Speaker 1: The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Lets go. Are you
Speaker 1: ready for a break? Yes? Are you ready for a break?
Speaker 1: Absolutely 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 Monday, December fourteenth, two thou twenty, season sixteen,
Speaker 1: episode number seventy nine. Welcome to the latest edition of
Speaker 1: The Break, presented by Geico. I'm lying from the SWBC
Speaker 1: Mortgage studios. At the start, got Nick in here with me.
Speaker 1: We got Dave and Amber on from their remote remote locations.
Speaker 1: And before we get too far into the show, we
Speaker 1: gotta start for by telling my dude, Dave, Happy birthday, man,
Speaker 1: Thanks buddy. Yeah, I appreciate how many years is this is?
Speaker 1: I'm being I am thirty two. Is not that depressing,
Speaker 1: And yeah, until I think about the fact that I
Speaker 1: was twenty four when y'all hired me. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't know where that time went, but here we are. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's funny that that at some point, Nick, we probably
Speaker 1: should tell the story of how we hired Dave and
Speaker 1: like that interview we had with him and how that
Speaker 1: all went down. That could that could be kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's an offseason kind of story. We didn't even
Speaker 1: recalling that. You don't remember that? Mean you were sitting
Speaker 1: in my office? Is me and you sitting in there
Speaker 1: interviewing Dave? So I don't know. We'll talk about it
Speaker 1: at this point. Just go ahead and say it. I
Speaker 1: don't remember it. What was on the phone? We didn't
Speaker 1: We didn't even meet him in person. I think you're
Speaker 1: mixing your guys. I thought the Rowan was the one
Speaker 1: that told us about it, but I thought that was
Speaker 1: the reason why we were doing about phone. But anyway,
Speaker 1: we'll talk about that birthday. Happy birthday, Dave Man, thirty
Speaker 1: two years old. You were twenty four if you were
Speaker 1: a baby. Now you're a grown man with a dog baby.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's awesome. All right, let's jump in. Let's
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about this. Cowboys win. Cowboys get
Speaker 1: a big win yesterday, thirty to seven, if you can
Speaker 1: get big wins at this point in the season. But Nick,
Speaker 1: I actually wanted to start with you. You were actually
Speaker 1: there and and I know one of the things I
Speaker 1: heard you talk about last week on the radio when
Speaker 1: you did your hit was the fact that this team,
Speaker 1: it really needed the win. You saw when it happened,
Speaker 1: when they got a win a few weeks ago, how
Speaker 1: much it helped this team. They really needed a win.
Speaker 1: What was it like yesterday with the team after they
Speaker 1: got this big win. It was, you know, it was
Speaker 1: one of those things. It's like and they've been getting
Speaker 1: beat up for a while. You know, you've been getting
Speaker 1: hit with a baseball bat for a while. You finally
Speaker 1: just grabbed the bat, you know, and you did a
Speaker 1: little hitting of your own. I mean, that's it. Just
Speaker 1: took it out on the Bengals and they're not very good,
Speaker 1: but that's what you do the teams that are bad.
Speaker 1: You kind of put them down and keep them down.
Speaker 1: And that's what they did. And you know, they were
Speaker 1: excited for Andy Dalton. This is his first season with
Speaker 1: the team. But you wouldn't have guessed that yesterday standing
Speaker 1: outside the locker room, they waited for a while for
Speaker 1: him to I don't know who all he had to
Speaker 1: say hi to on the field, it felt like everybody,
Speaker 1: but they finally, you know, McCarthy was like where's Andy,
Speaker 1: you know, And they finally comes in, and when they did,
Speaker 1: they just showered him with water and you know, yelling
Speaker 1: excited for him, and they knew it was a big
Speaker 1: win for him. But you know, it was just one
Speaker 1: of those games they lost six out of seven, so
Speaker 1: it was good for them to get a win. Yeah,
Speaker 1: let's let's go onto our storylines of the game. Will
Speaker 1: go around the table. Everybody give me a storyline from
Speaker 1: yesterday's game. And but let's start with you. I was
Speaker 1: hoping you did not start with me, because this is
Speaker 1: not a good day for me to be on this show.
Speaker 1: I don't know what it is, but I'm in a
Speaker 1: very pessimistic mood today. And yes, I am glad the
Speaker 1: Cowboys win. Wont yesterday. That's great. They needed to win,
Speaker 1: especially against the team like this against the Bengals that
Speaker 1: if they had they lost, I mean, we would have
Speaker 1: lost it completely. But at the same time, I just
Speaker 1: find it very, very hard to be excited about this
Speaker 1: win just because it is against It was against the Bengals,
Speaker 1: and you look at some of the plays, and yes,
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball that they were
Speaker 1: making plays, creating place, but at the same time, the
Speaker 1: Bengals were just absolutely terrible and a lot of plays
Speaker 1: were mistakes of their own. So it's just it's one
Speaker 1: of those times where, yes, you are happy for the team,
Speaker 1: but at the same time, you got to take a
Speaker 1: step back and look at what you really went into
Speaker 1: this game with and the situation and who the opponent was,
Speaker 1: and it's like one of those things that I know
Speaker 1: the team has talent. I know that DeMarcus Lawrence is
Speaker 1: a very talented player. Jordan Lewis we've seen his talent
Speaker 1: as well. So players like that, we know they have it.
Speaker 1: We just haven't seen it this year. And it just
Speaker 1: sucks that it gets to the point of like Week fourteen,
Speaker 1: a game against the Bengals, for you to get that
Speaker 1: out of them, and not being able to see it
Speaker 1: all throughout the season. That's just that's what I'm having
Speaker 1: a hard time to dealing with right now. Just kind
Speaker 1: of very very mixed emotions and it's just hard to
Speaker 1: be completely excited about what we saw yesterday or a
Speaker 1: list for me, Dave ag this offseason, you know, hopefully,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe we can get some vaccines and we
Speaker 1: can actually hang out together and we'll go get a beer,
Speaker 1: and I'll just try to teach you how to ride
Speaker 1: the middle man, like you can't. You don't. You don't
Speaker 1: have to. You don't have to be up here after
Speaker 1: every win, and you don't have to be way down
Speaker 1: here after every loss. Like it is what it is.
Speaker 1: I think you know, you and I both picked the
Speaker 1: Cowboys to lose this game. And I don't feel bad
Speaker 1: about doing that, honestly, because they've been inconsistent all year.
Speaker 1: But they showed up, locked in, dialed in, ready to go,
Speaker 1: something they haven't done enough this season, and they beat
Speaker 1: a very bad team. Like, we don't have to be
Speaker 1: overly impressed by that. It was nice, and I agree
Speaker 1: with Nick that they probably needed it. I think Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy needed it to, you know, he needs to install
Speaker 1: the culture that he wants moving forward. But we don't
Speaker 1: have to be impressed by anything they did yesterday. They
Speaker 1: just kind of did what they were supposed to do.
Speaker 1: And that's even with like, the Cowboys are not a
Speaker 1: very good team. They're much better than the Bengals, clearly,
Speaker 1: they beat them by twenty three points. But I mean,
Speaker 1: even being bad, they were supposed to do that. I
Speaker 1: didn't trust him to. So I give them a lot
Speaker 1: of credit for showing up and playing up to their capability,
Speaker 1: but it doesn't mean that they're suddenly good. And for
Speaker 1: that matter, if you want to have the conversation about tanking,
Speaker 1: it also didn't really change their draft status. You know,
Speaker 1: the Chargers won yesterday as well, so the Cowboys are
Speaker 1: right back in the same spot they were on Saturday,
Speaker 1: and we just kind of go on like job, doesn't
Speaker 1: really change my opinion of the team. But nice of
Speaker 1: them to go and put a nice performance on tape.
Speaker 1: It's funny. That reminds me of that old Chris Rock
Speaker 1: stand up where he says you don't get credit for
Speaker 1: doing what you're supposed to do. It's like that guy
Speaker 1: that says I take care of my kids, Like I
Speaker 1: get it. But and I do disagree a little bit
Speaker 1: because I do think they should get credit because they're
Speaker 1: just as bad as anybody else. Like you can't delineate
Speaker 1: with this team, like, well they played a bad team.
Speaker 1: Well guess what they're bad too. So winning thirty to
Speaker 1: seven against a bad team is still something I think
Speaker 1: for them, But it was what we expected, right, No, No,
Speaker 1: I mean I don't think anybody expected this. I think
Speaker 1: that's why, Like, it doesn't make you a better team,
Speaker 1: but it's it was. I think it's an impressive the
Speaker 1: way they did it because we haven't seen that, and frankly,
Speaker 1: nobody else is doing that to the Bengals too. Say
Speaker 1: what you want about how bad they are, nobody's gone
Speaker 1: into Cincinnati and one like that, not all year. I
Speaker 1: mean they've played five games there, They've won two of them.
Speaker 1: The other three were three point losses or less. So
Speaker 1: they did something. I mean, it wasn't like Vegas him
Speaker 1: at twenty three. I mean it was impressive because we
Speaker 1: haven't seen them play that way. It was. It was that, yes,
Speaker 1: you're supposed to be a bad team, but this team's
Speaker 1: not supposed to annihilate a bad team. And so that's
Speaker 1: that was the impressive part for me. They're not at
Speaker 1: that level. Congratulations, Cowboys. You're not at that point. You're
Speaker 1: you're a little bit. You're the next tier. It's not
Speaker 1: a great tier, but it's not at the tank for
Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence level. And I will say this, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think I saw some things yesterday that I hadn't
Speaker 1: seen from this team, particularly on the defensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball. They haven't played that game at all this season.
Speaker 1: They haven't played a game where they were creating turnovers
Speaker 1: and actually getting the turnover, like not only forcing the fumble,
Speaker 1: but also recovering the fumble and in one instance, returning
Speaker 1: the fumble for a touchdown. That's different, Like, that's not
Speaker 1: what we've seen from this defense. Maybe not what we've
Speaker 1: seen from this defense over a period of time. They
Speaker 1: may even span farther than just this season. So that
Speaker 1: was different. And I will talk a little bit later
Speaker 1: about this defense and if that actually has any Harry
Speaker 1: overfect or any makes you feel a different way about
Speaker 1: this defense. But I do think, at least for one
Speaker 1: game and for one day, this defense was a different
Speaker 1: kind of defense than what we've seen all season. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and go to the moments that mattered. We'll
Speaker 1: have everybody talk about one one moment from the game
Speaker 1: that you think was a either a big moment or
Speaker 1: a turning point in the game. Let's start first with you, Dave.
Speaker 1: I mean, had the Cowboys scored a defensive touchdown all season? Not?
Speaker 1: I mean I don't think they had. I know, you know,
Speaker 1: Jalen had the interception return to the goal line Brown
Speaker 1: but for Alton Smith and oh, you're right, okay, you're
Speaker 1: right against the feel bad season. Don't feel bad because
Speaker 1: Tank said, I don't think we've scored a defensive touchdown
Speaker 1: all year? Had we has like yes, Anthony Brown on
Speaker 1: effect that he was like, oh yeah, so it was
Speaker 1: forget it. I've been a long October. October eleventh feels
Speaker 1: October eleventh feels like a long long time. But it
Speaker 1: was I mean pre deck, yeah, or current it was,
Speaker 1: but I mean the I mean it sounds weird to
Speaker 1: say because the Bengals fumbled on all three of their
Speaker 1: first possessions, but they were moving the ball on two,
Speaker 1: I mean they got all the way to the Dallas
Speaker 1: red zone. It was a seventy eight yard return, so
Speaker 1: they were moving the ball. When Alden scooped that up,
Speaker 1: they got all the way to the fifteen on the
Speaker 1: next fumble that darry and Thompson forced. So you know,
Speaker 1: who knows what that game looks like if Alden doesn't
Speaker 1: give them that cushion. And I you know, Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: said it after the game that this is maybe the
Speaker 1: first time all season where they were able to build
Speaker 1: enough of a lead that it completely changed the way
Speaker 1: that they played the game. So yeah, I'm not saying
Speaker 1: they would have lost, but I think that game looks
Speaker 1: a lot different if Alden Smith doesn't make that play Amber.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's the obvious play to me the same.
Speaker 1: It's it's just one of those plays. Yes, it was
Speaker 1: early on, but when Tank made the play prior to
Speaker 1: that one, to the Aldon Smith one, it was one
Speaker 1: of those moments that you're like, Okay, whoa, all right, cool,
Speaker 1: that was exciting, but then you're still not expecting the
Speaker 1: defense to be able to carry on throughout the game.
Speaker 1: So the fact that Aldon Smith went on and made
Speaker 1: that play, you know that when there are plays like that,
Speaker 1: it it just changes the game completely. It gives a
Speaker 1: different kind of vibe and different kind of energy to
Speaker 1: the defense as a whole, gives them more power. But
Speaker 1: if I had to mention a different play than that one,
Speaker 1: it would be Tony Polar and the play that he made.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's still amazing when you get to see
Speaker 1: him getting those kinds of run, the speed that he has,
Speaker 1: the ability that he has. It's just unfortunate that we
Speaker 1: don't get to see it enough and it's just one
Speaker 1: of those moments again that and I know we're gonna
Speaker 1: talk about it later on in the show, but it's
Speaker 1: one of those moments that you wonder what would happen
Speaker 1: if you do give Polar more opportunities with the ball,
Speaker 1: because he is a talented player. It's just not it
Speaker 1: doesn't always happen constantly, but it's just it's always so
Speaker 1: exciting to see plays like that. I mean, that was
Speaker 1: going to be the play for me. Now, that's good.
Speaker 1: You didn't really say why though, And I thought it
Speaker 1: was important because right after halftime, you know, it was like,
Speaker 1: well they got a little momentum. Now seventeen seven, let's
Speaker 1: see what the Cowboys doing. I mean, he came right out.
Speaker 1: I thought that was a huge play. So for everything
Speaker 1: she said, yes, but also just kind of it led
Speaker 1: to another field goal. But let's not forget also this game.
Speaker 1: We might be talking about a completely different vibe from
Speaker 1: this game if there's not a holding penalty that negated
Speaker 1: a touchdown. So, I mean, they score a touchdown, it's
Speaker 1: twenty to fourteen, and we got a game here in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. But as Jalen Smith said afterwards, that
Speaker 1: was not gonna be a touchdown because look at my jersey,
Speaker 1: I mean his jersey. He got held and that did
Speaker 1: kind of open up that free lane there. But I
Speaker 1: thought that was a big play, you know, the holding call,
Speaker 1: because it's about to be a one score game and
Speaker 1: instead they don't get a touchdown out of that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know it's interesting too. I'll point out on that
Speaker 1: play that both you and Amber talked about the return
Speaker 1: by Pollard. I thought that was a really, really big play.
Speaker 1: I thought what was notable is that Dallas didn't take
Speaker 1: advantage of it in a better way. They get the
Speaker 1: ball there at the Cincinnati forty three, so they're starting
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati territory. They get some good passes. They got
Speaker 1: a pass the Bell for eleven yards, Lamb had a
Speaker 1: fifteen yard run. They had another pass to Shoultz for
Speaker 1: fourteen yards. But it was the two runs to Zeke
Speaker 1: that were for zero and one yard and then the
Speaker 1: incompletions at the end of that drive that forced them
Speaker 1: to situation where they had to take a field goal.
Speaker 1: And to me, I was like, if they end up
Speaker 1: losing this game, I will remember that moment because that
Speaker 1: was a drive where they had the opportunity to really
Speaker 1: go up big, and they had the right start, they
Speaker 1: had the kickoff return, they got him in the right position,
Speaker 1: and they just couldn't do anything with it, and it didn't.
Speaker 1: It seemed like in a lot of ways, it was
Speaker 1: the running game that really kind of put him in
Speaker 1: the hole and they just couldn't get out of it
Speaker 1: because they couldn't run the ball. And then when you
Speaker 1: get in those I think it's it's even more apparent.
Speaker 1: When you get in those situations where it's either goal
Speaker 1: to goal or in the red zone and you can't run,
Speaker 1: I think it's even more apparent, and it makes even
Speaker 1: harder to try to get into the end zone when
Speaker 1: you got that short feel if you can't run the ball.
Speaker 1: I did also want to mention what other thing in
Speaker 1: that first possession, Tank gets the force fumble and Jordan
Speaker 1: Lewis returns the fumble recovery. But I heard you say
Speaker 1: this morning, Nick, and I did not notice it during
Speaker 1: the game. DeMarcus Lawrence actually didn't start the game. Tell
Speaker 1: me about that. Why didn't he start the game because
Speaker 1: he is not in the base defense. Uh yeah, capitalize
Speaker 1: that age. Huh, not in the base defense, and he
Speaker 1: kind of had a weird look. He was like, they
Speaker 1: called bass and I'm not in basse. So I went
Speaker 1: back off the field. He got back on in the
Speaker 1: second play. So who is in basse? Like h Tank Lawrence? Yeah,
Speaker 1: in the base defense? Huh. I keep saying, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: I just that, Yeah, I mean that doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1: I mean, it doesn't make any sense. As I said
Speaker 1: this morning on another show, I mean, he twenty one
Speaker 1: million a year for your defensive and should be in
Speaker 1: the basse. Should be in the nickels, be in the dimes,
Speaker 1: be in the pre event, should be in the forty
Speaker 1: four stack. If you play Madden, I mean stuff like that.
Speaker 1: He should be in. He should be in the defense.
Speaker 1: He should start the game. You might want to play
Speaker 1: him a tackle. I mean, I'm just saying, like, you
Speaker 1: might want play him wherever you can play him in.
Speaker 1: I don't know, I don't whatever. But he got in
Speaker 1: on the second play and he costs and he caused
Speaker 1: a fumble. Although after seeing that, maybe next game how
Speaker 1: to do the same thing. Maybe maybe I ought to
Speaker 1: sit him to start the game and then bring him
Speaker 1: in the second play and then maybe he makes a
Speaker 1: big play. I don't know, maybe he should play. Put him,
Speaker 1: put him on the field out. All right, we're gonna
Speaker 1: take our first break. When we come back, we're gonna
Speaker 1: get into some performance reviews. We got to talk about
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton's day. We got to talk about the running backs.
Speaker 1: I'll ask you, guys, is Zeke the best running back
Speaker 1: on this team? We'll talk about that when we come
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Speaker 1: Back to the Break. Don't miss your chance to see
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Speaker 1: game has been moved to noon. Yeah, it is thankfully
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the second segment of The Break live
Speaker 1: from the SWBC Mortgage Studios, presented by Geico. Let's let's
Speaker 1: jump into some performance reviews. Let's start first with the
Speaker 1: quarterback Andy Dalton. He goes sixteen of twenty three, seventy
Speaker 1: percentage completion seventy percent completion percentage, one hundred and eighty
Speaker 1: five yards, two touchdown, zero interceptions, one twenty two point
Speaker 1: six rating. All of the numbers weren't huge obviously, as
Speaker 1: far as passing yards, he did be too bad. And
Speaker 1: then this was a bad team. How did you assess
Speaker 1: his play overall. Nick, let's start with you. I thought
Speaker 1: he played well, you know, you know he wanted it,
Speaker 1: you tell. I mean, I don't know if they needed
Speaker 1: to throw that pass the Tony Pollard at the end.
Speaker 1: I think he wanted that second touchdown Um. And you
Speaker 1: know I thought for him the drive after the Darien
Speaker 1: Thompson fumble at the twelve, that was a really big
Speaker 1: drives were the first time they had the ball, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, with not a short field, and he had
Speaker 1: three big third down completions there, two to Cooper, one
Speaker 1: to cd UM. I thought, I thought that was a
Speaker 1: really nice drive there, and so he did a good job,
Speaker 1: all right, Amber again passive missed Amber here on Monday. Sorry,
Speaker 1: but I just can't help it today. Yes they did,
Speaker 1: they did a good job, but I thought they could
Speaker 1: have done a lot more. And there were some really
Speaker 1: great play, some really great passes, throws and all that.
Speaker 1: But what is the problem in the red zone? Why
Speaker 1: can't the Cowboys just guess past that? Why can't I
Speaker 1: why can't they just make it into the end zone
Speaker 1: a lot more? They're still all shrunkling in that area.
Speaker 1: Prior to that, everything seemed pretty good, But it's just
Speaker 1: that area right there that they just don't I don't
Speaker 1: know what the deal is. And yes, that touchdown towards
Speaker 1: the end of the game with Tony Pohler it was good,
Speaker 1: But honestly, I was like, I remember when we were
Speaker 1: watching the game. I don't know if you were there, Derek,
Speaker 1: but I was just like, Okay, they've only actually scored
Speaker 1: one touchdown in the whole game, and that's it. The
Speaker 1: other one came from Aldon Smith and the other ones
Speaker 1: were field goals, So what's the deal here. I would
Speaker 1: be expecting them to be able to get in the
Speaker 1: end zone a lot more. And it's hard for me
Speaker 1: to judge that Tony Polar won because it came so
Speaker 1: late in the game. I wonder, okay, was the defense
Speaker 1: just kind of losing up by that point, But I
Speaker 1: just I'm not. I wasn't super impressed with what they
Speaker 1: did yesterday, all right, Dave. I mean, I thought it
Speaker 1: was Andy's best start since he's taken over, you know.
Speaker 1: And and it's hard to it's hard to weigh at
Speaker 1: all because again, you know, the Alvin Smith touchdown kind
Speaker 1: of changed everything. That they had a commanding lead from
Speaker 1: the beginning. That's obviously that's going to change the way
Speaker 1: you play, Like You're probably not just eager to be
Speaker 1: whipping it around the yard all day when you've got
Speaker 1: a three possession lead in the second quarter, and you
Speaker 1: know you don't want to put your year banged up
Speaker 1: offensive line in that situation. So, you know, I struggle between, well, yeah,
Speaker 1: they're not very explosive verse well, they don't need to
Speaker 1: be in a game situation like this, But yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: you get the ball at the thirty two yard line,
Speaker 1: I expect a little bit better than seven plays for
Speaker 1: sixteen yards in a field goal. It does seem like
Speaker 1: this team gets bogged down. It's funny now because it
Speaker 1: was a blowout, but you know it, you would prefer
Speaker 1: to see Andy find Amari Cooper wide freaking open on
Speaker 1: that slugo in the fourth quarter. You know it's a
Speaker 1: sixty yard touchdown if he just looks to his left.
Speaker 1: And it's just stuff like at where you're like, Andy
Speaker 1: Dalton played well and the offense was fine, and they
Speaker 1: won by twenty three points. But this certainly hasn't been
Speaker 1: an explosive offense since Dak Prescott went out. And again,
Speaker 1: I know that the offensive line is compromised, so it
Speaker 1: is hard to judge the whole thing. But I mean
Speaker 1: they look they look like an offense that's being run
Speaker 1: by a backup quarterback. And that's not a bad thing
Speaker 1: because that's what they went and got Andy Dalton to do.
Speaker 1: But you know, there there are some plays that they
Speaker 1: have left out there on a consistent basis in the
Speaker 1: time that Dak has has been out of you know,
Speaker 1: out for the season. I want to go back, but
Speaker 1: I do think he played. But but Andy's not any
Speaker 1: backup quarterback. I mean, he's a guy who's been a starter,
Speaker 1: so it's not just your typical backup guy. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is at a point that you you I get
Speaker 1: it completely different offense with Dak Prescott in and with
Speaker 1: the offensive line healthy. But at the same time, I mean,
Speaker 1: this is a game where you you expect this team
Speaker 1: to be absolutely competitive with a guy like Andy Dalton
Speaker 1: at quarterback. I would argue that they mostly have been
Speaker 1: other than I mean, and I no, I agree, but
Speaker 1: I said, I just made that comment in response to
Speaker 1: what you said that this looks like a team that
Speaker 1: is playing with a backup quarterback. Well, okay, let me
Speaker 1: let me a very good backup quarterback. I mean in
Speaker 1: May when Andy sign we were like, well, you know,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys probably maybe have the best backup quarterback in
Speaker 1: the league, Like they should still be able to effectively
Speaker 1: run their offense with Andy Dalton. And other than the
Speaker 1: Washington game when he got concussed, and really that was
Speaker 1: probably the low point for the offensive line on the
Speaker 1: entire year. In all of the other games, they've looked
Speaker 1: like they could win games with him in at quarterback.
Speaker 1: I mean, they didn't get trounced by Baltimore because of
Speaker 1: what the offense was doing that I mean that those
Speaker 1: are defensive lapses. So yeah, for the most part, I
Speaker 1: feel like they've gotten pretty good return on investment. Now,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't know. I don't know if like
Speaker 1: I guess what I'm trying to say. As I think
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton's window as a you know, big time starting
Speaker 1: quarterback who can win you a championship, I lean toward
Speaker 1: thinking those days were probably over. But that doesn't mean
Speaker 1: he can't be a very serviceable quarterback in this league.
Speaker 1: I don't know that they ever were here. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's an interesting gay go ahead, and I just don't
Speaker 1: think it's that. I don't think this is really that
Speaker 1: hard to figure out. I mean, this offensive line is
Speaker 1: not going to win any weightlifting contests. I mean they're agile,
Speaker 1: they can move, they're young, but they're not very strong.
Speaker 1: And so when you look at when you when you
Speaker 1: have a hundred yards to play with and fifty three
Speaker 1: wide and all that, they you know, you might pass it,
Speaker 1: you might run it. They can be effective, but when
Speaker 1: it gets down there and it's just me versus you
Speaker 1: and who's tougher and stronger, they don't push people back.
Speaker 1: And this is not anything new. I mean even four
Speaker 1: or five years ago, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Tyrn Smith,
Speaker 1: this was the worst third and one team in the league,
Speaker 1: or even third and goal. So they have a hard
Speaker 1: time knocking people off the ball when you get down
Speaker 1: inside the five, and it's hard for those receivers to
Speaker 1: really find room. You have to just run people over,
Speaker 1: and they're not good enough to do this right now.
Speaker 1: So I think that's where it comes down. It's just
Speaker 1: the line can block, pass, block, okay and all that,
Speaker 1: but they're not going to just knock people off. Not
Speaker 1: Christian Covington any serious and not ca ing back, well,
Speaker 1: let me let me take that, and I want to
Speaker 1: combine things that you just said and something at Amber said.
Speaker 1: Amber talked about the red zone and talked about how
Speaker 1: much they struggle in the red zone. Is it your
Speaker 1: thought then that the reason that they're struggling in the
Speaker 1: red zone is because they don't have the power in
Speaker 1: their offensive line and they can't run the ball fake. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that's the biggest issue right there, is that
Speaker 1: you know, who's worried about CD going over the top
Speaker 1: or Michael got you You're not worried about that. You
Speaker 1: have to It's just big boy football. You've got to
Speaker 1: knock people back. And as good as I think Connor
Speaker 1: McGovern and Connor Williams and and Looney, I mean that
Speaker 1: they could be even you know, in the tackles too,
Speaker 1: but they're not just overpowering type linemen. And I think
Speaker 1: I think that's a that's a problem that they're not
Speaker 1: built that way. Think about their tight ends. Their tight
Speaker 1: ends aren't tight ends. No one's talking about the pancake
Speaker 1: that Dalton Schultz had. It's the fact that he's got
Speaker 1: fifty catches. Wasn't this still a problem last year? I
Speaker 1: mean different coaching staff and everything. Kellen Moore were still
Speaker 1: directing the offense. But at the same time, if I
Speaker 1: remember correctly, that we're still struggling a lot last year,
Speaker 1: and that's something that I think we talked about a lot,
Speaker 1: was their struggles with the red zone. They were great
Speaker 1: prior to that and they could score touchdowns and all that,
Speaker 1: but once they got into that red zone, it was
Speaker 1: always been it's been a problem. It's been a problem
Speaker 1: for a couple of years. It just makes me wonder
Speaker 1: past the injuries. You know, it's a it's a problem
Speaker 1: and it's been a problem. But the one difference I
Speaker 1: think now is is nobody's worried about Andy Dalton getting
Speaker 1: into the end zone running and that that was a
Speaker 1: weapon that they did have with with Dak. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's one more when things break down and we've seen it.
Speaker 1: He's done it more than I think any quarterback in
Speaker 1: the Cowboys history running the ball in. So that's another
Speaker 1: weapon down there. But it's the old line. To me,
Speaker 1: it's the line and not being able to knock people back.
Speaker 1: And I also will point this out last year, I
Speaker 1: think the issues were a little bit different, same result.
Speaker 1: I think they were a little bit different. I mean,
Speaker 1: I remember talking a lot about Travis Frederick and his
Speaker 1: inability to be able to hold up at the point
Speaker 1: of attack. Like we knew he wasn't the same player
Speaker 1: last year. He was not as powerful as he had
Speaker 1: been earlier in his career. And the same thing with
Speaker 1: Connor and Connor Williams, and so I think you still
Speaker 1: had problems right there in the middle with regards to power.
Speaker 1: So I think it was the same problem different players.
Speaker 1: I think it was the same problem though, and it
Speaker 1: crept up on them and it was a problem for
Speaker 1: them in the red zone. It was a reason why
Speaker 1: they couldn't really push people back and be able to
Speaker 1: get some of those critical yards in some of those situations. Dave,
Speaker 1: do you agree with what they're saying or do you
Speaker 1: have a different take on maybe why they're not as
Speaker 1: good in the red zone. I'm really reluctant to and
Speaker 1: maybe I shouldn't be. It's the NFL. You gotta do
Speaker 1: what you gotta do with who you have. But I'm
Speaker 1: reluctant to criticize Kellen Moore win And I mean, how
Speaker 1: many how many Day one starters is he working with
Speaker 1: right now? He's got his three receivers, and I guess
Speaker 1: technically you would consider Joe Looney a day one starter
Speaker 1: and Connor Williams. So what that's that's fun. Yeah, So
Speaker 1: he's got all right, he's got half of his offense.
Speaker 1: He's still he's missing a lot of it, is my point,
Speaker 1: including the guy that's supposed to make it work. So
Speaker 1: I'm reluctant to bash him. And I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: I think play calling was a fair criticism last year.
Speaker 1: Amber is totally right, like this was an issue last
Speaker 1: year when they were much healthier, So I think you
Speaker 1: need to look into that. Um. I hesitate to criticize
Speaker 1: the play calling when you're so compromised right now, but
Speaker 1: I do think when you factor in that it was
Speaker 1: a thing last year, it's probably a a It's a
Speaker 1: worthwhile conversation, even if I, like I said, even if
Speaker 1: I'm reluctant, because yeah, I mean they had everybody last
Speaker 1: year and it was still an issue. Ye. All right, UM,
Speaker 1: here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go ahead and
Speaker 1: take our final break come back. We still do need
Speaker 1: to talk about the running backs. We've talked about how
Speaker 1: good Polo looked yesterday. Is he now in a position
Speaker 1: where you should consider giving him as mini carries as zekeday?
Speaker 1: He got very close yesterday. We'll talk about that when
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Speaker 1: to the final segment of The Break, presented by Geico
Speaker 1: Live from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star. Let's
Speaker 1: jump right in. Let's talk about the running backs. Yesterday,
Speaker 1: Zeke goes twelve carries for forty eight yards four yards
Speaker 1: per carry average. He had about thirty two He had
Speaker 1: thirty two snaps in the game. Poler, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: had eleven carries, one less thirty nine yards three point
Speaker 1: five average. He had nineteen snaps in the game. A
Speaker 1: question for you, guys, is is this the right distribution
Speaker 1: and use of the backs or should Pollard be a
Speaker 1: little closer to fifty of the snaps not necessarily carries,
Speaker 1: but the snaps. Should they be splitting carries between these
Speaker 1: two guys and splitting rips. Let's start first with you, Dave.
Speaker 1: I think it's an important caveat. I'm pointing this out
Speaker 1: on Twitter yesterday. I mean, Zeke wasn't even a guarantee
Speaker 1: to play in this game. I mean he said he
Speaker 1: was going to, but he's questionable on the injury report
Speaker 1: with a calf. He's gonna gut through it. He said
Speaker 1: after the game that it was sore. And then on
Speaker 1: top of that, you know, the Cowboys had a multiple
Speaker 1: possession lead really from the jump, so you know, that's
Speaker 1: the smart way to play it in these circumstances, like, yeah,
Speaker 1: limit your injured running backs touches when you have control
Speaker 1: of the game and when he's hurt. So I think
Speaker 1: that's a big part of it. Having said that, Yeah, obviously,
Speaker 1: for a variety of reasons, Tony Pollard just seems to
Speaker 1: have more juice. Like when he hits a hole, he
Speaker 1: he hits it at a different speed. I think everybody
Speaker 1: would agree with that, regardless of what the reasoning is.
Speaker 1: I'm very comfortable with him getting more touches for a
Speaker 1: variety of reasons. The Cowboys aren't going to say this,
Speaker 1: but it's looking like a long shot that they're going
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs. So why rack up meaningless mileage
Speaker 1: on your star? I mean, why do that? Like, Zeke
Speaker 1: doesn't need to touch the ball sixty seventy times over
Speaker 1: the next three weeks. If anything, he needs, like, let
Speaker 1: him get some rest and get ready for a season
Speaker 1: that won't be so difficult. I do think It's funny, though,
Speaker 1: go back and watch, you know, the long run that
Speaker 1: he had. I think it was in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: If Michael Gallop holds his block on his cornerback for
Speaker 1: half a second longer, I doubt Zeke scores, but he's
Speaker 1: going fifty sixty yards for sure, And so it's just
Speaker 1: funny to think what we'd be talking about if Zeke's
Speaker 1: stat line was twelve carries for ninety eight yards. You know,
Speaker 1: so I do think that's interesting anyway, I digress. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm very comfortable with Tony Pollard getting more work over
Speaker 1: the next three weeks, Hamber. I do want to see
Speaker 1: more of Tony Poler, But at the same time, I'm
Speaker 1: always I'm still hesitant as far as saying, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I want to take snaps away from Zeke. I still
Speaker 1: think that Zeke, even though we haven't seen the old
Speaker 1: Zeke this year, I still think that he has it
Speaker 1: and it's just a matter of time and getting him
Speaker 1: back into the groove or something. But I think that,
Speaker 1: you know, we're not really going to be having this
Speaker 1: debate any for much longer. I think I'm right with Dave.
Speaker 1: I think that this next few weeks is going to
Speaker 1: be an opportunity for us to get to the point
Speaker 1: where we do get to see more of Tony Poler
Speaker 1: and kind of put that whole debate to rest for
Speaker 1: a little bit as far as depending on how turns out,
Speaker 1: because if Pauler kills it, then the debate is gonna
Speaker 1: only grow even bigger. But I think that in the
Speaker 1: next few weeks we'll we'll hopefully get a better idea
Speaker 1: of what that really would look like when Pauler gets
Speaker 1: more placed rather than Zeke. Yeah whatever, Yeah, I'm just
Speaker 1: I'm just saying that I don't I don't really have
Speaker 1: an answer, Like, I want to see both of them.
Speaker 1: I definitely want to see what Pauler can do. But
Speaker 1: at the same time, I'm not ready to take away
Speaker 1: snaps from Zeke yet. Yeah, all right, glad Nick, I
Speaker 1: think you know, whether or not it matters to anyone else,
Speaker 1: I think Zeke wants a thousand, you know, he's I
Speaker 1: think that's a that's a thing for him, and I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna and you know, he's had opportunities to
Speaker 1: sit out. Okay, there's other players on this team that
Speaker 1: probably wouldn't have played, uh, you know, short weeks calf bruise.
Speaker 1: You know, he you know, he's come back and he's
Speaker 1: played and and you know it matters to him, and
Speaker 1: so I think he'll he'll play. But I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't disagree that that that you know, there's no there's
Speaker 1: no need to have twenty five carries for him. It's
Speaker 1: a healthy balance, and and yesterday was a good example
Speaker 1: of that, you know. And it's not just third and
Speaker 1: one short yardage that they go with the bigger back.
Speaker 1: I mean, Paulard's getting some snaps in there, and he
Speaker 1: got some around the goal line too. So I think
Speaker 1: I think what they're doing in this game is pretty
Speaker 1: good balance. Yeah, I think it's going to be very interesting.
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Dave, Good Dave, No, I just you know
Speaker 1: what's funny, Nick as you like you say he wants
Speaker 1: a thousand, and I don't disagree at his current average.
Speaker 1: If he keeps up his current average, like he would
Speaker 1: hit a thousand in week seventeen, just in time for
Speaker 1: the season to be over. I mean, if it were
Speaker 1: up to me, no chance in hell, like there's I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, it looks more than likely that either New
Speaker 1: York or Washington's gonna win the division. If there's nothing
Speaker 1: to play for in week seventeen, shoot, maybe even in
Speaker 1: week sixteen, I would be like, sorry, buddy, I want
Speaker 1: to say what Rico Dowdle looks like. I'm like, a
Speaker 1: shame about your no thousand yards. But we'll get him
Speaker 1: next year, hey, And I don't. I haven't talked to
Speaker 1: Zeke all year. I haven't. I mean, he's not a
Speaker 1: player that I that I talked to after the game
Speaker 1: because he always goes to the podium, so I haven't
Speaker 1: talked to him. I have no idea that that that
Speaker 1: that's what he wants or I just I would imagine
Speaker 1: that it would be a big deal to him, but
Speaker 1: I don't know that. And I don't even know if
Speaker 1: there's a contract incentive or anything like that for him,
Speaker 1: but you know, he wants to play well. I do
Speaker 1: think this is going to create a very interesting dynamic
Speaker 1: if if Pollard plays more, if Pollard just keeps playing
Speaker 1: at the rate that he's playing, and he starts really
Speaker 1: you know, knocking down some big runs and keeps looking
Speaker 1: like and that's the thing, like, I don't know that
Speaker 1: his stat line is so much better that we all
Speaker 1: are like, oh my god. The production is so much better.
Speaker 1: It's just it looks different when he gets the ball,
Speaker 1: the way he hits holes, it's different than what you're
Speaker 1: seeing from Zeke. And I really think if he has
Speaker 1: some big runs here down the stretch, I think it's
Speaker 1: going to create a very interesting conversation. Maybe not an
Speaker 1: interesting conversation with coaches and executives, but I think among
Speaker 1: media people in US, I think it's going to create
Speaker 1: a very interesting conversation in this offseason and heading into
Speaker 1: next season about how you distribute the ball because you're
Speaker 1: gonna have your guy back, and you're gonna have a
Speaker 1: lot of the pieces you hope back on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: If you think Pollard gives you more juice, then that's
Speaker 1: a better person to have in there more frequently. With
Speaker 1: all the other weapons they got on this offense and
Speaker 1: an offensive line that can create some gaps for him.
Speaker 1: So I just really think that right now it's a
Speaker 1: very interesting time for Zeke. And and I heard what
Speaker 1: you were saying, Nick about him getting a thousand. I
Speaker 1: personally think if if I were him, and I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna speak for him, but if I were him, I
Speaker 1: would be thinking, I'm trying to keep this guy off
Speaker 1: the field, because the last thing I want is him
Speaker 1: showing more than maybe I'm showing right now. And maybe
Speaker 1: there are reasons why, maybe that injury is a little
Speaker 1: worse than than he's letting on. Who knows. All I
Speaker 1: know is it looked different right now. It does look
Speaker 1: different when Pollard's on the field, then when you see Zeke.
Speaker 1: All right, One other thing I wanted to hit real
Speaker 1: quick before we end the show. The defense. Hell Cincinnati's
Speaker 1: seven points. It was the first time since I think
Speaker 1: it was two thousand nineteen, Week three of twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: that they held an opponent under ten points. So it
Speaker 1: was a good outing for the defense, something different than
Speaker 1: they've done in passed outing certainly this season. Was this
Speaker 1: a turning point for this defense? Or do you think
Speaker 1: this was just merely a function of the fact that
Speaker 1: they played a really bad offense. Nick, Let's start with you, well,
Speaker 1: bad offense, bad quarterback. You know, he's not very good,
Speaker 1: and you're not He's not very good. They don't have
Speaker 1: a lot of weapons over there, you know, leave it
Speaker 1: to aj Green to come out of retirement and against
Speaker 1: the Cowboys and play. But I mean, but then again,
Speaker 1: let's also look at the other side though, too. I mean,
Speaker 1: other than Jordan Lewis, every cornerback on the team has
Speaker 1: been on the practice squad at some point this year.
Speaker 1: I mean Chris Westree, Are we kidding me? And Chris
Speaker 1: Westree he tried to quit last year? Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: if he's playing in a game. I mean same at
Speaker 1: the safety position too, So I mean the guys that
Speaker 1: they've got on the secondary for them to play that way,
Speaker 1: I mean that that was that was pretty good. And
Speaker 1: I thought Jalen probably played his best game of the
Speaker 1: season yesterday. I mean, say what you will, but I
Speaker 1: thought he had a pretty nice game. He seemed like
Speaker 1: he was physical and flying around the ball. For Jalen Dave,
Speaker 1: I'm about to sound like a hater, and I apologize
Speaker 1: for that way. I mean, they did play a really
Speaker 1: good game. It was Nick Nick on Friday was like,
Speaker 1: I can't believe Brandon Allen plays in the NFL, So
Speaker 1: I can't forgive me if I'm not super duper impressed.
Speaker 1: The other thing, and they did it. They forced three fumbles,
Speaker 1: they scored off of one of them. They get credit
Speaker 1: for that, but everything we know about fumbles is that
Speaker 1: it's it's kind of random, you know, Like I mean,
Speaker 1: the amount of variants, there's no like you can't count
Speaker 1: on that, you know what I mean? Like I said
Speaker 1: this yesterday is and I know he didn't pick off
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton, but like Jesse Bates made this great read
Speaker 1: on a throat to Dulman, he undercut the receiver, dove
Speaker 1: in front of it, almost picked it off Like that
Speaker 1: is that is instinctual playmaking and understanding. Fumbles are almost luck.
Speaker 1: I mean, like I said, I'm gonna jump in those
Speaker 1: two forced bubbles. No, no, no way, Thompsons. I think
Speaker 1: I think there are two fumbles that they created yesterday
Speaker 1: that were about how they played the balls, specifically takes
Speaker 1: like that was him ripping the ball as so that
Speaker 1: I don't think you can call Tank and Tank and
Speaker 1: Darian Thompson get a lot of credit for forcing those fumbles.
Speaker 1: The one that the one that swung the entire game
Speaker 1: became because the guy had dropped it when he off
Speaker 1: somebody's butt. Absolutely, um, but all I mean, okay, but
Speaker 1: do you really think that's the first time Tank has
Speaker 1: punched the ball when he tackled somebody else? But but
Speaker 1: I like again, but yeah, but I just don't think
Speaker 1: it's fair for us. You can't play it both ways.
Speaker 1: We can't say, on one hand, they can create turnovers
Speaker 1: and then they create turnovers to say, well, turnovers are random, Like,
Speaker 1: I just think it's I think it's unfair. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think turnovers are random for the most part. But you're right.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't want to take that credit away,
Speaker 1: but I just don't have a ton of confidence that
Speaker 1: it is something that they can definitely replicate. Like, I'm
Speaker 1: not you know, I don't expect them to just force
Speaker 1: a million fumbles over these last three games. I think
Speaker 1: the the twelve games that we saw before this are
Speaker 1: probably a greater indicator of what they are than this one.
Speaker 1: And I'm like I said, I mean, I sound like
Speaker 1: a hater because they went out and they did it,
Speaker 1: but I'm not convinced that it's something that's going to
Speaker 1: happen consistently moving forward, not this season at least. Amber. Yes,
Speaker 1: great way in, great plays, good job, But is this
Speaker 1: a turning point. Absolutely don't think so. Yesterday when we
Speaker 1: were watching the game, Derek, you were out and I
Speaker 1: don't know much about the history of the Bengals, but
Speaker 1: you were talking about some guy that used to do
Speaker 1: the shuffle dance back when I was born, and that
Speaker 1: was the last time. Apparently Woods go ahead. Ever'm sorry, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're like the Ikey shuffle. I'm like, what the heck
Speaker 1: is that? But just to my point, based on what
Speaker 1: you said, it sounds like this team has been bad
Speaker 1: for a very very long time. So it's just hard
Speaker 1: to be that motivated and that excited about the kind
Speaker 1: of performance we did see yesterday. Yes, it was great,
Speaker 1: but as far as taking that and applying that into
Speaker 1: some excitement in the near future or you know what's
Speaker 1: going to happen next, It's just it's hard to get
Speaker 1: there looking at what kind of team they were facing.
Speaker 1: And I get that Nick said, yes, the Cowboys are
Speaker 1: bad as well this year, but at the same time,
Speaker 1: it's just I'm just not there. I'm not just I'm
Speaker 1: definitely not there to say this was a turning point
Speaker 1: for the defense. It's not a turning point. It means
Speaker 1: it says that the it is at the end of
Speaker 1: the movie almost. I mean, there's no more turning points
Speaker 1: or anything like that. Um, And I think you know
Speaker 1: they got a good win at noon yesterday, but from
Speaker 1: three to six. They lost. They lost because what Washington did,
Speaker 1: and they lost. When Washington beat the Steelers, that that
Speaker 1: was it. When Washington beat the Steelers, then they don't
Speaker 1: have because think about that. They're not supposed to be
Speaker 1: the Steelers, but they did. And if they didn't win
Speaker 1: that game, then it would be very very interesting with
Speaker 1: these two teams sitting at five and all that. I
Speaker 1: don't know how the Cowboys can win the division at
Speaker 1: this point, other than if Washington just loses out maybe
Speaker 1: and they got two teams that are they have losing
Speaker 1: records that they're playing at the end. They got Carolina
Speaker 1: and they've got really yeah. Yeah, and Jalen Hurts. You know,
Speaker 1: he played well, but we've seen these happen. We've seen
Speaker 1: games like this before. Like you get a guy like that,
Speaker 1: he gets a spark, it's cool, and then defensive coordinators say, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: well hold on, let's let's let's we got something for him.
Speaker 1: And he'll have some struggles too, but you know it's
Speaker 1: probably not it's too late, too late to turn in
Speaker 1: the corner. It was just it was just this team's bad.
Speaker 1: You know, go beat him, Yeah, and dominate the game
Speaker 1: if you can and they did. Here's the one thing
Speaker 1: I will say, and again we're coming close to in
Speaker 1: this show. But you look at and when I when
Speaker 1: I ask about a turning point, I think, what Mike McCarthy.
Speaker 1: You listen to what the players are saying, and what
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy saying, I think what he's trying to convince
Speaker 1: the players of is right now is important because not
Speaker 1: necessarily looking at the playoffs, but because this is the
Speaker 1: These are the moments when you can start creating some
Speaker 1: some momentum for the future. Now, I've never been a
Speaker 1: big fan of you know, at the end of the year,
Speaker 1: you can create momentum for the next year. But I
Speaker 1: think he is convincing his team that they may be
Speaker 1: able to create some momentum for the next season. And
Speaker 1: especially in a situation where you have a defensive coordinator
Speaker 1: who has all season I think fallen short. If by
Speaker 1: chance they can get this defense to play better at
Speaker 1: the end of the season, it might point to Okay,
Speaker 1: some of these guys are starting to get it. Some
Speaker 1: of these guys may be starting to get this scheme.
Speaker 1: Maybe it makes you going into next going to next year,
Speaker 1: feeling like, Okay, we feel the players feeling more confident
Speaker 1: in the scheme, feeling more confident in what they're asked
Speaker 1: to do, and that may help you going into next year.
Speaker 1: So that's the reason I asked about Attorney. And I
Speaker 1: cannot play a game though quick. I know we're running
Speaker 1: out of time, but I'll play a game. I'll let
Speaker 1: David and Amber answer this defense the guys that played yesterday,
Speaker 1: starting with the coordinator. Do we think Mike Nolan will
Speaker 1: be back as the coordinader next years on what happens
Speaker 1: these last three games. I don't think so. I don't
Speaker 1: think Hamilton. I'll just go down the list. Gallamor yes, yes,
Speaker 1: Antoine would, yeah, maybe all the Smith maybe should I
Speaker 1: think he should? Vanderesh, yes, Jahylen. Do we have enough
Speaker 1: time he would be here? I don't know if Smith
Speaker 1: for Shard, Robinson, Darren Thompson, Xavier Woods, I'll say no
Speaker 1: to that way through the whole roster. But I'm just
Speaker 1: you know, Gregory Lawrence, d law Yeah, Crawford probably not.
Speaker 1: So my point to that is starting with the coordinator
Speaker 1: down and building all this stuff. I don't know if
Speaker 1: you want these defensive guys getting all excited about next
Speaker 1: year because they won't be here, but but there are
Speaker 1: some keys in there. You want those linebackers to play
Speaker 1: a little bit better. You want Tank to play better
Speaker 1: or play well, yeah, you want you want Gallimore to
Speaker 1: start feeling comfortable where he is. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: there are some guys that you look at and you're like, hey,
Speaker 1: if I can get these guys to start buying in,
Speaker 1: then when we get this, all those other guys out
Speaker 1: of here, the new guys we bring in, at least
Speaker 1: what they'll be hearing from the other guys is, hey,
Speaker 1: this system works, rather than looking kind of side eye
Speaker 1: at the coach every time the coach talks, because they
Speaker 1: don't believe in the scheme, right, I know, I know,
Speaker 1: you know, we're definitely we're out of time on the show,
Speaker 1: but we don't know that the scheme will be the
Speaker 1: same in twenty twenty one. And on top of that,
Speaker 1: they like, we are we already did this, like we
Speaker 1: were doing the oh well, like you know they'll feel
Speaker 1: better next year, like we did that. And then they
Speaker 1: went right back off the cliff against Washington and Baltimore
Speaker 1: and so you know, like turning it around against the
Speaker 1: number like the worst freaking team in the league or
Speaker 1: one of the two or three worst teams in the league.
Speaker 1: It just doesn't. Again, all credit to them for doing it,
Speaker 1: because they could have gone out and played terribly, which
Speaker 1: is what I sort of expected to see, and they didn't,
Speaker 1: So they get credit for that. But I really dam
Speaker 1: not putting any faith into anything beyond that. David Amber,
Speaker 1: you guys both are not too excited about this game,
Speaker 1: and that's fine. What what would be exciting in the
Speaker 1: last three games? Win them all or these like win
Speaker 1: all these last three games, have a four game No,
Speaker 1: I'm asking, like, what would it be? They just left
Speaker 1: that because they're not doing that. But I mean, I
Speaker 1: mean beating who can beat They can they beat anybody
Speaker 1: that I if you, if you want me to get excited,
Speaker 1: I want them to play really well, look like a
Speaker 1: competent football team down these last three weeks, and still
Speaker 1: give me an exciting draft pick that we can get
Speaker 1: excited about for our draft coverage. Like that's what I want.
Speaker 1: What would get me excited is to finally if we
Speaker 1: get to see some kind of consistency. If you know,
Speaker 1: it's great when we talk about these type of games
Speaker 1: where they get some great plays and all that, but
Speaker 1: they have been lacking consistency all throughout the season. So
Speaker 1: if they are able to find even if they lose game,
Speaker 1: but we still see some explosiveness, we still seem some
Speaker 1: of them creating plays and just being consistent in these
Speaker 1: last three games. I think that's something that I would
Speaker 1: be excited for because it gives me a sense of
Speaker 1: just then being more connected as a whole, regardless of
Speaker 1: the team being completely different next year, which is what
Speaker 1: we are expecting, Just having that kind of mentality of
Speaker 1: you know what, maybe we are able to find some
Speaker 1: consistency here, but other than that, nothing else will get
Speaker 1: me excited. Yeah, Nick went down the list of all
Speaker 1: those defensive guys that probably won't be here. What I
Speaker 1: want to see down the stretch is the guys that
Speaker 1: will be here play well. That's all I want to see.
Speaker 1: I just I don't care about the outcome. I don't
Speaker 1: care if they win or lose. I want to see
Speaker 1: those guys play well, particularly those young guys like Gallimore.
Speaker 1: I want to see them play well because that tells
Speaker 1: me they're starting to get it and I can have
Speaker 1: some hope, like some glimmer of hope that maybe next
Speaker 1: year they can put it together and it can be
Speaker 1: a better season. If those guys can't get better, then
Speaker 1: you're real because they're not going anywhere. A certain guys
Speaker 1: that aren't going anywhere, if they're not playing well down
Speaker 1: the stretch, then it kind of just takes away from
Speaker 1: that hope that you can have this offseason. All right,
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys, join us. Will be back tomorrow. We'll
Speaker 1: get some big picture looks at what's going on in
Speaker 1: the NFC East. Looking like the Washington Football team will
Speaker 1: probably win it. We'll talk about that tomorrow too then
Speaker 1: for Nick Even, Dave helm and Amber Garcia. I am
Speaker 1: Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break presented by Guy
Speaker 1: Go Live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has
Speaker 1: been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys Football Club.