The Around the NFL podcast.
Is practicing with the first team offense from.
The training camp of the Dallas Cowboys. It is Around the NFL. I am Dan Hansis, I got heroes with me, Greg Rosenthal and his hairy legs and Mark Sessler.
Hey, guys, I don't this whole practice for the first team offense, I mean camp and the preseason in general. Let's for real, has become like less and less first teamers doing anything and not even showing up in the games.
Oh, we're absolutely like year twelve veteran who's slowly ramping up that starting spot is secured.
I am, it's so exciting to be here at Cowboys camp. We we just wrapped up a press conference with Zaddy himself Mike McCarthy that just, you know, pinch me goosebumps moment for the old Zeusser. And I meant to Greg's wearing shorts and you did You did choose. You had two choices this morning, Greg, You could have wore the short shorts or the longer shorts. You chose the longer shorts. And I thank you because I have to say this to anybody at NFL network, colleagues, friends, many of you.
You gotta be aware of sitting in the director chair at these remote things with your short shorts. The flesh email inner thigh is not something we need.
And a lot of and to be fair, a lot of you know, you'd probably get less of that with Greg. But a lot of the people occupying these director's chairs are like x NFL linemen and just beefy general and people. So it's an excess of that body party.
You don't have to mention my abundance of hair body hair though. I think that's that's rude. I think that's the way to go. We're at training game. Everyone in shorts is like Phonsie over here kicking the jukebox. This is audio medium your guy, though, Zaddie, it was nice to see him, Zaddy in a front like he is in his element. He very much.
Are you starting to get it? I did I see in Zaddy? Well?
I do, because I think he enjoys.
I it's just coosing up to you, but absolutely, I.
Think he enjoys being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys very much that he embodies that in a Zaddy way where he's the man here. This is a nice time of year, or two. There's a lot to do. It's all about ball, but it's all about him. He's in charge too, and there's not a lot of pressure, and he's just like cracking jokes. He's so open with
the media. I mean, he does fifteen twenty minutes on a podium, then he does fifteen twenty more minutes on the side with them, and it's just like he's so he's totally so like.
Just from another angle, like he does all that, he does it all very well. And I think that he is in a very comfortable with his own skin. I think that's where you're getting out a little bit with your definition of all this. He is comfortable in his leadership role. He's taken on more than ever before with his team, and he seems to be uh delighted by the whole thing. And he was great with the media and he's joking with individual you know, reporters. So I
see all that. I just don't. I just disagree with the base definition of where we don't. We've already talked about this.
Can we talk about the seating arrangement. I mean, let's show some respect. Mark Me and Rosenthal are sitting with the reporters in the folding.
Chair and would become a talking point mark off.
To the side stand office. You won't even give McCarthy your respect of being in front of IL.
So first of all, like it was a shaded spot which was appealing to me, and this like I don't like I'm I was just observing from a different perch. You guys had the same camera angle I had. I was like, we want to cover from all angles, so I'll go sit in a different place.
I just wish you were. I knew.
I knew that would be annoying. I knew that when you get on the radar, it's like, I'm not doing this is not because of you. It's because of the shade.
It's because of Mike. That's what I'm saying, right.
But I mean I got to see him from a side view like you saw him up front like that, so you could have why not if you're so fascinated with him, you could explore from different angles yourself.
I am fascinated with him. In fact, do you know it would be an abuse of my duties as host of the show. I had to ask Mike McCarthy a question. Oh yeah, and let's listen in Dan Hansson around the NFL. NFL network Hard Knocks is starting up again this week. You run the show a couple of years ago. Mojo moment was a thing that kind of took off. I was wondering if that comes back there they are change it, maybe different from Mike Myers vehicle or anything like that.
Well not the mojo movements still there. You know, we've we're using a pad of practices. So when we've won it, we've done it every day since we've been in paths and there'll be one today.
So what was the greatest mojo moment of can so far? Follow us?
So far as the offensive coach? Who was the two point play as the head coach is probably you know the last one was was pretty good for the defense.
I didn't know what any of that meant. At the end, I mentioned another Mike Myers vehicle, maybe the uh, We're not worthy moment of the day, the extreme close up, something like that, something from the Wayne's World world.
The thing I love because you know a lot of these are you know, people looking for a story angle or looking for basic data about players health, and so it's a lot you know, it could be dry and you elicited. I think you took him to a new place, and there were giggles throughout the crowd, and that's the great.
Quest had a couple of those, like the turnback, like well, who's that guy, which you always expect when you're the stranger dropping in amongst the beat reporters. I've always been uncomfortable, whether it's combine or something like this, just because if I was a Beat guy, I don't want anybody in my time that's just like dropping by, and I feel that energy sometimes coming off emanating off other Beat reporters sometimes could be a little cranky.
Sometimes not here though not like the Es are like very chill because they got to escape Dallas for a couple of weeks and hang out working like in a perfect uh southern California beach community.
And isn't it. We're at RAMS camp last year. They were defending Super Bowl champions last summer, and you know, the Rams put together a really good operation there and
everything was organized and clean and neat and friendly. But when you're rolling in, you get off the one on one and you head in and you start seeing the signs on the light posts, and you pull in here and you see all the people dressed up, all the fans, and the the way they have all the merch and the food and the and then you see the fields. It just feels bigger. And I think that's part.
Uh.
You know, we're going to talk to Brad Sham. The Sham got it a little bit later. Who happened to be at that presser a little stroke of good luck for our show, the voice of the Dallas Cowboys, and he was telling us, you know, he's been involved forever with the team and Dallas. Everything's bigger, from the training camp to the to the Hall of Fame parties. And you feel that when you're here in a way that you're not going to feel it at other camps.
There's no question. You also have like you have the huge signs coming in Cowboys training camp so that everyone can take their ine and pictures and stuff. But they are just literally bigger than they would be at any other training camp. They're like forty feet in the air.
You have the tower old Bear Bryant style, and you know Jerry Jones was playing in the sec but like back when Bear Bryant was doing this, where like the owner is literally at the top of a tower, like coaches used to do in the fifties, barking out to players, and he's literally three or four stories above all the players, like looking down on his peons with the huge Cowboys logo on that, Like you don't see that at a Well.
I think the other thing is because it's such a Cowboys it's kind of preposterous, but it's also I like it, so it's.
Part of the Dallas Cowboys of lore.
Yeah, there's no way that you fly the Jacksonville Jaguars to Oxnard, California and when you park there's like four thousand Cowboys fans trying to get in.
It's like Monday morning.
Yeah, I'm sure some of them traveled here to make a week out of it, no doubt, But like that percentage is way lower than it would have to be with any other.
I don't think you've got to be an ox start in August.
That's what everyone says.
You're saying, I'm saying that these are California based Cowboys fans.
Yes, not.
There many other teams. They're Raiders, the Cowboys, a few others times, mostly.
From the area.
Anybody that works for the Chargers, they're listening right now. Cover of years, like they're not in them. They're not getting a medal. In most popular LA teams, I think it's Raiders, Cowboys, Rams in some order. And that's amazing because you could make sense.
I think that's the order actually Raiders, cow.
Rams obviously history here, Chargers, excuse me, Raiders history here. The Cowboys. They've they've been the Dallas Cowboys as long as they've been a team. And yet they have such a following that goes back to just the allure of it all. And I know there are people listening to the show. They're even annoyed right now. I could picture like comments now I can't believe they're doing kind of
like a Cowboys episode of the show. But I think it's good to check in on this team because, in addition to them being this bigger than life entity within the NFL, the team does matter, Greg And we're gonna talk to some players in the team. We're gonna excite to get out in the practice field and check out what's going on there. But first let's get caught up from the weekend.
Do some news. I'm talking about the quarterbacks schools, the mini camp, the all seasons.
The training camp.
You were tired, everybody.
You fish one hell of a coup.
And only thing else I got to say is how about your Cowboys? Dug that out with the archives? That was actually you think that was after one of the super Bowl triumphs of the nineties, Jimmy Johnson. That was after the nineteen ninety two NFC title game, that famous quote, And.
Yeah, it's very that felt like the Super Bowl it did with the Bills and waiting.
Right with I think they beat the forty nine er. There's some classic games there in that era. It's very important. We talked about this a few weeks ago. Mark the team that everyone loves and the team that everyone loves to hate, and that's what the Cowboys are that moment.
I think it's like I had a best friend who was a Cowboys fan, and he's the one that made me a football fan, and like watching how quick Jimmy Johnson turned that operation around from a one in fifteen nightmare post Tom Landry to a absolute juggernaut, and so I bited my friend. I'll tell you a really fast story. I was in Washington, d C. In college and there was a Redskins Washington game and we were on the subway,
just gonna Redskins cowboy. Yeah, we were gonna go to us like we were going to go to a sports bar and on in this this subway car my friend had at Troykeman, Jersey on and there was like a thousands of Redskins fans and like as we come to our stop and you know, the doors about to open, I just go, I want to tell you the people sent in, and like the whole place went silent because they're thinking, like there's a terrorist, there's a bomb, and
go how about their cowboys? We walk out the doors closed and we're just like everyone's just giving us the driving off.
Good stop, good memory. Mark. All right, let's get to the news. Alvin Kamara will be suspended for three games for his role in a fight outside of Las Vegas nightclub last year. He was facing felony charges, pleated that down took care of the legal side. Now he's the football side of it after a conversation with Roger Goodell last week, so he's out of the picture greg for three games. Jamal Williams is now stepping into a role from Detroit last year where he set the team record
to really get his footing in this offense. I think this is very good news for Jamal Williams, who gets to start in a big time role with the rookie behind him.
It's interesting they brought in Kareem Hunt for a workout or a meeting on Monday, so this could be dated or they might not sign him right away. I didn't think that would that would necessary, and I don't think it's a bad thing for Kamara to miss three games. I think that was probably on the average or maybe
a little less than what people expected. And I did notice over the weekend Nick Underhill, who does good work for a New Orleans football dot com, like he had an article where they have they have data, they have censors on Alvin Kamara based on the work that he's done this offseason. His burst is back. They can prove it that he looks better, he looks different. I think he's gonna have a monster year.
Well you've been You've been touting Kamara all off season, so that's that's good evidence for you.
I list Rex's career is kind of hanging in the balance.
It is a little because we had our running back you know, draft, and I thought that was a tough moment for gressing we've been over that.
I don't know.
I want to know what he talks about with Goodell, because it's like, these suspensions come out one guy six games, one guy three, someone else the entire season and like this, like the actual variance of what occurred, like Alvin Kamara's situation was not minor. No, I say, terrible look for the league and for him, and he acknowledged that. And
it's like three games felt soft. I'm not trying to like bang this hammer left and right, but it just felt a little bit like people forget about these things so quickly that the punishment's light, and we're talking about how fast he is on a monitor.
I have something to be said there that it's interesting to me, as people who covered the sport, what what the media and what the public latches onto in terms of outrage and anger and.
What another man like in a club does not get outrage. It just does.
But I mean, that's not a it's not doesn't mean it's excusable.
He suspended three games. But to your point, by the way, it wasn't him taking It wasn't one.
On one a man squaring up with another man, and in fistics, this was a beating by a group of men that Kamara was a part of. It's kind of a vile thing, but it's it's something that in general people just move past.
I think taking accountability, settling the lawsuit, apologizing, saying it was his fault and that he regrets it, that's fair. I think that actually does probably knock a game off. Maybe it shouldn't be like that, but if you compare that to some thing like Deshaun Watson, where he never really took accountability, He's still getting hugs from Goodell. So maybe maybe it doesn't matter. I don't really know, but I think that helped Kamara.
In this case, chiefs edge rusher Charles Amniheu was suspended six games for violations of the Personal Conduct Policy. That suspension stem from a domestic violence incident in January. In January, so that was, you know, along those same lines. This is another violentce incident and the woman he signed it to year sixteen million dollar contract at the time of the situation.
Yeah, I think that is telling. I mean, I think there would have there was some Deshaun Watson fatigue because when this happened last year, the forty nine ers like well, We're not worried about it. We don't think it's a big deal. He ended up playing for them in the playoffs after this incident, and you're right, it didn't get much attention at all. It didn't hurt his money. I think the NFL teams show you how seriously they take
it that he still got a really good contract. I think the Chiefs are a little surprised actually that he got suspended, because I don't know if they would have given him all that money, and they are very thin in terms of their pass rushers. It is not a good pass rushing group, even with a menahu.
Yeah, I mean that it may help move things along with Chris Jones to some degree, but he was brought in to essentially replace Frank Clark. I wonder if someone like Carlos Dunlap, who was there a year ago, could be brought in because I think I think Clowney right, They would not think they thought six games was going to be the result here.
No, it was so off the radar, and that's where I think media coverage can make a difference. It was so off the radar that, like the forty nine Ers, didn't take any heat for playing him. In the in the NFC Championship or anything like that. And the Chiefs certainly didn't take any heat for this signing, and I don't think it affected his money at all. But but he's taking this.
This may interesting how it works. Janick and Gockway signs a deal with the Chicago Bears. Nice money this late one year, ten and a half million, ten million guaranteed for a guy that had nineteen and a half sacks over the last two seasons. Greg. That feels like I know in Gockway's not the same guy was a few years ago, but for a Bears team that could not get to the quarterback last year, a nice signing. Also. Marcedes Lewis the forever tight end. He latches on with the Bears for another.
Ride from the two thousand and six draft.
Crazy MJD's pumped.
I think he was in the same draft class with mjd. Am I crazy Yeah, with the Jaguars.
Yep.
That's why every Sunday.
Night watching it, marsides Lewis will be brought up in some capacity as somebody that needs it.
His eighteenth tier. I love that the Bears did that. I don't know if I love in Gotway as a player, He's not good as a run defender. They immediately said he's playing every down, which says a lot about the rest of the Bears defensive ends that he's but the money says that too. But I hate unspent cap space. I really think teams don't when you have too. There is such a thing as too much cap space, and
they had too much going into this offseason. They've tried to spend as much as they can, but I think it makes their team better, So like, spend it.
Yeah, I think this got them to the floor. But they this was you know, this is a team with holes. But the pass rushing situation was pretty dire. I was surprised they didn't go and he'd seeks some of the guys we'll talk about in this new segment that has signed somewhere else. I like in Gotway, But other than that, you've got like DeMarcus Walker. It's a really young defense.
It's like Matt Eberflus is heading therefore another season. We're like, you're meant to put a stamp on this side of the ball, and that it was the opposite of that happened last year. It's like, what I want to. I think he's under a lot of pressure to show that he's special.
I think they feel good about their linebackers and their secondary. The secondary is pretty young, but you're right, they were a terrible defense.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame. In other news, we got to get out of the practice. But in other news, the Pro Football Hall of Fame welcome nine new players to the club this weekend. Ronde bardber, Darrell Reeves, Ken Riley, linebackers Chuck Howley, Cowboys great Zach Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, and Joe Thomas, along with defensive lineman Joe Cleco of the Jets, and coach Don Coriel, famous of the Air Coriel defense.
Let's listen to a couple quick soundbites, starting with Zach Thomas on a player and a friend that he misses.
There's one person whose name up yet to mintion it. His poster hung on my wall college, and he was everything I wanted to be as a football player. He was my inspiration. He became my teammate in fred. Though he's not here physically, he's here in spirit into the bust in that building behind me. I'm truly honored to join him. Junior say he love you, buddy.
M very sad and uh. Also connecting the uh the past with his induction was Darrel Reeves, Jets great Patriots super Bowl winner.
I didn't get the chance to play with this guy named Deon Sanders, but he was a prototype for me. What Jordan is to Kobe is prom to Revis Island. You came first, and I wanted.
To play just like.
You were to roll map to greatness.
You gotta be giving in Canton to be able to just connect yourself to all those great players.
Another forum, I would bump up. I mean not if someone else came up with that out of thin air, I would have a problem with it.
But Darrel Revis, Okay, this is funny. When he mentioned the Patriots quickly and did the crowd just booze Jets fans.
There's not Patriots fans there. It was kind of like a funny I wouldn't say side plot, but it was like I saw in the NBC coverage of the Hall of Fame game, uh when they were interviewing before the game, because it was like Rodney Harrison and Devin mccordy and they're kind of giving him some grief about the Patriots and he's feeling he's feeling awkward with that, and then there's just like a and I think they were almost being Rodney had a tone where he's almost being a
jerk about it. It's like no where it was like, you know, don't forget it, Jets fans essentially that that he got his ring with that where Reeves is like, come on, bro, like that's why I was just playing.
But he did play great for the Patriots, which I think actually was an important not that he wasn't gonna make the Hall of Fame, but I think it was an important coda to his career because Bucksy was underrated, but it was a little up and down and he did have one more great year, which is something you see with a lot of these Hall of famers where there's that one year like ten years in where they remind you of why he was so great. And that was him in New England.
And you know, I have to talk about his Jet's career then if we're going to talk about that, just because the way we.
Got ceede lambwalking right by the said here, wow, looks like action hero.
Watch him in his prime that eight to twelve when he hurt his knee. I'll never forget it. He's his ability to shut down the best player in the field just changed everything for Rex Ryan and that defense. And I'll always remember the first year of Rex when they seemed like they were out of the playoffs. And Rex even came out after a bad Week sixteen loss and said, well,
we're done. The season's over. And then a bunch of things broke their way and they had a chance to make the playoffs if they beat Cincinnati on Sunday Night football. And this is when Chad Johnson, Chad Ochocinco was seen as one of the great players, and Revas just erased him from that game. Then they had a rematch against Cincinnati the next week and he erased o cho Cinco again. And he just did that regularly. It didn't matter. There was no guy that always got the better of Durell Reevas, and.
Stevie Johnson sort of famously was the one guy who would give him trouble. Just like, I don't know what the hell Stevie Johnson's gonna do. He just makes stuff up as he goes along.
The playoff win over the Bengals was a high point for the Jets, I thought, because the Bengals did not take them seriously at all and they steamrolled them.
Well, beating the Bengals in the playoffs is something everybody gets to do, you know, or used to be able to. Finally, Zach, excuse me, finally, Joe Thomas, Colleen Wolf's friend and Brown's great.
With that said, it's the greatest honor of my career to be able to accept this lifetime award on behalf of all of Brown's nation.
Hype down, Mark, Cleveland, you could always count on me. Thank you so much for allowing me to count on you. Don't forget to keep showing up for each other. God bless the Cleveland Browns.
God bless America, and God bless football, the greatest game of all.
Thank you, Mark. They're calling you. They're calling you home.
Joe Thomas, someone I would all out to guide me.
You can go home. Here are the angels, the sirens waving you.
But Ria, okay, so hope, by hope, you don't mean like the afterlife, you mean the Browns.
Okay, yeah it sounds the latter sounds more comforting, But uh, I mean, I don't I don't think being coerced into it is the is the organic way.
There's no no, not at all. He said. He said it himself. Joe Thomas said, stay together, stick together.
Separate from all of that, Separate from that Tom foolery. Like Joe Thomas, you know, we know him a little bit. He's been on our show, Like I texted him just to say, like, the one thing I think about him is like we got to know him a little bit
more as a person as a broadcaster. And I know Colleen like thinks the absolute world of him, and he brought her into like his fold of like all these x NFL linemen hanging out drinking, eating steaks, drinking beers, and like, Joe Thomas is a great guy who I hope continues to do television and broadcasting and used his creativity for a long time. Because it's like he started out as his player that log ten thousand plus consecutive snaps, never let anyone down. I've never done ten thousand things
in a row. Who else has. And he's a special, special player and a good.
Dude, greatest Brown of the last what twenty five years?
He was also great from his first ever game, like it never there's no growth process. He was great right away.
It's it's crazy because he really made he really talked about all the different quarterbacks he had, and that he literally said during his speech how he ended his career on a one and thirty one heater, and it was like, wow, it is really it's actually really unique to be like a first ballot, upper tier Hall of Famer, no doubt about it, and associated with losing like it's it's a fascinating and he he like took it in such a I don't know, like such a It didn't seemed to
bring him down at all, which is a credit to the man. I do have one like turn in the punch bowl take on the Hall of Fame, because I'm into the Hall of Fame. I would love to be you are, so I would like to be a voter. I have thoughts, and I don't know what the solution is here. There's there's too much posthumous guys getting in. And I don't mean that they don't deserve to get in. I mean this is like the greatest moment in their careers, even posthumously and for their families, and it should be
a moment of celebration. And I kept thinking, because you know, Ken Riley is no longer with us. The Bengals cornerback Don coriol Chuck Howley is alive but wasn't able to speak just because of medical stuff. And I'm thinking, like this was so bittersweet for all of their families and everyone. It's not it was it was a celebration, but they're also like really sad about it and I and I'm
not saying you shouldn't like let them in. I'm saying like they should come up with the way that like the same amount of people should be getting in, but do it early, because this is it's like a celebration for the living. I honestly think like it's a little bit of an issue when.
For the remaining family does get So I understand what you're saying.
I'm not saying don't do it. I'm I'm almost trying to speak for them because hearing them talk about it too, they say it's better sweet. It's like the definition of better street that they can't be there.
I think the problem with that, because I know you can.
Getting the Veterans Committee is guys, maybe a little earlier in the process, there's nobody here.
It's better that they should be celebrated as a dead person than a living person. So that that's I get, we all get that, but like there's a bottleneck because even if you look at the next year's eligible class, it's guys that we literally covered on this show. It's
like there's so many eligible people. It's like you just need to you because when when we were growing up, you'd let like five people into the Hall of Fame every year, and there was a lot of diminished smaller class is now you're adding categories, new items in the classes are getting bigger and bigger, so you just have to This.
Is a lot of people take this very seriously, and I wonder if anyone with the like whether they've thought about logistical things they can do, which is basically just shortened the period from when you're like a eligible person the first time round and the veterans shorten it up. This better be gregor what is this We're going to heaven, We're gonna go to cowboys practice.
Sirens leave them alone? Or is this maybe to your point, it's hard to say.
Yeah, eight o'clock, delight, Oh no, Logan Wilson, Cam Jordan and Malie Cooker, who's out on the field right now.
The safety for the Cowboys all got contract extensions this weekend. I love that Logan Wilson deal, and Cam Jordan I think that's his fourth contract.
I mean the Bengals under Louin Oramo and keeping Logan Wilson, keeping Jermaine Pratt, there's consistency. I love that for this team that.
I thought he was the best free agent linebacker that was going to be available. Justin Houston to the Panthers.
What's this doing at eight o'clock? He can still play?
Figure, We got to get moving. Broncos have had a lot of injuries. Jonas Griffith, who's a rotational linebacker but a contributor for them, and then Riley Moss, a rookie who's maybe going to start at cornerback. Both out Griffith for the season, Moss for at least. Jeff Acuda, the cornerback for the Falcons out at least.
You cannot get it going. Jeff Cuda, the former first round pick of the line's trying to start over All right, that's what's happening in the news. All right, boys, it's time for us to hit the practice field where the Cowboys are doing their thing. We'll come back here, talk to some players, share some takeaways. That sounds like a good plant. Mark, is this is a good plan.
I think it's a master plan.
Good might suit you up. Put you out there with the third string.
I did taking a look at the current players, and I don't think that's a great idea for me.
Well, men, all right, let's see if Mark and get out there and still play the guitar. But before that, I want to tell you something. Promo time Football is back in NFL Network has every preseason game, including twenty three live big names putting new cities on their backs, a new class putting their names on the map. Listen to this. Your team is back in action. It's time for football. The NFL preseason August tenth through the twenty sixth on NFL Network and streaming on NFL Plus. All right,
let's take a break. We'll be right back.
All right.
Welcome back. Just off the practice field is the great linebacker of the Dallas Cowboys, Layton vander esh Layton. Welcome to around the NFL. Another w for the d in practice.
Today, Yeah, I mean it was. It felt like it was a pretty even practice today. It was fun. I mean they got theirs and we got ours. But that's what makes practice fun is is you know when when you got a good team, I mean, it's battling back and forth and then they're gonna get something, We're gonna get some. So it makes the atmosphere fun and everybody's flying around having fun.
I don't know if we've ever had an athlete a player right off the field. You still got the gloves on the cleat the pads. Are you a little worried? Like it's a it's too intimidating for sitting next to Mark here, who.
Was a former you're intimidating.
Yeah, but it was a former player.
In like nineteen ninety one in pee wee football. But he did play, Yeah, renowned. He's like, how do I answer that question? Wasn't any Let me ask you this, Let me ask you this. So the stan Quinn defense really balled out last year. Okay, where do you think the Cowboys stand in that conversation of the best defense? Do you think it gets overlooked a little bit when they talk about it.
I mean, we're focused on proving ourselves every single day, so it really doesn't matter what we did last year or the year before. We're trying to better that and be absolutely elite this year. So but we have to come out here and put in the work every single day to do that. So we can talk about it all I want, but at the end of the day, it don't matter, and that's not what we're focused on. We're focused on being the best version of ourselves. And as a cruise of defense.
About a week ago, this video surface of Digs and Dak getting into it in the end zone and like, I you know the thing. It annoyed me and annoyed all of us. Just like the next day on all the talking head shows, everyone's asking, is this an issue? Can you just clear up? Like in training camp, you've been doing this for weeks. It's hot out. You guys are challenging each other. Don't These things happen all the time, and you just move on with it.
Every day probably every minute occurrence in practice.
It's normal.
So two football guys, it's.
Just want to clear up that. Well used to I saw you guys getting after a little bit today. You were coming off the edge a lot. You've you've been kind of an off ball linebacker mostly, but just at least in this practice, we were watching you mostly coming off the edge. Is that a different role for you? What are you doing?
Yeah?
Really just trying to grow my game and just being born. Just keep growing in any area I can just keep developing. I mean, adding tools to your toolbox. It's super important in this game and obviously it can make it tough on a lot of other offenses. So, uh, just trying to better myself as an individual player so it betters the defense.
I'm curious, like you're kind of the quarterback of that defense. You've been with this defense now a long time. Looking at the Eagles in your division, obviously that that's a team that that got to where you guys want to go to last year the super Bowl. When when you're watching them, when you're on the field against them, are you more worried about like what are they going to do next and trying to figure out what they are
going to do? Or are you more worried about just you know what they're going to do, but they just do it so well, how do we stop them?
I'm really worried about what we're doing because I know that if all eleven guys on our team and on our side of the ball are doing what they're supposed to be doing. Nobody's gonna beat us. So, uh, it's focusing on ourselves.
Really about like during a practice like today or maybe even in a real game, does your mind ever drift and you're just thinking about like like tacos or Xbox or other things, or you're just like a robot? Are you like super laser focused NonStop?
You try, you try as much as you can to be as laser focus as you can. Your mind might drift here and there. Uh maybe if you're like if you just subbed out or something. But I mean that's what's important, is if you can realize that and bring yourself back in in and lock back in. That's the important thing. You gotta be able to catch yourself in those moments. It doesn't matter if you're tired, doesn't matter
if you're thinking about anything else. You got to bring yourself real yourself back in and lock in every single play because those those are mental reps that you can get on the side. Every every rep during practice is your rep, regardless of whether you're on the field or whether you're on the side.
Like, I get that, but the this news for the Yeah, Mark's actually been thinking about tacos the whole time.
You ran so last question because you know you're a busy guy and fresh out the practice field. I I got to make it any question, it's important and it counts. I'm looking at your cleats again. You're in full uniform. Uh, you're a gridiron warrior. There's a rip in the cleats. Do those dis peer forever now? Or do you do you have lucky cleats or cleats that you were attached to or is that it for these now?
Well?
I just broke these in so and I got a last practice, so I'm gonna keep warring.
Oh you ride with them? Yep? Well again, Mark, you can relate, I know.
The less and less of a degree.
Yes, Leyden vander Esh, thank you so much for giving us a few minutes here and best of luck in twenty twenty three.
Thank you, guys.
I appreciate it all right. There he goes a tight five with Layton vander Ash Mark, a little too much callbacks to your your playing days are not enough?
No, I thought it was far too many. And I think we threw him off off key a little bit with that, But that's okay. I think he underneath it understood this guy did play roughly two and a half decades ago.
Maybe that you this guy, you made it very clear.
You made it I think you made the situation extremely clear, and I think he'd be painted a fair picture of that I played irrelevantly as a youth.
He he reminds me of a player that you could imagine playing twenty thirty years ago in the eighties or nineties. He always he always had that he has the neck role. I think that was because of his injury concerns. But I always think of West when I think of Layton vander ash Yes, he was so in on that rookie season.
Jalen Smith too, the two of them together.
Of Layton Evander Uff and he's a good example of man NFL careers. Like he's only been in the league since twenty eighteen, but he's had ups, he's had downs, he's had injuries, and it's cool to see him established now he's one of the leaders of this team.
I mean, going into last year, it seemed like maybe he was already part of their past in terms of being an impact player. And then he has a really nice bounce back season and he's an important guy and maybe we'll start. We'll start there as we you know, we were on the practice field. Very cool, it was very good vibes on the field, you know, we got we got to watch some of the defensive drills and we went and saw really good long eleven on eleven with the Cowboys offense with Dak and the first team
really matching up against the defense. And we talked to Clarence Hills, covered the Cowboys forever and he said, it's been the defense most days and this this day was the offense was better. And yet Greg, it seemed very hard for the offense to move the ball against Van der Rush and this defense. And in the practice that we saw.
Yeah, I guess at the very beginning like they hit a mojo moment, so that's a that's a big spot for them. And in the run game had some moments, but they just couldn't protect Dak Prescott. He didn't have Ceedee Lamb out there. But it like looked like the forty nine Ers playoff game because within two seconds of every single one of these plays, he's facing an incredible amount of pressure and they're not holding anything back. Dan Quinn is showing a ton of different formations Parsons is
all over the field. I mentioned how Van Rush is on the edge and they're winning time after time after If we had all the time in the world, like I would want to ask, like offensively, like are you getting sick of Michael Parsons because he was in the backfield, he would have had three or four sacks in the plays that we watch.
Yeah, but then then you go face lesser defenses, and I think all this work, as you know, has a huge benefit on the offense. But you're right, I thought for chunks of the of the of the session, they weren't really trying to test the ball deep. They didn't have CD. They were working on a lot of like throwing to running backs and doing stuff over the middle.
But the one thing about being at these practices on the sideline and you're you know, they're they're catching a screener and coming within two feet of you, and it's like you get a sense for how massive and gigantic these people are. And like the Cowboys defense to me, especially physically, looks so intense. And it was these practices
like they've been heated. We knew that there had been fights and stuff before, and like today it was just like kind of an eye open and to see how hard they were going at each other.
I just don't. All I was thinking was like, don't come this way, don't come this way, because there was a couple of times where the guys come hard and and at that point there's you're if you're in the wrong spot, you you're you're making headlines, you're getting you're getting tweets. It's you're living. You're living that down. So we survived.
I saddled up next to Marrow and I did throw out a hypothetical to Mark, what would happen if there was a collision on the sideline. You get hit, You just get caught in the wrong spot of the arm. There's some nerve damage. There's only so much doctors can do at this time in terms of modern medicine and science. You lose the arm. I mean, is it you want to live at that point because you have to tell that story for the rest of time.
That you lost the answer your question, yes, that's your answer, right, It's a bolittle in scenario, I would essentially turn around immediately and sue the cowboys and see what I can get out of it financially.
That's definitely. I'm sure we'll get a credential next year. After that, I would possibly walk into the ocean with a minus arm. I just don't want to tell that story.
There's no way the story is going to make anyone more impressed with you.
No, Greg, Greg seems to think that, you know, it's something that he could tell with pride. I don't know.
It's not so much to that, but I still believe I would have a lot to live for. It was just bad luck. Ultimately, maybe wouldn't take.
Know.
I've got my children to think about. Uh, but I was worried.
What about your pride, Greg, I have.
No I have no pride, lack pride. I was thinking, like watching that practice, duce Vaughan is an inspiration for for anyone like myself five six and under to be out there. And they they popped some running plays. They were getting excited. You could tell they actually took advantage of parsons aggressiveness on one play and actually did pop a nice running play. But asking duce Vaughan to pass protected he was, he was there with those, he was there with the starters, and he did okay on a few.
But then there were a couple that were like, Okay, this is what training camp is for. You're trying it out, but I don't know if you want him protecting Dak Prescott on Sunday.
He's a fan favorite, though we'll see where we are not show.
There's an unnamed person who told us that it's you want to get him on video and share it as much as possible. It's called Deuce porn because people just like to see a guy that little yeah to thrive on the football field. And you did a great point on that that you heard the player is whooping it
up on some of those running plays. Duce included, because everything you read from the Beat report is that the defense has been winning, and seeing my camparsons up close, it's like, uh, listen, like we don't know where he's gonna come down in the end. But the LT comparisons aren't off base at this point based on what he's done so far and the way the Beat writers talk about him. It's in hush tones, like he's literally ruining practice for the offense because they're just trying to get
their feet wet and he's living in the backfield. So watching his combination of size and speed, everybody looks big and fast here when you're here, especially if you don't cover these teams day to day, like we don't do that. But he stands out even more as just like this freak. It's kind of cool to see it up close.
No their defense, I mean it looks to be like picking up where it left off. I'll tell you one other person that kind of changed my mind about them little bit, Jerry Jones. Like, I mean, every time I looked to he's up in a like a state. We were taking photos with tons of people who's walking guests around like the fans were going crazy for him. I mean I just say, like there's owners that like they're billionaires and they vanished and like the football side of it.
Oh, but he loves it more than anyone.
He's up in the tower like pointing out he.
He lives for this. This is the world that he built. I was impressed by because he's I think in his eighties now. At one point I saw him on the far side of one of the two practice fields here and then I walked the corner and I came down the sideline towards where they were doing the eleven on eleven and Gerald was up in the tower right, which was easily one hundred yards away, and then an elevator or five flights of steps. How did he do it?
I don't know. Not a small guy either, former former you know cola, former D one athlete.
Yeah, that's true. Any other takeaways from practice? I got I got one. I posted it on a x or X. It's really hard, it's tough. It's tough sitch, tough stitch for the journalism community. Dak unfurled a beautiful deep ball that wasn't brought in. But as good as the running game was, like everything everything was checked down and short and everything was covered. So I do think there's so
much with the Cowboys. There's so much coverage of Dak, the darkness of it all, and the offense and the narrative around the team and the failure to step up in big moments in January that the defense and vander Esh go under the radar a little bit. Parsons not so much. But the defense has a chance to really carry this team as much as the offense.
I know. You just line it up and I would say the Cowboys or the forty nine ers should be the best defense in the league.
Now.
Defense is very hard to predict. But to me, those are the two teams going into the season that I would go with because Parsons like, yeah, he's had an all time great start to his career, but he was like playing another position, like he didn't even really know
how to be an edge rusher. He was still playing off ball linebacker at this point in practice a year ago at this time, And like the sound that everything that's coming out around him and how he's shown up to this camp sounds like he's maybe at another level. And him at another level with four or five defensive ends behind him that are really good in a really good secondary, they've got them all locked up. We mentioned the Molie Cooker. I just think this defense is loaded.
And I talked to Michael Galkin, who's covered this team for a while now, used to cover the Chargers, now the Cowboys. He said this is easily the best team he thinks he's ever covered between those Chargers teams and the Cowboys teams over the last time year.
And the offense is going through I know it's still Mike McCarthy. It's gonna be more similar than a complete, like basic change on offense, but that's still a transition, but it's another year in dan Quinn's defense. And it's like Vanderesh talked about adding stuff to his game, adding stuff to what he can do, and it's like they're gonna do that with all these guys. They just look completely cohesive.
It's cool seeing up close practice what these teams work on because they have to be ready. Up here comes Jared red Pie. They have to be eddie for you know, you got a little wave, so Jerry Jones.
Just walked by.
It was like a low, a fist wave and it was just kind of like a point the point.
Do you think he.
Recognized No, absolutely not unless the time that I approached him at the coat combat on TV.
And there's a chance, I mean, there's an outside chance he saw the NFL plus polos that we're wearing. But I think it's more likely that I kind of pointed to him first. I looked for the the I think recognition.
I think I think that's what I think.
It's very interesting to hear everyone's takeaways on this particular situation.
He's just like I was a big fan of the end around back in the day.
We've accomplished a lot of NFL media, and he is like he's got his fingers and everything that's fair.
Maybe he knows the podcast.
Well, he knows me, so I wanted to say, Yeah, it's crazy seeing it up close. The they have drills to react the defense, how to react to a loose ball. They're doing scoopid scores and seeing how everybody even has a role with that that you're trained to be ready for those scenarios.
And like a six foot eight three and twenty pound guys rumbling into the end zone scoring a touchdown.
He're very happy about it. And they even build in a TV time out. You hear on the on the sound system. It's like these guys then take the break because they're trying to simulate these things. Be ready. One other thing. We got Michael Gallup coming up. I have one more thing. You guys want to throw out anything, please do. Brian Schottenheimer will always be thirty one years old. He's got to be in his mid forties. Very vivacious.
I think he learned some secrets from Peake Carroll. You know, he was out there chopping it up.
That's the first time vivacious has not been used to like describe a young woman and I appreciate it. I think we should ungender vivacious.
You have to be. You have to have a certain level ungender vivacious. We will. Let's make a note of that. You have to do to wear the visor backwards. I think it was that upside down to.
He's been doing that for a lot.
I mean, yeah, to do that move when you are in your fourth decade, it takes a little bit of It takes a little nerds and he does it.
His father had some fire, and I see it in him.
He's putting the nard in ox nerd.
Here's another little takeaway. By the way, these refs are in summer shape out here. We put the nards in ox nerd.
Around the NFL. There's a cell eric anything else.
I think we covered it all right.
With that said, we saw that the defensive side of the ball were talking about Layton vander ash Now let's talk about a very important piece of the offense. Michael Gallup. Hit it all right. Our next guest is a very important piece of the puzzle for the Cowboys in twenty twenty three, wide receiver Michael Gallup. Welcome to Around the NFL.
Yeah, I appreciate you having.
So happy to have you. Michael. This is read about it. You're a full year, another year removed from knee surgery and you say that your mental game, mentally, you're all the way back. I was curious, as like a professional athlete, what was it last year that just felt different? And how are things in a different place now? In a better place?
I think just coming off you know, really, any injury, you gotta you gotta make sure that you have your mentals right. I mean, everybody says they're good, you know, but there's always something a little bit up under the table that you're not trying to express to everybody. But that was that was my big problem. I said that was good mentally I really wasn't. But physically I knew I was good, so I could go out there and
do enough. But you know, it wasn't enough to be out there, you know, I shouldn't have been playing like that.
Do you feel like you're in a better kind of a good spot here because they're bringing Brandon Cooks obviously CDs here and now you're feeling better physically and mentally, and maybe they're not expecting as much on the outside and it kind of sets you up nice to surprise some people.
Oh yeah, definitely. I mean that's how it's kind of always been, you know, all my years here playing for the Cowboys. Uh just kind of been that, you know, third wide receiver, a little outlier. But I mean if they get doubled, I mean I gotta be one on one. So that's that's easy pickings for me.
I was watching you out there in practice today and I was wondering who who would you rather go against? And what's the difference when you're lying up across from either Trayvon Diggs or Stefan Gilmore.
I'm rather go against Trey Stefine. He just too smart. He calls out to play before you even line up. You know, it's pretty tricky playing with him. But they're both good competition, either one of them. I like going up against either one of the great football players just helped me get better.
He Trayvon sounds like he talks a lot to you, Tie, do you talk back?
Trayvon talks more to that. He doesn't really talk to a lot.
We learned that like these camps, like you know, I know, it's been a grind at this point, you've been there for a long time. They always talk about it being you go away you guys at a special team that goes to a completely different part of the country. You're hanging out together all the time. Is it like a bonding experience or are you kind of like, I love you guys, but I need to have some of my own time. Like what does the rest of the day look like? Can you get away you bring in your own bed.
Yeah, I mean McCarthy actually does it pretty well for us. He sets it up to where it's like, you know, we're not just in meetings till ten pm at night and stuff like that. He's done, you know, as he's done figured it out that you don't have to be a means, you know, twenty four, so that everybody needs their own time to recover, you know, have their own space.
So I definitely just go back to my room because I know I'm gonna be with you, you know, at seven in the morning again all the way till about six.
What do you do in the reading books? Playing games, like talking to people on the phone.
Mine's more, you know, Colin family and stuff, checking in on everybody.
This is definitely coming from Marks, like he's imagining himself as a player and he was a former player, you know in pee wee, because he would be trying to get away from us. It would be too much time with his coworkers. He would just be like hiding out in the room.
Yeah, I was definitely understandable. I can't hear it.
There's always a couple of things.
Does Mike McCarthy allow guys to like ship in their own beds and stuff? Is that happened with this team?
I doubt it?
And you know, this is that show why the Cowboys are a team to reckon with, because we'll sleep in like the beds that are uncomfortable.
Here because it's not a dorm, it's a hotel.
It's not too at least it's not like a bunk bed or anything.
You know.
Me, I can get my own room now. So you know we're up there a little bit.
Who did you grow up rooting for? Were you a football fan? Nah?
I really just for players. I love watching Calvin Johnson. Uh, definitely Julio Jones, Crumpler to be honest and Crumpler.
Yeah, okay, well that wouldn't kind of snuck up like did the Cowboys ever get on your radar when you were like a kid, as like Why Why did the cowboys get so much attention? So you hear too much about these cowboys.
I was doing too much other stuff. I wasn't even really playing sports when I was little. He was out there on the farm. I was fishing. I was doing all types of stuff. I wouldn't really into sports like that.
Wow, what is your What is your I know it's a long way off hopefully, but your post NFL life? Is it back to the farm?
Post NFL life? Yeah, I'm probably gonna be a pro fisherman to be like wow, fly fisher. No, No, just straight bad. I didn't do that fly. That's too much work for no reason.
That's why I always say, like with these parents that have their kids in one sport all the time, and it's just like focus. It's like if you're if you're good enough to be a pro athlete, you can just be like Michael Gallup, not caring about sports, not playing sports, out there fishing, and then you'll end up in the pros anyway.
Are you are you anti form now at this point? Are you just saying you don't you know, want to make that the center.
Of her I can't be anti farm. My sister has like four hundred acres back home in Georgia. So it's like when I go home, that's that's the only.
We're gonna set up like a point counterpoint Michael Galb versus Willie Nelson on farm life and the future of it in this country. U Michael, Uh can't wait see back on the field to get I feel good legit. Not just because he's here. Michael Galb is having a big year this year and is going to be a major reason the Cowboys are going to be better on offense this year. Good luck to you.
Good sir, Yes, sir, thank you so much. Thanks Michael, There he goes.
You know, Greg, I personally had made the decision to not bring up Mark Sessler's playing days after we hit it hard with Vandersch. But you went right back at it and and and you could tell Sessler's getting a little agitated. I said, you're playing with fire.
Brouh, Mark, Yeah, I I it just came up naturally. I wasn't naturally feel.
Like it's like a mind control attempt by Greg to like body shame the person to his left so that his own body isn't compared to the giant players sitting to my life.
I mean, this is that's an incredible theory. It's so wild.
Everyone around us is laughing because they can see the threads.
They're laughing because they just got inside of Mark Sessler's mind, and it's a it's a dark noise. All right, let's that's absolutely.
Let's let let's let our great team here, Parker, Eric, Jay, Randy. Do you think Greg was attempting to body shame Mark by making the references to his playing career pee wee with a big player next to them, let's hear it. Yes, No, he's nodding Jay behind the camera.
I think we lost some of the d.
So three to one, says Greg.
It was I don't know if you've noticed, but my body is like immaculate. I'm huge, I'm strong, I'm big. That's why I bring it up to these players, because there's such a contract between me and you. Coming from someone like me, it's like, oh, yeah, he's really picking on the little guy here. Yeah.
Well, anyone on the audio version only can assess that that's correct.
Uh Gallup. First of all, I liked him, Yeah, and I believe what I said. I think he is set up and it's a tough way It's a tough question to answer, but I can only imagine last year when you're supposed to be quote to good healthy, but you don't trust your body, and you look at his numbers, they were so depressed, and he's almost like where Leyton Vanderesh was a year ago, where you've almost are you moving on from him at this point in terms of
viewing him as a key piece. But if certain things fall the right way and he's physically right, I think he could be shoot. I think he could get back to being a one thousand yard receiver even with hooks in the building.
We've seen it. I mean, I it's just another lesson where like these guys a year ago, he's forced to ask or answer all these questions about his physical body is readiness and a lot of it is mental and like what are you gonna say other than like, yes, I'm ready because you can't expose any weakness, and like now a year later submitting like yeah, my head was not in it the same way I would want it
to be. Like body trying to get there. It's like anyone that's coming off of major injury that tells us they're fine, Like it's a wait and see territory.
I mean, yeah, there's a lot of focus I think now on mental health in terms of like how we cover the NFL, but that that's mental health too. In that like, it's pretty remarkable how open and honesty is about it. It's like I wasn't right at this time a year ago. And it is something I do keep in mind with these players that it's like they're coming off the ACL and and there they're two weeks away from full contact and they'll be ready for week one, and it is a good thing to keep in mind.
That's like there's a lot of obstacles and some some will be fine, but some that are even on the field, I thought that that shows a lot a lot of confidence. I think that you're able if you're him to just be so open and say that, and that budes, well.
Ready for week one is one of the trickiest things in the summer, because yeah, all these guys that are just trying to be ready, But are you all the way back? Are you physically back maybe maybe not? Are you mentally back maybe maybe not. It sounds like Gallop was really neither last year, and that's not how he feels this year, all Right, more fun. Let's talk to the voice of the Dallas Cowboys, shall we. Here comes
Brad Sham the Sham God. We are pleased and thrilled to be joined by the voice of the Dallas Cowboys, a man whose voice has become an important part of our Sunday flagship program. He had no idea until now here's Brad Sham. And Brad, you should know that I always when I call you, your calls out. I say, Brad Sham the sham God.
When when God Sham God was playing at Providence right, Yep, Yeah.
I heard.
I heard that a lot. Fortunately I didn't think it was talking about me, but Dan I was.
I was not.
Trying to be humble when I told you before, I'm glad that you play the highlights. And the reason I'm glad is my life is a lot better when they play well. And those highlights don't have anything to do with me. That's about them. You could be Vin Scully and if the team stinks, you're never going to hear his voice.
Now we only play the winning highlights. So the Jaguars play by play guy had a few years there. Basically, whether there's a.
Reason they're called highlve you don't like to cover a team that goes through some waves of intense chaos as the Cowboys.
I have.
I've been this is my forty fifth year. Name, an emotion, and something, a circumstance, I've I've experienced all of them.
Well, you've with that said, you just got back from Canton where DeMarcus where Cowboys Great inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A man who's been around from the glory days with Landry in the seventies into the eighties, and then Jarah of course in the nineties, and still the Cowboys even without the title Jara.
Did he just drop a Jarah?
I thought sham God was your nickname. He just makes up nicknames for everyone. Mike McCarthy's that I've.
Written on NFL dot com just casually j E R R A H. Yeah, they don't. They never catch it.
By the way, if he's calling Jerry Mike McCarthy, Zaddy, I think we've got a whole other set of problem.
We've got it.
We've got large problems, truck.
We've got a whole nother don't.
That's a whole new podcast right there.
Rad. My My question is, like you've been to some probably epic ragers, like I think Justin Timberlake played Jerry's Yes, yes that was Is that the ultimate party? Yeah?
I mean Jerry built a tempt he built, he built a city, and uh and and uh, every every every flashy thing that you could think of happening in there happened. And when Justin Timberlake is on the stage doing a private show for you for forty five minutes and you're standing at the foot of the stage, that's I'm not looking for better than that. Really.
Yeah, you were telling us before the show that I had no idea. The players have to pay for their own party. Yeah, yeah, I don't think Jerry Jones is going to be one that's complaining about it.
Well, no, Jerry was going to pay whatever, you know, But I think yes, I mean I don't know the percentages, but I know that through time, guys have had to pay for their own and then so in the case of DeMarcus Wares, I know that the Cowboys and the Broncos were officially listed as as putting the party on together, and I think that what that means is they made sure DeMarcus didn't have to spend any more than necessary, And I don't want to forget Chuck Howley either.
When we're talking about the Hall.
Of Fame, he was Tom Landry said he was the best linebacker he ever coached, and that we're just in an era now where if you're thirty five years old or younger, you never heard of Chuck Howley until they announced his name. But he was a special player and a tremendous guy, great in the Dallas community.
I feel like this plane for paying for your own party is not cool on some levels, but especially one thing. If you're a Troy Aikman and you've established yourself as like a multi millionaire twelve times over, but some of these senior guys that a party are they hosting? It would be like a YMCA because you're doing you don't want that that money from back then.
I would say maybe a little a step up from a YMC. Not that there's anything wrong with the way. It's a nice place, but but yeah, I would say I would say a little more sedate.
Perhaps, what are the vibes of the Cowboys now? You were there for the nineties, glory years. Now there's been this long run obviously without getting back to the big game, urgency wise this season. How important do you think this is for whether it's Mike McCarthy. Obviously Dak is comfortable and under contract, but still it seems like there's a lot of pressure on this team. Yeah.
Well, Dak likes to say pressure is privilege, and I really like that because it gives you an opportunity to see what you're made of or crack. But there's there's no question there's some urgency. How about that for a word. They've been to, you know, the playoffs. Here's one thing that when they made the playoffs and won twelve games for the second year in a row, it was the first time in like fifteen years they had done those
two things. So you can't say they're not successful. You can that huge part of our population that defines success only as the person holding up the hardware at the end of the year, they would say they weren't successful. I'm not of that mind. I think it's hard to say they were not successful. But they expect more of themselves. They want more of themselves. Here's the problem for them.
I just saw a little clip. A friend of mine is a personal friend of the forty nine ers, center Jake Brindle, and he was talking about how hungry they are because they've got all this talent and all of this, and they haven't won the Super Bowl, haven't been to the super Bowl in the last couple of years. So Dallas is not the only hungry team. Dallas is not
the only motivated team. I think they're good and usually, especially with the way preseasons are and the youth of the roster, I think they'll get better as the season goes along. But I do think there's a sense of urgency because it has been a minute since they played in one of the last two games of the year.
Yeah, it's been chic for ever since Mike McCarthy took over. To say that he particularly is on a hot seat, and this is more of a national media perspective, and also because of the special sauce you get with Jerry Jones constantly talking about the glory days, it's a little bit different than an absentee owner that's somewhere in Europe.
I would challenge you to find me a place where Jerry spends a lot of time talking about the glory days.
Well. I can think of a one press conference where they panned over to the Super Bowl trophies at one point, but maybe he's toned down that.
Jerry's not walking around here talking about g I wish this was the nineties. G I wish our team was as good as the Triplets team. Jerry never I've never heard him say that. Does he want to win another one or two? Or darn righty does? But he doesn't talk about that. That's that's it's valid, I think. But it's a media driven narrative.
That's why it's good to come here, I guess and unearthed that truth.
Well, he also wants those eighty eights, and I'm sure he loves all the Michael Irving jerseys out there. But I was coming in thinking like there are still more eighty eight Irvins than there are eighty eight Lambs.
Yeah, and why do you think that is?
Yeah, because of what you said. You're out here though, I mean, you've been working for this, with this team now for over forty years. But you're out here grinding like a journal You're at the side press conference, asking questions, you're finding out everything. What what have you learned in these first two weeks of training camp? And anyone flashing and he surprises positions that.
You know there are The flashing is a keyword, because that's that is really what you kind of get. I remember Leon Latt flashed and then you say I better pay attention to him, and Eric Williams flashed. Now we're talking about a situation where have they had four padded practices. It's really hard to get the same kind of handle. And I can't imagine how many of their starters we'll see play football in the next three weeks. So what you get is a sense of younger guys who might
have a chance to be something. I think their safety position is pretty good. I think that they have some defensive linemen more than they've had in the past. I think their wide receiver room is vastly improved, not just because they added Brandon Cooks, but because of some internal growth. And Michael Gallup was just a shadow of himself last year. He wasn't Michael Gallup.
You know.
I thought anyone who watched them play the forty nine ers in the playoffs could clearly see that, especially when Tony Pollard went out in the second half. Ceedee Lamb was the only playmaker that Prescott had available, which I personally, based on all my years of coaching thinks. I personally think that had something to do with his interception. I
think which was an outlier statistic for him. But he didn't he didn't have I mean, I I love Zeke Elliott and I frankly they you know, they've gone a long time without ever asking me what a personnel decision should be. I would love to have him here.
I would think he I think they're making a mistake. I think they.
Should somebody will somebody. Well, it's a mistake if nobody's able to play that role.
Now, I mean a mistake, not on the.
Yeah, no, trust me there, that's not a mistake. But but someone's got to do that. And and so what you see out here, So that's a great example. What do you see? Well, I don't really need to watch much of Tony Pollard, but I do want to see the two guys behind him. Everybody wants to see duce Vaughan, but I watched him play in college. I know what ducevawn is. He's he's he.
Is warren Sproles.
I think darren Sproles, I think I think that's who he is. But but the two guys behind him, I really like Malik Davis, but Doubtles, a guy who's been hurt for two years. I think they think of him as more of a short yardage back. I don't know how much of it here, you see. You know, you guys just heard Mike McCarthy's talking about they are. They have like two or three more installation periods this week
to put in specific things. So when you get into a game, a preseason game and it's third and one, now, let's see who they give the ball to and let's see what they try. Those are the things that you look for. But I mean, I think they've got some quality all over the place, and is it going to be enough? They have to play complimentary football and one thing they got to do is find a kicker.
You know, shame on us for burying the lead. We are also journalists and we've done this entirely. We've had two people appear on our show ever that appeared in a major motion picture directed by Oliver Stone. Jim Brown was one number of years ago. But you we learned also a Pierre and I think I'm totally intimidated at the well, I mean, but we are you appeared in Oliver Stones.
W I did?
I did it was. It's too long a story to go into about how I got it, but I did get it, and I'll tell you the big thrill. So I played a reporter who, parenthetically, it turns out, was John Dickerson, who is one of my heroes. I think. I think he's just one of the greatest working journalists in America. And he was at Time Magazine when he asked President Bush at a news conference, which I remember watching, what would you say were your biggest mistakes and what
have you learned from them? And uh and and President Bush could not really answer the question. He had a hard time with it. And you know, I knew him. I know him a little bit when he when he was the owner of the Texas Rangers. I dealt with him quite a bit, and I was doing Ranger games when he was governor, and he would come up and every now and then he'd sit in a booth and
spend some time with us. So one of the great, one of the great treats for me in that process was about the month before we shot the scene, rehearsing it, shot it in Shreveport, rehearsing it with Stone and Josh Brolin, and there's nobody in the room but the three of us and a couple of staffers. And so Brolan wants to understand what. And he's really digging, he's getting his hands dirty, trying to get inside George Bush's head. What what's so hard about that question?
I don't get it?
And so I said, Josh, I don't. I'm not saying we go to dinner all the time, but I mean, I know the guy a little bit. Which and then his eyes got whid like that, and I said, here's the thing. I think that George Bush had trouble answering that question because in his mind you don't have to
agree with him. But in his mind, everything he did, from weapons of mass destruction and everything else, all of those things, especially in the war build up, he did based on the best evidence he could get, and he believed he was doing the right thing. So when you have all your people telling you this is how it is, mister president, and this is what we recommend, then what are you supposed to do? That's why you have advisors. So I said, I think the guy didn't answer it
because he really didn't think he did anything wrong. He took himself back through the process and he made the best decision he could based on the information that he had at the time in his opinion. And the other thing I said to him was, you don't have to agree with George Bush's politics, and you can think the jobs a little too big for him, But I'm just telling you he's really a good guy, and which he is. He is George W. Bush is really a good guy. He's the kind of guy you would like to hang
out with. And that really resonated well. Just seeing Brolin in his process was I don't when am I going to get a chance to do anything like that. Then the whole shooting the scene was surreal. Have I got like thirty seconds to tell you one more?
Yes?
So I come into town the night before we shoot the scene late, probably midnight by the time I got to the hotel room, and they slide the call sheet under the door. So here's who's you. Here's who your First thing I thought was it's midnight. I just got here. Please don't let this be six am. And it wasn't. It was ten o'clock. Okay, good, Now the call sheet
shows you with whom you are in the scene. So here's Rob Cordrey who's playing Shapiro the Press Secretary, and Toby Jones is playing Carl Rove and uh and so they're all standing up along and I was fine reading until I saw Richard Dreyfus, who's playing Cheney, and and I am all alone sitting in this hotel room, and I looked up and said out loud, I looked at Richard Dreyfus's name, and I said, what the blank am I doing here? But they were all great? It was
it was I mean, I love what I do. I've got a passion for what I do, or I wouldn't have been doing it so long. But that that's got to be the most fun I ever had working, probably because I don't do it very often.
It's wild. That's cool. I wonder who we're going to get next from the Oliverstone Tree, but we got two good ones so far, Jim Brown and the great Brad Sham. Thank you so much for your time, and we'll be listening to you again this season.
God willing, thank you.
All right, there goes Brad. Very good, I would say, mark if okay. So we got Sham God from w two thousand and six. We got the late Jim Brown from any given Sunday ninety nine. Maybe get a little woody house in next I think that would fit a little killers bit right into.
There's such an obvious choice here, someone that you've been trying to bring back his catchphrase for the better part of a decade. It's Charlie She. I mean, I think we're at the point where our great our careers have been on a slow incline. I'm not saying metiorc, but slow incline. But I think we're at the point now he's going the other way we're gonna meet. I'm just saying he hasn't had a ton of air time. Maybe he's ready to join the around the NFL.
But I think would benefit both sides. Now, a little platoon look back. Yeah, that's a great call.
And speaking of Hollywood and just how different is Cowboys camp than anywhere else? Uh? I honestly, for a second thought, it was Tom Cruise.
I mean, so I totally get check out our socials for the the reference. Yes, Tom Cruise, look an incredible Tom Cruise clone who could do the laugh the gestures.
But here's the thing that I'd realized. He's walking by in a in a literally a top gun and outfit, which is like not something that Tom and the actual Tom Cruise would do. But but your reality stopped for a minute when you saw right, and they came in and took some photos with us.
And maybe it's like a make a wish thing. Maybe you know, Jerry Jones is paying him a million to.
Please dress two things. I left it purposely vague on social to see you know, how people react to it. They don't know whether if we think he's the real Tom Cruise or not. Let's see what the response are. Second second, he is wearing one of his character's outfits from Maverick. And right now there's a very contentious labor issue going on with the actors. Tom Cruise is maybe the most famous actor and is a kind of a spokesman.
If the real Tom Cruise knew that there was a fake Tom Cruise dressing as one of his movie characters, he might have him.
Well, that's I would not be powerful man's powerful guy.
So I hope he.
I mean he's handing out business cards and trying to Yeah, he's not trying.
You can Actually he's got a home media kit. He's got a lot going on.
Any other thoughts that was great talking to the sham god though, whenever you talk to these guys that have become a part of the show. Very nice, gentlemen. We actually did another you know, twenty minutes on w chopping it up his history with Oliver Stowe.
Told us some Oliver Stone nuggets that were juicy.
All right, so what have we learned today? What have we learned? The Cowboys are going to be good.
They're America's team. Yeah, Cowboys. Haters could be great. Will not like this episode, but if you made it this far, you just can't. That means you just love us.
So thank you, Yes, we thank you for that. We thank you Dallas Cowboys for allowing us to come by here and set up shop. Hopefully they'll have us back again in the future. Thank you to Eric, Randy Parker and Jay behind the scenes for making this thing go very smooth.
Behind the glass though, just in a big hot tent with all of us.
Yes. Thank you to Brian Schottenheimer for dressing like Eminem in nineteen ninety nine. I appreciate his forever young attitude.
Thanks for standing with me in the shorts gang and showing off some sweet leg tattoos. Thank did not know.
Oh my god, Eric surprises, they never cease. Greg, thank you for wearing the longer shorts. Mark, thank you for wearing the Panama jack hat out on the field. Yes, you looked very slick and maybe perhaps we can get a photo of that for the audience.
I will source one. Okay, very immediately, acep anything else from me. I'm good.
All right. We got a long ride back down to l A. Thank you everybody for listening. We'll be back Wednesday from uh Sofi Stadium or the I'm thinking Sofi Stadium because I'm going to see Taylor Swift.
You gotta you gotta catch you gotta gotta.
Catch a bird. Only I don't got a bird, so I gotta hit the road. But thank you everybody. Uh until Wednesday. You know what you gotta do. Heed the call? Cowboys eleven and six, twelve, twelve minutes. Oh what kind of run we make?
What happened? One?
Went one?
Playoff loss,