WEBVTT - Cowboys Break: Super Bowl Contenders? 0:00:01.200 --> 0:00:03.680 The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:06.880 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Are you ready for 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:10.600 a break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:14.960 ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that. 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:20.320 It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:26.600 with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton. 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:30.400 It is Wednesday, April twenty fourth, twenty nineteen, Season fifteen, 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:34.080 episode number six. Welcome to another edition of The Break. 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:36.960 We're live from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:41.600 Star and this Draft Week, Cowboys twenty nineteen NFL Draft 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:45.680 is upon us. It starts tomorrow night. We'll have wall 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.400 to wall coverage for you guys across all of our channels, 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:52.800 Dallas Cowboys dot Com, Cowboys Mobile, Cowboys Connected TV App, 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.080 basically everywhere you can go to get content. We'll be 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:58.480 there and we'll be giving you guys wall to wall coverage. 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.520 Welcome to the show, Nick, Dave in Spanish and in 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.160 Spanish were doing wall to wall in Spanish. I don't 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:06.679 know about wall to wall as far as I can reach, 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:08.720 you know, I can't reach both sides of the wall. 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:11.120 Giving us some content we'll have some stuff some most 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:12.679 Cowboys for those of you that don't know, go check 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:14.720 out some most Cowboys dot com. You can also get 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.080 access to that Spanish content on our mobile app, Cowboys Mobile. 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.800 How's everybody this morning? Great? From this mid day? Good? 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.920 We ready for draft? Yes? Yeah, you've been working on 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:27.400 this for a while, Dave. It's like Christmas. I love. 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:29.160 This is one of the best weeks of the year. 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:32.560 I think this is my three favorite days that don't 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:37.120 actually involve football being played. Okay, yeah, yeah, not the games, No, 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.400 I mean football season in general. Labor Day to Christmas 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:42.479 is better than the rest of the year always. But 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.280 this is nice, good. So let's talk a little bit 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:47.000 about draft. And I wanted to take it a little 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:49.280 different direction, seeing is this is not the Draft show, 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.040 so I don't expect that you're going to get a 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:54.000 whole ton of you know, here's who the Cowboys should 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:56.080 be looking at in the sixth round. But what I 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:58.120 wanted to do I actually saw this article this week, 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.560 and actually I was listening to our sister station in 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:03.560 W one five three of the fan here in Dallas, 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:05.280 and they were doing a similar thing, but there was 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:08.160 it was all based on this article that I that 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.079 that I read that Bucky Brooks produced on NFL dot com. 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:14.520 And the contention, the whole contention of the article was 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:17.680 that based on his experience and the other guy who 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:20.000 works with Daniel Jeremiah, who's also a former scout, both 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:22.720 of them being former scouts, Um, they kind of came 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.280 up with this formula of what they said a super 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:28.920 Bowl contending team should be. Here the ingredients that a 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.320 super Bowl contending team should be in today's NFL. UM. 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:34.360 And so I wanted to talk about number one, that 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.760 formula that they put together. But then also as a 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.440 part of the article, they named five teams in the 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:42.920 NFL that they felt like our super Bowl contender ready 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.480 based upon this formula, one of which being the twenty 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.400 nineteen Dallas Cowboys. And they gave some names as to 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:51.519 some of the ingredients that they thought kind of made 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.640 up this whole, uh, this whole you know, concoction of 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:56.960 what a team would look like. Um, so we'll talk 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.000 about that as well. So let's start first with kind 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.440 of his overall idea of what should be in a 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:03.560 Super Bowl contending team. And I want to get your 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.720 opinions on whether you think, what do you think of 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.960 the actual setup? Right? So he says Super Bowl contending 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.400 teams should one have a franchise quarterback. Number two should 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:16.160 have three offensive linemen. And when I mean by offensive line, 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:19.400 three really good offensive linemen. He calls them blue players. 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:21.920 These are players that you would consider top ten to 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.760 fifteen to twenty depending on the position in the NFL. 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:29.640 But three offensive linemen, three offensive playmakers. And by the way, 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:32.160 you can't have multiple guys in You can't have a 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.960 guy in two different positions. So if your quarterback is 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.680 your quarterback, you can't consider him one of the playmakers. Right, 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.760 Does that makes sense? Then you have two pass rushers, 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:44.880 and then you finalize finally, have three defensive playmakers. Do 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.640 you guys think of that? I think that seems like 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:50.400 a bit much. Do you think that. Do you argue 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:52.120 the point of whether you need some of those some 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:55.680 of those people, I mean on three playmakers on the 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:59.800 offense outside the quarterback and the three offensive linemen. Yes, 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.720 so three skill positions that are playmakers, and then on 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:08.120 defense three playmakers that are not your two pass rushers. Okay, 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:10.880 I don't like to be that guy that always just 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.800 disagrees with stuff. But I just think that it's a 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.240 very black and white way to look at it. I 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:20.600 guarantee you there are people listening to this show right 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:22.680 now that are like, what about the coach? Where does 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:26.840 that factor in on all this thing? But I, you know, yeah, 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:31.800 those things sound pretty good. The difference for me, it'll 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:35.200 start with number one, the franchise quarterback, because how many 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.600 franchise quarterbacks are there? You know, like, is my franchise 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.440 quarterback better than your friend? I mean, you're calling Kirk 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.520 Cousins a franchise quarterback in Minnesota because you're paying for it, 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:47.919 but he's not helping you win like Tom Brady is 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.440 as a franchise quarterback. So I yeah, you knows that 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:52.480 a franchise quarterback. Let me give you let me give 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.039 you some perspective on that. Of the five teams he mentioned, 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.520 he mentioned the Patriots and this is where you get interesting, 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:02.479 the Cleveland Browns, the Los Angeles Rams, the Dallas Cowboys, 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:05.800 and the Chicago Bears. Four of those five are not 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:10.560 considered top three to top five quarterbacks in the NFL. However, 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.719 he identifies them as franchise quarterbacks, which makes me think 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:16.840 his definition of a franchise quarterback is not necessarily that 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.680 as much as it is who you have a guy 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:23.599 that you know is your guy at quarterback, whether that's 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:25.960 whether he has flaws, we know that he has flaws, 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:27.520 but he is your guy. Like this is a guy 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.760 you're committed to and you feel like buying large he 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:32.960 can get you to the promised Land, Right, He's gotta 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.719 have pieces, Maybe that's the truth, but he's just a 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.320 quarterback that you feel like you're committed to and you 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:40.240 think he can get you there with the right things 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:43.680 around him. Yeah, and that I mean that conversation has 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.320 become so skewed and like it's it's a meme at 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:48.880 this point, like the old, you know, decade old joke 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:53.200 about is Joe Flacco elite? Like you know, is a 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:56.000 franchise quarterback a guy that can make every play on 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:57.760 his own and win your games that you're not supposed 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.240 to win and he will keep your rell that no 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.640 matter what. Or is a franchise quarterback a guy that 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.960 you trust to steer your organization in the right direction. 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.520 I think it's a wide definition and not everybody has 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:11.920 the same one, which is why it's perfectly logical for 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:15.240 me to think that Daniel Jeremiah considers Dak a franchise quarterback, 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:17.599 and a bunch of people listening to this don't. Um. 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:21.760 But the recipe, I mean, that's that's not that's not 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:24.159 groundbreaking stuff. You need a quarterback, You need to protect 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:26.599 your quarterback. Your quarterback needs weapons to get the ball 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.279 to You have to rush the passer. You have to 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.320 have guys that can make plays on the ball when 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.320 the ball comes out, especially in the stands. It sounds 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.520 like a good football team, and a good football team 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.960 is usually a Super Bowl contenter. So yeah, he's breaking 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.599 it down and it's it's April, and he's doing his 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:43.880 homework and I get it, like that's that's a that's 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.320 a well written thing. And he's now identifying teams that 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:50.520 are on there that that's awesome. Um. Yeah, I agree 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.880 with Dave. It's not really groundbreaking. But I do think 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.000 coaching is a part of it. Um. And then there's 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.320 some intangibles thing too, you know, kicker and stuff like that. 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:01.120 You got to have a guy that's not gonna you know, 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:03.680 I don't know if kicker has to make you elite, 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:05.640 but you can lose games if you you know, the 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:07.920 Rams certainly got into the Super Bowl because they had 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.840 a kicker, you know, so there's some other factors there, 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:12.880 But that's interesting. I think it just starts with a quarterback. 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.760 I mean, like you said, is this quarterback elite? Is 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.080 he good enough to get there? But if you've got 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.080 those three offensive linemen and three playmakers on offense, and 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:24.040 then and then your defense is doing its job. You know, 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:25.960 I don't even know how if you even need a 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.640 franchise quarterback. You just need a quarterback that's not going 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:30.920 to mess it up. I actually I haven't read this article, 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.520 so I don't know for sure, but I can lump 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.720 it into two different categories. Is there's the teams. There's 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:39.120 and there's the New England's of the world and the 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:41.560 New Orleans. And New Orleans has a hell of a roster. 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:43.600 Don't get me wrong. At Green Bay. I know the 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:45.960 Packers won six games last year. I don't care. There's 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.440 that category of quarterback where you're in the conversation no 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:52.320 matter what Seattle now. And then there's a group of 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.400 teams and the ones you listed come to mind of 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:59.400 you've got all the pieces, and enough of it is 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.520 cheap that you've got the cap space that it makes sense, 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:04.080 and I don't like to think of it in terms 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.440 of like a one off. I mean, you know, the 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.240 Saints probably should have been in the super Bowl, and 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:12.560 fluke circumstances kept them out, and that happens every year. 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:14.640 This is such a parody driven league. I mean, you 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:16.800 know Dez caught it right or even you know the 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.240 Packers won that game and then they're up twenty points 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:20.520 in the fourth quarter and they don't go to the 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:22.640 super Bowl. Like I prefer to think of it in 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.040 a two three year window, and I think the teams 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.520 you listed are all set up to be very successful 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:30.840 in this two three year window, and I definitely think 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:32.319 the Cowboys are one of them. And I think the 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:34.320 quarterback in the head coach you mentioned the head coach, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.320 I think those are the two parts to me that 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.120 can affect the rest of the list. Depending on how 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.080 good they are, you may have to have less of 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:43.800 these other parts. If you have a Tom Brady and 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.599 a Belichick together, then to me, although he makes the 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:48.520 arguments that they have all those other pieces, I think 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.280 all those other pieces would be moderate pieces on other teams. 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:53.720 But because you've got such a great head coach, in 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:56.559 my opinion, first, and then you have a great quarterback. 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.680 It allows you to get away with using lesser players 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:01.920 in some those other roles and you're still able to 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.080 win super Bowls. And I think what Dave was saying 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.920 is there's a few of those teams with those quarterbacks 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:09.600 like that that can do that. Right The Saints, though, 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:13.200 to me, seem are they on that list? Actually they're 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:15.720 on the list of teams that are close but not 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.160 quite there. And his whole argument with them was they 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.840 don't have the offensive line. They don't have three of 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:22.800 those guys, which when we get into ours a little bit, 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:24.560 I think you can start making some arguments whether the 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.800 Cowboys have right now as we stand, do they have 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.000 three great offensive linemen? Do they have three guys that 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.640 at their positions are considered across the league some of 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.120 the best. And I don't know if you can make 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:36.640 that argument right now, but we'll get into that a 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.360 little bit, can I will? Okay, so good, let's let's 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.240 have that conversation and let's talk right about these different 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:47.359 positions on the Cowboys franchise. Quarterback obviously, he says, daku 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:51.160 three offensive linemen. Tyrn Smith Zach Martin, Travis fred Fred, 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:54.240 Travis Frederick. Obviously the question mark there is Travis Frederick. 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:58.559 Offensive playmakers, he says Zeke Amari Cooper and Jason Witten, 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:00.199 which I thought was a bit curious, but we'll talk 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:04.680 about that. Two pass rushers obviously DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn. 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:06.880 They have other guys that could potentially step up, so 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:09.400 I think this is an area that probably makes some sense. Um. 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:13.319 And then three defensive playmakers Jalen Smith, Layton Vander esh 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:16.400 and he throws in Byron Jones. Barron Jones a good player. 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:18.560 I don't know if he's a playmaker. He's not a playmaker. 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:22.720 He prevents plays, which is really important at that position, 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.680 but he's not making plays right now. And I think 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:27.520 that's what the hole, not the hold up, but I 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.480 think that's what the hesitation is to pay him a 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:33.120 lot of money. But really good player though, And he 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.520 got into the the Pro Bowl without an interception, which 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.800 is which is unique, you know, for this team. But 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.400 I don't know if he's a playmaker, but I you know, 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.920 that's that's still I mean, a good he's a really 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.240 good player. This is an example I think in his 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.040 article where he describes the blue players as he calls them, 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:53.800 the players that are top ten at their position around 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:55.800 the league. I think this is a situation where you 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:57.720 could have a Byron Jones who could be considered a 0:10:57.760 --> 0:10:59.920 blue player let me, but may not necessarily be a 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.160 play Let me change that. You know what, if you're 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.079 throwing a deep ball in third and nine and he's 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.360 knocking the ball down or he's contested and you're getting 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:08.360 off the field, you made a play, you know, So 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:10.199 I'm not going to call him not a playmaker. He's 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.400 not getting an interception or a turnover, and he knows that. 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:13.839 He says that's the number one thing he's got to 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.640 change this year. But he's making plays by getting off 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:18.840 the field. So let me enough that you call them 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.440 playmaker though, see, I think you're right the first time, 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:23.800 and all due respect to Byron, I'll be the one 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.440 to bring up Earl Thomas this time since you usually 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.880 do it. But who oh, it was coming. It was coming. 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:30.959 Go back to Week three in Seattle, Like, when was 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:32.880 the last time the Cowboys had a dB that just 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.280 completely took over a game like that? And that hasn't 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:37.520 finding as a playmate and that's not on this roster. 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.120 But it's not right. Not in the secondary. Nope, Yeah, 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.400 I mean Jalen and Layton one hundred percent. I'm very 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:47.960 comfortable listing them as playmakers. They forced fumbles, they intercept 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.040 the ball. I think they make key stops. Layton had 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:53.160 more interceptions than any dB on this team, team or tied. Like, 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.480 I mean, yeah, go for it, y'all. Y'all deserve that title. 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:58.800 I don't feel comfortable listening a dB on this team 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.720 as a play maker. I think Byron Jones is a 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:04.280 hell of a player. I hesitate to put that label 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.000 on him. Okay, so that's one position that we have 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.560 a question. More like to me, that's like the cherry 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:12.280 on top type of stuff, like I feel good enough 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.240 with him. Yes, you want interceptions, you want them to 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.400 get the ball back. But I think he deserved to 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.880 go to the Pro Bowl. I kudos to the league 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:25.520 for having the wherewithal to give him that without the turnovers, 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:28.160 because there's more to life than turnovers. Coverage is important, 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.400 but in a league where in a league where like 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.640 seventy five to eighty percent of the games or a 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:36.320 coin flip, that is kind of important. You need a 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.000 guy who can give you a short field once every 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.840 other game or do something like that. You know, I think, yeah, 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.080 you know, go ahead, you were saying something. No, I 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.959 was just gonna mention, like as far as corner, he 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:52.640 would be the one that I feel the best like 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:55.560 in recent time like that, I feel good about having 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:57.440 him on the field, Like the copy was having really 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.680 had a good corner like that to where you feel 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:01.480 come to well enough and he was able to make 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:05.080 that happen last year. Yeah, And I think the stretch 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:10.360 there is that having a team with five dynamic players 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:12.920 is that's a lot on defense, and that's kind of 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:17.920 what he's asking two pass rushers and then three playmakers, 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:20.120 where if those guys were doing their job where we 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.000 call them pass rushers, then they are playmakers as well. Yeah, 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:27.000 it's kind of I mean, not consider DeMarcus Lawrence a playmakers. 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.240 DeMarcus Lawrence is the best playmaker on the team because 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:31.800 when you factor what he does in the one game, 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.360 he's the best playmaker on the team. So they're they're 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:37.439 good there. You know, he's asking for five difference making 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.360 players and whether or not he's getting an interception or not, 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:42.600 he's making a difference for sure. He made it all 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.920 pro Byron Jones. So yeah, I think we're there. He's 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:50.160 not a catalytic playmaker, but he's definitely doing his job. Okay, 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:52.199 let's go back up to the offensive line, and they 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:56.200 had He says, you need three dynamic offensive lineman. I 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.800 think as of two years ago, there wouldn't even be 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:00.640 a question. We would just go right over this and 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:03.240 move on to the next thing. But I do think 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.200 with Travis Frederick having missed the season, with him coming 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.040 back from an injury that is not your typical Hey, 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.200 I've broke this bone and it takes this long for 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:15.320 the bone to heal because there's a lot of unpredictability, 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:19.600 if that's a word around this kind of ailment. Do 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.120 you guys feel like right now the Cowboys can feel 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.360 confident in the fact that they've got three difference making 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.560 offensive linemen on this team. You're right, I want to 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:32.440 I'm like, if anybody deserves the benefit of the doubt, 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.040 it's Travis Frederick. He's definitely in that category of player. 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:37.680 But you're right, this isn't a broken bone or a ligament, 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:42.360 and it's it's something that bears watching. I have every 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.040 confidence he can work himself back into being that caliber 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.960 of player, But I hesitate to just assume it'll happen, 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.040 you know. But but you know, here's where I will 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:53.000 argue with that notion. There is that if I'm sitting 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:56.120 here with a you know, a right guard, a right tackle, 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.840 and a center that are all pro let's somewhere some 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:03.120 AFC team, But my left tackle, my left guard or issues, 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:05.800 you know, and I have an Eric Flower's type of 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.360 guy on the left side where you know, I've got 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:11.200 to give help to all the time, then yeah, I 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:13.520 got three studs over here. I mean, Joe Thomas was 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:15.600 great for years for with Cleveland, but I don't know 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:19.320 who else was good with him. I would rather I 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.320 would rather not have three all pro guys. I'd rather 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:24.600 have five guys that are pretty good that we're all 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:29.440 rated first round picks. You know, Lyell Collins is very 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.400 very serviceable, if not good on the right side. Connor 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:34.560 Williams as a rookie, if this is the floor for 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.720 Connor william He's gonna be fine. So I would rather 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:41.000 have five guys like that than just say, do I 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:43.800 have three all pros? Maybe? Maybe not, But I know 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:45.960 my five, it is probably as good as anyone else, 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:48.200 you know, so it is a unit more than any 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:52.320 other football kind of question. That little bit I get. 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:53.680 You need some elite guys that you don't have to 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.440 worry about Zachbard, you don't have to worry about that. 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:59.160 But and knowing that when a player gets hurt, you're 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:01.840 gonna be mine with the backup, like we saw Sat 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:05.840 Martin go out. Obviously, Travis Frederick was out the whole season, 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:09.480 so Filo when he went out. So it was good 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.400 this year when you saw all these different types of 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.240 injuries that you had a backup that was able to 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.040 come in and do the job. Yeah. Frankly at the 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.760 center position, you got one that you feel pretty good about. 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.640 He played all last year and played pretty well. Loonie, 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.520 Suahilo and Fleming on top of the five that are starters. 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:27.720 I don't think there's a team in the league from 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.880 one to eight that's better than that. Yeah, but they 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.160 were still second in the league in sacks allowed, which 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:35.800 that is something that will have to be better if 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.720 this is a team that's gonna true take the all 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.240 important and they couldn't move those Rams guys out of 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:46.400 the way. They really couldn't. I mean, Travis Frederick playing 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:50.840 at his normal level could be so big for this team. 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.520 And I hope for the Cowboys and for him that 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:57.280 that you know, this will be a natural progression. You know, 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:00.160 there's debate, you know, people that have had GIAMA are 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:02.320 a syndrome or like, this is a thing that takes 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:04.560 a year or more to really get back from speed. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.400 But then you're also like, well, Travis Fredericks an NFL athlete, 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:11.360 He's got access to rehab, and he's got the genetics 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:13.679 that might make this an easier transition for him. But 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.760 I've heard an NFL athlete who's gone through the same 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:17.600 exact same thing it takes a year to come back. 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:19.800 We will have to see, Like I said, like I 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:22.920 want to just assume that he will plug right back 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:24.840 in and be an all pro I hope that happens, 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:27.399 but I think it would be a mistake to just 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.159 assume that that's the case in late April. Do you 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:33.280 think because of his stature on this team as one 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.720 of the leaders, that the Cowboys, even if he isn't 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:40.840 really back to being himself and he's maybe not even 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:43.160 the best center that they got, you think they would 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:46.040 actually make him a backup this year and let him 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.159 keep working his way back, or do you think that 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:50.520 because of his stature they're putting him out there if 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.520 he can go. I think Travis is the type of 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.760 player and person that won't allow that if he can't 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:00.000 do what he needs to do physically. And he's even 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.959 said that in his in his UM interviews here. Recently, 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.600 he had a story that Robert Phillips wrote on our 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:10.480 site about right now, it's great, I'm and making progress, 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.560 but we don't know until we really get the pads on, 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:14.840 and I have to go block Antoine Woods and keep 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:16.760 him from getting back there. By the way, that's when 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:18.640 we first started realizing something. We didn't know what was wrong, 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:20.760 but we knew it wasn't Travis Frederick, right, And so 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.800 you know, he's he's like, let's see, we'll see what happens. 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:25.800 And so I don't think if it's if he's not 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:28.720 better than Joe Looney, I don't. I mean, what's Jason 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.320 Garrett holding on for. I mean, he's got to make 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.760 sure that that his job's on on the I mean, 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:37.680 you know, there's no playing favorites anymore. The flip side 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.040 got bigger problem right now, let's go. Yeah. The flip 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.360 side of that too, is you know, maybe Travis Frederick, 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:46.719 who's at seventy five percent, is still better than a 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:48.840 lot of centers. I don't know. We'll have to see 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.080 that maybe. And that's the question, like what percentage does 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:52.719 he have to be back to where he's better than 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:55.080 what you got from Looney? That's the question. Great, and 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:57.960 and that's not But the thing is, that's not a 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:01.040