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 Friday, December eighteenth, twenty twenty, season sixteen, episode
Speaker 1: number eighty three. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break,
Speaker 1: presented by Geico. We will be talking about Cowboys versus
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty nine ers that happens this Sunday at noon. Uh.
Speaker 1: And in order to get ready for that, we got
Speaker 1: to start with the injury updates. Um Zeke Elliott. He
Speaker 1: has not practiced all week. Mike McCarthy said this morning
Speaker 1: that he's a little bit behind because he actually played
Speaker 1: last weekend. Jerry in a later interview this morning, see
Speaker 1: he fully expects Zeke to play. My question for you guys,
Speaker 1: and I'll start with you, Nick, why risk playing him
Speaker 1: if he's not healthy at this point? Well, I mean,
Speaker 1: if if you wouldn't, you're not gonna play him if
Speaker 1: he's not healthy. If he's not healthy, I don't think
Speaker 1: he plays. If he's healthy enough to play, then I
Speaker 1: think he plays. I mean, it's just as simple as that.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's he's he's your top running back, and
Speaker 1: he got games to play, and you know they can
Speaker 1: still make the playoffs. So I mean, if he's healthy
Speaker 1: enough to play, he plays. Dave. Yeah, I mean, And
Speaker 1: that's the classic difference between fans and media and the
Speaker 1: team itself is you know, you don't have to believe
Speaker 1: that they're gonna make the playoffs, but they're mathematically still alive.
Speaker 1: If Zeke's healthy enough to play, he should play. I
Speaker 1: mean that goes again. First of all, you know, also
Speaker 1: Zeke Elliott wants to play. He's a competite, he wants
Speaker 1: to win. He doesn't care about draft order and any
Speaker 1: of that stuff. And he makes fifteen million dollars a year.
Speaker 1: So get out there and play some football if you
Speaker 1: feel up to it. Yeah, I don't have a problem
Speaker 1: with it. What do you think? Ever? No, I agree
Speaker 1: I think that well. I think that I would. My
Speaker 1: hope is that the medical staff is doing their job
Speaker 1: and being careful with him, a guy like him and
Speaker 1: all that. But if it was up to me, I
Speaker 1: would not be playing it. But that's out of my
Speaker 1: control and definitely not my decision. I would sit him
Speaker 1: out and just chill over there, watch the game from
Speaker 1: the sideline. You're good, But he seems like if he
Speaker 1: can play, he's gonna play. The interesting thing about the
Speaker 1: secondary right now is that just as their game looks
Speaker 1: like they're gaining guys, they're also seemingly losing guys because
Speaker 1: you look at their injury report. There are guys that
Speaker 1: played last week when they had so many guys out,
Speaker 1: that are now on the injury report. So Dave catch
Speaker 1: us up. As far as the cornerbacks and safeties, who
Speaker 1: looking like they're up and who's looking like maybe they're down,
Speaker 1: I'm leaning toward thinking everybody's up. Are you talking about
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods, who's supposed to be down? Yeah? I mean
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods. You had Rashard Robinson. There were several guys
Speaker 1: that were listed on the injury report that either did
Speaker 1: not practice. You're right, I did. I forgot it last week. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I forgot about Richard. I think Xavier. I think that's
Speaker 1: that's a caution issue. Mike McCarthy didn't sound overly worried
Speaker 1: about it today and then he came out and opened
Speaker 1: his press conference by saying he's optimistic that Anthony Brown,
Speaker 1: Treyvon Diggs, and Donovan Wilson can all play. So and
Speaker 1: and we I mean, Cheeto is coming back. We've known that, so,
Speaker 1: um there's still way more guys coming back than potentially
Speaker 1: going down. Um. Yeah, Richard is interesting. I'm not you know,
Speaker 1: he hasn't practiced yet this week, but I do think
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods will be available. So I think it's way
Speaker 1: more likely they have guys available than not. And like this,
Speaker 1: I would assume that it's a good thing for them
Speaker 1: right now. You look at all the guys that they
Speaker 1: will will need this week against a team that, again,
Speaker 1: this isn't a great team, but certainly they do some
Speaker 1: things that can can confuse you, that can trick you.
Speaker 1: I disciplined, something that Mike McCarthy actually talked about this morning,
Speaker 1: and that's not something we've seen this team to be
Speaker 1: very very good at. So you would you would think
Speaker 1: that they need this, They need as many hands on
Speaker 1: deck as it can. Well, yeah, I mean you're trying
Speaker 1: to make San Francisco one dimensional team. You want them
Speaker 1: to throw the ball. I mean, that's what you want.
Speaker 1: You want to force Nick Mullins to try to win
Speaker 1: the game. And so if they can get them to
Speaker 1: do that, then obviously it'd be better to have your
Speaker 1: your you know, your pieces back there in the secondary,
Speaker 1: a group that hasn't played together really all year long,
Speaker 1: so that that would be good. Um, you know, if
Speaker 1: they can do that. And frankly, San Francisco, you know,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys have had tons of injuries. San Francisco's had more. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean San Francisco is more beat up, I think
Speaker 1: than what the Cowboys are. You know, and you looked
Speaker 1: at it yesterday. Always had three Pro Bowlers on IR.
Speaker 1: I mean San Francisco's got four and I didn't even
Speaker 1: count their quarterback, who we all know. When the quarterback
Speaker 1: goes down that changes everything. So they've had more injuries,
Speaker 1: I think. Yeah. I've read that they have roughly about
Speaker 1: seventy million dollars in there in cap space currently on
Speaker 1: IR for their team. I think the Cowboys are somewhere
Speaker 1: in the range of sixty something million. But yeah, whatever
Speaker 1: you can say about the Cowboys and what they've been
Speaker 1: experiencing this season, you can probably say the same thing
Speaker 1: about San Francisco and possibly a little bit more than
Speaker 1: what the Cowboys have been and their record reflects it.
Speaker 1: They're five and eight Cowboys at four and nine. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and talk about the preview though, between the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and the forty nine Ers. DA if you wrote
Speaker 1: an interesting article where you talked about the fact that
Speaker 1: you look at this forty nine Ers team and you think,
Speaker 1: really it sets a blueprint for maybe what the Cowboys
Speaker 1: should be aspiring to be lay out the I guess
Speaker 1: the foundation of what you were saying in that article.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's really it's something that I've been thinking
Speaker 1: about since Dak got hurt, and it's something that I've
Speaker 1: I've probably talked a lot about over the course the
Speaker 1: last two months. But and I think you might have
Speaker 1: you said something like this earlier this week, Derek, is
Speaker 1: you know, are you a bad team because you're awful
Speaker 1: and you don't have any talent? Or are you a
Speaker 1: bad team because of bad breaks? And you know, the
Speaker 1: Cowboys aren't the most talented team in the league, especially
Speaker 1: on defense, But this strikes me as a season more
Speaker 1: about bad breaks. You know, like if if they've got
Speaker 1: Dak and their offensive tackles, like even if only some
Speaker 1: of those guys get hurt, you know, maybe you're not
Speaker 1: contending for the super Bowl, but you're definitely alive in
Speaker 1: the playoff picture, maybe even leading the NFC Yeast. You know,
Speaker 1: this is probably a an eight to ten win team
Speaker 1: if if you know, a few more things go their way,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, and so it reminds me a lot
Speaker 1: of the twenty eighteen forty nine ers. They finished four
Speaker 1: and twelve, and a lot of that was bad breaks.
Speaker 1: They had a lot of injuries that year, none more
Speaker 1: important than Jimmy Garoppolo going down in Week three. They
Speaker 1: slumped to a four and twelve record, and that was
Speaker 1: coming off a year they had gone six and ten. Actually,
Speaker 1: I forgot about this. They started the twenty seventeen season
Speaker 1: oh and eight. They trade for Jimmy Garoppolo, They go
Speaker 1: six and two. Over the second half, they finished six
Speaker 1: and ten. They were a trendy pick to be a
Speaker 1: playoff contender. Jimmy g goes down week three. They finished
Speaker 1: four and twelve, Again, probably more about bad breaks than
Speaker 1: how bad their roster was. And sure enough, they draft
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa number two overall. They draft Deebo Samuel in
Speaker 1: the top five of the second round, and they started
Speaker 1: the next season eight no and made it to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, which I wrote in the article. I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to convince anybody the Cowboys are going
Speaker 1: to make it to the super Bowl next season, but
Speaker 1: you know they're gonna have a chance to add four
Speaker 1: or five really talented draft picks to a roster that
Speaker 1: I don't think is that bad, and hopefully they're gonna
Speaker 1: have better luck with injuries. I just I think this
Speaker 1: is more of an aberration than a sign that this
Speaker 1: team is headed for dark times. I think they can
Speaker 1: turn it around very very quickly if they do smart
Speaker 1: things in the off season. And Nick Dave talked about
Speaker 1: bad breaks. Let me ask you this question. Do you
Speaker 1: think that at least some of the bad breaks that
Speaker 1: the Cowboys experienced were predictable, in which case maybe the
Speaker 1: Cowboys should have had a little more or should have
Speaker 1: been a little more prepared to sustain them. No, Okay, no,
Speaker 1: they don't. I think their swing tackle was probably the
Speaker 1: best swing tackle that they've they've added. I thought, I
Speaker 1: mean a first round pick and Cam Irving. I thought
Speaker 1: that was about as good as of a swing tackles.
Speaker 1: We've seen Andy Dutton. Here's the thing. The interesting part
Speaker 1: about that is the coaching staff didn't think so because
Speaker 1: they didn't even think that he was better than who
Speaker 1: you're talking about the coaches. Are you talking about Jerry
Speaker 1: and Stephen? Either way, all I'm saying is when they
Speaker 1: brought him in, whoever brought him in, I don't think
Speaker 1: the coaching staff necessarily saw the same level of player
Speaker 1: once they got to the point of the recauld season
Speaker 1: they living to start Terrence Steele. Yeah, but they loved him.
Speaker 1: They loved Terrence Steele and they shouldn't have and they've
Speaker 1: proven that, and they've proven that. I mean, we'd know
Speaker 1: that they loved Terren Steele. They come back later and
Speaker 1: put Cam Irving at left tackle and he's been fine,
Speaker 1: and we all know he's better than Terry. So whatever
Speaker 1: whatever he was dealing with and I don't know what
Speaker 1: he was dealing with in training camp, it was kind
Speaker 1: of a weird deal. But anyways, they were prepared to
Speaker 1: have a pretty talented swing tackle, and they were obviously
Speaker 1: prepared to have the best backup quarterback that they've had,
Speaker 1: So you know, I don't know if you say it
Speaker 1: was predictable that it was coming. I mean, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think they tried to bolster their depth. And you know,
Speaker 1: Dak said it the healthiest team wins. He said it
Speaker 1: way back in the summer. And as ironically they're one
Speaker 1: of the least healthiest teams and they're one of the
Speaker 1: worst records. And er, do you think any of these
Speaker 1: bad breaks were predictable? I mean, there are things that
Speaker 1: I think were more under their control, things that happened.
Speaker 1: As far as and not looking specifically at the offense.
Speaker 1: The offense obviously we know how much they've been affected
Speaker 1: by these injuries are definitely unpredictable. But as far like
Speaker 1: the defense goes, I mean, you look at guys that
Speaker 1: they had to get rid of, free agent guys, varying
Speaker 1: guys that they decided to cut, and these were guys
Speaker 1: that they themselves brought in here didn't work out. That said,
Speaker 1: by then you got guys. I mean, when you really
Speaker 1: look at the D line and the linebackers, I mean,
Speaker 1: what's really the excuse there? You only really lost I
Speaker 1: guess two guys two injuries. I mean there's been guys
Speaker 1: that have been banged up. But the defense as a whole.
Speaker 1: There were so many other things that I feel like
Speaker 1: it was more under their control and that they could
Speaker 1: have adjusted better and done things differently to start seeing
Speaker 1: maybe an earlier change during the season, rather than waiting
Speaker 1: this far down the line of the season to seeing
Speaker 1: some motivation and some explosiveness like in the game against
Speaker 1: the Bengals. So I think it's a mixture of so
Speaker 1: many different elements combined together. And when you looked at
Speaker 1: the offense, even when Dak was still in I mean,
Speaker 1: they were still struggling. They got better in the second
Speaker 1: half of the game, but that was not an offense
Speaker 1: that was perfect by any means. It was still having
Speaker 1: their own struggles. So it's just a combination of a
Speaker 1: bunch of different elements, things that were under their control
Speaker 1: and things that just there was no way that they
Speaker 1: could have predicted. Dave, do you expect that some of
Speaker 1: these bad breaks that they had this year are predictable
Speaker 1: for next season, so they should be more prepared to
Speaker 1: sustain some of them. What are some of the things
Speaker 1: that you're concerned that they may that happened this year
Speaker 1: that you may still see sometin remnants of it next year,
Speaker 1: So you cut out for a second. Is that directed?
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, that was direct at you. I'm sorry. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was saying what things happened this year that were
Speaker 1: bad breaks that you think could be that you could
Speaker 1: still see remnants of next year. I mean, I would
Speaker 1: love for them to find mind a way to ease
Speaker 1: our concerns about the tackle spot. I mean, a draft
Speaker 1: pick is basically what I'm saying, not necessarily in the
Speaker 1: top ten of the draft, but you know a guy
Speaker 1: that you think can play right away, because you know,
Speaker 1: this is year five in a row that Tyrn Smith
Speaker 1: has dealt with injury issues. He's only thirty, but he's
Speaker 1: been playing in the NFL since he was twenty. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's a lot of mileage. And you know, I don't
Speaker 1: know this, but you know Lyle Collins's hip problem, Like
Speaker 1: you're basically talking about a situation where he didn't have
Speaker 1: like any cartilage on his hip, like his hip bones
Speaker 1: were grinding against each other. And that is a troubling
Speaker 1: thing to hear about an offensive tackle. So I'm optimistic
Speaker 1: that those guys will be fine, but I don't think
Speaker 1: you can just leave it to trust and so you know,
Speaker 1: that's a situation where you know they they need to
Speaker 1: address that one way or the other rather than just
Speaker 1: run it back and hope that it will be fine.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's reason to believe that it will, but
Speaker 1: you can't. You know, hope is not a strategy like
Speaker 1: they always say. So that's the one thing that you know,
Speaker 1: I have my eye on is just how can you
Speaker 1: keep the offensive tackle health from holding you hostage again
Speaker 1: next year? When you talk about bad breaks, Nick, do
Speaker 1: you think that you would factor Layton Vanders Layton Vanderesh
Speaker 1: into that? And is that something that going into next year,
Speaker 1: if you're going in knowing he's going to be a starter,
Speaker 1: like you better be aware and be better be prepared
Speaker 1: that he may miss games looking at his injury history,
Speaker 1: or do you think it's just these are all just
Speaker 1: kind of flukey type things and so I don't you
Speaker 1: don't really worry as much about it for the future.
Speaker 1: I think you factor that in when you're looking at
Speaker 1: the linebacker position and you say, Okay, what we've got
Speaker 1: to do next year? You know, we've got to get
Speaker 1: better at this position. We don't I don't know what
Speaker 1: you can expect from Sean Lee. I would imagine he's
Speaker 1: probably not coming back. I mean, but if he's not
Speaker 1: helping you that much, I mean, you got to you
Speaker 1: gotta get a better third linebacker. Maybe you know, draft
Speaker 1: a young guy and hopes that, Okay, if Layton is
Speaker 1: banged up, we could play this guy, or we need
Speaker 1: him as our third linebacker, or maybe he's better than Jay.
Speaker 1: Whatever it is. I mean, I think it's a position
Speaker 1: of need and Layton's injury and history of injuries is
Speaker 1: part of that. Yeah, you guys concerned, Amber, Are you
Speaker 1: concerned about Layton's history as as a player that seems
Speaker 1: to be injured often? I am. I've always been one
Speaker 1: that is always concerned about reoccurring injuries in the same
Speaker 1: area of the body. So it is something that concerns me.
Speaker 1: It really sucks to see that certain areas that we
Speaker 1: really thought coming into the season, we really thought that
Speaker 1: the Cowboys were set, you know, as far as death
Speaker 1: and talent, and then it turns out that it just
Speaker 1: didn't work out, whether it was injury related or just
Speaker 1: performance wise. It this is gonna be a tough offseason
Speaker 1: trying to figure out exactly what you need, what you
Speaker 1: can get to reinforce this team because they after what
Speaker 1: we saw this year. I mean, they're not as set
Speaker 1: and secure as far as like backup guys as at
Speaker 1: least me personally, I thought they were beginning this year.
Speaker 1: So they got a lot of work in their hands
Speaker 1: and a lot of areas of concern all throughout the roster,
Speaker 1: both on the defensive side of the ball and the
Speaker 1: offense as well. Yeah, it's interesting you say that. I
Speaker 1: actually look at it, and when we were back going
Speaker 1: back to training camp, the two positions I felt best
Speaker 1: about where the two positions that ended up being, in
Speaker 1: my opinion, the biggest problems the offensive line and the linebackers.
Speaker 1: I thought going to the season they had good depth
Speaker 1: at each one. I thought they had good play, good
Speaker 1: front line players. I thought they were gonna those are
Speaker 1: gonna be the strengths of both the offense and the defense,
Speaker 1: and it ended up being just the opposite. That tells
Speaker 1: you about the NFL. That's the nature of the NFL.
Speaker 1: As soon as you start thinking something's good in the NFL,
Speaker 1: it'll flip on you, no doubt about it. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: can't see one position that you would look Yeah, right,
Speaker 1: I can't see a position that you wouldn't just say, yeah,
Speaker 1: we don't need to draft this one. You know, the
Speaker 1: only one I could quarterback. Oh, I don't know, first round,
Speaker 1: but I mean I'm just saying I wouldn't. You know,
Speaker 1: I think they're to sign them. But what if Dalton
Speaker 1: doesn't come back? I still think that something you would consider.
Speaker 1: And wide receiver maybe not, but I mean, who knows
Speaker 1: how long m Mario will be here. You know, he's
Speaker 1: gonna sign a three year deal, so I mean in gallop,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be free agent a couple of years. So
Speaker 1: I mean any every position, that's just every position across
Speaker 1: the board, you could make a case to draft. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, we're gonna take our first break, and we
Speaker 1: come back from the break. We're gonna talk a little
Speaker 1: bit more about the Cowboys versus the forty ninets. Will
Speaker 1: do that, we can come right back. This is Dallas
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Speaker 1: it's nineteen o eight. Don't you think we should get
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Speaker 1: for all the holiday savings. Welcome back. It is a
Speaker 1: second second to the brake clap from the SWBC Mortgage
Speaker 1: Studios presented by Geico. Before the break, Dave laid out
Speaker 1: the blueprint that San Francisco went through in order to
Speaker 1: get themselves from where they were in twenty eighteen to
Speaker 1: being a super Bowl team. And it's hard to remember,
Speaker 1: like that seems like ancient years ago that they were
Speaker 1: in Super Bowl. Literally last year they were a Super
Speaker 1: Bowl team. And so my question for you guys is
Speaker 1: how likely do you think it is, based upon where
Speaker 1: you think Dallas will net out and their ability to draft,
Speaker 1: that they can get those kinds of impact players and
Speaker 1: enough of those impact players to where they can make
Speaker 1: themselves a serious contender next year. Let's start first with
Speaker 1: Nick Well, I mean they I think they're gonna need
Speaker 1: to get a really talented defensive player. There's no doubt
Speaker 1: about a difference maker like San Francisco did. But I
Speaker 1: also feel like, you know, the forty nine ers were
Speaker 1: bad for a while leading up to that, and to
Speaker 1: get some some talented players on the defense. But you
Speaker 1: can make the case that Calways have been doing that
Speaker 1: on offense and stacking. You know that they had a
Speaker 1: better offense place, so you need a difference maker. You
Speaker 1: need to get a guy, a couple of guys on
Speaker 1: defense that that can that can help term this around.
Speaker 1: And you know, you just look at the schedule this year.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I think Dave and I talked
Speaker 1: about this other day. I think the Cowboys would have
Speaker 1: gone eight and eighth this year, even if the Act
Speaker 1: doesn't get hurt, you know, I really yeah. I mean
Speaker 1: there were two and three before he gets hurt. It's
Speaker 1: hard to tell because those three losses didn't seem like
Speaker 1: they were very good losses. But that the Browns, the
Speaker 1: Seahawks and the Rams and all three I think of
Speaker 1: the best NFC person all those teams are really good
Speaker 1: and they were close games. Browns kind of not, but
Speaker 1: you know, they almost. So I'm just saying I think
Speaker 1: the Cowboys would have would have done better with with Dak,
Speaker 1: you know. And but you know, eight and eight maybe
Speaker 1: better than that nine and seven. It's just kind of
Speaker 1: hard to tell because those three losses were actually better
Speaker 1: losses than it looks like. You do you think they
Speaker 1: would have been eight and eight if they had at
Speaker 1: least one of their tackles with Dack, which one tired
Speaker 1: give me either one, which every one you think is
Speaker 1: better Tired and Dack. I mean, yeah, they're better than
Speaker 1: they needed that. Yeah, yeah, you think so, you actually think.
Speaker 1: I guess and I'm not. I'm not trying to put
Speaker 1: word to you. Tell me if I'm wrong. But what
Speaker 1: you're saying really is, Dak wasn't as big as the problem.
Speaker 1: The biggest problem was the tackles. I just I think
Speaker 1: both of them. The defense was so bad that they
Speaker 1: had to rely on the offense to just outscore people,
Speaker 1: and so you need all of your weapons if you're
Speaker 1: going to outscore people. So it's it's just both, all right.
Speaker 1: Amber that's the question. I mean I might not give.
Speaker 1: I I might not give such an intellectual perspective as
Speaker 1: maybe Nick or Dave whatever he's about to say. Mine
Speaker 1: comes more from the heart my feeling. Okay, And this
Speaker 1: one it's a tough one because you talk about all
Speaker 1: the needs that the Cowboys have right now and look
Speaker 1: into these offseason, all these different things I need to improve,
Speaker 1: and my concern is, and I've always wonder, okay, how
Speaker 1: long does it really take a team to kind of
Speaker 1: put all this from pieces together and make it work?
Speaker 1: And my issue is I've been watching the Cowboys for
Speaker 1: one six year, seven years, something like that, and during
Speaker 1: this time every year I go in with high expectations thinking, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is it and they're gonna make it work, and
Speaker 1: then it doesn't. So maybe I'll feel again next year.
Speaker 1: But right now, as today, as we stand here, I
Speaker 1: feel like I don't see. I'm not very hopeful that
Speaker 1: it can happen for next year, just because again you
Speaker 1: talk about the launch lifespam, life spam of players. You know,
Speaker 1: every year these good players that you have, there goes
Speaker 1: another year that it was wasted and for nothing, and
Speaker 1: there goes another year. And then honestly, seeing the transition
Speaker 1: from the team when I first got here, you know,
Speaker 1: the Tony Romo, the Jason went in, and then seeing
Speaker 1: the transition into a new younger team, and then seeing
Speaker 1: these guys that you got to meet and follow and
Speaker 1: become a fan of, and seeing that there was not
Speaker 1: really a great result. And now you got a whole
Speaker 1: new team in and then now you begin that new
Speaker 1: transition and that new lifespan there with them, and then
Speaker 1: every year it's like, okay, now we see Tyren Smith.
Speaker 1: Now okay, we might be saying bye tos like Martin
Speaker 1: and then Lyo Collins now and then now Zeke getting
Speaker 1: into problems of performance on the field. So it's just
Speaker 1: very confusing and very frustrating, and I don't have an answer.
Speaker 1: And right now as of today, like I say, I
Speaker 1: just don't feel very hopeful at this time seeing all
Speaker 1: the needs that the Cowboys currently have. All Right, Dave,
Speaker 1: you want to maybe make Cowboys fans feel a little
Speaker 1: bit better, We're just squash the dreams my next season.
Speaker 1: My favorite, my favorite jerryism in the world is because
Speaker 1: I think it's the most true, is that you have
Speaker 1: to do you have to have a tolerance for ambiguity
Speaker 1: to work in the NFL or know to you know,
Speaker 1: to cover this stuff. Ag doesn't doesn't have much of
Speaker 1: a tolerance for That's what we have learned is she
Speaker 1: needs certainty and you just don't get it in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Um I mean, and look like I said, like, I
Speaker 1: wouldn't dare anywhere. I wouldn't dare suggest that the Cowboys
Speaker 1: aren't well, yeah, I wouldn't dare suggest that the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are like a couple of chess moves away from playing
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl, because they haven't done it in forever.
Speaker 1: You know, the only other franchises in the NFC that
Speaker 1: haven't even been to the NFC title Game since the
Speaker 1: last time the Cowboys made it are Detroit and Washington,
Speaker 1: and we would all say that those are like two
Speaker 1: of the most embarrassing franchises in the NFL. So that's
Speaker 1: the company that you keep right now, and there's nothing
Speaker 1: you can do about it other than work to get better.
Speaker 1: Um So, I don't you know, I'm not going to
Speaker 1: suggest they can go from this to the super Bowl
Speaker 1: in one year, but it really like it's it's not
Speaker 1: the NFL is so random, like you can you can
Speaker 1: pull the these things off with one or two moves,
Speaker 1: like Nick is right. The forty nine ers have been
Speaker 1: bad to mediocre for a while before they had last season.
Speaker 1: But they didn't build this super team with these drafts.
Speaker 1: You know, they drafted Solomon Thomas third overall, bust of
Speaker 1: a pick. Ruben Foster, really good linebacker, got kicked off.
Speaker 1: The team can't stay on the field for anybody. Dante
Speaker 1: Pettis was their big top fifty receiver. Not so good.
Speaker 1: You know, Eric Armstead pretty good player. He's still on
Speaker 1: the team, but he's not this badass DeForrest Buckner was,
Speaker 1: and they turned right around and traded him. So, to
Speaker 1: go back to Amber's point, you're only ever living like
Speaker 1: a year or two at a time like this idea
Speaker 1: like the nineties Cowboys, where you can keep a core
Speaker 1: of a team together for like six seven years, it
Speaker 1: just doesn't happen anymore. So we know the Cowboys currently
Speaker 1: have the talent to be like an eight and eight team.
Speaker 1: That's where That's what they were last year. I agree
Speaker 1: with Nick, they were on that trajectory this year before
Speaker 1: everything happened. And so you go in and if you
Speaker 1: draft well and add two, hopefully three or four really
Speaker 1: quality players. I wrote in the column yesterday, thanks to
Speaker 1: the Byron Jones cop pick, they're gonna pick four times
Speaker 1: in the top one hundred or near it like they're
Speaker 1: gonna have four of the first one hundred and five
Speaker 1: hundred and six picks in the draft, assuming they don't
Speaker 1: trade any of them away, And if you do your
Speaker 1: job right, that should be at least three players that
Speaker 1: can make a big impact right away. So I don't
Speaker 1: think it's crazy that this team can be better next year.
Speaker 1: Like I said, I'm not saying Super Bowl, but you
Speaker 1: add that type of talent to the roster that you
Speaker 1: already have and get some better luck. Yeah, Like you
Speaker 1: could win ten to twelve games with what you have here.
Speaker 1: I legitimately do think that. Yeah, And it's what we
Speaker 1: talked about yesterday. You really just need a middle of
Speaker 1: the road defense. And now that is assuming that you
Speaker 1: can keep all your offensive players on the field and healthy. Right,
Speaker 1: But if you can keep those guys on the field
Speaker 1: and healthy, all you need is the middle of the
Speaker 1: road defense. And we think this team can be a contender.
Speaker 1: Like I think this team could go and make some
Speaker 1: noise in the playoffs. Who knows what happens when you
Speaker 1: get in the playoffs. That's all a one game prospect,
Speaker 1: but you would have the team that could position you
Speaker 1: in that way to where you could make a run.
Speaker 1: And that goes back to the defense. And I think
Speaker 1: they're they were so bad this year. That's what makes
Speaker 1: it seems like it is just an uphill battle to
Speaker 1: get there. But I don't know, I think maybe a
Speaker 1: couple of players that are playmaker types could actually get
Speaker 1: you to the point where you're middle of the road, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, especially if it's like a pass rusher. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean if you get if you bring in a
Speaker 1: guy that could be a different sprinker right away, that
Speaker 1: changes everything. I mean that's a one second difference. But
Speaker 1: on them getting the ball out quicker, you know that
Speaker 1: that would help everybody back in the secondary, or maybe
Speaker 1: a shut down cornerback that really kind of locks things down,
Speaker 1: even though I don't know if that happens right away.
Speaker 1: In in pro football, you know where a young corner
Speaker 1: of the Yeah, but there's some really good corners in
Speaker 1: the league, and you know they might have a year
Speaker 1: that they somewhat struggle. I mean we see it with Diggs.
Speaker 1: I mean Diggs is up and down. So if you
Speaker 1: get a better player than that, yeah, you can have
Speaker 1: some pretty good corners. Yeah. You get those two out
Speaker 1: there together and you get a little pass rush from
Speaker 1: from DeMarcus Lawrence, you might be able to be working
Speaker 1: with something. And then it still goes back to what
Speaker 1: we've always been talking about this year. Your linebackers just
Speaker 1: got to play better. And whether you change them out
Speaker 1: or whether you get them to play better, one of
Speaker 1: the two has to happen in order for your defense
Speaker 1: to be better. Those linebackers have to be better. All right,
Speaker 1: We're gonna take our final break. When we come back,
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk a little bit more about San Francisco
Speaker 1: Cowboys matchup, particularly stuff about this weekend's game. I want
Speaker 1: these guys to tell you, guys, you fans out there listening,
Speaker 1: something that they are going to be looking at this
Speaker 1: week If you're not concerned so much about wins and
Speaker 1: loss losses, here's some things maybe you can keep an
Speaker 1: eye on this weekend that maybe thinks for the future.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about that when we come back. This is
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Speaker 1: Back to the Break six Decades of Dallas Cowboys Football
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Speaker 1: featuring never be seen, never before seeing photos, recaps and
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Speaker 1: Cowboys dot Com or wherever books are sold. Welcome Back.
Speaker 1: It is the final segment of the Break Life from
Speaker 1: the s WBC Mortgage studios at the Star. We are
Speaker 1: presented by Geico and we are talking Cowboys versus forty
Speaker 1: nine ers. Here's my question for the crew. How many
Speaker 1: restaurards do you think Dallas needs to hold San Francisco
Speaker 1: under in order to be successful? And what is the
Speaker 1: likelihood that they do that. Let's start first with you Amber,
Speaker 1: like fifty Maybe they can make it. That's a tough water. Wow, yeah, geez,
Speaker 1: and so I guess your answer on the likelihood, what
Speaker 1: about father? None about the other three quarters? Though, like
Speaker 1: what happens in the second, third, and fourth quarters? What
Speaker 1: do we what do we helpe to? I think in
Speaker 1: all season, I think out of the last five years,
Speaker 1: held anybody under fifty yards rushing? Oh, Houston's run and
Speaker 1: shoot offense maybe, but who never? They never run? Yeah,
Speaker 1: what did the Steelers run for? Because they really didn't
Speaker 1: try to run. They didn't to run. I don't know.
Speaker 1: That might be a good one, yeah, but I don't know.
Speaker 1: I'll be nice so between fifty and eighty around there,
Speaker 1: But no, I just it's like you. The thing is,
Speaker 1: it only takes a couple of big runs for it
Speaker 1: to happen. So I think that right now, I just
Speaker 1: don't trust the Cowboys to do that. And I cannot
Speaker 1: base my opinion on this last game, this win against
Speaker 1: the Bengals, because we know whatever. But and I know
Speaker 1: that the forty nine Ers are not this amazing team either,
Speaker 1: But I just don't have much trust. Every time I
Speaker 1: look at place, there's just so much confusion, so much slowness.
Speaker 1: I don't even know if that's a word, but they're
Speaker 1: just too slow. And if it gets away from them.
Speaker 1: It just gets away from them. And I just that
Speaker 1: has been an important part of attack for an opponent.
Speaker 1: And if they are able to utilize that the running game,
Speaker 1: that's that's gonna be it for the Cowboys because they
Speaker 1: cannot seem to come back from things like that. So
Speaker 1: I just don't think they can actually make it happen,
Speaker 1: but hopefully they do. Okay, Dave, I'm actually looking at
Speaker 1: this right now. I would put the number at about
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty. If you can hold them below
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty, I think you got a good
Speaker 1: shot to win the game. And eight teams have prevented
Speaker 1: the forty nine ers from doing that, So that what
Speaker 1: they've played thirteen, So in eight of the thirteen they've
Speaker 1: been held below that total, and they've lost the vast
Speaker 1: majority of those games. The two wins that they won
Speaker 1: in that sample size they had Jimmy Garoppolo. So when
Speaker 1: they can't run the ball at will and they don't
Speaker 1: have Jimmy g it's not a recipe for success. Um,
Speaker 1: do I think the Cowboys can keep them below one
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty. I don't feel optimistic about it, but yeah, yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: I'm yeah, sure, maybe they can. I don't know. I
Speaker 1: don't I don't feel great about it, but that's a
Speaker 1: that's manageable. I guess I gave up three hundred to
Speaker 1: Baltimore last or two weeks ago. I'm still thinking about that. Yeah, Nick,
Speaker 1: I don't want to answer. It's one hundred and twenty.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know whether or not they
Speaker 1: can do it. Yeah, I mean it's in that range
Speaker 1: twenty one fifty. Just don't get it out of control,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm looking how okay with the forty nine ers?
Speaker 1: You know they are they a better team than than
Speaker 1: their their record. I mean, obviously they play in a
Speaker 1: tougher division, so I was thinking if they were in
Speaker 1: the NFC East, would they be better? But then you
Speaker 1: go back and look they lost to the Redskins. They've
Speaker 1: lost to the Eagles. Oh yeah, yeah, that team, um
Speaker 1: football team, football team. No, I'm not calling them that
Speaker 1: they're Washington UM because they can't be duff. I hate that.
Speaker 1: I hate what people just saying it without saying anything else. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think brought us said it the other day. You know,
Speaker 1: Gainst the football team, I'm like Buffalo's got a football team, Like,
Speaker 1: don't I hate that? But anyways, they lost to Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: they lost to Washington. They you know, they're just they're average.
Speaker 1: But but you just gotta you gotta put the quarterback
Speaker 1: in a position to try to beat you, you know.
Speaker 1: And I don't just don't think the Cowboys. I don't
Speaker 1: think they even load up to stop the run, you know,
Speaker 1: like they don't ever do that. They don't ever sell
Speaker 1: out and be like we know it's running, you know,
Speaker 1: Like I've seen some thirded ones before, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: why are the linebackers six yards off the ball? Like,
Speaker 1: and why are there only two of them out there? Yeah? Right, Honestly,
Speaker 1: I was stubborn with their run defense. I think one
Speaker 1: of their biggest problems in run defense this year is
Speaker 1: that they are not there. They're hams hamstringing themselves, like
Speaker 1: they're not giving themselves. Was the proper support after games
Speaker 1: where they've just gotten completely run on. If I was
Speaker 1: a defensive coordinator, I'd be like, all right, guys, we're
Speaker 1: not gonna get run on. Like they may throw for
Speaker 1: five hundred yards, but they're not gonna run the ball.
Speaker 1: So if I got to put in three linebackers and
Speaker 1: three safeties. We're not going they're not gonna run the
Speaker 1: ball on us. And they just don't do that. Like
Speaker 1: they're like, we're gonna stick to having four defensive linemen
Speaker 1: and two linebackers and we're staying with Nickel. Sorry, I
Speaker 1: just can't do that when you have Richard Robinson and
Speaker 1: Savion Smith called up from the practice squad and say hey, here,
Speaker 1: here's your jersey, here's the locker room, and then now
Speaker 1: I'll go play cornerback, Like, it just doesn't work. These guys.
Speaker 1: You got to have better corners to play that way.
Speaker 1: So it's just it's a it's been a show over
Speaker 1: their own defense. All right, Here's another question I have
Speaker 1: for you guys, For fans out there that are not
Speaker 1: necessarily looking at wins and losses at this point, they're
Speaker 1: more concerned to just about what things you can glean
Speaker 1: from the rest of these games that may help or
Speaker 1: hurt you next season. Give me one thing that you'll
Speaker 1: be watching this week ind that's not really about the
Speaker 1: wins and losses. Maybe it's a player, maybe it's a
Speaker 1: position group. Tell me one thing that you're going to
Speaker 1: be watching this weekend. Dave let's start with you. I
Speaker 1: think I've already said it this week, but I just
Speaker 1: I'm so intrigued by the idea of them having the
Speaker 1: majority of their you know, better defensive backs available. I
Speaker 1: really hope Diggs and Anthony Brown and Donovan Wilson can
Speaker 1: all play, you know you so you know, a secondary
Speaker 1: of you know, Cheeto and Diggs on the outside, with
Speaker 1: Anthony Brown as your slot corner, and then Donovan Wilson
Speaker 1: with either Darian Thompson or Xavierwood. I just think that's
Speaker 1: interesting because you know, it would be so great if
Speaker 1: you could watch this secondary for three weeks and kind
Speaker 1: of get an idea of what it looks like and
Speaker 1: who you like and who you don't like, because if
Speaker 1: you just let everybody that's not under contract walk, then
Speaker 1: you're only meaningful dbs left on the team or Anthony
Speaker 1: Brown and Treyvon Dix. That's and don Donobis will excuse me,
Speaker 1: that's really all you got. Yeah, um, I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: intrigued by Donovan Wilson, but like so many people are
Speaker 1: just pegging him in as like well, yeah, like he's
Speaker 1: your starter going forward. I'm not convinced of that. I
Speaker 1: don't know, I would love to see more and and
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods cheeto Owoozia. Jordan Lewis, like, do these guys
Speaker 1: need to be re up to here? Should they be?
Speaker 1: How much should they cost? All of that, Like, that's
Speaker 1: the first step in fixing this secondary is figuring out
Speaker 1: who stays and who goes, and then you can make
Speaker 1: decisions and free agency in the draft from there. So
Speaker 1: you know, if they can all play, that would be
Speaker 1: really interesting to watch. What are you watching? Man? Uh?
Speaker 1: I want to see the tight end position um And
Speaker 1: I don't know if this answers the question, but I
Speaker 1: think it's going to be interesting to see what happens
Speaker 1: next year. I just don't know if if you've got
Speaker 1: a number two tight end, and I think I think
Speaker 1: Schultz is doing okay as he's pretty good as the
Speaker 1: pass catching tight end, but they don't they don't block
Speaker 1: very well. Nobody does, and Jarwin included really and so
Speaker 1: Blake Bell was supposed to come in and do that.
Speaker 1: I don't think that's really been a success. And he's
Speaker 1: on a one year deal. I can't really imagine him
Speaker 1: coming back. I mean maybe, but I but then what happens.
Speaker 1: You can't just say, okay, Chulton and Jarwin, there's your
Speaker 1: first two tight ends. Because again nobody blocks on third
Speaker 1: and two. That doesn't help you. You need to tight
Speaker 1: end that can kind of go in and do that.
Speaker 1: So especially with the three receivers and all the backs
Speaker 1: they have, So the tight end position is interesting still
Speaker 1: to me because Schultz is having success, But I don't
Speaker 1: know how much that helps you because I still think
Speaker 1: he might be their third tight end in a twelve
Speaker 1: package because of Jarwin and then a guy that needs
Speaker 1: to come in and block Amber. I think this is
Speaker 1: a perfect game for people just to Ebadway players and
Speaker 1: you can pay ever. I mean, you can look at
Speaker 1: any position and find someone that you need to evaluate
Speaker 1: for next year, because this is a game that although
Speaker 1: most people might not really care about the win or
Speaker 1: losses at this point, it's still a game where the
Speaker 1: Cowboys are still going to be playing to win the
Speaker 1: game because there still there still is a chance to
Speaker 1: get to the playoffs. So the will and the drive
Speaker 1: and the effort is gonna be there. So you're gonna
Speaker 1: get that from the players as far as like intensity goes.
Speaker 1: But we know how training camp practices. We always see
Speaker 1: someone standing out and then the game comes and then
Speaker 1: it's like whoa completely different than what we saw a
Speaker 1: training camp. So I think these three last games are
Speaker 1: just very important for player evaluation, trying to figure out
Speaker 1: who you want to keep on the team or what
Speaker 1: position of you really need to reinforce in the off season,
Speaker 1: because there's you cannot really replicate game day performances. So
Speaker 1: I think that this is a game where fans can
Speaker 1: actually maybe take a step back from being like so
Speaker 1: passionate and angry or or happy or whatever kinds of emotions,
Speaker 1: put the emotions outside for just a little bit and
Speaker 1: really take the time to look at players and see
Speaker 1: what they're actually doing, even players that are not necessarily
Speaker 1: like having their balls in their hands, but look at
Speaker 1: what everyone else is doing around there, because that helps
Speaker 1: a lot as well. So I think that's that's what
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be doing, That's what I'm gonna be looking at,
Speaker 1: and that's just, yeah, my perspective on that awesome. Let's
Speaker 1: get one question from fans before we end the show
Speaker 1: and get to our picks. Amber, give me a questionnaire.
Speaker 1: Sorry you cut out? Can you repeat? Yes? Can you
Speaker 1: get a question? Let's get one question one fan question
Speaker 1: before I have one here. Okay, Steve, he has a
Speaker 1: question about Jalen Smith. And Jalen got to talk to
Speaker 1: the media recently and he had some comments about so
Speaker 1: they asked him if he was bothered that the Cowboys
Speaker 1: were flexed out of prime time this week and Smith
Speaker 1: Jaalen said if the owner ain't tripping, we good. So
Speaker 1: with that comment, Steve wants to know what have we
Speaker 1: learned or confirmed about the team culture? What do you
Speaker 1: do with players with that kind of mentality? Okay, I
Speaker 1: just want to say before you guys answer, I think
Speaker 1: it should be noted that Jalen said that with a laugh.
Speaker 1: So I don't know. Again, I don't know if that
Speaker 1: changes your opinion on what he said and how he feels.
Speaker 1: But he did say it with the laughs. Maybe he
Speaker 1: was joking. I don't know, but I think that that
Speaker 1: should be pointed out. Cool. Also, that was only half
Speaker 1: the quote, I mean he also, I think he answered
Speaker 1: it in a Jason Garrett way of saying, we'll play
Speaker 1: on Tuesday, we'll play on Wednesday, we played Thursday night,
Speaker 1: we play Siday, we'll play whatever, and then he asked
Speaker 1: he asked the media back the question on it, does Jerry,
Speaker 1: you know, care about it? And so I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, I've learned this about joy. It seems that
Speaker 1: that nick it just I saw a lot of questions
Speaker 1: on that because it seems that that specific part of
Speaker 1: the quote is what fans are picking out of from
Speaker 1: what he said. Well, right, right, because that's what was
Speaker 1: put in the tweet of one hundred and forty characters.
Speaker 1: You know, I said this on the radio this morning.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you've heard this. If if, I
Speaker 1: don't know who asked the question, because I'm friends with
Speaker 1: all those guys, but whoever asked that question. It was
Speaker 1: the was how to tweet? Ready to go? They knew
Speaker 1: that it was going to be something they would they
Speaker 1: could probably because if Jalen comes back and says what
Speaker 1: you want him to say, you know what, Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: mad about that. We're the Dallas Cowboys, We're America's team.
Speaker 1: We shouldn't be playing this, we should be playing bed,
Speaker 1: we should be playing better. We got two other guys
Speaker 1: tweeting out that Jalen's worried about himself, worried about the
Speaker 1: wrong things, worried about his brand, worried about him why
Speaker 1: don't you worry about football instead of that? So Jalen
Speaker 1: can't win. We know that he can't win. He can't
Speaker 1: even get an interception and go fifty yards if he
Speaker 1: doesn't score, you know, and he gets killed for it.
Speaker 1: We know that Jalen, and he puts it on himself.
Speaker 1: He puts it on himself. But I mean that that
Speaker 1: right there. Who cares if they get flexed out? They're bad?
Speaker 1: This team is bad, right, I mean, why is this
Speaker 1: even a big deal? I mean, I'll ask you guys
Speaker 1: that why is being flexed out this point in the year.
Speaker 1: Why is that a big deal? I think it's a
Speaker 1: big deal because, as you and I know from being
Speaker 1: here as long as we have, even when Cowboys teams
Speaker 1: are bad, it's very rare, if ever, they get flexed
Speaker 1: out of a primetime game, mainly because they still draw attention.
Speaker 1: Like at the end of the day, this is still
Speaker 1: a ratings game for the television networks, right, and so
Speaker 1: it's not even about necessarily the matchup. It's about who's
Speaker 1: the biggest straw. And there are a lot of fans
Speaker 1: out there. There are a lot of people out there
Speaker 1: that are football fans that have an interest in either
Speaker 1: watching the Cowboys win, yeah, or watching the Cowboys lose. Right,
Speaker 1: And so there's still there's still ratings attached to the Cowboys.
Speaker 1: So that's the reason why it's a little startling. Yeah,
Speaker 1: whenever the Cowboys would get flexed out of a seven
Speaker 1: twenty start Oh, I have an opinion, but I'll let
Speaker 1: Dave answered. I did. I mean, I think the player
Speaker 1: the player in question and point. And it makes me
Speaker 1: think of you know, Jalen's press conference when he signed
Speaker 1: that contract extension, and you know the detail that he
Speaker 1: went into about like the way that being a Cowboy
Speaker 1: can affect your branding and like doing business deals with
Speaker 1: Jerry and all that stuff. Uh, it's I mean, it's
Speaker 1: very smart. He's a shrewd guy. But when things don't
Speaker 1: go so well, it also gives you the impression that
Speaker 1: are your priorities in the right spot, and I think
Speaker 1: and it reinforces that when you're asking, like what Jerry
Speaker 1: thinks instead of being worried about the here and now.
Speaker 1: At the same time, the funniest part of that whole
Speaker 1: thing to me was like Jalen didn't even know it
Speaker 1: got flexed. Like, you know, football players are so not
Speaker 1: focused on the rolled around them, like they're so not
Speaker 1: focused on more than just like moving step by step.
Speaker 1: He didn't even know the game was at noon, like,
Speaker 1: which means he probably wouldn't have found out until like
Speaker 1: Saturday afternoon, when you know, the trainers wrote like, all right,
Speaker 1: be at the stadium by nine to fifteen. He was like, wait,
Speaker 1: what on earth? But real quick, we were playing day
Speaker 1: when I heard that, though I didn't get the impression
Speaker 1: he didn't know what it had been that it was
Speaker 1: at noon. I got the impression he didn't know it
Speaker 1: had been flexed, like flexed out of the nighttime spot
Speaker 1: into the Actually that's a really good point, you know, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's it. You're right, I guess. But the point being
Speaker 1: is like players don't think more than three four days
Speaker 1: ahead of time ever, I mean, you know, and and
Speaker 1: the game was flexed last week while he was focused
Speaker 1: on Baltimore and Cincinnati, so you know, it totally went
Speaker 1: off his radar. Um I get. I completely get why
Speaker 1: the quote annoys fans. I and but again I think
Speaker 1: it's it's a Jalen specific thing because there's a mountain
Speaker 1: of evidence that suggests that his priorities aren't in the
Speaker 1: right spot. I wonder if it would be I wonder
Speaker 1: if it would be as big of a talking point
Speaker 1: if it was somebody else. I don't know. I don't
Speaker 1: feel super strongly about it either way. But um, you
Speaker 1: know you've said this is about ratings. Do you think
Speaker 1: you really think it is though this year? Do you
Speaker 1: think that's ratings are more about perception? Because there's no way,
Speaker 1: there's no way in hell that the that the Giants
Speaker 1: and Browns are going to have a better rating than
Speaker 1: the Cowboys in the forty nine ers, No way. I
Speaker 1: don't know about that. I will never know. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: will never know. But I don't know about that this
Speaker 1: year because because I do believe that this year in
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield, I do believe that this year there is
Speaker 1: a difference in how again based on things that I've
Speaker 1: seen working in media, there are things I've seen that
Speaker 1: that let me know there are differences this year in
Speaker 1: how people are consuming just all media, including sports and
Speaker 1: and and from that respect, I don't think it's a
Speaker 1: typical year where people might be in tuned in the
Speaker 1: ways they were before. Like I just I think there's
Speaker 1: a lot that's changed and because of that, I think
Speaker 1: that really, I think the NFL had to give and
Speaker 1: the networks had to give people a game of consequence
Speaker 1: because I don't think it just the matchup alone. I
Speaker 1: don't think was gonna draw in the same way it
Speaker 1: would have drawn last year or the year before. I'll
Speaker 1: put it like this, if this happened in twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: without a pandemic, I don't think the Cowboys get flexed.
Speaker 1: I think this is a This is a unique set
Speaker 1: of circumstances this year, and we're seeing it all across media.
Speaker 1: It's not just sports, we're seeing all across media. Just
Speaker 1: patterns have changed on how people view sports and how
Speaker 1: they view content in general. So I just think that
Speaker 1: that's way more. What it's about is is the ratings personally,
Speaker 1: which also Nick, I think. I think that's why it's
Speaker 1: important though, because I think most people would agree with
Speaker 1: you it's and that's why it's important that it got
Speaker 1: flex stout because the cliche, the storyline is that the
Speaker 1: Cowboys can be in primetime no matter how bad they are,
Speaker 1: and like Tuesday morning, the ratings will come out and
Speaker 1: we'll all be on Twitter saying, uh, you know four
Speaker 1: and nine Cowboys and five and eight forty nine ers
Speaker 1: still did this crazy big rating. America's team baby Let's go,
Speaker 1: still relevant no matter how bad they are. The problem
Speaker 1: is really really important. People who make decisions don't agree
Speaker 1: with that, Like they do not see the Cowboys as
Speaker 1: relevant no matter how bad they are, And that is
Speaker 1: a problem. I mean, like whether or not Jerry Jones
Speaker 1: wants to admit it, that definitely bothers him and it
Speaker 1: should honestly, because it says, you know, the Star is
Speaker 1: this monolith, like it's the biggest thing in sports. But
Speaker 1: if your results aren't backing it up, that won't be
Speaker 1: true forever. All right, That's why this is a talking point. Yep,
Speaker 1: real quick, before we end the show, Let's get some picks.
Speaker 1: Let's start first with you, Dave, which way does this
Speaker 1: game go? I hate it here, I hate having to
Speaker 1: I don't, I don't, I don't know if there. If
Speaker 1: I could just start a franchise, if I could start
Speaker 1: an NFL franchise with any coach in the league, Kyle
Speaker 1: Shanahan would be in my top two or three picks.
Speaker 1: So in a game between two teams with so many
Speaker 1: injuries and so few things going for him, I trust
Speaker 1: the hell out of Kyle Shanahan to have an awesome
Speaker 1: game plan up his sleeve. I don't trust the Dallas
Speaker 1: defense to do enough. Even you know, Nick Mullins is
Speaker 1: not good, so they have a leg up in that regard.
Speaker 1: But like I said, I just trust Shanahan, and I
Speaker 1: think I think the forty nine ers find a way
Speaker 1: to win twenty four or twenty All right, Amber, I'll
Speaker 1: just say real quick, One I am not a Cowboys hater,
Speaker 1: and two I'm just speaking from what I see so
Speaker 1: right now, I don't feel like the Cowboys can win anything.
Speaker 1: So that's what I'm gonna go with. And it's more
Speaker 1: upsetting when you have a feeling that you know what
Speaker 1: they could and what they could that what they're possibly
Speaker 1: capable of, and when you see when you don't see
Speaker 1: that result is that that's what makes it more upsetting.
Speaker 1: So with that being said, Cowboys lose. Um how to
Speaker 1: dream about the score, But then I forgot after I
Speaker 1: woke up, But the Cowboys lost anyone. So I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna go with something like twenty sixteen something like that
Speaker 1: doesn't matter because they end up losing, all right, Nick
Speaker 1: twenty seven, twenty four nine Ers Niners. All right, I
Speaker 1: got the message too. Yeah, and I'll say real quick,
Speaker 1: I don't think the Cowboys will have as much success
Speaker 1: stopping the run. I think that'll be the big thing.
Speaker 1: I think Rynie Moster is probably in for a pretty
Speaker 1: big day. He's a guy that can run and h
Speaker 1: and so he's a good running back that can run.
Speaker 1: I think that's gonna be a problem for the Cowboys.
Speaker 1: Last week, Dave said that he didn't think that this
Speaker 1: Cowboy team should be all four picks. This forty nine
Speaker 1: team doesn't need all four picks either. But yeah, is
Speaker 1: what it is. I mean it's a good point. They're
Speaker 1: not that good, No they're not. But but in this
Speaker 1: under these circumstances, I just think the matchup is bad
Speaker 1: for them. I think this team, these teams are very similar.
Speaker 1: But I think it's a matchup Cowboys lose. I think
Speaker 1: twenty three twenty I'm try twenty three seventeen. All right,
Speaker 1: we'll be back on Monday. We'll let you guys know
Speaker 1: what went right and what went wrong. To live for
Speaker 1: Nick even, Dave Helm and Amber Garcia, I'm Derek Eagleton.
Speaker 1: This has been the Break Live on Dallas Cowboys dot
Speaker 1: Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys
Speaker 1: dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.