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? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that.
Speaker 1: It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton.
Speaker 1: It is Friday, December thirteenth, twenty nineteen, Season fifteen, episode
Speaker 1: number ninety nine. Welcome to another edition of The Break.
Speaker 1: We are live Nest WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star.
Speaker 1: We got a little bit of a shortened show today,
Speaker 1: but we're gonna try to get in a lot of stuff.
Speaker 1: We're gonna start first by catching up on some injuries.
Speaker 1: There were two guys that continue to miss practice to
Speaker 1: yesterday that it missed most all week, actually shun Lee
Speaker 1: Layton Vandersh. Yesterday, you guys said, I think Nick, you
Speaker 1: were saying you you fully expect that Shaun Lee will play.
Speaker 1: Are you changing? I think I think I'm sorry when
Speaker 1: I still play, I lean toward thinking I'll play. Okay, honestly, so,
Speaker 1: even though he hasn't played practice this week, you still
Speaker 1: feel pretty good I mean, he definitely doesn't feel good,
Speaker 1: and you know that's that's football. But I mean, if
Speaker 1: if he can get himself right in time for Sunday afternoon,
Speaker 1: it's It's one of those things. I mean, he's one
Speaker 1: of those guys that can play without practice reps. He
Speaker 1: was out there today. He wasn't participating, but he's part
Speaker 1: of it. He's working with the linebackers on on reps
Speaker 1: and things like that. So he's going to play. It's
Speaker 1: not ideal, but he will. He's going to try his
Speaker 1: ass off to play, which we'll see. Tell me, let's
Speaker 1: let's go the opposite side of that. Let's assume for
Speaker 1: a second that he doesn't play. How the cow Cowboys
Speaker 1: managed this from the standpoint of the linebacker position, knowing
Speaker 1: that Layton vandersh most likely is not going to play
Speaker 1: as well? This Ismith, that's one out of three. That's
Speaker 1: what night Pro Bowl. So what are you doing the
Speaker 1: other two positions when you're in base? Who the other
Speaker 1: two linebackers that you have about that I'm talking right
Speaker 1: now about bodies and who's doing well? I know, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm well aware, well aware of the linebackers. Luke sounds
Speaker 1: like a boy band does Justin and Luke and Joe.
Speaker 1: I'm well aware of the linebackers haven't played well, but
Speaker 1: this is why we bragged about their depth all year,
Speaker 1: I mean all through training camp. This I mean, Joe
Speaker 1: Thomas will step in and start if Sean can't. And
Speaker 1: it's a hell of a place to be if your
Speaker 1: best or two of your top three linebackers are out
Speaker 1: and you can still start Joe Thomas, Like, that's not
Speaker 1: a bad spot to not worried about Joe at all. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I start wondering once you get beyond that and having
Speaker 1: exposed these other guys, I mean, I know there were
Speaker 1: a lot of people that like Luke Gifford during training camp,
Speaker 1: but he just doesn't have a lot of experience, And
Speaker 1: so how do you feel about you know, who's going
Speaker 1: to be out there? And let's let's also think of
Speaker 1: from this standpoint, even if Sean can go, what happens
Speaker 1: if you get into the first quarter and he can't go, right,
Speaker 1: you still got to have those guys in there playing.
Speaker 1: How comfortable do you feel with those guys that are
Speaker 1: farther down the depth chart now playing? We were always
Speaker 1: wondering why the Cowboys did not choose to put Lucifer
Speaker 1: under the injury reserve, then what was the point of that.
Speaker 1: And now you come to a point in the season
Speaker 1: where okay, maybe you do need to utilize him, and
Speaker 1: if he's not ready, then that's on them. You know.
Speaker 1: They they kept him on the list on the roster
Speaker 1: for a reason and they know more than we do.
Speaker 1: But he's not here just to look good and walk around.
Speaker 1: You know, he ought to do something. So if you
Speaker 1: need him, go ahead. Yeah, that's okay. Now that's all
Speaker 1: sounds great and and and in theory, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1: I don't know that necessarily still means he can play,
Speaker 1: like we don't really know, and I don't know, you
Speaker 1: got options right now, that's on them. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: they had decisions to make, and if they thought he
Speaker 1: was good enough for for a reason or had the
Speaker 1: talent and motivation, I don't think that's necessarily on them.
Speaker 1: I mean, at this point we're talking talking about like
Speaker 1: your sixth linebacker, and I mean that's the nature of
Speaker 1: the NFL. Guys get hurt and this happens. But look
Speaker 1: at the Eagles bride receiver position. Yeah, I mean that
Speaker 1: stuff like that's gonna happen. And Justin March is there
Speaker 1: as well. He's kind of forgotten man, more of a
Speaker 1: special teamer. He could he could step in and do
Speaker 1: that if he needs to. Uh yeah, they think the
Speaker 1: world of Luke Gifford. I've had people ask me about that.
Speaker 1: It's like, well, all you did all through training camp
Speaker 1: was brag about Louke Gifford when are were going to
Speaker 1: see him? I'm like, do you not understand? Like again,
Speaker 1: these things right on a curve, Like I'm very impressed
Speaker 1: with Luke Gifford for being an undrafted free agent rookie
Speaker 1: and he made the team and they liked him enough
Speaker 1: not to put him on injured reserve. That doesn't mean
Speaker 1: he's gonna step on the field and just light it
Speaker 1: up from the get It's the I mean, it's the
Speaker 1: same thing with Donovan Wilson. There's levels to this stuff. Um.
Speaker 1: I do think he could play and might have to,
Speaker 1: and we'll see how he does. Maybe he's a pleasant surprise,
Speaker 1: but I don't everyone needs to start though, you know, sure,
Speaker 1: but you have to saying like if he's if he
Speaker 1: if he struggles, I'm not just like, ah, he sucks
Speaker 1: and shame on the Cowboys for keeping out. That's that's
Speaker 1: not what I'm saying. I like Geffer and I'm I've
Speaker 1: been wanting to see him and what he can turn into.
Speaker 1: But I'm saying, at one point you have to throw
Speaker 1: him in the field and let him get started and
Speaker 1: get rolled in and maybe this is you know, we're
Speaker 1: approaching maybe that time. Yeah, not a good time in
Speaker 1: the season. But again, this game doesn't matter. According to
Speaker 1: most people, it really matters. His name's Todd Gurley. Have fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the that's the part. I mean. You look at
Speaker 1: this team that they're going to be playing. They got
Speaker 1: a lot of good athletic um skill players that you're
Speaker 1: going to have to make sure you're doing the technique
Speaker 1: techniques right in order to have a chance at being
Speaker 1: able to tackle them in open field spaces. And to me,
Speaker 1: that's you know, that's where you start wondering about guys
Speaker 1: that don't have the experience play less space. It's fine, Nickel,
Speaker 1: play less space, It'll be okay. Did you say they're
Speaker 1: using a lot more twelve weeks for sure? Which yea.
Speaker 1: That helps you if you want to stay in base. No,
Speaker 1: if you want as opposed to them going three wide. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: but but it could expose your expose your linebackers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you don't want to be in base right now. What
Speaker 1: you're saying, you're saying you want to go more nickel. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I got you, But you know that it's December. Here
Speaker 1: we are. What are you gonna do? Yeah? Okay, so
Speaker 1: here's we're gonna do. I have two questions for you
Speaker 1: guys that will talk about Cowboys versus Rams. Give people
Speaker 1: kind of an understanding what you guys think will be
Speaker 1: the storylines coming out of this game. The first question
Speaker 1: I have for you, and these questions are pretty much related.
Speaker 1: We're gonna look at offense and defense. But the player
Speaker 1: that you think is more likely to create problems for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys offense is I'll throw out Aaron Donald. I'll
Speaker 1: throw out Jalen Ramsey. If you have another, feel free
Speaker 1: to throw it in. But what player on the Rams
Speaker 1: defense do you think is more likely to cause problems
Speaker 1: for the Cowboys other than Aaron Donald? I mean you
Speaker 1: could say Donald. I will say the last time they
Speaker 1: played Donald didn't get a sack. I don't think right,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say I'll just say Michael Brockers because it's
Speaker 1: it was the tackle opposite Donald that wrecked everything last time,
Speaker 1: So maybe Brockers will pick up on that. I mean,
Speaker 1: Corey Littleton is a name that I brought up yesterday.
Speaker 1: He's having a fantastic season. He's one of their main
Speaker 1: inside linebackers. Um, can't you just see Clay Matthews junior
Speaker 1: making a couple of plays? Can? Yeah? Is he a junior? Yeah?
Speaker 1: He is. You just called him junior? So awesome, I
Speaker 1: think I guess so, I don't know. They just kind
Speaker 1: of rolled off. Okay, is it right? Clay Matthews isn't
Speaker 1: he didn't he isn't there didn't he the son of
Speaker 1: like a but I didn't know his name was Clay
Speaker 1: Tarzan running around with that hair fabio. Now I'm doubting myself.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's a junior, but Clay Matthews from whatever,
Speaker 1: long haired guy on the edge, he's gonna make problems
Speaker 1: or cause problems for Fowlers a junior who I think Fowler? Yeah,
Speaker 1: Fowler is a junior. Yeah, he's actually Clay Matthews the third.
Speaker 1: Now can we move on? Yuh sobriety show Taylor rap?
Speaker 1: How about that. That's another one. I mean, Zeke Elliott
Speaker 1: is probably gonna have a tough time running the ball.
Speaker 1: It's I mean, it hasn't been great for the run
Speaker 1: game in recent weeks. Some of that is circumstanced. They've
Speaker 1: gotten down in games, but you know, he hasn't had
Speaker 1: a one hundred yard games since November the fourth. This
Speaker 1: is a team that's equipped a little limit. That I
Speaker 1: mentioned Littleton I meant obviously Donald obviously, I mean there's
Speaker 1: a lot of talent on the front, but then Littleton's
Speaker 1: having a great season behind that, and again Ramsey enables
Speaker 1: rapped to freelance a little bit more. I would imagine
Speaker 1: he's going to spend him and Wettle both are probably
Speaker 1: going to spend a healthy amount of time near the box.
Speaker 1: That's never great for Zeke. So that's where it's where
Speaker 1: I look Garcia, I think, I mean, just a defensive line.
Speaker 1: That's what what's worrying me, aside from Aaron Donald, just
Speaker 1: everything that everyone else is doing on that line and
Speaker 1: what his own presence brings and creates opportunities for other guys.
Speaker 1: Dak is going to have a really hard day. I
Speaker 1: just see him getting pressure so much and then, like
Speaker 1: we talked yesterday, the fact that he takes so much
Speaker 1: much time to get rid of the ball just because
Speaker 1: he's trying to find the best option on the field,
Speaker 1: that can't happen. He can allow himself to overthink things
Speaker 1: and just think too much. But then at the same
Speaker 1: time that concerns me about throwing some interceptions, you know.
Speaker 1: So it's just gonna be a really tough game for
Speaker 1: the offense. All right, I'll just throw in just for kicks.
Speaker 1: I think it's Jalen Ramsey. Until until I see the
Speaker 1: Cowboys be able to move their offense when they have
Speaker 1: an opposing defense that has a really great cornerback. Until
Speaker 1: I see that consistently, I'm gonna assume that that's going
Speaker 1: to be a problem for them. And if Amar if
Speaker 1: if they travel Ramsey with Amari, then if Amari does
Speaker 1: what I think will probably happen, which is they don't
Speaker 1: either they don't go to him very much. Because that
Speaker 1: does happen where they just won't go to him, or
Speaker 1: he has or he struggles, I think the offense gonna
Speaker 1: have a hard time moving the ball. So I think
Speaker 1: that's the lynchpin. That's the part that worries me the moment.
Speaker 1: I have this weird feeling like Mary's gonna play well.
Speaker 1: I'd love to see it, and I don't. I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't give you a great reason for it other
Speaker 1: than that. Again, like I think it's at home well,
Speaker 1: I mean the home road splits. Everybody knows about him.
Speaker 1: It's crazy how much better he plays at at and T.
Speaker 1: I don't know why. I just again, I think Ramsey's
Speaker 1: confident enough in his ability that, like, you know, Cooper
Speaker 1: catching the ball, as long as you limit the big play,
Speaker 1: you know, the house call. I think he's willing to
Speaker 1: let him do a little bit of work and you
Speaker 1: know you're not gonna I know Gilmour did, but typically
Speaker 1: you're not gonna shut out an NFL receiver with the
Speaker 1: with the way the rules are anyway, I just I
Speaker 1: think I think Coop. Not to say he's gonna blow up,
Speaker 1: but I think he could have eighty to one hundred
Speaker 1: yards and Ramsey will probably take that and be like, well, yeah,
Speaker 1: they scored seventeen points. I don't care if you had
Speaker 1: a hundred yards. But I think Cooper could play well
Speaker 1: in this game. I will say this. I'm just as
Speaker 1: concerned that they just don't get him involved. And I
Speaker 1: think it's because the only thing I can point to
Speaker 1: is maybe if Dax's looking for the open guy and
Speaker 1: you got a really good corner and that guy doesn't
Speaker 1: look open very much, and so you just go away
Speaker 1: from him. And we know that that's happened this year,
Speaker 1: where he gets lost and they just don't find a
Speaker 1: way to get him involved in games. And so that
Speaker 1: would be more of the concern, even more so then
Speaker 1: than Jalen being willing to concede some of that stuff.
Speaker 1: I just think his coverage will be good, and I
Speaker 1: think that might take a Maria away. Last time Ramsey
Speaker 1: was at the stadium, didn't the Cowboys score forty? Yeah?
Speaker 1: With the Jaguars. Yeah. I don't know what was happening
Speaker 1: that day, but I'll Beasley had a lot of catches
Speaker 1: over the middle. I mentioned that during the Bills was
Speaker 1: he not him? Yeah? But I mean it's really funny
Speaker 1: I thought about that during the Bills game. The Jags
Speaker 1: dared Bees to just beat him man up on their
Speaker 1: slot corner, and he abused him, and then having known
Speaker 1: that he's capable of doing that, that's exactly how the
Speaker 1: Cowboys played him when the Bills came to down and
Speaker 1: it had the same result. I don't. I mean, it
Speaker 1: seems like an oversight, like you, of all people, should
Speaker 1: know what Cole Beasley can do. Yeah, and maybe that
Speaker 1: means that the Cowboys are gonna have to use some
Speaker 1: of these other wide receivers this week. Problem has been
Speaker 1: just in most games this year, if a Maria isn't
Speaker 1: a part of it, then it's hard. Those other guys
Speaker 1: just don't seem to get going and the offense seems
Speaker 1: to be stagnant. They gotta run the ball. That's what
Speaker 1: they have to do first. I mean, if they did
Speaker 1: not do that in the game against the Rams back
Speaker 1: in January, and you know, in fifty yards rushing, I mean,
Speaker 1: they've got to establish that. You can establish that, which
Speaker 1: I believe Zeke had a nice day against the Jaguars
Speaker 1: at least early on. You get that going, then they
Speaker 1: can change a lot of things. But if you can't
Speaker 1: run the ball, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter
Speaker 1: what happens in this game. I don't think the Cowboys
Speaker 1: can win if they don't run at all. All Right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna take our first break and we come back,
Speaker 1: We're gonna flip that question. Ask you, guys, who do
Speaker 1: you think the biggest problem will be for the Cowboys
Speaker 1: on the offensive side of the ball. Do that when
Speaker 1: we come right back this Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Speaker 1: September twenty nineteen. Back to the Break, Welcome back. At
Speaker 1: the second segment of The Break, last nest WBC Morgan
Speaker 1: Studios got that's the start, We got an interesting conversation.
Speaker 1: We're not gonna take it to the air, but anyway,
Speaker 1: come all right now, we don't all right, all right, um,
Speaker 1: let's let's actually the I want to flip the question
Speaker 1: I ask you guys before the break, I want to
Speaker 1: ask you what player on the Rams offense do you
Speaker 1: think can be the biggest problem for the Dallas defense.
Speaker 1: Some of the names could be Todd Gurley, Robert Woods,
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup, you can even say golf if you choose.
Speaker 1: But but what player do you think would be will
Speaker 1: be the biggest problem for the Cowboys this weekend? Cooper
Speaker 1: Cup and Tyler Higbee. Higbee, all right, but Cowboys aren't
Speaker 1: good at defending the middle of the field. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: we just Cole Beasley torched him. Um, their linebackers haven't
Speaker 1: been good in coverage all year. Their best coverage linebacker
Speaker 1: hasn't played in three weeks. So those are guys that
Speaker 1: can exploit you. And Higbee can line up, you know,
Speaker 1: he can line up in line next to the tackle
Speaker 1: or he I mean they've put him out on the
Speaker 1: numbers last week. He can do He can go where
Speaker 1: every once. So he's athletic enough to make those types
Speaker 1: of plays. And cup Is I mean Cup, we talked
Speaker 1: about it. He's six two, two hundred. I mean that's
Speaker 1: that's a big body for Jordan Lewis to have to defend.
Speaker 1: And that worries me, so those guys, I expect him
Speaker 1: to be making plays over the middle of the field.
Speaker 1: Hey gee, um, I'm gonna go with Golf. And here's why.
Speaker 1: The Cowboys. They face some other quarterbacks that aren't as
Speaker 1: good as Golf. I see Golf of being better than
Speaker 1: some of those past quarterbacks, and I think that the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: if they are unable to pressure him and really get
Speaker 1: after him, I think they can make Golf look like
Speaker 1: a really, really good quarterback. And we've seen it happen
Speaker 1: this season, and I think it could happen again this Sunday.
Speaker 1: So I would go with him. Yeah, as it is,
Speaker 1: I mean, as it is with most quarterbacks. Pressure is
Speaker 1: something that definitely can get Golf his game off his game.
Speaker 1: But when you're not pressuring him, Yeah, he's got the
Speaker 1: arms that bad. He's got the arm talent to get
Speaker 1: you Nick, and I don't really feel like messing around
Speaker 1: with games and stuff like that. I mean, Girly, I'm
Speaker 1: going with Donald. I'm going with Girly. I mean, those
Speaker 1: are great points. I like it, but just since since
Speaker 1: he's still on the table, I'll take Quartly because you know,
Speaker 1: just kind of to that point if if um both
Speaker 1: Scarborough can have decent numbers and games and stuff like that,
Speaker 1: and some of these other backs that we've seen that
Speaker 1: have some success. You know, this is considered one of
Speaker 1: the best in the league when he's healthy, and you know,
Speaker 1: I think he's starting to round in the forum and so,
Speaker 1: you know, Dalvin Cook was was really dynamic and he
Speaker 1: gave him all kinds of problems. I just feel like
Speaker 1: Girly's going to be able to do that. Like I
Speaker 1: said about the previous um about the Cowboys defense that
Speaker 1: you know you have or you have to run the
Speaker 1: ball in offense, same thing. If you don't stop the run,
Speaker 1: that you can't do anything. All those things that they're
Speaker 1: talking about play accent, it all starts with stopping a run.
Speaker 1: So Girly and it seems like they're I mean, I
Speaker 1: would assume they're going to try to run the ball.
Speaker 1: They have been. That's how they set up there last time.
Speaker 1: You know, it was really one of Girly's first you know,
Speaker 1: coming out party games against the Cowboys. I mean passes
Speaker 1: over the middle, and I think he made Heath look
Speaker 1: pretty bad, you know, and everybody look bad. He was
Speaker 1: really he was really great in that game, So girly
Speaker 1: was be my answer. I went with Donald and Girly
Speaker 1: all right, so fair. I mean you're not wrong. I
Speaker 1: do have one more question for you guys now thinking
Speaker 1: about the Cowboys players, and this can be offense, defense
Speaker 1: or special teams. If you had to identify one player
Speaker 1: on the Cowboys that needs a huge day, career day,
Speaker 1: big day in order for the Cowboys have their best
Speaker 1: chance to win? Who is that player? Nick Bullet Nick swiped.
Speaker 1: For those of you all that are watching, do you
Speaker 1: think it's Jaye? You said, yea, if Jayla has a
Speaker 1: career day, you think Cowboys can win? Yeah, yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: because a career day would be like you can throw
Speaker 1: a sack in there. Give me ten tackles, good tackles,
Speaker 1: not tackles twenty yards you said the other day. Tackles.
Speaker 1: Now a couple four swipes, A couple of tackles, A
Speaker 1: couple of tackles for lost and they approved swipes, unproved swipes,
Speaker 1: approved swipes by Derek. Did we do that on the air?
Speaker 1: That wasn't on the air. You might not know what
Speaker 1: I'm talking about. I was having this conversation with somebody
Speaker 1: the other day in the office. You know you have
Speaker 1: a get back coach. Yeah, we need to have a
Speaker 1: swipe coach. Like every time he does something he thinks
Speaker 1: is swipe worthy, somebody on the sideline says yes or no,
Speaker 1: and then he can swipe or not. That person does
Speaker 1: not need to be running his social media account, but
Speaker 1: because the same thing, right, because they don't. He does
Speaker 1: not have an interception in one in his career. It right,
Speaker 1: so a career day, I think. I I agree, Like
Speaker 1: if he plays like an absolute badass, it gives him
Speaker 1: a great chance to win. Because if he plays like
Speaker 1: an absolute badass, then Girley's gonna be at least limited. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, he'll he'll contribute to the pass rush if
Speaker 1: he gets a takeaway that speaks for itself. I mean
Speaker 1: I got yours because I wanted it was you. I
Speaker 1: was gonna be mine if you hadn't said it. I
Speaker 1: want to switch my all right, Switchers, he's been my
Speaker 1: guy and he's I need him to play well in
Speaker 1: this game. Xavers to a philo like with Aaron Donaldson there,
Speaker 1: like he's messing up your reputation. No, I mean this
Speaker 1: is this is a big moment for him. You know
Speaker 1: him and Frederick and on those guys, but they really
Speaker 1: need to have their best game. So I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: with Suphilo since I should have approved. I approved your swife. There,
Speaker 1: all right, I can't pick one. Yeah, play the game.
Speaker 1: One guy can have a good game and it still
Speaker 1: won't matter. The Cowboys have bigger problems than just one guy.
Speaker 1: I can. Okay, Honestly, if you just want to take
Speaker 1: the easy way out, like if Dak plays the best
Speaker 1: game of his life, they'll probably win fifty yard games,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you the person it is. Actually, actually it's
Speaker 1: an easy answer. Nick went easy with all the other
Speaker 1: ones and then this one he goes to a filo.
Speaker 1: But it really is Zeke. I mean you think about it.
Speaker 1: If Zeke has a career level day, that means they
Speaker 1: have the ball, they're possessing the ball, he's running well,
Speaker 1: he's getting probably getting scores. Like everything about Zeke, and
Speaker 1: that's what this team is built around. Is I mean,
Speaker 1: how many times does Zeke had a great day and
Speaker 1: this team has not won any back Anybody's if your back.
Speaker 1: If your back has a great day, the likelihood is
Speaker 1: that you're going to win. It is that so they're
Speaker 1: built they're built around that. Can we make up our
Speaker 1: minds what they're built around? Because they were built around
Speaker 1: the pass for like three weeks and that's not working.
Speaker 1: Built around the run. I think we found out is
Speaker 1: they they may have flirted with being built around the pass,
Speaker 1: but they weren't necessarily winning when they were built around
Speaker 1: or when they were passing the ball and not successfully running. Okay,
Speaker 1: they're built around the run. I choose one guy, and
Speaker 1: that's a coach. One guy because Jason Garrett has I
Speaker 1: don't even know how to quantify that. What's what's the
Speaker 1: best coached game of Jason Garrett's career? I'd have to
Speaker 1: think about it. I mean, to his credit, he's definitely
Speaker 1: had some days where you were like, yeah, well, I
Speaker 1: mean Nick always says that, like you never get the
Speaker 1: good That's why it's hard to think about, but the
Speaker 1: bad ones, you're like, oh yeah, but unning them down
Speaker 1: things into the decision, Okay, are they choosing to keep
Speaker 1: running the ball if they're being if Zeke is doing
Speaker 1: a good job, because we've seen it in the past
Speaker 1: when k has been doing okay running the ball in
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden they decide to switch it
Speaker 1: up and change it to the past. It's like they
Speaker 1: change things up when things are working, and then when
Speaker 1: things aren't working, they don't change it. You know. So
Speaker 1: if I had to pick a guy, yeah, give me
Speaker 1: the coach, make the right decisions in the game, and
Speaker 1: you will come out with the win. Well, speaking of coaching,
Speaker 1: this week, Jason Garrett did something that's getting some headlines
Speaker 1: around Cowboys reporters talking about the fact yeah, well he supposedly.
Speaker 1: He showed the team these different clips of them playing
Speaker 1: at their best moments when they played at their best,
Speaker 1: trying to, I guess, get them to buy into the
Speaker 1: idea that you really are a great team. You really
Speaker 1: are a good team, You just need to play at
Speaker 1: your best. And it made me start thinking as I
Speaker 1: was getting ready for the show last night, if this
Speaker 1: team were to play at its best, and I really
Speaker 1: started looking at it from player to player, position to position,
Speaker 1: what position would you say, And I won't make an
Speaker 1: individual player, but what position would you say? The delta
Speaker 1: between the best we've seen of them this year compared
Speaker 1: to the average of what they're doing, like this has
Speaker 1: the biggest gap. Does that make sense? So where they're
Speaker 1: playing on average is down here, but where they've played
Speaker 1: at their very best is way up here. And if
Speaker 1: they can get back to being that, this team has
Speaker 1: a significant chance to be able to do something something
Speaker 1: because it have to be this season, Yes, Because here's
Speaker 1: the deal. You go back to last year, there are
Speaker 1: a lot of different variables that may have changed that
Speaker 1: affect that. So I'd want to go with this year
Speaker 1: and what I've seen from because I think the offensive line,
Speaker 1: I'll give you an example. The offensive line, to me
Speaker 1: is a great example of this. I don't think any
Speaker 1: of them other than Lyle have played to the level
Speaker 1: that they've played in past years. But I think that
Speaker 1: there are reasons for that. I don't think buying large
Speaker 1: most of the best offensive linemen are healthy. So going
Speaker 1: back and saying the best that they've been in past years,
Speaker 1: they're not gonn all of a sudden get health, right,
Speaker 1: I hear what you're saying. I know. I was just
Speaker 1: asking because I mean, from top to bottom, wherever you
Speaker 1: want to go, whoever you're disappointed with. Like the biggest
Speaker 1: gap between what we thought they could be in August
Speaker 1: and what they've been is the line packer position. From
Speaker 1: in my opinion and the offensive line, you can mention them,
Speaker 1: that's but but they haven't played at that level all
Speaker 1: year round, right, That's what I'm saying. So, so, do
Speaker 1: you think that was an aberration last year because we
Speaker 1: haven't seen it this year? I don't know. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's too small of a sample size. Like I choose
Speaker 1: to believe that Jalen Smith, like Jalen Smith doesn't just
Speaker 1: suck like, I don't buy that. I don't think I
Speaker 1: buy that. I think there's a lot of things that
Speaker 1: go into it, and I think it would be too
Speaker 1: quick to just write that off. Even if it has
Speaker 1: been a disappointing season. The defensive line needs to play
Speaker 1: their best game. I mean, and they we've seen some
Speaker 1: moments this year, and the Eagles game was one we
Speaker 1: you know, that's the one that that's the one position too.
Speaker 1: We talked about what player needs to play his best game.
Speaker 1: I mean if somebody like DeMarcus Lawrence played his best game,
Speaker 1: you know, defensive ents can change games. I mean they
Speaker 1: can rate game. Yeah, I mean, what's the best game
Speaker 1: they've played? Probably Philly killed them, and part of that
Speaker 1: was the defensive line wrecked that thing from the start.
Speaker 1: They gave them fourteen points right off the bat, two
Speaker 1: short fields, and we've I mean, and we've seen that.
Speaker 1: We've seen games where they got five sacks. So them,
Speaker 1: I agree because because I don't think the linebacker play
Speaker 1: has been like great all year, whereas we have seen
Speaker 1: great games from the past. Rush. You know, that's an
Speaker 1: interesting thing. You look at all the positions that you
Speaker 1: could possibly name to me, those defensive linemen and I'm
Speaker 1: talking specifically about the defensive ends and Tank Quinn and
Speaker 1: you can throw him ben it. There is no reason
Speaker 1: why they shouldn't be wrecking games like you. Just look
Speaker 1: at the talent level of those three players alone and
Speaker 1: their abilities to get after the quarterback. There's no reason
Speaker 1: why we shouldn't be talking about them the way we
Speaker 1: talked about the Rams earlier this week. Having guys that
Speaker 1: are in the eight, nine, ten eleven range as far
Speaker 1: our sacks are concerned, there's no reason why we shouldn't
Speaker 1: be talking about them like that. But for some reason
Speaker 1: it hasn't gotten going. And I think that if there
Speaker 1: is a position, I think they could get there if
Speaker 1: it just required them to just kind of maybe focus
Speaker 1: in a little bit more, maybe give a little more effort,
Speaker 1: whatever it is. I think that's a position where maybe
Speaker 1: you could turn it on and they could actually make
Speaker 1: a difference here down the stretch. There's always that, you know,
Speaker 1: chicken and egg theory about this pass rush helped secondary
Speaker 1: player or a secondary help the pass rush. And I
Speaker 1: think in this case, when you look at the Rams,
Speaker 1: I think Ramsey has actually helped the Rams more than
Speaker 1: the other way around, because they were averaging two sacks
Speaker 1: a game in his first six games of the season.
Speaker 1: The last seven then he's been on the team, they're
Speaker 1: averaging four point one. So just a couple more seconds
Speaker 1: here and there of coverage has helped. So are you
Speaker 1: saying that there's an issue on the back of maybecause
Speaker 1: just one example. I mean, I think I've always kind
Speaker 1: of thought that's more pass rush first, but that's just
Speaker 1: an example. Then now he has a really great corner,
Speaker 1: a great corner, and I don't know if the Cowboys
Speaker 1: have that guy that's kind of shutting him down for
Speaker 1: that long, but you know, you would like maybe one
Speaker 1: more second there. But I think if they if they
Speaker 1: they need to be hot, you know, they claim that
Speaker 1: they are, they need to be you know, I've seen
Speaker 1: many times where the quarterback is just standing there forever.
Speaker 1: So it's like, even even if the corners are making
Speaker 1: some good coverage, it's like, Okay, at one point, you
Speaker 1: gotta go in there and get your guy because not
Speaker 1: everybody's getting doubled. That's the thing. Not everybody's getting doubled,
Speaker 1: So beat your guy, you know. Yeah, And they should
Speaker 1: have the strength and the ability to do that, and
Speaker 1: we've seen it do it, and that's the thing. Like,
Speaker 1: to me, I really thought this defensive line after adding
Speaker 1: those two guys Bennett and Quinn, was really gonna be explosive,
Speaker 1: and it hasn't been that way. And it's really really
Speaker 1: disappointing because it's like, Okay, then what is it? What
Speaker 1: is it? Because clearly these guys have the size and
Speaker 1: the talent, so what's going on? And another guy was
Speaker 1: Malie Collins, which was having a great training camp. And
Speaker 1: then because usually guys that go into their last year
Speaker 1: of their contract, they tend to spice up and play
Speaker 1: even better. And it hasn't been that way. I'm not
Speaker 1: saying he's played horribly or anything like that, but not
Speaker 1: what I thought he would be playing like this year,
Speaker 1: it's really like, it's a good point. Is I don't
Speaker 1: know individually Individually I look at all those guys and
Speaker 1: I'm like, I like, not having a terrible season. Quinn
Speaker 1: speaks for himself, Malik had You're right, I mean, Malik's
Speaker 1: not setting the league on fire, but he's got like
Speaker 1: five sacks, Like, he's not having a terrible season. That
Speaker 1: Marcus clearly doesn't have the sacks, but he's a great,
Speaker 1: well rounded end. He's not having a bad season either.
Speaker 1: Michael Bennett has what three? And I mean he's he's
Speaker 1: made a difference for this team since they trade it
Speaker 1: for him. All that sounds great individually, and you add
Speaker 1: it up and talk about the pass rush and you're like,
Speaker 1: they're they're not They're not special. Well, and that's weird though,
Speaker 1: and I'm not. I don't have an answer for it.
Speaker 1: I mean, we talked about it before the show. You
Speaker 1: know upstairs that Taco Charlton has more sacks than DeMarcus Lawrence.
Speaker 1: Did you Is that true? Yikes? Yeah, he's got five.
Speaker 1: One was against the Cowboys. Jacks aren't the only thing
Speaker 1: that matters to defensive endplay. But that's fine, don't It's fine.
Speaker 1: I get it. Out. He's been out like he was
Speaker 1: a healthy scratch for them, you know, at least once.
Speaker 1: I don't know why. Yeah, I think it's it's to
Speaker 1: the point in the season. I will I will die
Speaker 1: on that hill that DeMarcus Lawrence is not playing poorly,
Speaker 1: but the contract dictates that you wreck games and he
Speaker 1: has not been doing that. I mean, that's fair to say,
Speaker 1: But I'll say this like that more than it being
Speaker 1: an indictment on Tank. To me, it's more should the
Speaker 1: Cowboys have really made the move they did? Because for
Speaker 1: a guy that has five sex in Miami, you can't
Speaker 1: tell me that guy can't be a rotational guy for you.
Speaker 1: And you can say what you want about his attitude
Speaker 1: and all this other kind of stuff. I would argue
Speaker 1: there are other guys in that locker room, particular defensive
Speaker 1: line room, who may not have the greatest attitudes either,
Speaker 1: they may not be doing I want to see, I
Speaker 1: want to go. I want to see the all twenty
Speaker 1: two of Tacos five sacks because I saw one against
Speaker 1: the Cowboys and it wasn't anything to get excited about.
Speaker 1: I get you. All I'm saying is in a league
Speaker 1: where pass rushers are at a premium. I just wonder,
Speaker 1: I just wonder if if that decision was a little
Speaker 1: bit hasty and and leaned a little bit too much
Speaker 1: on maybe the coaches saying he's not coachable or he's
Speaker 1: not whatever, as opposed to looking at him on film
Speaker 1: and Sam and he's got something we can use. Maybe
Speaker 1: not perfect, but he's got something we can use as
Speaker 1: a situational pass Rusher. Well, I think with that, And
Speaker 1: I know I went down that road with talk, you know,
Speaker 1: mentioning that. But you know, Taco is, I guess an
Speaker 1: immature player, and when it comes to tweeting things about
Speaker 1: the team and I'm not going to play this week
Speaker 1: and stuff like that, making it at all about him,
Speaker 1: I think they were just tired of that. But you're right,
Speaker 1: there's obviously some skill there. I mean, I don't see
Speaker 1: Dorn's armstrong lighten it up. It was just like, sometimes
Speaker 1: it's just not a good fit and it just doesn't work.
Speaker 1: You could be talented and stuff, and still it doesn't
Speaker 1: work out with the group of people that you're surrounded with.
Speaker 1: So absolutely got to move on. But if this team,
Speaker 1: if this, if the Cowboys, if the guys that made
Speaker 1: that decision Jerry and Jason and Will and then if
Speaker 1: they saw six and seven in their future, like they
Speaker 1: saw that this year, they might not have done this. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because because like she just said, it's a good fit, okay,
Speaker 1: fit for who? Yeah? Who's the coaches next year? Who
Speaker 1: the defensive coaches? I also do kind of wonder if
Speaker 1: if that was if that was also their way of
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes coaches will use players to make statements
Speaker 1: to the locker room. I wonder if they felt like, well,
Speaker 1: he's not gonna a great fit for us. Cutting him
Speaker 1: may also send them a message to other guys in
Speaker 1: the locker room that you need to be the right
Speaker 1: kind of guy. As we define the right kind of guy,
Speaker 1: I don't know. All I'm saying is follow in light
Speaker 1: of recent weeks. Well, that's also where I get back to.
Speaker 1: When you start talking about right kind of guy, are
Speaker 1: you sure you got the right kind of guys here?
Speaker 1: Like so so yeah, I just think the whole that
Speaker 1: whole thing to me is that's my point. That's where
Speaker 1: I get That's where I get back to. That's where
Speaker 1: I get back to who's the right kind of guy?
Speaker 1: And what does that entail? Because for whatever reason, they're
Speaker 1: not winning number one, number two. I don't know that.
Speaker 1: Some of the things that we've seen here recently suggests
Speaker 1: that the right kind of guys are there in some instances. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know. All right, real quick, before we end
Speaker 1: the show, let's go and get some picks. Let's start
Speaker 1: with Dave. Dave, tell me who you think is gonna
Speaker 1: win this game? Give me a score. I'm pretty sure
Speaker 1: they're favored, by the way. Who the Cowboys really? Last
Speaker 1: time I checked? I believe. I'm dead serious. Actually, I
Speaker 1: think if they're not, then they opened as a favorite.
Speaker 1: And the money just came in hard on the Rams.
Speaker 1: One and a half for the Rams. Okay, it moved,
Speaker 1: I get I promise you it moves point I mean,
Speaker 1: broken record time. I still think that this is a
Speaker 1: talented team. I still do. They aren't playing like it,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure as hell not going to pick them.
Speaker 1: They have not won since the beginning of the months,
Speaker 1: since the beginning of November. They didn't even look good
Speaker 1: doing that. Like they didn't look good against the Lions.
Speaker 1: They didn't look good when they beat the New York
Speaker 1: Giants way back on November fourth. Like the Giants are pitiful,
Speaker 1: and they kind of played around with them and finally
Speaker 1: put it away. Point being like, they really haven't played
Speaker 1: good football since like September. I get I've tweeted this
Speaker 1: last night. I guess I knew this. I just hadn't
Speaker 1: thought about it in these terms, Like it sounds so
Speaker 1: crazy to say, like since they opened the season three
Speaker 1: and oh they're three and seven, and again that's obvious,
Speaker 1: but it just sounds it sounds different when you say it, right,
Speaker 1: they're not playing well. They haven't played well in the
Speaker 1: wins that they've gotten since Philly. Really that was the
Speaker 1: last time they played well. That was October twentieth, and
Speaker 1: so I just I don't buy that they're gonna be yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: well they played well against three bad teams at the start. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but it go back to it and they all had
Speaker 1: like slow starts and you started seeing those kind of
Speaker 1: the Absolutely, you're absolutely right, that's completely fair. Which point
Speaker 1: being there, I just don't buy that they're going to
Speaker 1: magically turn it on against the team that's fighting for
Speaker 1: its playoff life. I got rams thirty to twenty four, right, Camber, Well,
Speaker 1: every week I get to this point and I can
Speaker 1: see it going down both ways to where I could
Speaker 1: see the Cowboys win and not be really surprised by it.
Speaker 1: But I am not making that mistake again. I am
Speaker 1: not picking them to win for the rest of the season,
Speaker 1: not even against the Redskins. But yes, Rams come out here.
Speaker 1: I think that the Rams are appointing their season where
Speaker 1: they're really starting to click and figure things out. They're
Speaker 1: gonna come in here with a lot of energy and,
Speaker 1: like Dave said, fighting for their spot in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: So I think that team comes out with the win. Um,
Speaker 1: I would see like twenty four to seventeen something like that. Okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: I've got twenty four to fourteen Rams. I just I'm
Speaker 1: not picking up I mean, I'm not go say I
Speaker 1: won't pick them again the rest of the season, but
Speaker 1: I'm not picking them in this game just because I
Speaker 1: just I don't think that they're better than them in
Speaker 1: any way. Really, um, I you know, sometimes you try
Speaker 1: to see how how is this gonna work? Well, I
Speaker 1: could see this happening, I really don't like. I don't
Speaker 1: see how it happens. I don't see him blocking that front,
Speaker 1: I don't see him running the ball consistently, and I
Speaker 1: don't see special teams winning that battle. I don't see
Speaker 1: a lot of great, you know moments with to think, well, yeah,
Speaker 1: they're gonna win this game. So I hope I'm surprised
Speaker 1: it's true. Oh, I think four Bath will have a
Speaker 1: busy day. Our excellent producer Kyles. The Cowboys opened at
Speaker 1: three and a half point favorites and it shrank quick. Yeah,
Speaker 1: which makes for our money at that Um, I've said,
Speaker 1: I said it for the last couple of weeks. You
Speaker 1: get to Thanksgiving, we know who you are. What this
Speaker 1: team has shown us so far doesn't mean they can't
Speaker 1: go against the trend. But what they've shown us so
Speaker 1: far is when you play a team that is worse
Speaker 1: record wise, typically you win. You play a team that's
Speaker 1: better record wise, you typically lose, and or you always
Speaker 1: in this case and this season, always have lost. So
Speaker 1: I can't in good faith pick the Cowboys to win
Speaker 1: this game. This is a game where I think the
Speaker 1: Rams win it, and I think their best shot at
Speaker 1: it is next week against Philly and then finish up
Speaker 1: with a win against Washington, maybe you back into the playoffs.
Speaker 1: We ever had a unanimous slots call, Yeah, we passed.
Speaker 1: In other years, Okay, not this year, not this year.
Speaker 1: I mean they did you know, they did kick their
Speaker 1: ass in Hawaii. Yeah, there we go in the game.
Speaker 1: Honestly that that was in San Francisco, damn it. But
Speaker 1: that that does factor back into this two a little bit.
Speaker 1: And back of my mind too, is the last time
Speaker 1: I saw these two teams match up, it wasn't even close,
Speaker 1: Like the Rams were clearly the best team. And so
Speaker 1: I can't shake that. On top of what I've seen
Speaker 1: this season, I just can't shake that that just the
Speaker 1: Cowboys not get me a reason to say that they're
Speaker 1: gonna win it. Well, and at this point of the season,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys seem like they're going down heel and then
Speaker 1: the Rams this is where they're turning up, and they're
Speaker 1: going up right now. So it's difficult to put that
Speaker 1: right there though, is the one reason why it could happen?
Speaker 1: Because well, sure, and I don't think I don't know
Speaker 1: anybody else, No, yeah, I just if you know, they
Speaker 1: can they can come in the studio and crow at
Speaker 1: us about how we were wrong. If they want to, like,
Speaker 1: good for you, you finally put it together. What do
Speaker 1: you want me to do? All I can do is
Speaker 1: judge what I watch? Yeah, and what how could you
Speaker 1: How could you pick a team that played the way
Speaker 1: they did in Chicago against a much better team? Yeah? Really,
Speaker 1: you go back the last few weeks. If you just
Speaker 1: talk about how the Cowboys have played here recently in
Speaker 1: the last several games, like, it's hard to say, and
Speaker 1: you look at the Rams and how they've played, it's
Speaker 1: hard to say you think the Cowboys are gonna be
Speaker 1: able to get this win. That doesn't mean they can't,
Speaker 1: It just means it's hard to picture that. I do
Speaker 1: randomly think Amari Cooper is gonna have a hundred yard game.
Speaker 1: We will see it's I mean, not that anybody's gonna
Speaker 1: feel better about it because I think it'll be in
Speaker 1: a loss. But good for him. They've had plenty of
Speaker 1: good stats. You are right about that. All right, guys,
Speaker 1: appreciate you. John Us we were back on Monday. We'll
Speaker 1: tell you what went right and what went wrong for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys toil then for Nick Even, Dave Helm and
Speaker 1: Amber Garcia. I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break
Speaker 1: live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been
Speaker 1: a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys Football Club