Speaker 1: The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Let 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, Am bar Garcia, and Derek Eagleton.
Speaker 1: It is Wednesday, September thirtieth, twenty twenty, season sixteen, episode
Speaker 1: number thirty four. Welcome to another edition of The Break.
Speaker 1: We are live from the s WBC Mortgage studios at
Speaker 1: the Stargout. My crew Nick Dave Amber here with me
Speaker 1: and we're joined as we are every Wednesday and Thursday,
Speaker 1: by Bucky Brooks of NFL Network. Bucky, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 1: Let's jump right in. Today we're going to talk about
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns offense a little different than what we've
Speaker 1: been talking about the past two weeks, from the standpoints
Speaker 1: of the offenses at the Cowboys that face. But we'll
Speaker 1: start in the same place we always start talking to
Speaker 1: me about their greatest strength and the greatest weakness of
Speaker 1: that Cleveland Brown's offense. You know, they really found at
Speaker 1: the last couple of weeks. The greatest strength is this
Speaker 1: double two headed monster that they have in running back
Speaker 1: Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They're only two running backs
Speaker 1: in the league with over two hundred rushing yards. The
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns are running the ball fifty two percent of
Speaker 1: the time. They're averaging one hundred and seventy rushing yards
Speaker 1: per game. And so what they've discovered is that when
Speaker 1: they play hit you in the mount football, they're a
Speaker 1: lot more successful. By running the ball and committing to
Speaker 1: the run. They've been able to put Baker Mayfield on
Speaker 1: a pitch count. The last two games, Baker Mayfield has
Speaker 1: had a passer rating over one hundred. Because he's throwing
Speaker 1: fewer than twenty five times in each of those contests,
Speaker 1: and because they're able to run the ball, and because
Speaker 1: they forced the defense to put an extra defender in
Speaker 1: the box, you're now getting more one on one coverage
Speaker 1: for Odell Beckham Junior and Jarvis Landry. And even though
Speaker 1: they don't throw it as much as they have, you
Speaker 1: still have to be worried about Obj because despite the
Speaker 1: narrative that comes out of Cleveland about them needing to
Speaker 1: get rid of him, he's still as dangerous as he's
Speaker 1: always been, and he could be a problem, particularly for
Speaker 1: a Cowboys secondary that has been struggling in coverage. Bucky,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to get a good grasp of what the
Speaker 1: second the Cowboys secondary might be facing this week. When
Speaker 1: you when you compare the Browns receiver group to the
Speaker 1: ones that the Cowboys have already faced, where would you
Speaker 1: rank them? I would say that the Browns are more
Speaker 1: talented than the groups that they face. Now. They may
Speaker 1: not be as effective because an Seattle or Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: was you know, he's been letting them cook. But I
Speaker 1: think if we were to do a draft and you
Speaker 1: could pick your druthers over OBJ and some of the
Speaker 1: other guys, I think he would be at the top
Speaker 1: of the list, up there with Julio Jones. I think
Speaker 1: some of the bloom is off the roads just because
Speaker 1: of all the stuff that has taken place. But make
Speaker 1: no mistake, he's as dangerous as ever. And then Jarvis
Speaker 1: Landry is a guy that is just a chain mover,
Speaker 1: and with Austin Hooper coming in, they can give you problems.
Speaker 1: And for the Cowboys, I think the big thing will
Speaker 1: be how does Mike Nolan decide to play this game.
Speaker 1: They're a team that has shown some split safety looks,
Speaker 1: some quarters, and the advantage of quarters is you can
Speaker 1: get nine men boxes in traditional sets. The problem is
Speaker 1: your corners now are left on islands. And so how
Speaker 1: confident is Mike Nolan that his young guys can hold
Speaker 1: up on the corner because it starts there when he's
Speaker 1: building the game plan, does he believe that his corners
Speaker 1: can hold up? Because if he does, then he could
Speaker 1: put extra defendants, but if not, they could get gash
Speaker 1: with the running game, Bucky. Are the Browns playing better
Speaker 1: or their last two weeks or their schedule just I
Speaker 1: mean the opponents just suck. I mean, like, are they
Speaker 1: any good because they got blown out their first game
Speaker 1: and then the next two games are playing better? I mean,
Speaker 1: are they playing better just the schedule helped them out?
Speaker 1: I mean it's a combination of both. Like right now
Speaker 1: everyone's trying to figure out who they are because of
Speaker 1: the lack of the preseason. But I think they're better
Speaker 1: because they found an identity. Kevin Stevanski comes from that system,
Speaker 1: that Shanahan system, learning under Gary Kubiak a season ago
Speaker 1: that they want to run the football and everything is
Speaker 1: predicated off the run. The passing game matches the running game,
Speaker 1: and so it can be problematic for your defenders. I
Speaker 1: did not discipline, and so this offense won't like offense.
Speaker 1: But there are a lot of similarities in terms of
Speaker 1: the zone based running scheme, how they want to attack
Speaker 1: the edges. But they know who they are now and
Speaker 1: it runs through Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and so
Speaker 1: the priority has to be how do you stop those
Speaker 1: two running backs? And then oh, by the way, you
Speaker 1: have to figure out how to stop number thirteen on
Speaker 1: the perimeter, Bucky, which I mean, yeah, the Browns running
Speaker 1: the ball is the big storyline for them right now,
Speaker 1: and I think that ties into their offensive line. I mean,
Speaker 1: the big narrative last year was that, you know, Baker
Speaker 1: had this sophomore slump because he was never comfortable. So
Speaker 1: they go get Jack Conklin to play right tackle. They
Speaker 1: draft Jedrick Wills to play on the left, and it
Speaker 1: seems like it's working. I mean, they're third in the
Speaker 1: league in rushing offense and they've only allowed four sacks,
Speaker 1: but Baker Mayfield still isn't really lighting the world on fire.
Speaker 1: And I mean I know that they have this great
Speaker 1: rushing attack, but what's the deal there, Like, I mean,
Speaker 1: is Baker Mayfield still not comfortable, you know, with his protection,
Speaker 1: or is the offensive line still struggling to buy him time? Well,
Speaker 1: I think Baker Mayfield is what he is. I think
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield is probably a mid tier quarterback even though
Speaker 1: he's drafted number one. And I think they've discovered that
Speaker 1: they can't put too much on his plate. When they
Speaker 1: put too much on his plate and they try and
Speaker 1: get into a drop back passing game where they're chasing
Speaker 1: points and they're not able to use play action, that
Speaker 1: is when he really struggles. He has a tough time
Speaker 1: of what I say, seeing out of the pocket because
Speaker 1: he's shorter and so he can't throw from the whale,
Speaker 1: and so if you got big bodies around him, he'll
Speaker 1: keep retreating, and because he's retreating, he ends up losing
Speaker 1: some of the steam on his passes. They've been able
Speaker 1: to make him very comfortable by throwing off play action.
Speaker 1: He was one of the best passes in the league
Speaker 1: throwing off play action in twenty nineteen. They've continued to
Speaker 1: do that because that's the strength of his game. When
Speaker 1: he has to do other stuff like traditional drop back passing,
Speaker 1: his efficiency, his completion rate, his accuracy at all declines,
Speaker 1: and he has a bad tendency to try and flee
Speaker 1: the pocket going to his right and so controlling the
Speaker 1: game with the running game and throwing play action on
Speaker 1: early downs. That is their recipe for success. Don't know
Speaker 1: what they look like if they have to chase points,
Speaker 1: and so that's why it'd be interesting to see if
Speaker 1: the Cowboys can put them behind the eight ball then
Speaker 1: make them chase points. Can he be a guy that
Speaker 1: can lead them back if he has to throw it
Speaker 1: thirty or more times. I'm gonna jump in here, and
Speaker 1: this is for Buck. You're really anybody? So is that
Speaker 1: a bust pick? Then? If you if you need all
Speaker 1: this help around you and you have, you know, you
Speaker 1: can't put too much on your late should you be
Speaker 1: the number one overall pick? This is his third year.
Speaker 1: I mean he's still developing, But I mean, I mean,
Speaker 1: that doesn't seem like a guy that would carry a
Speaker 1: franchise to me. I don't know. Yeah, let's we're gonna
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get Bucky's answered, and we're gonna take a
Speaker 1: whole segment on that, because that's an interesting that's an
Speaker 1: interesting question. Let's get your answer all nobum. So I
Speaker 1: think the thing with Baker, but he may have been overdrafted,
Speaker 1: like he may have been overdrafted based on his talent
Speaker 1: based upon what you expect from Ann pick. But now, yeah,
Speaker 1: but now that you have, now that you've taken him,
Speaker 1: you got to make it right. And so the way
Speaker 1: that you make it right is you surround him with
Speaker 1: everything that you possibly have, because when you look at
Speaker 1: what he has, there's not much that the Cleveland Brown's lack.
Speaker 1: On offense. They got two good wide receivers that both
Speaker 1: have been number ones at their previous places. They got
Speaker 1: two running backs that are number ones. They got an
Speaker 1: offensive line that they've rebuilt. They just added another tight
Speaker 1: end in Austin Hooper. If if Baker Mayfield can't get
Speaker 1: it done with this staff, then he'll never be able
Speaker 1: to get it done. So, yes, he's I would say
Speaker 1: he shouldn't have been the number one and pick based
Speaker 1: on what his talent was. But now that he's the
Speaker 1: number one, their job is to put everything around him
Speaker 1: to help him thrive. And so maybe Baker Mayfield can
Speaker 1: resurrect his career and maybe becomes Jared Goff and Jered Goff.
Speaker 1: Isn't everything, but when he's around about the right thing
Speaker 1: and he has the right play caller, he can play
Speaker 1: at a high level and get his team to the
Speaker 1: super Bowl. I think you could probably say the same
Speaker 1: for Baker Mayfield. Everything has to be right, but if
Speaker 1: it's right and he plays within himself, they certainly can
Speaker 1: win a lot of games. We'll join right now by
Speaker 1: Bucky Brooks of NFL Network, And Bucky, you look at
Speaker 1: this Cleveland offense. Obviously, as the whole conversation as unfolded here,
Speaker 1: it's pretty clear that their offense is predicated on the
Speaker 1: run far more than it is on Baker's arm, specifically
Speaker 1: when they've won this season. Talk to me about what
Speaker 1: other teams have done to stop the run, because my
Speaker 1: first thought is, well, you croud the box and you
Speaker 1: force Baker to beat You have teams done that and
Speaker 1: just not been successful? Or what have teams done defensively
Speaker 1: to try to slow down that run? Well, I mean,
Speaker 1: you can load the box. The problem is are you
Speaker 1: good enough outside to deal with Odell Beckham Junior and
Speaker 1: Jarvis Landry and as they get more and more comfortable
Speaker 1: in this offense, you're beginning to see Kevin Stefanski draw
Speaker 1: up these isolation routes where look, they're able to max
Speaker 1: protect and they're able to let Odell Beckham freelance and
Speaker 1: do all the stuff that he wants to do. And
Speaker 1: he is a very very difficult guard. And so when
Speaker 1: they get him the ball, and they get him the
Speaker 1: rock early and often, Odell Beckham Junior is a handful,
Speaker 1: and so you kind of forced to pick your poison.
Speaker 1: Do you want to stop the running game because you
Speaker 1: know that's what they do? And are you willing to
Speaker 1: live with some of the big plays that could happen
Speaker 1: in the passing game. That's the dilemma that they're able
Speaker 1: to create. But the personnel that they have on the field, Bucky,
Speaker 1: My next question isn't necessarily specific to this upcoming game,
Speaker 1: but more of the Cowboys defense in general. We keep
Speaker 1: hearing them speak about communication and just maybe simplifying or
Speaker 1: trying to simplify the defense a little bit. How long
Speaker 1: does it actually or usually take a defense with a
Speaker 1: new coach be able to find connection and be able
Speaker 1: to be in sync and be able to be fully
Speaker 1: communicating and everyone to have just kind of be on
Speaker 1: the same page. Well, it depends because you got a
Speaker 1: lot of moving parts on that defense. You got young
Speaker 1: players that have never played in the NFL, who didn't
Speaker 1: have the benefit of a preseason, so they're trying to
Speaker 1: figure out the speed of the game. You have a
Speaker 1: new coordinator who is still trying to figure out all
Speaker 1: the pieces that he has at his disposal, and he
Speaker 1: is one that likes to have a very healthy playbook,
Speaker 1: meaning he wants to be multiple, he wants to be
Speaker 1: to change a bunch of different coverages, and so that
Speaker 1: requires typically a lot of experience and communication. And the
Speaker 1: problem that we're seeing with the Cowboys the ball is
Speaker 1: flying over their head too much. I mean too many
Speaker 1: big plays, too many blown coverages, too many miscommunications and
Speaker 1: assignment errors. And at that point, when you're the coach,
Speaker 1: you have to figure out what do we do well,
Speaker 1: can live in this one coverage or one or two
Speaker 1: coveragers of calls and just see if we can just
Speaker 1: play solid, keep the ball in front and not mess
Speaker 1: it up. I think the challenges on Mike Nolan, even
Speaker 1: though he wants to do all of these things that
Speaker 1: maybe they were even doing in New Orleans because it's
Speaker 1: so complicated. How long can you go with this and
Speaker 1: how often can you do These guys bust coverage and
Speaker 1: give up big plays when you know that the team
Speaker 1: is struggling not only on defense but also in the
Speaker 1: kicking game. We've talked about this before though. If you
Speaker 1: simplify that for the players, how much how easy is
Speaker 1: that for an offensive coordinator, Because if you're simplifying it
Speaker 1: for them, I'm sure the offensive coordinator can figure out
Speaker 1: what's happening too. All right, so you're cutting out, but
Speaker 1: I'm assuming that you said, when you simplify the defense,
Speaker 1: are you also asking about complimenting the offense? Well, no,
Speaker 1: I'm saying, if you simplify it for the defensive players,
Speaker 1: are you also simplifying it for the opposing offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: to figure out what you're doing. Look, so here's the thing.
Speaker 1: There are two ways to approach it. You can try
Speaker 1: to make your defense one where you fool the other
Speaker 1: the quarterback and the coordinator. But if you're fooling your
Speaker 1: own players, it's all for not like there's something too
Speaker 1: Sometimes lining up playing a basic so that everyone knows
Speaker 1: exactly what they're doing. And I think when you look
Speaker 1: at this team, and this is something where Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: has to step in. He has to look at the
Speaker 1: team and say, we're one in two, we're struggling, we're
Speaker 1: leaking a lot of oil on defense, and we're not
Speaker 1: really good in the kicking game. What can we do
Speaker 1: to put ourselves in a situation where we're scoring enough
Speaker 1: points to win games? And some of that maybe, Coach Nolan,
Speaker 1: here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna line up in
Speaker 1: quarters coverage. We're gonna play it all day. They're gonna
Speaker 1: keep the ball in front, and we'll be good inside
Speaker 1: the red zone in the twenties, and we'll make them
Speaker 1: kick feel goals because offensively we're putting over thirty points
Speaker 1: up on people, so we can score enough points. We
Speaker 1: just don't need to die a quick death by giving
Speaker 1: up these big plays. And that's what's happening. And when
Speaker 1: you have a guy like Trevon Digg, when you look
Speaker 1: at the film four or five, six mental Eras and Bust,
Speaker 1: it is obvious that it is too complicated for him.
Speaker 1: Sometimes the coach has to step in and say, hey,
Speaker 1: I got to help the young fellow, Let's make it
Speaker 1: as easy as possible so I can let him play
Speaker 1: to his town. So along that same line, Bucky, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think we laid it out pretty well going into
Speaker 1: this game. You know that they're going to try to
Speaker 1: run the ball, But I almost feel like maybe you
Speaker 1: just make peace with that in an effort to protect
Speaker 1: yourself in the passing game. I mean that is that
Speaker 1: kind of what you're saying is because I'd rather I
Speaker 1: think I'd rather let Nick Chubb run all over me
Speaker 1: than give up you know, these these game changing plays
Speaker 1: like we saw in Seattle. I mean, do you just
Speaker 1: kind of live with with dying slow deaths via the
Speaker 1: running game? I mean, is that a preferable strategy? I mean,
Speaker 1: I think you can do that. And they're defensive coinators
Speaker 1: around the league that will look at a team and
Speaker 1: they will say, you know what we'll do. We will
Speaker 1: be willing to see if they're willing to run the
Speaker 1: ball over and over and over again, is their offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator patient enough to be able to do it? And
Speaker 1: can they score points on the running game? So that
Speaker 1: certainly can be a thing where the Cowboys line up
Speaker 1: in a seven man box and they say that abe,
Speaker 1: we're going to take it away. You can selectively bring pressure.
Speaker 1: But I think here's the big thing that has been
Speaker 1: a kind of revelation to me. I thought that Mike
Speaker 1: Nolan was going to be a lot more aggressive when
Speaker 1: it came to wanting to be multiple and having a
Speaker 1: defense that's very varied, but we're seeing in critical downs
Speaker 1: he refuses to dial up pressure, and so in talking
Speaker 1: to people, they say, look, that's kind of how he is.
Speaker 1: He's very conservative when it comes to that. He's not
Speaker 1: going to bring a lot of blitzes because he just
Speaker 1: thinks that he can kind of stop him with a
Speaker 1: base defense. And what we're seeing if the front four
Speaker 1: can't get home and you can't cover in the back end,
Speaker 1: I mean, it just makes it very, very problematic. He
Speaker 1: has to determine what is the best course of action,
Speaker 1: and it may be sit in, die a slow death
Speaker 1: and hope that they can be great in the red zone.
Speaker 1: You can have as many yards as you want to
Speaker 1: inside the twenty between the twenties, but once we get
Speaker 1: into the twenties, we spend all of our time really
Speaker 1: working on our red zone defense, and we can make
Speaker 1: you kick field goals as opposed to score in touchdowns.
Speaker 1: That's a win for the defense. Yeah. The one thing
Speaker 1: I will say about dying that slow death. The only
Speaker 1: problem with that is even when the Cowboys tend to
Speaker 1: keep both their safeties back, they're still getting beating coverage.
Speaker 1: So I don't know that you necessarily say when you're
Speaker 1: gonna put that guy, that extra guy down somehow that's
Speaker 1: gonna make a difference. We saw it last week in
Speaker 1: that first touchdown. Both safeties were back and they still
Speaker 1: bust at the coverage. Guy gets behind them and you
Speaker 1: get an easy, quick touchdown. So I don't know how
Speaker 1: much that helps, but I do think it's something that
Speaker 1: we're gonna have to pay attention to this week. All right,
Speaker 1: Bucky Man, we appreciate you joining you go ahead, good, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I appreciate Yeah. Now you're right about the safety. So
Speaker 1: here's the problem. Like they gambled. They had Darren Thompson
Speaker 1: and Xavier was and they thought those guys would be
Speaker 1: good enough, and they changed to that split safety defense,
Speaker 1: which is the old defense that they used to have
Speaker 1: success with Jimmy Johnson and those guys quarters coverage. But
Speaker 1: you're safeties have to understand exactly what they're doing, and
Speaker 1: right now appears that those guys are lost with the
Speaker 1: corners being lost and even the linebackers being lost. So
Speaker 1: they just need more time to figure out how to
Speaker 1: play that coverage that's going to be their base coverage.
Speaker 1: You know, real quick. Before we let you go, Bucky,
Speaker 1: I did want to ask you about this because you
Speaker 1: may you may have some perspective on this before Clinton,
Speaker 1: how Dix got to the Cowboys was the what was
Speaker 1: the scouting report on him last season? What were the
Speaker 1: things he did well and not so well that you
Speaker 1: think may have led to the decision that the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are like, you know, we can do without him and
Speaker 1: we'll go with these other two guys at safety, which
Speaker 1: one Clint Dix? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the big thing
Speaker 1: with high Clint Dix he wasn't a great tackler. And
Speaker 1: when you would talk to people around the league, they
Speaker 1: would just say, he's an okay player now because he
Speaker 1: was a first round player, because he's been to a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl. Sometimes the reputation exceeds what the player really is,
Speaker 1: and so they thought he would be solid. They thought
Speaker 1: he would be a nice When I talk to people
Speaker 1: around the league, they thought he'd be a nice stop
Speaker 1: gap player, someone that could kind of be the community kat,
Speaker 1: the traffic cup. I don't know what happened in training
Speaker 1: camp where they felt like they were better on better
Speaker 1: off without him, but there was a thought that he
Speaker 1: would be just a solid communicator. You'll be able to
Speaker 1: kind of talk to the young guys and provide some
Speaker 1: leadership ability, even though he had some flaws and deficiencies
Speaker 1: in his game. All makes sense. All right, man, we
Speaker 1: appreciate you join us. We'll be back tomorrow. We're gonna
Speaker 1: talk a lot about this Cleveland defense. And I know
Speaker 1: I saw you had a little interesting conversation on Twitter
Speaker 1: about the Cowboys in their offense and how they approached games.
Speaker 1: I want to talk to you a little bit about
Speaker 1: that tomorrow. We'll get into that, all right. All right, man,
Speaker 1: thanks so much. Let me let's do it. All right,
Speaker 1: we'll talk to you guys. We're gonna take our final,
Speaker 1: our first break. I'm sorry, we'll take our first break
Speaker 1: when we come back. We got some questions for these guys.
Speaker 1: Talk a little bit more about this Cowboys defense versus
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Brown offense. We'll be right 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 creep soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor Batman
Speaker 1: cream soda. Is he a newcombone that's music to my ears? Okay,
Speaker 1: Doctor times, music's my ears and mouth new Doctor Pepper
Speaker 1: and cream soda. What delas just du bay? Want to
Speaker 1: use what the pros use? How about the official men's
Speaker 1: skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black. Right now
Speaker 1: you can get the Jack Black Starter, a curated collection
Speaker 1: of Cowboys locker room favorites, for just ten bucks with
Speaker 1: free shipping. The Starter includes four Jack Black skincare favorites
Speaker 1: plus a full size intense therapy lip bomb. Go to
Speaker 1: get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys and use the
Speaker 1: code word Team JB. That's get Jack Black dot com
Speaker 1: slash Cowboys. The Jack Black Starter ten bucks, free shipping
Speaker 1: since eighteen sixty five. Stetson hats are American maid with
Speaker 1: Pride right here in Texas, and Stetson is proud to
Speaker 1: be on the field with America's team. Want to show
Speaker 1: your Texas and Team pride two by purchasing your own stetson.
Speaker 1: You can look just like how the flag guys do
Speaker 1: on field at every home game. Steps and hats the
Speaker 1: official crown of all self respecting Cowboys and your favorite
Speaker 1: football team. Get yours today at Shop dot Dallas Cowboys
Speaker 1: dot com or at Stetson dot com. It's funny as
Speaker 1: we travel places, often we find the places we want
Speaker 1: to travel aren't really places at all. They're people, their grandparents, moms,
Speaker 1: old friends, and new nephews. That's why at American Airlines
Speaker 1: we've been using enhanced cleaning measures so you can feel
Speaker 1: confident every step until you get to them. So as always,
Speaker 1: our people can't wait to take you to yours American Airlines.
Speaker 1: You are why we fly back to the Break. Get
Speaker 1: your tickets to see the Cowboys take on at Cleveland
Speaker 1: Browns when they returned at and T Stadium Sunday, October fourth,
Speaker 1: elevened numb tickets are on sale catchers at Dallas Cowboys
Speaker 1: dot com slash tickets Welcome Back. It is the second
Speaker 1: segment of the breakwere life from the s WBC Mortgage
Speaker 1: studios at the start, joined by Nick Dave Amber and
Speaker 1: we just finished with Bucky Brooks. We're talking about Cowboys
Speaker 1: off I'm sorry Cowboys defense versus the Cleveland Brown offense,
Speaker 1: and I have some questions for you guys around that topic,
Speaker 1: just to get your opinions on kind of how you
Speaker 1: think that matchup works for the Cowboys. First question, Dallas
Speaker 1: has faced this has faced the third, the fourth, and
Speaker 1: the eighth offenses in their first three games. Those are
Speaker 1: all top ten offenses as far as the numbers that
Speaker 1: they've put up offensively, right, Cleveland's ranked thirty first in offense.
Speaker 1: Is there more reason to believe it's because these offenses
Speaker 1: are that good or the Cowboys defense is that bad?
Speaker 1: Because obviously for them to get to three, four and
Speaker 1: eight it also has to do with who they faced
Speaker 1: and the Cowboys defense, as we know, it's pretty porous.
Speaker 1: So which do you put it more on? Do you
Speaker 1: think the Cowboys offenses, I mean that these other offenses
Speaker 1: are really that greater, or do you think gets more
Speaker 1: of the Cowboys defense. Let's start with you, Nick Well,
Speaker 1: I think that's a good point that you know, the
Speaker 1: Cowboys defense is a third of the reason why they're
Speaker 1: up there so high. But like we said yesterday, you
Speaker 1: know these are established teams, established quarterbacks that have been
Speaker 1: to you know, the playoffs and even been to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl in the last few years. Uh, Matt Ryan,
Speaker 1: Jared Goff, of course, Russell Wilson. I guess it's been
Speaker 1: a few years for Russell, but he's playing outstanding, so, um,
Speaker 1: you know, and it's different these next you know, three games.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you know, they've got Baker Mayfield, you
Speaker 1: got Daniel Jones, you got Kyler Murray, got inexperienced guys.
Speaker 1: They're they're drafted high, but inexperience. So I think it's
Speaker 1: probably more about the um the just the offenses that
Speaker 1: they've faced, and you know, not so much that I mean,
Speaker 1: the defense struggling, there's no doubt about it, but I'm
Speaker 1: just saying that, yeah, it'll get easier with the offenses
Speaker 1: that they face. Amber I guess, um, if you look
Speaker 1: at it that way, looking at the opposing offenses that
Speaker 1: they face so far, you can make that argument. At
Speaker 1: the same time, I don't think it's to either extent.
Speaker 1: I don't think the Cowboys defense is that bad, but
Speaker 1: at the same time, they I don't think they have
Speaker 1: been playing to their potential, and there are things in
Speaker 1: their game that we've seen where it's just simple things
Speaker 1: that need to be cleaned up. They need to overall
Speaker 1: as a unit, play better football, clean up their game,
Speaker 1: quit making the mistakes that we've seen. And yes, it
Speaker 1: might be a cause of facing better teams. But at
Speaker 1: the same times, there are just basic things that I
Speaker 1: think that the Cowboys need to improve. So hopefully, hopefully
Speaker 1: we start seeing them play better. But I do think
Speaker 1: that their defense is just not that great but also
Speaker 1: not that bad. Okay, Dave's where's the gift of my
Speaker 1: roll from the taco commercial? Why not both? Why can't
Speaker 1: Why can't they play good offenses and also be bad? Um? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you play Matt you know you play Matt Ryan Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson MVPs super Bowl guys, it is going to be tough,
Speaker 1: and they deserve a little bit of leeway for that.
Speaker 1: At the same time, two straight weeks where receivers are
Speaker 1: just standing, you know, by themselves, that's I just I
Speaker 1: can't let that go. At the NFL level, that's not
Speaker 1: supposed to happen. It's hard enough to stop points from
Speaker 1: being scored when you do things right, let alone when
Speaker 1: Hayden Hurst and Tyler Lockett are just like, but where
Speaker 1: is everybody? Oh, there we go, So that that's just
Speaker 1: not good and that's the type of stuff that even
Speaker 1: bad offenses can't exploit. So they get credit for going
Speaker 1: against some really good offenses, but some of those breakdowns
Speaker 1: are troubling no matter who you play. Yeah, that was
Speaker 1: gonna lead to the question of are we evaluating this
Speaker 1: defense too harshly? But I think you guys have basically
Speaker 1: said no, we're not like this defense, and I agree
Speaker 1: with you. I think the defense is just not played
Speaker 1: well and it's it's for you, I think precisely the
Speaker 1: reason that Dave hit on, which is it's not just
Speaker 1: that they've given up the points, it's how they've given
Speaker 1: up the points in a lot of instances where you
Speaker 1: just have guys completely open and that's just busted coverage,
Speaker 1: and you're just like, come on, you can do better.
Speaker 1: But that's the part that that we get into. And
Speaker 1: this is the next question. Do you think that if
Speaker 1: that's really the biggest issue that we have with this defense,
Speaker 1: do you think that's correctable? Because busted coverage can be corrected.
Speaker 1: It's one thing if you're getting beaten in man to
Speaker 1: man coverage and you just can't cover the guy. It's
Speaker 1: a whole different thing if it's busted coverage, where it's
Speaker 1: just nobody knew what they were supposed to doing. Are
Speaker 1: certain people didn't know what they were supposed to be doing.
Speaker 1: Do you think this is correctable? Nick? Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1: I do think it's correctable. But it all stems back
Speaker 1: to the pass rush For me, I mean, I just
Speaker 1: don't think that that's I mean, and we've talked about
Speaker 1: this before with other with the other previous coaching staff,
Speaker 1: about the arrogance of the staff of like this is
Speaker 1: how I do things, and this is this is my system.
Speaker 1: When it's not working, can you fix it? And you know,
Speaker 1: we heard Bucky say that about what Mike Nolan doesn't
Speaker 1: usually blitz and call it blitzes. You need to because
Speaker 1: these guys, it doesn't matter what Dlogue, Griffin, Poe, Aldon Smith.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's Aldon Smith, got three sacks. But I'm
Speaker 1: just saying it's not consistent that across the board that
Speaker 1: this pass rush is getting home. So it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: what their name recognition is, they're not getting there. And
Speaker 1: I think that's where stemspect all the other stuff in
Speaker 1: the back end. I think it's the pass rush, all right,
Speaker 1: Ambury and Dave. I think you guys already answer the questions.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna move to another question for you guys. Dave,
Speaker 1: you have some well real realm. So yeah, sorry, and
Speaker 1: you're you're right, we need to move on. But I
Speaker 1: did think and I actually wrote a story about it yesterday.
Speaker 1: You can go read it. Jerry Jones had some interesting
Speaker 1: comments about yesterday. I just about that. You know, if
Speaker 1: there's something that gives him optimism, it's that this coaching
Speaker 1: staff should be adaptable. And I thought he made the
Speaker 1: interesting point, which is like, you're not gonna get fired.
Speaker 1: You know that that was always a thing with Jason
Speaker 1: Garrett for the last however many years, is that you know,
Speaker 1: the wrong result can cost you your h But but
Speaker 1: nobody on this staff should be worried about that right now,
Speaker 1: and hopefully that gives them the you know I mean
Speaker 1: right now, yeah, for sure, but I mean hope hopefully
Speaker 1: that should give you the freedom to mess around a
Speaker 1: little bit. And you know, like this isn't this isn't
Speaker 1: the personnel that Mike Nolan probably views as ideal for
Speaker 1: how to do his stuff, Like that's gonna take time,
Speaker 1: so tinker around a little bit adapted. If it's not working,
Speaker 1: throw it out the window until next season. So and
Speaker 1: we saw, I mean, it's a different side of the ball,
Speaker 1: but they were willing to do that with their offensive line,
Speaker 1: like they chunked. They chunked their preferred method out the
Speaker 1: window when they saw that it wasn't working. So that
Speaker 1: at least gives me a little bit of optimism that
Speaker 1: maybe they'll be a little more creative than what we're
Speaker 1: used to seeing. Okay, here's what we got. This next question.
Speaker 1: I want you guys to follow me a little bit
Speaker 1: on this because I'm gonna have to lay it out
Speaker 1: for you and then I want to get your opinions.
Speaker 1: Right now, Cleveland is tied for third and rushing and
Speaker 1: the first in explosive plays. Yeah, seven plays where they've
Speaker 1: at a run for twenty plus yards, So again, their
Speaker 1: running game is really good. Dallas, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: is twenty third in rush defense. However, if you look
Speaker 1: at the numbers a little closer, you'll notice that a
Speaker 1: lot of that is about volume. They have the fourth
Speaker 1: most rush attempts against them, which makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1: They were in a lot of games where the other
Speaker 1: team had a lead, they start running the ball a
Speaker 1: little bit more so with all those rush attempts they've
Speaker 1: They've other teams have built up more rushing yards. However,
Speaker 1: yards per carry is only tenth in the league. They're
Speaker 1: only giving up three point eight yards per carry. So
Speaker 1: looking at the two and trying to balance the two,
Speaker 1: which you do think plays out here, the Cleveland rush
Speaker 1: offense or who has more I guess more of a
Speaker 1: more of an opportunity to do well this weekend Cleveland
Speaker 1: rush offense or the Dallas rush defense. Let's start first
Speaker 1: with you, Amber. I want to say Dallas, but I
Speaker 1: just I don't trust them right now. I don't trust
Speaker 1: the rush defense regardless of these numbers, and in comparison
Speaker 1: to what Cleveland is currently doing with their rushers, I
Speaker 1: just don't don't see it balancing too well there. I
Speaker 1: think that Cleveland is gonna be able to run the
Speaker 1: ball and the Cowboys are gonna give up some big plays.
Speaker 1: And when you talk about explosive plays, yeah, it could
Speaker 1: only take one. I mean I think you mentioned about
Speaker 1: them only giving up one big rushing play, explosive play,
Speaker 1: So those are things that it could only just take
Speaker 1: one play like that to give them the gay the
Speaker 1: gay the game, sorry, give them the game and let
Speaker 1: them win. So in this one, I'm not completely loving
Speaker 1: the matchup here. I think that the Cowboys defense should
Speaker 1: be able to hold them up a little bit, but
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, I don't think it
Speaker 1: will be enough. Everyone else is gonna have to help,
Speaker 1: and the defensive line it's gonna have to put their
Speaker 1: part and try to help the linebackers, Dave. If the
Speaker 1: Browns are arrogant enough to just charge right at them,
Speaker 1: then I like the Cowboys chances honestly, because you know
Speaker 1: people are tired of hearing it. DeMarcus Lawrence is really
Speaker 1: good against the run. Jalen Smith is probably at his
Speaker 1: best when he can just crash toward the line of
Speaker 1: scrimmage and hit somebody. The problem is, is Cleveland gonna
Speaker 1: be that arrogant or are we going to see counters
Speaker 1: in misdirection Because that's the stuff that gave them trouble
Speaker 1: against the Rams was misdirection, Like they weren't terrible when
Speaker 1: when Malcolm Brown was just charging right at them. The
Speaker 1: Rams won the game, obviously, but but it wasn't awful.
Speaker 1: Same thing with Todd Gurley. Um so if that's what
Speaker 1: the Browns want to do, I think the Cowboys will
Speaker 1: hold up. But I have a feeling that's not what
Speaker 1: they'll do, and hopefully they're a lot more prepared for
Speaker 1: it this week than they have been in past weeks. Nick, Well,
Speaker 1: this is kind of a tricky one because when you
Speaker 1: look at the Browns, you know, they beat the Redskins
Speaker 1: and the and the Bengals. Okay, those two teams that
Speaker 1: were you know, first and second pick overall. Um, huh,
Speaker 1: whatever this is gonna take. Used to apologize Ravens. Uh,
Speaker 1: they gotta beat thirty eight to six. But in that game,
Speaker 1: they you know, Kareem Hunt seventy two yards and Nick
Speaker 1: Chubb sixty yards and they're getting beat the whole game.
Speaker 1: So they're still running the football. But you know, to
Speaker 1: Dave's point, I think I think it's it's it's good.
Speaker 1: I would rather if I'm in the Cowboys defense, I
Speaker 1: would rather them run the ball, run the ball and
Speaker 1: not get beat with big plays. But you know, do
Speaker 1: you trust Baker Mayfield to really to really hurt you,
Speaker 1: I mean, or do you want to get after him
Speaker 1: and say, you know, like Seattle didn't say we'll stop
Speaker 1: the run. I don't know if this guy can beat us,
Speaker 1: So it's got to be a combination of both. I mean,
Speaker 1: but they they better blitz Baker Mayfield more because he's
Speaker 1: he's not that mobile where he where you can't get away.
Speaker 1: You know, he's not in Russell will so of course,
Speaker 1: and I don't trust his arm the same, so I
Speaker 1: think you gotta get after him as well. All right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna take our final break when we come back.
Speaker 1: I do want to talk a little bit more about
Speaker 1: what you just mentioned, Nick with Baker Mayfield and the
Speaker 1: strategy for the Cowboys. Do you load up and try
Speaker 1: to stop the run and make Baker meet beat you,
Speaker 1: or do you stay back and play your conventional defense
Speaker 1: that you've been playing and just take whatever comes to
Speaker 1: you on the run defense? Or trust trust the fact
Speaker 1: that your front six or seven can stop the run.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about that when we come right back. This
Speaker 1: is Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Since eighteen sixty five.
Speaker 1: Stetson Hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas,
Speaker 1: and Stetson is proud to be on the field with
Speaker 1: America's team. Want to show your Texas and team pride too.
Speaker 1: You can by purchasing your own stetson. You can look
Speaker 1: just like how the flag guys do on field at
Speaker 1: every home game. Stetson hats the official crown of all
Speaker 1: self respecting Cowboys and your favorite football team. Get yours
Speaker 1: today at Shop Dallas Cowboys dot com or at Stetson
Speaker 1: dot com. I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys. Back in the day. I was the guy
Speaker 1: who always got the tough yards and that's why I
Speaker 1: run with John Deer today. In fact, I have a
Speaker 1: John Dear three zero twenty five E tractor that can
Speaker 1: handle any yard work I need to do, even the
Speaker 1: tough yards way out back. So if you have one
Speaker 1: acre or a thousand, John Deer has the equipment that's
Speaker 1: just right for you. Visit a John Deer dealer today
Speaker 1: and run with us. We are the official tractor provider
Speaker 1: of your Dallas Cowboys. Want to use what the pros use?
Speaker 1: How about the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys,
Speaker 1: Jack Black. Right now you can get the Jack Black Starter,
Speaker 1: a curated collection of Cowboys locker room favorites, for just
Speaker 1: ten bucks. With free shipping. The starter includes four Jack
Speaker 1: Clack skincare favorites plus a full sized and tense therapy
Speaker 1: lip bomb. Go to get Jack Black dot com slash
Speaker 1: Cowboys and use the code word Team JB. That's Get
Speaker 1: Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys. The Jack Black Starter
Speaker 1: ten bucks free shipping. We're back in the tasty treat
Speaker 1: that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor pepper
Speaker 1: and cream soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor Batan cream soda.
Speaker 1: Is he a new combone. That's music to my ears? Okay,
Speaker 1: doctor music to my ears and mouths new Doctor pepper
Speaker 1: and cream Sodas. Back to the break, Derek. Are you
Speaker 1: coming to the game this weekend? Yes, I'm coming to
Speaker 1: the game. Are you gonna wear a mask? Yes, I'm
Speaker 1: wearing a mask. Keeping your distance from everybody else? Yes,
Speaker 1: especially David Amber right. Are you gonna have casualist transactions?
Speaker 1: Be prepared for that, because I will, but I'm not
Speaker 1: paying for anything. Yes, I'll be ready, all right, But
Speaker 1: be aware of casualist transactions. You have to wear a
Speaker 1: mask horse keep your distance. Those are the safe stadium
Speaker 1: policies that you need to know prior to arriving at
Speaker 1: AT and T visit Dallas Cowboys dot com slash stafe stadium.
Speaker 1: I'll just read it next time. Just season work. Yeah
Speaker 1: it worn't. Yeah no, but you know, actually, I'm excited
Speaker 1: about getting back out to the stadium. The last time
Speaker 1: we had a home game, it was nice to be
Speaker 1: in the stadium and actually have football being played in
Speaker 1: front of you. I'm sure Amber and Dave would agree
Speaker 1: with that. It was it was kind of cool to
Speaker 1: be in that environment. So I just want them to
Speaker 1: bring back the bacon, egg and cheese Croissan. That's really all.
Speaker 1: It is a new game, so there is a real
Speaker 1: possibility we will get that again. And you know I
Speaker 1: much I love food, so I'm all in with you
Speaker 1: on that. You know, Dave, we hadn't had a chance
Speaker 1: yet to talk about college football. You want to take
Speaker 1: a segment to kind of catch us up on what's
Speaker 1: happening there. Hey, everybody knew that. You know, when you
Speaker 1: have a season that good, you're gonna come down a
Speaker 1: little bit. But that's all right because those memories last
Speaker 1: a lifetime. Even if Saturday was Saturday sucked, man. I mean,
Speaker 1: we could get into it if you want to. I
Speaker 1: don't know. I actually don't want to get into like
Speaker 1: go ahead. It's like when you wait, It's like when
Speaker 1: you wait all year for Christmas morning and then you're
Speaker 1: it's not even socks. It's like it's like if you're
Speaker 1: you wait all year for Christmas morning and your parents
Speaker 1: like gave you like school supplies, like it just it sucked. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's okay. I don't think any of us, any of
Speaker 1: us were happy with our college team performance on Saturday,
Speaker 1: but you know, it is what it is. And I
Speaker 1: was happy to have college football back. We did win,
Speaker 1: but I was not happy at all. So it is.
Speaker 1: It's just part of it, all right. Let's jump back
Speaker 1: in cow Do we do this to ourselves? I know,
Speaker 1: but it's the fun of it, right, It's the love
Speaker 1: hate relationship you have with football, all right. So Cowboys
Speaker 1: defense versus Cleveland offense. And before the break, I kind
Speaker 1: of teed up the question I have for you guys
Speaker 1: at this point Strategically, do you think it's better for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys to load up to stop the run knowing
Speaker 1: that this team runs the ball really really well. I
Speaker 1: know you got the options out there at wide receiver,
Speaker 1: but as you were saying, Nick before the break, I
Speaker 1: don't know that any of us thinks that the trigger
Speaker 1: man is a guy that that really is gonna kill you.
Speaker 1: So that all being said, do you think Cowboys should
Speaker 1: load up stop the run or do you think they
Speaker 1: just play back and trust the fact that they they're
Speaker 1: six or seven in the box, are gonna be able
Speaker 1: to get it done stopping the run. Let's start first
Speaker 1: with you, Nick. I think you gotta you gotta see
Speaker 1: if Baker Mayfield can beat you. You know, obviously, you
Speaker 1: know he's a Heisman Trophy winner, number one pick. He's
Speaker 1: got some you know, he's got that it factor, moxie,
Speaker 1: he's got all that stuff. But you know he does
Speaker 1: he doesn't have that The arms drink the same and
Speaker 1: you know he's still he still doesn't have all those intangibles, um,
Speaker 1: you know, to beat you, you know consistently. I don't
Speaker 1: that I haven't seen yet. So well, I think you
Speaker 1: gotta you gotta stop. What you know that they can
Speaker 1: do is run the ball, get close to that line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage and just make him uncomfortable. Amber. I agree
Speaker 1: with everything that Nick said. I think that the Cowboys
Speaker 1: should put their focus on energy in trying to stop
Speaker 1: the run and then trying to pressure him when he's
Speaker 1: trying to throw it past, just make him uncomfortable, and
Speaker 1: then hope that your secondary. I am hoping that the
Speaker 1: secondary is able to make a comeback this game and start,
Speaker 1: hopefully creating some takeaways. There's been times where we've seen
Speaker 1: the secondary be like super close in certain places and
Speaker 1: it just doesn't happen. So I hope that because of
Speaker 1: the quarterback that they'll be facing this weekend, that they
Speaker 1: are able to kind of redeem themselves a little bit
Speaker 1: as far as the secondary goes, and able to just
Speaker 1: create some takeaways. Dave, I don't think I could disagree
Speaker 1: with y'all more. And maybe it's maybe it's recency bias
Speaker 1: because of what we watched on Sunday, But you know,
Speaker 1: six Flags over Texas is right next door to the stadium,
Speaker 1: and I want, I want, I want to play too
Speaker 1: high this entire game, and I want my safeties at
Speaker 1: six Flags, like that's what I want. I'm gonna sit
Speaker 1: back and I'm gonna say Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt,
Speaker 1: you chew up all the yard as you want between
Speaker 1: the twenties, but we're not letting anybody go to the
Speaker 1: house from fifty sixty yards away. That ain't happening, because
Speaker 1: it's very it's possible, but it's very unlikely that running
Speaker 1: backs are going to turn this game on its head.
Speaker 1: I mean, even you know the NFL level, it's very
Speaker 1: rare to see runs of more than fifteen, twenty twenty
Speaker 1: five yards. It happens, and they're leading the lead, in
Speaker 1: leading the league in that they are they are, but hey,
Speaker 1: that drop the safeties back. If they run for thirty yards,
Speaker 1: that sucks, But it's better than a seventy yard touchdown.
Speaker 1: And guess what, Odell Beckham can absolutely turn a game
Speaker 1: on his head by himself. The Bengals were playing the
Speaker 1: Browns fairly close a couple weeks ago until it all
Speaker 1: changed on a forty five yard Odell Beckham touchdown. And
Speaker 1: that's what I'm worried about. So chew up all that
Speaker 1: yard as you want. We're gonna let you get to
Speaker 1: the red zone and our hope is that we're going
Speaker 1: to force you to kick field goals. But I think
Speaker 1: you know, the passing game is how you turn a
Speaker 1: game on a dime. And I can't afford to let
Speaker 1: that happen this week. So that's that's how I feel.
Speaker 1: I'm playing those safeties all the way back all day long.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna flip back to Nick's question he had for
Speaker 1: Bucky Brooks, and I want to start a day with
Speaker 1: this question because I remember, David, I had this conversation
Speaker 1: back when Baker was being drafted, and you were a
Speaker 1: believer in Baker back then, And so my question is
Speaker 1: for you, I guess, from Nick's standpoint, is it a
Speaker 1: busted pick? Are you still a believer in what you
Speaker 1: saw of him coming into the league and what he's
Speaker 1: turned out to be to this point in his career.
Speaker 1: I mean, I do like Baker. I mean I was.
Speaker 1: I was as surprised as anybody when he went number one.
Speaker 1: I don't know that that was the right decision, but
Speaker 1: I still think he's a good quarterback. And I thought
Speaker 1: Bucky made the case very well himself, as you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, as Jared Goff a busted pick. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can obviously get to a super Bowl with him.
Speaker 1: You need the right combination of coach and scheme, and
Speaker 1: there's got to be talent around him. But like I'm
Speaker 1: honestly I'm so sick of that narrative, Like they're just
Speaker 1: aren't very many quarterbacks that can get it done without
Speaker 1: a lot of help right now. It's it's probably Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. And as much as we all
Speaker 1: think of Patrick Mahomes, we've never seen him have to
Speaker 1: do it all himself. He's got the best receiver corps
Speaker 1: in the best tight end in the league. He's had
Speaker 1: good running backs his whole career. He's got the best
Speaker 1: right tackle in the league, or one of them. So,
Speaker 1: you know, I absolutely think Baker can still be successful.
Speaker 1: He's got to have the right talent around him. But
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody's questioning right now Baker's talent around him.
Speaker 1: I mean, as Buckie said, his talent right says, his
Speaker 1: talents better than the teams of Cowboys that face so far.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's got talent. No, you're You're absolutely right.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's got a first round pick at left tackle,
Speaker 1: he's got a big money free agent at right tackle.
Speaker 1: He's got two great receivers, he's got two great backs.
Speaker 1: I mean, if if this season is disappointing, I don't
Speaker 1: want to hear a whole lot of excuses, but right now,
Speaker 1: I think I think the jury is still out. I
Speaker 1: want to I mean, I want to see how the
Speaker 1: Brown's fair this season and how Baker plays. Obviously, I
Speaker 1: don't watch every snap of his career the way that
Speaker 1: I do with Dak Prescott, so it's definitely early to
Speaker 1: say it's a busted pick. But I do think that
Speaker 1: the Browns can build a contender with Baker Mayfield as
Speaker 1: their quarterback. Camber, do you have an opinion on Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield as the quarterback? I think that anytime you're drafted
Speaker 1: first round, you have big expectations for someone like that,
Speaker 1: and the way that he's been playing and the way
Speaker 1: that the Browns have been kind of trying to rebuild
Speaker 1: their team. I think it does take a certain amount
Speaker 1: of time for that too, for you to start seeing
Speaker 1: the returns on that whole investment of everything. So I
Speaker 1: don't think he's a complete bust. I would like to
Speaker 1: give him a little bit more time to see how
Speaker 1: he turns out the rest of the season, But as
Speaker 1: of right now, I don't think it's fair for me
Speaker 1: to kind of completely rush based on all the changes
Speaker 1: that the Browns have been making in order to make
Speaker 1: their team more successful. Nick Well, I mean I didn't
Speaker 1: like to pick at the time, mainly because because you know,
Speaker 1: he had the first and fourth overall pick. I just
Speaker 1: thought I would have I would have done that differently.
Speaker 1: I still think you could get you know, there's the
Speaker 1: irony here is that I always said I think you
Speaker 1: could get some something at the top of the second round,
Speaker 1: very comfortable, you know, to Baker Mayfield. As it turns out,
Speaker 1: I would have taken se Quon Barkley. But I think
Speaker 1: the guy, the running back that they got at the
Speaker 1: top of the second round, Nick chubp is probably he's
Speaker 1: not the same as as Barkley, but he's he's really good.
Speaker 1: He's really good. So he said that next year, and
Speaker 1: so you know it to me, I would have taken
Speaker 1: Quentin Nelson, you know, with the guard, I would have
Speaker 1: taken him at like fourth and then probably Barkley and him.
Speaker 1: But you know, he Baker came in there and and
Speaker 1: you know turned it around. I mean, that was a terrible,
Speaker 1: terrible franchise, and you know he's turned it around and
Speaker 1: he's got some help around him. I just I just
Speaker 1: think when everything Bucky was describing of what he needs
Speaker 1: to help win. Just doesn't sound like the number one
Speaker 1: overall pick. But I mean Joe Burrows trying to do
Speaker 1: the same thing. He's taking a very struggling franchise. You know,
Speaker 1: he was a much better college player. I think Dave
Speaker 1: would agree, and uh, you know, I mean he doesn't
Speaker 1: have a mini holes in his game. So but he's
Speaker 1: still it's gonna he's doing this by himself too, so
Speaker 1: it's gonna be tough. I will say this, like, Baker
Speaker 1: has way more talent than anything Burrow's working with at
Speaker 1: this point. And you look at this team. Hey, I
Speaker 1: want those out there that haven't watched the Cleveland Browns
Speaker 1: just no going into this game. They got a ton
Speaker 1: of talent, like they haven't been able to over the
Speaker 1: last whatever number of years to be able to make
Speaker 1: it matter as much for them on the field with
Speaker 1: their wins and losses. But just the raw talent they
Speaker 1: got on that team, it's impressive, because it is absolutely impressive.
Speaker 1: I mean, when you when you're terrible, like four or
Speaker 1: five years in a row, like you're gonna get a
Speaker 1: lot of good picks. You know, the Carolina did that too.
Speaker 1: They all of a sudden like, oh, they're good now
Speaker 1: because they they've been bad for it's the Washington defensive line.
Speaker 1: Like they got a great set of talent, amount of
Speaker 1: talent there on that defensive line, but it's because they've
Speaker 1: had picks for so long down at the top of
Speaker 1: the draft, and so it just happens like that. David,
Speaker 1: you have something you want to say, I didn't know.
Speaker 1: I'm not really I just I guess That's kind of
Speaker 1: my point is, even even if you are worthy of
Speaker 1: being the number one pick, it's very hard to do
Speaker 1: it yourself. Like there aren't There are not a lot
Speaker 1: of number one overall drafted quarterbacks that went on to
Speaker 1: have amazing careers. You know, Peyton Manning obviously is one,
Speaker 1: and Cam Newton off the top of my head. But like,
Speaker 1: when you go into a situation like that, unless the
Speaker 1: team is good at putting talent around you, like, it
Speaker 1: breaks a lot of guys. So I'm not ready to
Speaker 1: I'm not ready to hate on Baker too much, but
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's year three. He's got talent, it's
Speaker 1: time to deliver it. And honestly, it reminds me a
Speaker 1: lot of what we said about dak a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago, and Dak has risen to the occasion in
Speaker 1: my opinion, and it's it's time for Baker to start
Speaker 1: doing the same. Absolutely, all right, appreciate you guys joining us.
Speaker 1: We are back tomorrow. We're going to get into this
Speaker 1: Cleveland defense versus the Cowboys offense. Lots to talk about there.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back tomorrow. Until then. For Nick Eatman,
Speaker 1: Dave Helmant Amber Garcia. I am Derek Hilton. This has
Speaker 1: been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
Speaker 1: This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.