Mick Shots: Munching On Cheese

of mix Shots. Don't Mess with Mickey edition of mix Shots, as we get you ready for the Cowboys and the Detroit Lions this week after an eventful NFL Owners meeting yesterday. Yes it was checking as inad we're talking soap out from messing here. Man, come on, what's you guy, buddy? Can we just get along? No weekend? Don't minish with me, Mickey. Too much money in the room, baby, It's too much money in the room, That's all I'm saying. So what

exactly were they messing with? This came up messing with a big old contract, right, money is on the lineback TV contract. The commissioner. Commissioner. Oh okay, yeah, so I'm looking at it like okay, uh the flake gate, right. Uh that's when when Jerry was all in, you know, on hey by Bobe, I love you, man, but they get the flake gate. I gotta I gotta pick a side. I went against you. Craft was like, I'm gonna remember that.

Then here comes Zeke, you know, with his uh Ohio state antics, following him into the pros and then uh, Craft is like pulling the trigger on it. Hey, hey, uh Roger, what you gonna do? Man about you know, I've been hearing about Zeke beginning to having some problems. Man, Your boy Jerry's over there having two kind of a time. Can we put a can we put some salt in this in this cereal? And that's what happened. Let's let's tap the brakes on this contract extension. He called his

boy Roger. Jerry's like, I don't like Roger that much. I was like, for some reason, I like him a lot. Yeah, Well, why is that? Because he was doing your biddings. If I'm paying that kind of money to somebody, I'd say tap the brakes too, Let's let's let's talk this out. But didn't he didn't he do that the last time? I don't know, Jerry? Yeah, yeah, I didn't when when Goodell's contract was right and he was like, well, well let's not so fast. So note different, Uh, why were

you just rubber stamping this? You know, Jerry wanted to see what else was out there. Right. In fact, we would all have another commissioner. You can see if another commissioners out there, you can find three three, we'll do it ourselves. Well, could be a triumvirate commissioners right here. Go back to where the cowboys were once run. And I seen what the kind of people in charge, and I see the kind of money commissioners are making. I wish I would have stayed in law school more than

a month. This guy I just looked at up. I didn't realize he's making sixty three point nine million a year. Yeah, yeah, yeah, pretty soon he's going to be one of the owners of one of these. And let's remember who's paying him, right, So I say, you know, to sixty four million dollar question here, right, you know, you got to ask more from a commissioner when you're paying sixty four million than just coming up here and being the being the front guy.

You know what I mean? Figurehead, Yeah, figurehead sitting up here talking about you know, hey, guys, you know, we really hate what we you know, did to the minorities and you know the other players back in the day. And so if that's all it takes for him to fall on the sword, sixty four meal a year and he's just falling on the sword, that's cool stuff. Man and Fallow. I followed many times and Jerry versus Robert Kraft. Pat Jones, who is a friend of Jerry's. He has

a radio show in Oklahoma City. I'm listening to him this morning. The former Okloma State head coach, former NFL assistant for me, Jimmy's uh, Jimmy's guy too. He was assistant with Jimmy replaced him at Oklhoma State. He smarted, He said, I don't care, even at eighty years old, I'm taking Jerry at that. Jerry and Pat was at Arkansas when Jerry played football. You know, people don't give him credit, but he was a pretty good football player.

All America. It went. I thought National champion Jimmy was all American, right, no, no, no, no star. Yeah yeah, yeah. They started on Nancy championship team. Yeah yeah, that's right. They were. They were, Yeah, they won a National Championship. Well, let's remember the song he mentioned they sang at his eightieth birthday party, don't let the old man in, which means you may be old in age, but you don't have to act like a man. Right, that's right. What

else you got Mickey by God speaking of old men? Yeah, and you know what, that's accurate. H And I ain't letting them in either, all right, So there it is. It's a it's a don't mess with me wednesdays of mix shots. Now, we had an open locker room here in the last we did. Right, My question for you, was there any cheese hanging from the ceiling in that locker? Was not, and there was a lot of, um, I think, irritated defenseman in there. Okay, good, I'd like to hear

that Layton vander Eshu. You could tell he kind of asked the question. I can't remember what it was, and he kind of paused and he goes, yeah, he goes, I better not answer that one, and then he kind of softened up and said something. Because you can tell it hit a chord that he was not happy with the defense and how it played. Okay, I love here.

I love hearing that because The reason I asked it was their cheese hanging from the ceiling is because I look at this as even though the Cowboys are coming off a loss at Philadelphia, but with the quarterback coming back this week, and with a one in four Lions team coming off a bye coming in here, Dan Campbell coming back home. It's from glenn Rose, Texas. He's gonna have them ready to play. And so I look at

this as a potential trap game. If they knew he was a Texas from some little small clown glen Rose, well what he Tramsford because where he grew up dinosaurs. Where he grew up, they were still playing six man football, and so he basically transferred to glen Rose so he can play eleven on eleven. And I think, if I read the story right, he had to go to maybe Juco before he ended up at A and m Um.

But yeah, it was a real small born in Clifton, Texas. Okay, it was something he know where that is he pointed out that no one ever heard and it was next to the next town that was the biggest town. It had one stop light in it. Yeah, so his town was smaller than the one stop light town did you find it. Well, Clifton is the largest city in Bosque County in central Texas, with a population of thirty four hundred. So maybe that was the hospital they had to go to. Yeah,

that might have been the one stop light town. Yeah, I'll do more research on it. It's but we don't need to get bogged out in that. No. But but look and Texas Aggie by the let's let's throw out. Let's proud Texas at Oh yeah, let's throw out, aren't they all? I'm gonna try one more time. Yes, speaking of Texas Aggies, Rob Phillips is joining us later, Yes he is. Okay, go ahead, go ahead, let's throw out the twenty nine to nothing lost to New England. Yes, okay.

They lose to Philadelphia thirty eight thirty five season opener, So that's what twenty four points more than the Cowboys scored against h Philadelphia. They beat Washington thirty six twenty seven. They lost to Minnesota twenty eight twenty four and lost the Seattle Kins had to make a comeback on the right two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come back score the Cowboys Eagles game seventeen was my math. Your

math was way off. Okay, Detroit scored thirty five against Philadelphia, which is thirty five minus eighteen, and then that's what we're here for. Us Backs. They lose to Seattle, damn. So they're putting up numbers. They and they're giving up numbers. The defense hasn't played well, but they're they're score they're scoring points. I think they're the outside of when they go up against Bill Belichick. Yeah, and see the thing about it is they're they're not giving up. And that's

kind of like Campbell. You know, he's a very stubborn guy. You can tell that from watching on Hard Knocks. You know he's gonna do it his way, especially when you're coming to a team like Detroit. But he gives them hope even at the end of ball games they're down by two scores and they're still able to make a run at it. I gotta give him some love on that. And you need to be aware if you're Cowboys defense.

So in the in the team rankings, which is yards per game, right, they're number two in offense m they're thirty second in defense. So uh, but they've scored other than the shutout, and other teams have just scored more well, you know Belichick he has Jared Goff's number, said exactly. I was thinking, I'm thinking about driving in that. You know, they lost to the Patriots twenty nine nothing. And then just as I was turning on into the parking lot here,

I thought, Belichick's got Jared Goff's number. Three. The Super Bowl I was at in Atlanta. Ten to wright, Am I right? Ten? Three? Yeah? I was close to that. It was ugly. As long as I got the three correct, That's that's your point. I mean, golf, golf is only you know, this might have got distorted with the shut out by New England. But he hasn't even completed sixty percent of his passes. You know, they've been running the football. Uh and and and well they lost DeAndre Swift to

a shoulder injury right a couple of games ago. He only had well, he's only had oh no, he had twenty seven carries, so that you know over four games that. Yeah, but Williams is the leader. Um, he's got six rushing touchdowns. Do you think the Cowboys got six rushing touchdowns? I'm

sure you'll have the answer. For shortly it was thirteen to three, and then Super fourteen yeah, okay, um, they I watched the first half of the last night, the first half of the Lions Patriots game, and by the way, my answers, no, they've got four okay, And actually that game against the Patriots was was closer than twenty nine.

Nothing would indicate they were they were. There was some Jared Goff shooting himself in the foot on a couple of occasions in the first half, especially uh, he threw a pick They were the Lions were down in the red zone or near the ridge zone. I think they were at the eighteen yard line. He threw a pass on the left side line into double coverage. He got picked off. They were down six nothing at that three nothing at that point, and then you talked about their

run defense. The run defense is not good. I think their thirty second in the league and run defense, and the Patriots took over at their own three yard line and basically ranted down their throat and kicked the field goal. So it's still it's six nothing at that point then well, and then on one other occasion, Dan Campbell Zappy Bailey Zappy was his quarterback. Yeah, and he looks good, by the way, But there was another occase. It was first

drive of the game. The Lions have a fourth and one at their own forty five yard line and they go for it and they don't make it, and so they gave them three points there. Basically, Okay, they were what they were. They were fourth and one at their own forty five yard line, they went for it, did not make it. Patriots took over exactly right. And here's the deal. We're looking at how how important and we've always talked about how important turnover the turnover ratios are.

These coaches are going for it on their own end of the field on a fourth and one situation, and if you don't make it, that is a turnover. They say, you know, yes, and so if they if Dan Campbell didn't decide to do that, if he just played the game they're playing in Foxborough, Okay, just just let the game come to you. Don't bring the crowd exactly right, pun them down inside their own twenty or whatever, and

make them drive the length the field. They got a quarterback starting there his first NFL game, make him go the length of the field anyway. Point being then they it was six nothing second quarter, about three minutes left in the in the half and they've got a third down at the twenty six yard line. Uh, and he gets sacked. Okay, and so now there it's it's a I think it was a fourth down play, all right. So now now he's trying they instead apparently they don't

have a field goal kicker. Oka, they can't kick fifty yard field goal. They went forward on fourth down and Matt Judon flushed him out of the pocket, striped sack. Uh and they returned. Kyle Dugger returns at forty eight or fifty eight eight yards for a touchdock. And so now all of a sudden, you were about to you, if you had a kicker, okay, you were about to at least kick a field goal and make this a six to three game, And all of a sudden you're

down thirteen to nothing. What's going on with their kicker? Well, I was just gonna tell you. So the kicker says, parentheses practice squad. So maybe I'm the third kicker. They're on their third kicker, because Michael Badgeley and say am ficking yeah? Are both now on the practice Somber Siebert had been there, Cyber Cybert. It's Austin Cybert. He had. That's how I know how he's only attempted five field goals.

He made three. He's twelve with twelve on extra points. Um, so it looks like these other guys they haven't even they've got them listed on the depth chart and they haven't kicked. And they're other kicker they Eberly, Yeah, Dominic Eberley, he was let go one of one. Yeah. Yeah. So they've only made four field goals so far this year. M And you're thinking, when you score that many points, you're probably you know, but apparently they're just orange. They

don't know. They just go for it. They just go for it rather than kick field goes. I'm going through that game and last night we went through the drive chart on it, and I said, now, if you would have just kicked, if he had a kicker and he would just kick the field goal, I hadn't figured out, kind of like on our show yesterday that this would have been like a sixteen thirteen game in the fourth quarter if he had a kicker. But he was going for it on fourth down every time. So they have

scored eighteen touchdowns? How many touchdowns? Just off top of your head, you think the Cowboys have scored twelve ten. So yeah, I don't think you need to hang any cheese if they are paying attention just because it says Detroit, right. Um. And I think vander ash was asked the question, I think after the cameras left, and he either didn't understand

it or he was offended by it. And his point was, also, we have to worry about is ourselves, and this defense can play like that, right, they can play like that against anybody. I mean even with the Eagles. You know, we had our moments to where they had to make the adjustment, but we made great halftime adjustment, right, I like that? What do you think? And he wasn't happy about what happened on the possession after it got to

twenty seven. That's exactly what I was about to ask. Yeah, I said, what do you think it perturbs him and the defense the most about that game against the Eagle? Well, why do you think? I don't know how many times he used it. Quinn in his press conference on Monday use the term pod and I guarantee you that's what did it, because they allowed him to convert those three consecutive things, and they ran the ball, ran on him all the way down the field and then finally it

was a touchdown pass at the end. But yeah, with mendown field, But so culprits. The fact that we were able to give it up in that manner, is there something that we can hang our hats on. Okay, third downs, yeah they were successful, but running the ball as well were we were not able to consistently keep them in the backfield. I mean they they were doing the same thing that we saw in San Francisco, the same frustration. Long drives that not only are time consuming, but it's disheartening,

you know, to your entire team. That's one of those moments where it's like a turn over to me when you were able to How long was the drive? Oh, it was at least seventy five It was after the field goal, right, so I think it was seventy five yards, right, They started on the after a touchback. Looking at my

notes and see that that was seventy five yards. Thirteen plays seventy five yards and it was one, two, three, four or five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven passes and then I mean eleven run runs and then a past a J. Brown for twenty two and the touchdown to Davante Smith for the final set. Right now, they won't have the same problem figuring out what Jared Goff's gonna do. He's not running post and so they don't have to worry about and that's what gave him problems.

But there may be other ways. When they've had problems stopping the run, people have attacked the edges, meaning the defensive ends can't be single minded that I'm going to get the quarterback. You've got to set the edge. Yeah. Uh, and the linebackers, you know, however they're playing it now. I did notice that they did play some more four three with three linebackers instead of two linebackers and curse

or however they were kind of doing it. But again, uh, you know they're gonna come in here and say, okay, we can run them all um, And they've they've averaged five point four yards a carry. So if that doesn't get their attention now, it may not get everybody else's attention outside the building. But I would imagine that's been ingrained to him in the team meetings these first two days, which they will practice. Well, maybe by time we finish here, but it's going to be a kind of a pullback

practice because of how late they got in on Monday. Yeah, that's what people don't understand on the travel. I mean, when when you play a Sunday night game on the road, I mean your coast, you're you know, three hour flight or whatever it is, and you're getting back in at five in the morning. Monday is a rest. I mean, it's a sleep all day day. Yeah. So we landed right at three thirty, maybe three thirty quarter to four.

So by time you get yourself get to the cards, four o'clock, say, by time you get home, everybody's at probably a half hour at least a half hour away. Now it's four thirty. Well, you don't just walk in and go to sleep, right now, they sleep in the plane. They that's not a good sleep. But it's not right, No, that's not it's not. And so you get to bed at five five, right after you got through plan and you can still feel the bruises and the bumps. Right,

it's not a good sleep. Yeah. So all right, so anyway, all right, we need to take a break or pastime for a break, and we're back with more mick 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 moh museum dot org. We paid how much for those lessons? She's doing great? Oh yeah, totally. Can you pass me a pepsi zero sugar? Great job, honey, Oh oh, look at that. That's not the end, No way. Now it's time for the encore. You know what, You're right? Five times not enough times for everyone who traded in

rock concerts for their kids recitals. You've compromised enough. Pepsi zero sugar, that's what I like. Nobody protects you from mayhem, like all state. You hear that, I'm a torrential downpour. Torrential what does that even mean? It means you can't see out of your windshield and if you have the wrong car insures, you might have to make it rain

to fix your bumper. So switch to all State, save money and be better protected from mayhem like me based on coverage in them, it's selected subject to terms, contentions, and availability. In most states, prices vary based on how you buying All State gar and catch the insurance company

in affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. What do you call a group of grown men and women with their faces painted silver and blue who get together every week to share a three hour long ritual of jumping, sinking, and toasting Miller Lite and Tim Gallant hats while yelling how about them cowboys? You call it Miller Time in Dallas. Here's to the cowboys, Here's to the original light beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate Responsibily twenty twenty one. Miller Brewing Company for orth Texas.

Back back to Mick shots k Post Roof Igman Waterproofing, proud partner of the Dallas Cowboys. From corporate homes to your home. Have your roof checked by choice, not by chance. Call now two one four two two five four eight six o K Post Company dot com? Did they get your monkey too? What are we talking about? He said? When he's a kid, somebody's family by him an accordion

and that could get me a little little money. Well it was it was so big, I know, but you still got to have the monkey to go with it. Is that what they expected you to be your life? And I just walk around with ther you know. I at least learned to read music, which I But you can play the accordion, Oh yeah, nice to read. Well you have one, and you have to I still have it. It works, by the way, I can't play it. You need to bring it up here? What to show and tell?

Everybody's got to bring something on a Friday. You got and and and I got to the point where I didn't like it, which you can't practice when you don't like something right. And I think the last time my dad whipped me, it was with the accordion odd and I couldn't get away. Accordion looks around your neck right right, goes around your shoulders and you know you got a right hand and uh, And that's what we decided. Yeah, maybe the accordions done hit of his future because you know,

but you still have it. Yeah, yeah, I got it. It's upstairs. How much do accordions cost? I haven't come in there for you break down. I have no clue, man, I forget that. I'll fix it later. I could say, hey, I know that position, trying to get away right from a buck whipping. Yeah, that's why I was laughing. So you could be in some precarious situations trying to get

away from that. I could get away from my mom and when I got old enough, and uh, you know, my dad was a barber, So what you got whipped with was the barber strap, the razor strap, right, uh huh. And when she couldn't catch me, she'd throw it at me. Yeah, your household sounds like mine. So it was it like the Cowboys had an accordion wrapped around him. On the last drive when the Eagles went to lip of the field against him, it sure felt like huh, then you

understand that weight of accordion, right. Welcome back to the view people. So getting back to football, I was trying to we were James Washington. I saw him run routes when Dak was thrown on Sunday before the game, and he was running really well. It's like I think he's told me eight or nine weeks since he fractured the fifthness. So that was who Nate was I mean Nate, Nate texted me that was Nate says, no, no musical instruments. That's who Dak was thrown too before. Was one of them? Okay?

And and then it was a couple of guys on the practice squad is it? And Brandon Smith Braylon Smith, the wide receiver in the practice squad. Uh, he was out there, um Brandon's yeah. And uh, there was a couple more guys and then some of the guys were acting like they were playing dB like uh uh to

Moan Clark, he was out there. That was my next question, Well, okay, what are we What's gonna happen with the Moan Clark because this is his third week, right, I think just judging how he was moving out there, and obviously he's not going to cover right, but he's acting like it. Uh, he was moving pretty well too out there. You can't get out there messing around unless you feel good. Yeah, And that's what Washington was saying, because, uh so he was placed on I R or was it? When? Did

he did it in training camp? Right? Did they? And they couldn't put him on pup right pup? You had to be hurt ahead of time. Who well, Washington, No, he was punjured reserve or a non football now injured reserve. Okay, because it happened right at the start of uh non football was demon Clark. That's what I thought we were talking about. Who are you talking about? Washington? Yeah, he's on he's on IR Yeah. So anyway, um, I'm still thinking about you running. But the according I couldn't run,

I was I went right down to the floor. That was probably in the fetal position. No, man, but he said that, you know, now it's just a matter of convincing himself that he's fine. Yeah, I think medically, you gotta make cuts, right and so uh and I said yeah, I said, you know, you'll get a reminder. He says, so when the weather gets cold, did you. I said, oh, yeah, for at least several years before, you just kind of forgot about it, right. But it sounds like he's getting close.

So that would be an addition to the offense. And and a guy that can go right because I mean, gallop deep threat right lamb. But as a third receiver, I don't know. I mean, Brown seems to get open, but I don't know that he's not going to just run right by you. Yeah, because that's why I think they were using Fioco out there some because he had some get up and go so he can. Yeah. I mean there's important yeah down the field. And this guy

is a sturdy looking receiver. Um. He did point out that he added to his collection of horses on his uh ranch. He said, they just bought say eight or nine young horses. Wow, yeah yeah uh, and he goes you just he's I don't spend my money on anything else. I buy horses, and I hope to make some money from them. They're they're they're raising uh what do you call the rope the roping rodeo guys. Well, however, they

train the horses to rope uh walk. Garrison used to raise raise those but anyway, cutting maybe cutting is kind of hurting more. Uh but anyway, Uh yeah, he I think he's getting close, so it would be interesting to see. And they do right now have an open spot on the on the fifty two, So we'll see where that

one goes. But we learned that in the that in the locker room along with um Jason Ferguson, they were asking him about his touchdown and he goes Jake Jake, I'm sorry, I said, Jason um that the move he put on the guy, He said, yeah. When I watched it on tape, they kind of told me, yeah, I don't do that again. It's one of those that's good that you scored. But the ball was pretty it was

out there. He was a little careless wid yeah. Yeah, and then he tried he tried to do the same move later on on the le a little bubble and what happened should have happened the first time when the guy ran right right right. But with that, we'll take a break. All right, We're back with more in a moment, including an aggie. We paid how much for those lessons? She's doing great? Oh yeah, totally. Can you pass me a pepsi zero sugar? Great job, honey, Oh look at that.

That's not the end, no way. Now it's time for the encore. You know what, You're right? Five times not enough times for everyone who traded in rock concerts for their kids recitals. You've compromised enough. Pepsi zero sugar. That's what I like. Nobody protects you from mayhem, like all stay you hear that. I'm a torrential downpour. Torrential what's

that even mean? It means you can't see out of your windshield and if you have the wrong car insurance, you might have to make it rain to fix your bumper. So switch to all State, save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. Based on coverage in the limits selected centec to terms, conditions and availability. In most states, prices vary based on how you buying. All State Garten

Casualty Insurance Company in affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. 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 at 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 moh Museum dot org. The season is finally here. For months, we've been gearing up to win. Now it's time for the team that performs on any field. United Egg in Turn with Job Deer zero turns for mowing, compact tractors for loading, many excavators for digging, gator utility vehicles for hauling, implements for grading, pay tools for bailing. United aggin Turf for winning the

official Aggonturf equipment supplier of the Dallas Cowboys. Visit United Agginturf dot com for more Back back to mixed shots. Live music fans head to The Star in Frisco on Wednesday, October twenty six for a brand new monthly concert series, Sounds of the Star, featuring the spectacular Southern soul band Profits and Outlaws. The concert kicks off at seven pm and is free and open to the public. For more information,

visit The Star in Frisco dot com. Okay, so we mentioned Damon Clark in the last segment, and of course he was placed on NFI non football injury List, but his designation opening the twenty one day window to return to practice and started three weeks ago today. So the twenty one days three weeks ago. I'm sorry, wait, what's today? It was two weeks two weeks, two weeks ago today, right, Yeah, So he's got another week till next week and then they need to decide what to do. Right, I'm going

to introduce hey, guest of honor. We have a guest of honor who's just arrived here, y'all. Y'all just Toob Phillips, he's joined us. Y'll just keep talking football. We got a big game this weekend. We do have a big game this week that's the important thing. One of the reasons I was asking about Demoan Clark is the fact that the Lions feature a rookie middle linebacker in Malcolm Rodriguez out of Oklahoma State that was taking number one eighty eight overall, and I was high on him coming

into the draft, but didn't know much about Deman Clark. Well, now that I've learned about Damon Clark, I'm like, yeah, the Cowboys made the right pick at one six, and then they took they doubled up on Oklahoma State linebackers, taking Devin Harper five picks later than when Malcolm Rodriguez went at one ninety three. But Rob Phillips is here, and Mickey, would you like to do the introduction of Rob Phillips and what's going on with young Rob here? If I can get through it, if he can't get

through it, I got through it. This morning you did. It wasn't easy. Very good. Thank you. Well. Rob's been with us off and on since two thousand and three, and he has decided that he wants to do something else, and so this again is again Yes, this is his last official day working with us here on Dallas Cowboys dot Com. Oh man, what's happening? Oh mister Walls. You know, just chance to grow, chance to take on a leadership role outside of sports. You still young. I'm still young,

but I'm not I'm not super young. So if I'm going to make the move, I better make it. Um. But I mean this, I gotta think Mickey. Mickey actually gave me my first interview when I was still in college in oh three. Um, and I mentioned Derek and Nick. A lot of people have been here a long time. I appreciate all the support this job. I mean, you're spoiled by this job because you get to hang out

with legends ever since Walls, Bill Jones. I mean, it's uh, you know, it's unlike any other job you get, so it's hard to move on to another one. But I think at this point in my life and with my family, it's a good opportunity. Um. Not easy though this is this is like family. And I said, this is like home this morning, and it is. And he's like my work dad has been for a long time. We've guys been for a long time. We've got a text from a viewer. He says, tell Mickey, don't cry. Would from

from n n Nate knows me well more? Well was open? Be careful? Yeah, right now speaking a legends, I'm gonna miss Nate too. You're going to go back to the old Talking Cowboys days at Valley Ranch. That's where I knew your broadcast start. I knew I knew this was coming every seven. That was your broadcast start. Redn't it on Talking Cowboys? Yeah? Do you know where I was sitting. We're gonna bring that up, but if you'd like to bring it up. I brought it up this morning. It

was a oh, we don't have anything in here. We were going to try and react it. But so what we were doing for those that maybe not remember back to two thousand and four, we came up with the Cowboys had a channel on Comcast. Yeah, and you know it was when it started. You know how many subscribers there were to the Cowboys channel? There were two my mom and dad, and we had we had to we had to facilitate the channel twenty four hours, so we had to produce con tent and then they put it

on a loop. And so they came up the idea, well, we need a talk show. So Bill Jones and Mickey Spagnola started talking cowboys and we do it. What is about an hour every day Monday through Friday. Felt like three hours. Yeah, and we're on camera. We've never done anything like this, like on camera, and so the wait, this is this is predating NFL network, right right, right, this before the league started. There, it was the year before NFL network starting, And so we decided we were

gonna take emails. We couldn't take calls for some reason. We're gonna take emails. So we had barely had emails then, so we had eight years after the internet was right invented. So we had Rob come in as our sidekick. Uh. He was like our Guillermo, right, and he's but he's the young guy. He's the young out of college. And he sat at a little table off to the side, so he wasn't it was a school desk. Basically, I was basically in the dark over in the corner and

he wasn't on the set. He was off to the side, and they put a sport coade on me, just kind of dressed me up a little bit so I didn't look like the little kid at Thanksgiving dinner. To read the emails. He monitored to the emails and picked out the best ones and read them, and then we answered him, did you have a lot to choose from? Not many?

I was just getting off the ground. Yeah, not really, not so we called it the kid's table, like a thanksgiving them and everybody didn't fit on the regular table. That was accurate, That's what it looked like it was. Yeah. Emails were from my father, Bill Senior in irving emails. Really. Rob reminded me because you started as an intern, right right. You hired me with Derek. You came, you came to training camp with US Parcels first year, Parcel's first year

in San Antonio. It was a good year. Yeah, yeah, turned it around. And then you graduated mid not mid semester, mid year, if I remember right, like you finished. No, I had another year of college before they went. They started going back to Oxnard, right, and I was still about to graduate, right, And I didn't have a job about college. So okay, I was a contract guy for a year or so and then I got hired full time.

Best hire made Oh stop, No, seriously, Well I appreciate that, and I've had good mentors and you're definitely one of them, builds one of them. And I got to work, well, I got to work with Everson, I got to I got to do a podcast with Everson Walls for like a year and a half before COVID started. Right, best job ever. I mean, it's just you know, it's it's it's been a dream really has. So what are you doing now? I'm gonna work for a nonprofit UM helping

out small businesses. UM. It's kind of a trade association to help members grow their businesses and kind of run their publications and their UM newsletters, magazine stuff like that. UM. So see why you'll miss this job. Yeah, it's not it's not the same. It's it's not sports. But it'll be a good opportunity to grow. So, you know, and my family has been through a lot the last couple of years, so I think being home a little bit more,

I'm going to try to do that. So, UM, but it's gonna be tough, and I coming up, you know, I was one of the younger guys. And then you'll always see like equipment managers and then even some of the medical physicians and the assistance that will come in, and you know, as a kid, you know, we all kind of go together and you look at this guy,

just look here out of college, whoever it is. And then next thing you know, you know they have a position in the Cowboys organization, a high position in that organization, and all of a sudden, you know, a player might retire, but then you know these guys are still there in place, and to see them develop, you know, as individuals. I always thought that was pretty cool because you kind of dismiss young guys like that, like in the in the training room or guys that work in the locker room.

You just miss them a little bit and taken for granted, and then all of a sudden, they're making decisions, they're making big decisions. So to me, it was just to math them developing as people. And it seems like that's what you're doing right now. You're developing as a person. Yeah, thank you sir. Yeah, and trying to move up from the kids table back for us. I'm just trying to do I told the guys this morning on Talking Cowboys like, I just I'm gonna leave. It's been I think seventeen

seasons off and on. I'm gonna leave and they're gonna go on a run here. I just it's gonna happen. This is gonna be the year, and I'm gonna miss out on it. That sort I mean, when we all face that, right, that's sort of the fear. It's like, okay, I'm throwing that. Well, if that happened Jerry Wishous, he would have fired you along. I wasn't the missing link.

I was the curse. Yeah, it was talking Cowboy days and by the way, Nate says, you're welcome, I'll text it back or even could you put it in the Cowboys perspective. One of the first things that we did that were very memorable for me and Rob you were a part of it too, is leading up to that two thousand and five draft when the Cowboys had two first round draft picks and taken to Marcus wear and

Marcus Spears. That's really the first time we really covered the draft where we got into the nuts and bolts of it and talking to get their high school coaches on the show and stuff like that got we got a glimpse at Tony Romo's future broadcasting career. He would come on as the backup and spend an hour. I mean, can you imagine him doing that when he was the starting quarterback a few years later? But like we got an insight onto you know, his knowledge of the game,

which is really cool. So he wouldn't shut up then. Not well, the best thing he wouldn't have been where he wouldn't be where he is today without that experience. Bill Jones, come on, I mean, think about it. He was the third quarterback and we used to go hang out at his locker and he explained things to us right, and we didn't need to write anything down or quote. He was just kind of explaining how things were and

he was always right. And it's like, Okay, maybe this guy will be able to play because he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn rookie year. Do you have a favorite memory or a favorite player or anything that, oh Man, or something you're gonna miss the most besides Mickey? Besides Mickey, I mean arguing with me now, he was after Michael Irvin. There's no playmaker stories, right, I mean no, I miss Mike stories stories, Bill st stories. It's honestly,

this sounds cheesy, but it's just the relationships. And just like I'm sure everything you felt like this when you when you retired, you missed, you missed the locker room, you missed the guys. This job is it's it's a challenge, it's fun, it's a challenge. And that it's a lot of time away from your family. So you got to build those relationships with people. And um, I had a

large group at my wedding. Uh, I had a whole cowboys corner, you know, and that that that meant a lot, you know, And so you know there's something like oh my god, yeah right right right, so yeah, and there's something about the ones where your first job out of college too is uh it's spoiled you because you have more free time, okay, you you develop closer relationships with those I look back at my career and my first TV job was in Lubbock right out of college, and

those four years there are probably my favorite as far as establishing relationships. And because people we get married, you have families and stuff you don't have as much free time to do stuff with people and so, but you've had the advantage to be with these same people over a two decade period. Now, Yeah, absolutely, And yeah covered a lot of great players obviously, you know, Brady James

was one of my favorite guys. Jason Witt and I could just go down the list, And the best compliment I ever get from a guy like Brady that that I covered for many years and probably didn't love everything I wrote, was that you were fair, you know, And I think showing respect to players. So we would not have jobs if it wasn't for players and what they did on the field. That they're the reason we have jobs. So there's more outlets now to analyze and be critical.

But I always have respect for what guys do in the field. And I always say, you don't really know, Everson knows. You don't know until you're in the locker room in January or you're on the field and you hear those pads pop to really know what guys go through. It's you got to have respect for what players do out there. Man. That's that's that's very important in this

line of business. It kind along the lines of whatever since till about think about what this job has done for you in your development, devoy or you are going into what you're doing now as far as because you came in as a writer, right, Yeah, and you got to do the broadcasting stuff, developing your communication skills and everything. Yeah, and there's there's been a great advantage to uh being being having to be as versatile as you can be. And it really grew you as a person and as

a employee and a leader. I introverted either I hope, So, I hope, I hope. So we're gonna find out. I'm gonna find out. And one of the one of the great things he did that probably would go unnoticed, um, he started developing kind of uh producer skills for TV programs. He was going out the cheerleader trips and doing the

hour show of making the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading calendar. And then when he laughed, it fell in my laugh if I a tough job ever for game but no, And then and then documents his his work on the documentaries The Deep Blows. Uh, well, the last one was it the did you do that? Was it? Hailey or oh? His mental health mental Charles? Yeah, Charles was seen that you need to go on Dallas Cobbacks Docktown and find it. Hailey opened it up about mental illness, and uh, you

know you got him to open up. But to to write those things and condense like twenty hours of interviews into forty seven minutes, it's a great skill. And Rob started doing that and that was it was it was really really good. Were you part of twenty four seven? No, sir, no, no, that wasn't That wasn't my deal. But but Mick, I mean you've helped me with that too, and build You're right about the on camera, like if you're introverted like me,

this it's it's great. It's a great motivator for thousands of people to basically be in your office every day and see judging, evaluate how you're doing and what you're writing and all that stuff. So thanks the Cowboys Nation out there too. You guys are being too kind. Yeah, well, um, you know, we don't get to do what we do unless those people out there are paying attention. Right, Yeah, thank you guys, And that's a kind of a big deal.

But uh, we'll miss Rob. Um boy. I never had to convince him to go do something right, he'd volunteer to go do something beyond what he was supposed to be doing, and uh help me out with a lot of stuff along the way over these last ten years. So um, yeah, you're gonna be missed. When Nate said it's time to go, Nate's about to come in there about the bust here, all right, Thank you guys, appreciate it. Thank you Rob, Thanks you joining us here on this

edition of Don't Mess with Mickey mix Shots. Shout at you again and go Rob, Go Rob. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.