WEBVTT - Cowboys Break: Position to Fix? 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.320 The following. He's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:09.480 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Are you ready for 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:13.240 a break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely? 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:17.560 Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that. 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.920 It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:28.040 Wall with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, A bar Garcia, and 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:34.040 Derek Eagleton. It is Thursday, December tenth, twenty twenty, Season sixteen, 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.400 episode number seventy seven. Welcome to the latest edition of 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.200 The Break pretended by Geico, Live from the s WBC 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:42.959 Mortgage Studios at the Star. When I say live from 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:46.479 the s WBC Mortgage studio at the Star, I mean me, 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:51.120 Nick and Amber are live from the s WBC Mortgage 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.480 studios at the Star. It is good to have everybody 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:56.720 back in. Dave's not here, but that's beside the point. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:58.720 We won't worry about that right now is Dave, and 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:00.280 I think we just lost him on web backs on 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.040 top of that, but I do think that that we do. 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:04.880 I do know that we got the three of us 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:07.039 here together, and it feels good to be all back in. 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.040 I'm worrying my mask, but that's okay. I talk too 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.199 loud anyway, Hey, baby steps here, baby steps, you gotta 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:14.880 get comfortable with the idea. You're in the same room 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.240 with me and Nick. That's a problem, but you know, well, 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:18.880 we'll work that out and we'll see how that goes 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:21.559 over time, and maybe in another two or three months, 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.120 maybe after we all get vaccines, we can take the 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:28.600 masks off. Who knows, how's everybody doing today? What I'm 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:30.640 rolling up my sleeve. Let's go. I won't be ready 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:34.240 for it. I'll give me first in line, obviously, but whenever, 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.080 whenever it is my turn, I'm whenever it's available. And 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:41.520 I'm a person that absolutely hates needles and not hate needles. Yeah, 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:43.399 like I mean like literally, when I know I have 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.800 to get a shot or give blood for like days before, 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:48.520 I have a knot in my stomach, Like that's how 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.560 much I hate needles. But when this thing's available to me, 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.440 I'm like, just like you, come on, what you got, 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:55.600 give it to me. I'm ready. Let's go. All right, 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:58.080 let's jump in. We got a lot to talk about. 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.160 Today's a light stuffering in here. I don't know what 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:06.880 makes amber. Amber brings the sunshine here. And by the way, 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:08.760 we didn't get a chance to say happy birthday to Amber. 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:10.840 She had a birthday earlier this week. I think that 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:12.720 was the day that we weren't on the air, was 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:17.639 the game day, But happy birthday here. Yeah, yeah, go Cowboys. Yea, 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:22.200 it was a great birthday. Yeah. Okay, So we're gonna 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:25.400 jump in real quick before we have Bucky joined us 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.600 with It's our normal hit with Bucky Brooks today where 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.600 we'll talk a little bit about the Cincinnati offense. Before 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:32.960 we do that, though, I do want to get some 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:36.400 updates on some injuries. We got Anthony Brown, we got 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:39.840 Donovan Wilson, who all missed the game last week, and 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.720 also Tyler Battish who has who has not played for 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:46.240 several weeks, but Mike McCarthy did have a little update 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:49.239 on him yesterday. Let's let's see what's going on with 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.519 Anthony Brown first, Nick, what do we know about Anthony 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:53.920 Brown at this point? Well, I mean, he's got obviously 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:57.359 dealing with the ribs injury, and that's an injury that 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.800 kept him out I guess three games later this season, 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.400 so that's kind of I wouldn't know if it's a 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.639 lingering problem, but you know, anytime you had that twice 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.720 in one year. I'm sure that's probably related. So I 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:12.040 think he's going to be limited this week. I don't 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.200 I don't remember. I honestly don't remember what McCarthy said 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:19.000 about him yesterday. So I would imagine, though, at this 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:21.240 point in this season though, they're gonna air on the 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:24.480 side of caution for everything, um and I can go 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:26.480 look at it. Maybe maybe they've heard that. I don't know. 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.040 I don't know exactly what if Anthony Brown's status, but 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:31.799 I would imagine he's going to just work his way 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.560 back in. I would be surprised if he plays, really, okay, 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.680 I would be yeah, after being out and then after 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:43.960 mid yeh, especially on such a yeah the hey day 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.560 you there, yeah, Hey, can y'all hear me? Yeah we can? Yeah, 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.360 y'all hear me? Yeah, okay, okay, I'm sorry, yeah, I 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:50.960 mean on such a short week. I thought, you know, 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:55.760 if they didn't practice yesterday, it was an estimation, but 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:58.520 ay B might be able to go against the Ravens, 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:03.240 and he obviously didn't working on right now. That would 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.600 kind of surprise me play this late in the season. 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:07.360 So we'll see. We'll see what it looks like when 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:09.760 they get on the field. But I'm not super optimistic, 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:13.680 and Tyler, be honest is technically he's still on IR. 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:15.880 I believe, like the thing Martin said about him is 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.520 that he's got a good shot to start practicing, but 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:23.680 not gonna play on Sunday. What about Donor Wilson, you know, 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.360 we'll see on him question. I think the fact that 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:32.279 they didn't put him on IR last week, which means 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.200 that could have been one game. This is two games, 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:36.839 so that gives me a that gives me thought that 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.720 maybe he can play this week. Again, it was all 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.960 an estimation of what they said, but I would imagine 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:45.840 that the Donovan Wilson would have a shot to play 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:47.919 in this game. And he's one of those young guys 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.159 that you know, I think that he needs to keep 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:52.800 playing as much as you can. I'm not saying Russian 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.200 back from injury, but he would be a guy that 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.880 you'd like to see more of. And obviously this week 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:00.839 you're probably not. I don't know, maybe you are a 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:03.680 little bit concerned with the team that they're facing. It's 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.840 probably not a team that you would think has a 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.440 juggernaut of an offense, but they do have some receiving 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:11.920 threats that you probably want to be a little bit 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.240 cautious of. And with that, we will bring in our guy, 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:19.480 Bucky Brooks of NFL Network presented by Texico with tech Ron. Bucky, 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.719 Welcome to the show. We're gonna okay, well tell you what. 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.400 Let's I think they're getting him queued up, and we'll 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:27.760 jump right into that read. I know I was just 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:29.440 gonna go straight to him, but I should have told 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:32.360 our producer that. But we'll get to that in just 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.240 a second. As I was mentioning, and I'll actually ask 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.640 you this question, Nick. You look at this game, and 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:40.480 you look at the fact that they got some pretty 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:43.000 good receivers. Tyler Boyd last week has a seventy two 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.159 yard touchdown and you got t Higgins like, they got 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:49.760 guys at the receiver position, their quarterbacks out. So they 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:51.800 may not have the trigger man that you would want, 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:54.640 but they still could be dangerous against a defense that 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:58.560 is by all accounts, just not hitting on all cylinders 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:01.560 when it comes up giving up big place. Yeah, that's fair, 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:04.760 not good. Not on all cylinders. Yeah, I mean, it 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.599 doesn't take much to to make big plays on this team. 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.600 I mean, we've seen it all year. Long. I mean 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.560 guys quarterbacks and receivers and running backs that you don't 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:17.000 think are that good turning into really good, good, you know, 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:19.800 good performances against the Cowboys. That's just the sign of 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.840 a bad defense. And that's kind of where they are. So, yeah, 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.080 they don't have Burrow. I don't think they have Mixing. Yeah, non't. 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.280 He's on ir There'll be someone's time to shine, you know, 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.080 on somebody one of the one other side of the ball. 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:33.720 You know, maybe the Cowboys can make some plays. I 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.360 may maybe this is their get right game. But I'm 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:39.360 at the point where, again I don't care who the 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:43.600 opponent is because we see the same results regardless, basically. 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:46.800 But I'm at the point where, Okay, from now on, 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:52.760 I'm looking at every game to evaluate every single player individually, 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:55.919 looking into next year. And I know they're still trying 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.960 to compete in trying to hopefully make it to the 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:04.640 playoffs and all, but if we're being realistic here, that's 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:08.160 probably very unlikely. So if they're not going to sit 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.680 out some of the veteran guys, some of the starters, 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.640 and let some of the younger guys play, then this 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.800 is the time to really start figuring out who you're 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:20.520 gonna keep next year. So now we're joined by Bucky 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:24.520 Brooks of NFL Network presented by Texico with techron Bucky, 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:27.720 let's start where we normally start. This is not a 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:31.240 team that the Cowboys play very often. So so happy, 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:33.080 Why are you so happy right now? Where are you 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:45.640 smiling so much? Well, Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Bucky, 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.840 tell us what the greatest weakness and the greatest strength 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:52.440 of the Cincinnati offense. Knowing that those two guys that 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.240 we talked about, Burrow and Mixing are both out at 0:07:55.240 --> 0:08:00.360 this point, Yeah, I mean Burrow Mixing ouse a the 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.120 dynamic a little bit, but it's still a very, very 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.680 talented group of playmakers. On the outside. Tyler Boyd is 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:08.600 a monster. He's a guy that can control and he 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.000 has really stepped into that number one wide receiver role 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.480 in spite of AJ Green's presence. T Higgins has been 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.840 a revelation for them. Taking in the second round. He 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.840 has played lights out for them, and AJ Green is 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.840 still on the perimeter, but he's nowhere near the player 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.640 that he once was. But they have some dangerous weapons 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:28.320 and now their quarterback Brandon Allen has done a decent 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.720 job of getting the ball out. But it's a different 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.240 team because if Joe Burrow and the Bengals come, if 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.720 it's Joe Burrn the Bengals, it's a different expectation. But 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.720 this team is still dangerous because we've seen other teams 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.240 that I've set up here and said, hey, they're not 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:43.719 danger don't have any playmakers, and then lord behold the 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.079 Washington football team in the New York Giants find ways 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:48.559 to move the ball. And so I think this is 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:50.240 a game where the Cowboys should try and keep it 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.520 simple on defense and just allow their talent to overwhelm 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:58.920 the Bengals. I know that every game, I mean, both 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.719 teams go out to compete and try to win a 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:05.160 football game, regardless of the scenarios. But looking at what's 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:09.440 currently happening and where the Bengals are currently standing and 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.720 the Cowboys where they're at right now, I mean, what 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.280 are your expectations as far as what to expect from 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:20.959 both teams in a game like this. Well, in the 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:24.280 game like this, you know, front officers may be interested 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.120 in seeing what you have, but I think both coaching 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:29.000 staffs want to win. Zach Taylor has not won a 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.400 lot of games in Cincinnati. He doesn't want to continue 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.920 to take these l and stack them up on his resume. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:36.520 He may be fighting for his coach in life, so 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:39.080 he's gonna have his team ready to play. I think 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.960 in Dallas, with coach McCarthy and this group, like you 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:43.640 have to figure out a way to just get this 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:48.240 group going offensively, defensively, special teams have been a lot 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.240 of errors, and so you just want to see if 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:52.760 you can accomplish having a clean football game. And so 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.280 there's still a lot to play for. I know with 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.880 Dallas things look bleak in terms of the playoff picture, 0:09:57.920 --> 0:09:59.840 but you just never know. I think you have to 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:01.640 ain't a w on the board and just kind of 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.280 see how it plays out. But this has to be 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:06.120 a game where they played with a level of urgency. 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.200 Then maybe we haven't seen to this point, and I 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:14.240 wonder if we will ever see from this group. Hey, Bucky, you, 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:16.880 I mean you made If there's something to feel good 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:19.840 about the Babel's offense, it's probably their receiver. You know, 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.920 Higgins seems like a good pick obviously, Boyd, but like 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.400 Brandon Allen, I mean, it seems like he's going to 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.240 be the guy. Is he capable of getting them the ball? 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:34.160 Has he been doing that during his opportunities? Yeah, I 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:36.760 mean they've been a feisty and competitive team. Like it 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:40.480 hasn't been like they've been absolutely embarrassed on the perimeter. 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:42.760 I give Zach Taylor credit for that. He's gotten the 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.640 group to play are. They kind of buy into his 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.120 methods and the playmakers on the outside have taken advantage 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.120 of it. Now. The difference was when Joe Burrow was 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:53.920 in there. It was more empty formation, more dink and 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.079 dunk at the ball into the pans of the playmakers 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:59.680 and let them work. Brandon Allen certainly isn't on Burrows level, 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:02.080 but he doesn't have the biggest armor, so he does 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.640 rely him to short pass the game to allow te 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:07.679 Higgins and Tyler Board and some of the other playmakers 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:12.000 to have their way on the perimeter. Dave, you were 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.840 supposed to ask about the LSU quarterback and when he 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:18.120 was out and then Arkansas quarterbacks in there. I get 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:19.959 to ask the question because really the question I was 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.480 gonna asks, how was this guy there? I mean, I 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:24.200 see in the league. I didn't like him when he 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:28.319 was Arkansas and starting, Like, I can't believe this guy's starting. 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:30.920 You know, nobody from Arkansas has ever started a game 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.840 against the Cowboys in like the last forty years, well 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:36.680 a quarterback, and so I just don't understand how bread. 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:39.120 So I was gonna, I mean, I was gonna ask 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.679 about him, like can he hurt this team at all? 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:44.200 But you kind of already asked all that. But what 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:47.880 about the running back about I mean, go ahead, I 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.760 mean Jeff Jef Vonning Bernard has a change of pace back. 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.400 He's not ideally suited to be in the lead role, 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.160 but he is dangerous, and he's dangerous in the way 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:59.360 that they've utilized him coming out of the backfield. When 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:01.800 we think about the linebackers Jalen Smith and Lady Van 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.120 Desh and even Sean Lee, you don't necessarily want to 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:06.240 put those guys in one on one matchups in space. 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.920 We've seen how that has turned out, and so I 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.280 would say that Giovanni is as dangerous as some of 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.720 the guys that we've seen have success. DeVante Freeman had 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:16.360 a little level of success with the Giants. We saw 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.680 Antonio Gibson and those guys from the Washington football team 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:21.920 have success and so I think you certainly have to 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.640 put your eyes on them and make sure that you 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:27.599 know where it is. But man, I think anytime you 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:29.520 get gutted for two hundred and ninety four yards on 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.160 the ground, any and everybody believes that they have a 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:34.520 hundred yard day on the horizon. And so this is 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:36.760 gonna be a tough team because when the Cincinnati Bengals 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:38.679 look at the film and they looked at the way 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:40.480 they've been able to run the ball, teams have been 0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:43.560 able to run the ball, they feel like, just like Cowboys, Hey, 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:45.720 this is a get right game. The Bengals are chalking 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:47.560 this up as hey, this is a get right game 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.600 for offense. We have an opportunity to do some stuff. 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:52.880 So this is going to be a much tougher game 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.079 than we may think about it as it looks on 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:57.680 the surface. There have been a lot of conversations Bucky 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:01.480 over the last day or so after following the game 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:04.600 against the Ravens where people who have been asking the question, 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.960 is the problem with the Dallas defense a player problem? 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.560 Is it a scheme problem? Is it a coaching problem? 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.240 We saw a lot of things in that game, and 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:16.360 I'll give you one We were talking yesterday about on 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.480 the big thirty seven yard touchdown run, how basically Dallas 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.640 goes zero coverage. They've got a safety down in the 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:27.400 box playing linebacker or at the linebacker spot there in 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.679 the middle, and they've got all guys manned up on 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.760 the outside, which just screams. So I'm sure, Lamar Jackson, 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:35.960 I'm running the ball because the secondary is not going 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:38.240 to be much of a help here. Those kinds of 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.720 schematic things certainly point out that there's issues maybe with scheme, 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:44.600 but back McCarthy says, at this point, we're too far 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.400 down the road. I think this is a scheme problem. 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.439 Where do you see it? Is this a scheme? Is 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:52.679 a problem? Is this a player problem or just a 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:57.760 coaching problem? It's all of the above, is everything, And 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:59.679 I feel bad because I feel like I got duped. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.280 I feel like when I looked at some of the 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.480 players that were brought in over the summer and I 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:05.000 was like, man, this guy's gonna be a good player. 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.240 I can see him fitting Understanding Mike Nolan, having talked 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:09.920 to him and knowing what he wanted to play, I 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:11.720 thought that he would have a scheme that would really 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.079 fit the vision of how they wanted to play, and 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.360 then just the coaching. I thought there would be a 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:19.920 level of development that we saw from the young players, 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:22.440 even though in the pandemic or whatever, that this team 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:24.920 would gradually get better, and I was wrong, wrong, wrong, 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:27.680 on all aspects. I think what you have is you 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.040 have a coach who look is married to his scheme 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:31.800 and he wants to play a certain way, but right 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:34.560 now the talent doesn't fit his vision of the team. 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.320 You have players who don't really trust in the scheme, 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.520 and for whatever reason, in a two year period, I've 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.840 seen guys regretted in the level that I've never really 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:46.120 seen before. Guys don't understand how to read blockers, Guys 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:48.720 are overrunning plays, they're not stand in their gaps. To 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:52.600 effort has been inconsistent, and so it's just been disappointing 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.600 in all areas. And I think it's highlighted and magnified 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:57.920 by the fact that you look at the division rivals, 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:01.600 the Washington Football team, New York Jazz Football team that 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.680 we would like to say are lesser talents but are 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.640 playing better and are legitimately trending up where they're beating 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.360 teams that we would say they shouldn't knock off just 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:13.760 because they play hard and they do exactly what it's 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:17.520 expected of them. I think this is indictment on every aspect, 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.040 and I think this has to be one where you 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:24.080 have serious conversations in the offseason about how you go forward. Well, 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.840 we've kind of lost hope. Most of us have lost 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.920 hope on the Cowboys defense, and we know for sure 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:33.640 that they cannot be trusted. So I want to ask 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.360 you about the Cowboys offense and looking at the matchup 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.160 there against the defense from the Bengals, is this a 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:41.800 game where whether it's through the running game or the 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.240 passing game, is this a game where we will be 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.200 able to see the Cowboys finally get to the end 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:51.800 zone more than they've done so far. You know, I 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.200 felt like the game plan that they utilized against the 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.760 Ravens was a pretty solid one. They were only a 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:58.880 handful of occasions that I thought Kelly Moore kind of 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.840 forgot whose coach. In terms of like the way they 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:03.720 need to play, I think it has to continue to 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.640 be a mix of Zeke and Tony Poll running the football. 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.280 I think the quick ery than passing game that they 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:11.560 utilize against the Ravens will be effective against Cincinnati because 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.280 Cincinnati likes to dollar the pressure. You'll see some cover 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:17.600 zero looks which will give Ceedee Lamb and a Maury 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.320 Cooper and Michael Gallup opportunities to make plays. I think 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.000 the same game game plan could work. I think the 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.880 big thing is when you play the style that Dallas 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:29.880 has had to play of late, which is a little 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:33.160 more conservative, a little more complimentary. You got to get 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:35.880 contributions from the special teams. You got the big return 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:39.360 from Tony Poll, but man Zerolin has to knock down 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.200 the field goals when they get into scoring range, because 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.920 when you don't, the margin for error is so thin 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:48.960 that it's deflating when those things aren't converted into points. 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:56.400 I hate to put the big picture. When you were 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.200 answering their questions, that's what I want to talk about. 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:03.560 I don't want to talk about this. You mentioned, like 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:08.440 what you you mentioned having hard conversations in the offseason. 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:15.159 You know you're on the spot too much. I mean, 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:22.240 how hard of a fix is it? A new coordinator 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.680 or there? I mean, can one draft class of decent 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:28.359 defending players and some free agents fix this? I mean, 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.200 how deep of a hole? Do you think this is 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:34.840 I think this is a huge hole now that we've 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:37.320 seen it play out. It's a huge hole because you 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:39.040 have to look at your team in comparison to the 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.399 teams in the division, and you have to build your 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.960 team to beat your division rivals. The Giants and the 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.200 Washington football team. The two things that stand out. They're 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.600 big and physical in the trenches on both sides of 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.440 the ball, and they're playing a physical style that will 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.160 really exploit you if you don't embrace that. So now, 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:58.919 if you're the Cowboys, you have to make a decision, 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:01.000 and the first lynchpin is obviously what do you decide 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.560 to do with Dak Prescott? Because you can decide to 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.280 go all in on Dak Prescott, build up the offense, 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:10.440 meaning draft an offensive tackle, adding another offensive lineman, go 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:12.639 with this offense and say that we're gonna put thirty 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:16.119 on everybody coming out the gate, be young on defense, 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.000 and play a simple scheme that allows you to play 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:20.600 that way. If you stay with Mike Nolan, I don't 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:24.119 think that is possible because his scheme doesn't necessarily allow 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.399 young players to come in and play fast right away. 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:30.440 Then it's about what key playmakers can you bring in 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:33.040 to help this? Because when I look at this team, 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.600 and most teams have to have three defensive playmakers that 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:38.719 are dominant to play at a high level. Well, who 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.760 are the three defensive playmakers in Dallas? We can say 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:44.200 to Marcus Larrence, We'll give you that. But who else 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:45.680 is a guy that we could say as a blue 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:48.920 player right now? Jayleen Smith hasn't played that way, Lady 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.080 benn and S hasn't played their way. There's no one 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:52.680 in the second here that we could count on that 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:55.760 we could say that Traylon Diggs is maybe an emerging player. 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:59.920 But without playmakers, it's hard to succeed in this league 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:03.240 unless you play a simple scheme one that was utilized 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:04.719 a couple of years ago when you have Rod Mary 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:07.240 Nelline Christph short that allowed young guys to run around 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:09.440 and play fast. And so if you don't do that, 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:11.200 it has to be the talent. And I don't know 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.920 if you can acquire enough talent in one offseason to 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:18.119 get them up to snuff. Bucky, this is kind of 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.920 a this could be a tough question to answer. So, 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:22.960 but you don't have to name like names or anything, 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:25.720 but have you has it ever been your experience that 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.440 you get this late in the season, and you said, 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:30.760 the Bengals, this could be a get right game, the 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:34.439 Cowboys get right game. There's some fan bases out there 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:37.159 that don't necessarily want them to get right. Maybe do 0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:39.760 you have you ever experienced even in the organization, the 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:42.479 scouting department, it's like, this is a big game when 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.480 it turn in terms of the draft pick. Have you 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.480 ever noticed that with like scouts may want one thing, 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:53.400 coaches may want another. Have you ever experienced that? Yeah, 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:57.000 then they're the outlier in this. From a Cowboys manage 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:00.439