Mick Shots: Terrific Tuesday

Arizona Cardoffs. Playoff bound but reeling Arizona Cardinals taking on the rolling playoff bound Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at at and T Stadium. Bill Jones, Everson Walls, and Mickey Spagnola on this one of the anniversary of one of the greatest days in Cowboys history, December twenty December twenty eighth, nineteen seventy five. Oh yeah, come on, guys, you don't give me a break that hell there rogers stop back to Drew Pearson. So there you go, right man, He'll marry.

So that's twenty five forty six. Lets that lets you know I was bound forty six years bound Dallas Cowboy today. Hello, listen, I'm bound to be a Dallas cat. What did you do when that player? Hey, man, I might tell you I was. That was my birthday. My mom was in there making a cake, and boy, when he caught that pass, I was so faking happy. I came skipping into the kitchen. Mom, Cowboys just won the game. She's like, Okay, that's great whatever.

I'm just trying to remember if I actually was watching the game on TV, I was dying. I was happy to be watching the game. There was no other game on team. It was a playoffs, a wild card playoff games. Yeah, but I might have been working. He was. That was my first year, nice out of college. Really, yeah, Missouri wasn't in a bowl game. I was. Yeah, he was in Chicago. I was working in Anderson, South Carolina. I was gonna say he was somewhere Mississippi, somewhere down there.

I was shocking a place where Italians are just revered all the time. Yeah. Let me tell you how many back in nineteen seventy six, how many times I was called Yankee down there? And you might as well go back home, right? Did you should have adopted an accent? Appreciate me one they knew you were Yankee by the

way you just typed your work. I think one of the first interviews on the phone I did with some coach and they was telling me it was a high school deal and they were telling me what league they were in, and it was the pell Metal League. I had never heard of a pell Metal tree, right, And I was like, what they go, pell metto South Carolina, the Palmetto state it might have been. No, it is not. There is a state, though, there is? Is it like a uh magnolia tree? Sort? Okay, okay, there you go.

And I got the when I didn't ask him, could you spell that? Guys? Where are you from? Yeah? There go? All right, I'm having to look up the Palmetto Yeah, South Carolina it is. It is the Palmettos state. So that was the reason the conference and I didn't learn it, Yes, I right. And I also and I also learned that the Civil War was still being about too, yeah, no doubt and still being fought in Yes, all right, so it is for Tuesday watching it? Of course I was

watching it. Of course I was. Was it a Sunday? It was a Sunday, it was, yes, it was. Church was done by then, So I don't think I went that day because I was I was watching the game. I was watching the whole game, and Mom was making the cake, and I remember it was the Vikings you speaking, okay, cake. We had forgotten it was your birthday cake. Up cake. In fact, there they are, Chris, count them up, Chris, count them up? How many cakes are there? This? This

eleven eleven? Here we go, guys. Don't catch the microphone off fire. Alcohol might catch fire. Guys, good job. All right, you gonna make a wish, I'm gonna make it. Are you gonna sing Happy birthday? I don't sing. Okay, good, all right, you made your wish? I did, all right. You gotta get them all? There you go, you got one more? There you go. I'm so glad they didn't. God, that's what I was worried about. Yeah, exactly. Oh came back. It's one of those candles that doesn't get this done.

There you go, put that over there before the water. You know why I bought those because they were supposed to be sparkle candles. Yeah, they were sparkling, flaming. We do have a sprinkler, sister, be careful, could gallery thank you? Guys man, Happy birthday, Thank Birthday, very much. I appreciate it. Sixty two By the way, if sixty two sixty two years old, good thing we didn't have sixty two can thank god you do that. But that's why I knew I was bound to be a cowboy. That day that

sealed it for growing up in Hamilton Park. I died with every loss. I know you did too. Of the Kings used to kick our butts before that day, so Vikings owned us still high school then I was sixteen, Yes, yeah, I was junior junior in high school. Yeah, and uh, I hated the Purple people either because they would kick out butts every time. And this was the time we find the guy. You know what kind of did it kind of in the in the brain of the Vikings

did it? Did it? Did it? Should it did? Because before that was Chuck Foreman and all those guys for talking to him. Yeah, they had talent on them. They kept going to the Super bowls, kept losing them, kept losing them to him. Not as bad as Buffalo, but yeah, what hell? Four? It's four depends on if you're a Vikings fan or not. Right, well, so good. That's a good way to kick off the show. I still fell feel the sopha in my nose. All right, Mickey, so what do you what do you you got? Oh? Wow,

you got a legal pad full of stuff. You got papers strewn across the table in front of you. So today we'd like to start. Today's the first day that teams without head coaches can ask for permission UH to interview assistant coaches in the league. And it's being reported that Jacksonville has asked permission of the Cowboys for Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore UH and also have asked permission

UH for Doug Peterson, Todd Bowles and Byron Leftwich. Well, they don't have to ask permission for for Peter Peterson. They just want to interview us. And I think they already did brought him because Peterson didn't have a job, right, and then Todd Bowles and Byron Leftwich both at Tampa Bay. Right, So that's kicked off the start. Who's the other team? That's there's two teams need to already fired their coaches. It was jack it was what Jacksonville and the Raiders Sarraiders,

that's right. Well, I don't know Besacchi is going to get him in the play off. He may he may earn that job. Can they interview him? So do we have anyone? Do we have any of Dan's disciples? Uh? And and I'll get to that and so uh. Quinn was asked about it on Monday and his response was, I'll be ready if the right scenario presents itself. I wasn't coming here to look what my next job would be. I wanted to come here and have a blast and hopefully kick ass and make an it. Well he's doing that.

So and then Kellen Moore's response on Friday, if the opportunity shows up, that would be awesome. But we've got a lot to take care of with this thing here first. So what you would expect the coaches to say? Uh, Mike McCarthy, you know the head coach always it's definitely well deserving and they're ready, so you embrace that basically, opportunity. I think these jobs are hired to get. So that

was his response on Monday during his media session. Okay, and so now what is the process If they want they want to interview them, when can they interview them? So I read because the process used to be that we had to wait until after the season, right, And I one of the reports said that for the Cowboy coaches that was going to be virtually so somebody in

to get them away from what's going on. Another thing that's come from the pandemic where you can just zoom an interview and do something face to face, right yea, And so they can do that as early as this week. They starting today if they get permission, because today's the first day. I think we're going to put a game plane in today, So we're not going to do We're not going to that. But once the hay is in the barn, as they say, maybe even Friday, I think

will approve that. What do you think? So it said that they're allowed to ask for permission in weeks seventeen and eighteen of the season and then they can didn't say anything about week nineteen because the way the rule

has been for a team to that point. What the rule has been here most recently is a team that had a bye in the first round of the playoffs, they could interview and an assistant coach could interview during that week and then but once it got to game week, they were And so now what they've changed on the rule these last two weeks of the regular season, They're going to give them permission to interview for the jobs and then they can focus on the taskt brand and

you would only have one team. That would I mean with the old rule, you would have more possibilities, right because there's more teams with buys now with one, which, yeah, that would be another reason why they would relax that rule cut down the canon. Now. I didn't hear Dan Quinn's press conference yesterday, but I did see a tweaked

about that. Something that he said about, uh, he wishes they would tweak the rules as far if an assistant coach got the head coaching job elsewhere moving on to that new position quickly, did he say something about that. I don't Okay, maybe he didn't. Don't recall like he wants no, no, not not for him personally, but that for the rule that a coach could go ahead and take on his new job before he's done here in

coe like in college. Yeah. For instance, for instance, an assistant coach, especially Joey MacGuire at Baylor, he was the assistant head coach and three weeks left in the season he got the Texas Tech job and they let him go at that point. Yeah, there was nothing said, there was nothing talked about about that. Yeah, okay, and I think that would be like quitting and taking a college job before the season's over. What happens all the time?

It happened, It happened here. What's that? What's I don't understand? No, that was it happened here, and it was it was with the blessing zat They booted them all out, They showed him the door. I think they pulled some strings to get him the job at Oklahoma. But remember we talked a week or so ago about Atlanta, right with who was it went to Arkansas? Petrino right left his staff high and dry there and Zimmer was on that

staff and he was still hot over there. If you ever, if you ever look up that interview on YouTube, it's a good one because he let him have it. The next year he was okay. You know in on the in the at the college level, there's a there's a real especially with that early signing day. Yeah, there is a real reason why a coach needs to get to

his college job. He's got he's got it, can recruit immediately, and that's why we saw this year, uh, the colleges making firings during the regular season and basically hirings during the regular season so that their new coach can hit

the ground running recruiting. From an NFL standpoint, what is the advantage I mean, outside of just preparing, you know, and studying your new roster and being at the Senior Bowl and uh and so forth, what is the advantage of going on to your new job, Because well, I would think you want to start putting your staff together, right, that would be one. But if guys still are under condy, I'd still be working in and that would be the

main reason. Right. But if you had, like for instance, in at the college level right now this week, Dan Lanning is the new head coach at Oregon, right okay, And he's been announced as the new head coach at Oregon, but he is staying as the defensive coordinator at Georgia because they're playing in this playoff and he is going to be calling the defense that's on Friday for the Georgia Bulldogs at their national semifinal game. And so can you.

There's no reason for the NFL to what said, oh, you also has a few guys that are coaching in their bowl game and then gonna go out to USC. I mean, yeah, and that's what usually I think they're gone. We don't want that, we don't want them around. Um, I'm going to forget his name. Your former quarterback at OU that left Missouri. He as the offensive coordinator, Josh Hypel. Josh Hypel, he was at Tennessee head coach at Tennessee, Missouri played their bowl. Oh yeah, and that happens all

the time. And he took the tight end coach with it. No, he took the other coach with him, and so a tight end coach who had never called plays became the offensive coordinator. Right. How do you think that bowl game turned turn out? You know, you know what happened in Cliff Kingsbury, who now the Cowboys playing the first no. But he went from Texas A and M. He was the offensive coordinator at Texas A and M. Johnny Manzell was his quarterback and he got the Texas Tech head

coaching job. He left before A and M played Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, and he basically the assistant coaches were running the show, and it was it was Clarence Shellman, who was a running backs coach who was calling plays and a GA by the name of Riley Dodge, who was helping him call plays in that Cotton Bowl, which was a lopsided blowout win for Texas A and m Over Oklahoma. It worked out really well for them in

that game. But to your point, Everson, this Dan Lanning staying on at Georgia uh and and already being and and being actively the head coach at Oregon is is very unusual. And the only time they do it at the college level is if you're in the college playoffs. I mean, there's these other bowl games are but I can't see when you talk about the head coaching job, when is this? When is the Senior Bowl being played?

Is it before the Super Bowl? Is? Yes? This that's why as a as a pro coach, you kind of want to be in position with your new team at that Senior Bowl. If you're not, if your team's not the playoffs and or you yeah, or you need permission to go down there. Although you know what for the Senior Bowl, and one of the important things there is

the in person interviews and set up. But the practices you can get them on tape, but that's not why they Yeah, like you said, they go there to talk to the kids right, Yeah, but you can send the scouts there and they do a really good job. So yeah, they get in the way of the media after the practice sessions, so you know they're doing a good job. Okay, look, let's look at it at this situation. Let's say whether

it's Jacksonville, Las Vegas, whoever it might be. They decide they want to hire either Kellen Moore or Dan Quinn as their head coach, and they make that decision by January twelfth, which is before the playoffs start. Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn they are not leaving this job until it is seen all the way through the end, and hopefully that would be all the way through the Super Bowl. Even though so it could be, could it be announced that they are the new head coach of the Jacksonville

Jaguars on January whenever that decision. The still stay with the Cowboys all way and and trusting both sides, trusting that the guys opposed as opposed to what happened with SMU and TCU this year. TCU had their opening on Halloween. They basically a week later decided they were hiring the SMU head coach, Sonny Dikes as their coach, but and SMU had a lot to play for. They did not play well down the stretch. In fact, they lost I think the last three games or four of the last

five or whatever. And then after the SMU season was over, they went ahead and made the announcement that Sonny Dikes is the new head coach at TCU. The decisions, the decision had already been made before that, but it was never announced. So I'm wondering, will the NFL handle it differently and go ahead and make the announcement or it will How do you keep something like that secret. You can't. You can't. It wasn't a secret. It was with Sunny Dikes exactly. Yeah, they tried to make it seem like

it was a secret. The truth is like water. They'll find its own level, all right. And speaking of the truth, Okay, before we go to this, I want to clarify on the Minnesota Vikings because I said that that kind of the Hail Mary kind of ended their run. Well, actually it did not kind of end their run, because the next year they lost in the Super Bowl in nineteen seventy six, and then they lost in the conference championship

game in nineteen seventy seven. Let's see who might so that was the win on the Cowboys on their way to a Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos. All right, more mix shots in just a moment. Good safe, Hey Cowboys fans, ready to spice up your next watch party, Bring Yokiero guacomole and be the game day hero. The Yokierro means I want and we know you want. Great fresh tasting, ready to serve guacomole for your home gating

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Specic restrictions and exceptions may apply back back to Micked shots. Dak Prescott is the Cowboys nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, presented by Nationwide, recognizing NFL players for outstanding community service activities off the field

and excellence on the field. Help Dak earn a twenty five thousand dollars donation to his faith Fight Finished Foundation by voting on Twitter tweet hashtag wp m o Y challenge, followed by Prescott through January seventeenth vote dec nice, that was perfect, all right, you got much more. You know, we didn't get to a whole lot of on Sunday Night's game because we dwelled so much and rightly so on the eleven interceptions. And we talked to Marcus Lawrence

some yesterday's show. Any other nuggets from Sunday night that I got one, and I got one, so good. Let me go first the birthday boy, Thank you, floor first drive, Yes, our last third down play. I was just going to bring what the heck man, what are we doing? That was that plan was a great design. I was thinking about that driving in that's amazing, said that I was going to present it what was the worst play from the game, but it could have been the best if

he didn't drop. Here. Here's the amazing thing about that, in my opinion, is the week before, have you ever seen that play? I had not. I want to say I have before. The week before the New York Jets ran that same play, and I don't know if it was an end of games scenario, but I saw a tweet and I retweeted it at the time when I saw it the week before, and actually passed it on

to a friend. Braxton Barriosum was on the I think he was in the Yamari Cooper role and the receiving end of the past from another player, and he has some family that live here that you know, and so I passed it onto them. Hey, Braxton made a play what He also had a kickoff return for a touchdown this week. But anyway, but it was amazing because I saw that play and then the Cowboys basically ran the same play, and I was like, now is he add living? Noah,

Maari was setting. So I'm sitting there wondering do these play callers in the do they like text each other and hey, look what play I ran. No, tried to hide it, but then hey, Kellen saw it. I must have been what happened, because I'm sure you not only was a Mary waiting. I think I saw CD blocking. I saw CD blocking after he pitched it. After he pitched it, and he was blocking the guys away from the sideline because Mary's on the sideline. CD was blocking

to shield them from the sideline, like inside inside. He pushed them back inside. Now that's not what you want them because that's what Cedric was going. But but it's like, is it an option play for the receiver? Okay? Because Cedric had a decision to make it as he I mean, he was approaching first, the first step, and he had some players in that way. I understood the decision that Okay, I can't get there, I'm gonna go ahead. But I would imagine he has that option. That's where it was.

It was like an RPO. It was an RPO judging or judging from what he didn't do on the fake punt against Washington last year. They probably told him pitch the thing, don't hold on to it, but he judging job, judging by the reaction just the body language of the head coach on the sideline. Yes, it looked like the head coach would have preferred to go ahead and try to get that. First reaction was Kyle, we set up

another good play, didn't That's what I'm thinking, catch the ball. Okay, he was like that because the he dropped the ball. But if he catches that ball, man, we're looking like genius. And he had to make sure the pitch was behind Sure it was. Did Cooper have to turn to No? It was right, it was behind I know the past. Yeah,

that's what I mean. It went it was a lad one yeah yeah right, yeah, absolutely, But I was trying to remember if it was behind Cooper, did he have to turn or was it in front of him where he could catch everything? You see, it didn't he did. He just pivoted. Yeah, it hit him here right right, And I don't so, I don't know. He had a lane up. The sideline's so busy. Look I think he was excited. Yeah, it's like, oh, this isn't gonna work. So yeah, that's my that's ok. I realized we forgot

to talk about. Yeah that was because that was the only U really mistake that they made the entire game. That's all I saw. If you're gonna knitpick, then that's how that at first drive culminated. And that's not what we wanted in that regard. So after that, no hiccups at all. Of course, perfect game otherwise, can you um they only had three penalties for like fifteen yards? Here did we have a fumble anytime? Here's what I saw

after they punted on that first possession. It was touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. I love that now one of them. One of them was the interception repurci the picks. And then you start the second half and there was a three and out right, and then it was a touchdown on special teams and touchdown on the special teams. Yes, and then it's tough to knit after that, huh. But yeah. So I think one of the things we probably didn't talk enough about

was Zeke was running like Zeke. The numbers don't reflect, no, they don't, but the touchdown run did. The fact that he got into the clear on the touchdown reception where it was a play fake, he went into the line and veered out and he was running well. So that means in LA and I made a point of this, I think two weeks ago that they other than Pollard's fifty eight yard touchdown run, they just don't run the

ball in the end zone, especially in the red zone. Yes, and now in consecutive weeks he's got a thirteen yard touchdown run in eleven yard touchdown run and they finished it off diving for the pylons. So I can't believe whatever that whatever that need braces doing, it's working. Yeah. And he called the past and they called the past right Yeah. In the red zone, yes, so we were clicking in the red zone. Were six or six of the red after three of thirteen was it? Or three

of eleven? And I mean, let's, you know, let's put things into perspective. We know out the way it was supposed to. You could clearly see that some of the backups had no idea what they were doing. The play to Elliott looked just as the play to Shouts. They didn't cover either one of them. They're still not close to covering those. So you could see where especially number twenty in the defensive backfield for the for the Washington, he was never on his man right. He always looked lost,

and they were playing backup linebacker. Yes they were. It was a lot of backup stuff going on. But what what it gave you a chance to do was to clarify what you need to do offensively. This is what it's supposed to look like. And when you talk about zis running, the running is not spectacular, but it's affective because then it's moving the chains. Yes, and it's we're getting enough on first down the second down to where they have to respect that run and they're bringing that

safety down. We just want to bring that safety down. Once he comes down, then we're going to feast on the outside. So I'm loving it. So sort of like the problems when you have your fourth quarterbacks starting last night and a backup backup? Right, how's that guy they had? They had? They played fifty seven different players, Yes, yes, on the Saints. Did they say it like this a record in the well, no meaning all season? They because they they played more than that. I'm sure. In regards

to no starters, I think starters starters. There you go, starters fifty seven, that's a record, that's a record. I think the red Skins are right behind them. That's like the Rangers pitching staff. They've gone through some secs where they've used fifty seven starters. I think that was maybe not starters. And I think that the worst part for Ian book was he didn't find out. I don't know how if he got a practice or two in uh

and then they couldn't block. I mean they were over for nine on third down at one point they gained they had one. They actually gained positive yardies once once positive positive judies. Yeah, first positives. So even though they didn't have a book on the Saints quarterback, they handled them pretty well. Here we go. The poor the poor right tackle couldn't block anybody. They tried to diagram one

play on why the blitz got there. And they were talking about the inside guy, you know, circling around and I'm going, all you do is look at the right tackle. He blew his block. The guy went right around him like he was a tomb. It's like, I don't care what kind of game they played inside if that guy didn't get him, that guy was getting Tayton and then he couldn't get a break on call. Yeah, they were

dogging him. Yeah, it's something about the Saint. We we we fussed all the time cowboys, Yeah, about getting bad calls. He's right, they are the most they are the most consistent team and getting the worst calls. He must have been on that competition committee and gave a bunch of those officials bad grades. He had so much to do before the half. He wants to fussing one of his players and get that straight. And before he did that, he's like, hey, come in, come in talking to the beflee.

We got to talk because he had just given the bogus call and he wasn't talking. He was yelling. Yeah, he was all right, there's more from that legal pad of Mickey's that we're going to get to and mix shots continue 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 forces since the Civil War. Fewer than four thousand have received

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for tickets and more information. And I don't know that the Cowboys could get ninety three thousand, four hundred and change into that stadium more excited than they were on Sunday night. Big crowd, Big crowd. Yeah, I was go ahead, I was going to say as Jerry said when he was asked about the crowd today on his fan report, he said, they were so excited. They were eight the popcorn boxes. Not just he has got them, he has got the most awards. Smith. Yes, he's like you, He's

just he's his own words. Smith. Um. I was doing live shots yesterday in the Plaza Tostitos Championship Plaza and there's a lot of a lot of activity there yesterday, a lot of fans just hanging out and basking in the glory of a victory Monday. And one little kid came up to me and I said, so, what do you think of that game yesterday? Hey, Dak won the my fantasy football championship for me? Right now, about a twelve year old kid? And what were you doing out there? Bill? Well,

I'll get to that in just second. Home. From a fantasy football perspective, Okay, it's crazy right now as people that play fantasy football out there. I've got I'm in three leagues and I literally don't pay attention to these teams all week long. Why are you in it? I got a family one, I've got a neighborhood one, and I've got one here at Cowboys TV. Okay, and so it literally is right before kickoff before I each week look at the light up and realized, oh, I gotta

make these adjustments. Okay. So somehow I was in the in two leagues. I was in the in the semifinals this past Sunday, and so I look at my team and I went on one of my teams. I had literally six guys in my starting light up who were out COVID or injury or whatever, and so I just had to start picking up guys off their way. Okay, let me show you. I picked up Damien Harris, the new England running back, who for some reason was out there. He got twenty eight points. I picked up Justin Jackson,

he got me thirty points. The only guy that I really had on the team was T Higgins Cincinnati. He got me. I picked up Joshua Palmer the Chargers, he got me twelve point eight points. Dawson knocks of the Bills because Kelsey was out, you got me eight points whatever. And then and I just blew away my opponent. Nice on both of What does that tell you, I don't know. It tells you don't have to study hard. That a fantasy is I never got into that. I never did either.

It's just really in the last five to seven and eight year or something like that, I just just try. We would we have a neighborhood fantasy draft party, and then everybody in the neighborhood just forgets about it all season. Basically. It's just it's bringing the nerds into sports. That's what I tried that, which is a good thing. One summer with baseball, when it was and I don't remember what it was called, somebody quit a league and buddy of mine said, oh, you can take it over. It's a

lot of fun. Right. Well, it's all based on percentage, right, and you have your roster. It's not fantasy. You got to manage your roster. So I would be stubborn. It's like, well, that's the best pitcher, he's got to go, you know, and then you leave them in one inning too long and the percentages catch up with you, right. And I would stay up to two o'clock in the morning playing these games trying to make up and I'm going never

again too. I'm too competitive. I can't remember. When I was coaching that junior high softball team fast pitched girls, I'd be at work scribbling out, oh, I do that my lineup right, the exact same thing. And it wasn't like and this was real. I can't imagine what I did, the exact same thing. You know, you'd set that girl's softball lineup where you got to clean up hit her in the fourth hole, and then you got another one in the eighth and you got the bad hitter. You know,

you got it. There's a real strategy make a difference. It did. It did, Yeah, there's no doubt about it. But it was funny. It was hilarious as we were my wife and I were sitting there and there then watching games at the noon games on Sunday. She wasn't really watching, she was doing what but I would shout every time, like to Jackson scored a touchdown. I was going, this is a basy. They don't play for the cow And I didn't even have my I didn't even have

my guy, Rex Burkhead on the team. And he went to see that. I just saw something that came that was an amazing bill on the TV and they were doing a fantasy thing and it was drafting available fantasy players going forward, and Burkhead was the number one guy thirty one years old, ninth year in the league, and he's he's playing for the Texas, and he's playing for the Texas. But he balled out. It's hard to play, it's all out in a situation. He was at day

one and he was kicked. But well, hell, he had a hundred something yards. They've had one hundred forty nine yards, but he was I didn't I was gonna play him. I look at fifty yards. I'm the president of the Rex Burkhead Fan Club, and I didn't put him in my fantasy football lineup when I had to have somebody. But he had one hundred fifty yards. He's had some hundred yard games. Fifty No, no, that's the first time one hundred and fifty year come on at thirty. But

the reason at thirty one years old. Okay, twenty round draft back, that was amazing. We took Joseph Randall. Go ahead, Mickey. So since we've been taught wait wait, wait, he wants he wants Burkehead to be here now, right forget Zeke? We got Zeke? Bad, No, we get no, no, no, just as the third back in his role, just like he was with the Patriots. Tom Brady would take him in a heartbeat, especially with what's going on there. Let's say, can't get your buddies to release the guy, and then

that's what I'm I wanted. Let's release burkehead down there. Nick Caisserio, the GM. Of course, he was with the Patriots forever and so that's why he wound up there and he was coming off in a cl to Houston has a big connection with that. Yeah, Boston, Yeah, yeah. So since we've been talking about interceptions and takeaways, I noticed here on the latest NFL stats, the Cowboys are tied for second with a plus fourteen differential takeaway turn

over the turn a pretty good differential. First is Green Bay at plus sixteen. And how are they doing in the standings? Green Bay? I think they've already clay number one, except the number one. So the number one seed in the in the NFC is plus sixteen and the number two seed is plus fourteen along with Indianapolis, which is there's something to play for except to have their quarterbacks out ten days the second game too. The last ask

who the backup is? Sam Ellinger's that's right. I think he's he's number two and they've got an important game every game. I think Sam could play pretty well, I really do, and he reminds me of here. I mean sometimes in a good way. So check out. Here's the here's the top teams in the turnaroad turnover differential, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Dallas, Buffalo, Arizona, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, New England. That's the top eight before a team shows up that Denver. I don't know if they

got a chance. I don't think they have a chance anymore. In the playoffs, obviously, Houston, Kansas City. The Rams are tied for ninth along with Seattle, and then comes New Orleans at fourteenth. So the only team the Chargers still have a chance. I think, yes, charge everybody Philadelphy. Three teams still have a chance. Philadelphia are tied for fifteenth,

in Miami's eighteenth, in Pittsburgh's eighteenth, Cincinnati's twentieth. After that, it's all the also rans except for Vegas because I still think they have Oh how about Baltimore, They're twenty ninth, they're minus ten. Too many too many gambles, right, too many gambles. So anyway, but the Cowboys are our first with thirty three takeaways, and they are first with twenty five interceptions. Okay, the Colts, by the way, they play the Raiders on Sunday and then they close at Jacksonville.

So what a great story it would be. And Sam Ellinger is the guy that's likely to start for the Colts against the Raid. What a great story it would be if Sam Ellinger is able to come in there and basically secure a playoff spot for the Colts with what all he had gone through this year. His brother died tragically on the spring right after he was drafted by the Colts. Yeah, it was a tragic situation. And UT right, Yeah, he was reserve linebacker on the UT

football team. Yeah, yeah, And so Sam had to deal with that, just as he had making the transition into the NFL. And well, he's a strong high care you know. Of course, he had lost his father when he was either in high school I guess he's in high school or early on it when he was at UT. But it would be that would be a great story if Sam Ellinger can lead them into problem. I truly think

he can. Um, he's solid quarterback. Had those problems at UT, you know, I guess because he was going through so much. I had no idea that what he was going through. But I just thought he didn't play up to his potential, especially his last year there and the way he plays his size, the way he runs the ball. He's a lot like Carson Wins, and if he could just stay away from those Wins mistakes, I think he'll do pretty well. I think he fits fits well into that about leaning

on that running back, Jonathan Take that's what you do. Yeah, yeah, just just handed off a goat. But but he's got to be able to show enough throwing the football that that defenses aren't. I truly believe that he can. I really do all right, Mickey got mixed. Shot the closest out with our final minute here. I was trying to see if Ellinger had any He hasn't had playing time to have it in here. Um Tyron Smith, Tyron Smith.

Garry Jones backed up Steven's assessment on Monday this morning, saying he's betting that Tyron Smith is good to go, so they're counting on him. We'll find out more tomorrow when they go to practice. But Jerry basically said that, uh, And he was asked if he ever got to catch a pass as an offensive lineman, and he said, I got mine. Before I became a guard, I was a fullback. Was he really yeah? And he said practice was a lot easier as a fullback than being a guard and

getting hit every play, every snap. So now, back then, the fullback carried the football. Oh yeah, well I remember there was a primary back. Was the fullback because a lot of time because technically Jim Brown was a fullback, right, wow, I never knew that. Oh yeah, and Um Green Bay Um Horning was the tailback. They called it a half was Oh why am i? Jim Taylor Taylor of Las was the fullback and he was their leading rusher all

the time. Now, Harning was a leading scorer because he'd kicked field goals too, while Garrison ran for a lot of yards. He says a fullback. Right. One year he led the Big eight in rushing at Oklahoma State. Believe it or not. I said, are you serious? He was like, whoa what do you mean? And I said, you were a fullback, hey man. He could run and run and he'd run through a wall to Oh, by the way,

Bay talked about Rayphael right catching his touchdown. They actually showed the video and there right there newspaper clipping and a confirmation a tight end. He was number eighty five, eighty five video, Yes, and it wasn't necessarily on the sideline. It was kind of like over the million who showed it? Uh NFL network. Okay they did, did they make the claim that he was wearing the number eighty five and entire show, and we tipped them off clarified that it

was a tight end. They knew it was a tight end, but just for the sake of the story itself, they called him and off there you go. They fake news again. But the real story here, they actually did say that he was they want they wanted to continue the narrative. Yeah, well so we we have corrected and clarified the narrative and Calie Rayfield, right, was a tight end on that time. I passed the picture onto the Cowboys PR department that showed that he had the ball in his hands eighty five.

He looked good, right, he looked really good. He was laid. He was a hell of a yeah, he was excited. Think about that. And he ended up at was at Valdosta State. He's no Fort Valley Valley, George. Yeah, and now man, and that's where shine, and that's where he ended up in college, right, because probably didn't have a lot of opportunity Fort Valley. Now he's what do you think his playing weight was, even as a offensive tackle. I bet he was in the two six. I wouldn't

be surprised if he was two fifty. Well, he was playing. It really didn't look good. And the only reason he got that scholarship is he was already as he told the story, Uh, he signed up for the military and he had to pull strings for someone to allow him out of his military commitment to go to college. And whoever did that basically told him, when you go there, you got to finish, otherwise you're back in the military. And uh, he ended up finishing, and they convinced him

to play football. About that, I'm gonna stay here, not going out there, said, I had a lot of incentive to stay in college. US. He's one of a few black men. I'm gonna stand in Georgia. All right. Well, that was a good mix shot to end on yea absolutely was my birthday. Yes, started with a birthday and ended up on yield. Right. He covered a lot of ground, all right, and enjoy the rest of your birthday. Every play tonight. Yes, wife's taking me out, and where are

we going to meet you? You see I didn't say, by the way, on ever since Birthday on CBS eleven to Night Night, We've got an exclusive Everson Walls with Trayvon dig Yes surprise Trayvon Diggs h and a zoom interview yesterday. Really it's good to see him laugh and and have a good show. At six and ten tonight on CBS eleven, we're showing that, and I think we're gonna replay that tomorrow here on mix Shots if I

can get permission, which I think I can. That sounds good and I'm gonna use one excerpt from it in my story about Everson Hint his reaction to diggs eleventh interception eleven cups. I can't believe he made eleven already. That's pretty cool, all right, So we will see you tomorrow here on mix Shots. Oh Cowboys. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.