Talkin' Cowboys: Does This Team Have Enough Talent?

now the head coach of the University of Tack. Just kidding, making sure everyone is listening and paying attention because we will have some real news here. But Mickey's shaking his head because, of course, Witten was asked about five minutes worth of questions if he would be leaving the team to go coach the balls. Where did that story break or what's his name? Blay Travis Bay Travis Travis great country Western performer yep so and what media venue did

he use to break that story? He has a website of his own, he does. Somebody called him out for like using his phone as a camera and stan Vrette. Stan Verrette basically called him out for for his way of getting out his information. Let me ask you this, two years from now, two years from now, where do you go for that job? It's a lot of work. I don't know. I do think he wants to get into coaching. Great coach. Yeah, don't you think high school? Nah?

His grandfather. I just think, you know what I think, Witten. I don't see Witten shooting for anything other than the moon. I really don't our high school hours coaching any different than college or pro. You don't have to recruit, Yeah, recruiting is Yeah. He works because he's made so much money. If you're really not good, your season's over about the middle of November, you really want to work all those hours when you've made the money he's made when he retired,

I think he's still going. I think I think this is a talk for another day, but I think he does. I'll just say this, there's been some strange stuff this season, many seasons around here. That was about the weirdest. If I would have said two years ago, sitting right here and said, hey, guys, two years from now, Tony Romo will be in the number one broadcast position with Jim Nance CBS. CBS. Would you have believed me and Jason Witten would be the head coach at Tennessee. Well that's

not happening today, but well it was happening yesterday. Just the idea that mister iron Man had to sit there and say, no, I'm not going to leave the team tomorrow to go goa to my alma mater is just absurd. But you think two years from now he would give it a thought. Okay, here's I'm just asking. Here's the and you would hope he thinks about this. What's the most difficult thing to do to become a college head

coach when you've never coached before? Time management, for sure, putting together a staff, Yeah, and that staff will save your butt. And he doesn't. I don't know if he has enough connections. I mean, he's he gonna get Tony rom would to come and be his quarterback coach. George Tigue is out there, or Colombo, maybe your offensive line coach. Sperrano. He loves Sperrano. We've already had discussions. I will be leaving to Knoxville to be there. So it's been bloomed

to be his defensive line coach. Her West is from that area or West. Piece of staff together, Mick, I think you know what, actually, you know what you should do. Don't worry about the coaching part. Just get some big names to help recruit. Yeah, like get Evan Smith to walk into somebody's living Immant. Smith's son's already getting recruited by Georgia. Yeah. Yeah, I've seen I've seen him up close to personal Mickey Spagnola, quality control. Yeah, operation sid.

He just tells no to everyone's ESPN. Nah, not this week, get away time working here. Let me ask you this, I don't I think I think getting a staff together would be the least of his problems. Yeah, but you know, like he might get out coached. The thing about it is, though he could he could lean on. I'm sorry, Tam, I'm taking time away from your show. This was fun.

I'm you know, I'm I'm sitting there thinking though that he there's some guys that he can lean on who who wouldn't want to help Jason Witten try try to put together a staff. Jason Witton could call you up, could call up a Bill Belichick, could call up Phil Fulmer, who used to be a coach at Tennessee, could call up David. Yeah, he could call up David Cutcliff at Duke who turned down the job. You know he he there's a lot of guys. I mean, he's a Tennessee guy. Yeah,

so it's true. I mean, I'll say this coaching is in his blood. We talked about we talked about the quarterback that used to that used to win the nationale te Martin t. Martin's kind of turned into a successful offensive coordinator. I spoke to his brother Sean Witten for about an hour for a story I did in training camp. I thought you were going to tell me yesterday you were tracking. No, No, I'm not tracking. I was loving

where you're going with this. He's the head coach now at Elizabethan where they're from, and took over for their for their granddad, and like it's just what they grew up on. So yeah, when he's done, I can definitely see it integrity. Yeah, that's a great story. If they grew up on the John Wooden books and all the you know that their granddad taught him, So I could

see it. But I mean it was just crazy yesterday that he had to answer questions about like, are you still committed to the Cowboys for the final five games of the season. Come on, final five games of the season. Way to think that there's no playoff? Cha, captain plus plus into January maybe, huh, I said the captain of the team. Yes see you guys, Well there is some real news here, guys. Of course, Jerry spoke this morning and had a very roundabout answer of Shawn Lee's status.

I think you you posted it best, Yeah, he said. Uh, I think he's gonna be back soon. Don't know what soon is, but back soon, giants, I believe, not not Mickey. Mickey said this three games ago. It was gonna be hard for him to be back in twelve days and they just, you know, the way the schedule fell for him. Unfortunately, that's what they're dealing with, you know. And he's not even out there going through stretch now, so uh, that

doesn't bode well. At least the other guys that everybody but Sean and else were out there at least going through stretch. Durant wasn't out there either. Yeah, Durant with the concussions, and I don't think he's he's not getting back in time. They're just hoping there's the last practice of the week. Yeah, well I'm now jeez. And I wrote about him today as my matchup guy, Elsie. Yeah, I wrote about him as mine. I think he's got

a chance. They're gonna wait because he's got two more days, right, Yeah, And I think their game. I think it's another one of those deals where they just kind of treating him like Tyron and say, let's get you to the game. But the question was asking a good one from Todd Archer. He's not a seven eight year pro. So can he miss all week of practice and play? I don't know. You want no? I want Lyle Collins if he can play. Yeah, but I'm just saying that Spyron Bell at right tackle

for now. That's how they lined up when they did their little under the bar routine. Elsie's still young players all I'm saying. But if he has the experience like Byron Smith, could he sit out all week and then go on a positive note? You're mentioning that Zack Martin was out there, so yes, he was good to go? Rant was? I mean? Martin was out there, Hitchens was

out there? Who else was questionable? That was limited. Switzer out there, Tyron was out there, yeah, switcher Switzer was out there on the practice report, yes, or ankle yeah, but I yeah, Durant's not gonna make it. I don't think it'd be interesting when we do these the inactives. I wonder if I could put Switzer on that inactive list. Well, you can't put Darren McFadden on there. Yeah, but no,

I'm yeah, you put Trey Williams. Trey Wayne absolutely. I know, I know you're, I know you're he's giving you some juice in the return game. But if he's nicked up, yeah, and you know what and if if it comes down to it, we're hearing about all these changes in the secondary, what's Jordan Lewis's role going to be? You know, Jordan Lewis returned kicks at Michigan, was pretty good at it. If he's he had lined up at training camp a few times to do that as well. See that's what

I'm saying. I just kind of wonder if if Jordan Lewis, if he doesn't have a role at a prominent role, which I think he will, I just don't think he's gonna start I don't think he's gonna be your nickel starter. Sound like they're going to really shake this thing up just in the secondary. Yeah, I mean it's gonna be a different look secondary where these guys line up, It'll be okay that it's a different look. Yeah, can't keep

doing the same. Let me ask you this though, Mickey and guys, I mean, if you would indulge me on this, what moves? Okay, if you had to take if you had to just the guy, how would you play your guys you have right now? How would you line them up right now? If you could in the secondary? I mean a Woozier starting at left corner. Okay, a Woozia starts the left corner for Mickey rob Yeah, that's yeah. I mean I want to think that's the only thing

that makes sense right now. Yeah, okay, what about Scandrick in the slot? Does that do anything for you? Put him over there where he belongs on the right corner. Yeah, see, I don't disagree with it. Who you heard me say that from training camp? These other guys were good enough. Let him do one job, not playing on the outside. And who's your slot corner? I just throw somebody in there. Well, you're you're covering a pretty good slot. See they're not

beat that badly in the slot. It seems like, okay, your options, your options, and guys would be, would you put Anthony Brown in there? Would you feel comfortable putting him there? Brown? He's lost his job? Browner or Woods? Brown or Woods? Are Jordan Lewis or Jordan Lewis? Yeah, I think at this point maybe Brown, give him a different type of role, let him prove himself a little

bit where he's there. He just hasn't played a lot there. Yeah. Yeah, even going back to college, the thought, well, I don't know. I mean, if he's not starting, then what's his role. Mickey was right about him though about the zone stuff. If you put him in the slot playing man, maybe you give him a chance. The thing you have to worry about is him playing hands handy guy, you know, and holding and stuff like that, and all these have been a big problem for him. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

You're putting him in the slot where you're exposing him and have to run all over the field. But it's better than playing him that way than playing him off coverage in zone, which Mickey pointed out, Yes, to day doesn't seem to be suits him very well. I just feel like this matchup though, with the types of receivers they have, the quick short area routes and the way they work in space. I'm thinking Crowder I might rather have Scandrick in the slot in this game and having

to play both. But that's just me. Well, he brought up an interesting name, Woods. Would you want to put Woods over there? He's played some of it. He's played yeah, I mean they played him down. Obviously, he's better playing down and covering that. That's the thing I think with him. Coverage has been not a problem. There's been some other thing.

Tackling has not been great. Seeing some things has something great seeing things, And I think that's difficult for a young guy to play safety and anticipate what's going to happen. Because he got caught peeking inside a couple of balls going over his head. Yeah, a couple different times. You know. Can't have that. Yeah, No, everybody's such in a hurry. Get Jeff Eath out of there. Yeah, we got to play these young guys. And then they go play and they get beat and it's like, why are we playing

all these young guys? Why didn't we keep Bury Church and JJ Wilcox. Yeah, you know, it's like everything kind of just rotates on. Let me ask you this, see something new sometimes? Is Heath the liability or I mean I'm just saying that has nobody stepped up? Is Jeff Heath better as a rotational player special team's phenom? Yeah, we talked about that and again I mean we we, you know, we we. That's the thing. Maybe me personally misevaluated.

I mean last year he was just looking for a spot to start, and now it's like every all eggs in the basket. What about Byron Jones? Where does Byron Jones need to play? He needs to play to play back back er up? Where where does he miss more tack back up? He needs to play up? I agree with Mickey on that up he needs to be when they go die and put him up close to the line a scrimmage. I agree there because see the problems

I have, Robin and just go ahead ahead. The problems I have when Byron Jones with tackling, it's not when he's at the line or near the line. It's when you get him in space coming forward that he that he has the problems. That's that's where I'm trying to play him in a spot where I feel like that he can maybe make plays. He again, everything underneath, he could tackle, He covered tight ends, just talked our way

out of a single safety high position. Well, I just thought, Okay, who's if if we do everything we just said, who has a single safety high Woozier hurt him in my opinion this season because it's forced him to play closer to the line. To me, any better suited is more of a center field type guy, and he hasn't been able to do that this season. He's a little bit, but he's played up more than maybe they had envisioned for him. Well, Woozier just needed to be the left corner.

Oh you're gonna get a chance this, mickey, You got it right, you get you're gonna see it. Get ready. But he that's the play should have been from the start. He's playing safety. He did never play safety in training camp. If you think back and look, he rarely ever liked I know that. But that's where they put him at one point before he heard his hamstring again. Well yeah, because they were looking for a spot to play him,

to see where we can play him. But if you, if all things were equal, he would have won the left cornerbacks. But there you have it. I think the Scouts really loved Jordan Lewis. They did. They loved Jordan Lewis. Did you guys get a chance to hear last night's Cowboys Hour with Jordan Lewis and Orlando Scandrick. I missed that. I heard he got contentious. It was a little awkward. I mean, Scandrick is always a little bit awkward. He was throwing some bows at a young money Jeff Kavanaugh

over there. What just jabs? Bows are arrows? Arrows? Well, he said he didn't know what he was talking about. He doesn't. Yeah, called him a bully and different things like I could call kavanall bully. Yeah, Scandrick being Scandrick, But Jordan Lewis was on there, and Jordan Lewis is a very shy guy, at least from the outside looking in. Obviously, guys are so much different in the locker room and

around players and teammates, so bear with me that. But it was interesting to hear his perspective on different things, as far as like, okay, what he was asked to do? Because you know, Scandrick's over here, like, man, I didn't get a stern until I was a fifth or six year guy, and you you're out there, you know, and all the stuff, and Jordan Lewis just kind of like

takes it with what it is. Yeah, and yeah, you know, talking about being at the program of Michigan and how that prepared him and absolutely very correctly identified he should have said. He should have said, yeah, Michigan, we no Boise State. Yeah. Yeah. See this, this to me is it's always the it's always the chip on the shoulder bit, arguing with the arguing with the guy that's interviewing with you, arguing with your teammate, you know, all this stuff like that.

You know that that that that act has worn very thin with me, very thin with me. Yeah, you know what, Hey identify what he plays well Kansas City. I identify when he plays poorly. You can't give up plays. You're the captain, you have that sea on your chest. Go make plays guy and he hates me, and that's okay. Do you think there's enough veteran leadership in the secondary? How about veterans that are playing better? How about how about veteran guys that's the head coach told you that

veteran Byron Jones is not playing very well. I was wrong about that coming out of training camp. Thought Byron Jones was going to be on his way up, first time Pro Bowl guy. Bum here we go. Yeah a great camp. Yeah, but I'm saying again, Scandrick, you need to be play You need to be playing better. You know, you don't need to go in there and turn down two point conversion tackles or let a guy run forty

yards on you through through the defense. You know, you can be critical all you want of everything around you and people around you, and you can say, oh, I tune out all the noise. Make some plays. Nine six interceptions and nine years. Come on. Really guys doing that in the first year of their league. Some of these guys make plays. Hey, I talk about being a bully. It's it's it's fun. It's always fun. Takes you know what. With him, I can put up with a lot of things.

I mean I put up with a lot of things, but not him. Everything is everything is you know, you're on me, You're on you know no no, go make plays. They put your teammates elected you captain for what go make play. So what did things get contentious about last night? Oh, because it was the shoes and yeah, he's getting on the kid about wearing Adida's shoes and all that. Huh. And then they were trying to move along and it was just like it was just awkward. Yeah, and didn't

need to be, but always awkward to say. It's a tense time around here, for sure. You look, you dropped three straight. You've been outscored by sixty something points in the second half. Everybody's on edge. It's almost like whiplash. You know, you have six straight games where you're scoring twenty eight points. Yes, they don't win all of those games, but at least you're doing something and you're in it

and you feel great. And now you're here and it's like stillmate, Like okay, so how do we get back to whatever we were doing before? Because this isn't us. Yeah, and for a half in all three games, the defense is played pretty well, really well. Against Philly, it's about finishing it, and Rod Marinelli said, it's got to be attention to detail, it's got to be focused for four quarters. He sees communication breakdowns at times. Sometimes it's technique that's

the secondary. That's it's it's everything. But it's a team game because you look at it. You listen to some of these postgame locker rooms teachers, Man, I feel like I watched the Rams every week and all they're saying is three phases, three phases. Yeah they know that, they know that, but that's what I'm saying. Sometimes you're just not good enough. That's that's that's is that where we're at. Yeah, as guys like Brian brought us say you're good enough

coming out of training camp, you're better than this. Yeah, you are better than Yeah. Maybe maybe the fact is maybe the coaching staff is not good enough, maybe the players are not good enough. Maybe I'm not good enough, you know. I mean, that's that's where you have to

look at this thing. We could talk about we're afraid to make who it's adjustments and it's like, no, the real problem is the real problem at the end of the day is they won thirteen games because they played as a team and they executed well and they did what they had to do. Now they've lost games, they've been blown out in some games. It very well could

be it's a combination of so many things. You lose a couple of key guys that shouldn't that should not be the one thing that just paralyzes your tea, the one thing. I'm just saying, that's a factor. It is a factor. But there's a lot of teams that have lost guys. There's a lot of teams and Mickey's right, Mickey's right, You've you've got, You've got the next man. Mentality plays. Maybe your next man is not good enough, Maybe the guy you're replacing is not good enough. You

put some perspective, could get yes. And we'll put some perspective on Ezekiel Elliott missing when we come back from this break. I like it can be hard to find the right resource for learning about important financial matters. You search how to build savings, you end up reading about the one weird ingredient from supermarkets that can make you taller. That's why Bank of America build Better Money Habits dot Com, a safe little corner of the Internet for answering your

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uh undershirts. They make ye well, and don't fall for those those copycats, so either now, yeah, the socks can't beat them. Sure, And then guys, I know you guys were curious how Mickey is looking so swaggy today. Yes, what is this? It's a beautiful sweatshirt at the shop here during Cyber Week. Oh, I like the Bickie Many helmet. Is modeling and Brian is also model. Yes, the color Rush hat that looks fantastic. No color to it, but it's the color Rush hat they will be wearing. Color

Rush performs on Thursday. Might cause my cleats were nice job. Thank god. The Color Rush is white, not some BS color that some of these teams wear. But those are their team colors. Yeah, they're ugly, they're just accentuated. Yeah, give an example making color. It's not a color, it's the absence of it is the absence of the absence. Well, then maybe that's what they need. That's a nice color. This is really nice. Does anybody else wear all white? Yeah?

Raiders did. The Raiders did against Kansas City. Think in honor of Al Davis. I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen the Raiders wear all white before. Al Davis member is warm up suits all white. I interviewed with the man most fascinating interviews I've ever had. Oh, we teased it and he has some hot fire for the Ezeki Elliott knowledge. Of course, everyone keeps questioning why are the Cowboys so bad without Zieki Elliott? Okay, so how many games has he missed? Three? Three? Right now?

So his rushing stat is still seven hundred and eighty three yards. Where does that put him in the ranking? He is sixth okay, sixth overall, but he's only a hundred and seven yards away from being second. Yeah, so let that sink into the impact he has on the Cowboys offense. And on top of that, more facts coming at you straight fire. When he left out of the theme of the program today, when he left, he was second in scoring nine kickers to Todd Gurley. Yeah. Right now,

having a pretty good year. Right now he's third. He has fifty four points. Second is fifty six, and he's missed three games, and and he played a game week two where he had what eight carries for nine yards? Yes, so me accentuate how much they miss his presence if those are the numbers he posted in ten games or eight games, and no one else hardly has passed him what he's doing, So they didn't just lose a Kelly Thompson, whoever are other running back that got hurt? They lost

Ezekiel Elliott and it's significant. Well I just said that. Brian got on me because you can't it's next man up. Yeah, it is next next man up, ain't Ezekiel Elliott. But this whole season, every time there was like, oh ze gonna play, and we did the lawyer talk here, he's like, well, this team is well prepared without him. They have two one thousand yard backs behind him. Have one. Now, I know, but that's what we heard. But you know what a

thousand yard back is. Somebody to average is seventy eight yards a game. That's a thousand yard back. It's not good enough here though. The average seventy eight yards a game is not good enough here right now. And everybody, everybody kept with the noble thing of yeah, next guy up, and that shouldn't matter. But then you started hearing a little tippy toeing yesterday about yeah, we've run the ball, but we haven't been as efficient or we haven't been

as effective. Well, I think they haven't run the ball in the end zone and they haven't broken off big plays in the running game, which is the threat of Zeke. You look at the Chargers game longest run nine Rod Smith Alfred Morris had a couple twenty yard runs, one against Atlanta one against Philly. But it's that threat of the big play. Because the running game hasn't been bad, it's been solid. It's just that threat of he can

take you to the house at any time. It was solid in twenty fifteen, didn't matter, right, So yeah, it's hollow yards. Offensive line, Mick Right, I think the offensive lines get a lot to do with that. And you certainly didn't like the way the offensive line looked early in the week when three fifths of it was missing. It looked like a preseason game. Huh. Well, you're facing potentially a fourth straight game where it's not your starting five if Leo can't go, and then you got Tyrn

who's been kind of fighting through things. They haven't had their lineup, so you gotta just better hope Zach Martin has his wits about him. Sounded like he's gonna be okay. Yeah, it did, but again, you've got guys playing not practicing. You're still dealing with Jonathan Cooper that hasn't been as consistent as you would like at left guard, and Tyrant Smith is playing through that groin muscle I'm proud of you for saying the offensive line, by the way, because

a lot of people wouldn't do that. It's I said it the other day. I mean probably longer the best offensive line, and that that that is, that is that is a statement that a lot of people wouldn't make. And it's but he's absolutely right, He's absolutely right. And and Dak's playing paying the price right now. Yeah, and you know DA's you know, he's he's right. I mean, he's having to he's having to make some throws that he's not accustomed to make. And yet who can help him? Obviously,

you are what you are at offensive. You're going to get him back for the Seattle game. You are what you are? Yeah, yeah, yeah that that get to wait. The guy in Cabo right now, that's probably you know, no telling what he's doing, but he he's working out, not really Mickey, but you know, we'll go there. But you know, that's that's that's really what he needed. That's all he needs to fix up these patches. I think this whole team needs Ezekiel. There is a reason why

they picked him where they picked him. That that is, they picked this guy for Tony Romo to try and help the running game. They tried to help him with the offensive line. They try I had to help it for transition too into whoever else they were going to

play at quarterback and the defense. And because because what d Mirnelli's signed off on this, what they tried to do was replicate what DeMarco Murray did for them in twenty fourteen as a guy, because Murray did a lot of the same things in terms of ball control, offense, run first, keep your defense off the field. And it worked and they won twelve games. Yeah, but this makes sense. Yeah, I mean, really, that's that's why we have to keep

harping on twenty one. And it's no disrespect to the running other running backs on his team, but he was drafted to help everybody on the football team. Don't you think he helped out the locker room too, And that may sound insignificant. He added some comic. It's just kind of goofy, yeah, energy and and and I think guys

looked at it jumping in the kettle. Yeah, I mean, I mean, I think Witten thought that he was the funniest thing in the world, right, you know, when he'd go by and see Witton doing his day, his w press conference, and he'd walk by and goes, oh, there's old man Whitton talking to the media, you know, and Whitten would crack up and he would just do Remember how he used to run through the locker room like he was avoiding tacklers, just goofy. But you gotta have

something in this game to juice you up. It's also the physical tone he sets on the field. Well, yeah, I understand that, but the locker room part two. Yeah, but that part can't be overstated because I think it pumps up the defense too. There's nobody goofy in the locker room. You might be right, can't be goofy right now, I know, but you have to sixteen games. It's hard and things don't go right all the way that That

was one of Michael Irvin's best attributes. If you did a poll, a secret poll in the locker room, would you say that's their biggest problem? If the players. If you gave a secret poll to the players, do you think that would see they like they miss his presence. Yeah, give give me one reason why the team has done what it's on this year. Would it be Do you think he would be nine of the players would say if they were like honest and it was under no, it's an anonymous poll. Do you think I don't know.

Those guys got amigos in there, and that's all fair because they're NFL players. They may say it's distractions off the field. I'm not going to say another man distractions. Oh mickey, what distractions? Anthem? Jerry Z? The anthem was their own. The anthem never became a distraction. It did it for one game and they won it. Three weeks of Jerry Jones closed door meeting. What does this mean?

How is the team against and they won? It's amazing that one player would affect the outcome of really your whole scene. But that's that's what I said yesterday, Like, can you think of a player ever? Michael Irvin wasn't a quarterback really nineteen ninety nine. Emmett Smith though, Yeah, when he went down that that was the end of the Cowboys. We're talking about my first year, ten and six. The year before that's won the division and then three and oz to start the seasons, and then they finished

eight and were the Texans. Yatch the text last years, you know, yeah, when they've been kind of rolling and then walk goes down. Well, look what happened with the Raiders last year in the playoffs when Derek Carr went down. I mean the Raiders are rolling along and they go play in Houston and they have no quarterback has to start the quarterback And yeah, other than a quarterback I've seen with Rodgers this year when Peyton Manning got hurt in Indy, they created went one in fifteen right out him.

The same team besides him, but not a quarterback who has his ball in his hands every time. It's Look what happened in ninety six when Michael got suspended for the first was it four or six games? Is that word? As you go back to with like the emotional leadership type thing, he wasn't and he wasn't in the locker room, yeah, you know, or go back and look, and you know they were dragging until he signed right before the start of the there was still nine or two or ninety

three season. I can't remember, and I'll never forget Michael showing up after he finally signed, like a Thursday before the season opener, and in Friday, he got in the locker room totally undressed and walked from one end to the other yelling to everybody did you miss seeing this body? You know? And everybody cracked up and it was like back to old times, right. Well, that was after a suspension. I felt like there was some awkwardness when Zeke was

still there and a lot of people didn't know. I mean there were days that he'd be in the locker room and the media couldn't talk to him, even though he was rules right. So they won though Taylor, they won. They didn't start losing until he left. They lost to the Packers. Well, but they were competitive rams, Absolutely, they were competed. They were five and three. Yeah. The only game with that there was no competition feeling was the Broncos game and he was in it and I looked

it up. By the way, there's they're they're the only team this season to go three straight games with single digit points. There's not another team in the league that's done that. There's been a two or three that it's been two games in a row, not even the Browns. And that's that's why I say there they are better than that. They have more. I know what you're saying, Brian, You got a second guess everything at this point, Personnel and stuff. But they they still have talent on this offense.

They can get to ten points. They can do it. I think they're gonna do it Thursday. I believe. I believe it. It's hard watching this offense play. It's awkward, it's very hard. It reminds me. It reminds me my years when I was in the sky department here in the early two thousands, where you're just every every every third down was just a hold your breath play. You know, there's just no no rhythm to what you're how you're moving the foot. And that's the way defenses are playing.

They're saying, if you're gonna beat me, you're gonna drive eighty yards in fourteen plays, right way giving you anything big because we don't think you can. You can hurt us at some point you will employ And every time the Cowboys have had problems offensively, that's what teams have done when they haven't had somebody to threaten it. And that's where you go back to your column yesterday about

and I read it chunk plays. That's the lifeblood of this league, right, I mean, that's the difference in it. In the LA game, they had eight of twenty plus passing yards Cowboys. I think they have like two or three and three games. Yeah, you know, they've just got to get the ball down the field. Good luck if you can't protect. Yeah, yeah, that's that's why it all

goes to exactly. Yeah, if all of a sudden it turns into Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smiths screaming off the corner, good luck with that, you know very well, easily could Yeah, if you know they're not going to respect you running the football, they're really not. And then you're forced to throw everything underneath and you're just going plotting along blop blop bloop, and then if you get a penalty, yeah,

then you're dead. You can't. First it's twenty it's bad enough that they can't overcome a legal motion penalty five extra yards. You know, usually with Zeke it was like, okay, we'll get the five back on this area and then second down, okay, no, run it again, and now it's second and four or third and four, and now you have them, you know, manageable down to distance. It's it's very similar to twenty fifteen without Romo, where it just

it's such an effort to get down the field. Yeah, without him and now without Zeke, yeah, and with and compromising your protection too. And no, I agree with you, Mickey, you completely. I don't know if if you felt that. I do agree. I think there's an energy missing from this team. And I think you make a great point with the locker room, the making the lightheartedness of it. Because it is a sixteen game season. They've been in

training camp since July. Yeah, and here you are November and you're frustrated and you're mad, and you've seen these people way more than your family and friends. You have to have that spark. And I think you're you're true, Mickey in the sense that Zeke brought that and you could laugh at him. But the thing, I think you're right too, because there have been guys that I've seen that have been goofy and funny, but they weren't great players. Ezekiel is a great player and Michael Irvin is a

great player. So you see these guys being goofy, and you're like, that's cool, because on Sunday that guy's gonna show up, yeah, and he's gonna be a dominant force. And the other team is afraid of that guy. But I got him in my locker room. Yeah, so I think you're very true. I think they're missing that. I think they're missing the come on guys. Yeah, like you keep saying they're better than this, and he don't wanna be like, man, we're not losing anymore. It seems like

they're a team that is expecting the worst. You know, you got you gotta shake yourself out of that. Yeah, it just seems like that they're always expecting the worst now, and that's and that is a problem. That's that that's on the coaching staff to shake them out of it. If that's indeed the way they're feeling, that's why, and Mary Ellie spoke to it. We got to teach him during the week, feel comfortable, play fast, all those things. I mean, that's yeah, that comes down to the work

week and how to shake him out of that. We'll take our final break here. Hey, we promise we have more stuff for you. We'll be nice. We're all nice to each other, we all love each other, so we'll be right back after this final break here in the SWBC Market studio. Cowboys fans know that the second best of anything simply won't cut it, and your skincare should be no different, a long time locker room favorite of the players and the official men's skincare brand of the

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pepperoni one pork and beef. And when you have better ingredients, you have better pizza. And it's Papa John's woo. And something that always cheers us up here and brings all the energy for us is Rob's twitter poll. I don't know if this one will because it's about improvements and adjustments and how the Cowboys can jump start the rest of the season. Got four options. Which area do they need to improve the most? Coaching was not one of them. I think the fans weren't happy with that. Sure, it

all goes. Hey, coaching goes into all four of these answers. You gotta coach them. Oh you gotta have a write in? Yeah, got him. Coach can write it in if you want. Mick number one pass defense. We talked about the secondary in the first segment passing game with Dak getting is going down the field pass rush. Marcus Lawrence said, I gotta get to the quarterback quicker or the running game without Ezekiel Elliott, which is the biggest area they've got

to improve. You get to win on Thursday. Of those four, Yeah, I know what I voted for. I voted for the past defense. I don't think you can go into a game and give up another five hundred yards. I mean, Mickey said that they got five hundred yards on twenty two points on five hundred yards basically, but I mean twenty two points would have been enough to win the game too. So I just don't think you can give up a bunch of huge plays. I don't think you could give up a bunch of players on third down.

You know, maybe maybe the offense will figure things out, maybe they will get some protection, Maybe the running game will open up some things. Maybe Dak will find a you know, some shots down the field with des Des tends to play better against these guys. But you know, I think that if you if you're you know, there's a reason why they're they're all The competition is in the secondary for positions. They feel like their past defense

isn't good enough. It's a great point pass rush. They've had one sack in these three losses, haven't gotten quarterbacks on the ground, And I think that would help out the past defense if you get some pressure up front. Because if you look at what they had done, I believe it was the previous four games they had fifteen sacks one yeah, one in three games. Yeah, been a problem.

That's a problem, no doubt. And Mickey's right because even though he was a little salty, Scandrick made a really good point last night when he was talking about it, and he said, man, I had it so easy my first few years as a cowboy because I had an excellent pass rush. He said, there wasn't even time for the quarterback to get the ball back in my area because they were already on the ground. Makes a huge difference for the entire team. Juice. Everyone gets juiced up

on a big time sack. I think his rookie year, they led the league in sacks two thousand and eight. I think they had almost sixty sixty sacks. Hey. Yeah, he was on a top defense, no doubt. But it only went nine and seven. Yeah, thanks to their backup quarterback. Imagine that. Yeah. But what I'm saying is, yet, I think that goes hand in hand if you have just that dominating front seven, that nobody can get passed. So

are you voting for the past rush. I'm voting for just defensive line because I miss Shaun Lee a lot too. I know we've talked at exhaust about how much Ezekiel is missing from this team. But Sean Lee's a guy you look to and you're like, I don't want to let him down, even though he's still on that sideline. Yeah, so I'm gonna go hold d line. I know that's not on there, and I'm saying right in, right in

for Tay. Okay, fifty two say passing game with Dak with the receivers down the field, pass defense twenty six percent, followed by the run game at fifteen percent. Well you could say all the above and you need it to write in offensive line. Yeah. The thing about it is it's funny when they play the Redskins. The Redskins put up huge numbers but don't never win. They don't score points, but they don't win. Yeah. Yeah, that's been the problem. And they put up some and maybe they'll do it again.

And they've got as many injury problems. Yeah, there's what your past us has a chance. They've got eleven Joe and you know guys like that I wrote about them. You oh yeah, you know, you know Leek Collins. You know, here's another guy I talked about, potential first time Pro Bowl type player could be up during the sack numbers. Maybe this is a game where he gets one and a half or two going against the guy, you know, a backup guy. They've got eleven guys that are listed

as limited or did not practice. Of the eleven, five didn't practice and one, two, three, five or offensive lineman. Yeah, they're still dealing with Trent Williams knee, Brandon Shurf knee. He played last week against the limited in practice he played Chase Rulier. Yes, they didn't burst Berkstrom played the Giants game at center, and then Niseki uh limited. He was starting ling his core muscle, and then Morgan Moses another tackle was limited and he's got three things knee, ankle,

and ankle. They've put fifteen players on IR this year. I think the forty nine ers got the most at twenty. I think it's a lot. Yeah, but yeah, if you can, Hey, it's another one of those games where can you affect Kirk Cousins throwing the ball that helps the past defense if you can surely get the pressure you guys are wanting. They were a will do that in the game. You know when they played last time, they were able to effect the way. I don't see the Redskins trying to

run the football at all. To be honest with you, Hey, Giants affected him. He got sacked six times on Thanksgiving. Yeah, General's Jenkins with a pick six. So I mean, yeah, you got you got a pressure. And the Cowboys need takeaways. I've talked about it on the blueprint. They're minus six. They're in this three game losing streak, and a lot

of that's on Dak. I mean he can't, he can't turn the ball over, but they've the turnovers were coming in bunches for this defense before this three game losing streak, and I don't know if how much of it is defense offenses, they're you know, they can play a little closer to the chess when they've got the lead, you know, not take as many chances. Thanks for doing that, Rob, appreciate it. Let's get to wait to go, Rob. We're all friends here. It's funny because but the fan, the

fans all thought that was throwing the football. Yeah, Price, they're worried more about Dak and Daz. That seems to be the big thing because because Romo, Romo and Dez that relationship. Now, like Laurent Robinson was an elite receiver when he had Romo and you're gonna waste Dez Bryant's prime. Yeah it's okay, Yeah, it's Elvis in Midland is on the line. What is your question? Elvis? Just a couple of quick comments and I'll get out of here. Thumbs

up to Chris Jones. Unfortunately, best player on the field right now. Sure, Unfortunately. I think that's a great thing. Yeah, yeah, thumbs down to the entire defensive scheme. I feel like it's too simple and the players aren't good enough to to compete with it. One on two, I agree with you on In addition, you guys just happened to be talking about Scandrick. But I've been trying to call for a few weeks. I'm just a guy sitting on my couch.

But Scander does not want to tackle. He's scared of or doesn't want to hit, and if he does, he's hurt. It seems like he makes a tackle one out about twenty. So for this guy to be a captain and to be barking at other people, I thinking he's a look in the mirror because I see I see fear out there. The last thing I think Garrett has two winning seasons when he's the full time head coach. And I know it's hard for you guys to work there and call for his job, but I think the fans are tired

of it and restless. The water is dirty. It's time for to throw him out. Thank you, thank you. Concise. So you said one of two, Brian, I'm assuming that you're agreeing with the Chris Jones analysis. No. No. One of two of he was talking about the about the defense and the Marinis. I think the scheme is still viable. I think that they're just not playing very well in it, you know. And I think I mean, did he see how many times they tried blitzing? Yeah, they didn't get there.

They're trying to get guys home. I mean they're trying. They were trying to effect the way the Philip Rivers. Philip Rivers has only been sacked twelve times coming into that game, and so yeah, it was gonna be difficult, but they tried to affect him. They couldn't get they couldn't get anybody home. They or they blitz Scandrick off the edge and Rivers knows it's coming and he does what he's done his whole career. Is that so what

hangs to that side? Yeah, hangs in there, takes the hit, makes a big play down the field, but the ball did come out quicker from you know. The one thing though, and his final point about the head coaching situation is the owner, general manager, he gives us a lot of leeway on this, on this, on our platforms to say what we want to say. I mean, I should have been gone a long time ago if that wasn't the case. So I'll disagree with him on that point that you know,

if that's how he feels, that's how he feels. But you know, I think Mickey's made some great points her last few days about the offensive line and the overall talent level and that that I look on myself and the evaluation. You know that when you look at your team and you say, are we good enough? Can we

withstand injury and we protect ourselves? Now? They they haven't, They haven't played well enough, And maybe that could say, you know, you needed the runner, you needed the quarterback, you needed a lot of things to happen to win thirteen games last year, but you know you're not doing that this year. Often wonder why when people accused us of that. Yeah, why do they listen or why do they read on Twitter? If they don't like our opinions? Why do you I wouldn't feel all somebody. I don't

think he I don't think he's questioning our opinion. I think he was saying it was difficult for us to have to make that call. Well, then he doesn't listen enough. Then that that that that's my disagreement there. But I thought his points were valid in a lot of areas. Yes, and they're frustrated. They should be frustrated. Hey, we were just talking about college coaches. I would never want to be a college coach because you talk about fans getting

restless in about five seconds. Heck, someone had what winning seasons every year he was there, but Bay he took the program to a different height and now it's not good enough. And you know, yeah, this is what I learned. I learned this from John Gruden. You know, I asked John Igo and this after he got fired at Tampa, and I say, man, I'm sorry. He goes, don't feel sorry for me. I say why, I mean, you lost your jobbies. That guy's got to pay me fifteen million dollars.

They get buyas that are real nice. No, not every coach gets that, but coach Summerlin in sixty days, now fifty eight days, Rob's university has got to come up with ten point four million. Yeah, so you know there's I still feel bad for him, but but no, but thinking that's why some of these coaches, you see him and when the pressure starts to happen and they get the smile on their face and they're kind of like, you know what if you fire me, you gotta pay me.

And so I learned that from John Gruden. But yeah, there's some assistant. Now. The support people don't make fifteen million dollars, but you know, and if coaches lives get affected. But the way that day and age of this way athletics are nowadays, if you let go in, you're in. You're a head coach. You're well compensated for getting letting go. Would you retire? Absolutely, Somebody handed you ten point four million dollars in fifty eight days. It's a spirit of competition.

Guys can call me at the lake if you need me. I'm gone Costa Rica. Yeah, maybe the bars open up, you guys, come on down here some cool beer. I mean maybe that was Jason Witten's playing. Go there, get fired, and then make a ton of money the next two years. Come down. We'll have some call chowder. We'll do we'll do it up. Yeah, I'm moving to Italy. Yeah exactly. I'll see you there, big guy. Yeah, so Gruden said it. So I'm like, man, I'm really sorry. Guys, what are

you sorry about? Because Glazers to me fifteen Yeah, I'm on Monday night football now living the life. Hey, he's gonna get a villa in Tuscany right next to you. Yeah, and and buts. But what what Brian said is what people don't think about. It's not just someone getting fired. Yeah, it's a tire of coaching staff or it's supports staff or and these people ain't making that kind of money. They're not that they're out of job. That's what you feel sorry for. And they got they gotta move, don't

get me, that's what you feel sorry for. Ye see, that's what I'm saying. Like the guy Mike Riley, Mike Riley is one of the nicest men I've ever been around in my life. Absolutely, and and in Nebraska taken one hundred and seventy five thousand dollars a month for the next three years. I'd be with Mickey and Italy. I would have a hell of a wine cellar. I was just getting ready to say that I would try every wine the heads right now. You mean you need me to be like you need me to write for

the paper hat parts. I'm sure, Yeah, I'll I'll cover football for you. They get your connection in Lake Como. Yeah you might, Yeah, you might need something that does anybody ever ever heard of anybody in Italy getting arrested for a d WI Never? They walk everywhere, right, yeah, yeah, you walk? You walk? Are you get one of those boats? Right? A train on the boat? Yeah? Fun, fact you got there. That's a kind of a bad way to look at them. You need to go see if we can go get

a d W either in Italy. Oh my gosh. No, I would not drive the way those people drive. You couldn't get me they do or by Vicky would get hit by Vespa on the bike. Well, guys on the bright the cowboys and when the NFC is still and how can they do it? Rob tell us you have that stat Yeah, I do. You have to lose every game they can win their last five games in a row, and the Eagles can go oh for five in the last five games of the season, and the Cowboys come

out on top. Lloyd Christmas Lloyd Christmas Kent what's the Eagles record now? Ten and one, saying there's a chance they could go ten and six, Yeah, and the Cowboys would go tenants. You'd have to win the last game, but you have to beat them. Well, they have to lose it if they're going to lose them all. Yeah, that's right, they're looking there. You have it optimism and excitement. Okay. So as far as the in the hunt, you're at the bottom of the pole, right, you're in the bottom. Yeah,

you're five and six. You with the Packers rights, the Redskins. Okay, you're Packers Redskins. I can't keep them all there, Cowboys yeah, okay, So you're at the bottom of that thing. So who ahead of you? The only the only chance you've got somebody else's five and six Arizona. I think, yes. The only chance you have then is that you would have to have you win all your games, but you'd have to beat you'd have to beat Seattle because they're there

are seven and four team, right, there. They are actually a playoff, but you would have to beat them to win all your games, right, yeah, and you'd have to beat the or you'd have to get ahead of the Lions. They would have to lose. And some of these teams probably are gonna play each other, right, some of these wild card hopefuls, so yeah, yeah, they're not out of it. Rams in Seattle have to play um, Carolina, and the Philadelphia has to play Seattle. Yeah, um this weekend at Seattle,

right at Seattle. Yep. Yeah, leading a boom, No longer a booming. It's that third place schedule. Stop. No, this is actually NFC playing the NFC West. Yes, I guess, okay, first place schedule. No, they got the Bears and they got Carolinas, so that Carolina wasn't work out for much much of a break. How about the third place schedule you might get next year? Green Bay third place air quotes, you know, Aaron Rodgers back maybe opening day? No, it'll be the Giants at home? So what what what division

do they have next year? The Southuth we get to go to New Orleans. Uh oh, making sad. Let's go to Houston, mickey, really yeah, quick road trip about that, and we get to go to Indie. Indy's another one. Now, Indie's not bad. I love Indie. I love the Combine. If we can can't love to combine? Right, if you can stay downtown and where else? Wheber gril, weber grill. We get to go to the AFC cell. So you're gonna get We got Tennessee at home, I believe because

we played there, Tennessee Tennessee here. Yes, you got Tennessee at home. And then you also went to Jacksonville. You played in London, So you're gonna get Jacksonville at home in London? No? No, oh here here? Maybe in London they haven't announced those games, right, Brian? Would you better text me the moment that you find out. Well, I don't.

I mean I don't go on road trips anymore. Maybe I have to jump back in on that special thing here when those teams, when those teams get like trade off a home game to play in London, do they get the money in London as a home game and then they just share it with the visiting right Diderry ever do that? Would he sacrifice the home game and you go to Well you're not really sacrificing and want, from a financial standpoint, get a super Bowl? Would you do it? Yeah? To get to get the draft, to

get the draft, would you do it? I mean, if you're hosting the game, it's your game. It would probably be a game where that was going to be scheduled at three twenty five. And he's sick of answering the questions about the sun, so he's like, hell, let's go to London. It will be cloudy there to announced that the Cowboys game got moved. Did you announce that? Yes, the Cowboys game got flex Now Mickey will have to be home sooner to be back here, told me I

was getting soft. He wants all seven thirty kicks. You like that, you get you get to get home early, Mickey, especially, that's the probably the longest rip, that's the longest flight other than Philadelphia, England. Yeah, I'll make sure you guys have a bottle of champagne on that flight home from Yeah, years, very thoughtful of it. I'll make sure that no, no, no, no, this is New York two weeks from now, philadelp he's talking the year New Year's Eve. You're coming home, but

that's a noon game. Yeah, that's a neon game. Still you need a bottle of champagne on the plane home. Yeah, let's start it early, big guy. Don't be saying that the TSA might be listening. Oh really Yeah, sorry, Mickey doesn't drink on the plane. That's right. Mickey is such a great don't and I don't you know, yeah, shouldn't, shouldn't drink. Yeah. Well, guys, it's been even when it was and you avoided to talk about everything. That's where

the Dallas Cowboys dot Com crew. We'll have another show for you tomorrow. Stay tuned for the time because it's a Saturday here in the Cowboys world. So we will be back on air tomorrow. Thank you, guys. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.