Speaker 1: The following. Here's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Let's go. Are you
Speaker 1: ready 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 Thursday, December thirty, first, twenty twenty, season sixteen,
Speaker 1: episode number ninety. We're finished the season on the Tank
Speaker 1: Lawrence episode and welcome to the Cowboys Break. We are
Speaker 1: presented by Geico. We're laugh from s WBC Mortgage Studios
Speaker 1: at the Star. We got a lot to talk about today.
Speaker 1: We're gonna talk some get some catchup. We're gonna catch
Speaker 1: up a little bit on some injury updates, particularly in
Speaker 1: the secondary of the safety position. We'll have Bucky Brooks
Speaker 1: joining us here in a second. He's gonna talk to
Speaker 1: us about the New York Giant defense versus the Cowboys offense.
Speaker 1: We'll talk a little bit more about that matchup later
Speaker 1: in the show, and at some point in the show,
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk a little bit about New Year's resolutions
Speaker 1: and each of these guys are gonna give us some
Speaker 1: New Year's resolutions that they would make if they were
Speaker 1: players or executives or just the Cowboys team or coaches.
Speaker 1: What kind of resolutions would they be making about the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys team going into two twenty one. We'll get
Speaker 1: to that in the final segment. Let's start first, Dave,
Speaker 1: give me an update here on the injuries. I looked
Speaker 1: at the injury report yesterday and I couldn't help but
Speaker 1: notice the number of safeties that are on that injury
Speaker 1: report doesn't look great. But tell me what's going on
Speaker 1: with the safeties. Yeah, that run of good health in
Speaker 1: the secondary lasted about two weeks. Not only Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean Darien Thompson was concussed against Philly, so he didn't participate. That's,
Speaker 1: you know, that's obviously a unique case, bike case thing
Speaker 1: Onnovan Wilson has an illness, you typically think that's probably
Speaker 1: not something that's going to cause you to miss a game.
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods limited with a rib injury, but Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: said this morning that he was flying around out there,
Speaker 1: so that seems like a good sign. And then he's
Speaker 1: not a safety. But Cheeto popped up with a hamstring
Speaker 1: growing situation that had him limited. So it's a lot
Speaker 1: of Oh and Richard Robinson is also still dealing with
Speaker 1: a niece, and that's a lot of a lot of
Speaker 1: a lot of dbs that might not be available Sunday, Nick,
Speaker 1: What are their options here, Let's assume let's let's go
Speaker 1: down the rig the list to just say, Okay, if
Speaker 1: they had one of these safeties, what are their options
Speaker 1: with If they only have one, what are their options
Speaker 1: if they have none? Where the options if they have too? Like?
Speaker 1: What are the options based upon the number of guys
Speaker 1: that are out versus intaket? Yeah, I'm trying to think, honestly,
Speaker 1: I should know the team better. But Stephen Parker's back there,
Speaker 1: well that he is back, he's back, Yeah, that he
Speaker 1: could he can be on the team. I mean they
Speaker 1: have opened up the window he can be back. Um,
Speaker 1: Reggie Robinson is a safety. He said that maybe you
Speaker 1: have to. I mean he's been doing it all year long,
Speaker 1: so I mean he's gotta he's gotta play. Um trying
Speaker 1: to think if there's if there's somebody else. I can't
Speaker 1: I can't think of anybody. They'll says on the I mean,
Speaker 1: there might be some practice squad guys, but you know,
Speaker 1: you might have to move some corners around. Yeah, cheeto, Okay,
Speaker 1: well let me oh, Jordan Lewis play me last week,
Speaker 1: so he might he might be to play safety for you.
Speaker 1: Hard hitting George. I mean you, I get the I
Speaker 1: get the point in terms of like needing bodies, like yeah,
Speaker 1: and you're gonna want extra guys, but like I think
Speaker 1: Donovan and and Xavier are gonna play in this game.
Speaker 1: I feel I feel okay saying that. Okay, and let
Speaker 1: me ask you this, how susceptible do you think the
Speaker 1: Cowboys are if they don't have these guys in the game.
Speaker 1: This is a game with New York where they're they're
Speaker 1: not really known. They haven't really been the kind of
Speaker 1: team that offensively has been killing teams. But they do
Speaker 1: have some players, particularly some of their wide receivers I
Speaker 1: can get open. How much do you think this hurts
Speaker 1: the Cowboys? I thinking I've definitely hurt them because one
Speaker 1: of the things that I've liked that the Cowboys have
Speaker 1: been able to do with their defense is some of
Speaker 1: the ways that they utilized some of their secondary guys
Speaker 1: as far as creating pressure upfront rather than being all
Speaker 1: the way back there. So I'd like when they do that.
Speaker 1: And of course, in a game that you're already limited
Speaker 1: with guys, you can't really do that because you need
Speaker 1: them to be back there covering that area of the field.
Speaker 1: So I think that's an area that it might hurt them.
Speaker 1: But we'll see. I was laughing inside me because as
Speaker 1: Nick and they were over here trying to name guys,
Speaker 1: I'm like, going back to the beginning of the season
Speaker 1: when we were already talking about safety, and then the
Speaker 1: Cowboys talking about, Okay, well, we have some guys that
Speaker 1: can change positions, you know, and move around and flexible
Speaker 1: in that area, and then you mentioned Cheeta already kind
Speaker 1: of struggling with something there, and then I thought of
Speaker 1: travel Diggs. I'm okay, you're definitely not gonna move him
Speaker 1: to safety, but he's another guy that was mentioned in
Speaker 1: the past. So it's gonna be an interesting game to
Speaker 1: see what exactly happens and what happens if they actually
Speaker 1: make it into the playoffs. One of the biggest concern
Speaker 1: is injuries all over the roster, so we'll see, we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens, but hopefully these guys. Some of these
Speaker 1: guys can play a little banked up and still make
Speaker 1: it happen. There was some good news on the injury front, Dave,
Speaker 1: what are we knowing about Ezekiel Elliott and his injury?
Speaker 1: He ain't even on the report, That's what I'm talking.
Speaker 1: They didn't even list him. That's how healthy Zeke is.
Speaker 1: So I guess that week off really did some wonders.
Speaker 1: Um So, I mean, yeah, he's not even he's not
Speaker 1: even listed. He's good to go. He's gonna play. It's great.
Speaker 1: And is there any are there any other injuries? I
Speaker 1: guess at this point it sounds like that from the
Speaker 1: rest of the injury report, it looked like it's it's
Speaker 1: pretty clean from there. Yeah, I mean I think, I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, as clean as it should be at this
Speaker 1: point in the year. I mean not if you know,
Speaker 1: obviously you don't look at the injured reserve. That's not
Speaker 1: very clean. But but yeah, for the guys that could
Speaker 1: play and be out there, I mean, it's about as
Speaker 1: good as you could hope for. Ye. All right, here's
Speaker 1: what we're gonna do. We're gonna take a very very
Speaker 1: early break. But I want to take the break so
Speaker 1: that we can get to Bucky Brooks, who will be
Speaker 1: in the second segment. He'll be joining us as soon
Speaker 1: as we come back. We're going to talk about this
Speaker 1: New York Giant defense, which I think is the better
Speaker 1: part of this team against the Cowboys offense. We'll do
Speaker 1: that when we come right back. This is Dallas Cowboys
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Speaker 1: Back to the Break, don't miss new episodes of season
Speaker 1: fifteen of Making the Team the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. It's
Speaker 1: every Tuesday night at nine pm Central on CMT. Welcome
Speaker 1: Back It is the second segment of The Break, presented
Speaker 1: by Geico. Welcome. We are alive in the SWBC Mortgage studios.
Speaker 1: At the start, We're welcoming to the show Bucky Brooks
Speaker 1: of NFL Network. This segment is presented by Texico with
Speaker 1: techron Bucky. Let's start first with the greatest strength and
Speaker 1: the greatest weakness. This New York Giant defense was, by
Speaker 1: the way, I think is the better part of this team. Yeah. Look,
Speaker 1: they're very, very solid unit. The strength of the team
Speaker 1: is in the front line. Their defensive line is one
Speaker 1: of the best in the business. But they do it
Speaker 1: in a different fashion. Their big body, big bullies at
Speaker 1: the point of attack and they just kind of win
Speaker 1: with their year strength and power. Lenard Williams, Dexter Lawrence,
Speaker 1: those guys really do a great job of controlling the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage, and when they're playing well, those guys
Speaker 1: are really clogging up holes and being able to create
Speaker 1: pressure in a different way. Because this isn't a team
Speaker 1: that likes to bring a lot of pressure. I would
Speaker 1: say the weakest part of this unit will probably be
Speaker 1: on the second level. Their linebackers are just okay, with
Speaker 1: Blake Martinez kind of being the tackling machine in their unit,
Speaker 1: but they don't necessarily strike you as having a star
Speaker 1: study collection of linebackers. In the second theory, they're very solid.
Speaker 1: They do a lot of things through schematics rather than talent.
Speaker 1: But this is a very very complex defense to have
Speaker 1: to deal with because Patrick Graham throws a lot at
Speaker 1: the offensive coordinator to have to anticipate and kind of
Speaker 1: have answers for Bucky. The thing that's currently on my
Speaker 1: mind right now is weather. The past two weeks, the
Speaker 1: Cowboys have been comfortable at home, playing at home, and
Speaker 1: it just now started getting cold here in Dallas, and
Speaker 1: Rainy and my sources over here on the show who
Speaker 1: have been at the facility this week, I've said that
Speaker 1: the Cowboys haven't actually practice outside this week so far,
Speaker 1: So you as someone who has played the game and
Speaker 1: all that, what are you concerned at all us too?
Speaker 1: I know that some people don't necessarily see whether as
Speaker 1: a big deal. But this change here with the Cowboys
Speaker 1: not practicing in that kind of environment for several weeks,
Speaker 1: I mean, is that going to be a problem for them?
Speaker 1: It only depends on it. If it's wet and if
Speaker 1: it's messy, if it happens to snow, if it rains
Speaker 1: the day of the game, that can change it. But
Speaker 1: I would like to think that from a preparation standpoint
Speaker 1: that maybe Mike McCarthy has had those guys work with
Speaker 1: wet balls to get used to handling the ball. And
Speaker 1: because that's where it really becomes an issue. Can you
Speaker 1: handle the ball when it's wet, whether you're wearing gloves,
Speaker 1: do you have sleeves on, how do you tuck it away?
Speaker 1: Those are the things that you want to know. And
Speaker 1: so when I think about this game, as it gets
Speaker 1: wet and as it gets cold, you typically want to
Speaker 1: lean into the running game a little more. And so
Speaker 1: just giving Zeke's issues fumbling, you just want to make
Speaker 1: sure that he is comfortable going into the game because
Speaker 1: he has to know that the Johnson going to attack
Speaker 1: the ball, and does he have the right equipment, does
Speaker 1: he have the right mindset in terms of protecting the
Speaker 1: ball where you still commit aggressive running. But that makes
Speaker 1: me change my question a little bit. I'm gonna piggyback
Speaker 1: on that, Bucky. Do you what's your experience on that.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like it's more important to practice the
Speaker 1: way you might have to play in conditions like that
Speaker 1: or more important to get a good clean crisp indoors practice,
Speaker 1: get your iro and a half or whatever and do
Speaker 1: it right as opposed to dealing with wind and all
Speaker 1: that stuff, even though that might be what you have
Speaker 1: to play with. It depends on the maturity of the team.
Speaker 1: If I have a team that is mature enough to
Speaker 1: handle it, like I have some veterans and guys who
Speaker 1: have played in a number of games, then I think
Speaker 1: it's unnecessary. Having been in Mike McCarthy, having been in
Speaker 1: Green Bay a little bit before Mike McCarthy was there,
Speaker 1: Like in Green Bay, we never really practice outside. We
Speaker 1: practice inside because we wanted the quality of the work
Speaker 1: to be the main focus, not necessarily a less tough
Speaker 1: it out in any conditions. And so I think he
Speaker 1: still subscribes to that theory. He wants to make sure
Speaker 1: that the practice is high quality, the reps are done
Speaker 1: the right way, and then he can deal with the
Speaker 1: weather on game day. Hopefully these guys are prosed, they
Speaker 1: kind of understand how to deal with it. I think
Speaker 1: he's probably put a greater emphasis on making sure the
Speaker 1: execution is right as opposed to trying to tough it
Speaker 1: out to share everybody how tough it is to go
Speaker 1: outside and play in inclement conditions. Okay, let's just let's
Speaker 1: put the weather aside. Let's assume that it's not going
Speaker 1: to be insane and just from a football standpoint, My
Speaker 1: last many of the Giants defense is Michael Gallup toasting
Speaker 1: them on back to back plays to set up that
Speaker 1: game winning field goal. You said their linebackers are only okay,
Speaker 1: and I agree with you, But I think we talked
Speaker 1: about this as well, like their secondary is not anything
Speaker 1: that gets me super excited. Are they better than they were?
Speaker 1: Is that a place where Andy Dalton can take advantage
Speaker 1: like he did last week? I mean, I think he
Speaker 1: has to pig and shooes the spot. I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: that they're like a high end secondary. But what they
Speaker 1: do is they play really great team defense and when
Speaker 1: they're on their game, they're locked in. They don't give
Speaker 1: up easy plays. They make you drive the length of
Speaker 1: the field. And actually, I think this is a game
Speaker 1: where if Andy Dalton does what he's done recently, which
Speaker 1: is really played quick game, control, possession football, I think
Speaker 1: they will be fine. It's just about getting the ball
Speaker 1: to the playmakers and looking at the stats coming into
Speaker 1: this game. Next Yet Stats says that says week eleven,
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton has been killing it with the quick game,
Speaker 1: Almara Cooper has been torching people with slants, and then
Speaker 1: Michael Gallop backside on one on one isolation routes. If
Speaker 1: they just do what they do, they're going to be fine.
Speaker 1: This is a game where they just don't need to
Speaker 1: turn it over. They don't turn it over, they win.
Speaker 1: New York Giants are tenth in points allowed, top ten. Ironically,
Speaker 1: the Giants allowed the most points they've allowed in a
Speaker 1: game this season to Dallas in their Week five matchup.
Speaker 1: That was thirty seven points. Now, one of those was
Speaker 1: a defensive touchdown by Anthony Brown on a funnel return.
Speaker 1: What did Dallas do that gave New York Giants fits.
Speaker 1: I guess I don't know if you'd even call it fits,
Speaker 1: But how were they successful against this Giants defense to
Speaker 1: the point where they got more points than most teams
Speaker 1: get And do you think they can replicate that without
Speaker 1: having Dak Prescott? You know, it's really a crazy game,
Speaker 1: right because the Giants hadn't scored many points going in
Speaker 1: and then they go up and down the field with ease,
Speaker 1: and so it kind of changed the tenor of the game.
Speaker 1: The Cowboys had to change the way they attack. You
Speaker 1: saw a little more up tempo, they were chasing points,
Speaker 1: and so they were able to kind of put the
Speaker 1: Giants on the heels with the rhythm of their offense.
Speaker 1: I think this is a game where if you want
Speaker 1: to play that style, you can do it. I just
Speaker 1: think this has to be a collective and collaborative effort
Speaker 1: with Mike Nolan, Kellen Moore, and Mike McCarthy on the
Speaker 1: same page in terms of how this game needs to
Speaker 1: be played. If Mike Nolan feels like he can control
Speaker 1: the Giants offense, then it doesn't need to be a
Speaker 1: high risk, high reward game for the offense. If it
Speaker 1: gets out of hand and Mike Nolan can't control their offense,
Speaker 1: then Kellen Moore has to be a little more aggressive
Speaker 1: and a sert I think really a conservative game plan
Speaker 1: where you running, you feed Zeke, you throw it to
Speaker 1: the playmakers on controlled routes and you just kind of
Speaker 1: let those guys work and then you have to cash
Speaker 1: it in in the red zone. I think that's more
Speaker 1: than enough to win. I think the magic number for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys going in this week has to be twenty four.
Speaker 1: If they score twenty four points, that should be more
Speaker 1: than enough points to beat the New York Giants. You know,
Speaker 1: we talked about, we talked about so many different elements
Speaker 1: that the Cowboys offense currently has, and we saw them
Speaker 1: enjoy all of them last week. But I still feel
Speaker 1: that sometimes when a defense is able to take away
Speaker 1: one element, one of their elements, sometimes I feel that
Speaker 1: they just kind of panic a little bit and don't
Speaker 1: really know how to adjust and figure it out. I mean,
Speaker 1: if this is a game that where that happens, could
Speaker 1: that be the case where the Cowboys where Kellen Moore
Speaker 1: doesn't really find the right way to adjust, or maybe
Speaker 1: given the fact that they have been enjoying it for
Speaker 1: three weeks in a row. Maybe they still find the
Speaker 1: power and energy to figure out whichever way. You know,
Speaker 1: it's interesting because you bring this up, and I think
Speaker 1: everyone has to realize the games are not only big
Speaker 1: for players, but they're big for coaches. And this would
Speaker 1: be the biggest game to Kellen Moore is coached in
Speaker 1: just because of the implications that are on the line.
Speaker 1: And so this may be a game with Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: may need to have a stronger influence on how Kellen
Speaker 1: Moore calls the game just to make sure that he
Speaker 1: doesn't deviate from the game plan if the score appears
Speaker 1: to get out of whack early. And so I think
Speaker 1: this is where you want to make sure that Zekiel
Speaker 1: Elliot is heavily in the game plan. And I think
Speaker 1: this is where we talk about think players not plays
Speaker 1: is really as simple as playing a video game. I
Speaker 1: have better players, Let me get the ball to the
Speaker 1: better players, and they're going to make the plays needed
Speaker 1: to win. So that means as if your Ellie needs
Speaker 1: to touch it, or Mark Cooper needs to touch it,
Speaker 1: Ceedee Lamb and Michael Gallant need to get their touches,
Speaker 1: and then Tony Pollard has to get in there, and
Speaker 1: however you distribute that, it just has to be about
Speaker 1: get the ball to the best players and let those
Speaker 1: guys go to work. Bucky. Last few weeks, Derek and
Speaker 1: I have kind of both been on board with us
Speaker 1: thinking that that Terren Steele has surpassed Brandon Knight maybe
Speaker 1: at the tackle position. Yesterday, I believe you said if
Speaker 1: Zach were to come back, you would put play him
Speaker 1: for Terrence Steele. Do you feel like that Steele is
Speaker 1: the weaker link when it comes to the tackle position,
Speaker 1: or Brandon Knight or is it both? I mean, I
Speaker 1: mean I think that both are susceptible to getting guy
Speaker 1: against high end pass rushes. I think I worry a
Speaker 1: little more about Terren Steele just because maybe I've seen
Speaker 1: it and maybe they just flash more, maybe just stands
Speaker 1: out more when he gets beat at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: I just like, oh my gosh. So I think both
Speaker 1: guys need to be protected, and I think it's really
Speaker 1: important that the play caller always understands exactly what he
Speaker 1: has in front of Andy Dalton. It's easy to get
Speaker 1: seduced into thinking, hey, we have everything solved, and he
Speaker 1: just threw for two hundred and seventy seven yards were good,
Speaker 1: So now I can open it up a little more.
Speaker 1: I think they always have to be mindful of who
Speaker 1: is the personnel on the front line. The reason why
Speaker 1: the offensive line has played well of late is because
Speaker 1: they have played a certain style is running the ball,
Speaker 1: quick rhythm passes with occasional shots. They don't need to
Speaker 1: change up, They don't need to do anything differently. If
Speaker 1: they just kind of continue to play the way that
Speaker 1: they played, they should be successful against the Giants. Kind
Speaker 1: of going off that buck you mentioned it at the
Speaker 1: top is the defensive line, and they play with strength. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the Giants have been famous for their defensive line for
Speaker 1: a long time. I know these names, like I know
Speaker 1: Leonard William, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Dexter Lawrence because they were
Speaker 1: all big draft picks. But I don't feel like I
Speaker 1: have a good read on who they are as players
Speaker 1: and what they do as a front that makes them scary.
Speaker 1: Just I mean, can you give us some more detailed
Speaker 1: thumbnail of what this looks like and how they win? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I can tell you, like they are different because they
Speaker 1: have three big bodies up front and they just kind
Speaker 1: of let those guys eat. They don't necessarily overdo it.
Speaker 1: When it comes to their pressure packages. They will do
Speaker 1: a lot of twists in games where they'll exchange gaps
Speaker 1: where the nose tackler go outside the end inside, and
Speaker 1: they'll do some of those things. But really they're bigger
Speaker 1: than most people, and so they just kind of throw
Speaker 1: you around. I think if you go all the way
Speaker 1: back to those old classic Bill Parcells teams where they
Speaker 1: had big guys up front, that's what the Giants want
Speaker 1: to do. It has always been a philosophy of their organization.
Speaker 1: We're called the Giants because we feature big people. We
Speaker 1: won't big people, and we want to beat you up.
Speaker 1: And so Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams and those guys
Speaker 1: they just wear you down with those body blows. Over
Speaker 1: the course of the game. They'll sprinkle in an occasional
Speaker 1: blitz or whatever. But they believe that their guys up
Speaker 1: front can whoop your guys just on their sheer strength,
Speaker 1: power and explosiveness. Are they capable and kind of aligned
Speaker 1: to be able to take care of the weakness as
Speaker 1: you called it, those two tackles? Are they Is that
Speaker 1: what they do or is their pressure typically more in
Speaker 1: the middle of their defensive line. Yeah, they're more in
Speaker 1: the middle of the front line. They would do some
Speaker 1: games and they're trying to mix in some things and
Speaker 1: they're trying to bring some like slot corner pressures and
Speaker 1: things to create one on one matchups. But typically when
Speaker 1: they're getting sacks, the sacks are happening inside the tackle box,
Speaker 1: not on the edges. What they're lacking is that one
Speaker 1: high end outside pass rusher that can get it done.
Speaker 1: Leonard Williams has been terrific, but that's not necessarily his thing.
Speaker 1: To win with speed quickness off the edge, they just
Speaker 1: kind of do it off of game games and tactics
Speaker 1: and schemes with big bodies executing it really well. As
Speaker 1: opposed to a I have Superman on the edge, he
Speaker 1: is going to leap tall buildings in a single batting
Speaker 1: and overwhelm to tacle. So it shouldn't be that kind
Speaker 1: of problem. It's just one that you have to be
Speaker 1: mindful of, and you have to be mindful protection wise.
Speaker 1: Of a they're gonna do a lot of preestaff disguises.
Speaker 1: Who is really coming are they bluffing, are they really
Speaker 1: coming after us? Or are they just kind of trying
Speaker 1: to mess with our protections to create one on one matchups.
Speaker 1: All right, let's real quick. We got to get two
Speaker 1: predictions from you this week. We need to know first
Speaker 1: what's going to happen in the Dallas versus New York
Speaker 1: Giant game and then second, obviously the game that is
Speaker 1: just as important, Washington versus Philly. What do you think
Speaker 1: happens in both games? Okay, this is difficult because my
Speaker 1: dad is gonna be mad at me because my dad
Speaker 1: coached texta Lawrence in high school. So I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: Cowboys winning, and I'm gonna say that they're going to
Speaker 1: win because they're not gonna take They're not going to
Speaker 1: turn the ball over. They're gonna play a very conservative
Speaker 1: style and that's going to an with them to win
Speaker 1: because the Jazz will turn it over and they don't
Speaker 1: have the creativity that I think offensively to really challenge him.
Speaker 1: We'll see if it changes on Game Bay, but I
Speaker 1: think the Cowboys get it done. And the Philadelphia Washington game,
Speaker 1: I think it's really important that Philly has talked about
Speaker 1: the no had rule. Jim Schwartz has said, we don't
Speaker 1: want anyone getting the hat and a T shirt on
Speaker 1: our field, and they removed Dwayne Haskins, and we don't
Speaker 1: know what's going to happen with Alex Smith. And I
Speaker 1: know people got excited about Taylor Hankey coming in and
Speaker 1: throwing the ball all over the yard. That is the
Speaker 1: easiest time for a quarterback to come in when no
Speaker 1: one knows who he is and there's no pressure because
Speaker 1: they were down by so much. I don't believe that
Speaker 1: he is going to be good enough to consistently drive
Speaker 1: the football down to field. But that team, I think
Speaker 1: Philadelphia wins, and I think the Cowboys winning. I think
Speaker 1: the Cowboys going to the playoffs. Are you hearing about
Speaker 1: Alex Smith at this point? He is a practicing right now. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they say he's practicing in those things. But man, I
Speaker 1: just think it would be kind of iffy for him
Speaker 1: to hold up the entire game based upon just how
Speaker 1: he went out that last game. Even if he plays,
Speaker 1: he's not going to be at four strength, and so
Speaker 1: they'll be very limited in terms of what they can do.
Speaker 1: And to be honest, even when he was playing, their
Speaker 1: offense wasn't explosive outside of the Thanksgiving Day game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: my question is really by Terry McLaurin as well, because
Speaker 1: without him, I don't think it like they just don't
Speaker 1: have the firepower and they're receiving threats to even take
Speaker 1: advantage of anything that Alex Smith could do. No, they
Speaker 1: don't have Terry mclauren is if he in terms of
Speaker 1: Willie played and Terio Gibson hasn't been the same because
Speaker 1: yet I think a turf toe injury or something like
Speaker 1: that limiting him. So they really don't have a lot
Speaker 1: of explosive weapons on the outside. And then defensively, they're
Speaker 1: good upfront, but they also can get gout and so
Speaker 1: we'll see. I think that game would be a very
Speaker 1: very tight game, which is gonna drive me crazy because
Speaker 1: the last game of the evening. But we'll see how
Speaker 1: it works, all right, man, Hey, we wish you a
Speaker 1: very very happy New year. Man. We appreciate all you've
Speaker 1: done for this show throughout this season. Hopefully next week
Speaker 1: we'll be having you back talking some special I mean
Speaker 1: talking to some other playoff football. But we'll how that goes.
Speaker 1: This weekend, we're gonna take our final break. When we
Speaker 1: come back from that break, I have some questions for
Speaker 1: these guys about the matchups between this matchup between the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and the Giants. We've also talked a little New
Speaker 1: Year's resolution, so do that we come back. This is
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. We're back in a tasty
Speaker 1: treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor
Speaker 1: pepper and Cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor pepper
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Speaker 1: The Cowboys Way, where sixteen Hall of Famers and five
Speaker 1: championships shows us what success looks like, Where Turkey is
Speaker 1: always the second best part of Thanksgiving Day, where we
Speaker 1: are all defined by one single thing, the star where
Speaker 1: we as fans know it's our job to keep the
Speaker 1: tradition going. Bank of America is proud to be the
Speaker 1: official bank of the Dallas Cowboys and to support the
Speaker 1: quest of living life the Cowboys Way. Copyright twenty twenty
Speaker 1: Bank of America Corporation. Dear, it's nineteen o eight. Don't
Speaker 1: you think we should get electricity and stop using candles?
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Speaker 1: Back to the break. The pro Shop has a huge
Speaker 1: selection of Jersey's cold weather gear After Christmas. Deal's playoff
Speaker 1: yo off stuff maybe up to off for every fan.
Speaker 1: Visit your local Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop or shop Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys dot com for your new gear. Today gets stuff
Speaker 1: like sweatshirt Derek's wearing, or the cap Amber's wearing, or
Speaker 1: the that's it. I don't think they have Hawaii sweatshirts
Speaker 1: over there, but I was looking to see what. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm meant to wear. I got a really
Speaker 1: nice I got a nineteen sixty like vintage hoodie as
Speaker 1: a gift. It was really nice. I meant to wear
Speaker 1: it on the show, but I forgot. It's really dope.
Speaker 1: It's got like the old helm At logo. Yeah, is
Speaker 1: that the one you've worn before. I think you've worn
Speaker 1: another one before. I actually liked I thought that was
Speaker 1: that's actually yeah, No, that's uh, that's one that I
Speaker 1: got for myself. That's it's a Tommy Hill figure. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was sweet. Like, I guess we have a thing
Speaker 1: with Yeah, I like it a lot. So, yeah, there's
Speaker 1: all kinds of dope cowboys stuff, even though I'm not
Speaker 1: wearing it right now. Yeah, well, I guess the Warriors. Yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: all right, let's jump back in. We're in the second
Speaker 1: the final segment of the break locking s WBC Mortgage Studios.
Speaker 1: At the start, we are presented by Geico and I
Speaker 1: have a series of questions here for you guys about
Speaker 1: this Cowboys versus Giants matchup. Let's start first Evan Ingram.
Speaker 1: Ingram leads the New York Giants in receptions, Darius Slayton
Speaker 1: leads them in receiving yards. Gallman has has been good
Speaker 1: at times this season, and Dallas as struggles stopped in
Speaker 1: the run. So all that being considered, who do you
Speaker 1: think is the most dangerous offensive threat for the New
Speaker 1: York Giants. Let's start first with you, Nick. Oh, it's
Speaker 1: hard to lose to the team like that. I mean,
Speaker 1: if those are your three best players, yes, you better
Speaker 1: not lose to them. But I mean the defense is
Speaker 1: you know, they make they make average players into really
Speaker 1: good players. So I would say it just seems like
Speaker 1: the tight end would be the one that just keeps
Speaker 1: the getting the drive moved, you know, just move this.
Speaker 1: Chaine and Uh I think they can figure out the
Speaker 1: running game. But I just it would be Ingram, I
Speaker 1: think would be the one that would kind of you know,
Speaker 1: because he's matchup would be against the safety. They don't
Speaker 1: have any linebackers, if they don't have any cover linebackers.
Speaker 1: So Ingram, all right, Amber, Well, um, I know that
Speaker 1: you cannot always rely on the weather channel, but if
Speaker 1: the weather is right, I am concerned about it. So
Speaker 1: I would assume that if it is raining, raining and windy,
Speaker 1: And I don't mean to be meeky right now, but
Speaker 1: to say it is how I feel at this moment um. No,
Speaker 1: I think that that because of the weather, they might
Speaker 1: limit the passing game a little bit more and just
Speaker 1: have to rely more on the running game. And honestly,
Speaker 1: I don't mind trust the Cowboys just yet with them
Speaker 1: trying to stop the running game, and that's something that
Speaker 1: they've struggled with all year, I mean even in past years,
Speaker 1: So I think that that could get away from them
Speaker 1: in this game. So I would have to say my
Speaker 1: biggest concern might be the running game. Dave. You know,
Speaker 1: like two or three times a year, the Cowboys play
Speaker 1: a quarterback and Nicks. Just like you can tell me
Speaker 1: whatever you want, that guy sucks. I don't care. I
Speaker 1: don't care. That's just how that's just what I think.
Speaker 1: That's how I feel about Evan Ingram. I'm just like
Speaker 1: tight ends typically do well against the Cowboys. Like he's
Speaker 1: going to the Pro Bowl for some reason. I don't care.
Speaker 1: I don't he doesn't he doesn't scare me, and I
Speaker 1: just I looked up his stats before the show. Like
Speaker 1: in his years in New York, he's had like one
Speaker 1: really great game against the Cowboys, and it was last year,
Speaker 1: you know, when it was all garbage time because the
Speaker 1: Cowboys were up big anyway in the season opener. Like
Speaker 1: he he doesn't have this crazy history of hurting them,
Speaker 1: so maybe it's famous last words. I'm not impressed by
Speaker 1: Evan Ingram, Um, Darius Slayton. I do think he's a
Speaker 1: pretty damn good player though, um, And you know this
Speaker 1: team has had problems in coverage over the over the season,
Speaker 1: and you know, not not thrilled to see that Cheeto's
Speaker 1: got another hamstring growing situation going on. So I won't
Speaker 1: be surprised if he hits them outside for some big games.
Speaker 1: You know, you're right, David the quarterback this year that
Speaker 1: I thought about that they beat the Cowboys like twenty
Speaker 1: five to three. It was Kyle Allen, So yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: and I've thought that never. Oh, I can't wait. I
Speaker 1: can't wait for our group text on Sunday. If Evan
Speaker 1: Ingram has like eight catches for one hundred, you know
Speaker 1: you're talking about Evan Ingram making the Pro Bowl. And
Speaker 1: after the game the other day, I was talking with
Speaker 1: Dalton Schultz and the interview was over and I asked
Speaker 1: him a little bit about the Pro Bowl. Should have
Speaker 1: seen the look he gave me when I said about
Speaker 1: Evan Ingram making the Pro Bowl. He was just salty,
Speaker 1: very salty. Yes, I like, it was just kind of
Speaker 1: like he is he had this like double season, like what.
Speaker 1: And then we both kind of agreed that the guy
Speaker 1: from Green Bay probably should have made it. He's only
Speaker 1: got ten or eleven touchdowns. Yeah, but uh yeah, yeah
Speaker 1: he didn't really he didn't really think that Evan Ingram
Speaker 1: should make the Pro Bowl over him. Yeah. I'm trying
Speaker 1: to look up his stats. I was literally trying to
Speaker 1: do that right now. And it's like like like a
Speaker 1: little yeah, a little like a hundred more yards than Sheltz,
Speaker 1: I want to say. And he's got like, I think
Speaker 1: one touchdown, No, no, no, Schultz has more touchdowns yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: numbers for giants. The dude doesn't catch well, He's got
Speaker 1: sixty one catches on one hundred five targets. Like that
Speaker 1: doesn't seem very good to me. And when I'm trying
Speaker 1: like Irack. I racked my brain to think of his
Speaker 1: biggest play. It was a drop against the Eagles that
Speaker 1: would have let them clench that game. Yeah, so in
Speaker 1: fantasy no, no, did You're not me too? You're not
Speaker 1: putting him in the Pro Bowl? No, I mean it's
Speaker 1: not this is you know, this was the year to
Speaker 1: sneak into the Pro Bowl for tight end because Kittle
Speaker 1: it will probably be there every years. I don't know
Speaker 1: what I guess he's done. Maybe he has not been
Speaker 1: the same, but uh, you know it, and you know
Speaker 1: jarwin him, he'll make it every year once he gets back.
Speaker 1: Maybe I don't know. I don't know. Isn't that a
Speaker 1: looted with like um name recognition type of stuff? I mean,
Speaker 1: if he has tight end position, just anyone. And not
Speaker 1: to be rude with with Dalton Shoals, because I think
Speaker 1: he has done a really nice job this year, especially
Speaker 1: me who was trying to cut him earlier this year.
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, I mean, you
Speaker 1: asked about the tight end position just around the league.
Speaker 1: I mean, Dalton Schultz is not a name that's gonna
Speaker 1: be popping in anyone's head, is it. Yeah, it's not.
Speaker 1: I think that's just more name recognition. That's part of it.
Speaker 1: But I mean part of this is also players voting,
Speaker 1: and I don't I don't know that, you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 1: I think players might look at it. That might be
Speaker 1: part of the reason why guy like evning Ingram gets
Speaker 1: in is because if you're playing them, you pay attention
Speaker 1: to him because you know he has athletic ability. He
Speaker 1: just it's just not translating on the field, for whatever reason,
Speaker 1: into just great production. You said he leads the team
Speaker 1: and what catches catches? Yeah, I mean what a Schultz
Speaker 1: rank for the Cowboys fifth Yeah, I mean there it
Speaker 1: is right there, right. He should be. He should be
Speaker 1: by far the best receiving option you would think with
Speaker 1: the New York Giants, even Ingram and I don't obviously
Speaker 1: the production isn't that well that they've said it best.
Speaker 1: I mean that they try, you know, It's just he's
Speaker 1: never not that reliable. He's an athletic dude, though he
Speaker 1: definitely can. All right, please, next question for you guys
Speaker 1: is about the Cowboys defeat. Shaun Lee and Joe Thomas
Speaker 1: split reps in place of Layton vander esh in last
Speaker 1: week's game. Tell me how they performed and was there
Speaker 1: a noticeable difference for you from what you would have
Speaker 1: seen over the last several games when Layton was there.
Speaker 1: Let's start first with you, Amber Man. I think they
Speaker 1: did a nice job. Joe Thomas has been a pretty
Speaker 1: solid guy just overall in general playing the linebacker position.
Speaker 1: And I think that Shaun Lee, honestly, that was the
Speaker 1: game where he showed up the most this year. And
Speaker 1: I know his playing time has been pretty limited, but
Speaker 1: he has still received a lot of criticism from fans
Speaker 1: and just saying, man, this guy just simply doesn't have
Speaker 1: it anymore physically, he doesn't have the power, the run,
Speaker 1: the the you know, the energy there. But I think
Speaker 1: this was a game that he showed up once again
Speaker 1: showing what he can do and that he still has
Speaker 1: that power. So it impressed me. And you guys know
Speaker 1: by now I'm a big fan of only. I absolutely
Speaker 1: love him, so I will always support him even if
Speaker 1: it plays bad. So he can he can do no
Speaker 1: wrong in my eyes. But no, just in general, I
Speaker 1: think shake it all you one, Dave, I didn't change
Speaker 1: the best, he is the best, um No. But I
Speaker 1: thought that overall, they did pretty nice and honestly, it
Speaker 1: wasn't a game that I was like, man, they really
Speaker 1: miss Layton. It just it wasn't And I think they
Speaker 1: handled it pretty well, Dave. I just want to I'm
Speaker 1: not shaking my head because I like dislike Sean Lee.
Speaker 1: I love Sean Lee. He's a great guy. I just
Speaker 1: Amber's rules for like who needs to get cut and
Speaker 1: who can do no wrong or just they're my favorite.
Speaker 1: He's the only exception. Okay, all right, um No, I
Speaker 1: can't say enough about how good of a job I
Speaker 1: thought they did, particularly keeping Jalen Hurts from changing that
Speaker 1: game with his feet. He had twenty three rushing yards
Speaker 1: on the opening drive of the game and he finished
Speaker 1: with fifty eight. So do the math on you know
Speaker 1: what he was averaging over the other nine or so
Speaker 1: series of that game, and some of that's you know, CJ.
Speaker 1: Goodwin gets some credit for that as well. We've talked
Speaker 1: a lot about that this week, but just in general,
Speaker 1: having the wherewithal to keep that from happening. I think
Speaker 1: we talked yesterday that maybe Philly went away from the
Speaker 1: run a little bit earlier than they needed to, so
Speaker 1: that's probably part of it as well. But I thought
Speaker 1: they did a really good job, and it gives me
Speaker 1: some confidence that they can limit what the Giants are
Speaker 1: going to try to do. Yeah, I thought, I thought,
Speaker 1: you know, Sean Lee apparently after at the fourteen, I
Speaker 1: mean after that he got down fourteen to three, he
Speaker 1: kind of got after him there on the sideline and
Speaker 1: calmed them down. So, you know, I think your linebackers
Speaker 1: coaches here next year. He's in the building. I don't
Speaker 1: know if he's the coach that's already there, or he's
Speaker 1: a player or what, but I think he's already He's
Speaker 1: in the building for sure. I think he just needs
Speaker 1: to be a coach on the staff whenever he decides
Speaker 1: to be done playing, because I think that he can.
Speaker 1: I think he loves football so much that I think
Speaker 1: he would do a good, really good job. But I think,
Speaker 1: you know, he's still he's still got some left. I mean,
Speaker 1: if he's split in time, I mean he obviously he's
Speaker 1: not there to do it the entire time. But yeah,
Speaker 1: they were able to stop Philly from doing what they
Speaker 1: wanted to do, and they turned him into one dimensional.
Speaker 1: All right, let's go ahead and jump. I want to
Speaker 1: jump because I want to make sure we have time
Speaker 1: for this question. It is a bigger picture question. It's
Speaker 1: obviously New Year's Eve. We're getting out of twenty twenty
Speaker 1: think god heading toward twenty twenty one. Let's hope twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one is a better year. But that all being said,
Speaker 1: if you are, I want you to put yourself in
Speaker 1: the place of the team as a whole, of a
Speaker 1: particular player, of a particular coach, maybe of a front
Speaker 1: office person. If you want to be Jerry Jones, that's
Speaker 1: fine too, But I want you to take the role
Speaker 1: of someone in this organization and tell me what your
Speaker 1: New Year's resolution needs to be in order to advance
Speaker 1: this team beyond where they are right now. I want
Speaker 1: to start first with you, Dave Spencer money, how about that?
Speaker 1: Are you just like that's the opposite of what I'm
Speaker 1: Everybody with the last name Jones, who has power over
Speaker 1: football decisions, that's like the opposite of what my new
Speaker 1: Year's resolution needs to be, Like I need to save. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe they work together out. Maybe that means they give
Speaker 1: you more money too, right, that would be wonderful. I
Speaker 1: didn't even ask for that, but thank you. It goes
Speaker 1: across the board and I feel I feel bad because
Speaker 1: they're gonna come back and tell me that the timing
Speaker 1: couldn't be worse because the salary CAP's not gonna grow.
Speaker 1: They they're gonna have to figure some things out. But
Speaker 1: sign your quarterback please, like forever, like not just so
Speaker 1: we don't have to talk about it anymore, but but
Speaker 1: because it's in the best long term interest of your team,
Speaker 1: assuming assuming he recovers healthy and everything is fine with
Speaker 1: his ankle. I really, there's only about three quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the league that I think you can definitively say you'd
Speaker 1: feel better at giving a deal to than Dak Prescott.
Speaker 1: He deserves it. You give yourself clarity. It helps your
Speaker 1: cap situation in the long run, by the way. And then,
Speaker 1: like I said, I know this isn't gonna be easy,
Speaker 1: but the bargain hunting in free agency is I just
Speaker 1: it's not gonna be enough to do what you want.
Speaker 1: Like you cannot. You cannot address every hole in a
Speaker 1: fifty three man roster through the draft, and they've tried
Speaker 1: their damnedest to do it and it hasn't worked yet,
Speaker 1: and I don't think it's going to just because that's
Speaker 1: the nature of the NFL. We talk about all the time,
Speaker 1: like every show me a super Bowl team, and I
Speaker 1: can show you something aggressive they did in the offseason
Speaker 1: to acquire some talent that they didn't have. That doesn't
Speaker 1: mean you have to spend one hundred million dollars on
Speaker 1: outside contracts like the Giants did a few years ago.
Speaker 1: But you gotta look, you gotta look for better players
Speaker 1: than just the bargain bin. And I don't I don't
Speaker 1: really think they're going to do that in twenty one,
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, but I think they need to.
Speaker 1: So I'm still gonna say it, even if I don't
Speaker 1: expect it to happen. All right, Nick, I think to
Speaker 1: kind of piggyback with that. I mean, I think this
Speaker 1: team needs to be they need to reevaluate how they
Speaker 1: evaluate the safety position. I just think you know, they've
Speaker 1: been getting by with it, and they really haven't gotten by.
Speaker 1: I mean they try to just say, well, it's not
Speaker 1: a really big need. But I think we're seeing that
Speaker 1: that you can have a catalytic player that makes plays
Speaker 1: on the ball, and Donovan Wilson and that was a
Speaker 1: sixth round pick, pair him up with someone better. Look
Speaker 1: at the six guys that made the Pro Bowl. Five
Speaker 1: of them are on playoff teams. The other one is
Speaker 1: Justin Simmons from le Broncos. He's a third round pick
Speaker 1: and you know, he did a nice job and he's
Speaker 1: not a high pick or anything, but but they haven't
Speaker 1: drafted anything higher than this first or second round for
Speaker 1: safety since Roy Williams. I believe at safety, So I
Speaker 1: think I think whether it be the draft or in
Speaker 1: free agency or even both, I think they, you know,
Speaker 1: they need to reevaluate how they they look at that position.
Speaker 1: Amber I think I would go into this new year
Speaker 1: with the mentality of like, we are fighting for the present.
Speaker 1: We are fighting for the now today. This is happening
Speaker 1: this year. And with that being said, and to be fair,
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that's their goal every year. You know.
Speaker 1: I don't think that they go into like, oh, well,
Speaker 1: we're looking for the next year two years from now
Speaker 1: or anything like that. But I have seen it happen
Speaker 1: in the draft where and although they have many, many
Speaker 1: necessities and positions of positions of need, I still see
Speaker 1: it happen sometimes where it's not necessarily a big the
Speaker 1: biggest position of need. But don't go ahead and draft
Speaker 1: a player because of the talent, and to me, I
Speaker 1: don't want to see that happening. I want them to
Speaker 1: go ahead and address the actual biggest position of need
Speaker 1: and bringing in talent there to fight for next year,
Speaker 1: for this upcoming year. Also, I don't have the patience
Speaker 1: to give someone another year ago for their job and oh,
Speaker 1: let's see how they perform this next year, because you know,
Speaker 1: this year the pandemic and all. I get it, and
Speaker 1: I'm not I don't mean to be harsh or anything
Speaker 1: like that, and I don't want anyone to lose their job,
Speaker 1: but I need a change on defense. And y'all can
Speaker 1: pick and choose who that change is gonna be, but
Speaker 1: it needs to happen. And I don't have time to
Speaker 1: keep waiting another year or see how they progress in
Speaker 1: the preseason and then the season or any of that.
Speaker 1: So I think that that's my New Year's resolution would
Speaker 1: be for them. It's just okay, let's really figure out
Speaker 1: exactly what we need to do for the present for
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one and twenty twenty one only, not twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two or twenty three. So that is refocus on
Speaker 1: this next year. Yeah, there seems to be a theme
Speaker 1: across the board here, maybe not as much Nick, but
Speaker 1: certainly the other two. The theme is get aggressive, like
Speaker 1: let's be aggressive. Let's almost almost like as Amber is
Speaker 1: saying it, basically push all the chips into the table
Speaker 1: and say, look, we feel like we got a good
Speaker 1: enough team that if we fit fix these problems and
Speaker 1: we're aggressive all fixing these problems, we got a shot.
Speaker 1: And I would love for you at least one year
Speaker 1: for the Cowboys to take that approach, like, hey, we
Speaker 1: got a good core, and I do I think they
Speaker 1: have a good core. We got a good core. Let's
Speaker 1: go all in and let's just really really go all in.
Speaker 1: Let's go out and it and then whatever, do what
Speaker 1: whatever we can do within our power. Now everything can't
Speaker 1: be done, but whatever you can do within your power,
Speaker 1: staying within the salary cap, do whatever you can do
Speaker 1: to say we're going all in this year unless you
Speaker 1: what happens, it's got to be next year and then
Speaker 1: right because look at the contracts. Look at the contracts
Speaker 1: you want to get out of a't at some point
Speaker 1: look at your three worst contracts. What are they day?
Speaker 1: The three worst contracts that they have, not the three
Speaker 1: worst players three worst contracts, Jalen and Zeke for sure,
Speaker 1: and then after them, I mean probably the Law, right.
Speaker 1: I still don't think you neednt person. I don't think
Speaker 1: the contract contract. I don't have a problems contract. Well.
Speaker 1: I bet some people do twenty one million a year
Speaker 1: for five sacks. I bet they do. I'm not saying.
Speaker 1: I mean he brings value, but I don't think his
Speaker 1: contract is that great. Either way, we can argue that
Speaker 1: all day. Those three contracts right there. At some point
Speaker 1: you might want you want to get huh Dak's contracted bad.
Speaker 1: They need to get him on a long year deal.
Speaker 1: That's fair. It's a bad contrac so. But but I'm
Speaker 1: just saying, you know, if you're gonna get rid of
Speaker 1: those contracts, at some point, you might have to get
Speaker 1: rid of those players. So the time is now. I mean,
Speaker 1: you got to use Zeke next year, d Law next year,
Speaker 1: next year, go all in unless see what happened? Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, real quick, before we end the show, we
Speaker 1: do need to get picks, and I want to get
Speaker 1: two picks from each one of you guys. Tell them
Speaker 1: what's gonna happen in Cowboys Versus Giants, and tell what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen Washington versus Philly. Let's start first with you, Amber.
Speaker 1: I think that Dallas can definitely do enough to manage
Speaker 1: to win against New York. I think they can win
Speaker 1: that game. And then as far as the Washington game
Speaker 1: against Philly, I know the quarterback situation, I know all that,
Speaker 1: but based on what I saw from the Eagles, the
Speaker 1: way they played against the Cowboys and self inflicted errors
Speaker 1: so so many penalties, I still think that Washington's defense
Speaker 1: can do enough to help their offense and also like
Speaker 1: even themselves, like score points for their own team. So
Speaker 1: I think that because of that, Washington wins and the
Speaker 1: Cowboys don't make it because of Washington. But it could
Speaker 1: go either way, honestly, but I think that stop it, Dave.
Speaker 1: You've done that all years. But I think that always win,
Speaker 1: but they don't make it to the playoffs because Washington
Speaker 1: wins as well. All right, Dave Europe, I'm laughing because
Speaker 1: I completely agree with her. I told I told Derek
Speaker 1: in the third quarter of the Eagles game, I was like,
Speaker 1: now watched, like, what's gonna happen is They're gonna beat
Speaker 1: the Giants. But Washington's gonna beat Philly and they'll have
Speaker 1: had this four game winning streak that doesn't help him
Speaker 1: get into the playoffs. Um, yeah, I don't trust him.
Speaker 1: I still don't trust him. But but you know, I
Speaker 1: don't feel like, you know, I keep saying like they
Speaker 1: don't deserve to be picked. I do like they deserve
Speaker 1: to be picked, especially against a bad Giants team. I
Speaker 1: think they're the better team. I think Daniel Jones will
Speaker 1: give him the ball a few times, like they can
Speaker 1: win that game. But Alex Smith is taking reps today
Speaker 1: on Wednesday. It is Wednesday, right, No, it's Thursday. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: it's Thursday. So he's taking reps on Thursday, which is
Speaker 1: even which is even better for his chances. But he
Speaker 1: had last week too, right, It used to be clear
Speaker 1: last week. Wasn't he taking reps throughout the week? Last
Speaker 1: he did? He did a little bit last week. I
Speaker 1: don't know if he ever got into the full team
Speaker 1: portions of practice, which I changed my opinion completely if
Speaker 1: Alex Smith doesn't play, but I think he will play,
Speaker 1: and having a veteran, you know, he doesn't have to
Speaker 1: do a lot. He just has to not turn the
Speaker 1: ball over. I think Washington's front is gonna make Jalen
Speaker 1: Hurts his life miserable. I mean, if if Dallas's defense
Speaker 1: can do that to him, I think Washington is gonna
Speaker 1: you know, he's gonna be in for a long day.
Speaker 1: And I think Washington will win. So Dallas gets a win,
Speaker 1: but I yeah, I'm gonna guess Washington makes the playoffs,
Speaker 1: all right, Nick, I see I see the Cowboys being
Speaker 1: in control of the whole game against the Giants, but
Speaker 1: it won't be you know, it'll be just their type
Speaker 1: of season. To keep a minute. I think they win
Speaker 1: though twenty one seventeen, but it'll be one of those
Speaker 1: late touchdowns by the Giants. He got on recovering on
Speaker 1: side kick. I mean, whatever, But I think I think
Speaker 1: they'll win. Um, I think we'll get on the plane
Speaker 1: and then we'll be a scramble mode. As soon as
Speaker 1: we land. Everybody, you know, be like, what's the scar?
Speaker 1: What's the scar? I think the Eagles will win. I
Speaker 1: just I don't think Washington's very good. I look at
Speaker 1: their defensive line. They're great, but they struggle. The only
Speaker 1: time they struggles when they have athletic quarterbacks that they face. Um,
Speaker 1: so I think I think Philadelphia is gonna win the game, honestly,
Speaker 1: and I think the Cowboys will go to the play
Speaker 1: will go into you know, into the front door of
Speaker 1: the player we go, here we go, you know, I
Speaker 1: don't think. And the good thing is is that you
Speaker 1: wouldn't be sneaking into the playoffs because you want four
Speaker 1: in a row. You know, you won four in a row.
Speaker 1: And you know, you think about it. If you took
Speaker 1: a coin right now and you said you had to
Speaker 1: call it heads or tails, you had when it's six
Speaker 1: times in a row. I mean, that's almost haven't heard of.
Speaker 1: And that's what happened, you know, when you when you're
Speaker 1: going into the San Francisco game, like are they going
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs? Like, well, they got to win
Speaker 1: the next three games and watch it has to lose
Speaker 1: the next three games. Yea, and now it's down to two.
Speaker 1: And I think both those things seem like they're likely
Speaker 1: to happen. So I'm gonna say that we'll be talking
Speaker 1: next week and about Tom Brady. All right, we will see.
Speaker 1: I actually think the cow I agree with y'all that
Speaker 1: the Cowboys will win. I think it'll be a close,
Speaker 1: and I think it'll be an ugly game. Seventeen sixteen
Speaker 1: Cowboys get to win, and then the Philly game. I
Speaker 1: think this is gonna be the ugliest of games, and
Speaker 1: I think at the end of the day, it's going
Speaker 1: to be just about the fact that watching this defense
Speaker 1: is just so much better. I think they win a close, ugly,
Speaker 1: boring games six to three, and Washington is heading and
Speaker 1: Washington head into the playoffs after a just sucky game
Speaker 1: here they are resenting it is easybody. The six points.
Speaker 1: I ha, no real called themselves a six points. I
Speaker 1: think that's the point before you sign off. I just
Speaker 1: I just thought about this. I can't believe we've talked.
Speaker 1: You know, we've covered this game all week and we
Speaker 1: haven't brought it up. Like Mike McCarthy's first season. I
Speaker 1: know it's not all in his control, but it's kind
Speaker 1: of funny. You know, Jason Garrett started his career with
Speaker 1: three winning in NFC sort of title game situations, and
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy's in the same spot with Jason Garrett on
Speaker 1: the other sideline. That's just us very interesting, very very wasting. Well.
Speaker 1: I mean also you can you can say it too,
Speaker 1: is that, you know, because they had numbers on Jason Garrett,
Speaker 1: like when it was win or go home games, this
Speaker 1: was his record. Well, that being said, what's McCarthy. I
Speaker 1: mean mcarthy's two and oh right, I mean guess if
Speaker 1: that's the way you want to put Yeah, I'm just saying.
Speaker 1: I mean they're backs for against the wall. If they lost,
Speaker 1: they would be eliminated for the playoffs. And so they've
Speaker 1: won two, so you know they could be three and
Speaker 1: oh and even not even make the playoffs in winter
Speaker 1: go home games. All right, we appreciate you guys joining us. Man.
Speaker 1: We hope you guys have a very safe and happy
Speaker 1: New Year. We'll be back on Monday. We'll let you
Speaker 1: know what would right and wrong for the Cowboys this weekend.
Speaker 1: Till then. For Nick Eatman, Dave Helm and Amber Garcia.
Speaker 1: I am Derek Eakleton. This has been The Break live
Speaker 1: on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a
Speaker 1: production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys
Speaker 1: Football Club.