Speaker 1: The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football clubs. Are you ready for
Speaker 1: a break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that.
Speaker 1: It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton.
Speaker 1: It is Wednesday, December twenty third, two twenty, season sixteen,
Speaker 1: episode number eighty six. Welcome to latest edition of The Break,
Speaker 1: presented by Geico. We appreciate you guys join us. We
Speaker 1: got forty five minutes of entertaining conversation about the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1: Were getting you guys ready for Cowboys versus Eagles that
Speaker 1: happens this Sunday at three thirty I think it is
Speaker 1: three twenty three thirty somewhere in that time frame, and
Speaker 1: so we'll get you guys ready for that. We will
Speaker 1: be joined by Bucky Brooks of NFL Network here coming
Speaker 1: up in the second segment. But before we get to that,
Speaker 1: I want to talk about a few things that Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy brought up this morning in his press conference. One
Speaker 1: of those things, obviously, we've been talking a little bit
Speaker 1: about injuries. He did get a few injury updates. Dave,
Speaker 1: tell me where are we with Leyton vander Esh, Antoine Woods,
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods, and Michael Gallop As far as their availability
Speaker 1: this weekend, Leyden Vanderesh and Antoine Woods are not practicing.
Speaker 1: Neither is Xavier Woods. Actually, Mike McCarthy was was pretty
Speaker 1: forthcoming that he doesn't think it's likely that any of
Speaker 1: those guys play this weekend. Michael Gallup is limited, Ezekiel
Speaker 1: Elliott is also limited, So that's encouraging. We'll see what's
Speaker 1: going on with them. But those three defenders all look
Speaker 1: like they're going to be out. What do they do
Speaker 1: at defensive tackle? I mean, Antoine Woods obviously is playing
Speaker 1: a lot for them, and maybe I don't know, maybe
Speaker 1: he's their best defensive tackle. What do they do with
Speaker 1: defensive tackle? Just as far as the rotations concern, well,
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna see Tyrone Crawford in there. Some
Speaker 1: we've already seen him in there, but if you if
Speaker 1: you go back and look at last week's game, you know,
Speaker 1: I thought I saw Alden Smith in there on pass
Speaker 1: rushing situations way more than than I have in any
Speaker 1: other point this season. Maybe that's happened, but it just
Speaker 1: felt like it was it was different and seeing it
Speaker 1: from that, that's not going to help you on third
Speaker 1: and two. You're gonna need Gallimore, you need Um Hamilton,
Speaker 1: and then I don't know, I can't think of anybody
Speaker 1: else that's on the I mean even on the right.
Speaker 1: Is Ellie still here? Aku? Yeah, we could they could
Speaker 1: use Ellie on cou He was a healthy scratch a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago. He really struggled against Baltimore, so
Speaker 1: you know, obviously not lighting the world on fire, but
Speaker 1: injuries create opportunities, so he might have to get in
Speaker 1: there because of that. Yeah, I mean, it's it's gonna
Speaker 1: be I don't know. It's interesting that defensive tackle position
Speaker 1: is one that's been a problem all season obviously, as
Speaker 1: far as you know, you look at all the positions
Speaker 1: where you've had issues with injuries, this has been one
Speaker 1: that went back all the way back to training camp
Speaker 1: when they lost their first guy for the season. So
Speaker 1: they're still kind of mending that back together. But it
Speaker 1: seems like over here the last few weeks they've actually
Speaker 1: gotten a little bit better. I thought, and I think
Speaker 1: this is a pretty big deal that you wouldn't have
Speaker 1: Antoine Wood, who I think has been playing pretty good. Well,
Speaker 1: you've seen good work from defensive ends and I know
Speaker 1: that's not defensive tackle or anything, but also some of
Speaker 1: the ways that they've utilized some of their secondary guys,
Speaker 1: you know, getting some pressure. We saw Jordan Lewis being
Speaker 1: able to get to the quarterback. So maybe that's a
Speaker 1: way that they can just kind of balance off what
Speaker 1: they're missing in that area, just create some more pressure
Speaker 1: from those guys behind. I don't know, but we'll see
Speaker 1: what happens with this other quarterback. Yeah. The interesting thing
Speaker 1: is that the Eagles team, I think it was a
Speaker 1: couple weeks ago, they had a really nice running day
Speaker 1: on the ground, and so I think they can post
Speaker 1: some issues for a defense with regards to their running game,
Speaker 1: and that's the part where it's probably going to be
Speaker 1: a bit of a challenge. Let's talk about another thing
Speaker 1: that I thought came up, and this is a little
Speaker 1: bit of a different topic. It's not so much football,
Speaker 1: but it is a little bit football. But Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: was asked about the schedule for the team this week
Speaker 1: and he made the comment and I thought was interesting
Speaker 1: he said, the players, the entire football staff will be
Speaker 1: at home with their families where they should be on
Speaker 1: Christmas Day. And it made me. The reason why it
Speaker 1: made me think for a second is because I do
Speaker 1: think sometimes and you guys know we work in all
Speaker 1: of this. I think sometimes we take ourselves very very
Speaker 1: seriously in football, like we think of it as you know,
Speaker 1: you got these essential workers like doctors and nurses that
Speaker 1: you know, they work every day of the year, there's
Speaker 1: no day off, there's no holiday, whatever, And we kind
Speaker 1: of put ourselves in that category a little bit because
Speaker 1: we can sometimes we had games on Christmas Day. Well,
Speaker 1: we're right, it's right underneath, it's just beneath that in
Speaker 1: my opinion, okay, And that's why I wanted to ask me, like,
Speaker 1: do you I think this is a situation where he's
Speaker 1: doing the right thing with his team by saying, Hey,
Speaker 1: I don't care that we got a game coming up
Speaker 1: on Sunday on Friday, it is important for you to
Speaker 1: be at home with your families because that's what you
Speaker 1: should be doing on Christmas Day. I think it's good
Speaker 1: to say that. I also think let's not forget that
Speaker 1: Friday's the day that they really don't practice anyways. It's
Speaker 1: a day that he's changed the schedule way back before
Speaker 1: knowing even knowing Christmas was probably on a Friday, So
Speaker 1: it's convenient. But I mean, I'm not saying it's not true,
Speaker 1: but it's I mean, because if it really was how
Speaker 1: he felt, then he would boycott the Thursday Thanksgiving Day
Speaker 1: game and say, oh, you should be with your family.
Speaker 1: Then that's that's not the way it works, you know,
Speaker 1: But I think it I believe that he believes that way,
Speaker 1: but I also think it kind of fits into his schedule. Yeah,
Speaker 1: what are your thoughts? Amber? That doesn't really bother me,
Speaker 1: But I'll say this, I am still very much bothered
Speaker 1: by the comment he made a few weeks ago when
Speaker 1: you know, we had all the schedule changing and they
Speaker 1: had like a ten day period and he's like, well,
Speaker 1: I don't want over what was it, uh, not over
Speaker 1: coach over prepare? Yes, I don't want to over prepare
Speaker 1: the guys. And that comment really bother me because looking
Speaker 1: at the situation that you were at at the moment,
Speaker 1: you would think that you guys do need to go
Speaker 1: in over prepare. And I remember I asked Bucky this question,
Speaker 1: and he had. He had a good point, he had
Speaker 1: a good explanation, but it's still it didn't sit well
Speaker 1: with me. And then seeing them that they went ahead
Speaker 1: and lost against the Ravens, so that just bothered me
Speaker 1: even more. So this one about Christmas doesn't really bother
Speaker 1: me that much. But when we go back to that one. Yes,
Speaker 1: there are coaches though that have been in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Obviously not any around here for a while, but there
Speaker 1: are coaches that coaches Super Bowl that think that the
Speaker 1: two week break in between is that happens you over
Speaker 1: prepare big time in there. They would actually rather just
Speaker 1: be one week. Sorry, I've heard, Dave, What do you think? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was really hoping I would get to, you know,
Speaker 1: pop the pop Mike McCarthy's balloon a little bit, but
Speaker 1: Nick did it for me. I don't want to be
Speaker 1: too cynical, but Fridays their light day anyway, and they also,
Speaker 1: you know, with the intensive COVID protocols, they've gotten very
Speaker 1: used to doing things virtually anyway. So I don't know
Speaker 1: that it's this big gesture that it sounds like on paper.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, you know, McCarthy deserves credit too.
Speaker 1: Because you know, he gave the team time off after
Speaker 1: the death of Marcus Paul, and he's put a big
Speaker 1: he's put a big emphasis on being around your family.
Speaker 1: And I do believe, like even even in a normal year,
Speaker 1: and even if they practiced on Fridays, like I think
Speaker 1: he might do something like this because he has put
Speaker 1: some emphasis on it before. And honestly, I think I
Speaker 1: commend him for it. You know, you kind of mentioned it, Derek.
Speaker 1: You know, the NFL has this like no nonsense, no
Speaker 1: fun attitude that like, you should never take a day off.
Speaker 1: Our dear friend Brian brought us used to love working
Speaker 1: on weekends and holidays, Like if you don't want to
Speaker 1: work on a holiday, you're soft or you're week And
Speaker 1: I never agreed with that. And you know, twenty twenty
Speaker 1: has really hammered home the importance of mental health, Like
Speaker 1: being around family is good for your mental health. Making
Speaker 1: millions of dollars doesn't mean that you're not susceptible to
Speaker 1: seasonal effective disorder or COVID fatigue or whatever. And it's
Speaker 1: it's good for these guys to have that chance. I
Speaker 1: don't you know, good good for Mike McCarthy. I you
Speaker 1: know Friday is their light day anyway, but yeah, good
Speaker 1: spend Christmas with your family. Everybody should get to do that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree with that. I do think that there is
Speaker 1: some value in entertainment in our country and we're part
Speaker 1: of that. There's I talked about it a lot when
Speaker 1: you know, when whole COVID thing came up, that there
Speaker 1: is value when people are stuck at home and out
Speaker 1: of their normal routines to giving them things. And I
Speaker 1: don't want to call it a distraction, that's somewhat what
Speaker 1: it is, but just things that can bring levity and
Speaker 1: and just to smile to people's faces, right, And so
Speaker 1: I think we were a part of that. And so yes,
Speaker 1: there are times when we need the best time to
Speaker 1: do that is when people are sitting home. It's why
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving games have been Thanksgiving games, is because everybody's sitting
Speaker 1: around with their families. So a few people have to
Speaker 1: sacrifice that in order to provide that entertainment for the masses.
Speaker 1: And so we fall into that category. But I do
Speaker 1: love the idea of when you can allow the people
Speaker 1: that work in the organization or throughout the NFL, when
Speaker 1: you can allow opportunities for them to be able to
Speaker 1: have those moments that, by the way, you can't get
Speaker 1: back right. To be able to have those moments, I
Speaker 1: think it's important, and I think it's a good thing
Speaker 1: that he recognizes that, and then at least in this
Speaker 1: instance and this year, it falls in a way where
Speaker 1: he can do it for his team. And you know,
Speaker 1: let's also point this part out through that the next day,
Speaker 1: the twenty six, I think they're gonna be here a while.
Speaker 1: They'll do doubles. I think they're gonna be here a
Speaker 1: little bit. So, but most of us are okay with that. Like,
Speaker 1: give me a day with my family, I'll go and
Speaker 1: I'll work extra early and i'll work extra late if
Speaker 1: you give me that day with my family because I
Speaker 1: need that day with my family. Right So, um, all right,
Speaker 1: So here's we gonna do. Um. One of the topic
Speaker 1: I wanted to hit real quick. This one came up
Speaker 1: last night. Um, kelln or at least when I saw
Speaker 1: Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator for the Cowboys his alma mater,
Speaker 1: Boise State, which Nick, I think you were the one
Speaker 1: that went up there to Boise State for you were
Speaker 1: not okay there. We've sent some people, we've sent some
Speaker 1: people up there before, I think for some work that
Speaker 1: we were doing. I talked about it. We never did it, Okay, Anyway,
Speaker 1: My point is he is, according to all records of
Speaker 1: how people talk about him, he is somewhat of a
Speaker 1: god up there um and so it obviously when when
Speaker 1: it became known that they were going to be looking
Speaker 1: for a replacement for their head coach, his name obviously
Speaker 1: was brought up. My question for you guys is, based
Speaker 1: on what you've seen so far from Kellen Moore, do
Speaker 1: you think Dallas should look at maybe paying him a
Speaker 1: little extra money to make sure that he wants to
Speaker 1: stay or is it one of those situations where if
Speaker 1: he wants to go, he goes, and you move on,
Speaker 1: you find the next offensive coordinator. Let's start with you, Dave.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of variables to that. I mean, yes,
Speaker 1: Kellen Moore is a god in the state of Idaho.
Speaker 1: He's the winningest quarterback of all time he took that program.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's like Dak with Mississippi State. It's very similar.
Speaker 1: First of all, it sucks because Kellen just talked on
Speaker 1: Monday night, twenty four hours before this happened. Would have
Speaker 1: been a great opportunity to try to talk to him
Speaker 1: about it. So we don't know if that's something that
Speaker 1: he wants to do. He is a god in Boise,
Speaker 1: but is that who they would be looking to hire?
Speaker 1: A thirty two year old who's never coached in college.
Speaker 1: These are vastly different skill sets. Recruiting is everything in
Speaker 1: college football, and Kellen Moore has no proven track record
Speaker 1: as a recruiter, so I think that's important to point out.
Speaker 1: But also does Kellen Moore want that for himself? You know,
Speaker 1: there's the fact of the matter that you know, he's
Speaker 1: a thirty two year old offensive coordinator. He's probably on
Speaker 1: the fast track to being an NFL head coach if
Speaker 1: that's something that he wants. So, you know, we don't
Speaker 1: even know if that's something he would want to do.
Speaker 1: But if Boys is trying to hire him, and I
Speaker 1: were the Cowboys, I would absolutely try to incentivize him
Speaker 1: to stay because I'm I'm very impressed with the job
Speaker 1: that he's done through two years. Me personally, Amber, well,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't know much about college football in
Speaker 1: that kind of world, so that's not my area. But
Speaker 1: the comment that I would make, it's like I wonder
Speaker 1: where would you if you had to rate, where would
Speaker 1: you rate a college head coaching job versus the Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys DC not dc OC job. So anytime there's something
Speaker 1: related with the Cowboys, we know how much attention that gets,
Speaker 1: how big that is. So it just I wonder would
Speaker 1: anyone at that position would want to leave the Cowboys
Speaker 1: even though it's for a head coaching job at a college.
Speaker 1: I don't know, but yeah, well, I mean I could
Speaker 1: say this. Coaches look at contracts, they look at opportunities
Speaker 1: to get more contracts. And so when you when you
Speaker 1: get an opportunity to be a head coach somewhere anywhere,
Speaker 1: really you know that is a four year deal. Five
Speaker 1: year deal, that's a kind of that's something that helps
Speaker 1: your family and helps you and all that stuff. And
Speaker 1: also it's hard to relate what boyse means to Kellen,
Speaker 1: you know, as opposed to what's on the outsider says
Speaker 1: you're the Dallas Cowboys OC versus Boise State head coach.
Speaker 1: But for Kelln Moore, who's lived in that area and
Speaker 1: knows what it would be like for this family to
Speaker 1: kids to grow up, there might be different. But I
Speaker 1: will say this too everybody in the Cowboys family, fans,
Speaker 1: all that. Everybody loved Jason Garrett from nineteen ninety two
Speaker 1: to twenty ten. They loved Jason Garrett. He was this
Speaker 1: great story and all that. Now it became public enmity
Speaker 1: number one because you have this fourth down play here
Speaker 1: or losing this game here. Scott Frost is dealing with
Speaker 1: it in Nebraska too, So you gotta be careful when
Speaker 1: you go back because it's all great and roses and
Speaker 1: you're a guide and all that, until all of a
Speaker 1: sudden you made the wrong decision and you lost the
Speaker 1: unlv and next thing you know, they don't want him anymore.
Speaker 1: So it sounds great. But when the honeymoon's over, you know,
Speaker 1: we'll see, we'll see what happens. But I think he
Speaker 1: can have success and when they're and to answer your question, no,
Speaker 1: I don't think the Cowboys should do anything different there.
Speaker 1: If he goes, he goes, you know, because if he
Speaker 1: wants that job bad enough, how money's not really going
Speaker 1: to be the factor in that. And that's that's the
Speaker 1: interesting part there is You're right. I think it does
Speaker 1: come down to the fact of personally what fits for him.
Speaker 1: You know, we all know, if you've got a university
Speaker 1: that you have some allegiance too, you've been there, then
Speaker 1: there's something about maybe going back to that school and
Speaker 1: being the head coach there. Sue that that's very different
Speaker 1: than I guess even evaluating it based upon weld, I'll
Speaker 1: want to be the OC or don't want to be
Speaker 1: a head coach here, Like, it might be a whole
Speaker 1: different thing if he was asked to be the head
Speaker 1: coach at un LV, right, that may not resonate with him,
Speaker 1: but this place may be very special to him. It
Speaker 1: might be the reason why he wants to come back.
Speaker 1: Another name out there to you is hardball. He kind
Speaker 1: of figured that out as well, Like going back, going
Speaker 1: back to me. Excellent point. They coming back to Michigan.
Speaker 1: I don't know if they love him anymore. Okay, all right,
Speaker 1: that's totally fair, and I'm not trying to dog Kellen Moore.
Speaker 1: But Jim Harbaugh had accomplished a lot more as a
Speaker 1: coach when Michigan hired him. Absolutely, he had had six
Speaker 1: He had had success at Stanford and San Diego, turned
Speaker 1: San Francisco into a Super Bowl contender. I mean it's
Speaker 1: different because of who Kellen Moore is at Boise State, like,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, he is Boise State, but objectively,
Speaker 1: does he even have the resume to do that at
Speaker 1: this point in his career. I think you could argue
Speaker 1: that he doesn't right now. If that, I mean, if
Speaker 1: they wanted him to be their head coach, it's more
Speaker 1: for me because of who he is than what he's
Speaker 1: done to this point. You know. Yeah, but we see
Speaker 1: it all time in sports, especially these days, where guys
Speaker 1: get opportunities based upon their connection, based upon people knowing
Speaker 1: them and saying, hey, I think that they are the
Speaker 1: person that may not be ready right now, but he'll
Speaker 1: be ready in five years, so I'm willing to go
Speaker 1: through that. We saw it here with Jason Garrett, like
Speaker 1: a lot of people thought he wasn't ready to be
Speaker 1: ocor head coach. Necessarily, he got those opportunities because of relationships.
Speaker 1: So it happens. It certainly happens. All Right, We're gonna
Speaker 1: take our final break, our first break. I'm sorry. When
Speaker 1: we come back, we're gonna be joined by Buckey Brooks
Speaker 1: of NFL Network. We'll be right back. This is Dallas
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Speaker 1: I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys.
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Speaker 1: Back to the break. Welcome back to the second segment
Speaker 1: of the break. Oh, I gotta I gotta say something
Speaker 1: real quick. All right, I'll tell you about AT and
Speaker 1: T Stadium at home. You get a chance to eat
Speaker 1: the food at AT and T Stadium and you get
Speaker 1: to bring it to your house if that's something that
Speaker 1: you're wanting to do, Cowboys cheese, steak, nachos, Cowboy rita
Speaker 1: when you're watching the Cowboys at home, you can bring
Speaker 1: it to you. Place your order online, pick up at
Speaker 1: AT and T Stadium every week this season. Really just
Speaker 1: one more time here in the regular season. Check out
Speaker 1: the menu at at and T stadium dot com, slash
Speaker 1: at home or maybe in the playoffs. It would be
Speaker 1: taste even better. I will tell you this. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: give you a little, a little quick story. I was
Speaker 1: for Thanksgiving Day. My family had the opportunity to go
Speaker 1: and attend the game in one of the suites and
Speaker 1: the food we got a package. They package up some
Speaker 1: of the food that's left over there, like you can
Speaker 1: take it with you if you choose to take it.
Speaker 1: So we took it. Man, that stuff is good at home.
Speaker 1: I heat it up for the next two days. That
Speaker 1: stuff was really really good. I was like, Okay, I'm
Speaker 1: kind of down on this, you know what you call
Speaker 1: it at and T Stadium at home. I'm down with
Speaker 1: that because and y'all know I love food, so so
Speaker 1: I was like really impressed with it. The quality of food.
Speaker 1: It lasts for a couple of days. Good stuff. And
Speaker 1: I can't imagine how much arm twisting went on there
Speaker 1: for you to eat it. Like Derek's like, I'm not
Speaker 1: eating that. That's two days old. You're like eat it, Like, no,
Speaker 1: that was not you know me, That's not a problem now,
Speaker 1: I do know you. I'll eat leftovers. It's a good stuff,
Speaker 1: all right. All right, we went way off the tracks.
Speaker 1: We're joined right now by Bucky Brooks of NFL Network
Speaker 1: presented by Texico with techron Bucky, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 1: Let's start first with the biggest story that's been in
Speaker 1: Philadelphia the last several weeks. We've seen now, Jalen Hurts
Speaker 1: is the starter. He is probably going to be the
Speaker 1: starter for the rest of this season. Start there with
Speaker 1: me and tell me what is Jalen Hurts doing now
Speaker 1: that maybe wins wasn't doing it all the time that
Speaker 1: he was a start of this season. So this is
Speaker 1: funny because I think Dallas fans like love him and
Speaker 1: hate him. Jalen Hurst, to me, is the closest thing
Speaker 1: that I've seen to Dak Prescott in a long time.
Speaker 1: And this goes back to the summer before he was
Speaker 1: even playing his final season Oklahoma. I talked to Will
Speaker 1: McClay about the comparison because Jalen was at the Star.
Speaker 1: I was at an event and I was like, man,
Speaker 1: this guy has built like plays like Dak Prescott. He said,
Speaker 1: you know what, you're not out of bounds. And thinking
Speaker 1: that and fast forwarding to Philadelphia, I think the best
Speaker 1: thing that Jalen Hursts has done. He has brought a
Speaker 1: level of leadership and poised to the huddle that has
Speaker 1: enabled this team to kind of go to the next level.
Speaker 1: Whatever is going on with Carson Wentzon, that team, it
Speaker 1: just doesn't jib you aswered Jalen Hursts, and this team
Speaker 1: plays better. He is a more dynamic runner than Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz is. He is a guy who has a little
Speaker 1: more composure than Carson Wentz had displayed doing his struggles,
Speaker 1: and I think what he's done. He's also forced Duck
Speaker 1: Peterson to call a game that is more conducive to
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles winning than the way that they were
Speaker 1: calling the game with Carson Wentz. They scale back some
Speaker 1: of the passing, they've gone to some of the read
Speaker 1: option stuff with Jalen and Miles Sanders kind of splitting
Speaker 1: carries and attacking the defense in a different way, and
Speaker 1: its work. And then I would say, to the surprise,
Speaker 1: he has thrown the ball much better than anybody anticipated.
Speaker 1: He has been on time, he's delivered it, and I
Speaker 1: mean the number one thing that you have to do
Speaker 1: is not give it to the other team. He hasn't
Speaker 1: given the ball to the other team, which is why
Speaker 1: the Eagles have been able to win because he hasn't
Speaker 1: had any greedious amount of turnovers. But he aside from
Speaker 1: the quarterback position, looking at the team, whether on either
Speaker 1: side of the ball. Is there something different that the
Speaker 1: Eagles are currently doing from the last time the Cowboys
Speaker 1: faced them, just leaning into the run their best offensive
Speaker 1: players Miles Sanders, And so when you put the young
Speaker 1: quarterback in, you're lean on the running game or it's
Speaker 1: giving him more opportunities. And we saw he had a
Speaker 1: hundred yard game as soon as Jalen went into the thing.
Speaker 1: And when they are committed to giving him the ruck,
Speaker 1: he makes things happen. And so the biggest thing I
Speaker 1: was into the run is mass some of the deficiencies
Speaker 1: their offensive line leaks or like everybody else is like
Speaker 1: they have a patchwork outfit. But the running game can
Speaker 1: kind of cover it up because you can kind of
Speaker 1: just go body on body and kind of miss and mash.
Speaker 1: And also when you run and read options stuff, they're
Speaker 1: guys that you can't block. You just read them, and
Speaker 1: so it takes some of the pressure off their offensive line.
Speaker 1: And so it's the running game. It's all about. Mileson
Speaker 1: is the running game and the way that Doug Peterson
Speaker 1: has been calling the place. I'm glad you mentioned the
Speaker 1: offensive line, Bucky, because that's I mean that for me,
Speaker 1: it seems like the best matchup in this game is
Speaker 1: you know, Lane Johnson has given to Marcus Lawrence fits
Speaker 1: for years, but this guy, Matt Pryor does not seem
Speaker 1: to be quite as formidable. So please please tell me
Speaker 1: he's playing right like that where DeMarcus Lawrence canna make
Speaker 1: some hey, maybe yeah, he can't make some hay. But
Speaker 1: I think the main thing with all of this is
Speaker 1: stop I'll stop in the run. I know we say
Speaker 1: it each and every week. The Cowboys have to stop
Speaker 1: the run. And given the things that have shown up
Speaker 1: on tape in terms of the misdirection the action and
Speaker 1: some of the problems that have shown up in terms
Speaker 1: of being able to stop read option power read type plays.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a problem. And so DeMarcus Lawrence. Before
Speaker 1: they can get to tee off on the passing game,
Speaker 1: they got to be able to win early downs in
Speaker 1: the running game, and that has been a problem. And
Speaker 1: so d law and those guys have to do a
Speaker 1: good job of controlling the trenches on the rundown so
Speaker 1: they can get to the opportunity to really get out
Speaker 1: to the passage. Bucky. You know, the Eagles drafted Jalen
Speaker 1: Hurts fifty third overall, so second round pick. They obviously
Speaker 1: needed some help in other areas. What were they hoping
Speaker 1: would happen by drafting him? And then, I mean, is
Speaker 1: it a coincidence that Carson Wentz has gone in the
Speaker 1: tank here? I mean, and I say this because the
Speaker 1: Cowboys were thinking about drafting Jalen Hurts, maybe not second round,
Speaker 1: but like third or fourth. So what was the best
Speaker 1: case scenario to drafting a guy without your star quarterback
Speaker 1: looking over his shoulder? Well, a couple of things they
Speaker 1: talked about Harry Roseman right after draft. He talks about
Speaker 1: wanting to create a quarterback factory. The quarterback is the
Speaker 1: most important part of the team, is the most important piece,
Speaker 1: and if you're able to develop multiple quarterbacks, it becomes
Speaker 1: a very interesting trade pond to be able to bring
Speaker 1: back assets and the like. Because they liked the personality
Speaker 1: of Jason Hurst, because they had a vision of maybe
Speaker 1: Jalen doing some of the things that Taysom Hill has
Speaker 1: been able to do down in New Orleans. Doug Peterson
Speaker 1: wanted to have that kind of athlete and making a mistake.
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz has been hurt a lot in Philadelphia, and
Speaker 1: the way that you can really look at the quarterback room,
Speaker 1: as they paid him this money, they committed a huge
Speaker 1: chunk of their salary cap to the quarterback position. Well,
Speaker 1: you still need backup backs and it's cheaper to go
Speaker 1: in draft one that you can get cheaper. And you
Speaker 1: look at the total amount of money that they're committing
Speaker 1: to the quarterback position with their starter in their backup,
Speaker 1: it is in line with what you want to spend.
Speaker 1: And so it was a little bit about maybe we
Speaker 1: can develop a guy and trade them off, but also
Speaker 1: maybe we can get a cheap backup option that can
Speaker 1: come in and play in a pinch. We're joined by
Speaker 1: Bucky Brooks off NFL Network presented by Textico with Techcron
Speaker 1: Bucky and Philadelphia is right now thirty second in sacks
Speaker 1: allowed with four point two per game. It actually looked
Speaker 1: like they'd fixed this problem against New Orleans where they
Speaker 1: didn't give up a single sack, but then last week
Speaker 1: against Arizona they give up six. What did they do
Speaker 1: in that game against New Orleans that maybe made them
Speaker 1: a little better in that respect than they've been most
Speaker 1: of the season. Well, in New Orleans, New Orleans didn't
Speaker 1: really know what they were doing, so they kind of
Speaker 1: played on their heels. Sometimes the read option stuff can
Speaker 1: do that. It can make you pause and hesitate. You
Speaker 1: don't want to blizz because you're fearful of what's going on.
Speaker 1: The Arizona Cardinals took a different tactic. We're gonna bliss
Speaker 1: him and we're gonna blow it up on the way.
Speaker 1: And so they blissed him and they attacked them. They
Speaker 1: brought cover zero blitzes where all out pressures and zero
Speaker 1: man no safety help in the middle, and they challenged
Speaker 1: him and they were able to get home. Now the county.
Speaker 1: That is, are you willing to live with your corners
Speaker 1: and coverage like that? Patrick Peterson had a tough time
Speaker 1: because I want to say he had three or four
Speaker 1: po penalties in that game, and they went at Patrick Peterson.
Speaker 1: So Mike Nolan isn't a guy that typically likes to
Speaker 1: bring pressure like that, and so I don't know if
Speaker 1: you can have that same kind of success if you're
Speaker 1: not willing to dial it up and bring five and
Speaker 1: six man pressures on random downs. Okay, we've seen that
Speaker 1: the Cowboys most recent success in those games has come
Speaker 1: from the defense being able to create takeaways and take
Speaker 1: the ball. You mentioned earlier how much the Eagles are
Speaker 1: currently protecting the ball. If the Cowboys aren't able to
Speaker 1: get a take away, a single one, whether a fumble
Speaker 1: or an interception, can they actually win this game, because
Speaker 1: that has seemed to be the recipe for success for
Speaker 1: them in this past couple of games. Yeah, they can
Speaker 1: win the game. I mean from a talent perspective, they can.
Speaker 1: They can win the game. They can. They can beat
Speaker 1: him if it's an even game, you don't have turnovers
Speaker 1: or whatever. The Cowboys can win if they play the
Speaker 1: right way. Offensive, defensively, and special teams. I do believe
Speaker 1: that there's some turnover opportunities that will present themselves with
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts. Jaln Hursts is fomming the ball maybe five
Speaker 1: or six times. Those fumbles have kind of bounced back
Speaker 1: into his arms, and so I think it has to
Speaker 1: be a point of emphasis when we get around Jalen Hursts.
Speaker 1: Let's attack the football. He's been loose with it. He's
Speaker 1: been careless with it. You can't knock the ball away,
Speaker 1: and then you have to figure out a way if
Speaker 1: you can pressure him and harass him enough where maybe
Speaker 1: you quicken the clock in his head and he does
Speaker 1: deliver some air and passes. To his credit, he has
Speaker 1: been very, very careful with the ball. He is being
Speaker 1: careful but still being fairly aggressive in terms of taking
Speaker 1: the shots when the shots are there. The best bet
Speaker 1: in terms of forcing turnovers is they've given up sacks.
Speaker 1: When you get an opportunity to sack him, tomahawk, chop it,
Speaker 1: try and knock it out. He has been careless with
Speaker 1: the ball in the pocket. Now, I think that's something
Speaker 1: that most young quarterbacks have to learn how to do.
Speaker 1: So the first Eagles game. I don't even know how
Speaker 1: useful the tape is between having been Denucci back there
Speaker 1: and obviously I mean, that was a low point for
Speaker 1: the Dallas offensive line. They've you know, they've stabilized a
Speaker 1: good bit, but you know, last week was really tough sledding.
Speaker 1: I imagine this week is going to be again. I mean,
Speaker 1: even with how much better the offensive line is playing,
Speaker 1: particularly Connor McGovern and Terrence Steele, are they up for
Speaker 1: this challenge of Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox? Do you
Speaker 1: think well? I mean, I think the last game, the
Speaker 1: first game, actually Cowboys had opportunities, but they decided in
Speaker 1: the rison did they want to throw the ball all
Speaker 1: over the yard with Ben Denucci as opposed to running
Speaker 1: the ball successfully like they have been. They had plenty
Speaker 1: of opportunities. I think that was a very winnable game
Speaker 1: for them. I think the key in this game is
Speaker 1: you have to be balanced. You have to be able
Speaker 1: to mix the run. In the past, I think it
Speaker 1: has to be a quick game option because making a
Speaker 1: mistake Jim Schwarzen, those guys, they're hiding some players in
Speaker 1: the secondary that they don't want to get exposed. And
Speaker 1: so if they do He's not one to really doll
Speaker 1: it up. But if they do, try to come after
Speaker 1: the Cowboys and get after Andy Dalton dead leaves some
Speaker 1: random guys on the perimeter trying to cover Cede Lamb
Speaker 1: and Maari Cooper, and those matchups go the Cowboys way,
Speaker 1: and so it's a bit of a yin and yang.
Speaker 1: But I think there are some opportunities to be able
Speaker 1: to attack. They just have to be careful and selective
Speaker 1: in terms of when they go after it. Bucky, I'm
Speaker 1: actually shocked that Dave did not ask this question already.
Speaker 1: So we asked this earlier. Did the Cowboys make a
Speaker 1: mistake with the picking Cede Lamb over Justin Jefferson? And
Speaker 1: nobody really thought that they did. But did the Eagles?
Speaker 1: Did they make a mistake in taking Jalen Rager with
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson sitting right there or even Brandon I it
Speaker 1: is too early, I mean, so here's the thing to
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson. I think it was a perfect storm Justin
Speaker 1: Jefferson going in Minnesota. Now, I would say this, Jerry Sullivan,
Speaker 1: who had coached him at LSU, badgered me because I
Speaker 1: went over in and didn't rank him him the top five.
Speaker 1: When I was talking about wide receivers. I had him
Speaker 1: at five and he was like, this dude is a dog.
Speaker 1: He is everything that you wanted. I think he has
Speaker 1: proven to be an outstanding route runner, but I think
Speaker 1: the system that he plays in and Gary Kubik system,
Speaker 1: I think it just works. You know. I can't say
Speaker 1: that he would have that same level of success in
Speaker 1: other places. He's a terrific player, but I think sometimes
Speaker 1: you have the perfect marriage in terms of player going
Speaker 1: to the right system, playing with the right quarterback in
Speaker 1: those things. I think in Philadelphia the main thing was
Speaker 1: sometimes coaches can be enamored with speed on the card,
Speaker 1: and Jay Raaga ran really fast, and they wanted more
Speaker 1: explosive is because the biggest thing that had plagued them
Speaker 1: is they didn't have big playability. And I think in
Speaker 1: their mind, even though Justin Jefferson ran really fast at
Speaker 1: the combine, they didn't envision him being a the top
Speaker 1: off the defense type guy and maybe that led them
Speaker 1: to go with Jalen Raiger. That said, look, they're certainly
Speaker 1: having an answer for that because Justin Jefferson has been
Speaker 1: a revelation of first year pro bowler All the things
Speaker 1: that he's being able to do in terms of putting
Speaker 1: them numbers that are in that Randy Moss category. And
Speaker 1: so yeah, they certainly may have some buyer's remorse, but
Speaker 1: I do understand their mentality, their mindset when they were
Speaker 1: going in thinking, hey, Jalen Raiger is maybe a better
Speaker 1: fit for what we want to do offensively. All right, Bucky,
Speaker 1: we've got to the point of the show. Will we
Speaker 1: want you to tell us what's going to happen this
Speaker 1: Sunday Cowboys versus Eagles three thirty kick? What do you think? Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think the Cowboys to be able to
Speaker 1: win this one. I think the more that Jalen Hurst
Speaker 1: puts tape out there, the better you have an opportunity
Speaker 1: to defend. The key will be Shaun Lee and Jalen
Speaker 1: Smith and can they stop the run and can they
Speaker 1: keep Jalen Hurst from hurting them? But if the Cowboys
Speaker 1: stick to the script, they run the football, they continue
Speaker 1: to make Tony Poler like a featured playmaker without zek
Speaker 1: and the line, I think they have an opportunity. I
Speaker 1: think you have seen that this offense has been balanced
Speaker 1: and steady, and as long they're able to cash in
Speaker 1: on the opportunities that the defense creates. They should be
Speaker 1: able to get a win, and hopefully if they can
Speaker 1: get a win and the Washington football team loses, then
Speaker 1: everything is on the line the last game of the season.
Speaker 1: All right, we appreciate you joining us. That's been our
Speaker 1: segment with Bucky Brooks, presented by Texico with techron Bucky,
Speaker 1: you have a merry Christmas. We're gonna take our final break.
Speaker 1: When we come back, we'll talk a little bit about
Speaker 1: this Cowboys defense and a little bit about special teams.
Speaker 1: Well that when we come right back. This is Dallas
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Speaker 1: slash Christmas. All Right, Welcome back to the final segment
Speaker 1: of the show Life Nest WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star.
Speaker 1: We are presented by Geico, and I got some questions
Speaker 1: for you guys. I want to talk a little bit
Speaker 1: about defense and special teams. I'll start first with the defense.
Speaker 1: Over the last few weeks, they've been playing a little
Speaker 1: bit better, mainly in the fact that they've been getting turnovers,
Speaker 1: which is something they were not doing earlier in the season.
Speaker 1: My question for you guys is is this defense at
Speaker 1: this point performing at a level that if they were
Speaker 1: to be able to continue this going into next year
Speaker 1: when this team has their complement of offensive players back
Speaker 1: from injury. Is this the level they need to really
Speaker 1: be at in order for this team to be successful?
Speaker 1: Not great, but definitely opportunistic and decent. Nick, No, they
Speaker 1: need to be better than this. When they get challenged
Speaker 1: by really good quarterbacks, they lose. They they've beaten some
Speaker 1: teams that aren't very good on offense. Then Nick Mullins
Speaker 1: and Brandon Allen and and I mean Kirk Cousins, they
Speaker 1: beat him. I mean Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan. I
Speaker 1: mean they've been in the Pro Bowls. They're not going
Speaker 1: this year. Their team isn't going to the playoffs this year.
Speaker 1: But they beat them barely. I mean it took the
Speaker 1: last second to beat both of them, and they even
Speaker 1: got exposed by them in that game. So I don't
Speaker 1: think that they're there. And you can't say that the
Speaker 1: offense is better the defense will be fine. Now, I
Speaker 1: think the defense needs to be able to play better.
Speaker 1: They need more They need more playmakers. They need more
Speaker 1: guys that can actually go and take the ball away.
Speaker 1: We're seeing it more, but they need more of it.
Speaker 1: Amber Now, that's exactly I mean what I was thinking
Speaker 1: as well, same a snake. I think that yes, It
Speaker 1: is good to see this defense finally playing with some
Speaker 1: kind of fire. But at the same time, I need
Speaker 1: to have a defense that I feel confident enough that
Speaker 1: it is going to be able to compete against winning teams,
Speaker 1: not against average or below average. You need to hire,
Speaker 1: you know, there are higher expectations, So that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 1: It's like, for those that think that, oh, yes, maybe
Speaker 1: the Cowboys can make it into the playoffs, what happens then?
Speaker 1: What happens after Week one of the playoffs once they
Speaker 1: start facing better teams. I don't have that kind of
Speaker 1: confidence right now because we haven't seen it. But at
Speaker 1: least on the good side is that we are starting
Speaker 1: to see a very different defense as opposed to what
Speaker 1: we were seeing earlier this year, and that's improvement, at
Speaker 1: least some kind of improvement, and the will and the
Speaker 1: fight is there, so hopefully they can build off of
Speaker 1: that for next year. But they need to do a
Speaker 1: lot better and a lot more work. Dave, Yeah, it
Speaker 1: kind of goes back to what I was saying, And again,
Speaker 1: I don't want to completely discount it, but I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, seven takeaways in two games. You can't count
Speaker 1: on that, Like, that's I mean, it's great, it's great,
Speaker 1: and it's awesome that they're getting them. They deserve credit
Speaker 1: for that, but like, you're not going to force four
Speaker 1: takeaways per game in the NFL over the course of
Speaker 1: like a full season, Like you're gonna have stretches where
Speaker 1: they're harder to come by, and that's when you notice
Speaker 1: things like the run defense one hundred and fifty yards
Speaker 1: given up to a bad forty nine ers team with
Speaker 1: a gimpie offensive line and a quarterback that shouldn't scare you,
Speaker 1: like Nick against Nick Mullins, you should be able to
Speaker 1: load up the box and commit to stopping that, and
Speaker 1: if he hits us for some throws, that's what happens.
Speaker 1: But I mean, they just they got run on by
Speaker 1: that team. They gave up they had They gave up
Speaker 1: six scoring drives to San Francisco and four possessions of
Speaker 1: ten plays or more so, four different times they let
Speaker 1: a Nick Mullin offense methodically drive the field against them.
Speaker 1: That's not great. It's awesome that they're getting takeaways, but
Speaker 1: the things that, you know, the things that you can
Speaker 1: sustain from week to week, like run defense, have not
Speaker 1: been there consistently. So I mean, it's been an encouraging stretch,
Speaker 1: but yeah, they need to be they need to be
Speaker 1: better if they're gonna be a better team next year.
Speaker 1: You know, I thought it was interesting about Nick Mullins
Speaker 1: heading into the fourth quarter. I was thinking, you know,
Speaker 1: and I told everyone around me, which is nobody, that
Speaker 1: I was like, Mullins is playing better than Andy Dalton
Speaker 1: right now. He is, like Andy Dalton's not playing that great.
Speaker 1: You know, he keep forcing the ball to Noah Brown.
Speaker 1: It's not happening, it's not working. And then you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, they've only taking the advantage of the turnovers.
Speaker 1: Mullins is out playing Andy Dalton right now. But as
Speaker 1: the game continued and it got a little bit more
Speaker 1: pressure moments, he threw two picks, and you know, Dalton
Speaker 1: obviously didn't and played the way you you know, you
Speaker 1: expect him to play. But I mean, the Cowboys took
Speaker 1: advantage of that. But I mean, I thought, I thought
Speaker 1: Mullins was kind of impressive a little bit for a while,
Speaker 1: and then he kind of became the guy that you
Speaker 1: kind of thought, all right, let's move on to special
Speaker 1: teams this year one hundred nice Wander. Nice Wander currently
Speaker 1: has forty four percent of his punts that have been
Speaker 1: down within the twenty at seven of the sixteen punts
Speaker 1: that he has, Chris Jones when he was punting for
Speaker 1: the team had about twenty one percent, about half five
Speaker 1: of twenty four. Has nice Wander been an upgrade? That's
Speaker 1: a simple question with maybe not as simple an answer,
Speaker 1: but Dave, let's start with you. Absolutely, he yes, you
Speaker 1: just said, I mean, yeah, like the ball looks different
Speaker 1: coming off his foot, the way that they've been able
Speaker 1: to pin opponents deep. You know, John Fossil was talking
Speaker 1: the other night about he's had two punts in the
Speaker 1: last two games down on the opponents one and illegal
Speaker 1: formation penalties have taken those away, but you know the
Speaker 1: punter still gets credit for that when the coaches watched tape, like,
Speaker 1: it's not the punter's fault at the tight end was
Speaker 1: in the wrong spot. So yeah, he's he's been outstanding,
Speaker 1: and honestly, that's that is a low key decision that
Speaker 1: they're going to have to make. You know, I'm positive
Speaker 1: you know Chris Jones and the coaches would probably come
Speaker 1: back and say, clearly, Chris Jones has been dealing with injuries.
Speaker 1: He was dealing with one in twenty nineteen. It was
Speaker 1: bad enough in twenty twenty that he had to have surgery.
Speaker 1: But this is a bottom line business at the I mean,
Speaker 1: at the very least, I would expect that to be
Speaker 1: a competition next year. Like, you know, I don't just
Speaker 1: give Chris Jones the doubt, like, well, you've had this surgery,
Speaker 1: now be good. I mean, I know he's on a
Speaker 1: big contract, but you know, Dan Bailey got cut two
Speaker 1: and he's the most accurate kicker in team history. This
Speaker 1: stuff happens. So Hunter Nights Wander has been good enough
Speaker 1: that I'm like, oh, yeah, Like I want this dude
Speaker 1: hanging around next year for sure, at the very least
Speaker 1: a competition. Amber you know, I always forget about Hunter.
Speaker 1: And when I'm watching the game and I see a
Speaker 1: good punt, I'm like, oh, look at you, so I'm
Speaker 1: a good job. And then I look at the number,
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh wait, and then I have to look
Speaker 1: at the roster. I'm like, oh, that's Hunter. Okay. I
Speaker 1: guess I'm in one of those situations that when you're
Speaker 1: not really missing someone on the field, and is it
Speaker 1: really necessary for you to even have them at all?
Speaker 1: And I feel terrible for saying that because I absolutely
Speaker 1: love Chris Jones. He's such a nice guy and I
Speaker 1: would love to see him do well again, but it
Speaker 1: just hasn't happened. So I think the Cowboys are at
Speaker 1: this point where they probably will need to part ways
Speaker 1: with him next year. And I don't know about contract
Speaker 1: and all that, don't ask me, but just in general,
Speaker 1: based on what we've seen so far, I do think
Speaker 1: that Hunter has done enough to keep the job. Nick,
Speaker 1: I think that, you know, the only thing nice Wander
Speaker 1: really hasn't done well is run routes on like fourth down.
Speaker 1: It's really that it. I mean, I think I think
Speaker 1: he's done a better job Hunting. There's just more pop
Speaker 1: coming off off of his foot there, and then Chris
Speaker 1: Jones doesn't have that anymore. He just doesn't have that.
Speaker 1: You can look at the numbers suggest that too, even
Speaker 1: not just the average, but look at the longest punt
Speaker 1: that he's had and he doesn't even get one of those.
Speaker 1: That number has gone down so younger, stronger, Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: a nice Wanders has been really good, and he's also,
Speaker 1: like you said, down at the ball down in there.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that can be a weapon. I don't
Speaker 1: think there's been an issue holding. I don't, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't think I don't think any of the misses
Speaker 1: have been because of that. So, you know, I think
Speaker 1: that you know this one, let's just be about three
Speaker 1: week injury and now it's like we've no one. Does
Speaker 1: anyone even ask Dave in the press conference? Did they
Speaker 1: even ask about where once Jones coming back? I mean,
Speaker 1: I just I don't think it's I don't know they
Speaker 1: do not. I don't think he's even gonna be back
Speaker 1: next year. Yeah, I really don't. I think you kind
Speaker 1: of move on from that. But I mean, I agree
Speaker 1: with what Amber said. I mean, everybody loves Chris Jones.
Speaker 1: He's a great guy. But I just don't think the
Speaker 1: injuries have effected. But I just think the numbers and
Speaker 1: he just doesn't have the same kind of punting ability
Speaker 1: that he did before. Okay, before we end the show,
Speaker 1: this is our final show of the week. We need
Speaker 1: to go through and get picks. How does everybody think
Speaker 1: this game is going to play out Sunday Cowboys versus Eagles?
Speaker 1: And I want to start with you today, who do
Speaker 1: you think? So? May I have a short answer. I
Speaker 1: think that the Cowboys can do enough to beat the Eagles.
Speaker 1: My only and absolutely only hesitation about this game is
Speaker 1: can the Cowboys actually get three wins in a road.
Speaker 1: Other than that, I feel pretty good about the Cowboys
Speaker 1: being able to take them down and beat them here
Speaker 1: at home. So I will choose the Cowboys to win
Speaker 1: against the Eagles, maybe like twenty six, twenty four something
Speaker 1: like that. All Nick, that's good? Um, yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: you're wondering if they can have that kind of consistency.
Speaker 1: This is one of those like philosophy type questions. I mean,
Speaker 1: do they have to win three in a row because
Speaker 1: they don't they don't have to win one? Or do
Speaker 1: you look at it and say, well, you know, history
Speaker 1: shows that you're not going to have that kind of
Speaker 1: consistency even though you've done it twice. So that's lingering,
Speaker 1: that's there. I just feel like they're gonna win somehow.
Speaker 1: I think they win thirty one thirty missed extra point
Speaker 1: by the Eagles. All right, Dave, So Nick, you picked
Speaker 1: the Cowboys. Dave, that shouldn't matter. Just pick no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: You're right, this is like three weeks in a row.
Speaker 1: You're like, we all shouldn't do this. We all shouldn't
Speaker 1: do that. You know, you know why? No? You because
Speaker 1: like this team, this team pisses me off. I'm that
Speaker 1: better be a cow by, Oh, no doubt, I am not.
Speaker 1: I am not a superstitious person at all. Like I'm
Speaker 1: I'm always the guy. I'm like, it doesn't matter what
Speaker 1: what color your sleeves are, it doesn't matter if you're
Speaker 1: wearing your lucky socks. But I just know, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm the guy Like I haven't been impressed by either
Speaker 1: of these two wins. Uh, and I'm still like I
Speaker 1: want to see more blah blah blah. And I just
Speaker 1: know if I pick them to win this stupid game,
Speaker 1: they'll lose. I just know they will. Dave and Dave, Hey,
Speaker 1: that's just part of a football I thought, that's just
Speaker 1: part of being a football fan. And you're used to
Speaker 1: that and you know that world it is, but it
Speaker 1: doesn't make it any less annoying. But that's okay. I mean, listen,
Speaker 1: they still they don't they don't deserve a unanimous pick.
Speaker 1: And I don't know what Derek's going to do Christmas.
Speaker 1: He's picking. Yeah, I do, all right, I really sweatshirt. Really,
Speaker 1: I think the Cowboys should win this game, but I
Speaker 1: don't trust them, and so I'll pick the Eagles. U.
Speaker 1: I'll pick the Eagles to win like twenty eight twenty
Speaker 1: for and you know, I'm not superstitious, but hopefully that
Speaker 1: means the Cowboys will actually play well. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm doing. This team has broken me. So, man,
Speaker 1: that's a tough place to be in this year. Dave.
Speaker 1: It's just twenty twenty, isn't it. It's rough man, all right.
Speaker 1: I actually think this will be a high scoring game.
Speaker 1: I think both teams will have some success offensively. I
Speaker 1: think it'll be a fun game to watch, and I
Speaker 1: think it'll feel like these teams are better than they
Speaker 1: are because of the way that they'll be playing and
Speaker 1: putting up points. But all that being said, I do
Speaker 1: think the Cowboys can get to win this weekend. And
Speaker 1: I'll put it like this, Like we say, you don't
Speaker 1: trust them to be able to do this, but I
Speaker 1: just go back to McCarthy's history. Like McCarthy was able
Speaker 1: to do this at his last stop, he was able
Speaker 1: to in the first year a team that had underperformed
Speaker 1: all year figured it out at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: Maybe it was a schedule, Maybe they're just playing bad teams.
Speaker 1: Who knows, but they did. Yeah, but maybe but they did.
Speaker 1: Maybe it was but they did manage to pull those
Speaker 1: games together there at the end of the season and
Speaker 1: win four in a row in that season. I would
Speaker 1: be interested to see if this team can do the
Speaker 1: same thing, because I do think I'm not a big
Speaker 1: believer always that things can translate from one season to
Speaker 1: the next. I do think though, when you're talking about
Speaker 1: a new head coach and guys buying in, because I
Speaker 1: do think guys look at coaches and they evaluate whether
Speaker 1: they think whatever they're telling them actually works. And I
Speaker 1: think in those kind of situations, it can have a
Speaker 1: carryover effect if you can show them that by the
Speaker 1: end of the season, we actually stuff was working. All
Speaker 1: the stuff I was telling you would work, it was working.
Speaker 1: I think that's good to have a team like this
Speaker 1: to go into the offseason feeling like what their coach
Speaker 1: is telling them makes sense and works. And so I
Speaker 1: do think they're going to get the win this week.
Speaker 1: We'll see what happens next week, but I think they'll
Speaker 1: get to win this week. I think the final will
Speaker 1: be Dallas twenty seven, Philadelphia twenty four. All right, appreciate
Speaker 1: you guy, you guys joining us. We'll be back on Monday.
Speaker 1: We'll let you know what went right and wrong for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys versus the Eagles. So then, for Nick Even,
Speaker 1: Dave Helm and Ambergarcia, I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been
Speaker 1: the Break Mary Christmas. Everyone, Merry Christmas and hope you
Speaker 1: guys have a safe and happy Christmas. Will see you
Speaker 1: guys next week. This has been The Break live on
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a production
Speaker 1: of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.