Mick Shots: Nitty-Gritty Time

the victory tower is still let behind me. It's still tis the season, tis playoff season in the National Football League, as the Cowboys are in position to win a spot in the tournament. Bill Jones with Everson Walls and his Cowboys gear, Mickey Spagnola in his Cowboys gear inside the s WBC Mortgage Studios at Ford Center at the Start in Frisco. And here we are. It's the final week of the regular season. Ever, so let's give you the

first thought as we get started on this Tuesday. Well, my first thought is, you know, Chris has really been asserting himself as a producer here. Now, I think that's kind of necessary because you know, it's not named Mick Shots for no reason, right, I mean, it's Mick Shots because Mick can be a jerk sometimes, So Chris Chris, don't play right. I'm gonna start calling Chris uh, mister Carter. Remember the old Lean on Me movie Morgan Freeman was running the high school and he had the back. Yeah,

we're gonna start calling Chris Batman. How about that? Chris Beam is the one who keeps Mickey in line on Mick shots and Mickey, what are you doing on this fine Tuesday? Good? We're talking playoffs? Playoffs possibly. I tell you, guys, I do have a scenario that I really didn't think of, because usually you're talking about college players going into bowl games, and some of them who are highly touted, they're like they opt out, like, look, I'm about to get drafted.

I don't want to get hurt playing against, you know, somebody like North Carolina State in a bowl game or something like that. So now this morning they talk about Pittsburgh Steelers taking that same attitude. They have decided not to start Ben Roethlisberger along with many prominent starters on their squad. So now I think they were going to

play the Browns. They're going to play the Browns. So those other teams, Miami, some of those low hanging teams that are trying to make the playoffs in the AFC, What are you going to look at now? You know, what are your options? How do you feel about a team basically tanking a game because it doesn't do them any good, they can't improve their position. That that's something that all of a sudden, you know, it's a foregone

conclusion on the Brown Steelers game. So whoever's expecting the brown the Steelers or the Browns to put up a fight one way or the other, that's already pretty much predetermined because I can't see Pittsburgh beating the Browns without Roethlisberger or many of the prominent starters that they've decided to sit. So advantage Cleveland is what you're saying. Advantage Cleveland and those that need Cleveland to win for them

to get in. You understand what I'm saying, Well, I'm thinking of teams need Cleveland to lose to get in. Now you go, it's all determined. It's all been, I think now predetermined because I just can't see the Steelers winning without their starts. Okay, with Washington cutting Dwayne Haxkins, Hey, if it can benefit the Cowboy, I don't give a damn what Washington does. Well, I just see what I'm saying.

I just say I just saw something that Rivera said that he seems confident that Alex Smith will be able to play on Sunday. But who knows what you say at the beginning of the week, right smoke screens could be I don't I don't like that. I don't like that Alex Smith is he was doing very well before the cast or the schooling with him, and boy, he's gonna come out fired him, ready to go, and uh.

And what I had heard and I can't remember if it was one of those information guys at the major sports networks, either NFL Network or ESPN, I can't remember which one said that Alex Smith. They Washington felt like on Friday that Alex Smith was going to be good to go this week against Carolina. This past week against Carolina, he had a little bit of soreness on Saturday, and then they just as a group decided, let's hold off, let's let's give it another week because they didn't have

to win on Sunday against Carolina. Yeah, if they would have benefited greatly had they won, but they didn't have to win, and so I think they feel pretty confident Alex Smith is going to play against Philadelphia Sunday night, and I would imagine that it made it a lot easier for them to make the decision to go ahead and release Dwayne Haskins, especially because Taylor Heineke with Bill bad I agree with, and Heineke had moved past Haskins anyway,

So if Smith can't go, they were comfortable with going with Heineke over Haskins. So and who Actually, we'll see the game at the end and played better. That's right, That's right, That's what that's That's what I'm saying. And so with the issues that we're going on anyway with Haskins over the course of the last week or if not longer than that, they just decided to cut bait

now and and we'll see what happens. You know. The other thing as it relates to Philadelphia and Washington in regards to what you're talking about, one thing that I was thinking about in this COVID year where opting out has been, uh, something that was prevalent even before the season began. What about these teams with veteran players who now come down, who are out of the playoff hunt, and now they come down to the last game of the season. They might be even more apt to opt

out of this game than in previous years. One guy in particular is Fletcher Cox, who was on the sideline anyway he got and it had been nursing an injury even and he didn't practice last week coming into the Cowboys game and then left with a stinger. I would think it's the chances that Fletcher Cox's playing against Washington are not great at all this week. Yeah, but I

don't I don't think you would. I mean, I don't think you can call it an opt out because I don't think I think there was a deadline to opt out for COVID reasons. So you're right, right, but you can easily Yeah, it wouldn't be official. One of the veteran guys say, I'm not playing that bowl game. I

got nothing to gain. I gotta get exactly Yeah, exactly, which, which, by the way, on the college thing, I'm all for right now, but with the state of college football, not to get two into this topic, but I'm good with every NFL draft prospect who's not playing in a national semifinal opt out of these bowl games, opt out out, and that that is the only way we're going to be able to fix college football where they can expand the playoffs into an eighteen playoff or whatever and make

these games matter. You get all those players opting out, and then they'll understand that they've got a broke product in college football as far as the bowls are concerned. Or you can be like Missouri and have a COVID outbreak and have to cancel your bowl game. It's Missouri the reason that they canceled. Yeah, and you probably don't want to go to Nashville anyway, with the problems they've been having there. That's right. They were in the music city boy watch out bags, Yes, watch out but it

so anyway. You know, when you look at these this final week of the regular season, there's there's so many different variables at play. And then and by the way, and I know, Mickey, you're not big into fantasy football. This is why the fantasy football season ends in week sixteen and not in week seventeen, because you never know who's going to actually be playing in the games in a week seventeen. But obviously the Cowboys need and I think the Eagles will put a good effort out there.

I think they benefit from the fact that Jalen Hurts is at quarterback. He has shown that he's got good leadership ability and his teammates want to play for him. And really, those the younger guys, I mean, they've got a lot to play for in term on every team have a lot to play for in terms of making an impression for next season. Yeah, especially those young cornerbacks right,

trying to find their way in the league. You would think the running back Sanders, he needs to play, right, he's trying to earn a job, and they don't draft the running back ahead of him, you know. And yeah, I just think I just think, you know, the guys

that play will play. No one wants to put bad tape out there, and everybody knows that at some point maybe free agency looms on the horizon and somebody will go, hell, let me see how this guy played games seventeen or game sixteen and twenty, right, and they go, and he did that? Seriously, I don't want him. So I think those things are you have to take into consideration about, you know, just going up and going through the motions

and playing the last game of the season. But but on the other hand, you have to be excited about some players opportunity. You know, you've got some guys we talked about all the practice players. The cowboy hasn't been using on the offensive line, talking about the secondary of being depleted. So now you've got guys like and I know his name, but remember when we first saw number four them and like, who the hell is number four? They were? Now Parker, if I'm not mistaken, Yeah, he's

he's got it. He's got he's on film now and he can shop himself around and he is amongst many other players that have an opportunity to do that who otherwise we would not know who in the hell they were if it wasn't for twenty twenty in the pandemic. And that gave those guys an opportunity to show when otherwise they would just probably be another practice player on another team. If they're lucky, now you've got a chance to actually take some film with you and show what

you did, you know stuff. The irony of Stephen Parker is that kind of need him now but he's on rir Who knows, but next year, if he's lucky, he could be very business I know, but we didn't even know who he was. And now we're sitting there going, gosh, it would have been nice if he was still there with David Woods, who knows if he's back or not. You know, it was like the same thing with Brandon Knight. You're sitting there going, oh, Brandon Knights laying left tackle.

Then he gets hurt and it's like, oh, no, what are you going to do without Brandon Knight? Hey? You know who on the Cowboys roster might have benefited the most from the the new rules during the pandemic and

so forth. Think about who might have benefited the most on this Cowboys roster from where his career was going into this season and where it will be coming out of this season, all because he had an opportunity with expanded practice squads and the COVID rules in the league where he has a chance now to revive his career.

Who do you think he Correck Gilbert? Gilbert? Exactly Garrett Gilbert, Because if Garrett gilt if Garrett Gilbert, if it was a normal year, there would not he would not have qualified for the practice squad because he's too The reason he was still in the league was because he had practice squad eligibility this year, and so he's sitting there

on the Browns practice squad. And then when the Cowboys had a need and h and the head coach had some some product knowledge from going back to high school at Lake Travis High School and at Austin, he got information from you, Bill. They came straight to you when they wanted information on any quarterback that won the Texas high schools. There you go, there you go. But I

think about it. So he played one game and almost beat the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers, doesn't get into another game, and he is going to have an opportunity, whether it's here with the Cowboys or elsewhere, at the age of thirty next year that he might not. He might have been playing in whatever spring league is going to arise coming out of this pandemic. I would I would carry that. I would carry that game film with me wherever I go. Anyone that would be my middle name, Jar almost beat

the Steelers, Gilbert, that's my name. Yeah, let me send you a link to my game film. He had him down to the twenty one yard line before things fell apart in the final minute. Yeah, before I pulled out some of my hair, Yeah, exactly. Here's the other thing though, that scares me about the whole scenario that's gonna play out on Sunday. Cowboys take care of business, they play well,

they beat the Giants. Okay, they're now in their flight home and they're getting home, you know, second half of that Washington Philadelphia game turning on the television, and what is the story of the year in the National Football League as far as comeback stories. Alex Smith and you

know al Michaels. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworthy're gonna be playing up the Alex Smith story and if he has an opportunity to win that game and propel the Washington football team, which by the way, was the other story of the off season them changing their name to the Washington Football Team of Alex Smith is the guy that's putting them in the playoffs. That you talk about stories, that scares me from a Cowboys perspective, that it might play out on Sunday night. Well, the other problems the

other part of that. If the Cowboys win and Washington's losing, then the story is Andy Dalton maybe reviving his career, by the way, there you go, and also, by the way, earning some serious incentive money by playing more than fifty percent of the snaps and getting the Cowboys into the playoffs, I think it's a million den it's a million dollars, and if they happen to win, I think it's another

five hundred thousand dollars. Wow. Okay, So let me revised what I said about Garrett Gilbert, all right, because when you think about it, when you think about it, where Andy Dalton was in his career going coming into October, and if Dak stays healthy the whole year, and with the everyone leaning towards the play the young quarterbacks the way he's played here in December, and as the opportunity perhaps to play on into January, even beyond January third,

he could propel himself back into starter money in the National Football League. Yeah, as you brought that up. Here's what's unique we have. We haven't even talked about, as we've talked about in previous seasons, the ability to win after Thanksgiving, right, that was always I will push either we made or we stunk up our season based on that stretch. Well, here we are now. I think we've

had one of the more successful Decembers. In a minute, you know, here we are three in a row in December that hasn't happened for a while, and when that has happened, it's always on the cusp of either we're gonna make or break this season. So I'm very proud of the fact that Andy was a part of that. And not just that. Guys, let's look back to when he got knocked out. You know, a concussion protocol. All right, we're ready to come back. Cowboys are losing. We've you know,

we look bad. You've got third string, fourth string quarterbacks, and he has COVID. Okay, So then now that pushes him back even more as far as his progression is concerned. And now once he finally gets a chance to get a number of consecutive games on this belt, he's shown us what he can do and why they brought him here. So yeah, he's looking pretty good. Will McClay looking pretty good in regards to uh finding players. Beckn helped push

this team along even doing this these tough times. You know, the other thing about playing in December and we got it, we're up against it. We need to go to a break here in a second. But the other thing to keep in mind, and I'm looking it up right now, is Mike McCarthy in his first year with the Green Bay Packers. Okay, they finished eight and eight in two thousand and six, and what did he do in December

that year? The last four games? They started the year four and eight, and they won their last four games in December to finish at eight and eight. And then what they do the following season fourteen and two? There you go, and we're ended up in Dallas and we're overtime. I'm away from going to the Super Bowl. Uh, in the NFC title game against the Giants. They actually were thirteen and three, but that was close enough, Mickey, all right, I thought I had it. And of course that was

the year. Of course that was oh seven more bad Cowboys memories when the Giants beat the Cowboys and then

the Giants go to Green Bay and three. Yeah, that we were the Packers and the Cowboys were both thirteen and three that year that but anyway, there you go, and it says a lot about McCarthy in his first year, UH season, much like this one, where it's kind of going down the tubes and they finished strong and then they parlayed that into a pretty nice little run that he had in Green Bay, I'm gonna call Bill Parselves and I'm gonna call Bill Parcels and tell him Bill

Jones disagrees with you. You are who you are at Thanksgiving. That's trying. That's exactly right. Yeah, good point Parcels didn't know everything. Yeah yeah, Hey, hey, hey, Wat's out now, let's be careful, all right, Guy Jerry making some news on the radio this morning, and Mickey's got the full report when we come back on Mick Shots. Hey, they're Cowboys fans with Ty Cleaners at home pickup and delivery.

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Doctor bat and Cream Soda. Is he a Newcombonut's Music to My Ears, Doctor Time, Music to my Ears and mouth New Doctor Pepper and Cream Soda delas just do back back back to mixed shots. You can now support your beloved Cowboys from anywhere. Open up AT and T's fan Zone feature inside the Cowboys app and record your personal cheer and referee signals. You will receive a personalized mosaic and may show up on the AT and T Live FX video board during the game. Mickey is sitting

there perusing something. Not to get into your business there, Mickey, Yeah, has something to do with the show. I was making sure I had. I was making sure I had to read for the next break. There you go, all right, Jerry, he was on the radio this morning. Any highlights that you gleaned from Jerry's weekly appearance on the fan Yeah. The last thing he said, as they say there's a pony in here somewhere. I don't think i've heard that one before I have. What does that mean? I'm sorry?

What was the context? It was? It was? It was they were talking. They finished talking about, uh, not only the possibility of having a playoff game at AT and T Stadium, but also a Cotton Bowl and a Rose Bowl. Uh. And to think that the stadium's gonna host could host all three of those within a week's time. Uh and uh and and they were just talking to playoff possibilities for the cowboys, and he said, as they say, there's a pony in there somewhere. I heard the story. So

we got, well, yeah, what Jerry's say. What Jerry's saying is I'm going to make some money off of this some kind of way. I'm making some money off of something. Um. And then he also so he not only did he inject the pony into his segment, but he also injected

the buzzards into the segment. And we've heard that one before, sitting on a fence and waiting for kind of something to come by for food, and one patient being patient and everything, and one of the buzzers to turn to the other one said, uh, to hell with patients, I'm going to kill something. And it was it was all right, and that one. It's important to talk about the context

he was talking about Moore. Yeah, and you know, Stephen had pointed out sometimes when these opportunities come, sometimes you have to be patient. Uh, and kind of pointed out, you know, we kind of kicked it off back and forth. I guess we really didn't talk about it that much yesterday about Kellen have looking like he to have the opportunity to take the head coaching job at Boise State, And you know, I see both sides of that obviously. You know, we'd all like to go victoriously back home

and do something great. But then also when you've set the bar as high as he has as a player at Boise State, you're better be careful because they might expect that as you as a head coach. Now you probably expect that as yourself of yourself. And then the other thing is is what if you continue to do what you've been doing for these two years as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. I don't think teams have any problems hiring a thirty four year old head coach

these days. And I think you have to just decide what's what's where's your priority light Is it in college or would you want to do it in the NFL. He has head coaching in his genes right. His dad's a head coach. And I don't remember if I told you guys this story, but his grandfather was a decorated high school basketball coach in the state of Illinois. He had gone to Western Illinois, earned his degree and start

coaching high school basketball. And I didn't know this until Kellen Moore showed up and one of my college roommates informed me of it because he knew about the Washington history of the Moors that his grandfather and this was way before I was in high school actually won these awards coaching high school basketball at my high school. If you can believe that, we go all the way back,

and you know, he talked about coming in. You know, where the town I lived, there was a forest preserved between the next town and that's where his grandparents lived and they used to go there to visit back in the day. So anyway, there's head coaching in his genes all the way back to his grandfather. I have to say, if I'm in Kellen's position, you know, you talk about going back home and coaching for an alma model where

you were a legend. That's one thing. But he's still young, you know, to sit up here and say, Okay, it's time for me to go back home at thirty four years old, thirty two. Trust me, Borisi States a great school, and I'm sure with him being there that that's his place. He feels comfortable there, and of course it depends on what goes on with his family situation and how that works. We never really consider that, but of course the coaches

always do have to consider that. But when I look at Kellen's ascension into UH, into his position where he is now, and then maybe even going further on as a head coach for the NFL, to me, that's the possibility for him in regards to going back. If you want to go back home, man, you got plenty of time god willing to go back home, you know, wait till you're around fifty years old or something like that.

But to go back to be a head coach at Boysey State right while you still have a chance to make them make big noise in the NFL, to me, it's a no brainer. But like I said, that depends on his family situation and what his ideals are. I have high ideals for him that he will be a head coach in the NFL, you know. And the other thing you have to consider is he's got to ask himself, am I ready to be a head coach? You know?

It's one thing to be a coordinator, and we've seen how teams have promoted coordinators to become head coaches, right and they're not head coach material. They're great coordinators. And I'm not saying he's not. Is he ready after two years as a coordinator, one year as a quarterback coach to be a head coach and take on a program? Does he know enough people to hire a staff? And that's one of the things they'll ask you, you know what kind of staff you're gonna put together? So he

has to ask himself those things. And you know what I always remembered did sometimes you do have to be patient. You remember when Mike Zimmert interviewed for the head coaching job at Nebraska and he decided, no, I don't think

I liked that situation. He stayed. Remember when Sean Payton interviewed for the Raiders' head coaching job and he felt uncomfortable with the Al Davis situation there and the fact that they didn't have a quarterback and he felt like this just isn't right, and he remained with the Cowboys.

And the same thing with Jason Garrett when he was the offensive coordinator and he interviewed at Baltimore and they were offering him the job and he turned it down because he felt like head coach of the Cowboys was in his future at some point. So yeah, we always have to ask those guys where they're at in their coaching careers and not just take the job. To take the job, because the last place you want to do is go I have war. It's a coaching you know

you're it's a coach killer. And I remember this story and then I'll let you go back in. When I got to Jackson, Mississippi. Uh, Steve Sloan had been the head coach at Texas Tech, right, and uh he was. He was Bear Bryant's might as well been his son, right, And Bear Bryant advised him, don't go to Old Miss. It's a coach killing spot for you. And he didn't listen. Parcels went to Army instead of going to Old Miss

with him, or went to Vanderbilt. I know they came from Vanderbilt, sorry, And and he went to Old Miss and it was a coach killer. He couldn't win there. And he didn't listen to Daddy Bryant at that time, and he should have. So sometimes you got to look at the situation not to just to say I want to be a head coach. Right. I told you I got one. I was there. I saw it as soon as he won the Super Bowl twenty five in nineteen ninety one, Parsels has an angio plastic. In the off season,

Bill Belichick has gone to Cleveland. We had a running back coach named Ray Hanley. Ray Handley after the Super Bowl was going to be promoted immediately to offensive coordinator, and that did happen. Right after he was promoted to offensive coordinator, that's when Parcels had the angio plastic. Right, So now you're stuck with no head coach. George Young

decides to reach back for a puppet. He thought Ray Handley would be that great puppet for him because he never thought George did that he could run the team. While Parcels was there, they were always button heads. So now George Young saw an opportunity to have a guy there that he didn't have to butt heads with it he could control. Well. We ended up missing the Super Bowl that year and the year after that, and when it was all said and done, Ray Hanley was not

just roasted. His entire life was turned upside down in regards to rumors and things of that nature. And so it just got real ugly. So, like you said, This is a caution every tale for Keller Moore, it ain't always rosy on the other side, you know what I'm saying. Some things can happen to where everything can go off

the rails, and that's exactly what happened with Ray Hanley. Okay. Ever, so let me ask you this, if Belichick had not taken the Brown's job when that happened with Parcels, would Belichick had been the interim guy or was he not of the not what George Young was looking at. As far as me and a puppet, let me let me say this, Belichick is more of a When I say company man, I mean he's very devout to his superiors.

He's very devout to the owners and things of that nature. Sure, if he would have taken that job, I think he and George Young would have had fewer fights, you know, fewer uproars between the two than what Paulsall has had. But at the same time, if Belichick didn't like it after one year, he would have been out of there. He would have been out of there because he would have known right away if this was a situation for him. If I would Belichick, and if I would have step

into his shoes. I would not have taken the job under George Young just because of his nature. And that's why Pause sells left as well. The other thing as far as Kellen Moore. The other thing as far as Kellen Moore is concerned. Obviously, when you're looking at a college job, it's a different whole job than what coach. Being a head coach in the NFL is And I don't know how much Kellen Moore would enjoy the recruiting aspect of it. You know, people talk about Lincoln Riley

being a potential NFL coach. Here's the difference as I see Kellen Moore and Lincoln Riley. A Kellen Moore for the last nine years has been cutting his teeth in the NFL at first as a player, then as an assistant coach, then as a coordinator, and so he knows intimately how the NFL works. Okay, he doesn't have the same connections as far as recruiting goes Lincoln Riley has had always He's never stepped on an NFL campus. He's always groomed himself from when he was a freshman in

college to be a college head coach. And he loves the recruiting aspect of it. He recruits great because he loves it. I mean that is sort of his lifeblood. And so that would be something that Kellen Moore would have to ask himself, how much would I really like the recruiting part of it? Go ahead, Mickey, No, I was just going to finish the segment off by saying, speaking of Belichick, did you see the phone throwing incident last night? Yes, even my wife saw that. He's like,

what does that? And the camera's caught it. It is great. I don't even can't. I can't believe somebody up in the coach's booth suggested to him that they should challenge that. You could see. All they had to do is look at the first replay. It was obvious it was a catch, right, and he's chewing the guy off. He could tell he's chewing them out. Afterwards, and he takes the phone and boom, throws it against the phone bank. That's one thing about

these masks. They you cannot read lips in these masks, okay, and I think the coaches are really taking advantage of that. Sometime you can't read lips, but you can see veins bulging out of foreheads. All right, we continue with more mix shots in just a moment. We're backing a tasty treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor Peppery creep soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor pepe and cream Soda. Is he a new combone that's music to

my ears? Okay, doctor music to my ears and mouths New Doctor pepper and cream Soda a delicious Well, dear, it's nineteen oh eight. Don't you think we should get electricity and stop using candles to see it night? It's just electricity lights up the room fast. It's more reliable than candles blowing out, and people seem to love it nationwide. Well, candles, DA, did you just run into the wall? May I have a new candle? Please? Historically, switching to new technology is

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that's why I with John Deer today. In fact, I have a John Deer three zero twenty five E tractor that can handle any yard work I need to do, even the tough yards way out back. So if you have one acre or a thousand, John Deer has the equipment that's just right for you. Visit a John Deer dealer today and run with us. We are the official tractor provider of your Dallas Cowboys. There's nothing as unique as our eyes, which is why Selor pioneers wigs to

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the Pro Shop and picking up his jersey today. The Pro Shop has a huge collection of jerseys, cold weather gear and after Christmas deals up to fifty percent off for every fan. Visit your local Dallas Cowboys Pro shop or shop dot Dallas Cowboys dot com for your new gear today. All right to our final segment here of mick shots. We got about eight minutes or so to go the other thing, one of the other things that Jerry jobs get two because I talk buzzards and ponies.

Go ahead, all right, klid you tomore on Jerry Zack Martin. Unlikely this week, but there's hope in the postseason, yes, he said, for the future. There is there is a possibility. So h you know, we we get a chance to see those guys do their rehab outside with Britt Brown and they're on the Resistance chords and somebody had asked me about them last week and I said, oh, he doesn't look like you know, he's doing those side steps that they have him do as well as maybe some

of the other guys. So I figured he was a little further behind. So we'll see how he's doing this week. If it's improved. And I have to met that's one of the things that I have to do my rehab. They put these elastic bang bands around both ankles or one around both and you do sidesteps and when you squat down and do those for about ten each way. It's difficult. So when I see those guys on those resistant chords, I'm going, Kyle, that's so easy. What are

they doing? You know? That doesn't seem like it takes much effort. Oh, it takes some effort, believe me. I gotta say, Spags, you should just from a personal standpoint, you should continue with those bands even as your achilles starts to feel bad. Excellent work out for you. My son does them all the time. The small tendons always good to keep those in shape, especially as we get older and our bones start to get a little bit weaker. We need those tendons and muscles to be just a

little bit stronger as we go forward. But I was gonna say, did you guys hear what the zeke said yesterday in regards to how good he felt as opposed to the other during the other periods of the season. He had kind of mentioned that he had been hurting and hadn't said much to anyone about how sore and

then hurting he has been throughout the entire season. And I don't know if a hundred yards, if one hundred yard game helps you feel better, or do you feel better and that's why you had the hundred yard game. But either way, he seems to be feeling a whole lot better right now in regards to physically and where his head is at right now. Looking for with him coming out this weekend and having a really Zekiel Elliott

type of type of game this weekend. You know the other thing that he said after the game, and I thought this was very I don't know if people know who Zeke is. I don't know if they know what's in his heart or just his inner feelings. And he really doesn't a lot, a lot allow a lot out. But you know, he was asked after the game what gave him confidence that they could possibly playing for something meaningful in the last game of the season, and he said,

because I'm a competitor. If you gave up five six weeks ago, you shouldn't even be We don't even want you on our side. I mean, we are competitors. The whole team is we are a team of competitors, I mean, and we aren't out of it, you know. And then he kind of explained what they had to do next to be able to get in and needing some help, and as he said at the end, he goes, I think we are catching fire at the right time, so we'll see. But when I when he said that, I

was a little surprised that he was that outspoken. But but he's right, right, I mean, Tyrone Crawford said the same thing. He goes, you know, until they say eliminated on the message board, I'm not eliminated. And and and that's the way you got to play. And you know what, somehow, some way they bought into this. And I don't know what causes takeaways the way they've had these last three weeks,

you know, and you can't coach them. I mean, you can do drills, but they just kind of happen, right, But I think if you're playing hard and you're still competing, that maybe you get ten takeaways in three games, it seems improbable. And without those takeaways, they don't win. They

don't win three games. Everybody knows, well, what's the difference. Well, when you get ten takeaways and you're a plus nine, my goodness, you'd have to really screw up to not win those games when you're getting at least three every game. Is what they did three, three and four. So they kept playing, you know, and whatever happens on Sunday happens, I get it, but at least they made it interesting to the bitter end. If it's bitter, I gotta say, spag.

The only the only thing I disagree with you on is yes, you do know why they started getting the turnovers. It's because everything the game plan itself started to work. Talk I always talk about critical moments doing a game, and the Cowboys have honed in on that we talked about last this past game, you could clearly see that Kelly Moore's approach to this game was to be successful on first down and consequently, as much as I've been on his butt, Mike Nolan's defensive strategy was also the same.

Let's win the first down and also, even more important, let's get that third down, because regardless of how many yards we give up, how many points we give up, we give those up because we're not successful mostly on third down. You know how many times we've allowed the team to be successful on third down, either by our mistake covering a guy or our mistakes and penalties. So it seems like we've cut that out. Very few penalties in the secondary of this past weekend. Therefore, a very

few third down successes for the Philadelphia Eagles. So, yes, bags, you do know how those interceptions come because instead of us putting pressure on ourselves, we put pressure on the opposition. You don't just do that from the defensive line, you do that from strategy. So that's how we started getting these interceptions. And you know what, there's another mention a third down. Going into that game, they were giving up

third down conversions at fifty percent rate. Fifty fifty if if if if if if, if you as a team are converting like thirty five to forty percent of your third downs, you're sitting there going out. Really, you're good, You're successful. They were given fifty percent, and I think in the game it ended up being fifty percent again if I remember correctly, or at least close to it. So yeah, but what happened after that first drive? After that first drive, then that's when things got a little

bit dicier. After the after the second quarter and even to the second half, they were a lot more successful on third downs. So uh, they they converted seven of seventeen forty one percent, but I bet at the first half it was a lot higher than that. Let's see own efficiency Philadelphia was five of eight sixty two the

first half. So yeah, And you know the other thing they did defensively, and you talked about game plan is when they got into those third down situations, they rushed three guys, kept three two linebackers and six dbs and use CJ. Goodwin to kind of keep an eye on the quarterback. He would have been one of the few guys in the team that had the speed to be able to run with Jalen Hurts. And I think, as

Mike Nolan said, it did accomplished two things. One that they had somebody that if Jalen Hurts took off, that could run with them. And two, because Jalen Hurts realized there was someone to run with him, he was less likely to jump outside the pocket. He did not know where to throw the ball, and then he had he did not know where to throw the ball. Exactly right.

That's right. You know another thing and we're out time, but I want to throw it in there going ahead and punting the ball on fourth and one, thinking of you on that play, all right, first quarter, you're down, you're down fourteen to three, and there have been times this season your fourth and one at your own thirty four yard line, and you feel like you gotta do something because you don't trust your defense to stop them, and so you got to do more than what is necessary,

all right, And they went ahead and punting the ball away from their own thirty four, and the Eagles started their drive at the fourteen yard line. You flipped the field on them. They started their own fourteen. They ran it three times three and out they punt it, and now you're getting the ball back at your own thirty seven, and you put together a sixty three yard touchdown drive and the rest, as they say, is history. And then down on the goal line in the second quarter, you

were third and goal at the one. You had the busted, the mental bust, whatever it was where Dalton had to run it. And now your fourth and goal at the two. Rather than going forward on fourth and goal at the two, go ahead and kick your field goal, take your points, and you're not trying to do too much to help your defense. You know when they when they had that play, looking at him, and I saw the way the offense

started it. If a game, I was sitting there going, oh, if they punt here, it's gonna be twenty one to three, and I was sitting there going, maybe you need to go one more thing. We always had ever saying one more thing. I love Dalton. I love Andy Dalton's interview gear. He looks like he's from the Grease Broadway play. Yes, he's got the right coat on. He's got his head looking all cool. I'm like, who is this guy? John,

I'm Travolta. What the hell's going on here? Well, we're staying alive, staying alive, So that's why he's got the jan staying alive. Right, all right, that does it. It will be all our mix shots and we will see you again tomorrow at one thirty. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.