The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
Cowboys.
This He's Talking Cowboys, springing live.
From the Dallas Cowboys World headquarters at.
The Star in Frisco.
Street six second pscot tizon a touchdown and now your hosts Isaiah Standback, Nick Harris, John Mashoda, and Kyle Yeomans.
It's a Monday edition of Talking Cowboys, presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company, the official copy of the Dallas Cowboys.
Welcome in to the st WBC studios at the.
Star in frest Call. I got the hiccups, guys, sorry forgive me for a little bit. Here have some remedies for that. Yeah, it's a little bit of a hiccup, just like the Cowboys had a hiccup in week three. Whatso did you do there twenty eight to sixteen? Was that SCRIPTA No, it wasn't. Actually that was off the rip off the dome. That was off the dome. That's professional.
Yeah, things didn't go well in Arizona. Nick Harris landed at about ten thirty last night. Dude, that's good that the team got off the plane in Dallas, because it didn't seem like they got off the plane in Arizona.
It didn't look like things happened well for the Cowboys. Just I mean, for the most part, that's what it is.
I mean, this is a bad Arizona team, and the Cowboys lost to a bad Arizona team.
You don't think so I didn't agree with it last week. I don't agree with it. Now, what did you? What's your score prediction?
Though?
Yeah, I predicted that Dallas would win. But I also stated that I felt like this team is a problem, right, and so I mean, like, yeah, yeah, so, I mean like Arizona's not a bad team. Arizona is a team that's figuring themselves out.
I think they're an undermanned and depleted cy I.
Agree with that statement, right, But they're not a bad team. Dobbs is figuring out this team. He's only been there for a little while. The head coach is figuring this team out. They've only been there for a little while. Like they have some pieces now they do. They have the level of talent that Dallas has. Absolutely not. Should they lose a Dallas on paper, no, absolutely not, right, But in terms of some of the things that we
talked about, last week, they reared their ugly head. Right, we knew that they could run the ball, We knew that their style of running was going to cause problems. We knew that Dobbs had a cannon. We knew these things like these. There was there wasn't anything that happened that we were surprised by. Right, we knew these things. These problems were prevalent, but Dallas just didn't didn't check the boxes to take care of them. Yeah.
Yeah, the running game especially was awful. It makes me wonder if these running game problems still exists. It just took a while to get exposed again. I mean, one hundred and eighty two yards given up in the first half on the ground, most for the franchise since nineteen ninety one. So yeah, whether it was James Connor, Joshua Dobbs, even Rondelle Moore got back there and went forty five yards untouched to the crib. It was tough, man, It was tough.
What now, I was just gonna say, just referencing some of the things that we addressed last week. I mean, this is why people should tune in, because we try to try to send the alert signals out of the back. Yeah, like we talked about, I know, at least I did specifically about this is the type of running offense. Right, that's very philly Ish, Right, I said, it's very philly Ish, right in terms of his own read, in terms of those things and how they're able to take the defensive
ends out of the game. That's what happens when you have a quarterback who's capable of running, and he hurts you. And he made you aware of that very very early in the game. Right, he lets you know, Hey, I can get out on you. So all of a sudden, now you're like, crap, I can't be as aggressive now. I have to really after respect the fact that he
can run. So now guess what. I can't pinch and restrict the running the running gaps as I intended to, because I have to go out here and respect the fact that he might boot leg out of it and keep the ball. Right, I can't just be as aggressive because they have the zone read and he could pull it or he can give it. Either way, I'm creating seams that's created problem for Dallas in the past, right,
And that's why we reference that. Like Jalen Hurst the Philadelphia Eagles They're able to run the ball against Dallas in recent times because of that style of offense, and everybody who has that and has the capability to actually run it with their quarterback has been successful against Dallas. Now do you acknowledge it and you try to address it, it doesn't mean that you can stop it. And that's where I think Dallas is at right now. They know
that they struggle with that type of offense. We knew that they struggled with that type of offense, but they still couldn't stop it. And that's where I think people have a big concern right now.
You talk about rushing yards allowed last season, when of course it was a big red flag about this Cowboys defense. Nasty defense, one of the best in the NFL still is, and yeah, they're going to have a lapse every once in a while, but run defense has always been a bugaboo. Two hundred and forty yards was the most they gave up last year and that was in Week eight against the Chicago Bears. Running quarterback Yep, justin Fields. A lot of that came from his legs and the way he
was able to run the football. This would have ranked second on the list two hundred and twenty two yards allowed against Arizona. This would have been number two on a list of a bad run defense last year as most yards allowed.
So it's not a good thought. Like you talked about, the.
Point of focus throughout the entire offseason was let's sure up to run defense.
Let's go get a Mazzie Smith.
He's been relatively ineffective, if not completely real ineffective through the first three weeks of the season.
He's a rookie, He's got fourteen games left. Hopefully more than that. There's still time for him to make an impact. He just hasn't yet.
But to this point, is there a red flag still for this Cowboys defense saying this is still a problem and it needs to be fixed.
I mean, after yesterday, I don't think there's any other conclusion than yes. With Joshua Dobbs and James Connor, I mean, both of those guys were able to find their holes, and man, they found a lot of yardage in those holes too, So man, they were flushing out the defensive line. Michael Parsons was completely flushed out of the game at times. DeMarcus Lawrence in the same sense, whenever they ran to
his side. I mean, they attacked the middle of that defense early and often, and it was the whether it was Jonathan Hankins, Olso Digyezua Mazzi, Smith, Layton vander Esh, those guys, they just weren't able to get downhill. And I think that's what eventually led to what that first half lead looked like. And then trying to climb back into it with this offense, which I'm sure we'll dive into the offense a little bit later. I have my thoughts on that as well, but I think it just
kind of created the perfect storm. It created the perfect storm of identifying what the problems were and A, it's still the run defense, and then b there's gotta be some juice on offense.
Yeah, and I want to save the offense to the second segment because there is, like Nick just said, there's a completely different storyline around the offense. But I think the significant storyline in this game, and probably at the top of the list, is the fact that the defense collapsed.
With the way that it did.
It looks so good in weeks one and two against good opponents. I'm not going to discount the Giants yet, I'm not going to discount.
The Jets yet.
But both of those teams on paper are better than what this Cardinals team was. But then you turn around and you say, Okay, the defense has a performance like they did in Week three, and it doesn't get much easier. You got the paytriots coming up this upcoming week. You got Bill Square, you got Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien running that offense. Then you got the running back doe of Ramandre Stevenson and oh this guy that of course wants
to get at your throat and that's Ezekiel Elliott. Those are the run game coming up this week against New England. So where does it start defensively? Where do you want to see the biggest uptick because it doesn't happen it usually doesn't happen overnight, but you kind of need it to happen overnight this week.
Yeah, I mean you got to start today. You know, everybody all hands on deck, coming in here and watching film and really having a heart to heart with everybody. Everybody gets their great shoes, so all those things happen. But if it's normally a two hour session and make it four, right, we really have to get really in tune and really particular about the things that need to improve in this in this scheme, and I think that
there are more advanced rushing defense against base runs. Right, So when you have a breeze hal in delv Cook and you were able to shut those guys down, those guys are lining up and you know where they're going. They're coming downhill, right, or they're going just outside the box. I think that stuff is traditional. They're good with that.
They sued that up, which is awesome. But this this new, this new little wrinkle, right, or not a new wrinkle, right, but this that that that option you know, uh version concept is just it's uneasy. It's really uneasy, man. And then you look at it from the passing perspective, and everybody's gonna pay aten to the rush defense. This dude, Dops was able to throw for eighty one percent completion rate. And these weren't These weren't hitches. He was effective. These
were not hitches. You know, there was there was dropped coverages. I mean know Jay Lou's getting back into the system, but that big play, you know, was jaylu dropping coverage. You know it was a man and man coverage and apparently he didn't get the call that he thought it was three, so he was saying in his own and the guy ran to the open spot of the field and was able to I was curious. I haven't been able to go back and watch that from from what
I understand about the defense. Yes, it was Jay Lou's fault. I mean, just look at it. Look like a dropping coverage and the safety throwing his arms up in the air, like what the heck kind of gave me a confirmation of that. Then you look at Darron Blant. He struggled
on the outside. He struggled. You know, we talked about Gilmore, like Gilmore's good, but Gilmore don't have the juice that he that he used to have, you know, so like, are we really this do you really have an expectation of him to keep up with guys who were four to three?
Yes to fund Gilmore really struggles with speed. I think that's starting to become a little bit more prevalent. We talked about it coming out of the Jets game, just like Gary Wilson kind of got him a couple of times, Rondeo morg got him.
Yeah, we talked about what what do we say before speak four to three? Speed across the board? Like, you have to stay on top of these guys, right. You can't come up here and press like you've been pressing everybody else up like give them space, respect it right, and play downhill And unfortunately just didn't work out that way.
So there's some there was a lot of kings, and everybody's going to say, well, you know, we're missing guys on defense, Trayvon was missing on the defense, and offensive line was in shambos, and yeah, those are all true statements, but it doesn't mean that you can all of a sudden just say, hey, we played down you know, and that's I think that was a statement that I think everybody's kind of up in arms about right now, that
you know, we played down to our opponent. You can't say that you played down to anybody ad until you played him at least once.
Yeah, I don't think with the offensive line struggles that they had, well excuse me, the offensive line replacements that they had to make, three out of five starting offensive linemen having to be replaced, and then Deron Blain having to fill in for Trayvon Dicks, neither of those things lost the game yesterday. I think that's the big biggest takeaway that people need to kind of look at and see what this loss was caused by. It was the rush defense in the fact, you know, as we said,
we'll get into the offense later. But yeah, offensive problems as well, and it was neither of those things. It was neither of those things.
I really like the way that Babelfenberg put it. He tweeted it out last night, and I just thought this was well put.
He said.
He I say it all the time, and I said it before the game today, not making an excuse for a sloppy performance. But this is not Alabama playing Middle Tennessee, where as long and nothing against Middle Tennessee or the Blue Raiders, where as long as the bus doesn't break down, they win. Arizona has NFL players, and I have a source tell me that they also play.
They also pay their coaches. It happens.
I mean, that's part of the NFL is you can't, like you said, you can't play down to your opponent until you play them. It certainly, from a talent standpoint, looks like Dallas played down to their opponent.
And it looks like that, but you also this happens. It does, and it happens.
The good teams. Sometimes it happens to the great teams. I've got a couple of instances.
I'll pull it up as i'm talking here, but where great teams rebound from losses like this, Good teams will lose games that they shouldn't and they'll lose them a couple times throughout a season. Great teams rebound. You go look at the ninety two, ninety three, and ninety five Cowboys. They lost to losing teams each of those years. Ninety two they lost twenty seven to twenty three to a four and six Rams team. In nineteen ninety three they lost twenty seven to fourteen to a four and six
Falcons team. In nineteen ninety five they lost twenty four to seventeen to a four to nine Washington team. I almost said the old nickname that I shouldn't say anymore. And then if you want a recent example, you want something else to throw into the fold. How about the Kansas City Chiefs last year against they bad Indianapolis Colts team.
Guess when Week three of the NFL season, Week three, they lost twenty to seventeen on the road to the Indianapolis Colts, a team that was winless at the time and the team that of course ended up being right there at the top of the NFL draft. So there's there's thought process around, Oh, this team is the same old team.
Nothing is off the board just yet. You got to find a way to rebound.
Though.
If you don't rebound in a good way, then maybe you are just another team.
This team still has a chance to be great, but it's how they rebound these next three weeks and really tough matchups that's going to really show what this team is made of.
Yeah, we had a point last week. I believe it was you, Kyle was saying, what do you want to see more from this defense? And what do you want to see more from this team as a whole, And I think we just had consistency. It was like because last year there were times when they'd go three four weeks where it was a really rough stretch was Jacksonville Houston, you know that stretching like the middle to late part of the season, and it kind of felt like that yesterday.
You know, it kind of felt like to me, it felt like they played down in the opponent and that I mean they had in the locker room after that they got punched in the mouth. You know that they didn't expect this. They came out flat and it just kind of snowballed from there. But yeah, I think there's
a really good opportunity here to rebound. I like that it came at this point in the season, especially with the adversity that happened this week with Treyvon Diggs going down, with the offensive line going down so late in the week as they did. But it's a really good opportunity to bounce back. And you have three really good opponents before the bye week, so you're gonna have to, you know, put this one behind you quick and get going.
Man.
Yeah, look at the schedule coming up for Dallas, because it's not only New England next week.
Who's coming off of a win.
And I don't think the Patriots are scary by any means, but they're certainly a formidable opponent and they've got Bill Belichick.
It's a good head coach. It's a really good opportunity to bounce back.
Yeah, And then, of course everybody has already had that Week five matchup on the road in primetime against San Francisco, followed by another primetime matchup the week after that against Los Angeles, Patriots, forty nine Ers, Chargers bye week, and then you got the Rams and the Eagles right after that.
So it doesn't slow down. It doesn't.
And these are three crucial games. I think you got to win at least two of the three, if not all three, if you really want to be in position to where you want to try and fight for that number one seed in the NFC, because now it's it's
keeping pace now. Now you've got to find a way to keep pace with those teams around you, including Philadelphia, which if we're talking about Philadelphia schemes in Philadelphia look alikes, they still look like Philadelphia at times, even though they've had their own fair share of struggles in their two wins.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not even be honest with you, I'm not even there yet, But I think this was the most Philadelphia Ish team that we've that we faced, simply because their defensive coordinator obviously, and some of the things that they do offensively, and it showed up. You know, people could write it off all you want to, but
that's the reality that was. That was my concern going to this week, was that, hey, they do Philadelphia stuff on defense, and then they do Philadelphia stuff on Hoffman's in terms of their their running schemes, So it presented a problem. People could say, oh, it was just a one off game or all you want to, but this style has been a problem and pain in there, but offensively and defensively.
What what was the feeling like in the locker room afterwards? Was was it disappointment or was it more of just an anger or where would you.
Kind of I wouldn't say there was any linger, just because I know what those those angry losses look like at times. I would say more so disappointment. Jonathan Hankins he's he's got a really good personality and he's just kind of able to, you know, be really personable and especially in situations like this. And we were able to talk to him in the locker room after and he was like, yeah, man, we got punched in the mouth. You know he kind of he laughed like, not laughing
like and not taking it seriously. You know, it's just it is what it is. It's an any given Sunday type moment, and you know, it kind of reared around it and reminded everybody yesterday. Yesterday kind of gave everybody a slice of humble pie in a sense. You know, everybody talked about, you know, them being humbled. You know, Dak Prescott was saying he kind of took it upon himself, saying, you know, I have to do better. We have to
do better as an offensive group. I think the good thing is is almost everybody took responsibility yesterday, because I think there was responsibility to be taken in every position group yesterday. I think the only position group I can look at and be like, you know, what they did, as much as they could have done, was a running game. And you know, I really liked what they did. But aside from that, I think there's improvements to be made across the board.
Let's talk about the offense. Let's talk about some of the things that went wrong.
Red zone is still a big, glaring red flag for this Cowboys team and what they could possibly do there? And is there a lack of trust between play caller and quarterback. I want you guys to answer that question when we come back here on Talking Cowboys.
Todd thought it would be secure to jog in the Cheatah Savannah. Todd believed the big Cat repellent he bought online was reliable and now Todd is trying to be faster than this cheetah that can run eighty miles per hour. But the good news is Todd has AT and T five. It is fast, reliable, and secure, and he learned the best thing to do is stop running and toss her the backpack with the beef stew at and T five G. Fast, reliable, secure, It's not complicated.
Five G requires some batble planning device. Five G may not be available in your area. Se Att dot com slash fi g for you for details.
Black Rifle Coffee Company serves premium coffee to people who love America. When you drink Black Rifle Coffee, you are directly supporting veterans, law enforcement, and first responders in your community. Black Rifles expert roasters love coffee almost as much as Texas loves football, so it makes sense that America's coffee partner with America's team. Go online at Black Riflecoffee dot com and fuel up with the official coffee of the Dallas Cowboys.
That's Black Riflecoffee dot Com.
To fuel up today, Cowboys fans. After that move, We've just coined the term rowdy replay. Let's roll back the table.
Okay, there's our mascot, rowdy cheering on the boys, and now he's on his phone on his Bank.
Of America Mobile Banking App, staying on top of his finances with his virtual financial Assistant Erica.
Bank of America's digital tools are so impressive, Cowboys fans just can't stop banking. Learn more at Bank of America dot com. Slash can't Stop Banking Everica.
It is only available in the English language.
Must download the latest version of the Mobile banking app, only available on select mobile devices.
Message dat rais ma apply I remember FDIC.
Welcome back into Dear Doctor, the show where I answer life's questions with an ice cold can of doctor Pepper. Sheila, let's hear from my next caller, would you, Dear Doctor?
My friend supported me during a tough time. But what's the right gift that says thanks for being the soldier to cry out?
Okay, this one's easy, I say, give her a delicious doctor Pepper. Nothing says thanks good better than one of a kind soda. Yes, any doctor Pepper flavor will do. Now, just to remind her that I don't need to be a real doctor to know that doctor Pepper is the one you.
Deserve to talking Cowboys.
This portra of talking Cowboys is brought to you by Quaker Oats, a super trusted superfood. Quaker Oats the official oat, a sponsor of the Dallas Cowboys and of Isaiah Stanback.
You already down those things the Ultragon Kyle got done. There you go, super Trusted super Food.
The segment also brought to you by the Dallas Cowboys Fan of the Year, presented by Captain Morgan.
All right, let's talk about the offense.
We've already hit the defense.
Defense, for the most part, was the storyline collapsing, giving up two hundred and twenty two yards on the ground. Not pretty from that side of the ball. But it wasn't perfect offensively either. Able to move the ball effectively. I mean that was not a problem. Cowboys put up four hundred and sixteen yards of total offense. Dak Prescott finishes the day twenty five to forty, two hundred and
fifty yards through the year touchdown interception. Like Nick alluded to, Tony Pollard twenty three carries one hundred and twenty two yards didn't have a touchdown, but his first triple digit performance of the twenty twenty three season.
What were your overall takeaways.
Nick when it comes to this offense and what you saw on Sunday, Man, I loved the fact that they were able the march downfield.
Man.
Third down efficiency was remarkable. Yesterday it felt like nine of sixteen. Yeah, it felt like at times you didn't even want to watch first and second down because you knew third down was where it was going to happen by the end of the play. It was like by the end of the drive. There was one drive specifically where they drove down the field, battled two penalties, battled a sack, and battled three third downs and got all the way down to the red zone and couldn't score.
And I think that was just the story of the entire game yesterday, was the fact that they were able to march down. It didn't matter where they were pinned down to. They were able to get inside the twenty and things just stalled out. So five red zone trips yesterday, only ten points to show for it. Dak press Got said it after the game. He's like, the fact that we couldn't score in the red zone is why we lost this game. That's the story of this game, period.
So red zone execution. You know, I think, you know, we may have talked it down in a sense in the first two weeks, like we had talked about it being a problem, for sure, but I don't think I don't think we realized how big of a problem it could be. And I think it showed its ugly face yesterday for sure.
I want to go back and clip the actual conversation that we had, but it was like, Okay, they won the game against New York. They looked great, but the red zone was a problem, and you can't go five or five Brandon Aubrey field goals later and feel like that's a good thing going against good teams.
I mean, that was ultimately what we said last week.
Did we realize or did we think it would happen in week three against Arizona and it would rare it's ugly had immediately?
Probably not, but it was certainly a talking point that showed up again in week four or excuse me, in week three. Yeah, I mean, it's it's an issue. First two weeks, like you said, we tried to write it off as Okay, they'll figure it out.
You know.
Coach McCarthy's getting used to the system. It's a problem. It's a problem. It's an official problem. I think week week one, we're like, nah, hand over the buzzer. Week two, took the lid off, Week three hitting the buzzer, hitting
the buzzer. Because this is you're being You're too efficient on offense to get down there and not take advantage of completely take advantage of the opportunities that you're presenting for yourself and is dominant as your defense is, you're still putting them in a bad predicament every time you go down there and don't capitalize off of the red
zone opportunity. So to the next point, you're moving the ball, that's awesome, Rushing the ball, throwing the ball, OK, highly effective, But then you get down there and things are restricted and you're not making decisions quick enough your play calling. I like on the interception that Dak through, I get it. I've I've ran that exact play like a gazillion times before in practice and in the game, and it's it wasn't there. It just wasn't there on that particular play
where the ball was supposed to go. It just wasn't there. So one, Dak, you have to you have to make the right decision in that particular instance. And then two you know, I also I say, Dak, we need you to use your legs. Bro, Yeah, you have to use your legs man. Like there is a couple of times down there where when you're facing one on one and people are going to say, oh, but he's a quarterback.
I'm not.
I can't hear that right, Like as a competitor, I have one on one and I need five yards, like not getting me down. That's that's my mentality. I can't speak for another man, but my mentality offensively was you're one man's not getting me down. And I want Dak to get to that point if he's not already, and then start utilizing that because it's going to help him. We talked about it in camp because he was using his legs in camp thatk wasn't practice at.
Least we saw in the first two weeks.
Yes, okay, we saw it, saw it, But like that has to be prevalent, Like he has to bring that aspect to the game because otherwise it in negates what you're what you're capable of doing offensively, and they won't respect it. And if they don't respect it, then they don't have the scheme for it.
Yeah, I think. I think also what plays into this is they don't have a red zone weapon. Ceedee Lamb is probably your best red zone weapon, and he's not the biggest guy in the world. He's not gonna out physical you. You know, he could probably go up and out jump you and headtop you a little bit, but that's not going to be as reliable as you know, what does has been for this team, or what you know Witten was for this team, or even Ezekiel Elliott
all the way up until last year. You know, they don't have a bruise a tight end that can you know, go up and just out physical you. I love what Jake Ferguson has actually done in these first three weeks. Let me say that, like even yesterday there were times man Ferguson looked good. But they don't have a guy that can just get in there, get his nose dirty and go get those yards. And I think that's probably
the root of this issue. But also just very simplistic play calling that they put out in the open field trying to do the same thing within close quarters in the red zone, and you know, when you're running, you know mesh concepts in the red zone. I just don't feel like that's the best thing to do in the world.
I mentioned this yesterday on a postgame show, but the best weapon in the red zone, right. You talked about the root of the problem. I believe the root of the problem for the Dallas Cowboys in the red zone is the inability to run the ball effectively down there. Because when you're able to run the ball effectively down there, then all of a sudden, all the tinging at placed gets placed on the run. So then everybody has to
respect it. You have to respect it. If I could literally line up and I'm gonna say, hey, we're in a five yard line, We're about to just run through your face, and we're gonna what's your entire line and in linebackers back backwards into the end zone, and we're gonna do this every single time we come down here. Now play action becomes prevalent. Now I can do a whole bunch of you know, different releases and everything else I want to do, right, misdirection and all the other
foolery that you see down in Miami. Like you could do that because I can line up and literally just run the ball at you all day long if I want to, Dallas doesn't possess that. We were excited about the potential of that because the Tyler Smith coming back this past week. Tyler Smith comes back and you lose three other guys.
Honestly, I don't feel like the red zone issues even yesterday, where the offensive line was was a huge facilitator. Yeah.
No, I'm talking about the confidence to be able to line up. They move guys off the ball, right. Yesterday was not a day where you felt like, Okay, you know, with three replacements and I can feel like I just move anybody off the ball, regardless of who who I'm playing.
But when Tyler Smith comes back and you have your first your five starters for the first time ever, That's what we were referring to last week on the podcast, like we felt confident that this running game was gonna really get going, and that coach McCarthy in the rezone. Now I'd be like, here you go, I don't care who has the ball back there, right, We're going to
move you guys off the ball. You're excited about that potential, and you didn't get a chance to see that because all of a sudden you're missing your guys.
I'm looking at the play propensity. Is that how you say propensity? We looked at you for I know I'm the pronunciation guy. Play propensity is.
I think what it is.
It's on one of the NFL statistic websites, and I'm looking at it. Percent of passing plays in the red zone on goal to go scenarios. So whenever there's a yard marker, so let's say there's one yard to go, two yards to go, three, et cetera.
All the way down.
It's how many times a play is called in a certain scenario in yard in goal to go scenarios. For the Dallas Cowboys in twenty twenty three, anywhere from two to six yards, it's one hundred passing plays anywhere from two to six yards, it's one hundred percent called a pass. I mean, that is an unbelievable amount of number. The only one where there's a little bit of a you in terms of the run the run game is whenever
it's yards to go at one, that's it. That's the only one where it's where it's one hundred percent run.
So many plays?
Does it say? I was looking for snaps, I.
Can't find snaps yet, but that'll be part of my weekly research because if that number stands the way that it looks like here, that's certainly a problem. I think for the most part, there's a storyline, there's a bit of a there's a bit of a conversation among Cowboys fans right now. And I'm asking this question not because I believe the answer is yes, but because I think it is a question that needs to be addressed.
But I've had multiple people send it to me.
On Twitter, and whatever, does Mike McCarthy's play calling indicate that he doesn't trust Dak Prescott specifically in the red zone play calling.
If I'm looking at those numbers and those numbers are.
Correct based off of this propensity, I'm saying I don't think it has anything to do with the trust of Dak Prescott in the red zone.
I will say the offense yesterday was really dumb down. I don't feel like there were were opportunities to get guys open downfield. Again, we've talked about how they were able to march down the field, but when you're you had those long, methodical four five six minute drives, when you get down to the red zone, you're gassed, and I think it was more so just like a gas sense.
You know, I want them to take more shots in the open field, And I think, does it have to do with trust as I have to deal with not having three starters on the offensive line. Who knows, but I would have liked to see more shots taken downfield and a little bit more trust in that game, just because there were opportunities to do that yesterday those of Mo where Ced Lamb was wide open for about a
forty five fifty yard touchdown. Dek just missed them. But that was the only opportunity that I saw during the game, Yesterdy, I was like, oh my god, someone got opened downfield. You know, I want to see one one point thirty drive where they go down the field, you know, seventy five yards in that type of time. But when they get down to the red zone, it's it's I think
it's more of a gas sense. I don't think there's a lack of trust in the red zone at all, just because again, this entire offense was constructed around deck. They wouldn't have done that if there wasn't trust there. But it may just be an energy thing.
Yeah, what do you think just from being a former quarterback, being in those situations, in those scuddles, does it do.
How big is a trust? Let's just let's shift the question this way.
How big is a trust between Mike McCarthy and a play collar Whenever you are in that situation like that, Mike McCarthy in his quarterback, I should say, I mean, it's everything.
I don't mean. I don't think it's It just comes down to decision making, right. I mean, but I think you're I don't think your confidence varies with your quarterback based upon where you're at on the field. I don't. I don't believe that. I think that he has wholehearted trust, and I think they probably have a relatively good relationship. They have to head coach, quarterback, head coach, office coordinator. Those relationships are are are knit tight. They have to
be otherwise you get Chicago. So I don't I don't foresee that. I mean, the people are going to obviously look for talking points. I don't think that's an issue. I just think that they have not been executing. Is conditioning an issue?
Whenever you're running away West Coast offense, because kind of like what Nick was talking about, you're running deep into down scenarios, you're running third downs, you're converting on those third downs, you're moving the chains.
The way that this offense was built.
Is there a conditioning issue or is it just based off of the fact that, I mean, there is not a whole lot of trust.
In the offense. They said what they ran eighty somewhut plays last week. They ran seventy five plays this week. I believe you're getting up run to eighty play echelon most times, most teams are running sixty plays. So I mean, yeah, conditioning plays a part in it. But that's again, it's not the reason why they're not being successful. It's just not they're just not executing, like you know, I'm not an excuse guy whatsoever. It's just they just are not executing and they have to figure it out.
Thirty four minutes and thirty three seconds time of possession yesterday, yeah, I mean they held the ball, they were doing things effectively in the open field, and when they got inside the twenty, it was just who knows.
When the defense gets gashed for big yardage on the ground too, I'm sure that helps out a little bit. It's a little bit happened a couple of times. So but I I mean, even we talked about it. This is a offense predicated on moving the chains.
They did just that.
They had twenty six first downs, they were moving the ball, they were effective on the third down.
We just got sixteen yards is a lot.
It's a good twenty yard. No, that's a good day. You had a yes Underdard Rusher.
You had a quarterback that threw the ball effectively for the most part, outside of the interception late.
It just it didn't work out in the red zone.
That's that's the one big knock on this game is the red zone is glaring at this team and it's something that has to be figured out.
Speaking of getting figured out, this injury situation wasn't good.
I mean, when we were on the air Friday, we thought we were having a first time all year, first time since twenty twenty one, that all five offensive linemen were available.
That didn't happen.
Let's talk about the injuries and what could happen next for the Cowboys when we come back with more talking Cowboys right after this.
They say champions are remembered, but legends are never forgotten. United Agen Turf offers a winning lineup of John Deer equipment built to tackle any challenge on and off the field. Legendary John Deere Tractors combines residential mowers, commercial mowers, compact construction equipment, hater utility vehicles, and a full line of golf and sports turf equipment. United Agon Turf the official
lagonturf equipment supplier of the Dallas Cowboys. Visit United Dagonturf dot com to find a location near you.
Are you ready to take coffee off your grocery list forever? Black Rifle Coffee Club is here to help. As a Coffee Club member, you'll get your favorite coffees, roasted package and ship to your door free of charge on your preferred schedule. Set it, forget it, and never run low on coffee again. Members also get exclusive deals on coffee products and discounts from partner brands. Ease your mind and
let Black Rifle worry about your coffee supply. Go to Black Riflecoffee dot com to join the Coffee Club today.
It's the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys. Jack Black and Right Now, Cowboys fans can get fifteen percent off their seventy five dollars order plus. Because every deal needs a playmaker, Your order will include a free five piece skincare set and free shipping. The Jack Black Playmaker is four of Jack's favorites and a full sized intense therapy liftball. Make a play for the playmaker at Getjack Black dot com slash Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP.
That's get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP.
Tod thought it would be secure to jog in the cheetah Savannah. Todd believed the big Cat repellent he bought online was reliable, and now Todd is trying to be faster than this cheetah that can run eighty miles per But the good news is Todd has AT and T five G. It is fast, reliable, and secure, and he learned the best thing to do is stop running and toss her the backpack with the beef stew At and T five G. Fast, reliable, secure, It's not complicated.
Five G requires compatible plan and device. Five G may not be available in your area. See att dot com Slash five G for you for details.
To Talking Cowboys.
Back here on Talking Cowboys presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company, the official coffee of the Dallas Cowboys. This segment is brought to you by in viz, a line official smile of the Dallas Cowboys. Not a ton of miles from Cowboys Nation today, though Cowboys fall to the Arizona Cardinals twenty eight to sixteen, the final score in Week three of the NFL season.
Back here with Nick Harris and Isaiah stand Back.
I'm Kyle Yeomans breaking down the loss. The Cowboys vault to two and one. They'll look to rebound this week at home against the New England Patriots.
But let's talk about the injuries going into week four.
Because Friday we sat here on this show, we looked across the hallway and said, Wow, Tyler Smith looks like he's on his way back. We're going to get Tyler Smith back in the fold, starting five offensive linemen for the first time since twenty twenty one. All those guys, since Tyler Smith has been drafted, they have not played a single snap of football where all five guys have been on the field.
Madness, all five.
We were so close this week and then it just crumbles.
And then it crumbled.
Tyler battish out Zach Martin out, Tyrone Smith pat it up, worked out beforehand, tried to go, it didn't go out. YEP three starting offensive line, and Tyler Smith was back in the fole. It was good to see him back out there and working. I'm sure he would have liked to ramp up period instead of being the cornerstone of the offensive line.
I thought he did a nice job.
We'll have to go back and watch the film a little bit more, but I think for the most part.
He did did a decent job. The other side was his neighbor.
His neighbor had a rough day, Chumadga.
I really feel like Chum was a better guard. Is he's got the he's got the skill set and the traits that his body just looks like a guard. I would have liked to have seen Tyler at left tackle and move in Chuma at left guard, but we didn't see that at all yesterday. I will say this offensive line, once they settled in, they settled in and they did a really good job job. TJ. Bass had an awesome day and I'm really excited to go back and watch
the film on him. But you can't look at this loss and look at the offensive line and be like, well, you know, maybe if we had all three of our guys front. No, it's not the case, not in my opinion. Really, if the starting five was upfront, they still lose that game yesterday, Yeah, because it.
Was very problems for the most part. Outside of that.
Do you think the injury news, because it did happen so late in the week it happened basically Saturday was when news started kind of surfacing that these guys could be out, do you think that deflated the energy because already they took a hit on Thursday with Trayvon Dicks. You kind of knew that one. You had a chance to at least let that sink in and motivate you going into the week.
But then boom, boom boom up.
Front on the offensive line, all three of those guys go down. I think that's got to be deflating for anybody, whether or not you're going to admit to it.
Yeah, it definitely has to be a lot of people in the locker room. Yesterday we're talking about the adversity that they had to overcome, not only during the week, but late in the week. You know, the Diggs injury happened Thursday, the be Oddish injury happened Thursday. The Tyron Smith injury happened Saturday. So yeah, a lot of stuff
that they had to battle in the week. I mean, they didn't they didn't know that Tyron Smith wouldn't be able to go until he worked out on the field pregame and he was going off the field pre game right as you know, players were still coming in because he had taken the early bus to State Farm Stadium, and it kind of looked like from that since that he wasn't going to be able to go, and so they had to readjust from that moment, which was about two and a half hours before kickoff, and having that
type of time, I mean, that's tough in preparation when you could be preparing for other things, when you could be preparing for you know, as we just saw a discussed last week, all the different looks that they were going to see defensively. I mean, that was the things that they could have prepared on in that sense, and they weren't able to because they were having to prepare to start three different guys up.
Frontez crazy. I do believe it had an effect on the game because the fact Dak was under pressure. Back was not comfortable yesterday. I don't think that it swayed the game heavily, but I do believe that it had an effect on their offense and the things that they wanted to do offensively because they were under way more pressure than they had been in the first two games. Was unable to sit back on his back leg. We
know you know that that you just can't. You can't put pressure on him, you can't allow for it, and you can't also allow for him to throw the ball forty times.
Yeah, but I think the quick game was effective. I mean what they did it was it was effective and it should have worked.
Michael Gallup woke up.
Michael Gallup, Man, I would love to get into that at some point this week.
He was awesome.
He was I mean, a couple of jump balls that they gave him one on one opportunities on he brought him down, fighting fracture yardist getting first downs. That was one of the biggest positive is the fact that wide receiver three is back.
Yeah, and the only target that he didn't catch was the.
One that was in the back of the end zone.
Yeah.
That was a PI that was not called a PI they picked the flag up. We talked about it in studio. Berry Church agreed that it.
Wasn't no call. What was your thoughts on Ceedee Lamb and the resurgence of his body language.
Body language specifically language. I didn't know this was a talking point with you guys.
Was last year?
Gotcha? So the one where he was missed on the forty five to fifty yard touchdown he was. There was definitely some body language after that because he was open. I mean it was tough, and he kind of lodged back to the line a little bit, came in a little slow, got the call in late, and I think they had a snap with like two on the clock. I'm not saying it was a directive to him, but that was a moment for me, obviously, after the PI call in the end zone or missed PI call in
the end zone. I don't think that was PI. I think the gallop one was way closer than the CD one was. I agree, but yeah, it probably wasn't great. I would like to see him just kind of be alpha in those moments and didn't really see that.
Yeah, don't don't look for the flag, look for the ball.
Yeah, try and try and make a play, especially on third down. Yeah, especially on third day.
I felt like, just being candid, I feel like he's took a step back this week in terms of his how he was carrying himself the leadership role he was really stepping into. I feel like he went back to what he was of last year, and it was not It wasn't encouraging. I hate it. I hate it seeing it and a lot of people to feel like that's not a big, big aspect of the game. Those are the little things that I, at least I pay attention to. I know I mentioned it to Kyle and those guys
in the studio yesterday we're watching the game. I was like, oh, oh, here it goes here, let's go I mean, stump that out. Don't let that fire get going again, right, you know, it's like you're doing fireworks, Like hey, stomp that grass out real quick.
You know.
I hope that that that he sees that and he self corrects himself to get back on the course that he was on, because you can't allow that the creep in. You cannot allow that the creep in. You can be as frustrated as you want to, but everybody sees that. I had bad body language, So I'm fully aware of what that looks like. Most of the time, you're not even mad about everybody else. You're frustrated with yourself, right, but it appears as if you're down and out about
everything else that's going on. So he just I hope that he's more aware of that, or somebody at least brings that to his attention. I've got to bring it up to Isaiah at least once a week on the show. I you got to get that. You got to get the body language taken care of.
You know, what do we make of Brandon Cook's two receptions on seven tar It's only seventeen yards yesterday, not making that like him being the speed option. He should work in this offense. He should have worked yesterday. Why didn't he work yesterday? That's that's going to be a big key of my film.
Watch today. What did you see? Isaiah? I have to watch more, but I from what I saw, I don't think that his routes were as crisp as we've seen him do in the past.
Because you've been very critical of gallups routes of not being able to get out of the state.
Don't believe that gallup is getting out of his breaks. I think that what he does well, which we talked about last week. I said, he still can make the contested catch. He's still can run straight. Obviously, a slant route he can run that. But a lot of those comebacks and curls and a lot of those things, he's a little slow to come out the breaks. And I just you know, that is what it is. Cooks is normally your route guy, and I haven't watched enough of it yet to be able to make a full conclusion.
But from the some of the routes that I was paying attention to, he was not very precise with his routes. And some of those routes you have to be precise with. I mean, especially the one down the red zone that Dack through. Would he have been opened even if he would have ran a precise route. No, But you know you still have to do your part. Yeah, what did you think about Cooks and what you saw off the rip?
Yeah, as far as the initial watch yesterday from the back corner of the end zone and over the press, fox was at State Farm State.
Yeah, they took you guys back there, don't they.
Yeah, But honestly, it was it was a great time we had. It was one of the cooler stadiums I've been to. But again, I'm gonna have to go back and watch film. But it's just it felt like he was getting out physical at times and he wasn't able to get inside off his release. And I think they were doing a really good job of preventing that. A couple of times he was and a couple of times he got receptions. But the fact that he couldn't get downfield and break the break the offense open downfield, I
think that was a really big key indicator. But also this offense yesterday wasn't designed to get people open downfield, and that's what him and Gallup do best at times. And even CD, I mean CD, I mean he's really good in that short intermediate game, but like, these are downfield weapons and they weren't playing to those strengths yesterday. I understand not wanting to do that with three offensive linemen out up front, but those guys settled in.
By the third fourth quarter.
Take those shots you're down ten, you know, like take those shots, those those five six minute drives. It's not going to be effective at the end of the day. Let's say Dak ends up scoring on that play that he threw the interception on the end zone. Let's say they get a touchdown there. Cut it to what that would have been twenty eight twenty three or yeah, twenty eight twenty three. There was only three and a half four minutes on the clock, and you were working with
two timeouts. They had drove, they had taken five minutes off the clock driving down the field, and they were taking their sweet time in the red zone two. So I mean, I just want to see more downfield opportunities for a lot of these guys, but especially Brandon Cooks because that's what he was brought here to do. We talked about him coming in this season. Oh, a thousand yard type guy. You know, he's gotten it with what five different teams. You know, this is an opportunity for
him to do it with the six team. Thirty nine yards in three weeks. I understand he didn't play in Week two, but thirty nine yards in three weeks. You gotta get him open.
Well. I think it.
Goes back to what we've talked about with the West Coast scheme in general, is the fact that it's predicated on playing with the league and the defense setting the tone. If the defense doesn't do their job and doesn't set the tone, then the offense is going to have a tough time playing from behind.
And we saw that on Sunday.
So are you saying that the offense cannot win a game this year? It's going to have to be the defense?
Is that?
Is that what it is right now? Yeah? Yeah?
Actually yeah, I mean I will say that because I think that the offense can win a game, say what you just Monday, But it can't be.
It's got to be from ahead. You either got to go down and score first.
When you get the ball, you choose to receive or whatever the other team defers, you go down, you score.
Okay, that's the way that the offense can set the tone. You've got to do that right off the jump.
But then from a defensive standpoint, if you're on the field first, you can't allow for points first, and then a three and out from your offense, and then a touchdown with James Connor to make a nine to nothing. Even with a miss two point conversion, you're down by two scores. Yeah, that's that's the type of.
Scenario that puts this offense in a pint.
That's the type of thing that by.
That point you're down by two score, it's like, okay, where are you going to get those two scores. You're gonna have to have a turnover, You're gonna have to have a stop. Then your defense has to win you games. If you're playing from behind, the offense can win you games, no doubt about it, but they've got to start ahead in order for the offense to win you games. The offense is not gonna win a game for you behind. It's gonna have to start with your defense, you know.
And that's the question for Mike McCarthy today, whether it be from here anybody else, is what's the reason of not going downfield? What was the reason of taking these five six minute drives when you were down two possions in the second half?
I bets you is his answer is offensive line.
Yeah, I'm just sure, and that's and that's that's very valid. But at the end of the day, you're still down two possessions. You got to take those shots, no doubt, no doubt.
All right, real quickly before we get out of here, one position group, because this was a complete team loss, as were the first two weeks complete team wins. What is one position group that has to see a major improvement going into week four?
Linebackers?
Linebackers, Okay, we'll talk more about that, I think tomorrow, maybe maybe even Wednesday.
What do you think secondary? Okay, cornerback specifically without Trayvon Making and these guys, I mean this new Engand's going to throw the ball. So yeah, you think they throw it more than they run it.
I do.
That's interesting. That'll be a fun breakdown coming up on Thursday. Keep in mind we will be here all week. We've got plenty more to come. John Minchoda, We'll be back with us tomorrow. We'll also be taking your phone calls eight eight, eight, eight, five, five two two nine seven, and then the text messages as well. Eight one seven, two nine zero three two nine to eight. You can use both of those lines. Starting right now ten am Central Time, Cowboys storyline with Nick Eatman begins.
He's taking all the fan calls. It's the first loss of the year for.
Nick Eatman on Cowboys storyline, so you might want to line those phone calls up now.
I saw I'm tweeting last night. He's like, it's gonna be a interesting episode.
To be Yeah, I may have to tune in with that one where we're busy upstairs, but I'm going to tune in today. I'm gonna make an effort to make that happen.
But that doesn't for us.
Here on Talking Cowboys.
The Cowboys fall in week three, twenty eight to sixteen to the Arizona Cardinals.
Still trying get back after it.
We'll keep get back after it tomorrow morning, nine am Central Time.
Here from the Star in Frisco for.
Chris Bean, Isaiah Standback, Nick Harris, and Kyle Yeoman, saying so long from the Star in Frisco.
We'll see you tomorrow. I'm Talking Cowboys.
This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.