Mick Shots: Matching The Bucs - podcast episode cover

Mick Shots: Matching The Bucs

Dec 19, 202446 min
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Episode description

This will be the biggest challenge the Cowboys have faced in the past month, and knowing Tampa Bay needs to keep wining to remain in first place in the NFC South. A good injury update, what happens at the other cornerback spot and the need to ride Rico.

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Transcript

Speaker 1

The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.

Speaker 2

Cowboys.

Speaker 1

This is nick Shots, streaming live on Dallascowboys dot Com and the official Dallas Cowboys Act. Now Here are Bill Jones, Everson Wolves, and Mickey Spagnola.

Speaker 3

And it's time for a Thursday edition of Mixed Shots. Everson Walls with his early Christmas gift, a cowboy blue sweater that he's dying today. There are football players on a football field, and we're getting excited about Christmas weekends.

Speaker 2

Man, nice little top.

Speaker 4

It's kind of greenish.

Speaker 3

Shit. I didn't want to bring up the fact that you're not wearing any school colors today, Mickey.

Speaker 5

No one's playing, is there other than high schools?

Speaker 4

No, that's right, but I mean your cowboy colors.

Speaker 5

You said school colors.

Speaker 4

Yeah, well it's.

Speaker 5

My school colors.

Speaker 2

Someone played last night, Yeah they did?

Speaker 4

Yeah, U l V against.

Speaker 5

Cal I missed that they won.

Speaker 6

I must admit.

Speaker 4

We can talk some college basketball if you'd like, we can. Uh huh, that's right.

Speaker 6

I'm not ready for college basketball.

Speaker 7

I think he wants to talk that because Oklahoma the big When.

Speaker 5

Did they beat the number one team? In the nation.

Speaker 4

They beat Michigan.

Speaker 3

I don't know what they're ranked, but Oklahoma just might be the number one team in the nation before you know it when.

Speaker 5

They got to play Missouri twice.

Speaker 2

So be careful, you guys.

Speaker 5

They beat Kansas with rank number one. Okay, guys missed that?

Speaker 4

Are they unbeaten?

Speaker 5

One loss?

Speaker 4

Well, use unbeaten?

Speaker 3

So they Okay, that's gonna be a showdown, all right, But we have football players on a football fee yield.

Speaker 5

Hopefully there's enough for football here today.

Speaker 6

Bags is out there trying to count to see who's missing.

Speaker 4

So who's missing?

Speaker 5

He had six missing and it was only a walkthrough, so we know Diggs is out, Tuma was out with an ankle. Eric Kendricks was personal rests. So I'm not worried about that. The one that I think may it be a concern is Misy Smith with a back because they brought back Justin Rogers today. Justin Rogers seventh round draft choice. He was on a I think he was on practice squad and they signed him to the fifty three really defensive.

Speaker 3

Tackles to tackle the old defensive tackle out of Auburn.

Speaker 5

Were talking about that yesterday. No depth is kind of out there by himself.

Speaker 3

Will McClay had that in his hip pocket, right, that was whenever the need arose, they would go to the Justin Rodgers Bank well Man.

Speaker 5

And if you think about it, when you sign somebody off the practice squad, you owe them three games they're left, but you all three games and you also are hanging on to their rights going forward. So they could have signed them to a two year deal.

Speaker 4

That's what they're doing.

Speaker 3

Yeah, So which attracted because it's also Justin Rogers decision whether he accepts an offer from the Dallas Cowboy the other team.

Speaker 4

That's right.

Speaker 3

So now you get down to the last three games and here you go, you make that move and you fortifying yourself for the future too.

Speaker 5

And they're yeah, and all you got to do is sign them.

Speaker 4

To because you got that seventh round draft pick back. That's right.

Speaker 5

Thought of it that way. That's that's like when you know when they signed Cavante Turpin not knowing what he was he signed a three year deal, right, and it's like I know his agent and so I told him, what are you doing after he's Rookie of the Year, and I'm figuring, Okay, he's up for a big payday, and my buddy goes, well, when no one's knocking at your door and you didn't like play again in college and you get an opportunity, you basically sign whatever they offering.

Speaker 3

Right, And he's still even though he came into the league ladies, still falls into the category of the he hadn't put in the time to earn for his agency yet.

Speaker 4

Until this fourth year.

Speaker 5

So now he'll be restricted this coming year. Which sometimes they signed those guys early and gave them a little signing bonus.

Speaker 6

I think that should be part of the practice. I don't like wait until the last minute. I don't like how we did it this year. I know it was all kinds of circumstances that go with that, but time, I mean, just needs to be a little better. That way, you don't put yourself in the bind. Try and stay away from that if you can in some way.

Speaker 5

Well, I think they've got a better idea of where they are against a very tight salary cap that's getting tighter next year. But they've already taken care of two of those big contracts and now Micah with its fifty year options, is going to be twenty some million, right, so they know that for sure, and they know that what the quarterback is, and they know what the wide receiver is. And I don't know that they've got another

big ticket item they got to worry about. But they got to worry about would you like to bring Osa back? Would you like to bring Rico back? So those are things you got to take care of. And when you're a restricted free agent, you have the right of first refusal.

Speaker 4

Right, what year is Tyler Smith now in this league? So he should the third year.

Speaker 3

It's just this is just so it won't be long and you'll have a Tyler Smith decision to make.

Speaker 6

Yep.

Speaker 5

Absolutely, I mean it's just ongoing exactly.

Speaker 2

There's always gonna be that, right.

Speaker 5

You just got to hope the salary cap keep going up.

Speaker 6

You're right, because the salaries are going up and they are making money. They are not going to pay anybody they can't pay. It's not like, oh, well we're going to go into Hawk for this guy. That is not happening. They it's just a matter of getting it done. You gotta be strategic about it. But the money is there if you're strategic about how you do it.

Speaker 5

And the other thing Jordan Lewis was going back to the injuries. Was limited yesterday with the elbow, but he said he's good to go, So that helps out of.

Speaker 6

That.

Speaker 2

DB's what tough man.

Speaker 5

But the strange one did I mention? I didn't mention the other corner the starters, right, the other corner? Uh, I thought he was out with an injury.

Speaker 4

Not there.

Speaker 5

They wanted to see Andrew Booth out there. Really, I hope they saw enough. Sorry, So basically you're saying not a man of the guy.

Speaker 3

But but but that also tells you they had seen enough of a rearer in that game, right yeah.

Speaker 5

Right, yeah, kind of half the time.

Speaker 3

Uh huh man, So that's that's six significance of that.

Speaker 5

We never talked about that, did we, Well you we we we uh No, we talked about the other play that he made, right, We.

Speaker 2

Didn't talk about the one that.

Speaker 5

That was so and from your standpoint, when you're on the outside like that and your guy cuts breaks in, you got to take the other guy that's breaking out.

Speaker 2

Well right, Well, I don't think it was a man to man situation.

Speaker 5

No, it wasn't.

Speaker 6

Yeah, it was just like you kind of match up in a match up his own situation.

Speaker 5

So you got to take the guy that comes into your area, right.

Speaker 2

But your area is way then got up here.

Speaker 4

You gotta carry him way back.

Speaker 6

All the way back there. Yeah, what your area? It starts at the goal line and you come up. And I don't think.

Speaker 4

It's like when you're taking the trash out to the curb.

Speaker 3

You don't stop at the if you got to go all the way to the curb, you don't stop at the flower bed and drop it off there.

Speaker 2

Got it right, you gotta put it in the bin.

Speaker 4

Yeah, the bend is back there.

Speaker 2

You gotta put it in the.

Speaker 5

Bed because the carbage man's coming up.

Speaker 6

So I don't know what he was thinking, but man in the situation like that, And let's just hope he's one of those guys, because I know I was. Once you get me, you're not gonna get me with the same thing anymore. So let's hope he's. I mean, he's been there long enough to I think that's his deal. So we got to have it booth out there. We took care of the specialty was the wait before. Now we took care of this, so we're not.

Speaker 2

Gonna get him. Those two things are never gonna happen again.

Speaker 4

That's right, what's gonna happen?

Speaker 2

No, we can't have those.

Speaker 6

You know, it's kind of hard to anticipate problems that you just assumed that you wouldn't know, right, I would anticipate that you're not going to line up deep and stay deep.

Speaker 2

That's just you on me once for me once. Damn, I was stupid.

Speaker 6

That's what that is.

Speaker 4

That's what that is, all right, mickey.

Speaker 3

Well, we got the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolling in here, and they are rolling in here. They've won four straight games. Their offense is averaging thirty one points a game. Baker Mayfield, according to the head coach, is playing as well as he's seen him play in his career, and goes all the way back to seeing him at Lake Travis High School where his the coach's daughter was a few years ahead of Baker. But he's familiar with Lake Travis High School and there, of course, Garrett Gilbert was there.

Speaker 4

He had him, of course, but.

Speaker 5

A lot of quarterbacks came out all Austin.

Speaker 4

That's right.

Speaker 5

So it's a weird season for them. They start off well, they lose four straight and now they've won four string. But there's a caveat there. They've beaten the two and twelve Giants, the three and eleven Panthers, the two and eleven Vegases, and the Chargers who are eight and six, So I give them that one. Now, that last win that was that.

Speaker 6

Was I don't know if that means that they figured things out, because if you're going to be trending up with this is the best time to do it, right this time of year. You don't want to go in with any question marks. But having said that, you're ramping up with these average teams and now you beat a team like the Chargers. I don't know if I want to put the Chargers up there as an elite type of team in the league right now. But that was a big win now, and the way they did it was very impressive.

Speaker 3

So it's kind of like the Cowboys, like they got wins in the same stretch. They got wins over the Giants and the Panthers, which is the same as the Buccaneers, right, and the only difference.

Speaker 5

And they beat Washington.

Speaker 3

They beat Washington, which is the equivalent of beating the Chargers, right, So you're looking they lost to Cincinnati, which would have been instead Tampa Bay gotta win over Vegas.

Speaker 5

That loss is going to come back to them.

Speaker 6

It is that freaking punt see punt man, you know.

Speaker 5

And the other thing they've done well too winning those games is they've only in those four consecutive wins that they've only given up sixty points. So my math tells me that's fifteen points a game. That's pretty good.

Speaker 2

Who do we owe that to? Do you think, Michael Parsons.

Speaker 5

No, I met Tampa Bay.

Speaker 3

So their average margin of victory the last four games is about thirty one to fifteen.

Speaker 5

Sounds that way, especially when you put up a forty, right. So yeah, I think Mike McCarthy said this is a big challenge, and I agree with him because they are playing well offensively and defensively. You know they're gonna find they're gonna meet the NFC Defensive Player of the Week with Levonte David is that is one hundred and three tackles already.

Speaker 3

You know who has the most solo tackles among active players of the National Football League right now with.

Speaker 4

Eleven hundred, is it David? That would be Levante David.

Speaker 5

Really, he has one hundred tackles, I believe I saw this in their notes. Eleven straight times, eleven seasons in a row with one hundred.

Speaker 3

Tackles, second round draft pick in twenty two twelve.

Speaker 5

With at least one hundred how many season eleven?

Speaker 4

Damn he came in the league in twenty twelve.

Speaker 3

So this is he's been here forever, thirteenth years out of Nebraska. He was with he played for Nebraska when Nebraska was good. Yeah, it's a long time ago.

Speaker 5

I get back there with Johnny Fuss State. Yet is its giving again?

Speaker 2

Right? You know?

Speaker 6

This team, the Cowboys team, Yeah, what Tampa is.

Speaker 2

They've been that before.

Speaker 6

They have been that team that's gotten on the road. Baker Mayfield has really been consistent with him. You know, he's had some some inconsistencies, but overall, you know what you're gonna get with Baker. He's gonna come out just really trying his hardest and you're gonna get your best from him. And there's sometimes when you might see greatness from Baker Mayfield. But this Cowboys team, with the running game that they have and the way this defense is playing,

it can be probably the best team that we've had. Uniquely, I'll put it like that. In quite some time. I'm not talking about the quarterback position.

Speaker 5

Just despite all the injuries and what we've come.

Speaker 6

Through and now with what our game plan is, our game plan is not to come out dak CD. It is not that our game plan has come out of hitching the mouth right now on both sides. On both sides and the way we're running that ball, No one's really that comfortable with us the way we're running the ball, and I know the teams aren't that great, but we did what we were supposed to do, which at times is a miracle for us doing what we're supposed to

do to win the game. And we've done that, i'd say, especially the last three weeks.

Speaker 3

The Cowboys went through a stretch of the season where they had to be like five straight g games against what were then division leaders, and then they've gone through a stretch of about four games where they haven't faced division leader. Well now they're back playing a division leader this week in Tampa Bay and then a division leader next week in Philadelphia. So we're going to find out a lot more about where this Cowboys team is.

Speaker 2

That's what I talked about yesterday.

Speaker 6

You know, this Tampa team coming in here, that's usually the teams, the type of teams that really put us in our place. They've done that in the past.

Speaker 5

Well, if you look at that five game stretch, so Detroit first place.

Speaker 4

Well in Pittsburgh before that, won that game.

Speaker 5

Yeah, Pittsburgh now now San Francisco fell off, Atlanta second place, Philadelphia first place, and Houston still hanging in the first.

Speaker 3

And Atlanta was a first place team when they played when they played, and Houston's won their division.

Speaker 6

Yeah, so that was that was Atlanta's last good game.

Speaker 5

That was the stretch. Ye guts because think about it after Pittsburgh, we forget they were three and two.

Speaker 6

So but like I said, it's it's our style of play exactly. It's very different. Now we're not throwing the ball.

Speaker 2

We are a basically a run first team.

Speaker 6

I don't think I've ever I can't remember us being a run first team in a long time. We'll find winning while doing it, winning while doing.

Speaker 5

Now, going up against this defense, will find out if they can.

Speaker 6

Interesting is even if I'm an offensive lineman, if I'm an offensive coach, let's see what's.

Speaker 2

Going to happen.

Speaker 6

We're going to continue to do what we do.

Speaker 3

The interesting thing about it is even after Dak got hurt in the Atlanta game, it took like three games before the Cowboys figured out that, okay, we need to run the ball.

Speaker 4

Rather first, rather than pass the ball first.

Speaker 6

And it's helping him out. I mean, it's helping him rush out. He's you know, basically doing what he can and we're living and winning with his limitations.

Speaker 3

Well, the beautiful thing about it too is CDs still getting his numbers nine catches, hundred and sixteen yards and a touchdown with this philosophy, you know, he's benefiting from.

Speaker 6

By the way, So we have to say that the running game is helping him a preparation, right, you don't have the double team. We need that safety down here to plug the run. Now I can work on you one on one, and you know, most likely I'm going to create the separation on a consistent basis.

Speaker 3

And it doesn't mean you're running. An emphasis on the run doesn't mean you're flipping the script and going seventy percent run plays and thirty percent pass plays.

Speaker 4

But we're running passing.

Speaker 6

Leg still a passing league, but we are. We are running and giving our passing game a chance, a chance.

Speaker 5

And it helps when you're not down by twenty points, no doubt immediately.

Speaker 6

And that's what I'm talking about with Michael pass.

Speaker 5

Because I was looking here back everything from a passing that's something when he came back.

Speaker 3

How about this, Since Mike has returned six games, Cowboys lead the league with twenty four sacks and they are third in the league with thirteen takeaways in those six games since Mike has returned. And who has benefited a lot also from that is Osa Digazuli. Take another away from Osa's abilities, but having Micah.

Speaker 4

Back the last seven people in the last.

Speaker 3

Seven weeks, he leads the league with thirty two quarterback pressures.

Speaker 4

Osa does.

Speaker 2

Also since there's got two people blocking block.

Speaker 5

And when you mentioned about running the ball, they had six games already that they attempted at least forty two passes and twice in the fifties, no three times, okay, fifty fifty passing attempts fifty one and fifty six.

Speaker 3

And I think the coaches looked would if they look back at it at the end of it went at the end of the season, they look back at it and they go, we abandoned the run to early youse games there's a certain point in the fourth quarter where you have to avand right right. But and there were third quarters of some of those games.

Speaker 6

That's when the game changed. The third quarters, not the fourth quarters. The third wars coming that have to halftime. All right.

Speaker 3

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Speaker 6

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Speaker 5

Definitely is.

Speaker 3

All right, Look at all that stuff you got in front.

Speaker 4

Of you going next.

Speaker 5

We know Todd Bowles is the head coach, former Cowboy assistant. I think we mentioned Casey Rodgers yesterday.

Speaker 4

Defensive coordinator, Skip.

Speaker 5

Pete running back coach, been with the Cowboys. George Edwards linebackers.

Speaker 3

Who's not only been with the Cowboys, but he was with Mike Zimmer for a year and.

Speaker 5

With the Cowboys twice, by the way, and then they had a offensive assistant backed in Jason's days, Kevin Carberry. He's an assistant over there. Oh and by the way, we also produced two people on Tampa Bay's website, Casey Phillips, Bill knows very well, and it wasn't with us, but she was covering the Cowboys. Briana Dix is one of their writers on Tampa or whatever they call it, Tampa Bay dot com or whatever it is. I just called up.

The two of them were doing a three person kind of talk like we're doing right now and kind of previewing the game, and they were really good at it.

Speaker 3

By the way, Casey Phillips has been good at it, and you know, and she interned here with the Cowboys for a while, and.

Speaker 4

Maybe when she was in high school. I know when she was in University of Missouri.

Speaker 5

But there's the common denominator right there.

Speaker 3

I don't know if it's Missouri or is it South Lake Carrol, because she impressed me so much when she was a student. She's about the same age as my daughter, and she actually started a broadcast club at South Lake Carroll when she was a high school kid, and she played basketball. As a sophomore she made the varsity, So

it's you a good athlete also. But what was cool kind of following her career is Okay, she was to Missouri and then she worked for Disney and worked for the Saint Louis Rams as well as I think the Washington Wizards, and got an opportunity with Tampa Bay.

Speaker 4

But it's just cool when you know it. I was about to say kid, but when she was.

Speaker 3

Who you saw her when she was fifteen years old and she had aspirations to do this, you know. And then she interned at Channel eleven. She entered probably at about every re broadcast entity in Dallas Fort Worth, but that was how committed she was. And then to see her go to Tampa Bay and then they signed Tom Brady and then she's doing interviews with Tom Brady and

Rob Gronkowski. I mean, she's the one that's hosting these and and what was really cool, which when Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl and she did a little selfie from the stands.

Speaker 4

I mean it almost just like.

Speaker 3

I started tearing up watching what you know from yeah, right, right, and uh so anyway, it's it's pretty cool.

Speaker 5

So we'll get to see them because she's like their head TV person on the on their website or whatever other shows they do.

Speaker 6

By way, I wanted them. I think I mentioned it yesterday, but Todd Bowles is a lover of HBCUs. He was at Morehouse after he played his first I believe his first coaching job was a defensive coordinator for Morehouse University HBCU in Atlanta. Not it's not in Florida on Jacksonville State and you've got Grambling State. After that, that's when Doug Williams was the head coach. He had come back for a belief his second stint at Grambling and he

bought tied bowls with him. If I'm not mistaken, that entire coaching staff was pretty famous, guys, you know, because Doug was relying back on his boys back when he played. So yeah, and then after that, that's when he went to the Jets in two thousand, after he left Grambling State. That for those two years in nineteen ninety eight to nineteen ninety.

Speaker 3

Nine, And you're familiar with his son, right, No, Troy Bowles highly recruited linebacker and he was at Georgia and he's in the transfer portal right now.

Speaker 4

So what position? Linebacker? Oh? Okay, of course stud stud linebacker.

Speaker 5

So we got ties with ten.

Speaker 3

When you look at their defense, we mentioned Lavonte David, but their two defensive tackles, Vida Veya and Elijah Cantsey, if they they have combined for twelve sacks, they each have six sacks. Not so not only defending the run, but getting to the quarterback. And with what the Cowboys have going on with injuries in the interior of their offensive line, can be a little bit of a test there.

Speaker 5

As a matter of fact, this is a side note there. So I think at the time it was asked, brock Kauffman was considered the starting center because they didn't know if BB was going to get back, So they asked him, you know, has he studied vide Vea and you know, does he know much about him? And he said, yeah, I was talking to beattish about it, and he was clueing me in on some stuff.

Speaker 6

So how about that.

Speaker 5

He was using his sources to be able to scout having to go up against that.

Speaker 6

Against that exactly right? And It's not just how he looks, it's how he plays. This young man is very he got high motor.

Speaker 5

You better double team him.

Speaker 6

And see, that's the kind of thing that if I'm the offensive line and I'm going up against him, you know, you gotta feel some type of a challenge. I mean not I don't mean just going in there like, oh lord, I'm gonna be right. No, you gotta go in there thinking, man, this is my chance. I gotta show these guys what I could do. No, forget not necessarily him. I gotta show my teammates they can depend on me to play

against a guy like that. I may not be the best guy out here at that position, but I'm going to show you can depend on me. I mean, at one point you have. And that's what we've been seeing. We've been seeing people that you can depend on. We've been seeing dependability. I want that to continue.

Speaker 3

Well, and not just your teammates now, but how about showing this organization going forward, right because there's a you know, we'll see what happens with Zach Martin. He's not obviously he's not playing forever and he's likely going to retire, and so he's not in the contract for next year, and so they've got decisions to make on their offensive line. There's there's openings at the end on that offensive line.

Speaker 2

And the end has been fixed up.

Speaker 6

They've been putting a little little paint on it because we have been really successful at it. So they I'm hoping they go into the game thinking, we're not afraid of you guys. You know, we're going to challenge you because they have people have been running on Tampa. It's not like they've been invincible, and they've been scoring on Like I said, they lost four straight. That had something to do with the defense as well. So we got to find those those those those cracks in the sidewalk.

Speaker 5

He's three forty seven three, and I don't think it's like big sloppy.

Speaker 4

Wait.

Speaker 5

So to me, some owing weight, Yeah, probably stressed, Yeah, I'm talking about yeah, and uh, to me, the offensive coordinators got to figure out we need him going sideways and get the ball out.

Speaker 6

If nothing else, you just want to make sure that he is handled one or two guys. You don't have to blow them off the line necessarily them, just shield them off. You know, let's hit them with some proper plays that can give our offensive line of the chance. You know, they don't have to be to where you have to hold a block that long all the time.

There are schemes to where you can and I know Nate Newton knows I'm talking about to where you can just shield the guy off and the running back's gone, don't I don't see him chasing too many people down from behind.

Speaker 5

He's got nine tackles for losses, but he has six sacks and ten quarterbacks getting in the backfield.

Speaker 3

Right then, the other guy who's only I think he's only played nine games because he was injured earlier. He's got six sacks in nine games and he was a first round draft pick last year.

Speaker 6

So this should be something that they should flish. Let's see what we got, Let's see what we are. Yeah, well that's what I talked about yesterday. Let's see what we are.

Speaker 5

And the fact that those guys have sacks in the middle, that's why you.

Speaker 6

Gots extremely unusual, right.

Speaker 5

You got to make sure.

Speaker 2

Run getting off inside.

Speaker 5

Yeah, make them be run conscious first.

Speaker 3

One other interesting thing that I'll be looking at on Sunday night is so when you look at the center for Tampa Bay Graham Barton. He was a first round draft pick last year, went number twenty six overall, and I know he was on the Cowboys radar and other team's radar dur and at that point in the draft, and the Cowboys had a decision to make on Okay, do we pull a trigger on a player like that and at a position like that, or do we trade down?

And as it turns out, the Cowboys traded down, and then they got Tyler Goyton or left tack five picks later, and they wound up with an extra third round pick getting a center in Cooper b a center of slash guard. We'll see where he winds up eventually in his career, but they get Cooper BB there and so but Graham Barton's doing a really good job for them as a starting rookie center. And their offensive line is they have they've shorted up here in the last couple of years.

They spent a second round pick on their right guard, Cody Mock last year, and they got another first rounder starts.

Speaker 4

At left tackle, Test whorfs in behind them.

Speaker 3

Yeah, so they got they start two first rounders and two second rounders on their offensive line.

Speaker 2

So they don't mind going at them.

Speaker 5

M hm.

Speaker 3

So, and that's what the Cowboys have been trying to do with their offensive line in the draft here in the last few years, with a second rounder or rather a first rounder in twenty twenty two and Tyler Smith first rounder this year who hasn't been ready yet but we'll see where how he progresses.

Speaker 5

And a third rounder. So yeah, yeah, they addressed it. Oh, by the way, before we go to break, they also, by the way, have seven starters listed as not practicing yesterday, so they've got some issues too. But yes, this time of the year, it's like for everybody in the league.

Speaker 4

It's not just the Cowboys that.

Speaker 5

It's it's loading practice, load manager.

Speaker 4

We're deep into the season.

Speaker 3

This is week sixteen, all right, And speaking of that, I need to work on my load management. I just don't feel like I think I need to take a can finish those last ten minutes last and now if we were doing some sort of n season tournament or we had some.

Speaker 5

Money evolved more money than I might.

Speaker 4

I might stick around and play the fourth quarter.

Speaker 3

I'm thinking, you know, I probably didn't save myself because we're going to be back here at ten am tomorrow.

Speaker 5

Right, that's right.

Speaker 4

I'm right.

Speaker 3

So I'm going to bail out and rest up for tomorrow's ten am show, and you two take it the rest.

Speaker 2

I have never bailed on my team.

Speaker 5

Okay, see if anybody from the practice squad walks in.

Speaker 4

Okay, all right, it's got a call out today.

Speaker 3

Yes, as always, you know, listeners, seat swarmed up for you today.

Speaker 2

All right.

Speaker 8

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Speaker 5

All right, And we'll continue on here without Bill Jones, who has another job to take care of and we have one of the multiple multiple people to take care of it. This organization that will continue with Mick shots going forward. The Cowboys getting ready right now out on the field. And as Everson noticed, everybody was standing on the field. Where the sun is that right?

Speaker 6

That's right, No one was in the show.

Speaker 5

A little chili here. You brought this up yesterday and Mike talked a little bit about it today. Carl Lawson kind of showing up, especially in this last game. Yes, something caught your eye for sure.

Speaker 2

No, it's no doubt.

Speaker 6

Well, you know Oga's helping him down there, there's no doubt about it, right, Yeah, having having Micah come back and loss on you know, getting well, he really doesn't get but about fifty percent. Now is he getting more than fifty percent of it's maybe that many, yeah, Yeah, And those two sacks in the against Atlanta.

Speaker 5

He got two sacks against Atlanta, had one sack. He only had one tackle in this game Carolina, but he had a sack, a tackle for a loss, and two quarterback hits he had He played forty four percent of the snaps. Yeah, but you knew he was out there, yes.

Speaker 6

And then you know he's one of those guys he kind of held it down until Michael came back. Yes, you know, and we I mean those those two sacks against the Falcons, that kind of let people know that, you know, practice s gud practice squad players.

Speaker 2

They're not just practice squad players.

Speaker 7

All the time.

Speaker 5

And I think the other guy.

Speaker 6

They're not thinking like practice squad right right right, that's what you want.

Speaker 5

And he you know, no no off season, no training camp, you know, no ramp up. Basically his ramp up was you know, being on the on the team, getting a chance to practice.

Speaker 6

So that's what I was always saying about a practice player. It is true you said many times when a guy messes up, that's why he's a practice squad player.

Speaker 2

I get that. That is that is that is that is viable.

Speaker 6

But when you start talking about players that really need to make a difference on the team, and we everyone we bring in, they're not going to be stars, but everyone we bring in are not going to play like practice squad players.

Speaker 2

And he's one of those guys, you know.

Speaker 6

I tell they asked me one time to send my Grambling State boys a message, you know, and they were asking all the alumni to send in messages to them to motivate them during the season. And the one thing I told him is don't let somebody else tell your story. Don't let somebody tell you how good you are. You know, we all went through it. Somebody probably told you you can't write.

Speaker 2

They did. And so now here you are.

Speaker 6

So yeah, and Grambling, I'm sorry, not just Grammy, but the Dallas Cowboys has always been a team that has had over achievers. We are known for that, Okay, I mean, so that's the culture here. So that's what I'm looking forward to here. Somebody like laws and show me that I am better than my narrative.

Speaker 5

And show that I can play like I did it a couple of years ago before things went south when he was with the Jets because the previous year to that he was a big time player. They paid him.

Speaker 6

And then I'm not I really look forward to him doing I really look forward to him doing more with us, right, I'm talking about No. One tackle games. Now, that was a weird game Sunday where it was extremely balanced as far as our defensive attack. You have a bunch of people, a lot of tackles.

Speaker 5

And I think what you what they made a priority is to make sure this dude stays in the pocket. Yes he got out the one time.

Speaker 6

But they even stopped the Tuba. Yeah, they stopped Cuba from getting his hundred yards if I'm not mistaken. And this is a guy that was doing running very well before that game, and we controlled him.

Speaker 5

And I think people need to also understand that Tampa Bay, while they're in first place in the NFC South, they only got a one game in Atlanta on Atlanta and they realize that they got beat by Atlanta twice. So if there's any any ties they're out.

Speaker 6

They're a totally different team now, Isn't that crazy? Yeah, both teams are totally different teams now.

Speaker 5

So they've got to they've got to maintain a one game lead on the Falcons, otherwise they're in trouble. So they're somewhat of a desperate team that you know, depending on what Atlanta keeps doing, they got to keep winning two. They almost need to win out.

Speaker 2

We have seen.

Speaker 6

Games where that narrative is facing another team coming into the stadium, right at and T Stadium, and we've played like that, meaning we put the pressure on them from play one. We haven't really done that this year, you know at home right, we really haven't done that this year. There are games we've come out in the past, many games where we are bringing it to them right away. We score on the first drive, not field goals. We're talking touchdowns. You know, we got the sacks, we're doing

all of that. We can play like that in this game.

Speaker 2

We can't.

Speaker 6

We can get back to that because we used to do that all the time. And if we do that, I think we could intimidate these guys because they're coming here. Put the put the pressure, put the pressure that coming here, we're not going there.

Speaker 2

They're coming here, and we need to make them feel that.

Speaker 6

You know, I know, I don't know what the crowd is going to look like, but I don't need a big, big.

Speaker 5

Crowded a bunch of rent watch it right. The other thing? Uh so, okay, you win the toss when you're doing I'm taking the ball, taking the ball.

Speaker 6

I'm taking the ball because and I'm running it. I'm gonna run it down their throats. And every time we gain my my crowd is going to be going crazy, right, And that's the whole thing. Also, this, this crowd needs to understand this is a different culture we have here now.

Speaker 2

You know, we don't have the dacks.

Speaker 6

You know, we don't have you know, the fancy wide receivers running all over the place. We got just CD doing this thing, working hard. That's what we've turned into right now. We are not the team that we were last year. I don't mean that we don't have the talent, but we certainly don't have the same game plan.

Speaker 5

Yeah, because a lot of a lot of times I hear, well, this team was twelve and five last year. Well this ain't that team.

Speaker 2

This ain't that team.

Speaker 6

We are totally different, right, And they were fussing about us being twelve and five last two three years anyway, So don't worry about what the record is right now.

Speaker 2

We just need to make the damn playoffs.

Speaker 5

Would you take twelve and will take twelve and five right now?

Speaker 6

And that's I'm sure a lot of those people that were complaining it looks good to them too.

Speaker 2

It looks a lot better than it was used to do.

Speaker 5

So everybody was like, oh, this is a Sunday night game. They're gonna change, you know, they'll change. This is a big game for both teams, right.

Speaker 6

Just think about that Sunday night. Put the pressure on them, Put the pressure on them, show them a nationwide television So.

Speaker 5

I think it was NFL network. They figured out, you know, how they do with the percentage chances and going to the playoffs, right, and obviously like Detroit, Minnesota, Green Bay, they're all either one hundred percent they're going to go to the playoffs, Philadelphia or somewhere in the nineties. Then you get down to the bottom. It was, uh it was the Cowboys, the Saints, yeah, and San Francisco one percent. Damn one chance.

Speaker 6

My business part is a forty n oother fan. We don't even hardly talk this yet because he ain't doing the damn thing he's usually calling me talking trash.

Speaker 2

You know what's with the Cowboys. I don't hear from him anymore.

Speaker 5

And I can't believe that New Orleans hasn't been eliminated already. They're five and nine.

Speaker 6

Well that that that doesn't it doesn't make us look good, yeah, because like like right.

Speaker 5

Above them, but it's all one percent. Oh that's pretty sobering, right all right, Well, that's it for mix shots on this Thursday. We'll be back again and remember ten o'clock ten claro uh for Bill and Everson Mickey Spagnola, and we will see you again tomorrow on dallascowboys dot Com.

Speaker 2

Go Cowboys.

Speaker 1

This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.

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