Mick Shots: Teammates Swap

at Forge Center at the Star in Frisco. Along with Mickey Spagnola and Mickey, we have two very special guest on Mick Shots, not only today and tomorrow, as we'd got the great Dave Hellman and the great Heckma Harrison inside their respective SWC Mortgage studios at home. How you doing, David, Heckma, I'm great. I'm thrilled to be here with y'all. Bringing some young flavor to the whole show. That's a good idea. Mickey needs some young flavor. Always need young flavor. They

helped me with technology, right and Heckma, how you doing? Man? This is this is awesome. You know, I got my I got my bones here on talking Cowboys with with Mickey. He initiated me. You know, I thought that I was you know, I thought I was in with Mickey, you know, I really did. Um. I thought I'd made a friendship. But since I've left, I hadn't heard from him. So you know, look, I'm just glad to be back with

the game. All right. I thought i'd give Dave and Heckma the first chance because Mickey was talking right off the top of the show as if it's his own show or something. But Mickey, you have your cowboy gear on inside your own studio there, I do, uh and ready to go. So what do we calling this? Is this like a swap we swap in teammates something like it? Yeah, I think yeah, Nick Nick called it a scramble on our show. I think that's I don't play golf, but

that sounds fair. Yeah, it's like a Cowboys dot Com scramble if you will, and I'll go with that. Dab you get your whole Cowboys Hawaii shirt on. Well, you know it's a pandemic unfortunately, so you know we're gonna get some downtime during the bye week, but I doubt I'll be able to go anywhere. So I feel like the bye week is a place of mine this year. So I'm trying to conjure up some memories of Hyre

you go, there, you go. I like that, You know, Bill, we should have wore We should have wore in memory of our trip to London, because I think November ninth was the game that they played in in twenty sixteen or twenty fourteen. Should have worn some of our London gear. This is kind of the weak anniversary of it. You could have worn a London fog trench coat on the

show there, Mickey. Hey, you know Bill, when when I when I mentioned we were swapping, it occurred to me And this might go past these guys, But in nineteen seventy three, remember when the Yankee pitchers did the wife swap. Yes, Prince Peterson and Mike Kek Yes, absolutely so little history for these guys, right, teammates definitely going starting teammates on the New York Yankees pitching staff. And they announced at training camp in seventy three they were swapping wives. That

sounds like some reality TV shows. They were ahead of their time, did we ever find out how that worked out for him. It worked out for Peterson and Mike Keeck's wife, but not so much the other way out, all Right. The reason that I am sporting a tie is it's once, actually twice a week I have to wear a tie these days. Once is when I on Tuesday nights, usually as we pull back the curtain, I tape to Mike McCarthy show here inside the Academy Sports

and Outdoors studios. And then on Sunday morning, I do a show, a Cowboys Game Day show on CBS eleven. That's the only time they let me in to the CBS eleven studios over the course of the last six months is on Sunday morning. And then the only time really I get into this studio a couple of times for we do a high school show on Wednesdays, but McCarthy decided he didn't want to spend a late Tuesday

night here today, so we're actually taping the show. We're supposed to tape it at two o'clock, So that's why I'm in here. And who knows the last fifteen minutes of the show. Maybe y'all can listen in and watch the taping of the Mike McCarthy Show if you want to, or how about over the course of the next half hour you give me suggestions on I can ask Mike McCarthy. How about that. Yes, I was gonna say, we should try to get Mike on the show. That's what we

should do. Say like, hey, let's do a two for one. It's a good idea, that would be cool. Just let's very sit in you know. Well, now, I think it'd be better if we all could just ask him questions and then that can double us the Mike McCarthy Show for this week, which, by the way, you'll be able to watch right here on Dallas Cowboys dot Com whenever it gets posted as well locally in Dallas foot Worth

at eleven thirty on Saturday nights. After all the college football is over with, after that LSU Alabama game, David, that's may or may not happen this week. Please, let's let's hope that it doesn't. Let's not let's hope that it doesn't happen. I don't really want to watch that, all right, So keep all nicky. Let's get to the news of the day, and there is news regarding one

Treyvon Diggs topping the headlines on this day. The Cowboys rookie starting cornerback does have a fractured bone in his foot and looks like he will be out four to six weeks. He didn't need surgery on it, so I guess that's encouraging. They're supposed to put him in a walking boot. They should have told me. I would have brought my walking boot in and lent it to him if he needed it. And you know, Dave and I were just talking about when we thought he might have

broken the bone in his foot. You know, Jerry Jones made mentioned this morning that they thought there was something wrong when Pittsburgh had that first possession in the fourth quarter and they were at the one yard line, and Dave and I both saw it. On the second down play, they threw a past to mccleoud to Digs's side and he was ten yards off the line of scrimmage, and it went through my mind. I was like, what is

he doing the balls on the one yard line? Why didn't he like manning up right on the line of scrimmage with this guy? And I think maybe he already knew he did something to it, and he was backing off trying to play through it, and then they threw another pass his way and he was way off the line of scrimmage again, so we'll see. Dave thinks he

saw a play that might have definitely put him to rest. Dave, Yeah, all I know for sure is that Trayvon Diggs played at least like half a series, if not more with this injury like it serta looks like just based on you know, the endgame announcement that he was out didn't come until almost the end of the game, and he went out at the top of the fourth quarter. I think he played a little ways with this thing, which is just a testament to how tough football players are.

That you break a boat in your foot as a cornerback, you think you're probably getting off the field asap. But it looks like he tried to gut it out. I'm not one hundred percent sure when had happened, but yeah, definitely a weird discrepancy there. But it sucks for Treyvon. That's tough, news man, tough for us to hear that. I mean, this injury written team and just another name to add to it. I mean, it's a you know again,

tough break for us. But you know, did also get some news today about Tito coming off IR so maybe there is a little bit of civil lining in this for a veteran, for this squad to get a veteran and Tito Woozy a back yep. And mckeids we talked about into last week when they didn't an activate him before the last game. His twenty one day window was expiring this week and so if he was going to play this year, they've had to make that move this week.

And so h you know, and another thing, I'm looking back through my notes, and it was with four when Pittsburgh started their drive with four to eleven left in the game, as when Savian Smith was in for Trayvon, And it was that prior series which David you're talking about, which started at eleven forty left. The couple of times they hit Ray Ray McLeod down on the when they started that nine that from their own one yard line where where Diggs was playing off McLeod on that one,

I think. And I was watching the game from home and Romo was saying the same things that that y'all were saying in the press box there that he did, something must be going on with Diggs. Yeah, and it's a good timing for Chittabey Ewoosier to get back in here.

You know, he missed he I mean, he got hurt in the second game of the season, so he's he's missed uh six games and h you know, he's going into his free agency year next year, so it's he's basically got seven games to kind of prove to either the Cowboys that he's worthy of being resigned or if he's in free agency, you know, he needs something to market himself, and these seven games will be I think

vitally important. And remember until the previous game when Diggs had two interceptions, Cheetos had an interception in those first two games, and that had been the only interception this team has had until Diggs picked off to the previous game, which I'm sorry, guys, go ahead, no, no, go ahead. Heck, that's a that's an interesting situation with Cheeto, you know, him getting hurt and also being a year that he's

looking to sign a contract. I mean, this hamstring injury couldn't have come at a worse time for him, So mentality wise, that's what I want to know. What is he thinking? Is it strong? Enough for him to do exactly what you just said, Mick, make a strong enough case for himself to stay here or auditioning for someone else. Look,

we've known that this young guys played, played hard. He's been one of our physical corners, and just looking over the defense and looking at over the what's going on with them right now, not having him healthy has definitely affected what we've had back there. It's just I was just gonna say, it's interesting to think that, and I think any of us are under the illusion that this Dallas defense was ever going to be great, But we really never got a genuine look at the preferred secondary.

You know, I got you know, I guess they had them all together in week one, but Cheetah goes out, Cheetoh goes out after week two. A B was on IR for a two or three week stretch, And now that Cheeto's coming back, you've got Treyvon going to IR. So if you're preferred three were Cheeto, Treyvon, and Anthony Brown, you maybe got to see them for a game and a half. And yeah, and this is this is a huge stretch for Cheeto in terms of his financial future.

But it's not gonna be any easier for him with lesson depth in the secondary while he's trying to pull it off. You know the other thing I had forgotten when I was looking this up, Jordan Lewis missed the first game, so they never really had their top three guys on the field really all at the same time, because then Ab got hurt, he was out, then a B came back, Cheeto got hurt, and and who knows

what the plan might have been. It might have been for Digs to kind of slowly move in tow to the starting lineup, like give him some plays, and then when they felt he was comfortable, get him in there. But he had to get in there right from the start, and that's tough on a rookie corner and you know, he paid for it at times, and they paid for

it at times. The good thing is he never lost his confidence, and I think they saw something within him that, Okay, I got I get beat, but I'm still playing hard. And I think that's a good quality at one that cornerbacks obviously need to have. You know the other thing, when you look back at that game against the Steelers, when you consider the fact now we know what Diggs

was dealing with on that last drive at Pittsburgh. It was a seventy five yard drive that started their own one yard line that ended in the Boswell field goal that made it a nineteen eighteen game. And then he came out and Savion Smith is in there on that last drive by Pittsburgh that gave him the lead at

twenty four nineteen. Think about what the Cowboys were missing in their second and dairy from what they wanted to have in their secondary and Mickey, as you pointed out in yesterday's show, at that point in the game, Uh, the Steelers, they were they were They were throwing on every down anyway. I mean, they decided that we can't run the ball, believe it or not. Even with a one score game, they weren't running the ball against the Cowboys anymore. They were just putting it in Big Ben's ends.

And h I don't remember the numbers. You said, twenty two out of twenty three plays were pass plays during that stretch of the game. But the Cowboys, think about it. They were down not only Cheeto, but also down Treyvon Diggs in those two critical fourth quarter possessions of the game for the Steelers, and and at that point in the game, Mickey, they were playing the dime defense, and so you had every defensive back that they had available

basically that were on the field in that situation. Yeah, including Savian Smith, who they basically brought up from the practice squad for the game. And I think even your ou SA safety Parker H Parker, he was, Yeah, he was, he was. He was in the game too. I think that playing single safety high because they had moved darry and Thompson and Wilson up closer to the line of

scrimmage along with Woods. So yeah, so they could try to cover all these receivers and they were treating um and they should have kept treating Ebron Uh as a receiver, not a tight end. Uh as the one he scored on the knockout touchdown when nobody covered him. Jalen Smith, Hey, you can't say that because Mike Nolan wouldn't say it. Yesterday. Mike Nolan had the reason he wouldn't say it because

he didn't want to say it. Yeah, Mike Nolan literally was like, yeah, the defense just didn't do his job well enough, and that's really all I want to say about it. I'm like, well, Mike, we have access to tape too, So do what that was, you will? It was it was like it was like his non answer on the penalties, right, yeah, exactly. That whole last drive by the Steelers and Tony Romo is kind of he's he's looking his crystal ball and telling you what's about

to happen, and then it's happening. And Bill, it just seemed to me like Ben new that Savian Smith was in the in the ball game, and the way that the defense was structure it just made it so much easier. And then the Eric Ebron hurdling him into the end zone was like the cherry on the top for that last drive. Oh and I've never played football at a

high level, but sorry, man, no go ahead. I've never played football at a high level, but I've played pick up football and when somebody can't cover, the quarterback figures it out real real quick. Like there's no doubt in my mind not to pick on Savian Smith. But Ben was in the huddle just like where's thirty two? Who's who's gonna be on thirty two? I'm coming to you just know that right now, Like there's that's apps what

was happening? You know what was amazing when Romo kept talking about, you know, they've got all these receivers out there and at some point somebody's gonna miss a tackle and they're gonna break a big play. Right. The next play was the forty two yard short pass play mistackle? I think it was. Was it to Clay Claypool? Um, I'm trying to Uh it was to Johnson. Uh, and he goes forty two yards which set up that touchdown?

And it was and he was he was exactly right because the feeling this is getting ready to happen, and that was a mistackle. Yeah, and that was a mistackle by Smith. If I'm not mistaken on that one, you're right. Uh. It was awful man, that that last drive. But I mean that's why Big Ben Shirley is going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, just by the way he orchestrated that last drive. All Right, we're just getting

started on this edition of Mixed Shots. I got a question when we come back in just a moment, what is the biggest difference between the Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay, you mull that over for just a moment, and we have that and much more here on a special edition of Mix Shots. As we await the arrival of Mike McCarthy via well, we virtually await the arrival of Mike

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in a Glass, Music to my ears and mouth. New Doctor Pepper and cream Soda a delash Just do back back back to micked shots. Looking for something to change up your dinner routine. Helps support local Frisco businesses by choosing one of over thirty restaurants at the Star District. For information on delivery, take out, curbside pick out, and dying in availability, visit the Star District dot com. All right, Mickey, up to the challenge on a special edition to mix shots.

You got new ears listening to you here, and you you survive that without without skipping a beat. Let's be careful. I still got one more to go. I don't get cocky, all right. I asked a question before the break, the biggest difference between the Cowboys and the Steelers. Let's go around the horn. What do you what do you think is the biggest difference between those two teams? Right now? Let's go with our guests first. All right, heck man, you want to go first? I mean, I mean, are

we talking? You're talking right now? Between these two teams, I think, obviously, the continuity that they have at quarterback. I think Big Ben gives them, um gives them a heck of a lot more than what we're getting from our quarterbacks right now. And and their defense, those would be the two things that I would point to that would be, uh, the apparent difference between the Stealers and the Cowboys for sure. All right, day, I feel like I feel like it is a trick question, like you're

trying to bait me into something. My answer, I mean, what to see if you see what you think? How about how about the record because one of them, one of them is currently uh currently in position to get the buy in the AFC, and the other one is number three in the draft though, and I mean I could I couldn't go for that one. I thought that that he's got something else waiting for me. Surely, surely there must be something going on, because that's obvious. I mean,

and Heckman was totally right. The reason for that is the quarterback and the injuries and the continuity. But yeah, one of these teams is planning on playing deep into January. And the other answers here, there are no wrong answers. They're all pretty obvious answers, all right. And I love that one. There's bottom line Dave Hellman right there. He just cuts to the chase. I love that was that was a perfect answer. All right, Mickey, what's your answer?

So let me give you three numbers from each team and you decide which side of the ball is the cause of it. Okay, So for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they registered two sacks, seven tackles for losses, and nine quarterback hits. Your Dallas Cowboys total zero sacks, three tackles for losses,

and two quarterback hits. So we can talk about the differences in the quarterbacks for sure, but sounds like either protection or the ability to put pressure on the opposing quarterbacks were the difference between the Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers or mate and but Big Ben said after the game on Sunday that he thinks that that Cowboys pass rush might have been the toughest that they faced all

season long. Did it ever hit them more than one time? Well, they they testament they got his knees there at the end of the finish it all right. So my answer to the question is and this, I think this gives the Cowboys hope for the Cowboys fans hope for the future. The biggest difference between these two teams injuries. I mean, when you look at the whole key, it's a it's an attrition is such a huge factor in this in

any NFL season. But if you look at that Steeler's roster and compare it to the Cowboys, I mean, there is no comparison there. They lost Devin Bush, who they think they feel like they are replacing a little bit because they traded for Avery Williamson. That will help him in the second half of the season and on end of the playoffs. But you go across the board, what have they lost injury wise? Yeah, in that game they were missing Tyson alua Lua. Okay, but he's not out

for any duration of time. But we all know what the Cowboys are dealing with injury wise. But in an offseason, you are putting your team together and you're thinking, these are the guys that are going to be with me. Yeah, now you're gonna lose some guys. The Cowboys have lost so many and on both sides of the ball. We

already talked. We were talking about the secondary, what they lost, the defensive tackle even with the Gerald McCoy injury the first practice of training camp, and obviously what happened on the offensive side. But if the Steelers lose their two tackles, their quarterback, then the guys that the Cowboys are losing, they'd be sitting here at the same record the Cowboys have.

But Bill, Bill, you knew that Garrett Gilbert was going to be the starting quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers before the season. Right, come on, man, I was being funny. I was being els a joke, Mickey, that's a joke. Don't jump over. So think about it. Think about it. For at least one play in that game, the Cowboys were down to their fourth left tackle right because they didn't get Collins. Yeah, Irving was heard. Brandon Knight gets in there. Then then they get, uh, who am I forgetting?

There was somebody else there for a while before Night got I mean Irving got back right. Um, well, they moved steal, they moved steal the side, and then Connor McGovern came in and right right, But there was somebody else between when Night got hurt until Irving came back. I'm forgetting. You're talking, yeah, big picture, I forgot. I forgot. So that was like their fifth for one snap, fifth start left tackle, and you make a good point. Um, and you you've got guys out there playing that really

hadn't played all that much. I had forgotten about Night until I think I saw him out here today doing rehab work. You know, I think about this a lot all the way back at the very start of training camp, when they were you know, the whole storyline with using the Omni Hotel as a bubble. Dak Prescott had to quote that was like, the healthiest team is gonna win, and he was taught he was talking about COVID, but low and behold, it applies to it applies to regular

old injuries too. So yeah, I mean, you're not wrong, Bill, You're absolutely not wrong. That was a prophetic word from Dak. He didn't even know how that statement was. And the other thing is the healthiest team is gonna win and they are the least healthy team in the league. The other thing about it is it's even more obvious this year because of their new rules this year as far as using using i R where a guy can you can keep a guy out for three weeks and then

they can come back. So it's obvious. You just look on paper and look at how many guys this team has used and how many guys this this team has used, and it's uh, I think if you go down, probably if you took the time, uh to go down. The rosters of the teams that have that are well above five hundred right now. The biggest difference is going to

be those teams are healthy. I mean it's amazing what San Francisco has been able to do with all the injuries that they've had, just to be hovering around five hundred on the season. Yeah, and speaking of the injuries, and then not only do you lose your backup quarterback to a concussion, and then you lose them for another game for putting them on reserve COVID nineteen. So that even added to this whole deal of the Cowboys having to start their fourth quarterback and then lo and behold.

This week, the COVID thing affects them again because of the McDonald the tight end for Pittsburgh testing positive the next day, and so the Cowboys had to go into their I think they call it intensive COVID nineteen protocol, having the rest of the meetings this week. Whatever they had planned going virtual, and the Wednesday practiced that they were going to have, they had to cancel. So in

a you know, inadvertent way. Uh, it's it's affecting them this week too, when they could have least had one practice, now they'll have none. And that beat continues to you know, go on. I'm honestly not even worried about them not having a bye week practice and I don't want to be. I don't want to be mister doom and Gloom, But I'm gonna be a few days and seeing if there's anything in the news about positive tests, because that's that's

the bullet you've got to dodge now. Is hopefully nobody on this team was you know, close enough to Vance McDonald that they're going to wind up testing positive, and you know, that's the last thing this team needs is Saturday or Sunday morning word comes out that a few guys have tested positive or whatever. And I don't want to I don't know that it's happened. I don't know that it will happen, but it's definitely something you got to keep an eye on. He did play, ask what

else can go wrong? Yeah? No, absolutely, yeah. He was out there, he played twenty players, he caught one pass and unfortunately Donothan Wilson had to tackle him. So yeah, we'll see how this goes forward. Well. I will say this though, that if there is a Cowboys player who caught it from Vance McDonald during the game, it would be the first time on record anyway that what they know of that that a football player has caught it

from an opposing player, uh, during a game. I haven't heard it on the college I know it hadn't happened in the NFL. Come on, Bill, Bill, Bill, it hasn't happened yet, okay, And so it hadn't happened on the college level. I mean the doctors that I've talked to about it leading up to the college's trying to make a decision. I've got a good friend who's a doctor, and he said, the problem is not going to be on the field. The problem for like for the colleges.

It's gonna be after the game. It's gonna be at the bars, it's gonna be wherever, you know. But because of the ventilation and so forth, the problem, and so I think it knock on wood. I think it'll be surprising if if a cowboy player catches it from a from Base McDonald unless they were hanging out on Saturday night or something of like hope, So Bill sort of like the Notre Dame student body advancing onto the field after the upset Clemson, that's right, he's kids. They were.

They were in closer proximity to each other than that for a longer period of time though than the football players are on the field. I don't as a as a kid these days or thinking a kid on this show. I don't think. I don't think it's a coincidence that we're seeing spikes around college football because you know, Halloween is ten days in the rearview. So hopefully, uh, hopefully the NFL did a better job of staying in on

Halloween than than colleges did. All right, we're approaching the two o'clock hour, which is when I am supposed to do my interview with Mike McCarthy for the Mike McCarthy Show. So I think I guess I will bail out here and wait on the arrival of the coach. We've still got the camera up in here, so yall can look in on what's happening if you'd like, and we can get our question ten minutes. Yeah, do you have a question? Hey, Bill, ask this. You can tell me right now, and I'll

decide whether I'm going to use quarterback controversy. Quarterback controversy. There you go, do we have a quarterback controversy? Coach finally get a quarterback to come within five points of winning a game, Now he should be the starter. There you go. I mean that's what they're trying to say. All right. I don't think we'll get much of an

answer for a coach on that. All right, So I guess you three carry on on mix Shots, and I'll be trying to listen in as we await the arrival of Mike McCarthy here inside the Academy Sports and Outdoor studios. He's not going to be arriving here. He does it from near his office and Ford Center. All right, But mix Shots continues in a moment, we're backing the tasty treat that's sweeping air waves and taste buds. It's new Doctor pepper and cream soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor

pepper and cream soda. Is he a new Combonet's music to my ears? Okay, doctor music to my ears and mouth? New Doctor pepper and cream soda. Delic Dear, it's nineteen o eight. Don't you think we should get electricity and stop using candles to see at 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, God dear, did you just run into the wall. I

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why I run with John Deer today. In fact, I have a John Dear 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 SLOR pioneers ways to

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by by Globe Life. Starting at just twenty bucks, visit Dallas Cowboys dot Com Slash United, and we are back on the Mix Shots Swap Show. Mickey Spagnola along with HECKM. Harrison from The Talking Cowboys and David Hellman from the Lunch and Bill had to step away to take care of his interview with Mike McCarthy for The Mike McCarthy Show. So we're gonna go this last segment just the three of us and I I did have a question for you guys, since I've got the two kind of draft

gurus here with me. Uh Tach McKinley got released, what are your thoughts I saw that. To be really honest with you, I'm I'm on board. Like one one of the benefits of being bad is that they're third in the waiver order. So anybody that hits waivers, you got a really good shot at him. They wanted Tech McKinley and twenty twenty seventeen. Yeah, um yeah, and I traded up in front of him to get him, and they

had to settle for Taco Charlton. We can talk about that another day, but it doesn't It doesn't cost you anything to claim him. And you liked him three years ago. I you know, he obviously didn't live up to the billing, or else he'd still be in Atlanta. But I don't see what you have to lose, No, agreed, Dave. I mean tech tech McKinley out of Ucla. I think we loved him, and and like you said, Atlanta moved up

to get him. I don't know what all his problems were in Atlanta, but for them to move away from him, I think that those are gonna raise some flags, and so I want to definitely know what those are. Obviously, staying healthy may have been his issue as well in Atlanta, but former first round draft pick Man still looks like he has a lot of good years in front of him. For us, Man, we need the youth movement to start immediately.

So absolutely I would be willing to take a swing at him to see it, at least what he has left. So I've got somewhat of an answer for you how things went sour there. And by the way, he's only played four games this year. He's had a groin injury, and so he had been missing games and he hadn't played I think they even the last two games. And to David's point, you know, he's on the last year of his of his contract, and basically the base salary

is what you would have to pick up. So we're what eight games, nine games into the season, so you would have to pick up seven sixteenths of like nine hundred and fifty thousand, which is negligible, right, that's really not that much. But here's what happened. He wanted to get traded and they wouldn't trade him, so he got mad, and they didn't pick up his fifth year option, which was going to be ten point three million, So that's one of the red flags, like, oh, why not they

aren't they picking up that option. And then when they wouldn't trade him by the trade deadline, I guess he took the social media to sound off saying saying that they said they trade me, they didn't trade me, and they got pissed at him. And Raheem Morris, the head coach now interim that's the word I was looking for. He when they asked him what wentn't wrong, and he said, I think it's immaturity. Tack will be handled accountably. Well

they handle it. It was like, you know what you want to sound off like that, Okay, you're out, go find a job because no one wanted to give us enough in the trade market. Wouldn't even give us a sixth and an eighth or six and a seventh. I think it was for you, So go see what you can find. This is a pretty common This is a pretty common phenomenon in the NFL these days. I mean, Carlos Dunlap did something serious, very similar to get out

of Cincinnati. I know he's a much more experienced player, but honestly, Tacer O'charlton is a pretty fair comparison too. Like that was that was not an amicable split. The Cowboys were very happy for him to be gone by the time they finally cut him. And I'll be honest, I don't keep close tabs on Taco, but he spent most of the season in Miami, and he's been with Kansas City, and it certainly doesn't seem like he's a problem child. So sometimes a change of scenery can do

a lot for you. I do no go ahead, ex sorry, no, I wanted to say, you know, when when it comes down to athletes and being disgruntled and contract years, I mean that's like historic, that's a going theme all around the league. But there has to be something more too. And like you said, they're a first round guy that's now they won't give up a six or seven for them. So I guess those are the question marks that I

have for tack McKinley. But then also, you know this defense, I'm just going back to the guys that we have are starting to play better together. I don't want to be under any illusion here. Are you guys starting to feel the same way about this defense that has been historically bad that are starting to take some steps now? Yeah? You know what? And I made a comment about that,

and I really hadn't thought about it yesterday. Somehow I got into that conversation of since the Cowboys, uh, you know, moved on from Poe and Worly, who was the other guy. There was three guys they ended up Everson Griffin. Everson Griffin and I made this comment, and I've heard heard this before, so I'll throw it out at you guys. I said, sometimes when you have a team together, there's something to have a bunch of guys on your team with sweat equity. Like I've been through the trials and

tribulations with this team. I've gone through some of the good stuff, but I've also fought through the bad stuff. And then I get three guys that are basically carpetbaggers coming in on one year deals, trying to make a name for themselves, right, and it's like, do they care about the team or do they care about themselves? Oh? Man, I mean Everson Griffins got equity. He's been to like four Pro Bowls, but he's a new coop. He's named after Everson Walls. He loved I mean he loved the Cowboys. Yeah,

I'm serious, he was. Okay, you call him man of carpetbagger. I don't even know where to go after that. But when it comes down to what we have now, you could tell, like these guys, whatever that was when they got rid of those three guys, it it rejuvenated this defense, and whether it was just time from a historic standpoint, I think you're starting to see a little bit of sunshine through those dark clouds for the Cowboys defense, and there are improvements even on the back end with and

I know, Mick. We didn't get any sacks versus the stealers, but still guys were getting close. We had some sex strip bumbles negated by costly penalties. But still you're starting to see a lot more things come together other than the injuries and guys just playing out of position the way that it looked all season. I mean, let me agree with it. Let me I was gonna say, let me point out this. The last two games, the run

defense right improved greatly. Yes, did everybody just figure it out at once that oh that's my gap, that's my gap. And they were playing gap integrity as a team and not as an individual chasing sacks or an individual just kind of standing up in the middle line and doing nothing. It's like me in statistics class the third time. Sometimes it just thought the stick, you know, I think maybe they just got a hold of it. I figured they could do it. And the eighth and nine game the

stick right. I don't know if it's a point. I don't disagree. I don't disagree with anything y'all are saying and the results speak for themselves. They look way more competent. But this is a business at the end of the day, and you've got half a season of evidence that suggests that you're not very good. And also, going back to the point from earlier, your record says you're probably not

going anywhere important. So if it's me, I'm turning over every stone I can to see how I can improve and add talent to this defense, and not just Tack McKinley. I meant to bring the love to see more of Bradley and I in these next seven games. I want to know what I've got because the whole we like who we've got. We're build like a where are you building toward right now? You're not. You're probably not going

on the playoffs. So Bradley and I, yes, if you can claim Tack McKinley, yes, no, And me and Kyle like I mean, obviously we worked on the draft together, so we both like and I. But now is the time to try to acquire talent. You don't know what the future holds for Alden Smith. They have they have the rights to Randy Gregory, but he certainly doesn't have a clear long term future right now, I'm doing everything in my power to try to add talent to this

team that I can evaluate over the second half. And if you can get Tack McKinley for nothing, doesn't sound like a terrible idea. In my opinion. You may be renting them for seven games, but you're not obligated to them going forward if it doesn't work. I'm with you guys on that. Hey, and just remember there only one victory behind the team leading the NFC East, and that's that's big, man. That's that's big. And that's also something to consider. But guys, we got to talk about the

elephant in the room here. Now, we got a quarterback situation going on with Andy Dalton and Garrett Gilbert. I want to know what you think about those two quarterbacks going forward after the bye week. Well, unfortunately we have two minutes and we may have to pick it up tomorrow. But I think the quick, all right, all right answer is there was a reason why everybody was so fired up about Andy Dalton being the backup quarterback. I think

you got to see that one through. Yeah, I mean we can, we can get into it in detail tomorrow, but I think it's kind of wild that I mean, and Garrett Gilbert, he played so great. I'm not trying to take anything away from him. But I'm not ready to go away from a ten year veteran because Garrett Gilbert had a nice day in a tough circumstance. I mean, especially, you know, talk to me again in December if they're ten, Yeah, maybe you want to get a look at the younger guy.

But for the time being, while the division is still maybe within reach, I'm playing Andy. Heck, you get the last one. That may be something to be No, that's something to be considered. I think that Garrett Gilbert, as far as the eyeball tests he came in is looked to me, and like everybody else is seeing that the team was receptive to him. Andy Dalton in his time starting you you got a lot of drives that didn't finish with points, so you have a lot to measure.

You had a lot to juggle from this coach and staff. But it sounds like to me that they're already saying that Andy Dalton is going to be their guy. And I've always been of the mind that Andy Dalton came here to Dallas thinking that he would never get any live action other than you know later in the season. But hey, that's neither here nor there. We'll talk about that tomorrow. Yeah, no, absolutely, And I'll throw this out and we can pick it up tomorrow when we have

the mixed Shots wife swap. That's hard to say, really hard, We'll say, right, but I heard so many point this album, and I'll give him credit for it if I can remember who did it. It was like Andy Dalton basically came here on a one year deal because he was hoping he could parlay that into a long term deal

with another team, right, maybe even a starting job. Yeah, you've got Garrett Gilbert here, and maybe you want to find out can he be your somewhat veteran backup quarterback going forward when Dak Prescott comes back, and you've got another seven games to maybe figure that out and not say, oh, I've got to turn this over to Ben Denucci or I got to go find another veteran quarterback to back up Dak Prescott. So smoke on that for a while and we'll see what we think tomorrow when we come

back to Mick Shots. Thanks to Bill for dropping in before he had to take off the interview. Mike McCarthy, heck, mcdave, talk to you guys tomorrow. Mickey Spagnola and that was Mick shots. This has been a production of Dellas Cowboys dot Com and the Dellas Cowboys Football Club