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Zach Wolchuk and Bryan Broaddus react to the Cowboys' 28-20 loss to the Giants. What went wrong? Have we overhyped the defense? Were the Giants simply the better team? Broaddus and Wolchuk break down everything that went wrong for Dallas on Sunday night.
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00:00It is the Pepsi post-game show. Football's back tailgating deserves Pepsi 28-20.
00:07Giants spoil the season opener for the Cowboys, and they look pretty darn good doing it
00:13as the Cowboys put up very little resistance on defense.
00:16In fact, the offense, two total drives the entire second half.
00:20They did score on both, but you had to feel as soon as they kicked it back
00:24with a little over 521 to go in the game,
00:27they probably weren't going to see the ball back as the Giants had drives in the second half
00:32of 12 plays, 13 plays, and 12 plays to end the game.
00:37Two of those touchdowns, the other to go ahead on a five-minute drive
00:41to just run this clock out as they improved to 1-0.
00:44They beat the Cowboys in an opener for the first time since Dak's rookie season in 2016.
00:50And the Cowboys, with all the excitement and optimism and hope of a new defense,
00:56a lot of that was very humbling and sobering tonight.
00:59Zach Wolchuk alongside the Super Bowl winning scout, Brian Broaddus,
01:02877-881-1053, the number to call, the number to text, 877-881-1053.
01:08A lot of frustration on the text, which is to be assumed after a game like that.
01:14Brian, what are your initial thoughts?
01:16Yeah, you know, the Giants in the last three drives, I think,
01:20had the ball for over 21 minutes, just in the last three drives in the second half.
01:25So really kind of tells the story there.
01:27They were 81% on third down.
01:29Dallas was 72% on third down offensively, if you want to look for a bright spot there.
01:34But this game came down to when you went in there
01:40and you started really breaking it down for the week.
01:42And in the first game, maybe you don't have the complete picture of, you know,
01:47because you don't have all the film and stuff like that.
01:49And I'm just saying from an analyst's perspective of it, right?
01:53So you're thinking like, well, Dallas could have an advantage with Quinnen Williams
01:57and they're going to have an advantage with Kenny Clark
01:59and they're going to beat up John Runyon and they're going to beat up John Michael Smits
02:04and, you know, all these things to, you know, and CeCe Malinoa is a rookie and all that.
02:10I'll tell you what, man, Giants had a tremendous game plan.
02:14You knew going into the game they were going to do everything in their power
02:17to protect Jackson Dart in this game.
02:20And Jackson Dart played great.
02:22Best game I've ever seen him play.
02:24Played great.
02:24He was incredible.
02:25Kind of like Ole Miss Jackson Dart back there winning ballgames.
02:29But their offensive line, you know, the way that they were able to use Ricard,
02:34you know, they just blocked very, very well.
02:36The movement, the pulls.
02:38Yeah, and when they needed a play, you know, it's unfortunate that just how exposed Dallas got.
02:45And it reminded you, it was very reminiscent of things that happened last year
02:49where guys running open can't get off the field on third down.
02:54You know, why the ball going to the flat?
02:57I thought Chris Collinsworth was explaining it well.
02:59Like you're trying to double Malik neighbors and all of a sudden flats open
03:04and you go back to it and flat again and flat again.
03:06And no adjustment there.
03:08And no adjustment.
03:08But that was just part of it.
03:09I mean, just the physicality that the Giants played with up front,
03:14and that's a Harbaugh-type team.
03:17And we knew going in the one thing that my Giants guys kept telling me was
03:22likely is going to have a big part of this offense.
03:25Yeah.
03:25He's going to be a big, major part of this offense.
03:28And he really, really was.
03:30I mean, he, you know, and Dallas tried to cover him a lot of different ways.
03:34They tried to use a lot of different personnel.
03:36You know, it's Revell took a crack at him.
03:40Thompson.
03:40Thompson took a crack at him.
03:41Downs on the last play.
03:42Downs.
03:42I mean, everybody.
03:42P.J. Locke was over there.
03:44Yeah, they tried.
03:44And nobody was able to make this work.
03:49So, you know, tip of the cap to the Giants, if they're going to play,
03:52if they're going to play offense like that throughout and be physical
03:55and beat people up and all, that's, they're going to win a lot of ball games
03:59playing that way because that's exactly what we see.
04:02You know, Harbaugh's teams with the Ravens in the past just kind of beat you up
04:06up front, play really good defense, and they were able to do that.
04:11You know, like I say, this is one game.
04:14But, you know, all the lead up to this, all the offseason, you know,
04:21Christian Parker and that crew has to look at themselves now.
04:24And when they watch the tape, they're probably going to see themselves
04:27getting beat up pretty much.
04:29And that's not a good thing to see.
04:32No, because the one thing we felt this offseason, as we were kind of predicting
04:36and foreshadowing what this defense could look like, is, okay,
04:39well, personnel-wise, they're suited to stop the run.
04:42When you add Rashawn Gary, he's supposed to be a complete player.
04:46Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams, Tito Ogbonia, Jonathan Bullard,
04:50all these bigger bodies, right?
04:51That was the thing.
04:52It should be a better team to be able to stop the run.
04:55They got bullied today.
04:56Oh, they did.
04:57And that's why we kind of talked about that with, you know, Ezraku.
05:01We talked about Gary.
05:03I know myself, I had a concern about the linebackers.
05:07You know, this is the whole thing.
05:08And I don't think Bobby Wagner makes it.
05:10I mean, they couldn't cover anybody, and Bobby Wagner can't cover anybody.
05:13The linebackers were at fault today.
05:16The safety play was horrendous.
05:17The corners, with the exception of Durant, I think, were probably a non-factor today.
05:24You look at just how many guys were running wide open.
05:28But, yeah, you would think that, you know, with the defense that – but you saw an example today of
05:35–
05:35And I know watching tape, and we all do it, and we get on NFL.com, and you're going to
05:41see these linebackers eating a lot of blocks.
05:45And I mean eating in a bad way, where they're just not – and they didn't tackle well enough.
05:50And, yeah, it's just a big, big, big problem.
05:54And, listen, offensively, it wasn't great.
05:57You know, you have guys dropping the ball, Pickens with a drop that could have been a big play.
06:03So it was a rough start.
06:04Really rough start.
06:05They get the ball twice and they score in the second half.
06:07I mean, the interception Dak had before the half.
06:09That was just awful.
06:10That was just, you know, trying to get the ball out of bounds.
06:12That was just an awful throw.
06:14And, you know, you've got to make sure that thing gets out of bounds.
06:17And, you know, it's an unfortunate – and then what happens –
06:20You know, and I even told you before Brandon Arbery the last extra point,
06:24I said the way he's been kicking extra points tonight, he's probably going to miss this one.
06:29And as good as Javante Williams was, it was a silly penalty to take.
06:32It was way silly penalty.
06:33Super silly penalty to take.
06:35But the opening drive of the game, where the Cowboys get it,
06:39and that third down, it's third and nine, and Pickens appears to get the first down.
06:44Yeah.
06:45He's marked short.
06:46They come out and they fake as if they're going to go for it.
06:50Right.
06:50I thought, sneak the ball.
06:52Instead, you kick it.
06:54And really, from that point on, it was downhill.
06:57I mean, it was about as bad a start, three and out, as you could add on offense.
07:00Giants go right down the field, 10 plays for 83 yards.
07:03But getting some text in about that now, I think you can go back to that first decision
07:07from Brian Schottenheimer, fourth and one at the 37.
07:10And it was really fourth and a half yard.
07:13Sneak that thing with Dak Prescott.
07:15Yeah.
07:15I just, to me, you have a quarterback, and maybe they were worried about what was going
07:23on with that.
07:23You know, the first couple of runs that they had, it wasn't great, if I remember, right?
07:28It was the first run of the game.
07:31Yeah, they got a yard, then it was an incomplete pass to CD.
07:33Maybe they felt like.
07:34They ran the ball one time.
07:35Yeah.
07:35You know what, I think if you gave Brian Schottenheimer truth serum right now, he would have thought
07:42his defense was going to play a lot better today.
07:44I mean, he, you know, and maybe he was thinking like, okay, I'll punt this thing, I'll get
07:49the ball back.
07:50But no, they really didn't.
07:51I mean, he was forced to have to kind of call a different game.
07:55But yeah, you know, all of a sudden, if you don't get that, then you're questioning
07:59like, well, man, why are you going for it that early?
08:02You know what I'm saying?
08:03And it's, it's, it's, it's a hindsight play all the way, because if Dallas doesn't get
08:09that, we're killing him for giving the Giants a short field, aren't we?
08:15Now you're giving the ball to 37.
08:16Yeah, and a quarterback, and a quarterback that we kind of feel like that, oh, we could
08:21pressure this guy, no, we're going to be able to play the run and all that stuff like
08:23that.
08:24You know, yeah, we would have, you know, the way things were going early in that game, I
08:30don't, you know, I don't, I guess I could understand why he.
08:33Tried to draw him, them off sides.
08:36It, it didn't, it obviously didn't work.
08:38But yeah, if we, if, if he goes for that and doesn't get it, we're crushing him, aren't
08:44we?
08:45There's, there would have been people that would have crushed him.
08:47Yeah.
08:48I think ultimately, I like, I like being aggressive and setting the tone, because I feel like this
08:52offense is what you're relying on anyway.
08:54But that you're like at your 40-yard line?
08:56Yeah.
08:56A 37-yard line?
08:57Yes.
08:57Okay.
08:58And see, that's, I mean, to me, this.
09:00For a half yard.
09:01If you can't sneak it with Dak.
09:02It seems very fanny of you right now.
09:04That seems fanny of me?
09:06Yeah.
09:06Kind of fanny.
09:07You know what I'm saying?
09:08Kind of like fan, like, yeah, why don't we, why don't we do that kind of a thing?
09:13Yeah.
09:13In reality, and listen, I'm not calling you out that way.
09:16It's just a fan.
09:17In reality, I understand that you're on 37-yard line.
09:19Yeah, and you should, and you just line up and punt the ball.
09:22You barely, I mean, it's like inches away.
09:24Yeah.
09:24If you can't line up and sneak it, they couldn't, they couldn't do anything.
09:27I think you need to show faith in your offensive line and your quarterback there.
09:30They couldn't do anything tonight, though.
09:32Overall, though, missing extra points, quarterback throwing interception, trying to throw the
09:37ball away.
09:38I mean, I understand.
09:40I mean, if you want to hand it to Williams or sneak it and all that, I get it.
09:43But, to me, that seems very much like, that's like, you're looking for something, you're
09:49looking for something when there's a bigger picture of this.
09:51No, it all unfolded that way, but I felt that way in the moment.
09:55Yeah.
09:55That they should have gone for that.
09:56Yeah, but if they get stopped, if they get stopped, though, we're feeling a totally different
10:00one.
10:00Well, if they get stopped, it's probably no different.
10:02It ends up still, the Giants scored on the next drive, so you're down 7-0 regardless.
10:05Like you say, the Giants, I'm punting the guy down there and seeing if my defense
10:09could play.
10:10Yeah.
10:10That's what I'm doing.
10:11But we learned that the defense, and the reason everybody's looking at it right now
10:16and saying, oh, you should have done that, is because the defense couldn't get a stop.
10:20And that's really, to me, it's like, okay, pun it and let's see if the defense can play.
10:27And they obviously couldn't, so yeah, it's a very hindsight, kind of a fan reaction.
10:33Yeah, but I'd like to think, fourth down in inches, if you can't line up, and Dak Prescott,
10:37who is a big freaking quarterback, and Cooper Beebe, if you can't get a first down on that,
10:44then you're probably going to get your ass kicked for the loss.
10:46What did they do?
10:47The touchdown that they threw to Lamb, that was, I mean, that was inches away, right?
10:52Yeah.
10:53And you're like, oh damn, what are they doing?
10:55They're in the shotgun.
10:56Well, they're lining up in shotguns at the two-yard line, but then you get a Javante Williams
10:59one-yard touchdown run later on in the game.
11:02I just, to me, like, to me, I think that, I go into that situation not wanting to give
11:08the Giants a short field, but like you say, and I don't, I understand where you're coming
11:13from because the rest of the game was garbage.
11:16It does, but you also have an offensive-minded head coach.
11:17You have a head coach that goes into this, you know, the standard is the standard.
11:20We're going to set the tone.
11:22This is us.
11:23And I think that's a great moment to show faith and belief in your team to do that right there.
11:27Yeah, well, he clearly felt the way you did.
11:30We're going to punt the ball.
11:32I don't want to give the Giants a short field.
11:34He showed faith in his defense, and his defense got punished.
11:37They did.
11:38They got punished all game.
11:38Which was shocking.
11:40Look, sometimes you do need to give credit to the Giants.
11:43Oh, no, I absolutely am.
11:45And I get that on social media, and there's a lot of Cowboy fans.
11:46And Riley, so I get it.
11:47You don't want to hear that.
11:48You don't ever want to tip your cap to the other team.
11:50No.
11:50The Giants had a great game plan.
11:52They executed it well.
11:53They blocked exceptionally well on offense.
11:55Cam Scadaboo brought his lunch hat today.
11:58I mean, the dude was a load.
11:59Difficult to tackle.
12:00Jackson Dart played his rear off.
12:01Neighbors did enough to help him win, and Likely was huge.
12:05Likely was a phenomenal player.
12:06Likely was.
12:06But their offensive line was where, as evaluators, we thought that their offensive line would not
12:14be able to push Dallas around like they did.
12:18And they were able to.
12:19There's bigger problems on this defense now.
12:22If you're letting Runyon and John Michael Smith, those guys push you around, you've got bigger problems.
12:34Ella Menor, you've got bigger problems than that.
12:37Yeah, I mean, it was long, time-consuming drives.
12:40They couldn't get off the field on third down.
12:43And now overshone.
12:44Injured again.
12:45Hooker injured.
12:46We'll have to monitor those things coming in.
12:48I mean, Barham had the one negative play that you had, sniffing out that screen.
12:53Down.
12:53I mean, there was a couple of times the Cowboys just had bad ball luck where they did force fumbles.
12:58And the downs play where he blows Jackson Dart up.
13:02The ball ends up being caught by the offensive linemen.
13:05You had the one turnover that you do nothing with.
13:08When Quinton Williams makes an amazing play and able to strip the football.
13:11And then Revel goes ahead and recovers.
13:13And then you give the ball right back to them.
13:15So you couldn't make anything off of your one opportunity.
13:18And the Giants did.
13:19The Giants were able to go ahead and capitalize.
13:21And they looked like the better team.
13:23And they fed off the crowd early.
13:24And they looked fantastic.
13:2528-20.
13:26They're 1-0.
13:27Cowboys 0-1.
13:28They come back home.
13:29They're taking on Washington.
13:30Your calls and texts.
13:32877-881-1053.
13:35The number to call.
13:35The number to text.
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