Talkin' Cowboys: Can Dak Get Back on Track?

lined up for you for the next hours. We'll be joined by John Schmelkov Giants dot Com and go behind enemy lines and get the lowdown on what these Giants feature this year. A battle of two oh and one teams. Something's got to give on Sunday night, right, gentlemen, absolutely, because you don't want to be oh and two. That's exactly right. What's the percentage if you finish oh or if you start the season oh and two of making

the playoffs? Well, let me tell you I got that Spags go saw it in the New York Daily News. Only twenty eight of two hundred and thirty one teams that have started oh and two have made the playoffs twenty eight of two hundred and thirty one. Yes, you have the percentage on that. I didn't do that. I got it, I got it. I want to do it. Twenty eight divided by two thirty one. What do you got? Twelve percent? Twelve point one percent. So this is a

must win game. Huh. Basically both teams as online as Brian would say, they're all must win, especially this one. You guys are gonna come around on my thinking on that. But did I not say that on the Happy Hour show? After I put you in a headlock? You weren't on the air. What are you talking off? Off the air? I put you in ahead? But you know why. But you know why it's a must win because if you start oh and two, it's pretty good signal that you're

not very good. Right. It's not that you can't recover from you're just not good enough. New coaches were owing seven. That means their teams weren't very good. Yeah. Yeah, that's why they new coaches because the team they inherited was bad enough to get the other guy fired. Yeah, there you go. It's fair. I just it's a fair point. I just you know, it's a division game too. You got to think about that. You know, a division game.

You lose a division game at home, that's like losing two, especially against the team that may be considered number four out of four on paper for the season. Three and I had him as a possible flip two with Dallas. Yeah, I had a week. Remember we did this whole thing. We went through all the different scenarios and we said, oh, well we're not. We had Washington, that's right, we had Washington's last we had that's right. Giants toe, Yeah, Giants Dallas flip And I think I said that flip two

three on Dallas and the Giants here. Yeah. You can't. You can't go too to start this thing, You really can't. I think I had so many questions to after what the O one got you, you know, you better figure some things out. And for some of us who picked the Cowboys to win the division, that would be the two gentlemen on this side side of the table, it becomes more much more of a must win situation. Twelve percent chance. You're how many go in there and explain

it to them. Maybe you should give the pregame speech, Mack. Yeah. While the other side of the table, Bayan and Rob Vick pick Philly by the way, just to review our picks from last week. Ye all right, what's on your mind? Brian brought us as we approach another practice day here at the Star getting set for this one. You know what, I think that you have to figure out. You go back, you look at the tape. You figured out what you were good at. You know there were some things they

were good at. You have to look at the things that you were poor at. You have to say, Okay, what are the matchups that we can look at with the Giants? Is there things we can take advantage of. I don't think the Giants defensively without Olivier Vernon, and it doesn't look like he's gonna play. And I guaranteed Minael, Yeah, we asked John. John's gonna say he's probably not gonna play. But I will say though that the Giants do have

a better secondary than Carolina. But you're gonna have to figure out a ways if the Cowboy receivers are able to get open against Carolina, this will be a very good test for them to see if they can get open against a second I think, but I don't think the Giants had the pass rush that Carolina does, I don't think they had that without, especially without Olivier Vernon. That's in my mind right now. How do you take advantage of this some of the things you can do

well in this game? Focus on those, get those plays that you can hang your hat on, and then try and stay ahead of the chains. That's going to be really the most important thing, because this offense can't function when it's behind the chains. They need to run the

ball better and more consistently. I mean, the running game didn't get going until what this second half way through the third Quarter's gonna be tough with Landon Collins sitting down there, and that's fine, that's fine, but you got to figure out a way to get Zeke going and get him going early, and do a better job blocking and if they want to stuff the line of scrimmaged and you better be able to protect the quarterback so you can take advantages of some one on one situations.

I think defensively, if you look at the matchups for Dallas, they have an opportunity to do what they did a little bit of or quite a bit of, and let's get pressure from Carolina. They can do that again this week. The Giants have weapons offensively, but they still even remaking their line. Now, they played a really good defense last week, maybe the best in the league, but very fast defense. Yeah, but they struggle to protect Elie and I know he

gets the ball out quick. But you have weapons out there, Odell say Quon, but if you can't protect the quarterback, that's gonna cost you over sixty minutes. And I think that's an opportunity. Now there's a flip side of that. They've got to tackle a hell of a lot better than they did last week. Yeah, because Barkley showed even though he really made one big play in the game

that kept New York in the game. I would hope that Shaun Lee comes out today and says, if we can stop Barkley, we can we can beat the Giants, because it really on the flip side. You look at Manning and he sure he's might, he's won a couple of Super Bowls and all that, but you blitz him, you get his eye level down, you put pressure on him. He will throw the ball up, he will miss throws because of pressure. But you've got to get to him. You can't sit there and you got to take advantage

of Flowers, and even Nate Solder wasn't very good. And Rob's right, Jacksonville's got a good, speedy defense. But the Cowboys are capable of putting pressure on this giant, on this giant offensive line, which will affect the way the quarterback play. The line is almost exactly totally different than it was last year. Flowers is kind of the main holdover right tack. He's the worst one. He gave up seven pressures. I had seven pressures against him last week

in a sack. Tried to trip the first play of the game. Looky, they didn't get a safety. They're in their own end zone and a half. Yeah, he trips the guy. I mean he's totally out of body position, balances all. That's terrible and he tries to up the guy and it's an easy call. Seven pressures. Yes, according to your favorite website. I think that's being kind based on your all twenty two assessment. Yes, they watching the game. I didn't need all twenty two on. All I need

is the box. They he was terrible, they got problems. Solder was problem. Remember they're starting a rookie too, a guard. Yeah, will Nandez he's a good one, but but he gave up a sack. Yeah, so quitness gets him. You know, cowboys with that undertackle, the ability to play with some quickness inside. That'll be a problem for those guys. Because there's a reason why, you know, Barkley had seventeen carries for what thirty seven thirty seven yards and then one

for sixty eight. And there was also a reason why Odell Beckham Junior caught eleven passes but he averaged ten yards a catch. Didn't have time to get him down the field what they started doing all the underneath stuff. Yeah, they missed him one time though, and that's because Manning got pressure. I mean he yeah, it was it was like, oh geez, and you know that's what she's got to fear. I think that when the matchups I wrote about today was a woozyer and you can even throw Byron Jones

in this. I think you're gonna have to play with Odell beck and play physical on the line with him. He looks like he's okay as far as the movement, the quickness and all that stuff, but you have to beat him up at the line of scrimmage. You cannot allow him to get in routes. I mean because if you beat him up, it affects the way that Manning throws the ball. Because Manning doesn't have enough time to sit there and wait for him to separate. He's got

to throw the ball, and he did that. They one time they brought they brought safety blitz, but they called zero coverage with no safety in the middle of the field. They brought a blitz down there and Beckham just ran an arrow route and Manning didn't have enough time, and he tried. He just tried to throw it in his direction. He was a good twelve yards off. So you can affect the way that you can affect the quarterback, which

affects the receiver. But you got to affect the receiver by being physical with him because if you give him free access in route, he will kill you. I got a new, a new stat dear buddies over there at that whatever focus thing need to kill up. Even the dame he doesn't know it. I don't pro football focus. I don't blame him. One of their one of their field goal drives, there was two pis on Odell Beckham Junior. Yes,

for forty yards. They only drove like sixty two forty of the yards were two one on Barry Church and one on Ramsey, So I think they need to put him the wide receiver stat thing. It's like PI, if I earned that many yards on a on a pass interference, then I should get credit for that because on both of them it was gonna be a big place. Especially I don't know how they isolated him on Barry Church, which is totally unfair, but he had to grab on otherwise.

You gamble, you gamble, you're gonna get somebody home before the ball gets off. That's your that's your gamble. That's that one. Okay, we're just gonna we're gonna sell out on this one particular play. And it's like when Rod Marinelli brings linebackers or safeties or slot blitz and he drops, you know, Crawford and coverage and Crawford's trying to run with a running back or something. That's just never a

good never a good look. You know about what you're talking about with an out anyone whether it's us or an outside company or whatever that are grading coaches film when you don't know what the assignment is hard. With the players, it's are difficult to put a grade. On what that player. There used to be a time where they used to not use They used to do it off TV copy. Oh wow, so well, and they made

a lot of money doing it. And I questioned the guy one time, I did an interview with him, and I'm like, how do you evaluate players off TV copy? And it goes to the point of what Mickey saying. If you're doing offensive defensive lineman, I'm okay with you doing that all day because I think you can kind of get something out at a feel for Yeah. But but other than that, I mean, I go back. When I go back and I do, like say the Scouts

Scouts Scott Notebook. After a game, I'm watching the TV games, I'm trying to kind of pick some things that it caught my eyes. You can see on and then, but you don't try and get into any exces and those things, because you know, I have the opportunity to come back. Yeah, I come back and watch the All twenty two. You at least have a little bit better idea. But you're right when you don't know the assignment, that's that's where you have to that's where you have to go with it.

I got a question on those lines for you after this. But right now, let's check in with someone who has been covering the New York Giants, not as long as Mickey is covering. Very good John, don't let them do that too yet. John Schmell Giants dot Com, welcome to talking. Hey boys, what's going on? Guys? Then it's funny based on what you guys were just saying, I heard the

telling your conversation. To Brian's point, I was trying to figure out on the play with the Giants and Jaguars last week on being complete class Odell Beckham in the end zone who messed up the blitz pickoff? And I had three different ideas of who it could have been. Until I talked to the head coach, it was neither one of the three guys that I thought messed up

at actually picked up. So you're right, until you talk to the coaches, you really don't know what's going on with a lot of this stuff, all right, So give us an overview first of this Giants team coming into at and T Stadium on Sunday. Well, disappointing first week loss, but it was against a very good team, and I think the Giants and Cowboys. I was just talking to one of my colleagues over here in very similar situations.

Did the first week loss happen because there are real serious long term problems for the Giants on the offensive line. Or is it just the fact that they were playing a really, really good defensive front in the Jaguars and it's Week one. Maybe they just happen to have a particular bad week against a good team. So if there's one big topic of conversation in New York this week, it's the Giants offensive line. I think they were generally

happy with the way the defense played. Saquon Barkley had the big run, So that's really where the focus is right now. Sounds familiar, John, because that's kind of what we've been looking at as the offensive line. Here is an ability to protect Dak and to keep him clean and not get behind the change. Why do you say that, Mickey, Because I read John's recap of the game, the Giants game, and I thought that you could you could just change Giants to Cowboys, that it felt like this not the

same thing with the Cowboys. So from an injury standpoint, John Olivier Verdon looks like he hasn't been practice. Does he have hope to get back. You think, yeah, Look, he was actually outside with the team yesterday on the side with the trainers, which is something he was not able to do next week, so he has kind of

taken that next mini step. But look, this is a high ankle sprain, and this is a guy who last year tried to play on an injury like that and he was basically a shell of himself the whole year. So my guess is that they're probably going to try to be a little bit more cautious get him back at h so when he does get back, he can be that dynamic pass rusher that he has the ability

to be. I'm sure Vernon will try to convince them to let him play, but if we don't see him practice at least in a limited basis, either today or tomorrow, I think the chances are slim and that kind of hurts their I mean needless to say, right their overall pass rush without him out there, Oh it kills him, they don't. He is by far their most dynamic pass rusher. Connor Ballin's a veteran, he knows what he's doing. He's a technique guy. He's good, got a little inside spin move,

that strong. Lorenzo Carter is a great athlete, but he really hasn't, you know, figured out how to rush the passer on the NFL level quite yet. So Yeah, without Vernon, they don't have that guy that you have to worry about winning one on one. Hey, Johnny mentioned the offensive line, and it's a really largely remade group from last season. What's the general feeling about it after game one? And is the feeling that Quon can kind of cover up some of those issues or potential issues that they have

up front? It's concerned, um, And you're right, it's a completely different group from last year. Now one player is in the same position they were playing in last year, and four players are completely new. John how Appeal, I think played in a couple of games into last year, but he's pretty much a new player as well. And Eric Flowers had the most was at right tackle. He got beat inside a few times, but at the same time,

there were issues all along the line. Will Hernandez, their second round pick, got beat a couple of times, Made Solar, the big free agent pickup, got beat a couple of times. Patrick omame their right guarden, and how Appeal, their center had their issues too, So overall it was just a poor game for them. If they would have protected a little bit more that Eli Manning would have had the opportunity to make a few more plays down the field,

the Giants probably would have won the football game. As for Barkley, his numbers got skewed a lot by that one big run for sixty eight yards. Other than that, I think yeah, only average around two two point two yards per carry. And I was actually listening to one of your Guys shows the other day and Brian made the comparison that Barkley kind of runs like Barry Sanders,

and I think that's absolutely correct. And that's kind of the comparison I made coming out of the draft, where he'll go one yard negative two, negative three one and then boom fifty or boom twenty. So right now he's a boom or bus guy. He doesn't like luring his pads to get that dirty two three yard run off the middle. He's going to try to bounce and make a big play, and I think that's right now what he is. Well, John Tabe, I feel good when you're

saying I'm actually right about a guy. Be careful with that. No, you're the best when you do that. But John, Hey, I want to ask you too about the comments that Landing Collins makes and is this more of a challenge. Was Landing Collins challenging really through the media his teammates or is this something that you're kind of as you

walk through the locker room there that the giants. Is this something the coaching staff is or other players repeating what Landing Collins is saying about if you stop Ezekiel Eli, you have a better chance of winning the game. I mean, look, I don't think it's any surprise that the scouting report on the Dallas Cowboys you stop Ezekiel Eli, you turn them into a passing team. You got a good chance of winning, right. I don't think Landon Collins was trying

to make any headlines. But do I think that's what the coaching staff is telling the players? Absolutely? And I think I went back. I think Dak Prescott has thrown for two hundred and fifty yards once since the last twelve starts or thirteen starts something like that. Sure, so I think that's the game plan. You stop the run, You try to put Dallas in third and long where you know that's not where they're at their best and you go from there. So yeah, I mean I think

that's what the defensive game plan has no doubt about it. Well, John, how is okay the team? This team has a great history. You're playing three four defense, three four front. How are they adapting now? For so many years playing the four to three now they're back in that three four front. The type of personnel? Did they feel better about the guys that they got to play the three four defense?

It all starts really with Harrison inside, and then we've talked about Collins, But overall, how do they feel like the scheme has looked so far? You know, it's funny that was a huge storyline in the off season, and I had a bunch of conversations with defensive coordinator James Betcher about it. And this is not your traditional nineteen eighties two gapping three four scheme, right. Yeah. He likes the one gap out of the three four, which is very uncommon. He wants his guys to use their quickness

and athleticism to get up the field and penetrate. They're not just trying to occupy blockers. So for that reason, I think that transition's been pretty smooth. Their interior defensive linemen are very, very good. They have three guys that are starting in their three four base defense that played the one technique in college from time to time. Dalvin Thomlinson in Alabama. Right they drafted DJ Hill this year. He's more of a three, but he did play the

one in college. He stops to run well, and then you, I think is the best run stopping defensive lineman in the league in Snacks Harrison. So you do not want to try to run up the middle against these guys. It's not going to work. Where they struggle in the week one was on the edge when Leonard Fournette was healthy in the first half. Once you went out of the game, the Jaguars are trouble moving the ball with the run game. But if you're going to have success,

I think you better attack the edge. Ah, John, you just stole my next question because I noticed that when Fournette was in there, they were able to get to the edge in that running game. Jacksonville was, but when he went out, they shut down yelled in because that seemed like they just wanted yelled in going up the middle, which I mean that seems counterproductive, especially how big and strong. Those front three guys are right up the middle. Yeah, absolutely, Look,

you want to make these guys move. And I think the other thing you look at too, if you're attacking the Giant defense is their strength against the pass or they're two outside corners Genors Jenks and Neil Apple. They are legitimately good cover corners. And Jane Betche's gonna run a lot of cover one. He's gonna run a lot of single high cover three. And those guys are going to be very, very aggressive on the perimeter. They're gonna try to jump routes, They're gonna be all over those curls,

those those comebacks and things like that. You're gonna have to challenge them and beat them over the top to loosen them up a little bit to start throwing that short stuff. Was that sort of a renaissance performance by Apple. I don't know that we thought, you know, I don't know how engaged he was, but he sure looked awfully good in that game. Yeah, and I think that was big.

You know, Ela Apple, he was a big source of concern last season, but when Pat Schermer got here, he kind of gave everybody a bit of a fresh start. And Eli Apple was number one on that list there, Flowers was probably number two. Flower did not take advantage of that in Week one, but it looks like Ela Apple to me did. He played a very good game. He was targeted a few times, really didn't give the opposing receiver any room to breathe. And he's a guy that I want to see react when he gets beat.

You know, it's easy to be good when you're stopping guys, but mentally for him, if he is a bad game and people start questioning you again, I want to see how we react to that. I think that'll be a big key for him this year. John will the final question before we let you run you. We know you got a thing to do for your team. But Odell Beckham everything about him positive coming out. I mean the

yards per catch. They missed him a couple of different times from what I saw on tape, but overall, the health, everything about it, attitude good going forward here. He was a different guy this offseason, and I've been critical with him in the past. I think he's been very immature. He's made a lot of you know, just decisions of eighteen year old kid or a nineteen year old kid. Would make. But he did everything right this offseason. I

mean he really did. If he didn't show up for voluntary workouts and in mini camp and training camp, and remember he didn't show up for voluntary stuff the two years prior to this. This year, knowing he wanted the extension, he decided to take the tact of I'm going to show the Giants I want to be a serious football player and this is the most important thing to me, and I'm gonna act like a professional. And the Giants

rewarded him by giving him a contract. And I think ideally, when you have teams and a player, that's how you wanted to go. And I see no that ankle injury that kind of took football away from him last year, I think really kind of rang a bell for him a little bit. And he has been a pleasure to deal with all offseason. And I think that the arrows really pointed up. He has a good bond with Pat Shermer, and I think, yeah, it would better than even I could have imagined when this team left Tire on the

first day of January last year. And it's it's been very, very good. And I got about three more minutes if you guys want to use it, by the way, it's up to you. Yeah. Absolutely, well, Mickey stole my question about Apple. John, I was gonna ask you, we're debating must win this week, and we looked up to the percentages when you start O and two. Is that a topic of conversation up there in New York this week? Absolutely.

Landon Collins has actually asked this yesterday and he said, look, Owen, two's a big hole and neither one of these teams want to be in it. So you know, it's John's Cowboys. Everyone's gonna be pumped up at Psyche that you guys home open. Everyone's gonna be into the game. But ten percent chance of making the plaza I think right when you start on two something like that, So twelve percent. I mean, it's a very important game. Hey, John, I'm gonna tell you an LSU man normally doesn't agree with

an Alabama man. But that's a smart Alabama man you have in that locker room here, because I preached that all the time about must wins, and these guys look at me like I'm an idiot here. That's not true. But whatever, it sounds good, John, making you have a parting question good, I'm good for I'm good with him. We'll let him run and John, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Sounds good, Nick, I appreciate it. Guys, always good to join you. Thanks, John, appreciate you. John Schmelk Giants dot com.

Of course, Eli Manning has his autograph on the walls there and the Giants locker room. Maybe John Schmelk is John not the best. He is. He's really honest, which is sometimes you talk to people and they're like, very I know, I did radio one time in Denver. This is last year, and those guys where it's just those are your favorite guys. Yeah, you know me and Denver. John's my favorite guy at the combine, by the way. Yeah, because we we we always need something from the Giants.

It's like, hey, John, you gotta e that guerrilla tape. You know, sure he's got like got something left behind, banners falling down. Yeah, our banner's falling down. And John's always like, yeah, here you go, here's this, here's the zip tie, here's a you know, I'm like the Giants, I mean, you were supposed to all be battling, but they've they've got some good people that do the same things that we do. All right, we continue on talking

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Star in Frisco. I heard you're a promo two for the Ohio State TCU game by Yeah, good job, yeah, I didn't realize the professional radio voice man. Well, I did not realize that. I emphasized the the on the Ohio State University. They loved it. They love that when you do that, they see they get Bill to do that and ask us, I'm not going to talk about TCU or Ohio State in any glowing terms. Yeah, that's right, Well we should. It was a script. So an Oklahoma

man right followed the script. You guess who I saw this morning? I told Rob before the show. I saw one Jason Witton this morning. Ye out here at No he was at Central Market. Actually you were shopping that early in the morning. Well, actually my wife had a town still no, getting some excellent meals, pre made meals. All right, if you must know, every Thursday morning, I'm involved in a group of Bible study I remember at Central Market in soft Lake and um and actually Pat

summer All was part of Erica way back. We started it like in two thousand and five, and I did it at the grocery store. Yeah, there's cafe at the Ali Ranch though, well that was a different one. It was different group, but anyway, Pat was involved in that one. But anyway, so one of the guys came back and told me that Witton was in the store, and so I went and found him, and he talked my ear off about Monday night football. So I did. I got no Bible study at this morning. It was the Gospel

according to Jason Monday. But I brought him back there and introduced him to the game, like looking at the fig muttons trying to get away, like oh, the apple one, the strawberry ones. But one of the interesting things that Jason said was, you know, he did the Raiders game Monday night, and John Gruden apparently after the game went and watch the TV copy of the game and then called him and complimented on some stuff, but also gave

him some tips on some certain stuff, you know. And of course he coached Booger McFarland and so that dynamic and kind of gave him some tips on how to handle the three man booth when the third guys on the sideline. And they're just interesting right here and wouldn't talk about it. He is, he's so excited about what he's doing and enjoy himself. You challenge for him. He always He's always been a guy wh's challenged himself to do things. So then he's asking me about this team,

and he had some thoughts on this team that we're interesting. Yea, as far as I don't know how how much I should share because off the record, some of it could be off the record, but he did one thing. He did say he likes the thought now that now that he doesn't have to be on the field all the time, go ahead and use some of that ten personnel. Yeah. I think that's a little bit different when he's here. Yeah. Now, if he was here, he would not be in favor

of that ten personnel. Yeah, I'm not coming off the field now. I think that I think you're going to see them do more of that. I think that the plan is going to be And I brought up the question yesterday but yesterday about trying to are you gonna make Dak a pocket passer or you're gonna are you're gonna play to his strengths and let him be more

free wheeling in the way he plays. And you know, eleven personnel gives you a good opportunity if you can get some of those guys going, you get Beasley going, And we saw what Austin could do. I know it was one play but the one play went for nine yards. If you throw the ball to a guy and he could get nine yards, ten yards, maybe bust it loose. You know, I'm I'm all for getting him more involved.

I'm all for also more involved, getting Michael Gallut more involved. Man, he came across the middle of that one time he was open, he was able to define space, get him to ball, let him run. I'm totally okay with that. If Dak Prescott has to run on the read option stuff in order to keep that defensive end wide, so ezekiellot can hit that gap by all means, I mean, I you know, there's there's quarterbacks in this league you protect.

You try and protect Rogers and Bray and Breeze, but there's other guys you just say, go play football, Just go play football. And I think Dak Prescott is that guy. I do. And that's my attitude about it is, if you're gonna and I know it's one game, and I'm not supposed to knee jerk, and I'm not knee jerk. I just think you have to go back to what he was able to do in twenty sixteen. They ran

the ball effectively, but they played loose with him. You know, they played loose and away and allowed him to do some things and order him for him to be creative with the ball in his hands. I don't believe Dak Prescott, and I'm sure people will come at me for this. I just don't see a pocket passing quarterback. I see a guy that's much better playing on the move and doing things that he is capable of doing. He threw

twenty nine passes in that game. I wonder, and you're guys over there with the stats people, how many times he actually threw the ball from the pocket. Yeah, because he was on the run. Yeah, it wasn't like he was sitting there. But they said in the second half, now better than no. But I'm saying the protection part. If you believe next gen stats, which is another thing that we're having to deal with, and you know, and there's people out there that that trust those numbers and stuff.

They said he was he was the fifth. He had the fifth most time. Okay, I'm gonna say this wrong. He was fifth of the quarterbacks that played as far as time in the pocket three point five seconds per throw in the pocket. That doesn't sound right. Yeah, I mean, I'm point five is a long time. That's it forever. Yeah, but that's what they said. He was the fifth best protected quarterback when he was in the pocket. I feel like the average time in the NFL for a quarterbacks

like two and a half. No, that's the that's the number they had, And I just whether you believe it or not, but I'm just trying to say, I understand. I understand what what this might take to get things going for him. You might have to run in the ball, standing of the chains, I get that, but you're gonna probably have to do something things that he was did in two Mississippi State twenty sixteen. Those things. They tried to make him a pocket passer last year, they really have.

They tried to make him a pocket passer, and maybe that's not his cup of tea first eight games, sixteen touchdown passes, four interceptions. Last season, Yes, moving around, But I don't know what if he moved around in the first eight games or not, or if he was in the pocket. All I know is when they ran the football and they protected him, he was pretty darn good. They've got to figure out something. When they can't run

the football, that's the problem. And there are two new pieces up front, holding calls and motion calls, blocking the back, all those things hurt him. How much read option are you thinking? Then you know what, I'm gonna freewheel this thing. I am. Jerry Jones talked about it the other day. He compared him, and I understand the comparison. If you talk about Cam Newton and you talk about Golf. What he's trying to say is, we've got the ability to run the football like Cam Newton did the other day

for sixty yards in the first half. We've also got the ability to throw the ball like Jared Golf did the other night in that that Money Night game. I think they're a little bit closer to what Cam Newton is than what Jared Golf is myself. Maybe that's what Maybe that's something maybe he's given us a little bit of a hint that, Okay, we need to figure out more things for him to do where it allows him to to get in the flow of the game other than playing from the pocket. I'm on board with that.

I think you just do have to be mindful of the toll that can take depending on how much you use it. Yeah, but and yeah, I was just a friend. I think they protected him because he's a friend. They think he's a franchise quarterback. Well, as Mickey said yesterday too, what's your alternative? But he goes down? You know that's that's the problem. I mean, there's I'm just saying there's a flip side to it. We saw RG three, who

was a much slighter built player. Sure do that for a full season, and he got hurt and he was never the same. Now das built like a linebacker. So I feel better about him running read option. Um, but I'm not all one. I'm not asking him to run ten twelve times. Well that's what I was asking you. How many times do you want to do with Griffin?

Is he had breakaway speed where he could feel like he could get to that coiner Dak is smart in that he'll go ahead and hell yeah, I think they're going to have to do something different though, I do. I mean, and to me, it's because if it's they've got to find a way to get the running game going, and they've got to find a way to get him going throwing the football and get him in a comfort level because I think he gets they got behind the chains.

He misses some throws and I think he starts pressing, and we saw that last season two and may and there may be it may lead to him not seeing things as as well as he normally would when things are rolling a little bit easy. What about coming out tempo and did a nice shot with that the other day, and get him into a ven you get eleven personnel on the field, and you're comfortable with everybody out there, Just keep going, keep going, let him, let him manage

the game that way. I don't have a problem with that. I just think they have to let him play more. And I think that that that plays to his strength. I really do. And that's you know, I watched him in the pocket stuff and all that, and I understand what Mickey's saying. Eight touchdowns for interceptions, I get it, But I think that I think that you've got to

figure out a way to play to his strengths. And I don't know what's their record when he gets sacked six or more times, Yeah, that all sounds good, but if you can't protect him. That's the second most he's ever been sacked besides eight. Yeah, that game and didn't turn out well, did it. What's your suggestion? No, My suggestion is you got to do a better job. I'm not for people just throwing their hands in the air and saying you don't have I didn't say that, but

you've got to protect him. But you've got to come up with it. Okay, it's protection the only thing then, well it would be a start. Are all quarterbacks protected in this league? All of them? How many quarterbacks got sacked six times? Are all quarterbacks? Asked you that? How many quarterbacks got sacked six times and got hit four more times times? That means ten? And how many times did he have to run out of the pocket to save from a sack. The thing about it is, I'm

asking you this question. Not all quarterbacks are protected every He has got to make some play. I understand that, and he he didn't make play that he didn't make plays. Is that why he got sacks six times? He went into a couple of sacks, let's be really honest. And they also had a sack where they didn't bump all the way outside. The head coach told you that in the walk off. If you listen, that's what he did.

Do listen, but I do watch as he told you though that they the protection problems were a little bit on the quarterback too. You're putting it all on the offensive line. It was not very good. Okay, give me a solution to how to make him a better quarterback then, other than protecting him. Well, that that would be a start. Okay, Right, how's he going to throw the ball? Beck? What at six sacks a game? Time? Sixteen? Go do the math? How did you make him throw the ball? Sacks? Time? Six? Time?

Do you make him throw the ball some sacks a season? They're not going to give up six sacks every game? How do you make him throw the ball better? Don't give me the well bit? What do you mean? Well, you got to protect him. There's a little bit of both there. I mean he's got it when there is I mean he missed, stays in the game, there's there's there's a little bit of both there. So why did all these other quarterbacks struggle last week? I didn't want

good one in the quarterback I mean good ones. Huh, good ones. We're responsible for this game. I understand his team, but if you can't protect your quarterback, olask Eli mann you protect Eli Manning. No, they couldn't protect him, so they rolled him out, all right, he just let him roll out every time he just gets sacked. Do you think my idea of of no huddle and I like that, that's that's a better answer to me than anything that we're talking about right now. Anything anything to get him

in the flow of it, him in a rhythm. Yeah, sure, sure, I'm all for that. And if that keeps him out of third and twenty six, I'm for it too. Yeah. And and because one of the things that bothered me about the game when they get the ball back with him inta fifty one left and then they can't even get a first down and they complete a pass basically you know, well they get they get the holding pillion

pile Collins that kicks them back in the thing. And so what I'm wondering, and we haven't seen enough evidence in a two minute drill, okay, in a game situation in the preseason, but I didn't play after the game two to see what they really got as far as just a little short passing game to get gone even in a two minute drill much less, you know, And wonder if they trust him. I wonder if they trust him to play in a two minute game? Um, is that way better? Because easier. He's their guy. No, That's

what I'm saying. I mean, do you do you worry? Do you? I'm just throwing it out there because I'm trying. I'm I'm I'm not I'm not the Bob Seeger song. I'm not looking for I'm not working on mysteries without any clues, like, for instance, for instance, in that two minute drill, and I haven't gone back close enough, and I need to go back and really look at what they were, what routes they were running, and so forth. Yeah, for instance, you see an Aaron Rodgers again the Cowboys

last year. He had one time out left, he had a minute fifteen left whatever, and he did not use the sidelines going down the field. He used the middle of the field. He's got the time out in his pocket, he got and the Cowboys had a time out in their pocket. Right, Okay, so let's use the middle of the field. Okay, Right, and you're giving you're taking what the defense has given you. There's gonna be something available there and matriculate your way down the field, right, And

that didn't happen. And so I'm sitting there going, okay, so where is this team as far as their two minute offense, and sure, maybe that is a way to get to get him in a rhythm and get him going. Yeah, I've always thought he's best when he's on the move in some fashion and a lot more so design stuff than scrambling for his life and throwing off his back foot. Now, maybe some of that is read option and some of that is that boots and the waggles and that kind

of stuff. Carolina gotta get Caroline some credit for shutting some of that stuff down. Yeah, but I think him on the move a little bit more can help him, don't you think teams last year's shut down those boots and waggles, they started anticipating. They killed him. Beasley. They killed Beasley. That's what happened to that team. They took him away. They took him away. But you know, I mean, They've got to figure out other ways to do this. I'm trying to find ways, you know, I'm just trying

to find ways. I'm trying to find ways to help him protection. I'm trying to find ways so we can complete passes. I'm trying to find ways to let him see the field better. You know, I'm trying to help Ezekiel Elliott, and I'm trying to help this rookie left guard in the backup center. You know, I'm trying to help these guys. I'm in agreement with you that just using him in dropbacks and having him sit back there in the pocket, that's not not at the curtain stay

of the offensive day. I don't disagree with making I'm just saying that there needs to be a different line of thinking. How do we how do you get him going in games? If the protection is not going to be great? What what's the next step? What is what? You know? You just you can't throw the ball down the field. Now you have to Michael out needs to be on the field more than he was subscribing to his theory. There you go rookie and he can play.

Get him out there. Who need to be on the field as far as the receivers go, I said, it needs to be on the fields basically, and then give me somebody else. They'll think Thompson, they'll prove Thompson out there. But you know, actually, let's see if you could get Austin going. Okay, Austin, so we've got four receivers right there, and then you get zeke In the backfield. So there's your ten personnel. Let's go Hall of Fame tight end.

Tell me this morning that go ahead and use some ten personnel because you think did he not trust to swim in and l No, I think it's more okay, Well, they had success the other one. I got to figure out something somebody to get it going. They had success when they started spreading everybody out in the second half. Gallup got twenty nine snaps in the game play. I

thought he played more as the game went on. I said last week started because I think he's Yeah, Tavon's got speed and he's explosive, but Gallup has a has a gear to him. He's just young. He's just young. And I'm with Mickey. There did a lot more. Did they use two running backs like not a fullback? They did? They did a couple times. Yeah, And and the fullback they got is not a glass eater, and that's a problem,

you know what I mean? With a glass eater, a guy it's just gonna go in there and dig guys out and be And he's a good special teams player, but they missed. If you're gonna play with that guy, play with somebody that's gonna go in there and explode on people. I don't need you go in there and get in the way of the back and be indecision, you know, indecisive and what you're doing. Go in there and get somebody, dig somebody out. You know. That's he's not Keith Smith. I don't know. I mean, I never

had a different type of fullback Smith. I know Keith Smith would go in there and and he would try and concuss somebody. You know. That's and I'm not I'm not chilling for Keith Smith. I think old while he's a better special teams player than him, if you got him to for that, okay, great. And he's probably a better single back runner than Keith Smith, okay if he probably catches yeah, okay, that's one reason they went light at running back because he can do some of this

single background. But he's not He's not that type of bro dick guys out fullback that you they had last year. I'm just I'm hey, you better figure some things out here. You just don't just don't bang your head against the wall twelve personnel thirteen personnel and think you're gonna be good enough doing that. It's not it's not the plan. That's not a good plan. It's not a good plan

for the quarterback, you know. I mean, it's not a good plan for the rhyme some stat again, once you know it, depending on who you believe that group you're talking about earlier, I'm not that true, God Almighty, I'm not saying they're the Bible. Okay, I'm just mad at I'm mad. I'm not mad at you, both of you. I'm not mad at you. Mickey's rubbed off. I'd like to invite all three of you to buy Thursday Boarding. By we go. There's no hope for me. Bill, I mean,

you can save Mickey. I'm I'm down to get Yeah, we get to eat it. Whole Foods Market there. Will DeMarcus ware be the next guest shows up there too, I've seen him there. Fifty Fancy with the Stars a fifty three percent of the time bad groups. Sorry, Rob, I didn't mean you're fine, go ahead fifty three percent of the the time. They played extra man in the box Carolina fifty three percent of the time, and they sort of invited it. They did, they did, And that's where

that's where I'm thinking. That reminds me of the old damit days. Yeah, and had more players who could win their one on one battle. And Zeke is like, yeah, come on, bring it on, bring it on until until it's fifteen carries for sixty five yards. That's not He's going to look up in week four and go Okay, they're now playing eighty percent in the box. You know, Okay, I'm that to me. That's the strategy you're gonna have.

Smell just told you what they're gonna down there. Yeah, Landing College is gonna You're gonna see number twenty one hit number twenty one all day on both sides, on both sides. Oh so we are going to have a break here, Okay, I just I need some I need some buildings, decide just to let this thing roll. Think when things got when things got good in here, I say, oh, we'll just roll. Ye. All right, we're back with the

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official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys. Get your Jack Black playmaker for JB Faves JB I guess that means Jack Black plus a full size lip bomb for just ten bucks with free shipping at get Jack Black. Dot com use Cowboys code, no use code cowboys want to reverse that didn't night a Cowboys code. There's some there's some weird phrasing in there. And not not that I'm the smartest guy in the world, but I have to kind of rethink what that when you get to

that for JB. Yeah, yeah, when you get to that point. I know you're a Missouri man a lot smarter than an LSU man. But that's I messed that thing up. Every time. It's good here it is. Hey, by the way I was doing I had to fill in for you over at the on the fan. Yeah, every every every day? Oh yeah, yeah, I meant to tell you that. I meant. I'm like, I'm like, I don't know why they don't give you enough money to do that. I was gonna tell you, I said, one of every day,

I'm going one of the things. It's gonna happen when you go for a week, either he had or appreciate you, or they're gonna say, ah, he's replaceable. No, no, they asked me to do it, and you are not replaceable. You really are now, I don't know. I think, you know, thanks for good radio in their mind. Yeah, I just got an urgent call from my wife. Call him immediately. Is she listened to the show and says, get away, she's Psycho brought us. No, she's she's at work. It's

I'm like, oh, I better call, I better call. It's about a delivery guy coming to the house. I'm like, could that not have waited? It's the hot water heater getting bust. Oh that's never good. Yeah, that is not good. Um. I had a question talking about what Rob brought up earlier, although he just not subscribed to it. I don't. I'm gonna give Christmas maybe byan too. That's my gift to you.

But we were talking about I like the socks. A lot of times when you look at the All twenty two, you're not sure what the well, you don't know what the assignments are players. So that's fair gold too fair to say who is at fault on a play. That's fair. You remember on the first drive for Carolina, cam Newton's twenty eight yard run, the long run, Sean Lee, Well, that's what I thought watching the TV copy, But then if you look at it, they didn't. Randy Gregory. Randy

Gregory went way and splashed in McCaffrey. It was his own read okay made me scrape line, So I didn't know if the assignment would have been for Gregory. Is Gregory's supposed to stay home on that usually uns or but usually you can get on no. Yeah, But the fact that Lee didn't scrape and he got caught up, and he got caught up, and I'm thinking, okay, yeah, did Gregory just make a just a straight move on his own and then shun Lee? And I haven't run

into Sean Lee. It's kind of like going to give him a little room of that did you not scrape? You know? But hey, that's I think we'd like to no, no, because sometimes you get a call like you get what they call it, take it like take it like you you got, You're on it and I'm around, you know. So now McCaffrey had gotten the handoff, always gonna be a two yard loss. There's no doubt Gregory was all over it. Yeah, but as it was, then usually you don't want to go against Sean Lee when it comes

to mental things, because he's one thing. He got caught up in the trash a little bit, and so he was late getting over I think, And so the blame went on Lee because he was the one dive into Okay, like we talked about the Ezekiel, it looks terrible, It looked terribly like why would you why? How can you make that block? And in reality, no, he's not supposed to make that block. So again you ask, Okay, he was on the right side when I accuse him not listening,

But when the when the when he bumps? You bumped the thing all the way outside? Now that is who's is that the rookie call? Is that the center call? Does the quarterback have to check the protection? You know? Now, let's let's be honest here. This is now going to be a little bit on DAK, not a little bit a lot on DAK. Without Travis Frederick there, He's gonna have to be really sure that that Joe Looney and

those guys up front know exactly what's going on. So just more on his plate, more on his plate, all right. The concern that you would have against the Giants this week, what's number one concern? Number one concern? I think the receivers getting open. I mean, that's the back to the whole. Yeah, he's sitting in the pograph for three and a half second. I think that you can't. I think that John told John Smoke, who did a great job at telling you

without Olivier Vernon, this is not a dynamic pass rushing team. Great, great analogy. Right there, A guy lives in the building. You know, you can see that all twenty two. You can see that. So I think that it's gonna be on the Cowboy receivers if we want to play, if you want to play eleven personnel or you know, or ten personnel, it's gonna be on these guys. Can you

win on the outside against Eli Apple? You know, can you win on the outside against Genois Jenkins because they're gonna try and commit to stop in Ezekiel with Landing Collins and Curtis Riley the safeties. So get ready. You know he said its single high stuff. How many routes can you run against single high stuff and get open to give Dak Prescott a chance to hit you? Well, you just need to On Jenkins, you need to double move him because he's gonna jump routes anyhow they will jump.

And the interception he did get, the guy was covered, but the ball was underthrown absolutely, and it was it was an easy pick for him. What scared me was is how well Apple played? Because that was a good question. No, that was a good question because it was a come to Jesus meetings you know about about him and then some of his his his attitude, clean slate, he was. They were talking bust up there last year, two years ago,

the job. Last week, I've flipped around and say, despite what we talked about the offensive line, they do have so many weapons offensively. I mean, we know ail they're tied. End is basically a watchie player. Shepherd's a guy that

they move around. Um, can they cover up? Because how many explosive plays can they cut down on in this game and get you know, because it takes one play to either score like Barkley or get you in deep in the red zone or deep in Cowboys territory And all of a sudden, now the way the Cowboys the struggle scoring points, it might a couple of those plays

might make the difference for the Giants. You got a flincher at quarterback, though, you got a flincher, you know, and you get and you kind of knock him around a little, Yeah, for sure, knocked him around. That level comes down and that ball goes out and it's not always where it needs to be. Yeah, So that's why Odell Beckham had ten yards a catch because he's you get the ball. Yeah. They've always been like that one and you never know. But you know, looking at Jacksonville, now,

maybe it's me. I didn't recognize any of their wide receivers Jacksonville. Yeah, can you name them? D Westbrook, Yeah, as one of the west and he was he was like I used to lead, but he got Marquis her. Yeah. So they're starting k Cole Cole, right, and then Jenkins and Moncrieff and Moncrief and yeah they got Moncrief from the Colts on Sante Moncrief, you know, and then and then they were they were strictly in DD Westbrook, who might have been the best one. May be so their

wide receiver cord compared to the Cowboys. Yeah, I'm just saying they they got to figure out. You know, you're right, Mickey, it's a good point and you have to which is why I thought that they might be interested in deaths because of what the little Yeah it's Coughlin though, that's right, I said, no, no, no, or maybe Herns. Yeah, well yeah, they probably like to have him back. Yeah, okay, it says ten thirty on my way, so wow, long segments today.

The big clock up there says ten thirty. Well, then I guess it means it's ten thirty, and that means it's the end of another delivery. Guys, I'm talking Cowboys and yeah, I've got to go. Let a guy in the hill hurt. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.