almost bottom of the barrel.

But kind of shocked. It's not lower.

You know it is lower, and here's why. In actuality it's lower. Don't let that number confuse you. Brandon Aubrey is averaging more than a touchdown a game.

Oh okay, so it's more like twelve points per game.

The Cowboys offenses is averaging less than thirteen points per game through its first nine games. It pick an adjective horrid, abysmo, horrendous, just go down the line, GB not great, Bob Right, I said earlier this week, he said together. Yeah, I said earlier this week that you lost to the Eagles. It's a lost season. Now it's evaluation time. Okay, I want the unleashing of Trey Lance. And now that Will Greer is back in the building, baby, let's let's do

Now if he has.

The next strain, that's another added variable behind an offensive line struggling to protect. Get some mobile guys out there. Evaluate Trey Lance, see if Will grig can possibly even challenge Tredy Lance for the right to b QB two next year. You have all of these reasons to evaluate whatever you need to do on offense.

You need to do it.

Empty the playbook, okay, anything, any sections of the playbook that you had entered the season saying okay, I'm going to save this quarter of the playbook for November, this quarter of the playbook for December. That was all with the expectation that you would be far above five hundred.

You're not. Dump it far above thirteen points again, right, dump it far book thirteen points per game.

I cannot stress this enough, Brandon, You're only scoring on average twice as much as your kicker.

Yeah, that's not going to cut it.

I've got some more synonyms if we want to rattle those office abominabal frightful, atrocious, disgraceful, deplorable, hopeless, worthless, laughable, lamentable, miserable.

That's a good one.

Cowboys talking to soaurus and so, I would say, an expert, I say, I'll have that to say this.

When you look at the Cowboys defense and what they're allowing per game for the majority of the season, you could absolutely, you know, put accountability on them. As far as being a key reason the Cowboys were spiraling. They've seemingly now got it together. Talk about improving in the run defense, talk about the pass rush that improve Now that you put d Moo and Michael Parsons is back, great, but there's there are no signs of life on the offense.

Let's have some fun.

Right saying this is going to put you in the playoffs, Let's evaluate, Let's have some fun.

Let's at least go out guns blazing, empty the playbook.

That's what I'm.

Saying to add to the to the lab here, and they'll give you another sample size.

I guess I'm not a science I see that. I see that, so listen.

I will tell you why the second half didn't go the defense's way after they look in the first half.

It goes back to what we were talking about on Monday.

We're going to go back to this stretch of this Cowboys offensive drives ready, three and out, three and out, three and out, fumble, fumble interception. These guys don't have time to breathe on the sideline, so you're being asked to just go back out there and play with your hair on fire again and again and again.

And it doesn't sound better the second time around.

No, it doesn't.

And I thought it would maybe feel a little bit better. It doesn't.

It shouldn't either, So you can't.

I'm just saying you can't expect a defense to play at the same level that the Cowboys did in the first half throughout the course of an entire game when I think the longest period of rest they had in that stretch and even towards the end of the game was three minutes in four seconds of game time and that was the last drive of the game that the Cowboys. No, so you were averaging kind of around two minutes of game time to where this defense was catching their breath

And you know what it is.

Not only were they tired, they were exhausted, weary, drained, knackered, bleary, burnt out, pop weakend prostrate, all of those things.

Like what's the official thesaurus of the Dallas Cowboys, you're making their.

Money, It's usaurus of the Cowboys.

Yeah, not not ideal. I like Necker, I can't say that, Necker, what did you think us? I don't know. Keep so wow where.

When you're looking at the Cowboys often it's there you're taking a look at that, at those numbers, and that's the pressure that's put on the defense. I know there are fans out there that think the defense need to

Right now are a little unlikely.

The only way the offense has some level of life is if you if you unleash, if you empty the playbook and you unleash Trey Lance and maybe sprinkling some Will Greer two mobile quarterbacks, and I know will will tell.

You are you completely done with Cooper Rush? Yes? And I don't say it with that chesse yet. Yeah, I am done with Cooper Rush.

But I want to qualify this through right way because people will hear me say that and say, oh, well why is why is he, you know, crapping over Cooper. Listen, I am the same guy who dedicated an entire science lab as a think you letter to Cooper.

Cooper.

Rush is one of the best, one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league.

He is your cool hand, Luke.

He has all the veteran ability and I'm going to go as far as saying, and the numbers prove this, the film proved this.

That was an aberration against the Eagles.

Yeah.

The problem is is that aberration is going to continue because this is not the same situation he stepped into in twenty twenty two. I said that before this game, right, this is not the same offensive line that was protecting right. This is not the same group of wide receivers that can separate and do what they needed to do. And this is not the same defense as a couple of seasons ago, who were constantly taking the ball away. And now it's even more concerning because your first start in

I want to see Trey lance too, but I'm not done with Cooper Rushing. I don't think Yeah, I think you know you made a good point where this one game I think is.

It's like, yeah, I don't know how to pronounce.

That, but yeah.

That one but yes, science sound it out or.

I'm sure this can't be a spelling be either because it's going to be even worse. But I'm willing to give him time because he has one new games. Granted, you're right, this is a completely different situation, but there were some similarities in the sense that the defense took the ball away, and the defense took the ball away gave them opportunities. They just didn't convert on those opportunities this time around because the line, because the offensive line isn't fair.

Like he's seen some ghosts too well, when he has, you know, less seconds.

To throw then yeah, but I think that you still trust what he can do for you, and I still think that you need to give it time. You need to give it time, and I know time is not necessarily of the essence it. But let's let's see how this week goes.

Is my is my thing.

Let's see how this week goes and kind of go from there. But I'm with you in the sense that you know, letting Trey Lance go is not necessarily.

A bad thing for this offense.

But I think that there is a good point to be made that Cooper Rush gives you the best chance to win well.

And I also think he's earned that right too. Absolutely, he's earned that respect to to say, hey, let's let's give it some time. I mean earn the time to be the starter and to go from one aberration to another.

I don't think it's likely we see under one hundred and fifty passing yards again from Cooper.

I don't think that happens, do I agree with you that it's evaluation time, and then this is a chance for you to see what the future of your football team looks like. Sure, absolutely, but you talked about like time of the essence, we got eight weeks left or eight weeks where you can try things like that.

Maybe you do it after another two or three weeks that.

Don't go right and look similar or at least close to what happened against Philadelphia. That's where I'm at. Before you make a permanent switch. I don't think it's out of the question, and I think actually by the end of the year we will see either Trey Lance or Will Greer with significant snaps in the offense. I just don't think it happens this week and the only national television right now.

I said time.

And it's funny that you say that as you're out there, because the only way that I would be I can be on board with Coop starting. And again, this is not a knock to Coop. The situation just does not suit him. It's not really his fly way. I can be okay with it is if you're basically giving him a chance so that the last game is not how he goes out, right, don't don't let him because he's earned the right to not go out on a forty

Let me ask you, this is this situation good for any quarterback the players around Hyeah?

Absolutely not so in terms of that.

And I'm not disagreeing with your guess, but I mean, Trey Lance, you're gonna be dealing with the same thing. Sure, his legs given him the opportunity to change something, but that's it.

That's a biga.

You can't There's only so much you can do with your legs. If the pocket collapses on you in two seconds, you can't. You can't go anywhere.

Then it's not gonna matter either way.

The offense isn't fixed, but not exactly.

It's not collapsing every time until it's not so in those instances is where it's not, those legs will come into play and you'll get more design roun. You're not running a read option with Cooper rush No, but no linebackers buying that. So what you're taking the they're taking the running back every single time.

So what you're saying is that no matter how hard we try and climb out of this thing, we're.

Still stuck in the upside down. We are still trapped in the upset and we are still stuck. Eddie did not die for this. Eddie did not die for this.

That's gonna do it for us here on Talking Cowboys. I hope you had some fun. Can you keep going. I'm gonna like lead it out for Patrick No Sea Walker, for Josh Rodriguez, Tommy Yarns, Chris Beam in the back of KYLEE.

Olman. We'll see Isaiah stand back tomorrow. We'll see you tomorrow with Talking Cowboys, See you then. This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.