WEBVTT - Cowboys Break: Stay Back or Attack? 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.200 The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:18.960 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Let go. Are you 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:23.079 ready for a Break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely? 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:27.400 Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that. 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:32.800 It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:39.120 with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, Am bar Garcia, and Derek Eagleton. 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:45.040 It is Wednesday, September thirtieth, twenty twenty, season sixteen, episode 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.000 number thirty four. Welcome to another edition of The Break. 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:50.760 We are live from the s WBC Mortgage studios at 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.800 the Stargout. My crew Nick Dave Amber here with me 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:57.000 and we're joined as we are every Wednesday and Thursday, 0:00:57.000 --> 0:01:00.400 by Bucky Brooks of NFL Network. Bucky, Welcome to the show. 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:02.720 Let's jump right in. Today we're going to talk about 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:05.800 the Cleveland Browns offense a little different than what we've 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:07.959 been talking about the past two weeks, from the standpoints 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.360 of the offenses at the Cowboys that face. But we'll 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:12.200 start in the same place we always start talking to 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:15.560 me about their greatest strength and the greatest weakness of 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:20.920 that Cleveland Brown's offense. You know, they really found at 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:23.440 the last couple of weeks. The greatest strength is this 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:26.559 double two headed monster that they have in running back 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:29.720 Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They're only two running backs 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.080 in the league with over two hundred rushing yards. The 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:34.480 Cleveland Browns are running the ball fifty two percent of 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.720 the time. They're averaging one hundred and seventy rushing yards 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.440 per game. And so what they've discovered is that when 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:42.760 they play hit you in the mount football, they're a 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:45.720 lot more successful. By running the ball and committing to 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:47.880 the run. They've been able to put Baker Mayfield on 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:50.480 a pitch count. The last two games, Baker Mayfield has 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.440 had a passer rating over one hundred. Because he's throwing 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.320 fewer than twenty five times in each of those contests, 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.520 and because they're able to run the ball, and because 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:00.920 they forced the defense to put an extra defender in 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:03.720 the box, you're now getting more one on one coverage 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:07.240 for Odell Beckham Junior and Jarvis Landry. And even though 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:09.760 they don't throw it as much as they have, you 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.040 still have to be worried about Obj because despite the 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:15.480 narrative that comes out of Cleveland about them needing to 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:18.079 get rid of him, he's still as dangerous as he's 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:20.639 always been, and he could be a problem, particularly for 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:25.239 a Cowboys secondary that has been struggling in coverage. Bucky, 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:28.760 I'm trying to get a good grasp of what the 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:32.440 second the Cowboys secondary might be facing this week. When 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:38.320 you when you compare the Browns receiver group to the 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.120 ones that the Cowboys have already faced, where would you 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:46.000 rank them? I would say that the Browns are more 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:48.480 talented than the groups that they face. Now. They may 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:51.920 not be as effective because an Seattle or Russell Wilson 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.240 was you know, he's been letting them cook. But I 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:56.280 think if we were to do a draft and you 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.880 could pick your druthers over OBJ and some of the 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:00.639 other guys, I think he would be at the top 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:02.880 of the list, up there with Julio Jones. I think 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:05.880 some of the bloom is off the roads just because 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:07.799 of all the stuff that has taken place. But make 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.600 no mistake, he's as dangerous as ever. And then Jarvis 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:12.960 Landry is a guy that is just a chain mover, 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.359 and with Austin Hooper coming in, they can give you problems. 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:18.799 And for the Cowboys, I think the big thing will 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.240 be how does Mike Nolan decide to play this game. 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:23.959 They're a team that has shown some split safety looks, 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:26.919 some quarters, and the advantage of quarters is you can 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:31.320 get nine men boxes in traditional sets. The problem is 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:33.800 your corners now are left on islands. And so how 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:36.800 confident is Mike Nolan that his young guys can hold 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:39.680 up on the corner because it starts there when he's 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.720 building the game plan, does he believe that his corners 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:43.840 can hold up? Because if he does, then he could 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.680 put extra defendants, but if not, they could get gash 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:50.960 with the running game, Bucky. Are the Browns playing better 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.320 or their last two weeks or their schedule just I 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.440 mean the opponents just suck. I mean, like, are they 0:03:57.600 --> 0:03:59.960 any good because they got blown out their first game 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:01.840 and then the next two games are playing better? I mean, 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.440 are they playing better just the schedule helped them out? 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:07.800 I mean it's a combination of both. Like right now 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:09.600 everyone's trying to figure out who they are because of 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.320 the lack of the preseason. But I think they're better 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:16.640 because they found an identity. Kevin Stevanski comes from that system, 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:20.240 that Shanahan system, learning under Gary Kubiak a season ago 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.320 that they want to run the football and everything is 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:26.000 predicated off the run. The passing game matches the running game, 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:28.040 and so it can be problematic for your defenders. I 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:33.400 did not discipline, and so this offense won't like offense. 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.080 But there are a lot of similarities in terms of 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.080 the zone based running scheme, how they want to attack 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:40.120 the edges. But they know who they are now and 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.360 it runs through Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and so 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:45.200 the priority has to be how do you stop those 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:47.200 two running backs? And then oh, by the way, you 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:48.880 have to figure out how to stop number thirteen on 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:53.479 the perimeter, Bucky, which I mean, yeah, the Browns running 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.200 the ball is the big storyline for them right now, 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.520 and I think that ties into their offensive line. I mean, 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:02.720 the big narrative last year was that, you know, Baker 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:05.280 had this sophomore slump because he was never comfortable. So 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.040 they go get Jack Conklin to play right tackle. They 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.760 draft Jedrick Wills to play on the left, and it 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:12.840 seems like it's working. I mean, they're third in the 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.920 league in rushing offense and they've only allowed four sacks, 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:20.039 but Baker Mayfield still isn't really lighting the world on fire. 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:21.960 And I mean I know that they have this great 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.080 rushing attack, but what's the deal there, Like, I mean, 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:28.960 is Baker Mayfield still not comfortable, you know, with his protection, 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:33.040 or is the offensive line still struggling to buy him time? Well, 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.080 I think Baker Mayfield is what he is. I think 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:37.680 Baker Mayfield is probably a mid tier quarterback even though 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:40.200 he's drafted number one. And I think they've discovered that 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:42.560 they can't put too much on his plate. When they 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:44.039 put too much on his plate and they try and 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:46.839 get into a drop back passing game where they're chasing 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.160 points and they're not able to use play action, that 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.160 is when he really struggles. He has a tough time 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:54.120 of what I say, seeing out of the pocket because 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.400 he's shorter and so he can't throw from the whale, 0:05:57.600 --> 0:05:59.760 and so if you got big bodies around him, he'll 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:03.000 keep retreating, and because he's retreating, he ends up losing 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:05.400 some of the steam on his passes. They've been able 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.880 to make him very comfortable by throwing off play action. 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:09.960 He was one of the best passes in the league 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:13.320 throwing off play action in twenty nineteen. They've continued to 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.920 do that because that's the strength of his game. When 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:19.120 he has to do other stuff like traditional drop back passing, 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:24.120 his efficiency, his completion rate, his accuracy at all declines, 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:26.240 and he has a bad tendency to try and flee 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.520 the pocket going to his right and so controlling the 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:31.919 game with the running game and throwing play action on 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:35.440 early downs. That is their recipe for success. Don't know 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:37.440 what they look like if they have to chase points, 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.840 and so that's why it'd be interesting to see if 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.000 the Cowboys can put them behind the eight ball then 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:44.520 make them chase points. Can he be a guy that 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:46.360 can lead them back if he has to throw it 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.680 thirty or more times. I'm gonna jump in here, and 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:51.720 this is for Buck. You're really anybody? So is that 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.600 a bust pick? Then? If you if you need all 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:58.760 this help around you and you have, you know, you 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:00.719 can't put too much on your late should you be 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.240 the number one overall pick? This is his third year. 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:05.640 I mean he's still developing, But I mean, I mean, 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:07.920 that doesn't seem like a guy that would carry a 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:10.200 franchise to me. I don't know. Yeah, let's we're gonna 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:11.960 I'm gonna get Bucky's answered, and we're gonna take a 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:13.960 whole segment on that, because that's an interesting that's an 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:19.200 interesting question. Let's get your answer all nobum. So I 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.760 think the thing with Baker, but he may have been overdrafted, 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.040 like he may have been overdrafted based on his talent 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:28.720 based upon what you expect from Ann pick. But now, yeah, 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.240 but now that you have, now that you've taken him, 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:33.360 you got to make it right. And so the way 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:35.040 that you make it right is you surround him with 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:37.520 everything that you possibly have, because when you look at 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.040 what he has, there's not much that the Cleveland Brown's lack. 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.240 On offense. They got two good wide receivers that both 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:44.800 have been number ones at their previous places. They got 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:47.240 two running backs that are number ones. They got an 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.920 offensive line that they've rebuilt. They just added another tight 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:53.520 end in Austin Hooper. If if Baker Mayfield can't get 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.400 it done with this staff, then he'll never be able 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:58.680 to get it done. So, yes, he's I would say 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:00.679 he shouldn't have been the number one and pick based 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.360 on what his talent was. But now that he's the 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:05.880 number one, their job is to put everything around him 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:09.200 to help him thrive. And so maybe Baker Mayfield can 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.840 resurrect his career and maybe becomes Jared Goff and Jered Goff. 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.920 Isn't everything, but when he's around about the right thing 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:17.800 and he has the right play caller, he can play 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:19.200 at a high level and get his team to the 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.120 super Bowl. I think you could probably say the same 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.400 for Baker Mayfield. Everything has to be right, but if 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.920 it's right and he plays within himself, they certainly can 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:27.680 win a lot of games. We'll join right now by 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.640 Bucky Brooks of NFL Network, And Bucky, you look at 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:34.560 this Cleveland offense. Obviously, as the whole conversation as unfolded here, 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.000 it's pretty clear that their offense is predicated on the 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.120 run far more than it is on Baker's arm, specifically 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.480 when they've won this season. Talk to me about what 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:45.840 other teams have done to stop the run, because my 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:47.600 first thought is, well, you croud the box and you 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:49.600 force Baker to beat You have teams done that and 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.439 just not been successful? Or what have teams done defensively 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:57.120 to try to slow down that run? Well, I mean, 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.480 you can load the box. The problem is are you 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.920 good enough outside to deal with Odell Beckham Junior and 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:04.840 Jarvis Landry and as they get more and more comfortable 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.120 in this offense, you're beginning to see Kevin Stefanski draw 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.920 up these isolation routes where look, they're able to max 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.080 protect and they're able to let Odell Beckham freelance and 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:15.800 do all the stuff that he wants to do. And 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:19.200 he is a very very difficult guard. And so when 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:20.679 they get him the ball, and they get him the 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.559 rock early and often, Odell Beckham Junior is a handful, 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.200 and so you kind of forced to pick your poison. 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:27.920 Do you want to stop the running game because you 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:30.800 know that's what they do? And are you willing to 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:32.720 live with some of the big plays that could happen 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.080 in the passing game. That's the dilemma that they're able 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:39.560 to create. But the personnel that they have on the field, Bucky, 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:43.480 My next question isn't necessarily specific to this upcoming game, 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.040 but more of the Cowboys defense in general. We keep 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:52.680 hearing them speak about communication and just maybe simplifying or 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.680 trying to simplify the defense a little bit. How long 0:09:56.760 --> 0:10:00.560 does it actually or usually take a defense with a 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:07.360 new coach be able to find connection and be able 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:09.640 to be in sync and be able to be fully 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:14.360 communicating and everyone to have just kind of be on 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.160 the same page. Well, it depends because you got a 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:19.400 lot of moving parts on that defense. You got young 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:21.760 players that have never played in the NFL, who didn't 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:24.079 have the benefit of a preseason, so they're trying to 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:25.960 figure out the speed of the game. You have a 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.040 new coordinator who is still trying to figure out all 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:30.400 the pieces that he has at his disposal, and he 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.960 is one that likes to have a very healthy playbook, 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.440 meaning he wants to be multiple, he wants to be 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:40.920 to change a bunch of different coverages, and so that 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:45.240 requires typically a lot of experience and communication. And the 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.520 problem that we're seeing with the Cowboys the ball is 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.000 flying over their head too much. I mean too many 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.680 big plays, too many blown coverages, too many miscommunications and 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.760 assignment errors. And at that point, when you're the coach, 0:10:57.760 --> 0:10:59.600 you have to figure out what do we do well, 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.520 can live in this one coverage or one or two 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:05.200 coveragers of calls and just see if we can just 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:07.840 play solid, keep the ball in front and not mess 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.839 it up. I think the challenges on Mike Nolan, even 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:12.959 though he wants to do all of these things that 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:15.760 maybe they were even doing in New Orleans because it's 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:18.320 so complicated. How long can you go with this and 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.400 how often can you do These guys bust coverage and 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:23.800 give up big plays when you know that the team 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.040 is struggling not only on defense but also in the 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:29.000 kicking game. We've talked about this before though. If you 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:33.360 simplify that for the players, how much how easy is 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.880 that for an offensive coordinator, Because if you're simplifying it 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:38.040 for them, I'm sure the offensive coordinator can figure out 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:42.480 what's happening too. All right, so you're cutting out, but 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:45.760 I'm assuming that you said, when you simplify the defense, 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.360 are you also asking about complimenting the offense? Well, no, 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:51.880 I'm saying, if you simplify it for the defensive players, 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:55.280 are you also simplifying it for the opposing offensive coordinator 0:11:55.280 --> 0:12:00.679 to figure out what you're doing. Look, so here's the thing. 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:02.839 There are two ways to approach it. You can try 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:05.079 to make your defense one where you fool the other 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:09.360 the quarterback and the coordinator. But if you're fooling your 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.959 own players, it's all for not like there's something too 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:17.840 Sometimes lining up playing a basic so that everyone knows 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:20.839 exactly what they're doing. And I think when you look 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:23.559 at this team, and this is something where Mike McCarthy 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:25.560 has to step in. He has to look at the 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:27.960 team and say, we're one in two, we're struggling, we're 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:29.840 leaking a lot of oil on defense, and we're not 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.520 really good in the kicking game. What can we do 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:35.280 to put ourselves in a situation where we're scoring enough 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:39.079 points to win games? And some of that maybe, Coach Nolan, 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:40.520 here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna line up in 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.960 quarters coverage. We're gonna play it all day. They're gonna 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.600 keep the ball in front, and we'll be good inside 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.440 the red zone in the twenties, and we'll make them 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:51.160 kick feel goals because offensively we're putting over thirty points 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:53.640 up on people, so we can score enough points. We 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.560 just don't need to die a quick death by giving 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.400 up these big plays. And that's what's happening. And when 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.400 you have a guy like Trevon Digg, when you look 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:04.640 at the film four or five, six mental Eras and Bust, 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.959 it is obvious that it is too complicated for him. 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:09.840 Sometimes the coach has to step in and say, hey, 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:11.560 I got to help the young fellow, Let's make it 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:13.360 as easy as possible so I can let him play 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:18.240 to his town. So along that same line, Bucky, I mean, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.120 I think we laid it out pretty well going into 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:24.920 this game. You know that they're going to try to 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.080 run the ball, But I almost feel like maybe you 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.480 just make peace with that in an effort to protect 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:32.800 yourself in the passing game. I mean that is that 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.600 kind of what you're saying is because I'd rather I 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.080 think I'd rather let Nick Chubb run all over me 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.320 than give up you know, these these game changing plays 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:43.480 like we saw in Seattle. I mean, do you just 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.800 kind of live with with dying slow deaths via the 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:50.679 running game? I mean, is that a preferable strategy? I mean, 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:52.920 I think you can do that. And they're defensive coinators 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:54.600 around the league that will look at a team and 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:56.760 they will say, you know what we'll do. We will 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.800 be willing to see if they're willing to run the 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.200 ball over and over and over again, is their offensive 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:03.319 coordinator patient enough to be able to do it? And 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:05.920 can they score points on the running game? So that 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.800 certainly can be a thing where the Cowboys line up 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:10.960 in a seven man box and they say that abe, 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:14.160 we're going to take it away. You can selectively bring pressure. 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:16.679 But I think here's the big thing that has been 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.560 a kind of revelation to me. I thought that Mike 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:23.080 Nolan was going to be a lot more aggressive when 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.560 it came to wanting to be multiple and having a 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.080 defense that's very varied, but we're seeing in critical downs 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:33.760 he refuses to dial up pressure, and so in talking 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.280 to people, they say, look, that's kind of how he is. 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.840 He's very conservative when it comes to that. He's not 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.920 going to bring a lot of blitzes because he just 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.560 thinks that he can kind of stop him with a 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.920 base defense. And what we're seeing if the front four 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:50.600 can't get home and you can't cover in the back end, 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.080 I mean, it just makes it very, very problematic. He 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.440 has to determine what is the best course of action, 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.600 and it may be sit in, die a slow death 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:01.080 and hope that they can be great in the red zone. 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:02.640 You can have as many yards as you want to 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:05.520 inside the twenty between the twenties, but once we get 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:07.760 into the twenties, we spend all of our time really 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:10.400 working on our red zone defense, and we can make 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:12.760 you kick field goals as opposed to score in touchdowns. 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:14.640 That's a win for the defense. Yeah. The one thing 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:16.800 I will say about dying that slow death. The only 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:18.880 problem with that is even when the Cowboys tend to 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:22.000 keep both their safeties back, they're still getting beating coverage. 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.080 So I don't know that you necessarily say when you're 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:26.480 gonna put that guy, that extra guy down somehow that's 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.080 gonna make a difference. We saw it last week in 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.760 that first touchdown. Both safeties were back and they still 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:32.720 bust at the coverage. Guy gets behind them and you 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.480 get an easy, quick touchdown. So I don't know how 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:37.800 much that helps, but I do think it's something that 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.080 we're gonna have to pay attention to this week. All right, 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.640 Bucky Man, we appreciate you joining you go ahead, good, Yeah, 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:47.000 I appreciate Yeah. Now you're right about the safety. So 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:49.240 here's the problem. Like they gambled. They had Darren Thompson 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:51.400 and Xavier was and they thought those guys would be 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.400 good enough, and they changed to that split safety defense, 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.280 which is the old defense that they used to have 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:59.600 success with Jimmy Johnson and those guys quarters coverage. But 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.920 you're safeties have to understand exactly what they're doing, and 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.400 right now appears that those guys are lost with the 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.400 corners being lost and even the linebackers being lost. So 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:10.480 they just need more time to figure out how to 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:12.680 play that coverage that's going to be their base coverage. 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:14.520 You know, real quick. Before we let you go, Bucky, 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:16.000 I did want to ask you about this because you 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.960 may you may have some perspective on this before Clinton, 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.320 how Dix got to the Cowboys was the what was 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.520 the scouting report on him last season? What were the 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:26.960 things he did well and not so well that you 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.360 think may have led to the decision that the Cowboys 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:30.840 are like, you know, we can do without him and 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:35.080 we'll go with these other two guys at safety, which 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:39.320 one Clint Dix? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the big thing 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.840 with high Clint Dix he wasn't a great tackler. And 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:43.840 when you would talk to people around the league, they 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:46.440 would just say, he's an okay player now because he 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.160 was a first round player, because he's been to a 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:52.480 Pro Bowl. Sometimes the reputation exceeds what the player really is, 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:54.600 and so they thought he would be solid. They thought 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:56.200 he would be a nice When I talk to people 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:57.760 around the league, they thought he'd be a nice stop 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.200 gap player, someone that could kind of be the community kat, 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.880 the traffic cup. I don't know what happened in training 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.080 camp where they felt like they were better on better 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.000 off without him, but there was a thought that he 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:10.399 would be just a solid communicator. You'll be able to 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:12.520 kind of talk to the young guys and provide some 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.840 leadership ability, even though he had some flaws and deficiencies 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:17.639 in his game. All makes sense. All right, man, we 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.440 appreciate you join us. We'll be back tomorrow. We're gonna 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:21.959 talk a lot about this Cleveland defense. And I know 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.040 I saw you had a little interesting conversation on Twitter 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.320 about the Cowboys in their offense and how they approached games. 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:29.520 I want to talk to you a little bit about 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.080 that tomorrow. We'll get into that, all right. All right, man, 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:34.520 thanks so much. Let me let's do it. All right, 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:36.160 we'll talk to you guys. We're gonna take our final, 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.320 our first break. I'm sorry, we'll take our first break 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:40.400 when we come back. We got some questions for these guys. 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.080 Talk a little bit more about this Cowboys defense versus 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:44.800 the Cleveland Brown offense. We'll be right back. This is 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:49.919 Dallas Cowboys dot com radio. We're back in a tasty 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:53.399 treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:56.679 Pepper and creep soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor Batman 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:05.919 cream soda. Is he a newcombone that's music to my ears? Okay, 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:15.240 Doctor times, music's my ears and mouth new Doctor Pepper 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.200 and cream soda. What delas just du bay? Want to 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.040 use what the pros use? How about the official men's 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:24.720 skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black. 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