00:00K&C Masterpiece right here on 105.3 The Fan.
00:04Who do you fear on the Eagles and where do the Cowboys hold an advantage?
00:09Now, the Eagles have lost four straight.
00:12We talked about that earlier in the week.
00:13Longest losing streak of the Nick Sirianni era.
00:18And the Eagles offense has been terrible this season.
00:25And their run game has been pretty much as bad as the Cowboys.
00:28Now, it looks like, in theory, that's ready to flip.
00:31Saquon is back, but Hurts is out.
00:35And I mentioned this to you yesterday, and I want to go back to it.
00:38Because we didn't get a chance to go in-depth on this.
00:41How big of a break do you think this is for the Dallas Cowboys,
00:44that they are not going to be facing a running quarterback?
00:47Because last year, the year before, this year, it just feels like that has been a nightmarish matchup for them.
00:53I think that's probably the biggest, the most significant reason I think the Cowboys have a chance in this one.
01:00They don't have to worry about that at all.
01:04I mean, like, escaping the pocket, getting a couple yards on a third down,
01:09you do have to keep an eye on that.
01:10But you don't have to commit resources to the quarterback when it comes to maybe he's going to take off
01:17for 40.
01:18Right.
01:19Like, that's a big key.
01:21Their running game isn't great.
01:23That's been one of your strengths, too.
01:25So, like, there's two out of three.
01:27All right.
01:28Can you keep this quarterback from delivering third down passes against you?
01:32That's where you've got to figure out.
01:33Now we're dialing up some blitzes.
01:36You know, now we're dialing up some of that pressure that you really need that can be a big factor
01:40in this.
01:41So, yeah, the fact that he's not a running quarterback gives me a little bit of breath in this thing.
01:48I just hope that the Cowboys' offense has made the corrections necessary.
01:52Do you fear Saquon going into this game, knowing the struggles he's had?
01:57Quite frankly, even when he was healthy, he was fine.
02:01And I know people look at the yards per carry, but he just hasn't been, like, a touchdown machine or
02:06breakaway machine or anything like that.
02:07Let me ask you this.
02:08Would you trade for Saquon?
02:11I don't think so.
02:12So, no.
02:13Okay.
02:14That is a good way to test it.
02:15Like, right now, I started thinking, I was like, man, would I want him and Javante Williams in a backfield
02:21together?
02:21Right.
02:22And then I was like, I don't know if I could trust that at all.
02:25Yeah.
02:25So, I'm at this point where because of what their offensive line is, the answer is no.
02:29And, you know, talking about the Eagles' offensive line, we discussed yesterday retirement trade.
02:37Markel Bell has been in a right tackle.
02:40Willie Lampkin has taken over at left guard.
02:42I realize that the Eagles are looking to activate Landon Dickerson off injured reserve to return against Dallas.
02:49He's missed time with a knee injury.
02:51That would be another huge return for them in addition to Saquon Barkley.
02:54But the patchwork nature or the learn-on-the-go nature of the offensive line, in addition to running back
03:02injuries, I think is a huge part of why they have struggled.
03:05And I think they're averaging, I don't know, maybe like six yards rushing more per game than the Cowboys.
03:11And don't we feel like the Cowboys' run game has been, like, pretty sad this year?
03:15It's been sad, but it also hasn't been utilized.
03:18And that's what's frustrating to me.
03:19And I think it's, maybe it is because the coach doesn't believe in it.
03:22Everybody else is telling me, no, that's not the answer.
03:24It's because of other ancillary things.
03:27But if he really believed in it, he'd say, cue it up any time.
03:30Ben Johnson will.
03:31Ben Johnson will always, if he believes his offensive line can get yards when needed.
03:37And for the Cowboys' ground game, third worst rushing yardage in the NFL.
03:41And then they only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, so that's fifth worst.
03:46And so, we've talked about them not running the ball enough, you know, but it's not just that.
03:52When they do run the ball, they're not particularly good at it either.
03:56Now, you can say that's the attritional nature of running, and you're more likely to pick it up in the
04:01second half and everything like that.
04:03But not only do they not run the ball a lot, when they do run the ball, they're not really
04:06that good at it.
04:07So, it's Vic Fangio that concerns you the most for the Eagles then, right?
04:12Is that what you're telling me here?
04:13Like, out of all the things...
04:14It's got to be, right?
04:15Because of the pressure he's going to put?
04:17What kind of plan is he going to put together?
04:20Because it's a very sturdy secondary, very...
04:23That trio of cornerbacks that they have, very sturdy cornerbacks that you're just like,
04:28how do I...
04:29What creases can I find on these guys?
04:31And so, yeah.
04:32So, yeah, it's the Vic Fangio build.
04:34So, here's something that's really interesting about their defense,
04:36since you brought that up.
04:38If you had to guess, where do you think the Eagles rank in yardage allowed this season?
04:43Like, for example, the Cowboys are 30th.
04:45I feel like that's not so surprising.
04:47Where do you think the Eagles would be this year?
04:54Um, 17th.
04:55I was pretty stunned to see this.
04:57They're 27th.
04:59Oh, wow.
05:00But...
05:00Points.
05:02Exactly.
05:02Yeah.
05:02Because we talk about that all the time.
05:04That feels like a more relevant, uh, gauge of all of this.
05:08Points, they're in the middle of the pack.
05:10So, they're 16th.
05:11So, you're spot on for that one.
05:13So, 27th in yards allowed, but 16th in points given up.
05:18Now, part of that is because we've talked about how many snaps their defense has had to play
05:23because how often their offense has gone three and out.
05:25So, their defense has played a ton of stats, which makes sense for the yardage.
05:29But you would think that would translate to more points, and it just doesn't.
05:33The fact that this Eagles defense is middle of the pack and points allowed,
05:38despite them being at the top of the charts in terms of defensive plays run...
05:42That's pretty impressive.
05:43I think the big factor in that, Kevin, is the...
05:47Look at the last three weeks of that.
05:48We kind of discussed this a little bit.
05:50Look at the last three weeks.
05:51They've allowed about 40 points in the fourth quarter.
05:53In the last three games.
05:55Right.
05:56In fourth quarters, they haven't been very...
05:58They haven't been great.
05:59And I don't know if that's because they had to work so hard in the first three quarters
06:04to get to that point, or if there's something figured out by the time you get to the fourth quarter.
06:09But if you take out fourth quarters for the Eagles, that points would even put them higher.
06:15Right.
06:15Right.
06:16So, they've been very good through three quarters.
06:18You just got to stick with it.
06:20That's why I think you can't get away from your run game in this game early at all.
06:25And I've seen multiple people asking about Joe Milton.
06:28I have not seen any indication...
06:30I mean, he's a factor at all.
06:31Yeah, that they're going to do that just because they're riding with the Tanner McKee train.
06:34So, I hear you.
06:35If you're concerned that they would bring him in for even some package stuff, knowing he's
06:39going to run the ball, that could be problematic.
06:41I don't believe that will be the case, but I will readily admit, if we get here on Tuesday
06:46morning and you're like, whoops, that wasn't right.
06:49And then one more thing for the Eagles to watch out for.
06:52They have the fifth best special teams EPA this season.
06:56So, there are 15.97 added on because of their special teams.
07:01So, when we talk about could this game be close, both of these teams are really in a
07:05bad way, just know that the Eagles special teams have been really on point this year
07:10if that ends up making any semblance of a difference.
