LIVE: Cowboys Break Podcast | 10-02-25 | Dallas Cowboys 2025
Heat. Heat. N. Go Cowboys. Go Cowboys. Heat. Heat. Go cowboys. Go Cowboys. Heat. Heat. Go cowboys. Go Cowboys. The following is a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. How about this Cowboys? Go Cowboys. Let’s go, baby. Are you ready for a break? Yes. Are you ready for a break? Absolutely. Ready for a break? Yeah. And um so much for that. It’s time for the break on dallascowboys.com. We were on the break with Ambar Garcia, Brian Bris, Vach Lombardi, and Derek Eagleton. It is Thursday, October 2nd, 2025, season 21, episode number 49. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break Live from the SWBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. We are presented by LG. LG is the world’s number one OLED TV brand for 11 years in counting. See why at lg.com OLED. Uh botch not with us today, but we got Bratus, we’ve got Amber, and uh we’ll be getting ready for Cowboys versus And we’ve got the chat. And we’ve got the chat. Of course, Amber is just like she’s so excited with with this chat every day now that she’s hip to it. Be nice, folks. Please be nice. Don’t make me Please be nice. Um, and so we will we will talk about Jets defense. Talk just defense versus the Cowboys offense today. Hey, indulge me for just a second. I real quick just want to say happy birthday to my lovely wife. It is her birthday today. Happy birthday. She enjoys her day. And uh, does she still listen to the show? Hell no, she listen. No, I’m like, this show has has meant a lot for our family and my wife just don’t. But my mom does. My mom listens to every every episode. Mom’s always in. Mom will never not listen. But my wife, no, she don’t listen. She got other things going on. She’s working. Let’s just put it like that. He’s working. Anyway, uh let’s talk let’s talk about the injury list. This injury list just exploded yesterday. Yeah, it did. Uh a lot of stuff on there that uh that just kind of just popped up on everyone. Yeah, I got some indications on a couple of these things earlier in the week, but man, to see them all in one list. It was very, uh, shocking. Uh, let’s go through the list. Let’s talk about some of these. Obviously, we know about Tyler Booker. We know about CD Lamb. Uh, I did see though yesterday boot. Well, I saw yesterday there was some footage coming out of practice where CD was out of his boot. Yeah, both of them. Yeah. Oh, I thought you said both are still out. Both out of the boot. Yes. So, that’s actually positive for both of them to be moving along. They haven’t been placed on IR. So, that’s those are positive things. Now, let’s talk about Tyler Gayen and Malik Hooker and Miles Sanders. Those are three guys that got injured in the game and and we knew about those injuries. What do we know at this point about the three of them? Yeah, the thing with with Gayton uh No, excuse me. Uh the one that Smith, did you say Smith? I didn’t. We’re going to get Smith in a second. The one with Gayton. And so, yeah, you’re once again that they dmped as we talked about yesterday. They’re going to monitor again another day and see what happens with that. So, as we get through today and then Friday will be the indicator, but they they feel like they’re going to need one more day on both of those and then they’ll be able to make that determination after today uh when they get done with practice whether they’re going to be available for this game this weekend. My my my early indications are though that this is going to be close. Yeah. On on it’s going to be close on Gayton, but we’ll see. We’ll see with with Hooker. But uh right now they’re going to need at least today to kind of figure out what they’re going to do tomorrow. So both Hooker and Gayton are touchand go. Absolutely. What are you hearing about Miles Sanders? Miles Sanders is another one that’s kind of a touchandgo situation with them. So that this might be the week that you actually see uh Blue get an opportunity to play. They’re going to they’re monitoring that situation today uh with how he practices and then going forward what they’re going to be able to do with Sanders. Sanders is that one’s looking a little bit touch and go right now, too. All right. These were the two that popped up that I think surprise most folks. Tyler Smith jumped on to the injury report with a knee injury. He did not practice. Cavonte Turpin uh with a foot injury. He did not practice. Yeah. What are we hearing about those two and and the amount of time that maybe they might have to miss? Yeah. They don’t know about the thing. They don’t know yet about the time that that uh that Turpin could miss. I mean, they when I asked like, “Hey, is this game several games, couple of games, and they go, we don’t know that yet.” But they think it’s a they think it’s a serious injury. You know, footsprains are serious. So, they’re they’re looking at that right now, but they don’t have a gauge on exactly how long that will be. I was told on the uh the Tyler Smith one, this is the normal that you know he’s dealing with the tendonitis in his knee and so this is the same thing he’s been dealing with before. Uh it’s just they have to continue to monitor it. This I I was told hey this is something that is not new. This is something remember when he was missing early in the season he was missing practices and things like that and there were some questions about him but this is the same knee. It’s it’s just something that they’re going to have to kind of work through the whole entire season they say. So, how does that work when you when you have an injury like that? Uh, is it one that obviously they’ll manage it throughout the year? Is it one that then you get to the offseason and there’s a surgery you have to have? Is it one that you get to the offseason you just have to sit and wait and just let it kind of heal and just right now in the season you don’t have time to let it heal and that’s why you have to manage it. Yeah. You don’t have time. And so, it’s it’s just missing practices and stuff like that. But, it’s not a long-term injury from the standpoint of it stretches the future years. It’s more just he’s going to need time and right now you don’t have time. I asked the question. I’m like, “Hey, is this one of those things? It’s something new and they’re like, “No, no, no. We knew about this injury. This is something we’ve been dealing with. We just put them on the report.” Okay. Now, come on. Why Why can’t we Oh, you’re about to say the next one. I’m like, “Oh my god, why can’t we just I was going to say be happy and enjoy. It hasn’t been an enjoyable season so far, but at least on the offense, we’ve been talking about the O line and Dak and the running game and it’s just the hits keep coming on the O line, which is the one area that you want to just try to keep consistent and now it’s just one thing after the other. Yeah. And go ahead, mention the next one. Well, before we even go to to Turpin, I think if you look at the offensive line, the interesting part is that the Cowboys have actually, in my opinion, done a pretty good job with Bass and with with Hoffman playing in start in place of their two starters who were already out. My question just becomes how capable are they of continuing to take kids? Let’s say now Gayton is out and then let’s say maybe Tyler is out. Now, at what point does it become just too much? That’s what I’m saying. A big change. Yeah. I mean, credit to them that they have the good depth they have so far, but how much depth do they have? Right. Yeah. It’s now now you’re into the situation with Nate Thomas potentially having to play, you know, steel. So, you’re probably looking at I I think that Smith is going to play. Uh, I think this is something that it’s just every week we’re going to see him on the injury report likely, uh, until they get maybe to the by-week and you have a game where you could just not play and rest. So, um, yeah, I I if if if I think the the worst case scenario is it would be Thomas at left tackle, Smith at left guard, Hoppin at center, Bass at uh right guard, and then Steel at right tackle. Now behind that then if it if you have more injuries then here we go again. Yeah. You know that’s that that’s the things that you have to kind of be a little bit concerned about. The depth behind the depth is always going to be a problem. Right. Yeah. Because there’s a reason why they’re the depth behind the depth. Right. I mean Right. Right. Yeah. Right. So so far if you were if you were looking at it, do you think that uh do you think that like whatever you have let’s say Nate has to go out there and play. We’ve liked what he’s done when he’s had to go out there. Had a problem at all. Right. It’s not been a problem. So, so you really don’t think you take as long as Tyler can play, you feel pretty good about what you’re sending out there. Right. No, you absolutely do. I mean, from what you’ve seen so far so good, uh, you know, the way they were able to match up and, you know, we’ll get into the Jets and the, you know, some of the issues that they have on their defensive line, uh, it’s not injury related. It’s just they have not created a bunch of pass rush. Yeah. you know, and they’ve got some guys that can that can rush the passer. But a little bit similar to what Dallas has done when when when they get pressure, they they’ve done a good job. It’s when they don’t get pressure that teams have taken advantage. But, you know, if they have to go that, you know, like I say, it’s it’s it’s just the depth behind the depth that’s the biggest issue. If if in fact, I can say I think Smith is going to play in this football game. But but but Thomas, if you got to remember Nate Thomas was a guy that, you know, Philadelphia week, we we were having these conversations and we were saying, “Oh, Nate Thomas, should we start him or do you bring Gayton?” And, you know, it was kind of 50/50. And they got to the point where I even asked Stephen Jones the question, uh, you know, in like week two and he said, “Listen, you know, Nate Thomas is is ready and he’s pushing and those guys have got to, you know, the guys ahead of him have got to step up the games and stuff like that.” And what happened the other day, we saw Nate Thomas go in the game for Steel and Steel was completely healthy. So they’re they’re and it’s something that Shottenheimr was really not interested in doing, but you know, they want to make sure that Nate Thomas is ready for these times. Well, I can’t wait for you to give us some good analysis and good positivity, some good news about this um Jets defensive line, desperate team theory. You’ll hear about desperate team theory and all that. Yeah. Let’s let’s talk a little bit about Turpin just because um it’s my belief. Well, let me just say it’s it’s my belief last week that the reason why the offense function the way that it did absent CD Lamb was about Cavonte Turpin. I agree. Turpin still provides I agree that X factor that that guy that the defense has to really be worried about without him out there. How comfortable do you feel with Pickings being your wide receiver one and then you’ve got Jaylen Tolbert who had a night a really nice catch last week great catch who Ryan Fenoi had a great catch last week in in a situation over all played very well as a group when they all have to slide up those two guys have to slide up and become your wide receiver two and your wide receiver three and you lose the juice of somebody like Cavonte Turpin how comfortable do you feel that this offense can still operate? Go for it AG. Well, this news was very unfortunate because when we got here after that game and we talked about the game and I think it was yesterday or the day before we were talking about Kavant Turpin and everything that he Oh, it was a question you sent in Brian when you were out if he was a gadget player still or is he now a reliable player uh at the wide receiver where you have to use him more and I was like okay well the way he’s playing why not utilize him more and some of the concerns you had about him was okay his size. Can he last in this league? You know, playing so many snaps week to week. And I’m not sure. Do you guys know exactly when the injury happened or I don’t I think he like I said I was going to go back and look at this and I might do it at the break, but I thought it was later in the game. He got tackled along the sidelines and he had a little issue with it then. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I would imagine it happened at some point late in the game because I don’t think anybody that’s the same thing happened that’s the same thing that happened to Booker, you know, late in the game. Got rolled up on with two minutes to go in the game. But yeah, I’ll go back and look at but going back to that um we saw we started seeing how much they’ve been using him on offense and how much he just kind of it it brings a different type of energy boost to the offense and now you take that away. Plus, you’re not you’re still not having City in there. Now, you’re having to rely and again, these other players, yes, they’re good, but you’re missing that extra spark in there to help you get moving and and keep defenses guessing. So, it’s going to be a big change not having him in there. And I think it does lose that type of momentum that they started building on this offense. This is what this is how valuable valuable he is. It takes two people to replace CD Lamb. And I say it this way. You’ve got you’ve got Pickkins does a certain thing. He could bring a level of CD Lamb the down the field, the catch, the spectacular make plays, but he’s not a movearound guy. You don’t move him. He stays generally in a spot. He stays either right or left. He’s not a guy that goes in the slot. He doesn’t go in he doesn’t play he doesn’t always go on one on the outside to uh or he he’ll play on the outside but it’s not always right and left. CD Lamb is a right left slot player. So what they have to do is to make up for that that’s why they had success. They used they use Turpin as their slot player and they use him on the outside. So he combined with what picking skill set is kind of gets you what you have in CD Lamb. So you don’t miss a beat though with your your top receiver that way. Taking him out of this now takes the element. Now you’re going to have to replace that that CD Lamb again. Who is going to be the guy that steps up with Pickkins that gives you the that gives you that level of where you get with CD Lamb. So this is this is a this is a significant injury for for the Dallas Cowboys. And to that point, Brian, somebody with his skill set becomes even more dangerous when you’re moving them around because now defenses are having to adapt to he’s not going to stay in the same spot. He’s going to get to the line of scrimmage and then he’s going to move and now the defense has to morph to be able to count for his speed wherever he goes. And so I think that’s the part that I it’s not just about him as a receiver. It’s about the skill set that he has. It’s about the speed that he has, the elusiveness that he has. defenses have to account for that no matter where he is on the field. You take that away, I just think it changes how defenses can play this this this Cowboys receiver group. It’s it’s it’s tough because he’s the one that’s put in motion the most of all the Cowboy receivers. He’s the one whose motion numbers are the highest of any after a game. And he does a lot of different things, but it also hurts you in the return game. You know, you look at the situation. I mean, look what he did in the in the game the other day. Amber where he might have got hurt was the tackle. They ran they ran they had a second kickoff return. He got went up to the 45 and then they had a holding penalty that was and I’ll look this up and then he got tackled again. They got the ball about the 40 yardd line again and then they got a they got a holding penalty that brought the ball back. So I think that’s he might have got hurt on that second, you know, kickoff return that he had. They got tackled along the sidelines. Yeah, it it it kills your slot game and it kills your ability to return punts and return kicks. So, I’m going to ask you guys this question. Um, who steps up? No. Well, that that’s a whole different conversation, but if if the Cowboys at some point have to make the decision that because of his size, you just can’t play him as much as they really want to play him. And you had to make a decision. Not to say they’re going to have to make this decision, but if you had to make the decision whether you use him as a returner or as a wide receiver, which is more valuable, Derek, I’m going to answer this question as truthfully as I can, right? You need him as a receiver because my defense can’t stop to make people punt. Mhm. You know, I have to, you know, and yeah, the kickoff return aspect of it is because, yeah, teams are been scoring on you. You know, you have been giving up points. you know, the Giants scored a massive number on you and so did the Packers. So, yeah, you are getting the opportunity for kickoff returns and we saw him bring the ball back to midfield and just in a blink of an eye. But in reality though, as long as Lamb’s not playing, I need him to play receiver is what I need to do. And he’s a valuable special teams player. He’s a Pro Bowl special teams player. But I’m getting people to punt. I I haven’t been able to use him as a punt returner. my defense has just not done a very good job of even of even doing that. Y so I’ve got to use him as a receiver. Well, and also that’s where it come it becomes difficult to really make those those decisions of managing players based on okay well they have this size and based on things that could potentially happen but you can’t predict the future. But I’ve always heard if you have good players you play them. You cannot not play them just because, oh, they might get injured. If he is not complaining and saying, “Hey, you know, I’m dying out there. I’m out of breath. Like, give me a quick break.” If he’s not doing that, keep playing him. You can’t just bubble wrap people just in case. And he’s too valuable. He’s too valuable and and too skilled not to have him out there uh as much as they’ve been using him. I think I think a lot of it has to do with the guys behind him though, too. Who’s stepping up? You’ve been saying that. Yeah. Who’s stepping up? I mean, last week you did you got Tolbert played at a nice level for in Mingo. Yeah. Mingo is starting to practice on a limited bases. You know, that could be you have to be very mindful of these elevations and when you do it, you have to be almost strategic about it. You know, you just can’t say, “Okay, bring the guy back. Bring him back.” But, you know, because there’s some ramifications that happen with that. So yeah, it this is this is now about what’s going to happen with Fenoi, what’s going to happen with Mingo, what’s going to happen with, you know, with with Tolbert. All these guys, I mean, they’re going to have to find ways to to make up for a loss here. Yeah. I think the challenge there, though, is that none of them have the kind of juice that Cavante Turpin has. And I think that’s the part that I’m most concerned about is where you going to get your juice? Where you going to get that speed? And uh and if you don’t have speed out there at some part of your in some part of your offense, then defenses can play you very very differently. It makes it everything becomes a lot easier when you don’t have to deal with speed. Um and I shouldn’t say like that because there’s there’s some guys that can run. It ain’t Kavonte Turpin type speed. And so I think that’s the difference maker and that’s what I I think the Cowboys would lose if they don’t have him on the field. All right, let’s take our first break. When we come back, we’ll dive into the New York Jet Jets defense versus the Cowboys offense. We’ll be back. allcowboys.com radio. If you can’t be at the stadium, there’s no better way to watch your Cowboys than on an LG OLED EVO TV. That’s because everything you see is more lifelike. Every play, every hit. I mean, you might as well be on the sidelines. That’s how clear it is. It’s all thanks to LG’s legendary technology. Perfect black. Over 8.3 million self-lit pixels. No one comes close. LG OLED EVO is the best TV in the game for a reason. See for yourself at lg.com/EVO. I’m home. Hey, Mom. Before you ask, I’ve done my homework and the dishwasher’s unloaded. Nice. Hey, can you Hey, hun. Yes, I’ve got the finale ready to play. Here’s your wine. Wow. Isn’t it nice not having to ask? We think so. That’s why if there’s a network interruption, AT&T will proactively credit you for a full day of service, guaranteed. Credit for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or for wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impact in 10 or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See at.com/gar for details. Hey y’all, Matt Pitman here. As the official pitm of the Dallas Cowboys, you know I take cookware seriously, especially when it comes to America’s team. So when the Cowboys are away, I’m putting my Yeti cast iron skillets to work to make my game day favorites for friends and family. I’m talking chicken fried steak, skillet queso, and peach cobbler. And just like the cowboys are forever, so are these heirloom cast iron skillets. Check out the full line of skillets on yeti.com or at a Yeti store near you. If you shout, “How about them cowboys, you have that undeniable passion that’s the heart of Cowboys Nation.” And if you like to drink Dr. Pepper, you love the unique blend of its 23 flavors. Together, your one-of-a-kind fandom paired with the one-of-a-kind taste of a delicious ice cold Dr. Pepper is the game day lineup that can’t be beat. Better yet, gather your Cowboys and Dr. Pepper fan friends to watch the next game and crack open a delicious ice cold Dr. Pepper for everyone. The wins will be even tastier. It’s a pepper thing. Don’t put off getting your oil changed. Dallas Take Five Oil Change, a proud partner of the Cowboys, is faster than you think. They’re so fast, you don’t even have to get out of your car. You can take advantage of Take Five’s stay in your car 10-minute oil change at any of their locations across the Dallas area. And remember, at Take Five, you stay in your car because they’re faster than you think. That means you won’t even have time to show off your best touchdown celebration. Take Five, the official oil change of the Dallas Cowboys. Back to the break. Choose perfection. Choose LG OLED Evo. Check out the best TV in the game at lg.com. Welcome back. Second segment of the break live from SWBC Morgan Studios at the start of the segment brought to you by blockchain.com. All right, Brian, break down this New York Jet defense for us. Yeah, I think there’s really four guys you’re going to kind of have to think about in this one. And you know, the the Jets have really uh they’ve had their moments where they’ve they just have not been very good. And when they’ve when they’ve struggled, it’s generally with their tackling. Uh they they’ve had a really last game against the Dolphins, it was really very clear uh that they were that they were struggling. It it matters the linebackers, the safeties. I mean, it’s been a corners, they they’ve had some problems and and what happens is when you watch them play, they’re predominantly they’re very aggressive defense when because you think of Aaron Glenn and you think about the way that he played at Detroit and you know they play they play a ton of man coverage. They also have a guy they’ll travel with you and that’s Sauce Gardner and and you know he last year he wasn’t so much a traveler but now with like I mentioned with Aaron Glenn and this crew that you know opening u opening day against Seattle uh against excuse me the Steelers you know he was with Madaf 90% of the time in Tampa Bay he was with their guys 60% of the time when you start to talk about how you know they and and Aaron Glenn I think it’s only going to get for now that you have CD Lamb in this game, excuse me, uh George Pickkins in this game, uh this could be a game where all of a sudden that they determined that George Pickkins could be the biggest weapon and now you travel sauce with him. So, you’ll see him, he wears number one. Um he’s very difficult to get away from. He’s a very sticky player. He takes a lot of pride in how he plays that way. He could be very physical. He’s not afraid to mix things up. He’s the type of guy you love to have on your team because you can do a lot of things with him. I wouldn’t be surprised if in fact that the Jets say, “Okay, your best receiver, especially if there’s no Turpin in this game, your best receiver is Pickkins and now we’re going to travel uh him with and and see how that goes for the Jets.” And then but there’s a there’s a price for that because on the other side Brandon Stevens has been just getting worked and when you watch him he wears number 21 and quarterbacks own number huh? Yeah. Quarterbacks Exactly. Quarterbacks uh when they have targeted him have have had damn near a perfect quarterback rating is what’s happened. Wow. So yeah. So through four games through four games. Yeah. Yeah. So he is he has been it has been a real real issue. Like I say he will he will play you you’ll like I say you’ll see Gardner either play left or right and then what happens Stevens goes with the other receiver and so then he’s kind of left in that in that mode and and people teams have stayed away from S Gardner. There’s reasons why. I mean they just he he that just the way I described him he’s that type of player. Uh but on the other side, Brandon Stevens has had his share of problems. Now, you know, can you win? Teams in the first four weeks have been able to win against Stevens. You know, can you set things up to maybe where can you put we talked about it earlier with uh you know, with Pickkins, he doesn’t move a whole lot. Remember when you have Lamb, which you could do with Lamb, you could play him left or right, and you could also put him in the slot to get away from that type of coverage. Well, if Pickins Pickkins just doesn’t go in the slot. Well, this is so now this is a game where it’s going to have to be if it’s again no uh Turpin, then how’s Tolbert? How’s uh you know, how how are they going Fenoi? How are they going to play? And they’re going to have to play at a pretty pretty high level. Now, this team, I mentioned earlier that they rush the passer in a way where their their pressure generally comes from really one guy, Will McDonald, and he wears number nine. when you watch him play the sacks he had, he was really really good against Pittsburgh and then they they then they’ve also played Buffalo and then Tampa Bay. He had a nice game rushing against Tampa. He blocked a field goal that and returned it. You know, he’s a he’s a quality player. He’s kind of a thin built guy, but he’s going to come flying off the edge. So, you’ll see him playing both on the right side and the left side. They kind of move him around trying to kind of figure out where the best matchup for him is. But he is the guy you’re gonna have to be concerned about. Quinnon Williams, the defensive tackle, would be the next guy I think you really need to know about. He’s a guy that did he’s from last year, he wasn’t so much a pressure player, which was funny. He now in this scheme with Aaron Glenn, he’s done a much better job of forcing pressures, controlling the middle. He could be a hard guy to block one-on-one. What this team has struggled with though when you watch them play is they’ve struggled in the running game because they’ll take themselves out of positions. There’ll be a lot of times where all of a sudden the snap of the ball they’ll slant and then they’re out of position and they don’t recover. They’ll miss a tackle then it’s a big play. You can watch 10 plus runs against these guys. They did a great job against the Steelers in opening day and you’re thinking like whoa. You know Steelers didn’t have a a run over 10 yards. They didn’t have a they were average like right at three yards a carry. But since then, some teams have been able to kind of move the ball on them a little bit running. But I think a lot of it is kind of a self inflicted with their movement and then they’re they don’t react very well once the movement they go one way, take themselves out of the play and then the ball is passed them that way. So Dallas might have an opportunity to run the ball against these guys. Again, it’s can you take advantage? Williams has done a great job at taking the ball, reading the blocks, then making the cuts. Uh that’s something you’re going to have to do in this football game uh as well to to kind of to kind of get that done. So attack Brandon Stevens the corner number 21. Be be uh be ready for Sauce Gardner walking with Pickkins or traveling with Pickkins. Got to make sure you find a way. Well, that’s uh we we got Botch here in the in the chat like Botch is in the chat. Yeah, like a true YouTuber. He’s in here in the chat. He said, “Tell Brian that Sauce travels because the other corner of DJ Reed is gone and that Pickkins has filmed from last year whooping Sauce.” Yeah. So, even having him travel with him, there’s there’s there’s reality. I mean, he’s he can he can handle it. Pickings can handle it. I appreciate that. Like I say, I didn’t go back to watch the Pittsburgh last year film of this, but I did watch Pittsburgh this year, which is opening day, but yeah, that’s great, Vachi. I appreciate you doing that. Safe travels to you, man. Uh but yeah, this to me that if you’re going to throw the ball, it’s going to be on it’s going to be on this this corner. Stevens, I think that uh Andre Cisco, uh who they signed from Jacksonville as a safety, I think there’s going to be some opportunities in the middle of the field. Teams have run some crossers and stuff where the safeties have had to pick up. They do play a lot of man coverage. uh they’ve they but they’ve allowed the second most yards uh allowed uh this season playing the most man playing a ton of that man coverage and they’re going to stay in it. So the completion percentage is really really high against these guys too. So but it’s going to be about pressure, you know, can they find a way with Will McDonald to get pressure, Germaine Johnson, you know, those guys are and and then also with Quinn and Williams. But, uh, that’s kind of where this this this defense is at right now is that they’ve got some really good players. They just really haven’t put it all together yet. Looking at, uh, what they’ve done, you mentioned the the run defense against the Bills in week two, they gave up 224 yards on the ground. They were really bad. Yeah. Against the Bucks, they gave up 122. Against Miami, they gave up 123. When you think stylistically and schematically how the Cowboys like to run the ball, they’ve had a good running game, I think. So far this season, I don’t think they’ve had a game yet where they’ve relied on the run. When you think about again schematically what Dallas likes to do and schematically what these other teams who’ve had some success like to do, how well do you think this matches up as a game where the Cowboys could possibly lean heavily on the run? They could. They could absolutely lean heavily on it. though I I do worry like I say if if we’ll see with with no Genon I think that might help you a little bit more because I think Thomas has a little bit more power if Gayton were to not play in this particular game you know uh I think that the you know it’s going to be about Dallas has had the ability they’ve done some really good things you mentioned scheme wise running the ball but they’ve had Hunter Lipkkey at times has missed some blocks you know the other day uh you know with they they they’re still getting a lot of good work out of Span Ford and what he’s been able to do at the point of pack. I I you know, with McDonald and then and then Johnson, I’d lean on these guys. These are like these It’s kind of like what you see with the Giants. Those those tall, long pass rushers want to get up the field. I think that, you know, Dallas can hammer on these guys a little bit that way. And Williams has done a really good job. Wherever the hole has been, they’ve done a really good job of of he’s he’s found that hole and been able to attack it. He’s he’s not dancing around. He’s just going to go. he’s going to get his four and a half yards, five yards, get back for the next play. And and that’s where I think that you have to the the the Jets have had some problems in in in the game against Buffalo. They had problems with tackling. I mentioned in the Dolphin games tackling. They get backs that all of a sudden are kind of bouncing through there and the next thing you know it’s, you know, they don’t get a tackle, then it’s an even larger play. So, you just got to kind of I think Williams can have some success scheme-wise. We’ve talked, we’ve seen the the pulls and things like that. What you have to worry about with, as I mentioned earlier with this Jed Stevens is they’ll they’ll move they’ll take their front and they’ll try and move it to where they’ll take a risk like they’ll slant it strong and it’s run them out of some plays. It’s run them out of some ties. All of a sudden they’re all slanted and now the ball’s going the other way and now everybody’s out of position. And they’ve the the one thing the Steelers did to them pretty good was take them one way and then take the ball back the other way. wasn’t running the ball that way, but throwing the ball. We’ve seen Dallas with the waggles the boots. It just shows you how how much they want to try and get after the ball. And so, they’re going to they’re going to gamble that way. And, you know, in this game, they might catch you a couple times or they slant right into what you’re doing and then be able to make those plays. But, I think if Dallas stays after this, we’ve seen some teams the last three weeks have some success running the ball against these guys. All right, we’re going to take our final break. When we come back, I want to talk about uh Jaden Blue and and maybe is this the week that regardless of what happens with Miles Sanders, is this the week where maybe the Dallas Cowboys need to figure out how to make him active? Because speaking of that juice, maybe he gives you some of that juice that Cavonte Turpin uh would have provided in the event he’s going to miss the game. We’ll talk about that when we come back. This is Dallas Cowboys.com radio. Back to the break. Every day begins with a promise. A promise to work hard and to build a future. That’s why we’re here providing the tools, expertise, and John Deere equipment you have relied on for generations to help you get the job done right. We’re with you. That’s our promise to you. Because no matter the project or the challenge you’re facing, we’re with you. We’re united. I’m home. Hey, Mom. Before you ask, I’ve done my homework and the dishwasher’s unloading. Nice. Hey, can you Hey, hun. Yes, I’ve got the finale ready to play. Here’s your wine. Wow. Isn’t it nice not having to ask? We think so. That’s why if there’s a network interruption, AT&T will proactively credit you for a full day of service, guaranteed. Credit for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more, or for wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more, caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See at.com/gar for details. It’s the official men’s skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black. And right now, Cowboys fans can get 15% off their $75 order. Plus, because every deal needs a playmaker, your order will include a free 5piece skin care set and free shipping. The Jack Black Playmaker is four of Jack’s favorites and a full-sized intense therapy lip balm. Make a play for the Playmaker at getjackblack.com/cowboys with the code cowboys VIP. That’s getjackblack.com/cowboys with the code cowboys VIP. How’s it going? You see that Cowboys game? Oh, I watched. Been seeing some good things. Totally. They have some talent. Yep. Some great talent. And they got some fight. Hoping this is the year. Me, too. Oh, I’m Cody, by the way. I’m Travis. Nice to meet you, Travis. Go Cowboys. Go Cowboys. Make a new friend based solely on their shirt choice. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America. The official bank of the Dallas Cowboys. Copyright 2025. Bank of America Corporation. From the field to the festivities, Luc Casey embodies the essence of luxury and tradition. Handcrafted with meticulous precision, each pair offers unmatched comfort and style. Stand tall while you’re tailgating or cheering in the stands with the Dallas Cowboys collection by Luc Casey. Shop the collection today at the Lucasey store at the Star in Frisco or online at lucasey.com. Lucasey, the official boot of the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Back to the break. AT&T connecting changes everything. Welcome back. We are in the final segment of the break live WBC mortgage studios at the start. We got about nine minutes left on the show. Let’s talk about Jaden Blue. Uh, as I mentioned earlier, my biggest concern if Turpin can’t play is who will give the Cowboys offense the speed that it needs in order to make it dynamic. Uh, Jaden Blue is a guy that has some speed. He has not been active through the first four weeks of the season. Is this the week that it should happen? And how much does he help this offense if it does? Give us that answer. Ag I I’m reading all the comments here. People asking for Jaden Blue to get in there and we were talking about it, right? And during the break, tell him he’s going to play this week. He better. Yeah, there’s no other option. Uh I think what week five now, correct? Week five. Wow. That should moving. It’s almost Christmas. It is crazy. But what we’ve heard, let me say this nicely, what we’ve heard about him is that maybe he’s not kind of up to speed on some of the things that need to happen on the offense when you’re talking about the different plays and and you know, knowing the playbook. Yeah. But I say if you go back to how he was in the hook world, um he seemed to be a really really good player when he was on the field and not dropping the ball and fumbling. The point I’m trying to get, you got drafted for a reason. You got you got drafted for a reason. A lot of studying happens with player analysis before they get drafted. It is hard for me to understand if he doesn’t play this weekend. It would be very difficult for me to understand. And now I’m getting emotional about this. Yes, he so difficult to understand because you drafted him for a reason. And now it’s time to make it happen. You You have to find a way to maybe simplify things for somebody to get up get them up to speed. I think five weeks is more than enough. this is the right time for you to come in and bring that juice. I think he’s the only other guy that provides that kind of speed. If you were to compare him to a Cavant Turpin, so going based on what Brian is saying, he better be on that field this weekend because I think we might get surprised and see some of the things that he can bring to the team. You want to add anything to that hook him thing, Derek? Are you a good No, I mean I’ I’ve said since before they drafted him, I thought he’s a good player. I thought the fumbles were the the biggest issue uh with him and and my hope is that that’s been corrected. Um I but what we saw at training camp, he looked good. Yeah. But that’s also I I never I never trust a running back in training camp because until they they have pads on and people are actually hitting them and taking them down, it’s hard to really know how good of a back they can really be. Yeah. Exactly. And so I I just I I I still look back to what he was at Texas and and I I was telling somebody this the other day about him at Texas. He was the kind of back that didn’t need a lot of carries. He didn’t need a lot of opportunities. He We could be in a game that was just kind of a man a slugfest. It’s kind of a defensive game and then all of a sudden they have one hand off to blue. Boom. He’s gone. Touchdown. And it could be 40 yard, 50 yards, whatever. Right? That’s what I saw from him at Texas and that’s what I think the Cowboys could use, especially while CD Lamb is out and if Cavonte Turpin is out, he will give you that home run ability on any given play if you get him in the right situation. And and if if the issue is uh if if the issue is that he’s not picking up everything that he should do and assignment sound, then the way I would look at it is let me give him four or five things. things. I’m going be like, in this game, these are the things we need you to focus on. And I need you to make sure you’re very capable to do these four or five things during this game. And that’s how I would use him. And I would just throw that wrinkle in there. He’s going to give he’s going to be my wrinkle guy. He gives me the wrinkles that I need for this offense to to throw the Jets off a bit uh when they think they got a beat on what we’re doing. Coaches are weird cats, you know. They they are really good way to put it. and they’re weird cats and they will they get very comfortable with how things are operating and you know the running back room is you look at the running back room for the Cowboys it’s the first four weeks of the season you’d say man that’s been a nice surprise you know the way that that these veteran guys and I and I I totally agree with you on blue studying him watching him play and you know watching him play in college and then you know he does he does bring a juice but coaches are weird in a way they do not want to put somebody on the field that’s not absolutely sure their assignments. You know, the one thing that’s great about Blue is he’ll play special teams for you, too. Yeah. You know, I mean, here’s a guy that, you know, you thought about, wow, University of Texas split time and, you know, you you’re thinking, you know, kind of that kind of a back and you can actually go out and tackle on kickoff coverage. That’s encouraging. So, yeah, you’re you’re not you know, you’re going to get a guy that’s going to be able to do those kinds of things if he’s if he’s dressed this week, which I think he will be. I think this is the week that everybody gets to see Jaydon Blue play football and hopefully uh you know in the post game we’re going to be talking about what a what a major contribution he made to this uh to this attack because Derek and just no fumbles. I mean it’s hey it’s he he he is a he could be a very special player. So, you know, I’m excited to see uh what that brings. Real quick before we end the show, I did want to get uh just some evaluations on a couple players from this last game. TJ Bass and Brock Hoffman. Talk to me about what you saw where they were good and where they have some things they really have to work on uh heading into this next game. Yeah, the the the things this the early in that game the second level blocks were just not a I mean, they just could not get there. you we saw early the first couple of drives that it looked like the ball was going to the outside and then you had Walker and these running backs running without anybody really you know cutting them off or getting in their way. So that’s that was a you know early in that game was an issue but then you know I I felt like that of the two I felt like the bass was the one you know run and pass a little bit better. I kind of felt like there was some times in the passing game where Hoffman was, you know, he’s hanging on for dear life and that kind of is the way he’s going to play. And not these these linemen, even the great ones aren’t perfect all the time, but you’re in a situation where, you know, he they’re going to fight and they’re going to do they’re going to they’re not they’re going to be very assignment sound. They’re going to help each other. They work the whole time together, too, during during a you know, the training camp. You remember every preseason game, they played every offensive snap, those two guys. So, that’s a benefit for you right there. But yeah, I think that if you said overall who was the one who had the better go of it, run and pass, I think Bass was that guy. And then Hoffman was right there. But, you know, you can’t you can’t fault them. They they had a difficult assignment. The inside inside three for the Packers and then having to deal again with those linebackers were were really really tough, too. I think with Hoffman, we’ve seen the power that he brings and and the aggressiveness that that he brings, but um uh the thing with him is just mainly making sure, hey, don’t draw any penalties, you know, keep it cool, keep it calm, be aggressive, but know your limits. Uh but with TJ Bass, he’s a guy that since he’s been here, even though he’s not always like he’s not the star on the team or anything like that, but anytime you ask anybody else, like any other offensive line player or coaches, he was always a name that was brought up as someone that has been standing out and has been impressive and that they’re looking forward to seeing more of him. So that just that that tells you a lot when everybody else in that room is giving you that name specifically. Uh and this has been since prior years. So I think he’s very much capable of taking care of the job. I think it was just being more consistent and just taking advantage of that opportunity. But I do have a lot of faith in what he can bring. All right. Appreciate you guys joining us. We’ll be back tomorrow. We will wrap this thing up and get you ready with our final thoughts of Cowboys versus Jets in New York. Till then for Brian Bratus, Amber Garcia, I am Derek Eagleton. This has been the break live on dallascowboys.com radio. This has been a production of DallasCowboys.com and the DallasCowboys Football Club. How about this, Cowboys?
Watch Cowboys Break presented by LG OLED evo LIVE as they bring you the latest #DallasCowboys news and more!
#DallasCowboys #CowboysNation #NFL
Subscribe to the Dallas Cowboys YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2L07gMO
For more Cowboys content: https://www.dallascowboys.com/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DallasCowboys/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dallascowboys
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dallascowboys/
Get the App: https://apple.co/1GG1G36
2 comments
Ambar Garcia is 💯 100% DEI.
Ngl the chicken unseasoned when Vochy ain't on 😂