WEBVTT - Cowboys Break: Time to Panic About the O-Line? 0:00:01.440 --> 0:00:03.920 The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.120 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Are you ready for 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:11.720 a break? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely ready 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:15.600 for a break. Yeah, and so much for that. It's 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:21.560 time for the break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:26.840 Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton. 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.160 Good morning, and there you seem very happy today. Now 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:36.120 you're today is Friday, Friday. How are you guys doing. 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:40.839 I'm great, good Nick, Oh my god, here we go, 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.240 here we go, here we go. Okay, well, thank you. 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.200 It's the episode thirty one. Okay, thank you for that. There, 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:52.720 episode thirty one. You don't get to know that. Hey, hey, 0:00:53.320 --> 0:01:01.200 this episode Friday Friday. What twenty four you posted? So 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:06.119 it's probably like twenty four then since you've been really yeah, 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:13.720 you've probably seven times this offseason. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Well, 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:19.000 fortunately we figured out, yeah, we got it down the 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:25.680 three amagas. Okay, so since last time we had the show, 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:30.880 we talked about our concerns about Frederick and Dave. You 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:34.880 had an instinct of it being maybe something that would 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.800 be a little more important than what we thought, and 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.640 since then it came out of that. Travis Frederick. He 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:45.840 has a condition called, I don't know how you pronounce it, 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:50.600 really gain Barre syndrome. Barr syndrome, which is basically your 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:56.400 body attacking itself, the your immune system attacking your nervous system, 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:00.920 which is something very you know, delicate and something that's 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.240 it's no joke, and as of right now, there's no 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:09.160 timetable for his return. So I wanted to discuss after 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:11.840 you guys hearing this news, what were your first or 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.640 initial thoughts on him and what's going to happen next. 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:18.880 My initial thought, honestly was that maybe Antoine Woods isn't 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.360 that good. And I don't mean that bad about him. 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:23.679 It's just that he was beating Frederick to the point 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:27.000 where we hadn't seen that. Um since he's been here, 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:28.960 we hadn't seen Frederick get beat by that, especially a 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:31.639 guy that was going to be hard to make the team. 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.480 And nothing against Woods. It's just that Frederick's strength. You 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:36.480 could you could tell that he wasn't the same And 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:38.600 it makes more sense now from what we were seeing 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:41.400 that he was getting beat a little bit more. Woods 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.920 comes out. Yesterday's practice had had a nice practice, had 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.080 a couple of good plays had won on Connor Williams 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.000 was a good battle. So nothing against him, but Frederick. 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.720 You could tell now why Frederick was struggling a little 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:55.519 bit more. Yeah, Um, I'm not trying to sound sanctimonious, 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:59.720 but my first thought was just for Travis. Honestly, when 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.320 you like, I remember, you know, we've covered a lot 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:04.640 of injuries. We've had a lot of guys be ruled 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.040 out for the year, or you know, just have their 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.799 season cut short before it started. Sean Lee comes to mind. 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:14.960 Tony Romo obviously, but when you read the words autoimmune disease, 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:20.000 it's just a different bag, you know. So it doesn't 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:21.679 it sounds like they caught it early. It doesn't sound 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.919 like it's going to affect his long term health outlook. 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:28.680 I really hope it doesn't. He's a he's a good dude, 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:32.480 he's a professional. He's got two little babies, his son Ali, 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.760 wears glasses. He's adorable. He brings him out to training 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:39.720 camp practices all the time. So first and foremost, just 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.560 you know, forget football for a second. I just hope 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:46.000 he's okay in the long run. And then you know, obviously, 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:47.560 you know you have some time to sit and think 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.040 on it, and then football kind of creeps into your mind, like, Okay, 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:51.960 what are they gonna do? Is he have to go 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.160 to IR? What's the timetable? All that type of stuff, 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:58.440 which unfortunately we don't have a whole lot of answers 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:00.240 for that right now. That's I think the cow Boys 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.080 are still kind of in that processing and getting their 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:07.480 information straight stage. So we'll see what happens here over 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:09.480 the next week and a half or so. Yeah, And 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.200 I was gonna say, it is hard to when there's 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:15.000 something like that where you can't really determine how long 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:17.640 you're gonna be out for how long that's gonna take. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:21.000 But so right now we've seen Joe Looney stepped in, 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:23.679 and I was gonna ask you, Derek, are you feeling 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:27.440 confident or comfortable enough with having Joe Looney takeover that 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:29.800 role as a center? Yeah? And I actually when we 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:31.520 talked about it on the last show, I said that 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.960 of all the positions they're on the offensive line, particularly 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.719 those where you got those three all pros, I felt 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:42.000 the most okay about the idea of if I had 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.440 to lose one of them for a significant amount of time. 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.800 The center would be the one that I would choose, 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:49.640 mainly because I think the drop off between him and 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.120 the next closest guy, which is Joe Looney, is a 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:58.080 lot less than than Martin or Tyrant and their next 0:04:58.080 --> 0:04:59.960 closest guy. I think the drop offs a lot less. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.120 I think Joe's a really good player. Here's the part 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:06.000 that that does concern me a little bit is there's 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:09.040 also the part of being a center that isn't necessarily 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.479 in the block. It is in making the calls. It 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.960 is in understanding what's happening and being kind of that 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:21.159 central nervous system, being no pun intended for your offensive line. 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:24.280 And that's the part that I don't know that that 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:26.160 may take Joe a little bit to get used to. 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:28.680 That's not to say you can't. I'm just saying that's 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:30.960 one other thing you have to consider here. And then 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.440 the other part to that is we always talked about 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:36.760 during training camp how Connor Williams as a rookie, your 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.800 expectations of him was that he just needed to do, 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.000 you know, just do your part because you got two 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.520 all pros on either side of you. Now it's a 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:47.680 little different. You gots Tyrants still there. But you don't 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:50.880 have that center, who has that experience, who's making those calls, 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.960 who can give you a little bit of extra understanding, 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:57.400 you know during games like that part. Now, I don't 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.640 know if you lose a lot or a little bit, 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.000 We'll have to see, but that's a part that does 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.400 at least concern me a little bit. Yeah, I mean, 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.880 you're exactly right, and and and those are the questions. 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.760 Loudy has not been a regular starter. So until you 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:11.839 do it, I mean, yeah, we can all pull for 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:15.360 him because he's a great guy. Jolly guy comes into 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:17.240 the locker room and he says, you know what does 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.400 he say? I'm just here so I don't get fined. 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:21.839 You know, he's never had that many reporters around him before. 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:24.240 He was sweating, you know, it was a little nervous. 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.760 He's he's a guy. Anyone that has been here will 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:33.000 pull for yea. But you know they all like you too. 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:35.479 And that doesn't mean you could play safety. You know, 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.280 I'm not saying you can't. I'm just saying that doesn't 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.880 mean you're a good player because you're a nice guy. Yeah. No, 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:44.000 it's an unfortunate it's an unfortunate truth of the nfl U. 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:46.719 Joe did talk about that a little bit yesterday though, 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:48.680 just you know, he's been sitting next to Travis for 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.080 three years now, he was talking. He sits next to 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:54.039 him in meetings. He's been picking his brain, he's been 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.839 preparing for this, you know, the whole time he's been here. 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:00.000 So I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:01.560 I think he's ready for this. I'm not. I mean, 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:04.039 he's not gonna make anybody forget about Travis Frederick, but 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:08.279 I think he's up to this. Although, to be perfectly honest, 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.400 that that's a wrinkle that I hadn't gotten to in 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.360 my own brain was just how this might affect Connor Williams. 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.400 So I you know, it's it's probably gonna hurt a 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:18.120 little bit. I think they're gonna have you know, you're 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:20.200 not gonna lose an All Pro and just keep clicking. 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.480 And that's just not typically. You don't really see him 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:27.400 as let's say, chess green type of back, right, more 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.680 confidencing Joe Luney and what he's done so far, it 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:32.760 will be better than that. And you've got an All 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.560 Pro running back that matters. Um, I don't think it's 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:38.000 gonna be a disaster by any stretch. I think that 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:41.000 you saw a difference in Luney with his strength this year. 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:43.840 He before he seemed like he was kind of a 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:46.880 good technique guy. Guy got in the way, he's not 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.640 gonna get run over. This year he seemed like he 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.520 was more wouldn't say a maller, but he showed more 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:56.920 strength and throwing some guys around a little bit. Now 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.440 that could say, you know, you could also say that 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:03.720 Cowboys have a great defensive tackle playing in there, that 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:05.840 that could be the issue. You know, yeah, we don't 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:07.680 know who's going to be playing tackle. It wasn't like 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.960 he was throwing Malite Collins around. No. Yeah, but I 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:12.720 have a point on Connor Williams if we can get 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:14.320 to that really before you get to that real quick, 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:15.720 and I just throwing one thing I want you guys 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.000 to know. Also put a poll out on our fan Pulse, 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.840 so if you're able to watch live here on our 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.240 mobile app, you'll see the question is are you worried 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.760 about the offensive now offensive line now without Travis Frederick. 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:28.480 I want to see what fans have to think about 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.200 that that particular question. So you know, you said the 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.920 concern about you know, now, Connor doesn't have those all 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:35.960 pros on either side at least to start the season, 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.120 and that's definitely a factor. But everyone knows where I 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.560 stand on the Earl trade, and that didn't happen at 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:44.319 the draft, and it had a chance there in the 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.760 second round. I think the Cowboys absolutely made the right 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.240 call there because of who was available. I think Connor 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.440 Williams is going to be an outstanding player. You can 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.480 tell he fits right into this line. He's got that mean, 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.719 nasty streak to him. I think he is going to 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.480 be a really good player. We forget he was a 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:05.120 tackle playing guard. He's gonna get beat at times. He 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:08.319 gets beat, but I think he's got what it takes. 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:11.520 He got beat yesterday sort of and with Antoine Wood 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.520 to put him on his back, and then they said 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.120 let's do it again and it wasn't even close. That's 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:18.960 the kind of thing you got to have as a tackle, like, 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.160 you know what, You're not doing that again, you know. 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:23.960 So it was. He's a feisty player and I think 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:25.880 he's gonna fit in real well. Now, I wanted to 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:28.440 quickly go over the whole old line and we have 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:32.160 sack Martin coming off with it from an injury yesterday. 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:35.120 He put on the pads and did some stuff off 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.880 to the side. Not necessarily yet there yet, but he 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:42.640 did say that he would be ready for the first 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:48.440 game of the season, no question about it. Was Yeah, 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:53.040 it was like, he's fine, very very certain. Okay, Yeah, 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:55.960 we go with what he says. He has enough experience 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.760 to know what he's talking about. But at the same time, 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.080 we saw, like all call Alan's kind of get a 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:05.679 little scare of I guess someone stepped over his foot 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:09.839 or something, or maybe he somebody one of those he 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:12.120 kicked his ankle in a in a rep. He also 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:15.240 said he's okay and all that, So I wanted to 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:19.040 go over You got this old line that we've always 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.600 been talking about, how strong is the strength of the Cowboys, 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:27.480 blah blah blah. Now certain things are starting to affect 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:31.679 that strength and as far as injury. Looking at it 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:35.240 overall and going off to start this season, how confident 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.520 are you with what the old line right now can 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.480 bring you? Don't I mean no offense? You left out 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.120 a pretty big thing there with Marcus Martin going to injured. Yeah, 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.719 signed him and to help them deal with this, and 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:52.840 he's not here now, so they've taken some Hey, I 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:54.880 mean even the news was great with Zach and I 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.040 think Lyle's fine and and Cam Fleming is still here 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:01.079 and doing his thing. But that's the NFL. It's tough, man. 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:02.840 I mean, you know, like I said, we don't know 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.520 the timetable for Travis, but it's hard to imagine he's 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.760 going to play a role in the near near future. Um, 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:11.240 and that's you just you got a role with it, 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.679 which I think credit to them for bringing Joe back, 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:16.680 and I know he's gone now, but they tried to 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:19.960 address that with Marcus Martin. Um, so they were ready 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:24.120 for it. Unfortunately, their interiors sort of a mess right 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:26.640 now with what's going on with Travis. But I think 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:28.520 they're better suited to deal with this than they were 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.920 with what happened to Tyran last year. So yeah, Condean 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:35.079 Edwards has done a pretty nice job. If he doesn't 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:38.440 have a broken hand, he'll be fine singing at people. 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.640 Um that was fun. Yeah, it was a good little battle. Uh, 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.040 he probably saw the fight and um de Marcus Lawrence 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:49.640 coming in. Let's say again. I mean, these guys have 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:53.320 some nice buddies around them. I mean, I'm talking about 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:57.080 first with the fight of Travis and stat came in 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.280 then said buddies, right, yeah, I thought I thought you 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:05.640 said they had nice bodies. Yeah, sorry buddies, I got it, 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:10.240 but it is anyways, I'm just I wanted to point out, 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:17.160 like DeMarcus just yeah, DeMarcus did like the street Fighter, Like, 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.040 does DeMarcus know that he's on a one year seventeen, 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:22.400 Like he he could have broken his hand, like he 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.560 ran across the fire. It was known as the Superman punched. Yeah, 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:30.720 he went full Hull Hogan and I'm like, they do. 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:32.600 I'm like, don't do that to a guy wearing a helmet. 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:35.520 Idea the one that I didn't get with Taco, like 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:37.560 he kind of just coming off to the side, just 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:41.120 swinging at people, like break it up, you know, try 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:44.080 to try to break it up at this point, but hey, 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:47.800 it's it happens. Um Kadim has done a nice job. 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:52.400 You mentioned Lyle getting kicked on, you know whatever, limping off. 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.120 Lyle showed last year just how tough he is. He 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:59.600 didn't miss any snaps neither. Along with Frederick so um In, 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:02.760 Martins never missed a game Tyron. You know, he's missed 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.080 a couple here lately, but him, he's been pretty pretty 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.520 tough as well. So I think these guys are going 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:09.960 to be fine for the most parts. Gonna take something 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.440 real serious, like like we've seen with Travis to connect 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:14.640 him out. So then I have this other question for you. 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.280 We've seen last year. Okay, you got Tyren Smith who 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:21.400 would have to take certain rest days because of his 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.680 injury history or back injury. Then we had Lil Callins. 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:26.959 I believe he took a few rest days last year 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.880 as well. Now, when you start talking about certain guys 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.840 as far as Sack Martin and maybe I don't know, 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.680 well again, Travis is still pending. But when you start 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:39.480 talking about these guys that are needing to take those 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:42.880 kind of rest days and be more careful throughout the season, 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.640 what I mean, where does that leave Yad right now? 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.120 I mean, I guess if you if your question is, 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.360 are you worried about the fact that you know what 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:54.360 you're gonna do when those guys have to take rest days, 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.040 I mean they'll figure that part out. I'm not so 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:01.559 concerned with injuries other than the possible of Tyrant still 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.440 and the reason why I say that is because anytime 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.640 you start having back and neck issues, then to me, 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:09.920 I was just kind of keep an eye, a cautious 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:12.240 eye on that. That doesn't mean that I've heard anything 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.160 or see anything that suggests it's still bothering him. It's 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:16.800 just it was like the same thing with Tony Romo 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.880 when he started having back issues. Then from that moment forward, 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.800 it just was like, all right, all right, you know, 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:24.840 you just kind of keep an eye on it. So 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.640 I think from that standpoint, I keep a cautious and 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:32.360 he wasn't. He wasn't right because at that point, I 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.320 will just keep an eye on Tyring just from that standpoint. 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:37.720 But I'm not worried about the rest of that line 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.360 from the standpoint of injuries or guys getting vet days 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.040 or anything like that. You gotta take a vet day care. Like, 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:44.880 as long as you're ready to play on going. Yeah, 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:46.440 as long as you're ready to play on Sunday and 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:48.520 they can play at a high level on Sundays, that's 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:50.600 all it really matters. And quite frankly, going back to 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.760 your original question, like I look at this offensive line, 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.040 I think there's still an embarrassment of riches on that 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.960 offensive line. How many offensive lines in the NFL have 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.720 two All Pro players. Let's just take Travis out of 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.360 the mix for a while. They have two All Pro players. 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:06.880 They have another player that would have been a first 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:09.600 round pick, but four the issue that came up that 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:11.880 dropped him all the way to seventh round. I think 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:13.920 there was no doubt he definitely is a first I'm 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.360 sorry undrafted. There's no doubt he would have been a 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:19.160 first and definitely second pick, second round pick. Then you 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:21.800 got another second round pick. I mean, you've got a 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:25.440 ton of talent on this offensive line even without Travis 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:28.240 Frederick and so I look at that and that still 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:30.880 puts me. I still think this is the strength of 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.400 this team. Everything they do this year will be a 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.200 direct reflection of how well that unit plays. If that 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:40.240 unit plays well, they'll probably be a good team. If 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.760 that unit doesn't play well, they're probably not going to 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:44.200 be a good team. And I don't think any of 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.320 that change when Travis went out. Yeah, and we saw 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:51.760 how they do when the line is struggling last year, 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:55.760 So let's go ahead and man, the time is different, Okay, 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:59.360 nine thirty sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm like, are 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:03.960 we almost done. We started nine thirty. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:05.880 well we still have time to keep going. Then I 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.600 wanted to talk about certain guys that came back to practice. 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:12.480 One of them Deonta Thompson, he's coming back from an 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:16.000 injury from the Achilles, and then Tavon Austin. As far 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.240 as Deonta, we know Tavon pretty much has a spot 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:23.240 on the roster. That's a safe yeah for sure. Now 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:26.440 as far as Deonta Thompson, a guy that we've talked about, 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:29.560 his speed and all that, and the fact that he's 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:32.520 coming in so late and has missed so much time. 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:36.280 Where does that leave him in the wide receiver group? 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.720 It depends on who you ask. And I asked him 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:42.080 yesterday about you know, not playing. You know, I doubt 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:43.680 he's going to play in this game. You mean, he 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:45.680 don't just put him back in on a Thursday and 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.680 then expect and play him on Sunday. I would be 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.800 surprised there. But they need to see a little bit 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:55.040 out of him. You know, Sanjay Lyle has coached him, 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:56.320 so he kind of knows him a little bit more 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:58.840 than anyone else. But I talked to Deonta and he 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.320 said you know, I don't know what they're gonna do. 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:03.080 I'd like to play some, but it might just be 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:08.280 where I don't play anything till the regular season, which yeah, 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.040 I was just like, all right, well, I mean where 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:18.080 I mean at some point, because you know, the more 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:21.120 practices in games he sits out, the more plays Lancelore 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.720 is gonna make, and he just has he's just done it. 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.880 And now he doesn't provide the same speed that Deontay doesn't. 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:30.199 Dante said coming back yesterday, he said, I might be 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.199 like a four three guy, but maybe tomorrow I'll be 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:35.000 in the four twos again. So I mean he's he's 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:38.280 letting it know. He's got some speed that you know. 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:41.680 I feel a couple types of ways about that, because 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:45.119 it's yeah, I mean, you just outlined it really well. Uh, 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:49.040 Deontay hasn't practiced. Deontay is also a veteran with an 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:52.240 established relationship with the receiver coach. That's why he's here 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:55.119 in the first place. And he does something that nobody 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:58.280 else on this receiver corps can do. He's just he's fast. 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:00.439 He's to take the top off the defense guy that 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:04.720 you've been asking for for seven years. I love Lance 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:06.919 Leonora Death. I'm working on a story about him for 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:09.800 one of them for the last preseason game. He's had 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:13.440 a fantastic camp, But I just wonder if it's as 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.280 obvious as he's playing well, so he's gonna make the team, Like, 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:19.440 that's not always how it works. I know that's the cliche. 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:22.760 That's not always how it works in the NFL. Does 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:25.879 he do anything that you don't already have among your 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:29.920 receiver corps? Good, that's a good question. He returns punts great, 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.520 so to Cole Beasley and Tavon Austin. He can work 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:34.640 in the slot and outside great, so can three other 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.879 guys here. He's got good hands, great, so do a 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:40.520 lot of these other guys. I'm not sure that his 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:45.200 skill set is so unique that it requires him, honestly, 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.119 whereas Deonte Thompson has a unique skill set that nobody 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.760 else does. So I just wonder, And I don't know 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:53.960 anything this is. I've just seen this type of thing 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:57.000 play out before, and I don't know if it's as 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.399 clear cut as Lance has had an amazing camp, so 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.399 he's gonna make the team. Well, here's the question I 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:03.760 have for you. When you say he's got that big 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.600 speed that can take the top off defense? Absolutely right? 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.040 Would you not put Tavon Austin in the same category 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:11.760 that he has the big speed that can take the 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:14.959 top off I mean not get that. I'm not I 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:17.040 wasn't saying that. I'm just saying when you talk about speed, 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.040 speed to speed, and so the question becomes if you're 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.280 trying to think of it from the standpoint of what 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:24.439 does he provide as you were saying with Lance, what 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.119 does he provide that you don't already have? Well, speed, 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:29.800 you kind of got speed already, you might, but I 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.639 mean he's not crazy tall. I mean it's not like 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:35.399 he's I don't he's megatron tall. I mean he's a 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:38.439 He's a When you talk about like the shorter guys 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:43.960 you got cold beastly, right, then Lance would be one 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:46.919 of those, right. You can't, you know, just you got 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:49.080 to balance it out too. You can't just throw a 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.400 bunch of short Yeah, but they got they got them. 0:19:51.480 --> 0:19:53.520 If you're talk about size, though, you got Hearned, you 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:56.199 got Williams. Those are both average sized receivers. I know 0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:58.240 that he has done it at this camp, but I 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.120 don't trust and I don't think the Cowboys should trust 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:03.800 Tavon Austin to line up at the numbers and and 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:06.800 go downfield on a regular basis. That's not that would 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:08.240 not be playing to his strange Are you going to 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:10.040 do that a lot with Deonte Thompson? That's what he 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:12.200 would be here for. Yeah, but are they going to 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:14.480 be committed to using him enough to do that? Whether 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:15.960 or not they do or don't. I mean, we're not 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.119 talking about your number one receiver. We're talking about the 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:21.560 sixth guy on the depth. Right, you're talking, yeah, he's 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:23.960 also the kick returner, and that he's the main guy 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:27.760 unless Duke Thomas keeps playing well and jumps into the spot. 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:30.399 But but you know Deonte's the guy right now that 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:33.120