The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
Cowboys.
This is Mick shot streaming live on Dallascowboys dot Com and the official Dallas Cowboys at now Here are Bill Jones, Savannah Humoler, Everson Walls, and Mickey Spagnola.
It is a Thursday at the Star in Frisco, inside the SWBC podcast studio, and this is mix shots Bill Jones, Savannah Humoler, Mickey Spagnola and Everson Walls.
Is still on a wall.
A Walls as if you ask me.
We are eagerly awaiting his return one of these days. But in the meantime, we have football players on a football field and we are getting ready for the new England Patriots coming to town on Sunday afternoon, a three twenty five kickoff as the Cowboys wrap up what is essentially the first quarter.
Of the season.
I know we went to a seventeen game season, it's not exactly the first quarter of the season. But in my mind, Mickey, this we conclude the preseason. I know Nate feels the same. Nate and Frisco feels the same.
Way.
We get done with the preseason, regular season games and we really start finding out about this football team.
After four games. And you know, and I was, I was thinking about it the other day. You know, they've only played three games, and it's been kind of blow out save loss, and it seems like every every week, everybody's jumping to conclusions, right, and I'm just try to warn people it's a little too early to come up with these everlasting conclusions for the rest of the season.
It's like, they lose one game. I heard it, you know, on talk radio, and it's like, well, gosh, if they lose to New England, then they lose to San Francisco. They're sitting there at two and three.
Then you get the Chargers after that on the.
Road, right, and if you don't win that game.
Bye week, you may not even win the bye week.
That is there, are they going to make a coaching change?
You know?
And it was like, okay, slow down, let's let the thing play out. That's why you don't get too excited about power rankings, and you know, and one game trends, Let's just let it play out.
As Dion and the Colorado Buffalo is found out.
Yes, last week, you know, it caught up in the excitement and the you know, and then all of a sudden, the rug can be pulled out.
From under you. How is it, Savannah?
Unless you look at the text line, do you get a feel this week for the pulse of the Cowboys fan out there?
I have a feeling we're going to get some rolling in today. We have a couple in the lineup for us.
Right for the text, but just a general feel for fandom out there.
Are they?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, people are excited. We're ready for Sunday. Everyone's curious on a few things for defense and offense for the Cowboys.
So one thing I want to get into a little bit today or special teams. You could play a big factor in this game. We know how big special teams are through the last couple of decades for the New England Patriots, how important they are to the Cowboys as well. But make you bring us up to speed on what we should know as this day begins out on the practice field.
And we got to see the first half hour of practice. Although it's basically individual drills, special teams drills, so nothing of too much significance. But they are in pads and dressed as if they were going to practice in pads where Zach Martin, Tyler Biattish, Chuma Doga no tyrant out there. So that was kind of surprising since he was the one that was closest to seemingly playing on Sunday, taking it all the way to basically hour and a half before the game, and Mike said he would continue to
rehab today. I believe it's a knee.
Is that right, It's a knee.
We have an idea that when it started acting up on I know it was late.
In the week.
I think it was Saturday, so it was the Saturday that easy practice.
This is where, of course.
The Cowboys many teams practice on Friday.
Saturday.
Saturday is off day, travel day if you're.
Playing, basically a walkthrough, and even for the Cowboys, even if they are traveling on Saturday is a workout day, right, And so had the Cowboys not had that type of schedule, it's something they may have found out on Friday.
Earlier and better prepared, but still very late in the week.
So on Wednesday, Zach Martin, Tyler Biattish did not practice and then Ceedee Lamb and DeMarcus Lawrence had a rest day because of their amount of snaps. I guess they've had, but they're out there today. Also, Tuma was listed yesterday as limited, but at least he's back out there. So yeah, the only one missing in action was Tyron Smith at
this point. We'll see where that one goes. I noticed that their new center that they sign to, the practice squad, Billy Price, is in pads and is practicing, so we'll see how much ramp on him he needs.
Don't you think you have a jersey number on Billy?
It's sixty four.
Maybe I'll find out.
Okay, just I don't know if they I don't think they did it in time to make the the.
Ross Rochster on the game release.
Yeah, but I was going to check to see if anybody was sixty four, and I, oh, Bostick is sixty four, so I was looking for a stray number out there.
Oh try from that's right for the preseason, yeah, bosti practice squad, Yes, that's right.
So it's interesting because if if even if Tyler Beattish is ready to go, they need a backup center and they can't elevate brock Hoffman another time. He's already used up his allotted three. So somebody has to be the backup center, and I don't know if it would be Harlow or not, because he's got still three or two more elevations left.
And they seem to like what brock Hoffman did.
Yes, right, sounded any other option.
With brock Hoffman.
You could sign him to the fifty three, right, if he's going to be your backup center, if assuming Beyondish.
Goes, but somebody would have to be right. He really have to make a move. Yes, absolutely so, I mean I guess if you're making moves for backups, you'll probably say, well, I can use somebody else if it's only in a backup roll. If I indeed have confidence that be Oddish with the hamstring, is you know fully good to go. So we'll see where that one hangs out. You mentioned special teams and watching the early kicking drills. For some reason,
Brendan Aubrey was spraying balls today. He usually there's no fade, there's no hook, it's straight down the middle, and on two consecutive kicks he hit the right up right, and then he hit the left up right, and it's like, what are you doing? Uh So, anyway, I just happened to notice that because the kicks all before that were going through, but there was a little hook and fade to him unless he was experimenting.
Yeah, that's what he was doing, Mickey. Yeah, someone challenged him. Let's see, just for grins, can you hook one in can?
Yeah?
Or can you hit the goalposts?
Yeah? Right, I want to.
I want you to hit the upright with this one. Let's just test your accuracy. Well, you know, that was one of the things the game against the Jets. I mean it was just a thing of beauty. Yes, seeing these kicks out high and true, every.
Single one of them.
And even if I mean he.
Was hitting his drive right down the middle every.
Time, it's like, uh yeah, I don't know, because it's like if you were bowling, you would try to hit the one pin to the right in the back, and then you try to hit the one pin to the left in the back. But that's not what you want to do, kicking the floor. No, no, yeah, we're not bullying.
You want a perfect you want a perfect strike every time where you don't leave that.
I want you to hit the head pin right.
So, but speaking of special teams, about we were watching Cavante Turpin out there and man, just the you thought talking about a thing.
Of beauty, that speed that he runs.
I mean, you could just glance out on the practice field and you see a guy running and you oh, that's Cavante out there.
Well, you know what the other thing is Bill The ease he catches the ball with very likely there's no false steps, he gets underneath it. He judges it perfectly like he's playing center field in baseball.
Like he's done this before.
Yeah. Yeah, And so that was that was the downer in the game. When they find got a kick that they could return and then it get a big return and he gets called they get called for holding it the line of scrimmage because you know, generally what's happened is they I don't think they've returned a kickoff yet. They all been touchbacks, and rarely a punt that you're
not calling a fair catch. That this one was in a situation where your guys that were the hold up guys on the gunners did their job and he had an opportunity to return it. And you saw what happens when he can return a punt. As one of the coaches was saying, that boy, when they saw that punt, it was like oh, we're on our tippy toes because here we go, we're going to be able to return this one. And then he does what he did and the unfortunately he gets called back for holding.
By the way, Camante Turpin, it seems like has caught the attention of the opposing head coach and noticed that. Listen to Bill Belichick's press conference to start this week, and he went on and on talking about every aspect of the Cowboys team, and when he got around to special teams in Cavante Turpin. I don't think he mentioned Cavante by name, but he said they've got the best return guy in the league.
Probably that return guy, right, Yeah, but you talk about special teams, and yeah, he's only had three three punt returns, kickoff returns. Somebody must have squibbed one to Lipke because that's the only return they've.
Had, you know.
And the other thing is it's been a product of the blowout wins the first two weeks too, where your fair catch punts when you're up by twenty thirty points anyway, right, you know, there's no reason to risk anything. Just go out there and catch the ball. And so it's just
a small sample size all the way around. New England has the You talk about special teams players, and they've got the premier special teams player in the entire league and maybe in the history of the game as far as guys who cover kicks, and that's Matthew Slater.
Ten time Pro Bowler. Matthew Slater is now thirty eight years.
Old, and he's that old.
Thirty eight years old, fifth round draft pick back in two thousand and eight, So we're talking sixteenth season in the National Football League.
How about that?
And I think Mike was asked a question about, you know, teams actually draft guys for special teams.
Well, Belichick did in two thousand and eight and the fifth round.
Supposedly he did it again this year too, for a couple of guys. And you mentioned Matthew Slater. So the Cowboys had lost those six straight games to New England, and the sixth one they lost thirteen to nine. The only touchdown in that rain, cold day rainstorm was Slater blocking a punt that they recovered at the Cowboys twelve yard line and they went in to score the only touchdown and it was a thirteen to nine game. He was the difference in the ballgame.
You know, one thing I was thinking about with Slater, You take Hall of Fame for a special teams player. I mean, if ever there was going to be no special teams guy. Of course there's been kickers, maybe a return guy. But for a guy who's not a return guy, who's not a kicker, he might be the you know, ten time Pro Bowler if there's ever going to be one. I'll tell you what if Rick Goslin is still involved in the right when in the Hall of Fame selection,
he'll be top of the list on him. I don't know how how quickly a guy like that would get in, but how about that. Imagine that if he were to get in the Hall of Fame, you got a father son duo in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jackie Slatys, his dad, offensive tackle in this league, is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Well, you remember, I think the first time they had a special teamer as a Pro Bowl was Bill Bates and then they they made a spot for it. Yeah, it was like, well eighty three was his rookie year, so it was around eighty four, eighty five something like that that he and now they do pick a special teams guy so.
In taping the Mike McCarthy Show this morning, we were talking about Matthew Slater and then segued over to the Cowboys version of Matthew Slater, who is c J. Goodwin, and coach McCarthy cannot say enough.
Good He had a good game too about Yeah. As a matter of fact, it was CJ. Goodwin's work on the outside that allowed Turpin to get that kick that punt return the way they did so yeah. And by the way, and he made a tackle on the one kickoff that it wasn't a much back. He made the tackle, if I remember.
And by the way, the first big play of the season against the Giants, that was part of the work, even though he doesn't get credit for it because one yea Thomas got the blocked field goal, right, it was c J. Goodwin who whispered in his ear and set it up. Yeah yeah, and said, hey, I go this way, you go that way.
You're going to get this.
Bates was eighty four.
Eighty four, yeah, thirty nine years ago, the first time that they had a special teamer in the.
Pro Bowl, a non kicking special team, right, right, because I guess they used to have to have a deep snapper. I wonder how they judged the deep snap.
Those guys, it seems like they it seems like they around.
It's like they have their own frati. Right, Okay, you you get a Pro Bowl, and you get a Pro.
Bowl, right, you hit a pro go around sort of like they did the previous week with the Special Team's NFC Special Teams Play of the Week. They didn't give it to Aubrey for kicking you know, five field goals. They gave it to a punterd at four punks.
You know.
I just remember this.
There used to be you know, prior to the Pro Bowl was played in Hawaii for years, but prior to that it was played in different stadiums here in the mainland, and one year it was at Texas Stadium. In nineteen seventy three, I went to the game three or seventy four.
I remember going to the game.
But I remember Walk Garrison telling the story he was like on the Pro Bowl Taxi squad just in case, in case somebody came up a lame they because he was in town. He was like, okay, and he might have got added to the team. I have to look it up. In seventy three when the Pro Bowl was played here. I think he was either at the game or at least hanging out at practice that week just
in case somebody got hurt and he needed to be added. Well, it came to him and said, hey, we need somebody and Kate, we gotta have enough running backs for this game.
And that was kind of funny.
Yeah, he didn't make it in.
Seven, Okay, all right? Did he make it any year?
I thought he made it one year. He had a bunch of rushing yards, but just but I yeah, I don't think. I don't see that he made it.
All right, we have much to get to as the Cowboys get set to take on the Patriots, and we're back with your text and our phone lines open at eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven when we come back in a moment, I'm.
Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
And they snapped the press guy who looks right, it's not there.
He escapes left, he'll.
Run for a pers down.
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The Medal of Honor is our country's highest military award for valor in combat. More than forty million individuals have served in the armed forces since the Civil War. Fewer than four thousand have received the Medal of Honor. The National Medal of Honor Museum will be a place to preserve these legacies and inspire America. It's being built right next door to the Dallas Cowboys in Texas. Help us honor our country's greatest heroes. Learn more and get involved at mohmuseum dot org.
Cowboys Football and Miller Lite.
What a pairing can cracks a kickoff tailgates going way past postgame Sunday night overtimes, followed.
By Monday Morning Swagger, Brisket and the Smoker.
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Sports Savvy on Twitter or on X that's right with an extra y in there and there.
You know the underscore was taken on X or Twitter, So yes, it's a it's in the second y.
So there you go.
If you have any difficulties finding Savannah on X, oh really yeah, Okay, May hasn't looked for you. No, I already already already already followed you didn't notice the extra y savvy yea.
By the way, yes, Michael Parson's NFC defensive player of the month, not the week, the month.
And it was a great line by Mike McCarthy during the press conference too. He was also the defensive player of the month and training camp.
Yeah, that's right, that was that's right. Matter of fact, I wrote that. Doubt I forgot he said that. Yeah, that was good.
And by the way, the defensive Rookie of the Month is coming to AT and T Stadium.
As well, the AFC guy.
It was described as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month.
And it was Christian Zalas from the Colony, the colony right down the rookie.
Actually he started.
He was at Carrollton Creek View, who's not known for the football prowess, and wound up at the Colony and it's a very athletic family.
They developed that quarterback.
Try blow, Yeah, I tried. He's from Creek View.
He was the guy Purdue, right, that's right. I told you that story. Uh, Purdue was getting ready to play Missouri and I went up to Anthony Brown, who went to Purdue. Yes, and I said, so what do you got? You got a quarterback? And he goes, yeah, I don't know about this team and I'm not sure about the quarterback. Well, the quarterback threw for five hundred yards.
On Monday.
I went back and I said, you better be a good player because you're a bad scout.
And by the way, you mentioned Anthony Brown. I remember last week we were talking about Anthony Brown getting released by San Francisco before there Thursday nine, and he got resigned the next day, right, So we might be seeing Anthony Brown next week when the Cowboys play the Niners. Right.
So all right, So question for you guys is Cowboys coming off a loss. What do you think? What do you think is going through their brain right now?
Sevana? What do you think?
You know?
I sat in on the press conference today with Mickey, and I feel like the emphasis that coach McCarthy was trying to make was them developing their system to be better in the red zone. I think that they are focused on that at the current moment, making sure we are efficient in the red zone, you know.
And it would certainly help if you can get you know, you're not playing with three fifths of backups on your offensive line. Once you get to the red zone, as we talked about yesterday. The good thing is is they gotten there more than any other team in the league fifteen times. The downside is you got to convert and they haven't done that. But I think with if they can at least get two of those guys back, then you know, I think you got a better chance to
run the ball in the red zone. But what is the irony of that that they struggled in the red zone getting into the end zone? And who should show up the next week but Ezekiel Elliot? How does that happen? Of course, It's just amazing. And that was one of the things Bill, you and I were harping on even in training camp about you know, his a Bill and
I went back and looked at it. Twelve touchdowns, Ten of them came in the in the in the red zone, nine of them, nine of them were one yard runs one or no, there was a two yard run and then eight one yard runs for touchdowns. Just amazing. How they didn't have to push him in either. He ran in on his own.
We have a phone call if we want to take it, Mickey permission.
Make sure, it's a good one. Okay, we're going to find out. We are going to find out rushers on.
Chris in San Angelo, Texas.
Hello, good to talk to y'all. Hope y'all are all doing well. Hey, I was just wondering, it's kind of an off the wall question. Whenever with all the ex Cowboys that are in broadcasting at calling games with Romo, Apeman, Moose, et cetera, do y'all get to have much correspondence with them whenever they make it into town.
Oh, that is a good question.
We will.
I mean, Aikman lives here, Moose lives here, Romo lives here. But when they come in to there, here's the difference interviews.
What we used to have better access to them when they came in to do their pregame interviews and stuff than we do here at the Star, just like we used to have better access to all the coaching staff. I was thinking about that today at Valley Ranch. Literally members of the media would walk down the hallways through the coaches office area to get to the Cowboys TV broadcast area. I was thinking about it today because Mike McCarthy, before taping the show Isaiah Standback was in there. You know,
Isaiah played with the New England Patriots. And so I mentioned to McCarthy that Isaiah and I were reminiscing about his time with the Patriots. He was in the same quarterback room. Bill O'Brien was the quarterbacks coach and Isaiah was actually playing quarterback and receiver for the Patriots with the Tom Brady in there and so forth. And so McCarthy said, so were you there before they built their new training center and so forth? And you see that was before that. And he said, man, they got a
nice training center. And McCarthy's talking about he's big on the functionality of the workplace and so forth. And I was like, well, good thing you weren't here at Valley Ranch because you would had media members outside your office.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, I think they finally cut that out.
The media members, but there were media members like me who are also doing stuff for Cowboys TV.
I could walk through.
Yeah, right, So anyone who had any business with Cowboys TV. In the back we had to go through the hallway, or you got to go through the hallway where the coaches offices were, and if you might be able to eavesdrop on some conversations going on as you went there, or we also shared the same restroom, and so there are great opportunities in the restroom to find out the game plan for this week. But to answerr quest, but
that gets back to your question. When the network TV crews come in here, they are on the football side of the operation doing their pregame interviews and stuff, so they're able to talk to coaches and players and stuff.
Well, we don't see.
Them because they're on the other side of the building, which might as well be a mile away, right, Mickey, Well.
I can remember walking through those hallways and hoping that if I needed to talk to like a position coach, that they would see me walking by and say hi, which would be the opening to ask whatever questions, right, And you know, it could be off the record, and that's fine, but knowledge is golden. You don't always have to say who you got it for or quote them accurately. Just know what's right and what isn't. So, yeah, that
was a different day in time, you know. Heck, Bill, if you remember, I think until gosh, maybe the mid to late nineties, our media offices were right by the player entrance and they had to walk by us to come in and walk by us to leave.
So you saw Troy leaving for the day, you just caught him out of the corner of your eye. You can you could follow him out to his truck if you had any question you wanted to clean up, and he would oblige to.
Or Michael Irvin would walk by and he'd see you in there and he'd come and sit in the chair because he wanted to be s right.
Are such great days.
And you can tell if somebody walked out with crutches or a boot on their foot, you could see all that.
Yeah, well it was ordinary that if Troy got banged up in a game on Sunday. Okay, this is the kind of access we had in the media back then. The players parking lot we parked in the player's parking lot we had, I mean, we'd go park wherever you
want to on the premises there at Valley Ranch. And so if Troy got banged up in a game on Sunday, we would be out there with a TV crew a TV camera in the parking lot waiting for Troy to arrive so that we could get footage of Troy lipping into the practice facility.
That day.
That's the kind of access that we had. And Troy was great too. It wasn't like we were intruding in his you know, personal space or anything. You know. It was part of it, like a tough day at the office and got to get in here and get this freehab going.
You know.
Yeah, And unfortunately, now, to answer Chris's question, when those guys come in here for their kind of pregame interviews with the coach and several players, they do it over on the other side of the building where we wouldn't even know that they were there if it wasn't during open locker room.
That's right.
So yeah, it's a little different.
By the way, before we go to break here, you mentioned David Blough, the quarterback who's sort of a journey and now out of Carlton Creek View.
He got released by Arizona.
That's right, And it was interesting that you would mention him right after I mentioned Christian Gonzales. You know why that is interesting, tell me because David blou is married to Christian Gonzalez's sister.
What. Yes, I think I knew that.
Yes, I think you probably knew that, And that was where the connection first. It was because of Carlton Creek View High School, even though both that it ended there before Gonzalez transferred to the colony. But Christian Gonzalez's sister was an Olympic sprinter for their native country Columbia. She's
a Colombian American. And you recall in the Olympics when he was with Detroit, right, that was part of during the Olympics, the Lions team, they were all watching her cheering her on in the Olympics.
Well, that was part of when they were on.
Yeah, probably a hard, hard.
Nineties, right, And so that was an episode.
Yeah, So that was why you thought it, David, Yeah, that was why you thought Itavid blow As I was talking about Christian Gonzalez, I just.
Had to connect the dots last small world.
I would have brought it up at the time that you mentioned it, yeah, but I wanted to make sure that was right, so I had done to double check first.
Okay, we continue with more mix shots in just a moment.
The Medal of Honor is our country's highest military award for valor in combat. More than forty million individuals have served in the armed forces since the Civil War. Fewer than four thousand have received the Medal of Honor. The National Medal of Honor Museum will be a place to preserve these legacies and inspire America. It's being built right next door to the Dallas Cowboys in Texas. Help us honor our country's greatest heroes. Learn more and get involved at mohmuseum dot org.
Cowboys Football and Miller Lite would a pairing can Crack's a kickoff tailgates going way past postgame Sunday night overtimes.
Followed by Monday mornings.
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I'm Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
And they snapped the fresh guy who looks white. It's not there. He escaped, flapped. He'll look for a French down.
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You know that sound anywhere.
It's the crisp crunch, that first nacho chip with its perfect cheese to sour cream ratio sitting atop a layer of delicious beans. It's a sip away from perfection. That's what we're looking for at a delicious, refreshing pepsi, and we've achieved absolute nacho nirvana because while you can pile those nachos high with every spicy, cheesy, savory topping, there's no topping a cool pepsi. Finish nachos better with pepsi.
That's what I like.
Shots.
Let's play in this game. There's a position for everyone, no matter who you are. Flag is your chance to run, throw, jump, and fly. This is your chance to get involved in the action and join the flag football movement. Learn more and find a league at nflflag dot com.
All right, very good, Mickey, would you have played flag football back in your day?
Now you played? You played center on your football team, right, some guard.
Tell guard, Yeah, I was on the team.
They gave me a flag football. Would have if there was flag football back in the day, you would.
Have innermural ATURI yeah, I played.
Yeah, that's flag football.
Yeah exactly, middle linebacker you did, Yeah, because.
I'll do very quick. Yeah, we made the playoffs. Okay, as a matter of fact, since you asked, Since your dorm team.
My sophomore year, our dorm floor won the all around dorm innermural title. They kept points for everything you did. And I was the captain of the floor, by the way, I bet you were.
Did you get any any type of a plaque?
You got a plaque and it's still up in the hallway at the Bates floor in the Foe the Faux hall.
For some reason that I don't think, Mickey doesn't seem like the type that would be in a fraternity in college.
You are in a rat, right.
I wouldn't have made it one day in rush.
Or well, I don't think you would have made it in rush.
No one would have extended an offer to you, and I don't think you would have made it through Hazy.
They tried that. They tried that our freshman.
You would have been the prime guy there. Hazing though, I tell you that much.
They tried that our freshman year in the dorm, and we had an incident and we made sure we had retribution for them. We were no freshmen.
Oh my, all right, the Patriots coming in here. Their offense has struggled this year. Then the quality of the opposition has been strong with Philadelphia and Miami the first two weeks by Jets defense last week. But they're trying to figure out how to get things untracked offensively.
And especially the passing game. Yes, I think that has been the huge concerns.
Because Bill Ryan coming in there, that was supposed to turn things around with Mac Jones.
Well, they've scored passing offense twenty seventeen and fifteen and if I remember correctly, but I'll double check it real quick. In the NFL stats, their passing offense has been averaged. They're actually no, they're eleventh ranked in yards game passing, which is weird because the story.
I was thinking maybe they get a lot of yards between the twenties and they have some red zone issues.
Yeah, they were thirty second in the league in red zone offense last year.
By the way, Oh they couldn't run it. Well, now they got Zeke's they worry about that. Which, by the way, I didn't get to hear the whole conference call with Zeke yesterday. He was pretty good as usual, right, talking about it's be a little emotional coming back and he couldn't wait to be in front of the fans, and talked about his days with the Salvation Army and helping. Ask if the earth.
They've already set up the red kettles yet?
Yeah, No, he knew that that wasn't there. But wouldn't that be something if an opposing player jumped into the red kettle?
Would be yes, I think you don't want to have happened.
He would be the one to do it, by the way. But yeah, it was good he talked about you know, it didn't sound like there was any animosity or you know, he understood the business of the whole deal, and you know, he got picked up. I think it was I think I looked it up August sixteenth, so probably right at the end of training camp when they signed him, and I would imagine they give him a little bit of a load to go with Stevenson, right.
Well, he's gotten a little bit of more of a load as we've gone along here. And as you mentioned, coming into camp mid August ramp up period, Romandre Stevenson coming off a one thousand yard season averaging five yards of carry last year, and Remandre is at two point nine yards.
Of carry this year.
And Zeke had seven carries five receptions in their opener against Philadelphia, also had a costly fumble that led to points for Philadelphia in the first quarter of that game. And then against the Dolphins he just had five carries, and then against the Jets he had sixteen carries for
eighty yards plus a catch. And so he said one hundred and twenty two yards on twenty eight carries through the first three games, which kind of mirrors what Pollard did in one game against Arizona on Sunday, he had one hundred and twenty two on twenty three carries.
I think, yeah, absolutely, And you know, it's been kind of a rare occurrence to have a prominent former player come back or at least play against the Cowboys again. I started looking at it and I saw a couple off the top of my head, Terrence Newman. After the Cowboys released him, he ended up playing against the Cowboys with Cincinnati and then Minnesota. DeMarco Murray ended up playing against the Cowboys with Bill Philly, and then he went
to Tennessee, I believe. And of course EMMITTT. Smith came back with the Arizona Cardinals. Remembery he got hurt. They I forgot who hit somebody hit almost broke a bone in his scapular or something like that, almost twenty years ago to the day of Zeke's return. Now, Zeke, it'll be October first. Emmett it was October fifth, two thousand and three, right, and twenty four to seven Cowboys win. Did you happen to look up the stats for Emmett in that well, he got hurt boys, so.
Okay, before he got hurt. If you happen to look at hell, I did like.
What he added to his NFL leading right title.
He did not add.
He did not add to his rushing title that day he had six not that day, No, he didn't. He had he subtracted from it. Right, He had minus one yard on six and he had two receptions for two yards in a twenty four to seven loss.
But prior to that, I think he had some yardage probably playing for the Cardinals.
It was.
Not much, not much.
And then he did come back late in the season and not much late in the season either. He wound up that season with two hundred and fifty six yards averaging two point eight yards of care.
Now that's two hundred and fifty six more than somebody else is going to have.
To overcome, right now, that's true.
Now did add to his total for the and for Zeke they will have, I'm told, a video tribute.
So that is what Jerry was alluding to, and he was asked about it.
Well, I mean it was obvious, right, they were going to do that. I don't think it was a huge secret or anything.
You remember what they did for Emmett.
I do not.
I don't either, So, but it's twenty years.
How many years ago? Did you say it? By the way, twenty years ago? There's many games, right, Yeah, that's right.
The other thing though, when you look at the Patriots rushing offense, which has been their strength. You've seen the stat totals from that Arizona game and the amount of yards that the Cardinals got outside the tackles. Yes, as compared to within the tackles, Zeke is not the type to go outside. Romandre Stevenson is more of a between
the tackles runner as well. You would think things set up a little bit better to stop the run against the Patriots than it did against the Cardinals team which features a quarterback that can run that zone read well.
The amazing thing is Stevenson is only averaging two point nine yards of carry well, Zeke's averaging four to four and Mac Jones for eight. I didn't want to see Jones quarterback come back in here and run against the I don't think he's a threat album.
So yesterday when we talked about Zeke coming back and we're thankful that the Red Kettle was not out there. Fun fact, but Seattle corner Justin Coleman jumped into the Red Kettle in twenty seventeen at AT and T Stadium after an interceptions. So although we don't have the red cattle sound fact.
That is not a fun fact.
It's an interesting that's a fun fact.
So Zeke wouldn't be the only one if it were out there. But it's not out there, so it's not going to happen on Sunday.
You know, Zeke ran for the yards he ran in.
What we remember about him has not so much to do with him running the football as it's jumping in the kettle or it's the feed.
Me being the locker room clown, you know what. That's what you know. They I can't remember who said it. It's like, yeah, his name comes up all the time, and it's usually something to laugh about, like in the locker room, right, He's always doing something. Michael Gallup was talking a lot about how Zeke took him under his wing as a rookie and would invite him out to the house or invite him to go out to dinner
and just kind of show him the rope. So, uh, you know, I think because of when he got here and that second year legal stuff, I think people got a you know, a different perception of who Zeke was or who he really was, because towards the end he really loosened up and started doing stuff in the community, and he was a and and and McCarthy said it. He was a great locker room presence for the Cowboys.
So if Micah tackles Zeke, does he do the feed the lion?
That'll be a good one. And and and Micah said, uh, he said, I can't wait, So it'll it'll be It'll be a good meeting. And I'm sure hopefully they don't fake it to him because Parsons wants us so badly tackle Zeke that he never got a chance to do it that the quarterback pulls it down and runs around the edge for forty running as far as they won't have to have Doron Bland chase him down to save the Actually he saved the touchdown and they turned that possession into three points.
Instead of a touch it was a four point play.
Yeah. Absolutely, but it's going to be fun on Sunday.
Just and the thing with Zeke, he's good. He has that sort of a mischievous personality.
Yes, you know, absolutely, And I.
Do think that the big contract is another thing that.
Worked against him as far as the perception of him amongst some fans out there that they're spending so much money on a running back.
If he didn't have the big contract.
Ten point nine million base that.
You know, and his production did go down, there wouldn't be as much as as much negative.
But just remember by releasing him, they are still like five million dollars against the salary cap this year and I think it's eight next year.
He counts more against the Cowboys cap this year than the Patriots.
Absolutely, So unless he, I guess, hits all his incentives or something, maybe it'll go up. But because he had a four million dollar base, because we were talking about.
Two, you know, two and insight, and I think like if the Cowboys were interested in and I've got it down as a one year three million plus plus three million in incentives.
So if he hit all those incentives, six a little over what the Cowboys charge is absolutely.
Okay, Savannah, you're ready for your picks tomorrow. You gotta be ready for Hi.
I'm ready orrels Friday. It's a fabulous football Friday. This is where we make our picks. Our picks to click. Come in here with a score and the tryers going.
To be the homework.
And the pod pick too.
We got a pod pick and we don't know what that that's all, but that's like a pop quiz. The pod pick.
We don't know until that's a last minute.
We don't We don't know.
Until the producer Supreme tells us in our ear that Okay, your pod pick is this, so be prepared.
It could be anything, all right.
So that does it for a Thursday edition of Mixed Shots. Thanks to all of you for joining us today and we will chat at you again tomorrow at high noon.
Go Cowboys.
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