Talkin' Cowboys: Leaning on Defense or Offense?

What are you left handed? Wow? Yeah? Two lefties and two right eas here double action, double barrel action in the bullpen. As we get started here on Talking Cowboys and so Rob Phillips, could you throw a pass under pressure right handed? Absolutely? Not, not with Levin guys chasing me. No, with Von Miller chase. Not with the accuracy that guy just threw you. Can you shot put left handed? Yes? I can shot put left hand. It's like throwing a loaf of bread right, you just push it. So that's

the talk of the NFL today. The left handed shot put by Patrick Mahomes is. The Chiefs are four and oh. There are two four and oh teams in your National Football League, the Chiefs and the Rams. Ah and they meet up later this season. Right, but you know what, buy your tickets. You know who's excited about Sunday Night in Houston, Texas. I just found out here driving in today listening to sirious NFL radio. The city of Houston is fired up for the Dallas Cowboys coming to town

for Sunday night football. Justin Reid, the rookie safety for the Texans, was interviewed. He says, it feels like the Super Bowl this week. So I suggest, whoa Cowboys get fired up for Sunday Night football this week? Is there some trophy on the lining? There's some trophy on the line. Do they do that in the regular season? I don't know. Yeah, I wonder who has it? Well, who won in the preseason there? Mickey, Well, wasn't that long ago? It was just over a month ago. Did you see that? That

was a blur for me? That was it was. It was not a very memorable preseason finale. In fact, I don't think the Cowboys got to the end zone that day. Yeah, and they were quarterbacked by whom Cooper Russian my wife. I guess they got a half each. But what they did know, they didn't get to the end zone. But they did kick a fifty seven yard field goal in that game. Her yeah, a month later kicks a game winner for the Cowboys. So anyway, you know what I

remember Super Bowl Sunday, Sunday night in Houston. Worst loss I ever remember working here, was we getting beat by an expansion team. I know. That's exactly right in Houston. And that's the other thing I heard Jerry Jones on the radio this morning, and I think Jerry Jones is treating this like the Super Bowl too. It still sticks in his craw that the Cowboys lost in that huge vanity cried after the game. I think I did too.

I think that was that was as disheartening a game as I ever remember in the NFL, and I've got, unfortunately be part of a lot of them, but that that one was that you know that that just right there showed you that you you didn't do a good enough job, you didn't have the right personnel, you didn't you know, the players coaching. It was a whole mess of things that were going on, and ultimately it led

to the demise of a lot of us. You know that way, So that that that anytime you play in Houston, that that comes back that that game reminds me of how you could be riding along doing well, being part of Super Bowl teams and stuff, and then you have a game where you lose to an expansion team right off the bat. And that was their season two. We built that one in the deep Blue the Parcels Dock, because that one just kind of summed up where things were heading. Oh jeez, was just awful, and that truly

was a super Bowl like environment. Yeah, in terms of I mean the first game of the season, first game ever for Houston they got football back. Yeah, and what a way to make a statement then beat the in state rival who Yeah, it's not that far removed from Super Bowls back then, especially since if you remember how badly they played and in the practice scrimmage they had at the University of Houston, it was almost a joke. Yeah, I remember that vividly going there from San Antonio and

it was like, oh my, this team's in trouble. And then they come out and beat them in the season opener and it's oh, well, they didn't win many games that year, but they won the first one that they won, that one and that one and that was the really their whole season if you kind of look at things. I think the next year, their media guide cover had it on. I mean it was crazy, but you know it was funny because here's Houston fired up for their

this game. Though, but if you watched the Giants game on tape that they had a lot of people dressed up as seats, you know, I wouldn't have the crowd that they, you know, but I have a feeling that they'll be full throat for this one. And okay, so why is it that outside of the fact that the rivalry, I guess that Houston considers Dallas to be and in America's team coming down there, But why are they getting so fired up for this game? Because it's rarely happens.

I mean when you before the preseason game this year, Okay, just over a month ago, someone came up to me on the sideline and said, Tyren Smith just said that he doesn't remember ever playing in NRG Stadium, And I was like, what, they've had to have played a preseason game there. But the hurricane though, that was last year. Yeah, right, and so and John looked it up and sure enough, Tyron Smith was drafted in twenty eleven. So This is the first regular season game for the Cowboys at Houston

since two thousand and ten. Yeah, and so Tyrn Smith was at USC Yeah, and so how many how many people on this Cowboys roster have played a regular season game at Houston, LP, Latissar and Sean Lee and Sean Lee probably won't play, yeah, playing right. So that's how rare it is that the Cowboys go to Houston. This will be the third time that they played the Texans in Houston outside of that two thousand and two games

in two thousand and ten. So every every eight years. Yeah, And if I'm not the next one, will we be around about how often? Then I'm a Super Bowl will make a prediction. I will not be there for that game, Costa Rica. I'll be somewhere else in my world, Yeah, South America. If I'll be somewhere, I don't want to think about it. Old, I'll be there. You're fine, You're

fine if I'm not mistaken. In twenty ten, that was a Cowboys team that had Super Bowl aspirations and started the season oh and two right, and they went to Houston trying to overcome and two start or were they and one? Well, they started that year one in one and seven they won that game and started and two because that was the previous that was the year Wade got fired. That with Wade, you know, because it was they were the only win. They were one and one.

They won. Um, Yeah, they won twenty seven to thirteen on September twenty sixth. Yeah, it was there. It was there one win in the first half of the season. It was their last one and two starts until this year. And honestly, I mean it's not the same deal or a few weeks into the season, but you got two teams. You got a Houston team that you know, Brian and I talked about a preseason it was like a pretty good football team. And see they can make the playoffs.

They've had a rough start. The Cowboys know they can't afford to dig a hole. This is a big game for both teams. I mean, it's kind of reminiscent of that. I mean Texans. A lot of people picked it, including me, picked the Texans to win that division or at least make the playoffs out of a tough division. UM, got some issues, Yeah, they've got some issues up for defensively, I think they're still pretty good. They have some problems in the secondary, just looking at him this morning, but

their biggest issues are along the offensive line. Mickey would hate this team because they don't pass protect seven sacks they gave up this last game. Yeah they don't and they won. Yeah, they don't, you know what. You know, how it was interesting about the game. I know you didn't get a chance to see what happened. Colts fumble on their own one yard line and they do it with a way the center thought that Luck was underneath

the center was underneath him. He snapped the ball short, it landed on the goal line, and Houston just converged and that's how one of their touchdowns was scored. Oh, I saw a replay that I didn't understand what happen. Luck was in the shotgun and he was calling the signals.

Center snaps it short, ball ends up on the goal line and there's just a rush and that's and that's how they got one of their touchdowns short like he like he was under center the Luck Yeah ball, The ball just basically came up just a little bit and then went to the ground and next thing you know, it's like all out trying to I mean, Luck's diving in there. Everybody's no wonder, I didn't understand what happened? Yeah,

what I explained? No, no, no'sac there was no there was no sound when I say, I just saw this massive Yeah what yeah, short snap of the center that was one of their touchdowns thirty seven. Yeah, that was I mean, you know, if you look back and you're the Colts, you're thinking, oh, how do we lose this game? Well, he gave up a bad touchdown on a you know, just a mental mistake, and then it went overtime, right overtime, and then and it went forward. You can't wait to

get to that. I'm looking forward to the Frank Wright play there. I'm kind of working my way there. But they do have some issues bill with their offensive line. They don't run the football well enough. They don't block well enough to run the football. But the problem is you're dealing with some receivers again, I know we'll get into that, and you're dealing with a quarterback that's not as good as the one you played last week. If you can kind of bang him around a little bit.

Seems to be he's not as accurate as he needs to be. So a lot going on has been a gamer in his There's no question about that. Nick Saban does not like to see that young man line up under center anytime he's in a ball game. One of the things that concerns you if you're a Cowboy fan, well going up against him in a Sunday night game on a big stage, because he seems to play well on the pass. Shaun Watson is an ann outstanding player.

It's interesting what the Giants did. The Giant we all know the Giants, Well, the Giants just didn't let him run the ball. The Giants had said, you know what, we're not going to let you him know. The whole team, the whole team. Yeah, they put a lot of pressure on him with the teams have made Houston very one dimensional. And this guy, again is not like the quarterback he just faced. Uh, this guy will make mistakes, he will throw the ball short and the other thing. You know.

But he had three hundred seventy five yards the other day in that game. But if you watch the overall tape and what's he's played, he hasn't got off to the start that he got last last year. Last nineteen touchdown passes and he had a Patrick Mahomes like start to write to his Yeah NFL career. You wonder though, with him coming off the ACL injury, just how much he was able to work with his receivers in the

off season. Almost it was almost kind of like RG three back after his Rookie of the year's season his first year with Washington, wasn't able to work with his receivers during the off season, didn't get that work in And uh and who knows Carson Wentz maybe going through the same kind of stuff in Philly this year. Yeah, this this DeAndre Hopkins, he was very similar to Odell Beckham, that kind of player that a lot of the crossing stuff,

that down the field stuff. All of a sudden, he's standing on the sidelines just waiting for the ball to come to him. You know. He's one of these guys that you know him. And they had this Kiki Kuti from Texas Tech. Texas had a couple of drops last week. But this kid catches a ton of balls. I mean eleven catches one hundred and nine yards last week. Yeah, I had a couple of drops actually too. So it's a lot of guys and a touchdown pass every game will full of exactly he was a first round pick

from Notre Dame. So you're talking about guys that you know the Cowboys secondary, and the question I'll ask you guys, was that just something that just really great play on the Detroit Lions part or was that just something that we need to be concerned about going forward coverage wise, Well, it was a little bit of both. I mean we talked about it yesterday. Cheeto. I think Cheeto played well overall in the game. There were some passes and they

didn't even look Byron Jones's way. Mostly, no, they did not. There are some passes that I don't know what you do to defend the perfectly plays perfectly caught. So I don't put really that on him. I thought he played pretty well. I think there's things he can build off of that. But I mean busted coverages, I mean, that's stuff you can fix. That's the last touchdown of the game. That's that's something that's correctable. But that's three and two games. Yeah, look, Rusted,

see the concern. I'm right with you on this one. Look around the league. I mean, how many touchdowns are being thrown four hundred yard passing games? Yeah, okay, yeah, twelve four hundred yard passing games in the month of September around the league. There were eight total all year last year. Okay, it's look at the scores. Is this turnating into college exactly? It's the trickle up effect of

these quarterbacks. I mean, I was, you know, just watching Mahomes last night, and you know, case Keenum is a Texas guy. He's not as as young as the other guys whatever, But I mean, you look around the league in college, he put it up a lot at Houston exactly, right, yeah, yeah, I mean, look at the games this week. Okay. Thursday night, the Rams beat the Vikings thirty eight thirty one, right, Okay. Jacksonville scored thirty one on the Jets on Sunday, truebisky

six touchdown passes Chicago forty eight points. Okay. New England wins thirty eight seven. Andy Dalton throws a touchdown another Texas guy. Um, there was a touchdown past aj Green in the final seconds to beat Atlanta thirty seven thirty six. Okay, Tennessee, it was a twenty six, twenty three game. They score in the overtime. Mario touchdown pass touchdown pass to Corey Davis, one of his career I matched up against another first

round picking Carson Wentz. There, Houston wins in overtime. Thirty seven thirty four was the final score. Oakland and Cleveland. You got two Texas quarterbacks, Derek Carr, who went to high school in Texas and Baker Mayfield. Forty five forty two is the final score. Breeze another Texas quarterback thirty three points against the Giants. Any of these guys play for Texas? No Okay, Charger and the Chargers beat the nine Ers twenty nine, twenty seven. It's all over the league.

So wait, miss, and then last night you got the twenty seven, twenty three game. Miss. Trumbisky had six touchdowns, six touchdown passes. You know the Cowboys have six touchdowns on the season. I think, do you know? Do you know the only Bears quarterback to throw for more than six in a game? Jack kin Cannon said Luckman that way, I know, I know that's we need forty three? What number did said Luckman wear? Mickey, you remember this one? I do not forty two? Forty two? That sounds right.

So what did you go with your dad to the game? Yes, I did it Wrigley Field. Jack was doing against Wrigley Field. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they played it before Soldier Field, but a Field played sixty against them. They played it Wrigley through the sixties, I think, and it was some point in the seventies when they kind of refurbished soldiers Field to make it

love NFL ready. Yeah, I love that place. Yeah, except for how they kind of tried to redo it and the spaceship in the middle, like they landed a spaceship on something from the eighteen hundreds, you know, Soldier Field before it was really crazy, said Luckman, come on, but your but your point is well taken, though, I mean, is you know, I'm just this defense though. I mean, I I want to people, I want to feel good about the secondary, and I just maybe it was just

one of those things. Maybe you just caught a really great quarterback and you caught a great group of receivers that you made circus catches. You know, maybe this week that doesn't happen, you know, I mean, I I'm with Rob. I think a Woozier played well. And I asked Jason Garrett this in the walk off. How do you coach

something like that? You just hey, maybe you say your hand here, your feet here, you know, body position here, but overall, I didn't think that a Woozier was in terrible shape playing those some of the passes that staffered through. You know that you have great coverage, but maybe that's what the NFL has become. You know, that's a lot of great passers. So every week you've got to be ready for you know, a circus place such such a

stress on a defense. Yeah, with even if you get pressure, you know, even if you get pressure, I mean, and I just me watching that tape and you guys seeing the game as well, maybe going back and looking at yourselves. If they didn't get the pressure they did, that those numbers could have been worse. That's the bottom line. I mean,

that's I mean, if you don't get that pressure. This is if this is Cowboy teams of five, six, seven years ago where we didn't see enough pressure, and you're in every week we're coming on our show saying, oh, they don't get enough pressure. Get you know, man, that game could have been That could have been one of

your fifth year sixty points. Well with the way the way that guy was throwing there, And that's why I was so important for the Cowboys to do what they did offensively in that game, and they controlled the game. They controlled the ball okay with their run game and made it just enough plays in the passing game. But to your point, you know, DeMarcus Lawrence got one of his sacks on the first possession of the second half. Sure you know the Lions only had the ball three

times in the second half. They scored touchdowns on two of them. So that's the bottom line. Pressure, that's the only way you're gonna stop this stuff. Yeah, you know, enough pressure. Remember when we were talking about getting ready for the Giants. How do you how do you stop Odell Beckham Junior? Well you stop, but Eli Manning right, the pressure. You can't cover all this stuff, and you're gonna have busted coverages, right, it's gonna happen. No one

plays perfectly. You got to get to the quarterbacks in this league, and if you can't, you're gonna get You better score a bunch of points otherwise you're in trouble. The same thing in college, right, Yeah, I mean you're gonna put up. If you don't score thirty forty points a game, you got a shot. What's more important now than our defense or the offense can't find offensive lineman. Yeah, well, can't mean that Vikings game is a great example. It was a thirty eight thirty one game and these are

two of the best defenses in the league supposedly. Yeah no, that's a good point. But you know what, you still got to be built defensively because when you get to the playoffs, these scores, these totals drop, they always do. But you gotta have enough offense to win. And you do ask Jacksonville, you do. But Philadelphia lit up Minnesota, didn't they on in that championship game playing with just strictly offense. Okay, maybe you're right, No, no, no, I

don't mean that. No, I'm not trying to bust on you here. Maybe maybe this team is this gonna sound terrible, but maybe this team has built the wrong way if you think of what trends are going to not if you can run the football three possessions the second half, there you go. Why did that happen? Yeah, there was an eight minute drive. Now unfortunately for the Cowboys it turned into a field goal. Yeah, but it was an eight but got ten minute drive, we'd have been in

better shape. Yeah, there you go. Can't let nicky here, I come down and call those players at the end. That's not too hard to click Mickey, click over and say, Brian, run the ball here, police want me. You're good talking about that lesson on Christmas Eve. But but but okay, the Cowboys equipped then to have to play this kind of game defensively with the pressure and with what we feel the cornerbacks can do. See you're almost you're almost

better selling out. And if you have to create pressure, blitz just make the quarterback to his point, to his point because they get vandersh and coverage on the outside with Riddick, and Vanderesh falls down, and that was the blitz that they sent, the fake, the fake cover and blitz with Smith on the outside, they get vandersh and coverage and they're going it's a double move and he falls and you could tell Stafford is looking to throw

the ball that way. But the pressure with Read and then on the backside with Lawrence and then with what's coming up the middle. Sometimes when you blitz, you affect the way that the play is going to develop. Because if if Vanderesh falls, if he gets that ball off, it's going to be a big game down the sidelines because because he's in the middle of the field and he has to honor golden take coming inside to him.

So sometimes Mike Mickey says, you just got to sell out and hope you get home to affect the way the quarterbacks playing in these games. Going into last night, the Cowboys had fourteen sacks. They were third in the league. I don't know what happened with the top two. Chicago Bears had eighteen and the Colts thanks to the seven, ye have seventeen and they've given up fourteen sacks too. Yeah the Cowboys here. Yeah, Well, a lot of this two goes back to what's David Irving going to give you?

Is first game back, assuming he's back for this game. All right, Well he talk David Irving, and we talk much more talking Cowboys and take your phone calls at eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven and just a bullet. Slur has been helping Cowboys fans see better since nineteen seventy two, said they don't miss a moment on the field. Get classes with slor's best vision, clarity and protection with the Ultimate Lens package, three innovative

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You know, when I was kind of hurt, not looking ahead, but it sounds like Leonard Fournette is out, Yeah the next couple of weeks. Yeah, he's out indefinitely. So my sports stance, you know, you do when you're your team, you always think about that, like, Okay, he doesn't have to play. Don't let him be hurt bad, but don't let him have to play against us. It sound like Leonard Fournette, my favorite Eliy Tyler guy, is not going to play that week. So that's a good that's a

good thing. Yeah, it's a hamstring. I think hamstring. He reaggravated their game against the Jets the other day. We know about hamstrings, yes, we do. All right, we'll get to David Irving in just a second. But we're one quarter of the way through this season, right and we've had so we've had four games now to kind of get a read on teams in this league. And I don't know that we have a full read at all

on teams in this league. But I'm looking at the Cowboys schedule and you break it down by quarters, and at the beginning of the season, I thought, when you look at the schedule that they need to get off to a fast start three and one would really be nice the first quarter of the season, because if you look later in the year, it looked to me like the schedule gets tougher later in the year. Now that may I don't know. Now, let's I want to take

a quick look here. All right, they're two and two, and I think the first quarter I don't think you could the way when you look at how young the team is and so forth, that was probably as good as you could expect them to be after the first quarter of the season, with a lot of the change that they had, right and yeah yeah, and thank actually playing well at home and losing them on the road, which is kind of opposite what they normally do. Yeah yeah,

And thank god for Brett Mohurst field goal. Otherwise it would be the sky would be falling. Did we be in South America? Did you hear that on the fan of No, I didn't hear it. He said he looked at or Stephen poked him in the in the ribs right before Brett kicked the field goal, and he said, if if he misses this, we're headed to South America's pretty good. It's a great line, that is, all right, So a lot riding on that kid or Jerry talking

about shriveling up? What did he says? He said, he said, I I'm glad I didn't have to go out and kick that one, because I would shriveling up. Okay. So, second quarter of the season at Houston, Yeah, Jacksonville at another division leader by the Washington bye, and then Tennessee, which has been one of the surprise Yeah they're by, and then Tennessee, which has been one of the surprise teams in the league, having just defeated Philadelphia and Jacksonville

by the way, they're in one. Yeah. Okay, So and you got a still desperate Houston team you start it off with, you do? Okay? So is the second quarter of the season tougher than the first quarter of the season? I would say, yes, sounds like if you can go two and two again, you might take it. You'll take four and fourth a halfway point, all right? And then okay, the third quarter, Okay, let's just which is the toughest quarter coming up here? Okay? You got that that money?

All right? The third quarter at Philly at Atlanta Thanksgiving against Washington, and then the following Thursday against New Orleans. There you go, that's it. That's it. That's all I needed to hear, and then take the problem. The problem you run into with that one is is it's gonna have to come down on your defense again because we I don't just don't see this team. Oh, Atlanta is not I mean Atlanta offense is there. Yes. The problem is the problem is you're playing teams that score high

volumes of points. The Saints give up a lot of points. The Falcons give up a lot of points. We don't really know. The Redskins have kind of been a little bit back and forth. But I worry about playing teams that have score. They can score. Yeah, that's what I worry about them. That's Atlanta. Yeah, Cincinnati just went in there and beat them thirty seven thirties. They're given up a ton of points, and the Cowboys go in there and win thirty seven thirty six. Can you to beat

these teams? You're gonna have to really play ugly football, Like Mickey says, run run the ball, just keep running the ball, and if hopefully you can have ten minute drives. Now it's not every week you can do that. They did in two thousand and sixteen. But Atlanta is not as strong a team now as they were. And the same thing if you talk about this quarter that we're just or the quarter we're about to start the new quarter. I thought that Houston and Jacksonville back to back, both

could potentially be losses. Yeah, you know, I worried about I said, Okay, going to Houston's not going to be easy, you know, with that whole thing with defensively, how they play offensively, with the quarterback and all that. I thought they were gonna be able to run the ball better. They haven't run it at all. So I think now it's like, okay, maybe a split there and then take your chances with Washington and get to the buy we have.

The Cowboys have had a great history against against Jay Gruden and their Washington Redskins, you know, and then last year you did beat you know, Alex Smith when they was with a pretty good Kansas City team. So I'm kind of thinking, now, you know, if you can kind of get through this stretch. But I just worry about teams that can score a lot of points. Sure, I

said that last week with Detroit. It's like, Okay, Matt Stafford is gonna put up something in the twenties, So can the Cowboys break this thirteen points a game thing? And when you look at it, Okay, defensively they made some mistakes. Twenty four points. I could live with that, but you got to be able to score points and match them. And they were able to have four field goals too that game. Yea, they got one, you got four? Yeah. Well.

And then the final quarter of the season is at home against Philadelphia at Indianapolis, which he's a better team than we thought they were coming in, although who knows what they'll be like in December. And then Tampa Bay, which the first two weeks scored a lot of points. What are they don't know? Chamis Yeah, and then they finish at the Giants. I think that. I think if you're playing can get to December, If you could get to December and have a two game cushion, you can

find a way to run that month. Yeah, that's what you're gonna have to do if you want to win the division you're getting. I think the best thing that's happened is Philadelphia is the same record as you are. You know, nobody, nobody's running away with this division. You know you worried about Okay, Dallas two and two. If you said, oh wait, Philadelphia could be four and oh that that would have been my worry right there, that all of a sudden it's a well, yeah, two game

lead already, Billy ran away with it last year. So then you were down to, well, you got one or two spots you can get. Philly's beautiful now, Jill's even with Carson Wentz playing and everything they've got, They're not Philadelphia. Their offensive line hasn't played nearly as well as you know, you talk about the Cowboys offensive line having some issues, I think the Philadelphia Eagles are having just as many problems as the Cowboys are. So I saw two headlines

today when I was going through the internet. One was is it not too soon to fire Jason Garrett? Who wrote that name the outlet? Yeah, who wrote the Dallas Morning News? Okay? And then I think it was ESPN dot Com. Are the Dallas Cowboys a threat to the Philadelphia Eagles in the East? There you go, So that those both appeared within one week span. Yeah, So that kind of tells you about I think National Football League. You know what, if they run the football the way

they are, you know it's gonna be tough. I mean, the Eagles. We know what the Eagles are up front. But I'm going to take my chances with this now. I mean they've lost a couple of games, lost to Tampa, lost to Tennessee. I didn't expect him to lose those games, right,

So I'll take my chances playing Philadelphia. Say, and if you think back to last year, the two games that separated the Cowboys from where they were and being in the playoffs is the two games they scored thirty points, yeah, and loss because they gave up thirty five, got beat thirty five, thirty five, thirty one rams and packing. So they scored, Yeah, they just got outscored. Right. So okay, that's my question again for the panel. You're gonna have

to lean on the defense. You're gonna have to lean on the offense. Do you have enough confidence now just through one game, which you've seen, I mean, the defense had had a rough one. They had a rough one which was some busted, busted players. But the blitzing, the pressure, all that seems to be fine. But now through through week or a quarter two, are you gonna have to lean on your defense or you're gonna have to lean on your offense. I still, overall through four games, feel

better about the defense even without Sean Lee. Um, we never thought we'd say that. Well yeah, and and hey that remains to be seen too. We need to because it doesn't sound like Sean's gonna play this week again. And we'll just see after this week. Um, but Jacksonville having it back would be nice, Yeah, it would, it would, But then they consider, well, we get to buy the next week at Washington, Washington, Washington, so so uh maybe

you need for that division game. Who's after? So Washington's after these next two, right, yeah, and then then at Philly at Atlanta. So until they get to Philly at Atlanta, depending on how they're playing, Matthew Stafford is going to be the best quarterback Dave played, right, Yeah, you got Watson this week. Now we'll see if Watson starts. They got out. They got lit up for twenty four points by a guy that was throwing dimes in a bucket.

Yeah yeah, yeah, you know this wasn't Bozo's circus where they had the little ball from five feet away into the bucket. I remember that, Mickey. You still a little ups right, little right? Yeah, yeah, that's true, I mean it's designed to fail some of those Some of those passes he threw were absolutely ridiculous. I still feel good about the young corners, and you know, Heath can play better than he played before he got hurt, both safeties, both safeties. I do think David Irving can give you

a lift. He has shown before. He has shown before he can step in off of off suspension and do something freak of nature. Is that what I heard yesterday? Yeah? Yeah, freaking nature. I think Jerry repeated that. Yeah. Now the offense is encouraging. They got back to what they do best. So I think there there's some encouraging signs there. But defensively, through four games, you got to feel better. I think about the defense has done even without Sean because these

linebackers are balling right now. Now, if I can just get some takeaways that yes, they're dead last I'll tell you what that guy did he if you get if you well, zero picks and but let's be honest. They recovered two really important fumbles in that game the other day. They happen to be their own. Yeah, Dak Prescott's recovered his and Ezekiel Elliott that fumble got recovered by you know, by Jarwin. Yeah, so those are two. Really you might not have any turnovers, but those might be the two

most important fumbles you've recovered all year. Those offensive fumble drills they're doing out there is paying what can magic? All right, let's go to Jim and California. Jim, you are on Talking Cowboys. Good morning, guys, Thanks for taking my call. Hey, I'm wondering why we keep going zone on third and long when we brought in Chris Roshard to have the players play press man and disrupt the

ralph by time for the rush. If we only want to go with the four man riss, why aren't we running two men with two safeties over the top to clean things up with the kid gets away. I also think Leo Collins had a good game last Sunday. And I think Jalen Smith is still gimpy. I don't think he's here one hundred percent. You could watch him. It's hard to redirect. I think he's a one trick pony. Put him on tracks and let him do his thing and blow stuff up. Okay, I'll let you go. Thank

You know what I think. And you know they might be playing They might be playing zone coverage. We don't know if Christira Shard's calling that zone coverage. You know, you could say, well, we brought Christi Shard in to do this. I understand. I appreciate the guy's analysis, I really do, But you know, Christoph Shard, I mean it's probably saying, Okay, I play enough, man, I've got to play some zone here, you know, mix some things up,

kind of give a little bit of different read. We don't know that it could be Rod Marinelli calling that, or it could be Christirah Shard. So aren't like when they zoned on second and twelve and thirty eight and then play it covered three very strongly. Yeah, that's that's back to execution. It comes back to execution. Sometimes they're as far as as far as Jalen I. You know what, I I'm not going to sit there and say that I think his I think that his ability at times

during games comes and goes. I think there's times where you see him play really quick, and then there's some times where he does get caught. And I understand again the evaluation of that, but I think you're seeing far more quicker plays from him than you did the like he was running in mud place. It's way different than last year, and it's perfect. You see. You know you talk about putting him on a track and all that. I think that was very evident last year, but this

year I don't agree. I don't agree with it because I think I've seen far more plays of him lateral ability than I have the non lateral ability. But good evaluation on his part of me. And if you're if that's hey, people watch the stuff. If I never fault to anybody that tries to watch it, tries to study it, and you know, gets her an opinion. Up until this game when they've hitting third and long and they've gone to zone, they did a good job of forcing the

ball underneath and coming up and tack tackling. That's his game. They didn't tack Now, Golden Tate. Is he a little different than everybody different? Yeah, I mean he's he's kind of been on their side no matter you know, where he's at and when you've got and when you've got a lead late in the game like that. Isn't that Probably it's conservative, But yeah, you're thinking nothing over the top, Nothing over the top. Against the Giants, they just could

played that zone the whole second half. Basically, you're absolutely until you get a busted coverage. And they busted the covers. Actually they busted the coverage is kind of in zone against Seattle. Yeah, And one of the problems with Golden Tate is he's basically like a running back plan at wide receiver and his yards after catch are absolutely insane. Yeah, great player now, David Irving, Yes, he will be. He will not. The decision on whether he is Saturday three

won't be made until Saturday. They have a roster exemption. Exactly, got fifty four guys right now. It's what they're playing with right well, including the you know then not cluding the practice squad guys. But they're practicing with fifty four guys. And like I would imagine he plays in this game. But I believe Jason Garrett when he says, truly, we have to see how he functions in practice. They have

not had him in a practice since what June. I wonder if it's out of necessity that they're going to have to play June. That's why I think. So, Yeah, did he practice? Well, wasn't he there for us there? Didn't really enjoying the training table. He was rehabbing, right, we have to go back. He didn't. He didn't, he didn't practice December, right, Yeah, okay, so that even Philadelphia

forces my point. Yeah, yeah, I'm with Brian though. They need him, especially with if Antoine Woods can't go and Malik is still if he a little bit um, they need him. But he Coach Garrett sounded like that the Human Log was going to be able to practice a little bit this week. Bleek. I think he'll at least be questionable this week. Yeah wait, wait, wait what ye human Log? The human Log, that's what he calls himself, the Human Log. Yeah, Antoine Woods. Apparently I didn't know that.

Now he's been brought that to my attention. He's been out on the chords and he's moving. He was moving last Friday. Now there's a lot of tape on that need Yeah, if they yeah, if they get if they get Collins out there, and they get the Human Log out there, and they get David Irvan out there, then you know, with Crawford Woods, I guess I thought knew. I think Nate knew. I thought Nate new Newton gave the nickname. They will come up with that. I think he gave I think he gave it to himself. Those

are the best ones. Yeah, when you get your own self and nickname, yeah, why not. But but to be something they like to do that. But if they could get if they could get that rotation inside going again, you know, that's how that's how you're gonna create some problems, you know, on the edge, especially on Nickel. Yeah, because you can put you got Crawford in there, and you can put Irving in there and it's like, let's go. We might have seen the last bit of dime they're

gonna play this year. One play. That's that's that's unfortunate that kid, you know, And a lot of folks have asked, well, what's wrong with Jordan Lewis, you know, And it's not not that that wasn't the reason why. I mean, he drew a tough challenge their golden tate, the route, the catch he's gonna make you miss. You know, it just looks bad the way. It just wasn't a very good position.

And that was the only snap they played. You know, they went in with the intention of playing some dime in that game and trying to get that package going again. And it's tough when hey Jordan, this is your opportunity. Well, snap, golden tap, here's the deal I related to broadcasting. Okay, you got to play by play guy and the analysts up in the booth and they're talking for three hours, and they might make twelve mistakes. Yeah, Or I'll speak

for myself. I might make twelve mistakes during a three hour broadcast. But if I'm the sideline reporter and I've got twenty seconds to get it right, yeah, and I make one little mistake and you're hunting in there, I always put you on camera for it, and you stumble over your words. Whatever, Well, he's a terrible signment or she's a terrible sideline report. Yeah, exactly right. We're not going back. We're not going back to you. We're not

going back to you. It's there's so much there's so much more pressure on that sideline reporter who's got fifteen seconds to spit it out exactly right, than it is for the play by play guy who's got three hours and makes you know you bred Marfields. Well, hopefully they Hey, game's on the line. But right there's your fourth time being out here. Good luck. Well, hopefully this doesn't affect the way that he you know, I think he was. To be honest, week you watching body language and stuff,

he's probably down. He's not playing, you know he's you look at it. You watch. Yeah, he's naturally very confident guy. You're right, And the fact that he's not playing, you know you're kind of thinking, Okay, well, Anthony Brown has not been terrible. Anthony Brown had a couple of bad plays the other day. But I just I just I

hope they don't lose this kid. I hope because he can play, He could play, and I think you're gonna need him, and that the third quarter of the season you're talking about Bill, they're gonna need him to play, and they're gonna need him to play well when when Drew Brees and Matt Ryan and those guys are throwing the ball all over the park. All right, we're going to take more of your phone calls when talking Cowboys

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Find up participating I care professional and details by visiting SLOR USA dot com. That's USA dot Com. Terms and conditions apply back to talk in Cowboys. We have here. Oh no, it's right here top your head. Yes, I can want to use what the pros use or we use. Absolutely black is the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys. Get your Jack Black Playmaker for Jay Beeves plus a full sized lip bomb for just ten bucks with free shipping at get Jack Black dot com. Use

code Cowboys and guess what what? Jack Black said, Bill Jones, Oh, you deserve one of the four phase. It's even sitting on that. The whole time you were sitting on this, it was in my back pocket. Oh yeah, here we go. Yeah, thank you, Bill. Okay, can't her best wash energizing cleanser looks like a body Just shut the camera right there, kid, there you go. That's Jack Jack Black said. You're part

of the team. Yeah, just don't sit on this. Herbots energizing cleanser for hair and body with rosemary, eucalyptus and juniper berry. That's they make gin out of. It's great stuff. And you got the extra large size too. But yeah, well, thank you very much. Yeah, Jack Black comes through. Yeah, so I use this as my shampoo. No, use it as your body wash energized and shampoo if you want for hair and body, Yeah, go ahead because you don't don't get in your eyes though. You don't need the

the volume shampoo because what I have used. He's trying to tell you, Bill, you don't need mpoo body yes, yes, for the rest of his body. Yeah, I need champoo. Yes. And I discovered your hair much. They have a new fave. It's an after shave bomb. Pretty good. I got some money left on my account, but it's butterface. Butterface, very nice, Thank you very much. You cannot beat this stuff. It's really good. But stop sitting on it, Mickey. Yeah, no,

Kidd's back. Yeah, well it could explode. Well, that would have been a mess. Telling us for the first ever Restaurant Week at the Star in Frisco enjoys special lunch and dinner menus from a variety of unique restaurants while raising money for the North Texas Food Bank. Don't miss the Star Restaurant Week now through October fourteenth through that Jacksonville game is at the Star in Frisco dot com for details. All right, let's go to Michael in San Francisco.

Next up on Talking Cowboys. Hello Michael, Hey, guys, how you doing right? Good? A big fan, first time caller. Um, I just had observation and a question. So I noticed that this week we had a lot better execution and better play calling, but when we got to the red zone, there seemed to be a lot more passes, and I feel like last season we saw that a lot too, I didn't work, But in twenty sixteen we saw a lot of draw plays with Zeke and a lot of

run pass options with deck Um. I was wondering if you guys think they go back to that because it seems more successful. And I'll hang up and listen to your replay. Thank you, Michael. Yes, and we've get received word that Brian and Mickey are going to call the plays once they get inside the ten yard line. Absolutely make it. Just cook over and say run it right here,

and I'm gonna say you got it. I think it's easy for us to say that, but also should you just be stubborn and do it or should you react to what the defenses? Twenty one has made me stubborn? Yeah, twenty one. Twenty one has made me. Second and six, I'm handed to him again from the six yard line. First and six. He was getting six yards to carry

for the game. Not saying he's going to down that deep. No, so he got to go an out second and four and see if he can get another two and then another two after that, and maybe another two after that. This this guy enjoys scoring touchdowns. I know, think about it. He does on the on the on the screenplay. So how it was how many yards? All right? When he had gotten eighteen yards and he was at the twenty, did you think he was scoring? Oh yeah, the way

they stopped him. Yeah, when all three of those line on the buffet line at that point, there was no stopping me. Bill. I'm with you on this pretty good analogy. Remember when people made fun of me when I said this guy scores touchdowns, Never make fun of you. He scores Scott in front of your face. They don't. They did. It's like, oh, you act like scoring touchdowns with skill? You know what it is. I like what Brian said,

though this guy enjoys scoring touchdowns. He does. He likes to get that spoon out, just like I enjoy getting the spoon out at family family Thanksgiving and with the breedloves my in laws and blubb book. I always had to go last at the buffet because I would eat everything. And that's what Zeke does. That's everything. I'm just like pec man. He gobbles up those yards to the end zone.

I'm just gonna keep handing it to him, handed to him, handed to him, and then I'm gonna make that If they're good enough to stop me running the ball down there, then so be it. But the caller made a great point. I do love the RPO down around the end zone. They did use that in past years and they have had success doing that. But in that particular score too early on it against Green Bay. That's a good point. That's a good point. But yeah, handed to twenty one.

Let him enjoy scoring touchdowns, all right, So we've saw that. Was it the touch was it against Seattle? Or when they got hit? Oh yeah at the five yard line and then he found the way to score a touchdown. Yeah, I just I'm not I'm not taking was it a six yard remember six yard run for touchdown? Last week? Oh? Last week? I was thinking Seattle last year last week when they did not give the ball, they didn't give

the ball to him on the ad. That was another one where I've outlost my mind right Christmas Eve last see, I this is just this is what amazes me about play calling is that you can you can have really good balance and get it down and they take they take eight minutes off the clock, and it's just beautiful to watch. You see desperation for the Lions. They're not making tackles. And then you get down there and it

was like you in like all that driving of the ball. Yeah, you killed clock, but you only got three points and so you gotta you gotta do something different. You gotta get that, you know, the four they lost. In my opinion, they lost eight points in this game. This game shouldn't have been It shouldn't have been as tight as it was the past down to Austin. Great call finish, you know, the play down on the goal line. Okay, I understand trying to get Rico involved in all that. And let's

see it at the time before it works. First in goal at the one and Swain catches a touchdown. Yeah and I and I one argues no, No, I don't know. I lost my mind on that one too, because I just don't I call it being cute, mickey, you know, you know and I but okay, in that point in time of the game, if you want to get cute and it works, I'm all for you there. But that when you have a drive where you are just killing them running the football and you're killing them on the

clock and they have no answer. Just go for the throat, you know, just end it for him right there, take if it, even if they stop, you kill a couple of minutes off the clock. Don't give that quarterback anything. That was Yeah, that was the other part of it. I'm not giving I'm learning these quarterbacks. Okay, I'm learning Eli Manning. I don't care. I'll give you all the time you want. You're not gonna score. But these guys

like Breeze, Staffords, Rogers don't give them any times. By the way, he's up there, huh by the way down and scored Pat. But da back on the Monday night game last night for just a second, Okay, what was the biggest play in that? Did y'all watch the end of the game, the last couple of minutes. Sorry, all right, we're talking all this talk about Patrick Mahomes. Okay, there was one play. If it gets completed, then the Patrick Mahomes is not on every network this morning. It's case

Keenomen was wide open at the two yard line. It was basically a stopping go up the sideline and he stutter go and he was wide open. Any overthrown them and they came in. They had come back with a minute half left, and and even the Monday Night crew they were on the last play. They had one more play after that and they tried to run a hook and lateral and it did work whatever, and they were dwelling on that. Well, the play they needed to dwell on was the play before that, right, Denver had the

game one right there. They had driven down and it was right there and they didn't hit. Now there was a quarterback that didn't connect in case case Keenum's not off to a great start with Denver so far this year. It's like, and how do you let that guy get that far right exactly? Situation? Yeah, So, I mean there's issues all over the lea, you know, execution. But what one other touchdowns they handed it to Hunt like at the four or five years, that was the one that

gave them down. Yeah, they yeah, took the lead on it was yard line and yeah they ran it in and he ran for one hundred and twenty one yards last night's game. I could call plays inside the five with number twenty one. I really can, yeah, because I just called the running and I look at and I look at now I'm a little nervous about my tight ends. But I look at seventy seven. I look at you know, look at I look at you know, Zach Martin standing there,

you know, LOLd Collins. I'm thinking, Okay, I can run this thing in there with these guys, I can, you know. I mean, now, if I got the Texans offensive line, I might be some doing some trickery here. But I'm not with not with this back and not with that offensive line. I don't know what they're built for. Honestly, that's why they To me, it's the It's the most

immoralizing thing in a game. I remember sitting on the other end of it and sitting the press when somebody's running the football on you and you can't stop him. The game just it it's like it's melting, you know, and you and you just go, please get me out of here, you know, to drop back ten yards, dig a ditch and try and save the equipment. They're killing us here, you know. And it is, I mean, it's tough when you get somebody to moralize you that way

running the ball. So where the offensive line played against Detroit was that the most encouraging thing that came out of that game. Yes, yeah, I don't think. Yeah, I mean a lot of times he's got to throw the ball away on one of those. Even with all the Pro bowlers on this Cowboys offensive line, every season, it does it usually takes a few weeks for the offensive line to get into sync. Well, I'll tell you what. Now, not having Ziggions out there helped a lot too for them.

I mean, now this week we'll see it's a business going to be a much different test. Clowney played the Bill O'Brien yesterday said Clowney played the best game of his career. They move him around all over the place, and I guarantee you though they will move him, they will find to find to me, they put him in, they put him in standing up over the center, They rush him on the right side. Yet, yeah, what is what has like? Yeah, he's moving around a little bit better.

Uh still has got that quick you know, his patent move is that quick arm over inside move. That's how he's like a penetrator. But with Clowney, they bring him on twist stunts they bring I mean, he's just going all over the place. So I have a feeling that that he will they will move him over onto to Collin or Connor Williams. Well, yeah, Connor Williams. If they put him over Connor, they give him in the middle.

That's I'm saying. They stood him up and just had him just attack the middle of a pocket on like a special rush where it was like, it's the same thing if you it's he's he's the same player as Lawrence. He's the same player Lawrence. I think he plays the run a little bit better, but this guy still can be disrupted more. Yeah, they move this guy around to try and create problems, so they're still in a three four. Yeah.

Did you notice? Did you notice what Kansas City did to Denver on those three at three four when they wanted to run the ball. They had their big old offensive lineman pulling and hitting their little skinny ass defensive ends. Wow, No, they did. Huh who DIDs he did? Last night? Again? A couple of those run plays, they just took them out. You know, you can have these great pass rushers up there, make them play the run, make them play the run.

That's right, that's fair. That's always considered the weakness of the three four bass. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, you can you can stop the run into three four, otherwise people wouldn't run it. Bicky's never liked the three. He's always he has always hit anti three four. Most encouraging thing to me from the game is Dak and stepping up and making big throws down the field. But pass protection goes into that tip. He had a cleaner pocket, no question about it. Last week. Then he had the first

three games. I'd be a little muddy this week to get ready. Do you have a most encouraging thing that came out of the game. Yeah, the offensive line, Okay, you got offense, they didn't I mean that finally didn't let the quarterback get hit ten times trying to throw the question, no question, which was ten times the first game too. Yeah. My most encouraging thing was they won.

Yeah that's good. Good. Prove you right. Two and two headed to play the super Bowl in Houston on Sunday night, and y'all will be here to talk about it tomorrow. I'll probably be doing taking stuff and fair warning concrete cowboy tonight, right six to seven, six to seven, and Mickey and Robber all all three of us run it tonight. Bring a coat. Remember how cold the press box was in Houston point my memory that you were in Oh,

it was freezing now so yeah. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.