WEBVTT - Cowboys Break: Led By Zeke 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.360 The following. He's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.560 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Are you ready for 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:12.160 a break? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely ready 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:16.040 for a break? Yeah, and so much for that. It's 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:20.599 time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com wall 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:27.280 with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton. 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.520 It is Monday, November nineteenth, twenty eighteen, Season fourteen, episode 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.640 number eighty two. Welcome to another edition of The Break, 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:38.080 live from the s WBC Warriors Studios at the Star. 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.280 It is a good Monday around here. Cowboys get a 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:43.800 big win yesterday against the Atlanta Falcon. It's their second 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.760 in a row on the road. They win twenty two nineteen, 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:49.559 and we will tell tell you guys all about it 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:51.440 today and what went right what went wrong for the 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:53.159 Cowboys because there were some things they're still gonna have 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.080 to work on. And we have a short week. This Thursday, 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:58.520 Cowboys are right back at it against the Washington Redskin 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:02.600 and it will be victory Wednesday. This is pretty much 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:05.920 like a Wednesday already we go with that um. But no, 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.160 this game this week is going to be for the division. 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:10.679 As of right now. Obviously it'll be for the lead 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:14.200 in the division, very very important game, just as last 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:16.000 week was a very important game, and just as a 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.800 week before was a very important game. How's everybody doing 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.640 this morning? Great? Ready to jump right in? Yeah? Ready 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:26.080 to ump them? Are important games, Yeah they are. You're 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:28.760 right about that. All you spend too much time with 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:35.920 broad us from coming from the Redskins. Win is the 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:39.160 biggest game of the year because because of what you 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:42.560 have afterward, and you know what the Saints are doing, 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:44.240 and you know that that one's going to be really, 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:46.880 really tough. You gotta win this one because if you go, 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.480 you get swept by the Redskins, and then you're not 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:52.000 gonna do anything. And the pressure will mount with each 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.520 win because at this point in the season, the Cowboys 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:56.080 really don't have a lot of room for error. That 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.520 is the situation that they've kind of painted themselves into, 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:02.000 and so now they have no room for error. They've 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:03.840 got to keep winning if they help expect to make 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:06.000 the playoffs. Well, I said last week, if they beat 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:08.200 the Falcons, they're gonna make it to the playoffs. Yeah, 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:10.560 I did say that. Feel good about that. I feel 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:12.320 way better about it. Than I did. I was like 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:15.720 that Dave sideboys, like they're gonna make it. But now 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:18.680 I feel much better about it. The Eagles look like 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:22.560 that they're they're they're struggling right now, yeah they are. 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:24.840 And the Redskins are struggling as well. I mean the 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.520 Redskins lost their quarterback. Um, I don't know if that's 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:30.839 better or worse for them, but their offensive lines beat 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.160 up like it has been. Yeah, but you know, and 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.799 I'm it's still This is as manageable a final stretch 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:38.840 of the season as I can remember the Cowboys having. 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.320 But at the same time, like the Colts look good 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:44.440 all of a sudden four game win streak. Andrew Luck 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:48.160 hasn't been sacked since like October fifth. The Giants have 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.160 won what two or three in a row. At this 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:53.919 I mean, it's will score thirty five points and yeah, 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.639 yeah they may not. It may not be enough to win, 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:58.960 but they'll score and all of a sudden, Philadelphia will 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:00.920 be healthy. The weak that they lay the Cowboys. I mean, 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:02.920 there's just a lot of There's a lot of football 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:04.760 left to be played, and you can't take a single 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:07.560 a single team or a game for granted. If you're 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.440 the Cowboys the week they gotta win. Love this dumb league. 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.079 It's always entertained, always been changing, all right, So let's 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:15.280 jump right in. I do want to talk first about 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:18.760 this offense. After only scoring three points in the first half, 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:21.400 they were able to score four out of five of 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.320 their final possessions in the second half, two touchdowns, two 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.200 field goals. Let's start first with kind of why was 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:29.120 there such a slow starter, or do you think that 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.679 the slow start kind of affected them in any way, 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:33.440 or what were you seeing different in the second half 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.640 the first I'll say this, I think the Cowboys had 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.000 a slow start because they wanted it to be slow. 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.160 They wanted I mean they obviously they want to score points, 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:43.920 but they wanted to slow the game down. And there's 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:45.840 no doubt about it. Look at those scoring drives. I 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.360 mean they're running, running, running. That's why the game, you know, 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:53.120 barely took three hours if that, I mean, it was 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:55.600 a quick game. They wanted to keep Matt Ryan off 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:57.840 the field, so that's part of it. But when you 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:00.360 don't catch in when you get down there, then obviously 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:02.520 you're not going to score. But but the idea was 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:04.720 to play that way and kind of grind it up, 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:07.480 keep them off the field. So yeah, Stephen Jones said 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:09.280 that after the game too, He's like, that was certainly 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:12.920 part of the game plan. You know, it doesn't look 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.720 as smarter pretty when you don't cash in. I mean, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:19.000 Cole Beasley drops a touchdown. Obviously, they had plenty of 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.840 They had plenty of sputtering drives and looking at it 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:25.200 at it right now, I mean what they punted on 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:30.200 two three, well two of their four yeah, well two 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:32.200 of their three really, which that just I mean three 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.280 possessions in the first half. That just goes to show 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.080 you it looked. You know. The end result is what 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.560 I thought it would be. They won, obviously, and they 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.159 put up some decent yards doing it. I thought, just 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.599 based on the quality of the defense involved, I thought 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.760 it would look a little more explosive than it did. 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:50.880 But I think Nick's right that that was probably part 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:52.720 of the game plan going in. Yeah, if you look 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.200 at it, there were two drives at the Cowboys particularly 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.240 did exactly that they had to drive. The first drive 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.520 of the game. They had fifteen plays for eight yards 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.040 and it took seven twenty three off the clock. That 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:05.840 was the game plan. And then the second half, they 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:07.960 did the exact same thing. Actually was their first drive. 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.400 I think it's spanned between the third and the fourth quarters, 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:13.840 but it was a four team play drive for seventy 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:17.039 five yards. Seven fifty three was a total possession time 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:19.960 and they ended that one with a touchdown field goal 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:23.040 on the first third. That was exactly that was exactly 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.479 what the Cowboys needed to do and one to do 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:27.560 in that game will slow it down. And I'll tell 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:29.760 you this, especially that team that they're going to play 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.880 in two weeks, New Orleans Saints, that has to be 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.200 the game plan. The more you can have those kinds 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.520 of drives and keep their quarterback off the field and 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:40.480 that explosive offense off the field, the better your chances 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:42.000 are to win. They're gonna have to do that with 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.280 a lot of teams. That is the philosophy of what 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:49.560 they want to do. Right. You wanted to jump in 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:55.120 here just listening to you guys. No, no, I mean, 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.040 clearly a big win for the Cowboys. One of the 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:02.240 things that I'm still concerned and actually the whole red 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.800 something you know, them scoring there, it's still a very 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:08.720 grey area for them. And one of the things that 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.479 did surprise me was Dak Prescott going into the end 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:15.599 zone and keeping the ball himself, because that's something that 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:19.240 we've seen in the past, but they kind of stopped 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.839 doing or using him. And as far as the running 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:24.760 game when it comes to that area right there and 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:28.080 clearly worked out. So they just need to keep doing 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.600 that and catching in on those. And now maybe I'm 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:37.679 starting to change my opinion on the kicker maybe, but yeah, 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:41.480 when you have the problems that the kicker is having 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:48.720 now now now, then yes, it's very very important for 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:51.920 you to be able to even if you were to 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.240 convert it to like a two point, you know, if 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:58.000 you can't trust him, but the having the ability to 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.640 be able to do that and get that involved in 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:04.479 that way and just get those extra points and however 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:09.120 you can get points. I like that. But still we'll see. 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:12.640 I don't know about playoffs though, well, well there's some 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:16.000 we're just jumping right to the playoffs. But looking at 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:20.520 weeks left, uh no, I mean I always think that 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.520 can run a little bit more often than he does. 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:25.240 But I really did like the way they incorporated him. Obviously, 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:27.520 the touchdown is huge. Brian made a really great point 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.760 in his postgame notebook last night that he had four 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:33.480 carries for five yards, but he did some crucial stuff 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:35.880 like I mean, scoring a touchdown, picking up first downs 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:39.040 with his feet. Um. I would like to see more 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.520 of it. But with the days Zeke had, I'm not 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:43.920 gonna second guess that too much. I thought he was. 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:48.320 He was phenomenal. And Zeke's um presence was the reason 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:50.280 that that deck was able to get around there. I 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:52.320 think it was Vic Beasley just shot down in there, 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:54.800 and and you know Swain had a nice block. I 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:58.560 thought Swain had a really good game. Um. But you know, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.960 just over all, I mean, you're right, it all starts 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:05.840 with it does start there, and and he's two weeks 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.720 in a row now, he's just been phenomenal. Um, I 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.280 don't know, I don't know if he's I mean, he's 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.160 the best player on the field. But I mean there's 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.720 a close second going on on that defense, and it's 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.480 it was amazing. Just I know you're probably gonna get 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.320 the defense here in a second, but it was just amazing. 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.000 The irony if they don't take vander esh who who 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.000 the Cowboys should have taken? Everyone thinks it should be Ridley, 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:31.200 and but just how ironic that Ridley drops the ball 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.080 and it goes right to vander Esh and that really 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.280 changed the whole game right there. Um, So it's pretty 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:40.199 wild that that kid is playing at a high level 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:43.120 to the point where I mean he is playing at 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:45.160 a Pro Bowl level. There's no doubt about it. I really, 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.280 I think he put himself in the Pro Bowl yesterday. 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.600 I mean, I don't know what justifies me to say that, 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:53.440 but he just got off the ballot, so that helps. No, 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:56.959 he's on the ballot. I mean, Cowboys fan base is 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.320 gonna go nuts voting for this guy. He's playing great. 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:01.720 He's a rookie. It's a great story. He plays for 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.120 the Dallas Cowboys. I know that. I mean this was 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.120 a regional game, it wasn't national, but he played the 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:11.079 game of his life on national TV. Albert Breer featured 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:14.200 him in his you know Monday Morning column today. He's 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.360 I mean, he's blowing up. Obviously, he's got to keep 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:20.319 this going into into December when the voting ends. People 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.480 love old school type players, and he is a throwback. 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.000 You know, we sort of compared in my guests or 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:29.560 he got comparisons to Brian Urlacher, which is like, whoa 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:33.000 wall slow down. But that's exactly the type of way 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:36.439 he's playing. He's playing at a level that I don't 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.440 think we really saw a lot out of Shaun Lee. 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:40.679 And I hate saying that because Saun Lee, no disrespect 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:44.280 to him, but I think he is playing even above 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.560 that a little bit. In the passing game, it's really hard. Yeah, 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:49.680 I think. I think it just depends on what year. 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.319 I mean, Shaan Lee hasn't he hasn't made those plays 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.040 in a while, but yeah, it's we're five years removed 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:56.920 from when he had like five picks in a season. 0:09:56.960 --> 0:09:58.920 Like Sean Lee made those plays at one point in 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.199 his career. But I guess and those he's on. I mean, 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:03.000 he's on the downturn of his career though. There's no 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:04.960 doubt about that. Those of you that were watching the 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.120 video of our show, Um, you just saw they show 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:09.680 to play there in the red zone. It was a 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.720 play that basically, um, he got a pass defense on 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.160 the play, knock the ball down. It was literally in 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:17.920 the receiver's hands and he was able to knock it, 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:20.040 knock it out of the receiver's hands. It to me 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.120 like those are kind of plays that you don't necessarily 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:25.520 always see from linebackers. Linebackers typically they'll jar the ball 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.599 loose loose with a big hit. But usually most linebackers 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.440 on athletic enough number one to be in the right 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:32.600 position and number two to have the hand eye coordination 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.560 to be able to quickly snap snap out a ball 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:40.000 and knock it out of a receiver's pass too. I mean, 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:42.640 I mean the ball just gets deflected right in there 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:44.720 in his hand eye coordination just to catch it. And 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:47.400 then when he catches it, he's going I mean, like 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.800 he knows exactly what he's doing with it. He has 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:53.120 got he has got the freakiest reach I can. I mean, 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.800 you know, you know, it's almost awkward to call him. 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.320 We call him the wolf hunter. I think about this 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:01.839 last night. He's more like a werewolf, like if you 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:05.840 ever seen an American werewolf in London. I think where 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.800 he transforms into the wolf and like his arms grow 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:11.360 down to his shins, Like that's what it reminds me of. 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.800 Like and I almost wonder, I'm not trying to take 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:15.480 anything away from him, but I was thinking about this, 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.400 Yester Yere. I was like, maybe he's just such a 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:19.840 good tackler because his arms are so damn long. Like 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.720 your average player, you grab a guy, you grab him 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:24.600 around the hips, and if you don't get it just right, 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:26.800 maybe the guy squirts away from you. Like this dude 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:29.560 can wrap his whole arms around whoever can reach out 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.000 and get you. You You could be a couple of yards 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:32.680 away and he still can reach out and get you. 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.360 It's like plastic I have. He's freaky. I have two 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:37.800 really good friends that are high school coaches, and they 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:40.640 both said to me yesterday they reached out and said, 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.079 that play he made. They both comment on the same play, 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.360 they're showing it right. There was that. Yeah it was 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.360 he was blocked, but he made it. There's no reason 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:50.880 to make that play. And if you are gonna make it, 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.160 it'll be three to four yards. You kind of get dragged, 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:55.719 but you finally he just like stonewalled the whole thing. 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.200 And that's a pretty good tackle in space. Matthews, Yeah, 0:11:58.240 --> 0:11:59.920 I mean he's done that two weeks in a row. 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:02.240 He just figures out how to do that. I just 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.680 think if if he plays at even a moderate level 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.800 against Washington and New Orleans, that's it. He's in the 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.200 Pro Bowl. That's I just that's what I think. And 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.280 these interceptions certainly help. And anytime you can, I mean, 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.600 that's all, that's all part of the highlights. They get 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:17.320 onto Sports Center and that kind of thing, and they 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:19.520 help your building. I really don't think the Cowboys would 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.120 have won this game had it not been for those 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:24.680 two plays that he made, those two specific ones, the 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:27.120 interception and then the one where he knocked the ball 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:30.280 for where what he would have been a touchdown for 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.280 the Falcons. Yep, all right, let's let's flip back over 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.920 to the offense. Yeah, sorry, Ezekiel Elliott, you mentioned it, Dave. 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:40.400 He had a monstrous game yesterday. He ran twenty three 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.680 times for one hundred and twenty two yards five point 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:45.199 three average in a touchdown. Then he also had seven 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.680 catches for seventy nine yards one hundred and I'm sorry, 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:52.080 and then no touchdowns on passing, but totally he had 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:55.800 thirty touches, two hundred and one total yards and a touchdown. 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:59.000 Phenomenal day. But that's what has to happen if this 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:01.120 team's going to be SUCCESSFU And I don't want to, 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:03.600 I don't want to like say that this was all 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.080 drawn up as some grand plan and the Cowboys are 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:09.479 smarter than everybody, Like, obviously you're gonna take chunk touchdowns 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:11.560 if you can get them. You know, Dak took a 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.920 shot to gallop on a double move like early and 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:16.600 it didn't connect. But I really do to Nick's point, 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:18.200 think that was part of the game plan. Is like 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.240 I watched every I watched all of his touches back 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.360 on a highlight video today, and they're all it seemed 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:27.960 like they were all designed just to eat up short yardage, 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.880 tire out the Atlanta defense, and keep the Cowboys offense 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:34.319 on the field. Seven catches, the vast majority of them, 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:38.079 with the exception of It's yeah, no, but well he 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:40.079 got drafted. We've been asking for it, we've been asking 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:43.280 for it, and but these were it looked, you know, 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:45.959 these were designed dump offs to you know, give him 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:47.880 the ball four or five yards down the field and 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:49.400 see what he can do with it. And I do 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.440 think that plays into the idea that they didn't want 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.880 Atlanta's offense on the field, Like they weren't necessarily trying 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.720 to score on every play. They were literally like, let's 0:13:57.760 --> 0:13:59.720 beat the crap out of these dudes and keep their 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:01.360 off ens off the field. And that's what they did. 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.400 Here's my favorite play of this for Zeke in the game, 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.560 and you're not gonna see a highlight of it, and 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.640 it was Amber knows probably what I'm about to say. 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:14.200 The Falcons just scored nineteen nineteen. Crowd's going nuts. And 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:16.760 here we are. We're standing down the sideline. You guys 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:21.240 probably saw it too, and we're standing right by Maher like, Okay, 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:24.960 what's gonna happen here? Zeke walks over to him. He 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:27.280 walks over to him. Of course it's loud. We don't 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:28.920 know what he's saying, but we know what he's saying. 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.200 You know, he's saying, Hey, he's pointing kind of we're 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:32.960 gonna go down there and we're gonna go and we're 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:35.160 gonna get arranged. And he's kind of hitting him on 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.080 the chest. He's like, you're gonna make this kick. You know, 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:40.440 he knows that he's been shaky. He knows how important 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.040 it is. And that's a guy. When you think about it, 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:44.960 you could see easy to be focused on what your 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:48.280 job is. He already knows I'm gonna we're gonna get 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:50.040 down there and our kick is gonna make this kick. 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:54.480 I don't think Ezekiel Elliott does that last year, two 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:57.720 years ago, that he understanding. Garrett says, all time a 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:01.320 guy loves football. Okay, that's cli, but that's what that is. 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:05.520 It's understanding the moment. Understanding, you know, not only I 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:07.240 had my job to do, but I want to make 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:09.040 sure our kicker he's ready to go and it gives 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:10.920 him confidence. I'm not one hundred percent sure he knows 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.160 his full name is Brett Maher, you know, but he knows, 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.080 you know that he needed to go make that kick. 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.560 And I thought that showed a sense of leadership and 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:23.560 some maturity out of Zeke that we necessarily hadn't seen before. 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:25.120 And I even said, I think it was to you 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.600 or Rob, I said, we're gonna we're gonna talk about that. 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:31.240 He just gave him a pep talk. He's gonna go 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:33.120 make this kick, and I'm gonna go say it on 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:35.760 the air afterwards. You know. Really, the really cool thing 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.480 to me is when you're able, as far as us 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:42.200 as an observer to see those moments and notice that 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:44.240 it's not like he's not doing it in front of 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:46.440 a camera. He's not doing it for anybody to see 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.480 that or anything. He's doing it out in the corner 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.880 by himself and is genuine, you know, and it's real 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.320 and you appreciate that even more. And we also saw 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:58.800 that when Xavier Sophila before he started his first game, 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:01.520 he you would see him in the locker room off 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:03.560 to the side. He would be sitting next to him 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:07.600 talking to Xavier, talking all football or whatever. So it's 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:11.000 really impressive to see the kinds of things he's doing 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.440 now as far as a leader and just so much 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.800 mature and his body. Nick was I said, I was 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:21.000 gonna bring this up to you know, we talked about 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:24.040 the locker room stuff. Yes, he walked in the other 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:28.480 day without a shirt and Nick, shoot, there he was drooling. 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:36.120 He was like, he was like, he was like Dann damn, 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:42.480 look at ze. Look at those apps. Shoot he looks good. 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:46.640 Whoa should your wife be a work now? But the 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.560 point is it's like, not only is he mentally healthy 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.840 and as a character as a person, he is also 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:57.240 physically healthy. And it's noticed on the field how much 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:01.640 different he looked in the movement and the pace and 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:04.240 how fast he is. He don't look like that. I mean, 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.320 I mean, that's that's what it is. He before. He's 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:10.159 not making that he's not jumping over a quick person 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:13.840 like that. He has got his body right. It's noticeable, 0:17:14.480 --> 0:17:16.840 you know, And that's what he's doing and I think, 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:19.480 I mean, we all should be proud of the type 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.040 of person and type of player he's kind of developed into. 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.320 He took a beating last year off the field. On 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:27.439 the field, and he's playing with a ship on his shoulder, 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.680 and he's really carrying this team. He's carrying this offense 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.320 and he's making Dac better, he's making this line better. 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.359 And so I just think it's more than just the 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:37.560 stuff you see. It's those kind of things behind the 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:39.200 scenes a little. And when you talk about leadership, I 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:41.520 think there have been two guys, him being one that 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:43.320 I think have really stepped up this year and taking 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:45.240 the mantle, and I think DeMarcus Lawrence is the other. 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:47.080 So you got those two guys on the offense and 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:49.720 the defense, to me, that are really being leaders for 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.760 this team and leaders for a young team, which is 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.159 what you need. And you were kind of waiting to 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:55.479 see who's going to develop into those roles because they 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:59.000 lost a ton of leadership when Jason Witten left left 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:03.480 the team. He makes Antoine Woods, Daniel Ross, Dawrence Armstrong, 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:05.000 and I hate to say this in a bad way, 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.520 but he makes them relevant even more more so. You know, 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:11.399 they have a perfect DeMarcus, Yeah, DeMarcus Lawrence. I mean 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.199 that they are a group. They're the hot boys. You 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.080 know that they all have the chains and they have 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:18.440 the hats, and Dave had a hat too, And I'm 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:21.199 Dave is an honorary hot boy. The highlight of my weekend. 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:23.800 I just want I want one to keep instead of 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.479 just have temporarily. And I'm sure you would wear it everywhere? 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.680 Are you kidding me? Yeah? All? But but the fact 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:32.480 is is that you know he's on a one year 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:35.480 deal and but but he didn't care about all that. 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:37.400 You know that he's a leader, and I think you're 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.359 right those two guys. And Dak has leadership skills too 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:43.240 that you know naturally as a quarterback. But he's got 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.080 him there talking. Sorry, I wasn't just gonna add to 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.199 another guy. Also, Sean Lee, what's impressive to me And 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:51.720 we've seen the kind of leadership he brings and how 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:55.199 of like a coaching role that he has And to me, 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:58.600 one of the things that it's amazing is just watching 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.480 him teach Laton and just be part of it and 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.240 not see him as a threat. And he knows that 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:08.480