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This is Girls Talk Boys Talk presented by Jigsaw Dating, preferred dating partner of the Dallas Cowboys, and broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters at the Star. Now your hosts Christie Scales, Aisha Morrison, Nicole Hutcheson and jess Navarrees.
Hello, Hello, Cowboys Nation, Welcome into Girls Talkboys Talk presented by Jig Saw, the preferred dating partner of the Dallas Cowboys in the SWBC studio. Ladies, welcome back. My name is Nicole Hudgson, Aisha Warson, Jes Navares and Christy Scales. We've got a marvelous guest coming in and just probably about twenty minutes, fifteen minutes.
But he'll be great.
He'll be great.
I'm not saying who it is.
Yeah, we're not telling us.
Surprise, the whole surprise, the Hinches.
It's a surprise. Yeah, that's the Hinch surprise.
I just know that.
Yeah, No, I'd give it away.
It's worth the way, it's worth the way, worth the way, and you're really going to enjoy it. Yes, great, great, dude, great dude, that's your hint.
But for now we've got other news to discuss, Ladies. No Tyron Smith, no Uncle hank Is I used to likes to call him. Uh yeah, Cowboys are losing Tyrannt Smith to the New York Jets, of course, Jonathan Hankins signing a one year.
Deal with the Seahawks.
Let's y'all just take aways, man, I mean, and this.
Is obviously two big losses for this Cowboys franchise and moving.
Forward, big shoes to fill for both of them.
Yess.
I tweeted this because when I got the notion the Tyrone would be now protecting Aaron Rodgers, the first thing that came to my mind was that scene in The Grinch when he's like hate hate hate, double hate loth entirely That's how I feel about it. And then you read the details of how the money for him is going to be kind of spread out, and Christy and I talked about this on another podcast, but with incentives,
how much he can make. I guess what's very frustrating about this is that it was a very doable deal. Bless you, that the Cowboys could have gotten done to keep your hall of Fame, future Gold jacket tackle in that offensive line that is going to need all the help it can get. Already losing your starting center, people again can say and discredit the amount of I guess impact that not having Tyler Biattish will have, But being a center is a difficult job. That's going to impact
to your offensive line enough. Now you're losing a veteran All Pro future gold jacket tackle.
I can't.
It upsets me. It was doable. They didn't find a way, and it's from strading. And now you have more holes than you did at the end of the loss of the Green Bay game. You have more holes and you already had a lot of holes. So how do you feel it? Just the draft, free agency, that's not that's not going on. So I'm frustrated with how you fill the holes that are now here, because, like you said, big shoes to fill. But you need a plug and play player in these positions. These are it's vital for
the success of the team. So I'm frustrated and I wish him well and the Jet's better take care of him.
Yeah, And it goes to show you how much lack there of money we really did not have right, you know, or we're just, in my opinion, not spending it in the right areas.
They're being very prudent.
Yeah, but they were prudent last year too, And and two of the big additions last year came via trade. And it was about this time of year when they brought in stuff on Gilmour.
And Brandon Cooks.
So it was mid to late March, like March twentieth, March fourteenth, something like that, March nineteenth and so but it caused you what fourth excuse me, fourth and fifth rounders and so now that's that's coming back this year.
But a ship. What did your take on the Hankins, because I know.
Yeah, she's still struggling with struggling with it because they also lost Neville Gallimore.
So two of your defensive tackles are gone.
Ye have Galiless now.
At the door.
If I'm not mistaken.
Your DT depth is also a Diggiezua, Carl Davis, Mazzie Smith and if you want to get a little fancy, Chauncey Golston. But I could definitely see Mike Zammer moving Chauncey back to d.
N because you've lost Dante Armstrong.
The DT depth is very concerning.
If I'm not mistaken, Even when you look at you know, a lot of people are like, I mean, they felt like Hankins took a step back last year. He did deal with some injuries and things like that, but it's no mistake that when he was on the field, there was it was a difference in how this team played defense. And as far as DT goes, I just cannot believe that after that performance defensively like that, you don't prioritize
getting veteran defensive linemen or tackles in this room. Teams not only attacked your edges, they did attack your interior. And to lose probably one of the best things that's happened to your defensive line. They went out and got Hankins because they knew they were not getting yeah.
And to lose him.
But also to to your point, just the details of his of his could change haven't come out, but it sounds like he's gonna be doing some veteran minimum stuff.
So when you.
Talk about that, even so, it's like, all right, baby, we clearly ain't on no target budget.
I thought maybe it Walmart budget. Oh no, it might be.
On a.
Family dollar.
You might not even be on budget at this point. At this I'm concerned I might not be on that budget.
That's how my mind operates. But it's it's concerning. It is concerning the lack of urgency that I feel from this team, Like it would be different if they did not lose the way they lost to Green Bay, but that was arguably the worst loss of the year.
And then to.
Turn around and century the urgency and again, like we can talk about the cap and all this stuff. Hey, respectfully, we see other teams around this league do it. So I'm I'm I'm very concerned with the defensive line depth because like to your point you said, Christy, you did lose two of your backup ends too, so it's like you lost a backup d tackle Neville Gallimore and now it's.
Just you can even scale it back. You lost Leyton van der Esh.
I mean officially, right, I think what's disappointing to me is and I want to talk a little more about Tyron's contract and that when he restructured last year, it put dead money into this year's cap. So so Tyron Smith is counting second most dead cap. Zeke is still counting a six point one million for us and dead cap and then and then excuse me six point yes, let's see Zeke is six point four and so Tyron's
counting just over six million dollars. Leyton Vandersh is counting two point twenty five million, and then Dorance Armstrong, who's going to be playing against you twice as a member of the division rival commanders, is one point five million. So it's not just that you don't put the money towards Tyrone or Dorance. Layton's a different thing because of the neck issue. But still you're paying so much money for them not to play for you.
Nine.
I know that that happens every year, but the Cowboys had been pretty clean with the dead cap the previous coup of years, like in twenty two and the like. The one thing about Tyrone, though, is we see that it's one year deal six.
Point five million. That's what's reported for the Jets, And that's true.
But well it's so it's heavily incentivized, right because but here's the thing. The incentives work in a couple different ways. The likely to be earned incentives meaning that we expect you to achieve them, mean that they count against this year's cap and then unlikely to be earned count against next year's cap. Well, he played over seventy percent of snaps this year and it ended up being like an extra four million dollars from the Cowboys for reaching his
playing incentives. Well, the Jets, with all of the incentives that they put towards Tyrone into playing time now, because he played so much last year, you have to anticipate that he'll play that much this year. His cap charge is actually twelve point two five million, So I know it's reported as one point six one year for six point five, but you have to account for those part
of those incentives that are likely to be earned. So it's twelve point twenty five now to me for a future Hall of Famer, a quality, proven left tackle in the NFL like Tyron Smith to me, is easily worth twelve point twenty five million, but having to fit within the budget there. But last year from the Cowboys he earned seven point three. That was with a three million dollar base, with a signing bonus and reaching four million in incentives.
So just to put things in perspective, you got a a Pro Bowl season out of Tyron for seven point three, but it's counting six million against your dead cap this year.
And expect him to honestly seed that because when the Cowboys figured out his whole practice regiment and making sure that he was off no veteran rest days of course included, and then Thursdays Fridays, he didn't practice till what Friday, Yeah, I believe.
So I do wonder what they're going to.
Uphold that though, because it's not that's not the norm at all, and uh, you know, the Cowboys figuring that out for him was great. Well, another team follows suit, possibly if they want to get the best out of them. But there are some coaches who want their offensive linemen to practice, especially since they get limited time.
As it is. I mean, he is, he is the veteran of all veterans.
But at the same time, now he's going to a new system, you know, new coaching. He has to thank he has to gain continuity with that offensive line. I'm not sure that's going to be a thing we'll see, but it was a very unique situation. The way that they practiced him yesterday. You don't see that across the lead that often.
I feel like it'd be foolish of them not too though, because you clearly saw the higher success rate that he had by doing it in previous seasons. I mean, again, you're talking about a guy that hadn't played a full season since twenty fifteen, right, and so this year you got the best tyrant that you have gotten in years. And I credit Mike McCarthy for being willing to do that with his guys to say, look, I'm thinking about the longevity. I'm not thinking about right now and all
of that. You guys know what you're doing. And it goes back to not micromanaging. So it is an interesting point to see if the Jets will do it, but they'd be foolish not too considering you saw the success he could have with.
It, and if you're paying him, you might as well.
Yep, you know, you know he can do it.
It's just so frustrating that cares. You can try and manage as much as you like. But the year before, but the year before with the hamstring injury, that was here at the Star in the evening training yeap, and he walked off hand string injury and gruesome. Yeah, and it was not it was not a contact practice, it was not a wear and terry. It hardly done anything in camp really, so you can manage it as much as you like. But that's the thing with these players.
They there's a lot of age and mileage, well in Tyron's case, mileage on that body, you know, so it's it's certainly a risk.
Now do you.
Move Tyler Smith to left tackle?
Do you think it all depends on what happens in the draft?
Yep, you know it's it's heavy in offensive tackles and ayisha Is are draft expert on this show, but there are other teams that also have big needs at offensive tackles. So if you're targeting, if you're targeting someone in the first round, there, it's not a guarantee that you know at twenty four that he's going to be available.
I mean, I guess the thing is, it's like and we talked about on the Draft show yesterday. Now as you guys mention it, this team is putting themselves in a position to have to draft for need.
And again I think everyone.
Does draft for need based on BPA. Okay, and they'll see, Okay, this is the best player available. We'll see where that fits in our needs and they'll draft from there. But they're kind of showing their hand here, and I don't think that's helpful going into the draft. They have not really replenished a lot of the positions that they've lost.
You've lost five starters, five, not like one or two, baby, you and lost five and to go into this draft, I'm concerned about, you know, the fact that they are going to probably be drafting for the needs.
They need to fill.
And also too, it's so odd that they're handling free agency again like this and just the way that things are happening because you didn't get a lot from your draft class last year, so that puts you in another place to where you're kind of playing catch up. So we I mean, like, whoever their first three draft picks are, you're almost asking for immediate impacts.
You're asking for almost immediate Like you definitely need to get.
Something from them right away. Christy, you mentioned that this tackle class is deep. It is, but once you start getting to the mid rounds, it's like, I don't know about.
That, So it's gotta be a first or second day.
Yeah, And I do think there's more There are more guards in the later rounds, so maybe they do decide to just go guard in some of the mid rounds and they moved Tyler out there, I will say, and I've said it before, if they moved Tyler this year where he is.
And I was just about to say, put him somewhere and keep him there, him around.
He's the ultimate team player.
He has been very, very open about the fact that he enjoys being reliable, is being called upon. But for the betterment, yeah, but for the betterment of the of the athlete, of the player, he needs to go somewhere where he can develop.
This will be his what fourth year, third year, third year?
I would hope that.
I would hope that he would that the team, wherever they put him this year, they would keep him there and allow him to start developing and perfecting his craft because there's a difference between guard and tackle. There are so many differences, the kicksteps, the spacing, the way they strike, everything, and so I love that he's versatile, but I don't want that to be a crutch consistently for them to
not draft accordingly and to be aggressive with that. Now, do y'all wonder if this has if the letting go of Tyrant says anything about maybe what they think about Austoin Richards or maybe what they think about also too. I totally forgot so when of my homies brought it up. They brought in Lao Collins late last year. Yeah, maybe they're going to try to make him the swing tackle and get him in shape and have him ready to go.
I'm wondering guard to Yeah, I think you've got more depth at guard than than tackle.
Know you're assuming that, well, let's go. You know, may may be able to give you something, or ball could could give you something. Honestly, I'm I'm more concerned about center.
Yeah.
Yeah, you know, you got brock h Hoffman who presumed like if you had a game tomorrow, he'd be.
Your your starting center.
But it's just seems like there is more depth and moving parts not only with what you have but what you can get in the draft or free agent at garden tackle then at center.
Does that make sense.
There's some guys in the draft that are some of the later rounds that are I think will be good center options for good centered like.
Like day one plug and play possibly yeah.
Yeah, but I will we'll be there twenty four.
I also think that later Day three, Yeah, day three. I also think though too, it's one of those things that I personally didn't realize until this season how much of a chemistry has to be built with your center and your quarterback. And yes, you can have a player go in and do what a center needs to do, it doesn't necessarily mean him and Dak will be on the same page day one. Yeah, like that's that's just
the reality of the position is. Tyler Beyottish and Dak Prescott had a very good friendship outside of football that they grew so they could communicate. So we talked about that in terms of CD and Dak, how Dak and CD worked on the dockyard to do that Beyondish and Dak were doing the same thing, so their communication would be on points, so it would all be connecting dot you know, during games and not figuring out in game
time situation. So again I'm with you, Christy, I'm I'm I don't like that they didn't try to reacquire Beatdish more because again, people can say what they wanted about him, and yes there was issues with with coverage and allowing sacks, we all know that, but also it's he you didn't notice a lack of communication from your quarterback in your center because they worked their tails off to make sure it was there.
So it is concerning.
This is my last thing when you look at the NFC as a whole, when you look at I think if you look at a lot of teams, man listen, that interior of the defensive line is what That's where a lot of teams strengths are right now. Is like the good teams is that they have good interior defensive linemen.
The interior of your offensive.
Line needs to be a little violent, needs to be, you know, ready to go wrestle every day. And so for me, I'm also too looking at their lack of running of run efficiency last year. A lot of that had to do with the center not being able to get to the second level consistently and things like that.
Centers are tone setting as well, and there's.
A temperament that comes with being a center, and so I do think that this team does need to look at that position in itself to see how they can run the ball more efficiently. Because if your center can't get to the second level, nobody cares. I'm just being honestly, and so it's limiting also as well with how you can do different run plays and stuff like that. The run game Stopping the run and running the ball are two of the reasons why you got kicked out the playoffs.
And I don't understand what.
Y'all they've said. The emphasis is on that.
But that kicked you out of the playoffs just once twice two years in a row. Need not forget. It's a recurring issue. Everybody's are to.
Be patient, that's for sure.
It's pay patient for the first couple of weeks, fatis, but hey, you know, just just pay it. Pay attention to recent history. And this is the way the Cowboys have operated.
And that's what's so upset. And because it's not getting you nowhere, it's.
Got you three wins to three straight and twelve wins.
Yeah, and that's fine and dandy.
Measured measured in the playoffs.
I mean, and it's it's not even that as measured in the playoffs because the issues that you had this season, they showed up in the regular season.
The Bills not like it was like surprise, Like that's what I'm talking about, Like I knew it. Yeah, we called it before the game. We said, if they lose this game, it's because they didn't stop the run. Aaron Jones just ran all over the place. Look, he pretty much ran from one side of Texas to the other during that game. And again, where was your run game?
All right?
Non existent like it had been all season, And that it was not because of the lack of effort from the players, it was it just it wasn't something that was normal because it wasn't there all season. Don't get us started, but you don't.
That's my thing, is like my therapist tell me all the time. I used to like you, and hey, therapy is healthy.
It is.
We love therapy.
She always asked me.
She's like, I think you know the answer here to what you're asking me. And like, because I found out I've done if I'm making the same mistakes over and over again, she don't.
She's not giving me insut. Yeah, she does not give me input. She's just like you out.
Yeah.
I'm waiting for them to figure it out on their own. That maybe drafting and developing is fantastic. I appreciate that they're a team that likes to draft and develop because I think there's a lack of that in this game. However, you have to marry it to doing some things in free agency. Free agency, especially depending on the position you don't want no baby coming in hehere and detackle. Most of them take time to develop.
Like Mazi Yank told us, he's going to.
Take time to get to the point to where he's gonna be able to efficiently stop the run consistently.
Guys don't do that, Jordan Davis.
Those guys over there, Jalen Carter for Philly, highly talented. Everyone was really excited about them. See what happened to them towards the end of the year. They're play tapered off because they didn't have the depth that they needed, and they're still they still got similarc behind their ears. It's it's just like you, I just don't understand the thought process, and that's.
All you kind of said.
You touched on them basically showing their hand for this draft. Christy, has there been a time that you remember the Cowboys just showing their hand like this heading into a drive?
Oh yeah, they do it all the time. Yeah yeah, every year off. Yeah, yeah, pretty much.
But you know what their podcast thirty one, other podcasts for thirty one, other teams that can most of them can say the same thing. Yea, honestly really so uh but yeah, you talk about therapy.
I feel kind of like I'm.
On the on the receiving end of the one eight hundred number, where you know you've got the cowboys woes, and it's like, can't even walk the dog without people walking up to me and saying.
What are we doing?
Like when the guys go and not signing. And again, I understand it's hard to be patient.
That's why I went to Disney. I said, look, I need some space from this. This is unhealthy. I need to relax. Yeah. Here I am relaxed. No patience, but relaxed.
All right, Hopefully our special guest has arrived. If we're gonna take our first break. You're watching girls talk, boys talk pers it about Jicksaw, the preferre dating partner of the Dallas Cowboys.
While he has all right right on that, we'll be right back.
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All right, it's sinners.
I got here. We got a special guest in the building. Welcome in the girls, top boys. So we got Damont Clark week in the studio.
Thank you so much for your usban.
So excited.
Yeah, you've got a nice off season.
I'm the saving right too much.
I mean, back to Louisiana, spent time with family. Love that, that's about it. Got back to work, that's it.
Yeah.
Have you been starting to train on stuff like that over the past couple of weeks?
Oh yeah, Well I took like maybe like a week and a half off and then I just went back to work because I mean, I I hit some goals that I wanted last year. But you know, the only way that I know how to to really just like get the bad taste out of my mouth from last year is just to go back to work. And that's pretty much all I really been doing.
What goals did you not hit?
You led the team tackles, you played over seventy percent of snaps. I mean, it was really really a wonderful, question great.
Season for you.
I used to tell you, Bro, I'm really hard on myself. So me personally, I don't really need nobody else to be hard on me. I'd be so hard on myself already. But I mean it's like for me, I just hold myself to such a standard that I just feel like I didn't meet what I wanted.
To do last year for myself.
You know, you know it was a wild season last year, and you know a lot of guys like going down and a lot of guys having to step up.
But I mean that's all a part of it.
But I mean, like I said, I just went back to work and just looking to improve on the things that from last year, just to take the next step this year.
And demon obviously something that altered the course of the season was lighton going down so early on in week five, And you and I had talked about this and kind of how he was your big brother and not even just on the field but off of the field, and he was with you through your rehab process and kind of how difficult it was to see the empty locker
next to use your locker buddy as well. So talk about how that altered what you had to do on the field, because I feel like there's not really an understanding of how much your role changed with Layton not being there anymore.
I mean, Laighton's the guy. He was the leader of the defense, you know.
Obviously him going down after the Sant Frank game, you know, I had to step up. It wasn't nothing different. I mean, the linebacker spots are really interchangeable. I mean, so it wasn't that it was just me having just to step up and knowing that, you know, Layton went in the game, so it was like somebody got to, you know, get the front set up and somebody got to get the calls out and stuff like that. So I mean that's pretty much it. Other than that, everything else was the same,
you know. And I think back about my time at LSU, like, I mean, he grew me to the points of where I'm at right now, and even sitting back now, that's a lot of things that I think about last from last year of his past years. What can I have done better to help the defense? You know, And that's that's why I say, like, you know, I ain't really have much of an off season, I really just went back to work.
Layton wrote a beautiful note to everyone, teammates, coaches, fans, the organization. I thought it was very heartfelt and so well written and emotional. But and I think it hit a lot of fans in the heart, you know, because we remember when he came in. It's this young rookie from this small town in Idaho. But what do you want fans to know about Layton and what he specifically meant for this team.
I mean a lot of.
Guys might just know Layton from the football aspects, but I had the opportunity to do a lot of off the field things with Layton and just build their relationship with him.
Even last year.
Last offseason, and I was coming off my rookie year and I worked out with Layton all off season. It just really just spent time and just picked his brain because he's super smart. You know, a lot of people might not know Layton off the field, but he's an even better person off the field than he is on the field. And obviously he's gonna be missed, you know.
And I read his heartfelt message, and I mean I felt it myself, because I mean, I know the work that he put in and then just from talking to Layton on the side outside of his message, you know what I felt for him because obviously nobody wants to walk away from the game.
That they love, you know.
But it was just the circumstances, and you know the same thing that I told him. Know, everything happened for a reason, and I told him for sure that we're gonna hold it down for him.
How did you kind of handle that news? I mean, this was someone that's like a brother to you on and off the field.
I mean when he went down, like Leighton and I was talking and obviously, like I mean, I pretty much knew, you know, the options that he had in hand, you know, and obviously I just told him to do his best for you. I can't sit there and tell you, yeah, bro, I would do this, I would do that, like, because that's not me, you know. And I just told him, like, obviously he had to make the decision that was best for his wife and for his little girl.
And I mean, I feel he made the right decision. You know.
Obviously, having kids, you want to be able to play with your kids and enjoy that time, you know, And that's the biggest thing with me that you know, you got to put yourself in his situation. You know, Like I have a little girl myself, so I know at the end of the day, I want to be able to play with my little girl, you know. And obviously football is going to be here whether we leave or not,
you know. And obviously it was hard on Laighton, but just knowing the type of guy that lighton is, you gonna see l around again.
He's not going to just sit there and just be in the house.
And you know, just obviously he's gonna spend more time with his family, but Lady's the type of guy like he wanted to be out there, so he's going to pour into me, He's going to pour into other guys to you know, because he wanted to be out there with us.
Well, the one thing that's constant in the NFL is changed, and not just roster but coaches and the like. And so I want to ask you about not only Mike Zimmer, but Eric Kendrick's coming in and how much or how many interactions have you had with Eric so far, if any, and do you think he'll be an even greater resource, not just as a veteran, but the fact that he played for Zimmer for so many years.
Oh yeah, I'm excited to have e kN Obviously he's played in the system already, So having a guy like that with experience coming in, I mean, I'm super excited to work with him. And as as far as Zim, I mean I had conversations with him. Obviously changes change is good, you know. And from the things that, you know, talking to Anthony Barr, like I'm going to really like him, Like I love coaches that's hard on you, Like, that's that's it. Like I come from LSU coach, Oh was
hard on us. So it's like that's what I'm used to, you know. And he's a guy that's going to demand a lot from you, and I mean that's what I like.
You know.
Obviously d Q held us to a standard as well, and he put a lot on us, and it.
Was up to us to respond, you know.
And the biggest thing, like I mean, it's it's the same thing, you know, it's it's just two different coaches you know that's coming in.
You know. Obviously it's it's fun.
You know, you can't make it no more than it really is, because at the end of the day, it's still football, you know, y'all know. I mean, it's the NFL, so things happen. But I'm super excited to work with e K this year and just to pick his brain because I'm going on your three thing. It's like you're that's what I'm saying. I'm going on three and it's a big gap between three and ten. So I mean,
I'm just going to pick his brain and learn. I'm sure that the rest of the guys in the line background will do that as well.
Is there anything Is there anything in particular that you are most excited about learning from Eka?
Really just know, learning the defense. Like I said, he played he played with Zim you know, for a good while in Minnesota. So obviously when you have a chance to come and you know, come in with somebody that you played under their system already, I mean that's a no brainer.
So I'm super excited.
And just from talking to Anthony Bar like he's another Anthony bar but like they both are good dudes, man, you know, And that's the biggest fam me lot. I mean, obviously I'm laid back. I don't I don't do too much, you know, and I like guys that's like similar to that.
I'm actually excited for you because with Zim, he does a lot of different things in his system. He'll show and go and do things where you're dropping the covers. He might play close to the line of scrimmage. You're gonna have opportunities to put the passor I mean, he does shake it up a lot for your the linebackers
to be involved in stuff. But I'm also excited for you because you know, you and I have had conversations but and maybe you won't say it, but I'm glad that you're gonna have another teacher, another person to lean on.
I think that's something that in.
Yours the start of your career, it's been, you know, kind of guys being here and then they're gone, and then guys being here and then you're gone. And then, like you just mentioned, you need mentorship as a young player, and you really need mentorship as a linebacker.
There's so many things that.
Go on, and so I'm excited for you and your development to have Kendricks and to like know he's going to be here this season and like you said, for you to pick his brain. I've been covering the draft and we talk about the combine and we talk about pro days and things like that. I had the pleasure of going last year and just talking to some of the guys just in passing. I don't think that you get a real idea of how much pressure it is and how hard it is until you talk to those guys.
Can you talk about a little bit just how it feels going through that process and how strenuous it is on you really?
I mean, uh, just training for the combine when I was, when I was going through, I mean, it was a fun experience.
You know, you meet guys from different schools and you.
All have one common goal in line. You know, it was I mean I went to California. That was that was really was my what my second time going to California. I mean the first time we played U C. L A on my senior year, so that was only my second time going. And you know, I had the privilege to meet a lot of good guys that I still talk to to this day, do jersey swaps with them and everything. So I mean, you all have one common goal in mind. But I mean, obviously once you get down to the combine, it's.
Guys from everywhere.
You know, guys from verywell, which we all have the common goal in mind. We all want to showcase our talent and just just the things that you.
You do when you go there.
You know, you have meetings, you gotta you have like
meetings with the nfl PA. You know, you got meetings with the different teams and stuff like that, which it could be nerve racking, but really when I went, I mean it was it was easy when I went because I was training that Proactive Sports Performance in California, and they really prepped us for everything, you know, and it's just like you really just going in the meetings and just having a normal conversation like some coaches going to be you know, just like having a normal conversation and
some of them gonna just trying to see how you're gonna react. You know, You're just going down and just have a conversation. The biggest thing is just be who you are.
You know.
That's what I did when I went in there. Like I remember meeting with the Cowboys. I mean I sitting there talking to Queue. I remember Will McClay was in there, a couple other guys, I think Scotty was in there, a couple of guys.
I just went there.
You just have a normal conversation. You know, they they already know everything that they need to know, right, they obviously just won't see if you're gonna tell the truth of something so crazy gonna happen. So I mean, I just say, like it is nerve racking, but you going there, You just sit down, just be yourself. They're gonna put you on the board like ask you like questions like that. But it's it's really, it's really simple. The moon.
My question for you is, so, like you just mentioned, Layton was this big brother for you and really took on that role and you got to learn from him. Well, there's a younger guy coming in behind you with the Marven over shown who his season got cut very very short, very early in preseason. What is it like for you to be able to take over that big brother role for a guy like Demo who has so much potential that we didn't get to see yet it's also going
through a rehab process. What's it like for you to be able to be that big brother for him?
Now?
I mean I knew, like obviously he got he had the chance to, you know, get his feet wet. Obviously he got hurt the Seattle game. But he you know, he comes with a positive attitude every day. You know, obviously I'm I'm a young guy myself, so i can't really sit there like I'm a big brother. But I'm still learning myself too. But I mean it's like he's a great guy man. He's stay engaged.
All the time.
And I remember just it was the Jaguars game and some of the Seattle game from the preseason.
We was just out there just flying around, you know a lot of times.
You remember that.
Yeah, Yeah, we always talk about that. You know.
We like obviously, you know, things happened for a reason, and you know, we both just super excited for this year just to go out there and just you know, just ball out together, you know, and that's obviously, like that's the biggest thing. That's what that's what we want to do, you know. And like you said, his season got cut short and he could have easily wavered, but he took it under the ten and he just like, Hey, I'm gonna do whatever it is that I gotta do.
He still came to meetings last year when he still was standing gage, and he come every day and he ready to work every day.
Love that, Yeah, I got something for you demon and that is right now, Cowboys Nation.
Demoralized.
That might be a little strong, but you see all of these players that we're losing in free agency and Tyrone and you know, Layton and Michael Gone and so.
Many Hankins and Dante and Durrance.
Or so.
What do we have to look forward to? What do you feel good about?
I guess what I'm asking you is to talk to Cowboys Nation because right now everyone's ready to jump.
Off the bandwagon. If they haven't already, I.
Say, just be patient. You gotta just trust the process. I mean, I'm I'm in the same boat that everyone else is in. Like, I don't know myself, you know, I don't honestly, I don't be on.
Social media because you know it's yeah, yeah, you're.
Kind of wild on this, so you know I don't.
Yeah, I don't be on social media. So I mean, obviously I see things.
Obviously if someone asked me about it or if someone tell me, you know, that's when I find out a lot of things. So, I mean, my biggest thing for me is just to control the things that I control.
And that's the.
Way I come to work every day. And I mean it's it ain't like within the play a game next week. You know, you gotta just obviously, you got to just trust the process. It's easier said than done, but I mean, you really got to just trust the process.
I mean, this, this is not their first rodeo.
You know, you gotta let My biggest thing, you just let the front office do what the front office do. You know, I don't I'm staying on the player side. I ain't in the front office. I don't get paid to it. I get paid to, you know, be on the player side. So that's the biggest thing that I do. And I mean, I just say, just trust the process, you know. I mean obviously, like we all want to win. You know, I know every player on this team to win. You know, we're gonna do whatever it is that we
have to do. But obviously, you know, it's the off season. You know, it's got a lot of time. We just got like I said, just let the front office do what they do.
We just do what we do.
I've got one final question for you. This linebacker room, there's I would say it's kind of like a little unknown, right. You have Eric Kendricks coming in demo fresh off an injury, first year back, haven't really seen what he can do at the NFL level and you you know, taking on a role as well.
What are you.
Most excited about as far as just in.
That room alone, I said, we all have the will. You know, we all have that will too.
We all want to be great, and we all want to do whatever we can to contribute to the team winning. And you know, I can't sit here and not bring up Marquis Bell.
That's what I'm saying. Just the road that he took on last year.
And just being in uncomfortable situations and him just being the guy that's just going out there and him being the team first guy, and he, i mean, whatever he had to do to help the team win. And I mean, like you say, it's a lot of unknowns in the room, but that kind of goes back to let the front off his.
Work and.
Make it hea he's gonna make something shake.
And it's like, I'm super excited.
You know, obviously it's still it is a lot of unknowns, but I mean you just gotta play the cards that you know at the end of the day too, Like you know, So, I mean I'm super excited. I know the guy is super excited to, you know, get going, and I mean, like you say, we'll see from there. But we got a lot of time, and I mean I'm eager to get started, because the only way to get a bad taste out your mouth is you just gotta gotta turn the page. Obviously, that's something that I'm
telling myself. You gotta turn the page from last year, because I mean, I think think back about last year all the time, but you gotta just turn the page and learn from the mistakes and just don't make those mistakes again.
We're excited to see what you're doing, your three, what the Cowboys do next year. Thank you so much the Moon for joining us and taking the time out to come over here. Girls boys talk, so we're gonna take our second break right back.
Thank you.
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Chesney is bringing his Son Goes Down twenty twenty four tour with the Zach Brown Band and special guests Meghan Morney and Uncle Cracker to at and T Stadium on May eleventh. Tickets are on sale now at sea geek dot com, the official ticketing provider of AT and T Stadium. Funny story, It's not a long story. I don't feel like I'd be sitting here if it wasn't for Kenny Chesney. I'm not kidding.
How's that?
So? I went to his concert at AT and T Stadium two years ago. Rgocho with blogging. The Boys saw a video I had posted of Mike McCarthy, Jason Whitten, and Dak Prescott giving a helmet to a little girl during the concert. It went pretty viral. Reached out to me and because of that I reached out to RJ about a month later to do a job with blogging the Boys. Ended up podcasting with them, and then a month after that, the concept of girls stock Boys Talk
came up. Jane had reached out on social media for women that could talk Cowboys football. RJ threw my name in the hat, and then at that point Kelsey Charles also through my name in the hat. So I'd like to think that Kenny Chesney had.
A little wow. Actually I love that.
It's very weird. It's one of those like, had I not gone to that concert, which I bought the tickets for ten minutes before on sea Geek, the official ticketing provider of Bedells or at and T Stadium, rather, I don't know if I'd be sitting here.
Hey, life is what happens to you while you're making other plans. Yeah, it was fun, good, Absolutely, it's a great story.
We've got a couple of minutes and how cool was that to have demon Oh yeah, does everyone feel a little better, not just kind of in terms of we were saying it's hard to be patient, and he acknowledged as well.
But he's very chill, chill focused.
Surprised.
I was laughing to myself when he because the i'ms over her like the.
Combine be stressful. Well, you were fun if.
You get to spend a couple of months in California getting ready.
I also think he gives you a good perspective.
That's where the team.
Is right now following the loss, and I'm so glad he said, like, look, it's my job to be a player and not dictate what happens in the front office. Yeah, and given do they have another choice? No, But at the same time, he's focused on him and what he needs to do next year. And that gave me a little bit of a hope raise if you will, to know that these guys are focusing on getting that bad taste out of their mouth.
And I love the question that Christy had asked, I mean, how do you even exceed your goals when you were the team's leading tackle list last year? But I mean that just says a lot about the type of player he is right now. He wants to just continue to get better and do whatever it takes to make this team better.
He's a perfectionist.
Like there's times I've went up to him and I'll be like, you're all over the place to game because I'm watching the film.
He's like missed like three tackles, bro And.
It is exciting though, because Mike Zimmer has a way of getting the best out of linebacker corpse.
He's very creative and how he uses his linebackers.
And so I'm excited for him to get teaching. But I meant what I said about the fact that he needs mentorship and he has not really had it consistently. Not again Leyden has been injured and stuff like that. But linebacker is so much up here. Absolutely if you don't have a veteran teaching you, He's learning on the fly, and quite honestly, I think it was December of last year that was considered a full rookie year for him,
So he's still very fresh in this game. Yes, so the addition of Eric Hendricks is very important to the team overall, but I think for him, he truly needs it, and so I'm excited for him. And Demarbion over shown to have someone that's played the game this long around and stuff like that, because that's the thing about he mentioned, Layton's IQ is crazy high. It just was a point where his body was, you know, not allowing him to
do the things that he wanted to do. So I'm i'm I'm excited for the linebacker corps to improve, and I think they know that they have to improve.
The other thing that I really liked what he said was in regards to Zimmer, I like to be coached hard, because I think that's one of the storylines or one of the things that media and fans are talking about this offseason is the old school style hard nose of Mike Zimmer and young players.
You know, you young.
Players this generation. Then you know you can't treat players like that. They don't respond well. Most of the players are like down and that they they they want to be better. And so whether it's from a big brother type mentor Eric Kendricks or Layton Vanderesh type of thing, but specifically a defensive coordinator or an and or position coach to drive you hard. So I think that that what Damon said today dispelled a little bit of that thing about oh coaches and the young players.
They're not going to respond to a guy like Mike Zimmer.
No.
No that the pros, the guys who are truly professional, respond to anyone who can put them, put them in the right spot and help them to improve individually.
A great show.
That's a great show.
Yeah for girls. Boys Talk President Yth thir dating partner the Dallas Cowboys will see how next week.
Wow.
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