Speaker 1: The following Here's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club Cowboys. Are you ready
Speaker 1: for 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 Tuesday, January eighteenth, twenty twenty two, Season seventeen,
Speaker 1: episode number one hundred. Welcome to the latest edition of
Speaker 1: The Break Life nest WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. Nick,
Speaker 1: there is no one hundred, but we didn't get a
Speaker 1: ninety nine yesterday because we had other things to talk about,
Speaker 1: So why don't you give me a ninety nine day
Speaker 1: antin woods. There we go. I can't think of it.
Speaker 1: That's about it. Like the only ninety nine I think
Speaker 1: of is like a guy named Hervin McCormick. I remember
Speaker 1: the name nineties was in the nineties. Yeah, it's about it, though,
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, there's been others, but I'm sure
Speaker 1: there's some good ones. I don't don't. Chris Canty nine nine, Yeah,
Speaker 1: Chris not as fun now, it's not as fun it's
Speaker 1: lost it it's lost its mojost. I think we're at
Speaker 1: zero zero. That's where we are, one hundred zero. Good
Speaker 1: to know, just throwing it out there. I'm still smiling. Well,
Speaker 1: we do have This is the final regular season show.
Speaker 1: We will be moving to our off season schedule starting
Speaker 1: next week. Actually is the last show we're gonna do
Speaker 1: this week. And just you guys know, here's the schedule.
Speaker 1: We got all the normal shows today at their normal times.
Speaker 1: Tomorrow there will be a joint show which Nick will
Speaker 1: be hosting UM and then on Thursday there will be
Speaker 1: another joint show that day will be on but not
Speaker 1: hosting Thursday. Have you not gotten the I was I
Speaker 1: was taking Thursday off. But okay, we'll figure it out.
Speaker 1: I didn't schedule. We talked about it. I didn't see it.
Speaker 1: I told you what it was. This is think we
Speaker 1: all said, like, now, this is this is very us.
Speaker 1: This is very us. Dave, you do have a calendar
Speaker 1: on that one, buddy, I'll figure it out. I really
Speaker 1: just wanted to give Derek a hard time, Okay, good, yeah,
Speaker 1: well that's fair. I can accept that. I just wanted
Speaker 1: to make sure people were talking, So that's good. At
Speaker 1: least somebody talk to you. So, yes, we will have
Speaker 1: a joint show on Thursday. We'll have media mash on Wedndsay.
Speaker 1: I think Nick right, so there'll be a media mash
Speaker 1: on Wedndesay as well. And then next week we will
Speaker 1: be flipping to our offseason schedule. You guys can catch
Speaker 1: us every Wednesday at eleven thirty. We will be doing
Speaker 1: our show from eleven thirty twelve thirty every Wednesday. And
Speaker 1: so Dave will also be starting up the Draft Show.
Speaker 1: I'm sure he's already got some good ideas rolling on
Speaker 1: that one. He's going to be hosting that this year.
Speaker 1: So mister Dave will be taking my spot on that show.
Speaker 1: That'll be happening on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I think at
Speaker 1: ten am. So makes you that I will have the
Speaker 1: full schedule up on the app. I'm sure William had
Speaker 1: that up for you later this week. You'll be able
Speaker 1: to see what all these shows are and the schedule
Speaker 1: for them starting next week. All right, let's jump in.
Speaker 1: There were a few topics that we didn't get to
Speaker 1: yesterday about the game that I still wanted to hit today.
Speaker 1: I want to start first with the running game We
Speaker 1: didn't get a lot of time on the running game yesterday,
Speaker 1: although we kind of dabbled into it a little bit.
Speaker 1: Yes Sunday, Zeke's twelve or thirty one yards. His long
Speaker 1: was nine yards. He also had four targets and only
Speaker 1: one catch for zero yards. Pollard, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: had four carries for fourteen yards. His long was eight.
Speaker 1: He had two targets and two catches for twelve yards.
Speaker 1: My question is, why do you think they refused or
Speaker 1: decided not to use Tony Pollard more in that game
Speaker 1: than they did? Now? I don't know, it's a valid question.
Speaker 1: Maybe we can one day ask a coach about it,
Speaker 1: if they're ever available to talk to us after. Was
Speaker 1: that ever discussed after the game? Was that a question
Speaker 1: that ever got thrown out too? So, especially in COVID times,
Speaker 1: Just to give you an idea, because it's fair, like
Speaker 1: that's our job is to grill these guys, that's why
Speaker 1: we're there. But like Nick spends the postgame talking to
Speaker 1: anybody that's you know, Nick is the pool reporter for
Speaker 1: anybody in the locker room that's not the coach or
Speaker 1: a star. So they weren't playing along this week. Just
Speaker 1: they were not case. You guys didn't notice Nick still
Speaker 1: sore from all the stiff arms he took to the face, right, Um,
Speaker 1: they should have used those in San Francisco. And then
Speaker 1: Jerry's going simultaneously as so then there's a green room
Speaker 1: where like your Zeke, you're a Marii Cooper, your big
Speaker 1: name guys, they all go McCarthy, Dak and Mica get
Speaker 1: the main podium. Jerry's talking in the middle of all
Speaker 1: of all this. So the point is is like you're
Speaker 1: kind of bouncing around. I did not get to talk
Speaker 1: to Mike McCarthy this week. I honestly, I usually don't,
Speaker 1: and so I didn't get to ask him about it.
Speaker 1: I don't know if he even was asked about it. Again,
Speaker 1: with the way the game ended and all of the
Speaker 1: other storylines, you kind of divvy that up and you're like,
Speaker 1: okay that we can ask that Monday the wrap up.
Speaker 1: There hasn't been a wrap up, and that is expected
Speaker 1: sometime this week either tomorrow. They're expecting it. With the
Speaker 1: amount of stuff that's in flux. You know, Kellen Morn
Speaker 1: dan Quinn are both interviewing for other jobs. Like I
Speaker 1: get I guess I get why they're doing that, But
Speaker 1: it is just kind of frustrating to not have a
Speaker 1: chance to follow up on that. I don't have a
Speaker 1: wonderful answer for you. I will say in defense of them,
Speaker 1: the offensive line got pancaked. They need I mean, Dak
Speaker 1: was running for his life. He got sacked five times.
Speaker 1: Zeke helped him out in pass protection quite a few times.
Speaker 1: We've said that a lot. I know people get tired
Speaker 1: of hearing it, but I do think that was a
Speaker 1: big reason why he's on the field. Why he tripled
Speaker 1: the number of carries as Tony Pollard, I don't know,
Speaker 1: because you don't need to pass protect if you're running
Speaker 1: the ball. Then Zeke comes out after the game and says, yeah,
Speaker 1: I've had a torn PCL this whole time, partially torn.
Speaker 1: I'm just like, maybe the Tony's been hurt too, But
Speaker 1: I'm just like, maybe Tony ship touched the ball more often.
Speaker 1: A lot of plays are run ass options, so you
Speaker 1: know you have them out there, um, you know, and
Speaker 1: Zeke's I mean they can't block. The offensive line couldn't block.
Speaker 1: Zeke's gonna help more than Pollard will, obviously. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: he blocked two guys on one play at one time,
Speaker 1: it was a great player. So I think that having
Speaker 1: him out there, you know, it's like they can they
Speaker 1: can actually do a little bit more things because they
Speaker 1: feel comfortable if they needed to pass. They also can
Speaker 1: can run the ball. You know, the results are about
Speaker 1: the same. That's probably part of it. But yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean Pollard could help when when you lose and you're
Speaker 1: not running the ball, well, yeah, you want to get
Speaker 1: your dynamic players out there. And you know, and that's
Speaker 1: on Kellen too. I mean we've seen plays where they're
Speaker 1: both out there, you know. I mean, why why is
Speaker 1: it that they only are on the field together just
Speaker 1: a couple of times. That's a that's a wrinkle that
Speaker 1: we haven't seen in a while, I don't think. So
Speaker 1: that's what I was about to mention, is the lack
Speaker 1: of us seeing them use them both at the same time,
Speaker 1: especially when we talk about the time position and how
Speaker 1: you're missing someone that can actually help you block. When
Speaker 1: you have a guy like Zike you can utilize in
Speaker 1: that way, but also run the ball and keep him maybe,
Speaker 1: I mean you're not really as a defense, you're not
Speaker 1: really going to expect Tony Pollard to the much blocking,
Speaker 1: but it's another thing that you can at least try
Speaker 1: and see how it goes. And that's an I don't know,
Speaker 1: but to kind of what you hinted yesterday. And I
Speaker 1: don't know if we were going to talk about that,
Speaker 1: but is it time? Yeah, And I mean I'll set
Speaker 1: it up for you. I mean what I was getting
Speaker 1: to was, I think watching them this year, I think
Speaker 1: there is a difference in how Tony Pollard runs the
Speaker 1: ball and how Zeke runs the ball. I think he's
Speaker 1: faster to the hole. I think he's quicker in and
Speaker 1: out of the hole. I think he's more decisive. I
Speaker 1: think he's more elusive. Obviously he's faster. I actually think
Speaker 1: at this point he If I were making the decision,
Speaker 1: I would actually have him taking the ball with the carries.
Speaker 1: And that doesn't mean or at the very least, I
Speaker 1: would be splitting carries between them. It seems as though
Speaker 1: they're still in the mind frame that Zeke is the
Speaker 1: lead back on this team. I would shift away from that.
Speaker 1: I'd loved your opinions from you guys on whether you
Speaker 1: think that what you saw this year makes you think
Speaker 1: it's time to maybe start shifting that a little bit more. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, let's see what's up with Is he gonna
Speaker 1: have knee surgery? I mean, that's that's what I want
Speaker 1: to know, because before the season, you know, early in
Speaker 1: the season, before I guess the injury, you know, I
Speaker 1: thought what they were doing is fine. If you know,
Speaker 1: if he legitimately has a partially torn PCL or whatever,
Speaker 1: it's something that might need a little you know, either
Speaker 1: surgery or or something, or even a lot of rest.
Speaker 1: I'm okay with maybe going back and seeing how this
Speaker 1: thing plays out, because I think together both of them
Speaker 1: were really good. And if I can get Zeke healthy again,
Speaker 1: then I think it'd be better both of them healthy again.
Speaker 1: You know, but didn't he say that supposedly he won't
Speaker 1: need any kind of Yeah, but I don't believe damn
Speaker 1: near anything I heard after that. I mean, first of all,
Speaker 1: do you know for sure? Second of all, like maybe
Speaker 1: you get an opinion on it later, Like the number
Speaker 1: of guys that are just like, yeah, I know, it'll
Speaker 1: be fine, it'll be good. And then I'll be, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I'll be getting my oil changed in mid February,
Speaker 1: and Adam Schefter will tweet that Zeke's having a Nisco
Speaker 1: like cool, let me call Nick all right, I thought
Speaker 1: he didn't be out. Yeah, I thought he didn't need
Speaker 1: to do this also though, I mean like I'm fixing
Speaker 1: the old line. I mean like a thousand percent. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm retooling all of that. I'm I probably have three
Speaker 1: different starters across the board next year, some somehow, some way.
Speaker 1: So I three three. I'm with you on that, Like,
Speaker 1: I think that's your biggest problem. Where who's the third?
Speaker 1: I think I think Lyle's probably or or or Lyell
Speaker 1: is playing left guard for him right all year, I'm
Speaker 1: doing something with those three positions. I gotta have a
Speaker 1: new center for sure, and I got to have a
Speaker 1: new left guard now, whether that left guard is moving
Speaker 1: over from right tackle and and steel comes in whatever.
Speaker 1: But you gotta be careful with that because you can't
Speaker 1: trust timing right now. So you gotta you gotta almost
Speaker 1: need the three. Um. I don't know if if Lyell's
Speaker 1: is agile anymore as he as he was. I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't think he is. I think he might be
Speaker 1: a guard. He's mean, he's nasty, he's not as maybe
Speaker 1: quick on his feet as he was. You know, maybe
Speaker 1: maybe some push in the middle, and I think he
Speaker 1: is physical enough where he might be able to give
Speaker 1: me some pushing. Yeah, and I don't have that right now.
Speaker 1: And if he's the enforcer like they say, and he is,
Speaker 1: I mean, he showed that role, but I think he
Speaker 1: needs they But I got I'm fixing the offensive line
Speaker 1: and you don't think because I think that's one thing,
Speaker 1: and I think that's the biggest thing. I do think
Speaker 1: from at least from what I saw, and it might
Speaker 1: have everything to do with that PCL. It absolutely may
Speaker 1: have everything to do with the PCL. It just didn't
Speaker 1: look like Zeke at the same burst that I was
Speaker 1: used to sing from Zeke and Polots looked like Polo
Speaker 1: looked like he did have it. And that's where I'm like,
Speaker 1: if if it's not the PCL, if we find out
Speaker 1: that after this year, you go into next year and
Speaker 1: it's the same thing. To me, I think you get
Speaker 1: more out of it. That means that you can get
Speaker 1: to the whole faster than what I think Zeke's going.
Speaker 1: That matters. The offensive line needs to be worked on,
Speaker 1: but I would like to see more of a fifty
Speaker 1: fifty split. I think I still think the Cowboys still
Speaker 1: seem to have this attitude that, like, Tony Pollard is
Speaker 1: a nice backup instead of a weapon who needs to
Speaker 1: be touching the ball more often. I'm looking at his
Speaker 1: game logs right now. He had double digit carries one, two, three, four, five, six,
Speaker 1: seven eight times, and six of those eight were blowout wins.
Speaker 1: Like he's getting double digit carries in the second half
Speaker 1: of games that are way out of hand. I think
Speaker 1: the only time where he got double digit carries in
Speaker 1: a game that was really in doubt, it happened three
Speaker 1: times Vegas Patriots Chargers, and he played well. He had
Speaker 1: a hundred yards against the Chargers, had average four yards
Speaker 1: per carry against the Pats, and not so great against
Speaker 1: Vegas ten for thirty six. But even still, like I
Speaker 1: just feel like they still view him as a backup
Speaker 1: instead of a guy who can really help them. I
Speaker 1: would like to see it closer to fifty percent. Do
Speaker 1: you think this is a nature of just NFL coaches,
Speaker 1: NFL locker rooms. I was trying to think of a
Speaker 1: situation across the NFL where you have a running back
Speaker 1: that has been the man for you and he's still
Speaker 1: on a team, but his role diminishes most of the time.
Speaker 1: In that instance, you see the guy go on, the
Speaker 1: team says, Okay, we're gonna let him walk, we're gonna
Speaker 1: he's gonna be a free agent, or we're gonna cut him,
Speaker 1: or he's gonna get traded or something. It. I couldn't
Speaker 1: really think of a lot of situations where a guy
Speaker 1: has been the man, like he was the man here.
Speaker 1: A guy has been the man, and it's just like now,
Speaker 1: we think, right now there's a back that's better than you,
Speaker 1: so we're going to decrease your role and increase their role.
Speaker 1: Do you guys see that the same way or do
Speaker 1: you think this is just kind of a just the
Speaker 1: situation or more of a thing that just happens in
Speaker 1: the NFL, they just don't necessarily do that when it
Speaker 1: comes to lead running backs. Well, Tony Pollard hasn't come
Speaker 1: in and just been like considerably better than z You know,
Speaker 1: if he was, then that would be easier. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think he's faster, he's quicker, and he's more explosive.
Speaker 1: But I think that when you look at it, it's
Speaker 1: like still close because Zeke can do some things, you know,
Speaker 1: better than Pollard, and so it hasn't been heading shoulders
Speaker 1: above and that's probably why it hasn't just been a
Speaker 1: quick like we're switching this out, you know, I think,
Speaker 1: but we don't know if he can be as successful
Speaker 1: if given basically a bigger amount of snaps on the field.
Speaker 1: I can only recall one game, was it last year
Speaker 1: or maybe two years? I think it might have been
Speaker 1: last year at where he was a starter and Zeke
Speaker 1: was out. He didn't play again San Francisco, And now
Speaker 1: he played, He played pretty good to the point where
Speaker 1: everyone asking Zeke to sit. Yeah, for Tony Pollard to
Speaker 1: take over that role. But it does make me wonder
Speaker 1: on a weekly basis, is he the type of guy
Speaker 1: that can be as successful being so much on the field.
Speaker 1: Maybe right now we see him have those explosive plays
Speaker 1: because of the way that they're handling, and that allows
Speaker 1: him to be that effective on the field, But once
Speaker 1: you give him a bigger role, can he keep up
Speaker 1: with that? And I'll throw this in too, I think
Speaker 1: he's a much better pass catcher at this point. I mean,
Speaker 1: how many times we see Zeke out in the flat
Speaker 1: and just ball hits his hands, he drops it or
Speaker 1: for whatever reason it seems like he's not in the
Speaker 1: right spot or I can't think. I can't go along
Speaker 1: with that. And I think Tony Pollard deserves a larger role.
Speaker 1: And I'm not asking him to carry the ball twenty times.
Speaker 1: I'm asking him to inch toward double digits. I don't
Speaker 1: think he's done that his entire career. It's hovered between
Speaker 1: six and eight. But Zeke, for whatever we want to
Speaker 1: say about Zeke, he has been good as a receiver
Speaker 1: this season in my opinion, and I'm not I am
Speaker 1: not talking about like being explosive and all these big plays.
Speaker 1: He's bailed Dak out a lot as like the holy crap,
Speaker 1: I'm about to get sacked. Let me get this out
Speaker 1: of here. He did it on Sunday. I know he
Speaker 1: bobbled the one on the last drive and didn't catch it,
Speaker 1: but Dak, that was a good play. By the way,
Speaker 1: it was gonna be a one yard loss, which one
Speaker 1: maybe I'm thinking of a different play. There was like
Speaker 1: a little screen that they threw to him that he
Speaker 1: kind of one handed. It's been and that's what he's
Speaker 1: been doing that all year. But what I was about
Speaker 1: to say is Dak basically lateral to him on an
Speaker 1: obvious sack and he turned it into like a small game.
Speaker 1: He's done stuff like that all year, where he's just
Speaker 1: had the wherewithal to catch a holy crap outlet pass
Speaker 1: and turn a bad play into at least a neutral play,
Speaker 1: if not a good one. So I think, and let's
Speaker 1: not just give Tony all the flowers. Like Tony's had
Speaker 1: some drops this year. I can't give you an an
Speaker 1: obvious example, but I know there's at least been three
Speaker 1: or four occasions where, especially like over the middle of
Speaker 1: the field, he let it bounce off his hands. So
Speaker 1: I think Tony Pollard deserves a bigger role. I think
Speaker 1: Tony Pollard is a more explosive runner. I'm not convinced
Speaker 1: he's like this outright better receiver. I do think if
Speaker 1: you can get the ball in his hands, he's a
Speaker 1: more explosive player. That's what I will say. You want
Speaker 1: to talk about the elephant that's sitting over there, let's
Speaker 1: go for it. I mean, it's about a thirty million
Speaker 1: dollar elephant. I mean it's it's money is important in
Speaker 1: this conversation. It's why you can't really move on. I mean,
Speaker 1: you have you're stuck with Zeke, and I don't say
Speaker 1: that in a way that like that is what it is,
Speaker 1: but I mean, you're not moving him. So what I
Speaker 1: think the best way to handle this situation is is
Speaker 1: figure out a better role for Tony Pollard that both
Speaker 1: of them can play. And I'm drafting a running back
Speaker 1: as well in the fourth or fifth round, a bigger back,
Speaker 1: not a little scat back, but a bigger back. And
Speaker 1: if this guy comes in here with this retooled offensive line,
Speaker 1: like I just said, and he may be better, then
Speaker 1: that's what happens. I mean, maybe, I mean, I know,
Speaker 1: I'm going back of several years, but you know, they
Speaker 1: drafted Marian Barber and they had Julius Jones already and
Speaker 1: Maryan Barber after a few years turned out to be
Speaker 1: after one year, it turned out to be we gotta
Speaker 1: get this guy on the field, and maybe that happens.
Speaker 1: Maybe you can strike gold, as we found out San
Speaker 1: Francisco has, but it's because their offensive line knows how
Speaker 1: to block in the running game. If I were the
Speaker 1: Cowboys offensive coordinator, whoever that is, maybe it's Kellen Moore,
Speaker 1: maybe it's somebody new, but I would go to Tony
Speaker 1: the minute that all that's finalized, and I would be like,
Speaker 1: contract to your bud. You want a bigger role, you
Speaker 1: want a chance to maximize your earnings this time next year,
Speaker 1: get in there, get great at pass protection like arn,
Speaker 1: learn this scheme, Learn where you're supposed to be all
Speaker 1: the time. Get to where Dak trusts you implicitly on
Speaker 1: third and nine, and make yourself interchangeable. Don't like, don't
Speaker 1: make us have to feel like we need to take
Speaker 1: you off the field in certain situations. And that's I
Speaker 1: would love to see a true split between him and
Speaker 1: Zeke next year. And I do think guy that I mean,
Speaker 1: if if they draft a new guy, that's fine. He
Speaker 1: bought a fourth rounder from me or whatever. And by
Speaker 1: the way, keep him coming. Hey every couple years, bring
Speaker 1: me a new one. I mean, but again, that's the same,
Speaker 1: it'll be the same story, Like he can be the
Speaker 1: kick return specialist. Speaking of missing the state, I think
Speaker 1: the Packers drafted Kylin Hill late last year just like
Speaker 1: great college running back. He was like their kickoff guy,
Speaker 1: you know, because it takes time, like Zeke is. Zeke
Speaker 1: is a rare guy who came in and like had
Speaker 1: all of that stuff and like I get it, it's
Speaker 1: boring to talk about pass protection, but like, there aren't
Speaker 1: that many running backs who teams trust to come in
Speaker 1: and do everything right away. So Tony needs to take
Speaker 1: a step in that regard. And then yeah, you can
Speaker 1: have a rookie come in and handle kickoffs and playing
Speaker 1: some blowouts or goal line packages whatever. But that's what
Speaker 1: I would like to see. I'll say this, and I
Speaker 1: went back and I looked it up, and here's why
Speaker 1: I think what I think of him, and I agree
Speaker 1: with you, Dave. If you look at the entire season,
Speaker 1: Zeke's been a pretty good pass catcher. It's really been
Speaker 1: the final six games of the season. Checked this out.
Speaker 1: He had twenty targets in those final six games, he
Speaker 1: only had eight catches. Of those twenty targets, most of
Speaker 1: the games he had all except for one of those
Speaker 1: games he only had one catch, and a lot of
Speaker 1: those games he had And so when you start looking
Speaker 1: at just how he's performed over the last six weeks,
Speaker 1: that's been where I was like, he just hasn't given
Speaker 1: them anything in the passing game. This last game he
Speaker 1: had four targets and one catch for zero yards. Like
Speaker 1: that's not helping Dak. That's not helping anybody in this offense.
Speaker 1: Like I think that you get a little bit more,
Speaker 1: and especially if you're talking about getting him out on
Speaker 1: the outside catching passes, I think Pollard is more dangerous
Speaker 1: in those situations and Zeke. Zeke isn't a guy that
Speaker 1: necessarily makes people miss anymore. I want to be clear,
Speaker 1: I don't view Zeke as a dangerous weapon in the
Speaker 1: passing game. I would like to know. I would like
Speaker 1: to go back and look at those games and see
Speaker 1: how many of them are desperation passes to keep a
Speaker 1: play alive, where Zeke's up here just trying to bobble
Speaker 1: it and keep it in play like that. And that's
Speaker 1: what he's been this year's He's been a last resort
Speaker 1: in the passing game, like, oh god, they blitzed, this
Speaker 1: is a hot read. Zeke, just just get two yards whatever,
Speaker 1: We'll live to fight another day. Like that's been his
Speaker 1: role in the passing game more often than not. And
Speaker 1: I just feel like, like I want to say, I
Speaker 1: want to say it happened against I feel like it
Speaker 1: happened against either the Cardinals or somebody, Like I just
Speaker 1: have these like mental images of Tony over the middle,
Speaker 1: like dropping passes. And I'm not saying it happened a lot,
Speaker 1: but it definitely happened. It was during a game where
Speaker 1: a lot of them dropped the packs. Was gonna say,
Speaker 1: I mean the whole team dropped balls against Denver. That
Speaker 1: might have been the one, because I mean I do
Speaker 1: remember he over the middle dropping the pass, and like
Speaker 1: everyone dropped one that day. Tony no doubt would be
Speaker 1: more dangerous in the passing game in terms of like
Speaker 1: just get the ball in his hands and he'll do something.
Speaker 1: And that's really my only point. It's not and that's
Speaker 1: the hard pot about having these kinds of conversations. You
Speaker 1: can quickly get painted as oh, you're against Zeke. It's
Speaker 1: not that. It's that I think right now Pollard provides
Speaker 1: more in the way of if he has. There was
Speaker 1: a play this last week. It was a sweep where
Speaker 1: where Zeke got the ball, he was running to the right.
Speaker 1: They had it all blocked up. There was only one
Speaker 1: guy out there that was unblocked. It was a defensive back.
Speaker 1: There was a time when Zeke either runs that guy over,
Speaker 1: he makes that guy missed. He didn't. And that's not
Speaker 1: Zeke's game anymore, Like he if he has that one guy,
Speaker 1: it's rare that we see him make that guy miss
Speaker 1: at this point in his career. I do think poloit
Speaker 1: makes that got missed. And that's my point. I think
Speaker 1: Polo is more dangerous because he can do those kinds
Speaker 1: of things that I'm just not saying regularly from Zeu
Speaker 1: fun Live question here from our friend Jack, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: He says, what about Shiwo Illana Lua would he get
Speaker 1: a chance next year? I I just want to bring
Speaker 1: it up because I do want to say I really
Speaker 1: think he makes the team if he stays healthy this
Speaker 1: year and maybe like he's a running back fullback hybrid,
Speaker 1: maybe Kellen could have done some fun stuff with him,
Speaker 1: But he is in a big category of guys where
Speaker 1: I'm like, that's cool and you can come to training camp,
Speaker 1: but like I'm not carving out a role for you.
Speaker 1: In February of this year, you know, like like the
Speaker 1: first thing Kyle Shanahan did when he signed in San Francisco,
Speaker 1: his first signing was Kyle Juice Check. He was like,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm gonna do some fun stuff with you. This
Speaker 1: ain't that well I mean, I also you got to
Speaker 1: remember too, is you know all the running backs that
Speaker 1: come back from neck injuries. I mean, good point. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm pulling for him. That is a fair point. And
Speaker 1: I have just learned how to say his name, so
Speaker 1: I'm I was excited about him. But um, we'll see,
Speaker 1: We'll see how he comes back. But those are you know,
Speaker 1: those are missed minor little storylines like do they win
Speaker 1: the super Bowl because he's on the team. No, but
Speaker 1: he was a fun player who could have done some
Speaker 1: unique stuff that that might have unlocked some things for
Speaker 1: Kellen's offense for sure. All right, let's take our first break.
Speaker 1: When we come back, we're gonna talk a little bit
Speaker 1: more about the about some of those jobs. I want
Speaker 1: to talk about these wide receivers and how they've performed
Speaker 1: in particularly Ceedee Lamb and what he's done, oh the
Speaker 1: last few weeks. We'll talk about that we come back.
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Speaker 1: you're listening, you are the ultimate cowboy fan for sure.
Speaker 1: Joined Dallas Cowboys United, presented by Global Life, starting at
Speaker 1: just twenty dollars. Joined today. That was I'm sorry, I
Speaker 1: just like Nick's read there like I just can't imagine
Speaker 1: you listen to this show if you like kind of
Speaker 1: like the Cowboys, right, you know, there's no way we
Speaker 1: appreciate it a little bit, especially on a day like
Speaker 1: today Tuesday, following a playoff loss. I got the funniest
Speaker 1: tweet yesterday after you know, my little, my little speech
Speaker 1: I tried to give. I do it the same thing
Speaker 1: every year, This guy on Twitter wrote, he said, and
Speaker 1: some people said thank you for saying that. I kind
Speaker 1: of needed that, and some people are like probably like fo.
Speaker 1: But anyways, this guy says, after time reflecting and speaking
Speaker 1: with my family, my wife who hates when the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are on, that's his family, he says, I have decided
Speaker 1: to return for my senior season as a Cowboys fan.
Speaker 1: I would like to thank Cowboys Break Nick Eatman for
Speaker 1: talk taking me off the ledge with his speech. We
Speaker 1: go Nino is the name there, so I love it.
Speaker 1: Got like a like all these concerned for the season years,
Speaker 1: all these college kids with the transfer pro I've decided
Speaker 1: to I'm exit the transfer port roll. I'll stay here.
Speaker 1: I believe in this team. Maybe a little bit like
Speaker 1: that's funny, No, I mean it's but I also want
Speaker 1: to reiterate too, like I understand. I mean it's oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I I wasn't ready for it. I just I mean,
Speaker 1: I got nothing for these guys, Like what are we
Speaker 1: doing this week? I'm like, I don't know, preparing for
Speaker 1: the Bucks? I mean, yeah, I thought we'd be writing yeah, rematch, Yeah,
Speaker 1: rematch from week one? What's different this time around? Five
Speaker 1: things that are different between the Bucks game? You know? Yeah,
Speaker 1: but Nick, you were talking about you and I were
Speaker 1: talking about that this this morning. They're really for us.
Speaker 1: We've never played longer than this, like usually because the
Speaker 1: NFL is going. But it's true, like when you say
Speaker 1: when you say one week pass, like this is as
Speaker 1: long as we've been in it. This is a this
Speaker 1: is what our bodies know, Like our bodies know about
Speaker 1: this time is when we're usually heading home at the
Speaker 1: very best case scenarios. Wasn't I just wasn't prepared. I mean,
Speaker 1: I honestly, I thought they'd beat San Francisco. I was
Speaker 1: rooting for San Francisco. Feel bad about that, m especially
Speaker 1: after watching them. Yeah but yeah, but like like I got,
Speaker 1: I got a lot of messages last night that were like,
Speaker 1: we we played this Cardinals team. I was like, you
Speaker 1: don't know what's going to happen if they play, Like
Speaker 1: don't you don't but Cowboys three points, Cowboys don't have
Speaker 1: Donald last time I checked. Yeah, well that's I mean
Speaker 1: Shannon upstairs. Today, Shannon was like, looking at the schedule,
Speaker 1: he goes some pretty good games next week. Too soon,
Speaker 1: I would say. I we talked about that after the show.
Speaker 1: You I don't. I mean, yeah, I wish the Cowboys
Speaker 1: were still playing, but like if it's on, I'm watching.
Speaker 1: I watched. I couldn't even watch most of that game.
Speaker 1: I watched the whole thing. I just watched Eli and Peyton.
Speaker 1: It's probably not in that order, but uh yeah. When
Speaker 1: I saw Eli wearing that death Row Records chain, like
Speaker 1: that was pretty funny. And I'll be out, I will
Speaker 1: be front and center. This is this isn't gonna be
Speaker 1: a fun weekend. Oh by the weekend, I'll be Okay.
Speaker 1: Yesterday it was too soon. I couldn't do it. Man.
Speaker 1: I was just because the whole quarter I sat there
Speaker 1: and watched it. I'm thinking, man like, but Dallas at
Speaker 1: their best, they could play with these teams. I just
Speaker 1: they just can't always show up and play at there
Speaker 1: but they don't. But here's here's the thing, though, anything
Speaker 1: that happens in the NFC or even the AFC, because
Speaker 1: they played one of those teams, Like, I don't think
Speaker 1: you can watch any game next weekend and be like
Speaker 1: Dallas could have beat them. They didn't show that they could.
Speaker 1: They really didn't. They showed they could beat and they
Speaker 1: could whip the Eagles and the Giants more than this
Speaker 1: team beat them. But when it came to like good
Speaker 1: on good, they didn't. They didn't show they could do that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe I'm just more forgiving, and I get it is
Speaker 1: a results driven business and I mean moral victories all
Speaker 1: that good stuff. But like they played the Bucks to
Speaker 1: the final snap, They played the Niners to the final snap.
Speaker 1: They could they played a they were competitive against the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: They didn't look great doing it, but like they didn't
Speaker 1: look like they didn't belong on that field. But you
Speaker 1: know that. I think that's the point though, Dave, the
Speaker 1: way I look at it is and they did with
Speaker 1: with Arizona. They played to the last snap. And guess
Speaker 1: what in the playoffs in that first round against San
Speaker 1: Francisco they played to the final snap. Well, it wasn't
Speaker 1: quite a snap, but they played to the final snap
Speaker 1: like they're good enough. They are good enough to play
Speaker 1: with any team in the league. They're not necessarily good
Speaker 1: enough to beat those Yea, I think different. I think
Speaker 1: we're saying the same thing. Yeah, no way, since yesterday. Oh,
Speaker 1: trust me, I haven't. I haven't. I'm well, your mood
Speaker 1: is completely different than yesterday. Yesterday we should have had
Speaker 1: a camera just recording Dave all day long. Yesterday. I
Speaker 1: I was, I'm I'm still, I'm still pretty bitter, to
Speaker 1: be honest with you, I'm just yeah, you know, it's
Speaker 1: most interesting about that. I remember when Day first got here,
Speaker 1: he was so emotionally detached from this team, Like it
Speaker 1: was just kind of like you were very much. I'm
Speaker 1: a media guy, Like, I don't. I don't get here
Speaker 1: in the thing, and if we want to do this,
Speaker 1: we can't. Like I'm not, I'm really not upset that
Speaker 1: they lost a playoff game. I'm I'm upset and I
Speaker 1: feel like I this is I feel like this is
Speaker 1: how a lot of Cowboy fans feel. It's just it's
Speaker 1: the hamster wheel of it all. It's like, I get you.
Speaker 1: We did all of this, and like you know, it's like, uh,
Speaker 1: you got, you got. You didn't get near the mountaintop.
Speaker 1: But like, and that's even more frustrating, Like you got
Speaker 1: back to the same mile marker on the mountain, then
Speaker 1: you tumbled back down and you look around and we're like,
Speaker 1: we gotta do this whole thing again. You literally look
Speaker 1: back up at that mountain again and you're like, wow,
Speaker 1: I came along, I've tumbled a long way. I went
Speaker 1: up a long way. I tumbled a long way and
Speaker 1: I wasn't even at the top, and now I gotta
Speaker 1: start climbing all over. Yeah, it's I mean, it sucks
Speaker 1: that they lost, but like for me, it's not. It's
Speaker 1: not the pain of the cowboys losing. It's the pain
Speaker 1: of thinking, like I gotta start walking up the stam
Speaker 1: mountain again. I don't really want right now, show here
Speaker 1: we go. Yeah, all right, so let's talk about the
Speaker 1: wide receivers again. It wasn't a great day for them
Speaker 1: yesterday either, I guess holistically, if you think about it,
Speaker 1: um ceedee Lamb only had one catch. My question for
Speaker 1: you guys is do you think the challenges with the
Speaker 1: wide receivers was more about what was happening with the
Speaker 1: offensive line in the quarterback or do you think that
Speaker 1: just they weren't getting open, they weren't creating opportunities for
Speaker 1: the quarterback. Yeah, I had to answer that. Somebody. Somebody
Speaker 1: asked that question on Twitter he had one catch. Is
Speaker 1: it Dax fault or is it Kellen's fault? And I
Speaker 1: was like, I would put three people in that. UM.
Speaker 1: I like him as a player a lot. I do.
Speaker 1: I think he could be really good. I would probably
Speaker 1: put CD as my most disappointing player of this team
Speaker 1: this year if they Yeah, I know, Kean O'Neil's of
Speaker 1: trendy picked there, but CD is probably the most disappointing
Speaker 1: for me. Explaining that for me, ox Nardi was Randy Moss.
Speaker 1: Randy Moss, and he was beating the guy that turned
Speaker 1: out to be really good this year, Treyvon Diggs. He
Speaker 1: was making play after play after play after play, and
Speaker 1: he didn't do that this year. He really didn't. He
Speaker 1: had he had some nice a thousand yards it's take
Speaker 1: such sounds, I believe, but he didn't make those. I
Speaker 1: don't have anywhere. I don't know where to throw it,
Speaker 1: so I'm just gonna throw it up here and let
Speaker 1: him go get it, and I thought he would be
Speaker 1: even more dynamic going into the season. I think it was.
Speaker 1: It was a close battle between Justin Jefferson and cd
Speaker 1: On who's the better It's not right now, Yeah, and
Speaker 1: it's not like the Vikings were in the playoffs. You know,
Speaker 1: I just don't think he took the next step that
Speaker 1: I thought he was going to take. He still took
Speaker 1: a step, but not as big as I thought he
Speaker 1: would take. I don't know if I don't know if
Speaker 1: I'm willing to say he's the most disappointing player on
Speaker 1: this team. But I'm glad you said it because I
Speaker 1: was going to like what we saw in training camp.
Speaker 1: Looked like a guy who was about to take over
Speaker 1: the NFL. And yeah, and again he wasn't drumming on scrubs.
Speaker 1: Raypon Digs led the league in interceptions. I don't get
Speaker 1: that's cool that he gave up yards. I get it,
Speaker 1: but like he was doing it against pretty solid cornerback play,
Speaker 1: and he just looked different. And he had some nice games.
Speaker 1: I mean, his game against New England was fantastic. Both
Speaker 1: of his touchdowns in that game were huge. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it's I was expecting more. To be honest, he had.
Speaker 1: He had five more catches and two hundred more yards
Speaker 1: than he did as a rookie, and that was playing
Speaker 1: without Dak for most of the year. I just I thought, yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought we were going to see a Justin Jefferson
Speaker 1: like season. I think I said that yesterday, like all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, you know, we joked for a solid year,
Speaker 1: like I can't believe the league let us have this guy,
Speaker 1: and the guy taken five or six picks later is
Speaker 1: better than him by a pretty significant margin. Right now,
Speaker 1: that's just facts. I think that's all. You think a
Speaker 1: lot of that is on him, or do you think again,
Speaker 1: this is this goes back to the quarterback and him
Speaker 1: not having and even him not having time, so it
Speaker 1: still goes back to our original conversation the offensive line.
Speaker 1: I think there's a big chunk that's on him because
Speaker 1: I keep trying to make sense of it all, and
Speaker 1: I keep thinking, I want to keep bringing myself to Okay,
Speaker 1: the first half of the season, boat, when you look
Speaker 1: at how they started the year, you were able to say, Okay, wow,
Speaker 1: look at all the different weapons that they have, all
Speaker 1: the talent that they have. I was wont to say
Speaker 1: each position had one of the best ones in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I would say that back then, and then looking at
Speaker 1: it now, you start looking around the roster and you're like, okay,
Speaker 1: you could argue Zeke with the injury. You could argue
Speaker 1: Dak got injured and came back. There was the mental
Speaker 1: aspect of things and things like that. Michael Gallup injured,
Speaker 1: but then ceedee lamb. He stayed pretty healthy and he
Speaker 1: didn't show talking about the abilities that you were mentioning,
Speaker 1: those kind of abilities that you've seen him do even
Speaker 1: last year when he started. So I don't know what
Speaker 1: exactly to pinpoint there too, Okay, this is what happened
Speaker 1: to him, and that's why he wasn't as successful. And yes,
Speaker 1: obviously the old line is gonna have an effect, Dak
Speaker 1: Prescott is gonna have an effect. But at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, there were many plays too that the
Speaker 1: ball could have been caught by him he didn't. And
Speaker 1: that's the thing that you saw last year, how many
Speaker 1: crazy plays and balls that he would catch. I don't
Speaker 1: know where You're like, whoa And that made one of
Speaker 1: the biggest highlights for his career. And then that was
Speaker 1: all gone, So what do you give the blame to
Speaker 1: other than just him and whatever? We might not know
Speaker 1: that he's struggling with, but for sure we haven't heard
Speaker 1: of any kind of injury that might have been affected him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know. I was also trying to think too, like
Speaker 1: we didn't see those plays that we saw on camp.
Speaker 1: Did they even attempt it? Though? Good question? I mean, like, well,
Speaker 1: but I think it's also I don't know if it's
Speaker 1: it's I don't even I don't look at it open though. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I have to be open for that. It's just first thing,
Speaker 1: the goal in the floor thrown up. I get that,
Speaker 1: but I would even ask the question further than that,
Speaker 1: like that play it was a touchdown last year where
Speaker 1: he contorted his body Minnesota, and the question becomes was
Speaker 1: there as has there been a single catch like that
Speaker 1: even this year. I'm not talking just to throw it up.
Speaker 1: I'm talking just to where he does something that's so remarkable,
Speaker 1: where it's like his athleticism is so much better than
Speaker 1: the guys that are out there trying to cover him.
Speaker 1: I don't care about this conversation, to be very blunt
Speaker 1: about it. No, no, no, I mean I'm taking it
Speaker 1: in a different direction because I've been thinking about this
Speaker 1: and I I don't know, maybe maybe I'm feeling a
Speaker 1: little bit of a philosophy change or something like that.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I still I still don't believe in
Speaker 1: the idea of like being stubborn. But is the play
Speaker 1: caller doing enough to force the issue to get the
Speaker 1: ball into the hands of his good players? How many
Speaker 1: times dolle targeted this last game, I'd barely remember. I
Speaker 1: think I think he was close to I think he
Speaker 1: was targeted five times, um, which is insane. Yeah, five
Speaker 1: targets one catch. But like you look at you look
Speaker 1: at the numbers. CD was targeted one hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: times on the year. Uh, second best after that was
Speaker 1: Dalton Schultz one hundred and four times, which, like, Dalton's great,
Speaker 1: but should he be second on your team in targets,
Speaker 1: like in terms of like trying to get the ball
Speaker 1: to that guy? Then you go, then you go look
Speaker 1: at Cooper. Do you know how many times Cooper Cup
Speaker 1: got targeted this year? Probably one hundred and ninety one times,
Speaker 1: Like they always threw the ball him and by the way,
Speaker 1: he made something of it and all and like these
Speaker 1: are on teams where there are other weapons, Like I
Speaker 1: know he got hurt. If you extrapolate his numbers for
Speaker 1: a full season, Robert Woods was on pace for eighty
Speaker 1: five targets. Odell Beckham's only been there for half a season,
Speaker 1: but if you extrapolate, he's on pace for sixty five.
Speaker 1: They've got an athletic tight end as well. Tampa. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm looking at Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were both
Speaker 1: targeted north of a hundred times. I'm just not convinced
Speaker 1: the Cowboys are making enough of an effort, like we're
Speaker 1: getting the ball to our studs instead of go through
Speaker 1: your progressions and if they're not open, then find the
Speaker 1: other guy. Yeah, that's useful, don't get me wrong, But
Speaker 1: there is an element of this thing where like you
Speaker 1: gotta be like we are. We have guys that we
Speaker 1: have brought here tell you that saybody, no, no, go ahead.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. I was just thinking, let's be careful now
Speaker 1: because we did have that situation a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1: I know, you know it can't be either, or I
Speaker 1: know it can't be either, or you know we talked
Speaker 1: about earlier in the year, Like the thing that's making
Speaker 1: this thing work is that these receivers are mentioned together
Speaker 1: and Dak doesn't care. He's gonna get it to whoever.
Speaker 1: If it's nor Brown, it's nor Brown, which it probably
Speaker 1: shouldn't be, but you know, so it's a great but
Speaker 1: they staffs not doing that, and Stafford's like, I'm getting
Speaker 1: the ball to Cooper Cup. They did it on Sunday.
Speaker 1: I don't remember the exact moment in the game, but
Speaker 1: like Cedric and Noah checked in in twelve personnel and
Speaker 1: that was when Dak through probably his only truly deep
Speaker 1: pass of the day. Well, I mean, the Amari touchdown
Speaker 1: was only twenty yards I'm talking he threw it forty
Speaker 1: yards down field. I think it was even in double coverage.
Speaker 1: And I was like, why are we doing this way?
Speaker 1: Why are we doing this when Lamb and Cooper aren't
Speaker 1: on the field, Like what why? Like it's great to
Speaker 1: say we're gonna take what we're given, We're not gonna
Speaker 1: change what we do based on what they're do, but
Speaker 1: like you don't have to be willfully ignorant of it either, Like, hey,
Speaker 1: maybe maybe our pro bowler in our first round pick
Speaker 1: should be the guys that we're testing double coverage with
Speaker 1: or whatever. I just I think you got to find
Speaker 1: a better balance there, Like you can't just be completely
Speaker 1: stubborn and just be bound and determined all the time.
Speaker 1: But I think you gotta make more of a concerted
Speaker 1: effort to put the ball in your playmaker's hands. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, it's real quick. I think that
Speaker 1: we talk about it, and actually they talked about this
Speaker 1: earlier in the season a lot. They were going to
Speaker 1: aggressively take what the defense gave them. I think the
Speaker 1: difference in that philosophy is you spend more passive recent Yeah.
Speaker 1: I know, but but I would even say even from
Speaker 1: that standpoint, you look at a team like we were
Speaker 1: just talking about Cooper Cup, I think the difference is
Speaker 1: what they do with the Rams, is they say not,
Speaker 1: we're just not going to take aggressive of what you
Speaker 1: give us. We're going to create ways that we can
Speaker 1: get the ball into cups hands. The same thing with
Speaker 1: San Francisco. We're going to create ways to get the
Speaker 1: ball in Deebo's hands. By the way, everybody knows who's
Speaker 1: playing San Francisco. Deebo at Samuels gonna get the ball.
Speaker 1: We gotta stop Deebo Samuel. They still find ways, creative
Speaker 1: ways to get the ball in his hands, and that
Speaker 1: I think maybe the difference here is that Dallas is saying, hey,
Speaker 1: we'll get it in Cedric Wilson's hands if he's the
Speaker 1: guy that's open and we expect him to do the
Speaker 1: things that Amari can do, instead of saying, no, Amar's
Speaker 1: our best player or CD's our best player. We're gonna
Speaker 1: find ways and create ways we can get them open
Speaker 1: and get the ball in your hands and let them
Speaker 1: do things right, which and I wanted to talk. I'm
Speaker 1: glad you brought that up because I do think that's
Speaker 1: a point worth talking about. And my friend Seth Kalina
Speaker 1: for Pro Football Focus actually wrote a really great story
Speaker 1: yesterday about Kellen's offense. You can go read it if
Speaker 1: you want to. It's really interesting, just about like it
Speaker 1: relies a lot on Dak to do everything and like
Speaker 1: go through his progressions, whereas a lot of other coaches
Speaker 1: scheme easy looks for their quarterback to get balls to guys,
Speaker 1: and like there's this weird toxic attitude to where it's
Speaker 1: like you can only be a good quarterback if like
Speaker 1: you don't have a line and you make all the
Speaker 1: progressions yourself, you know what I mean. It's like, well,
Speaker 1: if Dak was great, he could overcome this off defensive
Speaker 1: line killing him every down. It's like, why can you
Speaker 1: only be good if life is really difficult? Like why, Like,
Speaker 1: it's not it's not a bad thing for your coach
Speaker 1: to scheme up easy throws to Amari Cooper for you,
Speaker 1: and I just that hasn't been a thing enough for
Speaker 1: this offense. I think I don't like comparing anybody to
Speaker 1: Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. I don't think that's fair.
Speaker 1: They're never gonna He's never gonna be that, you know.
Speaker 1: But you can see, especially for Brady, you can see
Speaker 1: why he has played for so long. He is not
Speaker 1: worried about the stats at all. He's he is not
Speaker 1: worried about making all the best throws. There was that
Speaker 1: one play we saw with Dak where all all season
Speaker 1: he keeps saying, yeah, I got a little greedy there.
Speaker 1: You don't have to get greedy. You take what's there
Speaker 1: and keep going. It's first and twenty and Cooper is
Speaker 1: gonna give you seven eight yards maybe if you break
Speaker 1: a tackle and make more than that. But you trying
Speaker 1: to throw the ball to blank Jarwin down the field.
Speaker 1: That's not your strength, and that's not his strength right
Speaker 1: now in the middle of you know, in the middle
Speaker 1: of him coming back and all that. I just don't
Speaker 1: think that was a smart play. And now it's second
Speaker 1: and twenty you're trying to get in field goal range.
Speaker 1: And I just thought that was an example of somebody
Speaker 1: like a Brady who's just like, Okay, you're gonna give
Speaker 1: me that boom. I got it because I'm gonna do
Speaker 1: another seven, and I'm gonna do another seven and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get a first down. And I just I think
Speaker 1: that the greedy part of is is something we don't
Speaker 1: talk about as much. And I wonder do you remember
Speaker 1: from week from Week two against the Chargers, which was
Speaker 1: a very penalty heavy game if you remember, not on
Speaker 1: the level that we've seen in the second half of
Speaker 1: the season, but there were a lot of flags in
Speaker 1: that game. From there going to New England, they kept
Speaker 1: getting out of those first and twenty situations, like they
Speaker 1: would get a hold and then they would get it
Speaker 1: back like instantly, and they did it pretty reliably for
Speaker 1: like a month. Maybe that just gave him an inflated
Speaker 1: sense of confident. Yeah. Yeah, it's like, yeah, we're getting
Speaker 1: this back right here. Don't worry about we're getting twenty two.
Speaker 1: I don't care if it's first and twenty and that's
Speaker 1: not a way to live. You get the feeling that
Speaker 1: Dak is going to say something like in It won't
Speaker 1: be the US, It'll be some like CBS Radio, a
Speaker 1: serious interview or something where he'd be like, I was
Speaker 1: never the same after the calf injury. It hurt me
Speaker 1: all year long. I was playing with you know, something
Speaker 1: like that where you're like, honest. I don't think he'll
Speaker 1: say that now. I think once he retires and he
Speaker 1: looked back on his career, I think he will talk
Speaker 1: about this season and say I wasn't right, because we
Speaker 1: all see it. Like some of the things we see
Speaker 1: from him, I've never we haven't seen Dak be, in
Speaker 1: my opinion, be as inaccurate as he as he was
Speaker 1: this year. So many times he doesn't talk about this season.
Speaker 1: I hope, I hope this isn't the season that he
Speaker 1: talks well, he'll talk about it from a standpoint of
Speaker 1: the question will be like, what was the season that
Speaker 1: was most disappointing you, and I think, get you know,
Speaker 1: Danny'll get into it. I honestly don't think. I don't think.
Speaker 1: I don't think Dak was himself this year for whatever reason.
Speaker 1: I don't know the reason. Only he knows the reason.
Speaker 1: I don't think Dak was the same. I don't get
Speaker 1: why he would be so defensive about it if that
Speaker 1: was the case. You know, like he just refused to
Speaker 1: eat because of his personality. He's that type of personality
Speaker 1: where when you have those people that are extremely optimistic
Speaker 1: and always thinking the positive, they will never let the
Speaker 1: negative ever get into their mind, even if it might
Speaker 1: be true. They never let it get into their mind
Speaker 1: because it takes them away from their optimism. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I was thinking of that, and like the injury aspect,
Speaker 1: I'm like, it would have been so much easier if
Speaker 1: that was really the case, to just say, Okay, he
Speaker 1: is struggling with because then you get people that are
Speaker 1: like us or other people from the media looking at
Speaker 1: it like, well, makes sense, he's struggling with this injury,
Speaker 1: but he's out there battling through it and blah blah blah.
Speaker 1: So because yesterday I was thinking of that random I'm like, Okay,
Speaker 1: is this something that in the next few weeks we're
Speaker 1: gonna hear like kind of like Zeke but we knew
Speaker 1: about Zeke and we knew he was I don't but
Speaker 1: something that came about with Dak. Oh yeah, he was
Speaker 1: still dealing with that, and that's kind of what led
Speaker 1: to his inaccuracy or the way that he was playing
Speaker 1: and all that. But then at the same time, like
Speaker 1: that would have been if that's the case, it would
Speaker 1: have been great to be mentioned all throughout the season
Speaker 1: because then you get a lot less heat for it. No,
Speaker 1: but that's it's and I've been around the block enough
Speaker 1: times and I don't want to put words in Dak's mouth,
Speaker 1: but I could see that happening, or even if it doesn't.
Speaker 1: That's it drives me crazy because like, and it doesn't
Speaker 1: have to be Dak. So and so is struggling and struggling,
Speaker 1: and we come on the show and we're like, he
Speaker 1: looks like crap, he's struggling, And then so and so
Speaker 1: is like a holes, like, hey, I've got a high
Speaker 1: grade ankle sprain that nobody knows about, and this that
Speaker 1: and the other. I'm like, can you say it? Then
Speaker 1: because otherwise, like I got nothing to go on, I
Speaker 1: gotta just I'm I'm just watching the game and trying
Speaker 1: to analyze it based on what I see. You hiding
Speaker 1: it from me isn't helping anybody, yourself included, because people
Speaker 1: will go easier on you if they know that you're
Speaker 1: banged up. But I want to be clear, I don't
Speaker 1: know that I think that it was an injury or
Speaker 1: he wasn't right physically from the standpoint if he was
Speaker 1: still hurting, I know, I think it actually is, and
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know if you guys have
Speaker 1: ever experienced this, but sometimes when you get an injury,
Speaker 1: what tends to happen is you start you start overcompensating
Speaker 1: for the area that was injured. Even once you're healthy,
Speaker 1: you still overcompensate because you don't quite use it the
Speaker 1: same way. You don't quite trust that muscle, that ligament,
Speaker 1: You don't quite want to put the same torque on it,
Speaker 1: and so it changes your mechanics a little bit on
Speaker 1: how you do things. It happens when me running all
Speaker 1: the time, like you, you just change up what you
Speaker 1: do because you're trying to overcompensate for the pain that
Speaker 1: you were feeling before, even though that pain may not
Speaker 1: be there anymore. And I just wonder if some of
Speaker 1: that stuff happened for Dak where he just wasn't the same,
Speaker 1: It wasn't quite perfect the way it was before because
Speaker 1: he was still overcompensating for my bone was sticking out
Speaker 1: of my leg months ago, right, And I just I
Speaker 1: just wonder, I don't know this, I just wonder if
Speaker 1: maybe that was a situation hopefully not, because and that
Speaker 1: makes me think of a guy like late in Vanderesh
Speaker 1: and him with the times that he got injured. I mean,
Speaker 1: every time he came back, he just seemed like worse
Speaker 1: and worse. And I don't think that it was necessarily
Speaker 1: a physical thing. It was more well, yeah, a combination
Speaker 1: of it. But at the same time maybe mentally where
Speaker 1: he's like not playing or hard throwing himself to tackle
Speaker 1: as hard because of his mind he's gonna get hurt
Speaker 1: again in his neck and this and that. So I
Speaker 1: don't know, hopefully it's not that, because it could lean
Speaker 1: melt into like next year and the years to come.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I would I would probably think this year,
Speaker 1: I would guess Dak is probably going to spend a
Speaker 1: lot of time in the off season just work on
Speaker 1: his fundamentals. That's what I would guess. Because we saw
Speaker 1: him a lot of times this year kind of throwing
Speaker 1: off his back foot, I would probably guess this offseason
Speaker 1: he's gonna spend a lot of time working on footwork,
Speaker 1: working on his fundamentals, the things he couldn't do last
Speaker 1: year because he was rehabbing. He couldn't really work on
Speaker 1: those things that you have to keep up on as
Speaker 1: a quarterback. I would suspect he's gonna do a lot
Speaker 1: of that this offseason. Are you gonna take our final break?
Speaker 1: Will come back and we want to hear from you guys.
Speaker 1: Eight eight eight eight five five two to nine seven.
Speaker 1: Let's get some phone calls. I'll see what you guys
Speaker 1: have to say about this team. Where they go from here.
Speaker 1: We'll do that when we come back to This is
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Speaker 1: the Break, Welcome back. It is the final segment of
Speaker 1: the Break. We don't have a few more minutes here.
Speaker 1: We're life from s WBC Morgage Studios at the start,
Speaker 1: So we're gonna take a phone call. We got a
Speaker 1: call from Lance and Shyene. Lance, what up, ladies, lady
Speaker 1: and gentlemen, how y'all doing? God good good? Hey, we
Speaker 1: were talking about Kellen Moore and the way he directed
Speaker 1: the offense this year. Kellen Moore is the problem when
Speaker 1: you got Maury Cooper, which is the best route one
Speaker 1: on this team, and you don't even attempt to get
Speaker 1: to him. That's the first problem. CD is the next.
Speaker 1: I can't blame CD for not catching balls because we
Speaker 1: don't know how Kellen Moore is calling up the plates.
Speaker 1: So I'm leaving all this on basically Kellen Moore. What
Speaker 1: Garry Jones needs to do and step in. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure when McCartney was hired, if he was limited to
Speaker 1: what he could do, what could he not do with
Speaker 1: the coordinator? But I blame a lot of this on
Speaker 1: McCartney too, because he used to have stepped in when
Speaker 1: we stopped running. We need to run to set up
Speaker 1: the path, and yes, our offensive line needs to be fixed.
Speaker 1: But Kellen Moore is the problem, all right. We appreciate
Speaker 1: the problem too, that is the problem too, But Kellen
Speaker 1: Moore is the problem. All right. We appreciate the call,
Speaker 1: and I actually do think there is some truth to that.
Speaker 1: I do think that it didn't seem like, at least
Speaker 1: it didn't seem like they had a lot of answers
Speaker 1: for the issues that they had faced since the Denver game.
Speaker 1: Offensively didn't seem like they could quite find their groove
Speaker 1: find their way out of that. And that has to
Speaker 1: be you have to give a lot of that to
Speaker 1: the offensive coordinator of having to figure that out. I
Speaker 1: don't like, and I'm not going to I don't like
Speaker 1: calling for people to be fired, and I'm not going
Speaker 1: to sit here and like call for Kellen More to
Speaker 1: be fired. But it's two months of really mediocre offense
Speaker 1: and not getting results against quality opponents. And there's not
Speaker 1: a very long list of excuses. I mean, the offensive
Speaker 1: line wasn't good, but like everybody was available. They tried
Speaker 1: McGovern that didn't work. They put Connor Williams back in there,
Speaker 1: that didn't really work. You know, maybe they could have
Speaker 1: moved Lyle to guard like break glass in case of
Speaker 1: emergency whatever. I don't know, But there's not a long
Speaker 1: list of excuses. When you're like, well, why didn't this work?
Speaker 1: I mean, who am I wrong for thinking that? So,
Speaker 1: like I'm I'm not calling for somebody to lose their job.
Speaker 1: But that is something that the Cowboys should look at
Speaker 1: and consider, and it's concerning. Like I'm not as confident
Speaker 1: in Kellen Moore as I was before the bye week
Speaker 1: this season. I thought the call, I mean I thought
Speaker 1: I thought the caller was a tad bit hypocritical and
Speaker 1: some of the things that he said of saying I'm
Speaker 1: not going to put it on Ceedee Lamb because I
Speaker 1: don't know how the play calls are with Kellen Moore.
Speaker 1: But if you don't know how the play calls are,
Speaker 1: that you're you're also calling him the problem. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of things we don't know. But as
Speaker 1: Davis pointed out, and then the caller pointed out to
Speaker 1: offensive line, Dak calling Moore, yeah, it's it's a big
Speaker 1: problem all the way around. Everybody has a say in this.
Speaker 1: I just know this. If you fix that offensive line,
Speaker 1: guys can run behind it and Dak can throw behind it.
Speaker 1: A rookie quarterback in the fourth round who shouldn't be
Speaker 1: starting is starting and succeeding and wins Rookie of the
Speaker 1: Year because the offensive line is awesome. This offensive line
Speaker 1: needs to get better. And then I think that's where
Speaker 1: it first started is because you can't change DAK and
Speaker 1: you can't change the not right now, So fix that
Speaker 1: and I will, and if Kellen Moore is here next year,
Speaker 1: I agree with Nick. I mean that that's just the
Speaker 1: easiest fix, because I don't agree with that part about
Speaker 1: like they needed to keep running it wasn't working, Like
Speaker 1: who what game did you see them play after the
Speaker 1: buye where you had confidence that they could run the
Speaker 1: ball when they needed to. I don't think. I don't
Speaker 1: think there was a game this year that pissed me
Speaker 1: off more than the Saints game, just in terms of
Speaker 1: having to watch it, because they just kept stubbornly running
Speaker 1: and it didn't work. And ironically Tony scored on a
Speaker 1: sweep when they finally decided to go outside, but like
Speaker 1: their bread and butter in between, the tackles sucked and
Speaker 1: they wouldn't go away from it, and I wanted to scream.
Speaker 1: I hated that game plan so much, so I don't
Speaker 1: think that is the right idea either. I think either
Speaker 1: either change the scheme or fix the offensive line so
Speaker 1: that this scheme can get back to work in the
Speaker 1: way that we saw it. All right, we appreciate you
Speaker 1: guys joining us. That's a rap. That's the final regular
Speaker 1: season show for the twenty twenty one season. We will
Speaker 1: start next week on our offseason shows. We'll start talking
Speaker 1: about some big picture things like what's going to happen
Speaker 1: with these coaches, who are going to stick around, who
Speaker 1: may be gone? Tot them for Nickiepan, Dave Helm and
Speaker 1: Amber Garcia. I am Derek Eagelton. This has been The
Speaker 1: Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has
Speaker 1: been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys Football Club.