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And now your hosts Isaiah Stanback, Nick Harris, Josh Rodriguez and Kyle Yeomans. It's a Tuesday edition of Talking Cowboys, presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company, live from the Star in Frisco, Texas. In the s WBC studios, we have John Matchoda, Nick Harris, Chris Beam in the back.
I'm Kyle Yeomans. As it's wild Card weekend.
Week I should say it's not weekend yet, wishful thinking. Got an update from Jay Jones on a one oh five three the Fan this morning.
Maybe looking ahead a little bit because of what Jerry.
Had to say, but there's plenty to get to and we're going to take your calls and text messages today.
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What's going on? John?
Not much? Made the trip back living the dream here. I uh, I had a nice smooth flight back from DC, all right, but let's just be honest series, Okay, shut, I made a mistake and uh, that's not a mistake. I'm happy with it. But I'm moving apartments, okay, Oh no, And it's never good to do it during the season, And so I had to be out of my place by today, and so as soon as I got back yesterday, like, I immediately went to my other place and just started
getting whatever was left. I did most of the move before, but it's never great to do that during like when you're about to leave, like you know, go to DC, because I'm just thinking, man, my planes delayed and all this, like this is not going to be good or whatever. So I just finished that up last night. So I didn't get really watch a ton of National Championship game. I grew heavily against the University of Michigan, so it wasn't going well, so I didn't want to watch it anyway.
But the move thing during the season is the dumbest thing. I think it is the worst. I just I really wanted to get out of the place I was in, and I really wanted to get in this other place. But uh yeah, so that's what I've been dealing with. So not that you guys care, but you.
Got out of that. I mean at the buzzer, you're you're good. Oh yeah, yeah, you turned in the keys already.
Well I'm gonna do that today. I mean, there's nothing in there, so good.
I have like a looming situation that's like upcoming because my lease ends right in the middle of training camp, and I'm what the hell am I going to do?
I had that problem. Yeah, yep, it is the same exact thing we made. We bought our house.
Six days before training camp, not even six days, and then we got back and within six days we moved into the house. So it was just left. It was vacant for like a month while we were gone, and then we moved into the house.
And within within three days.
Of us moving into the house is whenever I figured out that Lorena was pregnant, and then we were having a kid at that point, one kid and now it's three.
So yeah, I get you, but you might.
Be fine as a multitasker. I'm not I'm terrible. So when the season goes when the season goes on, I'm I'm like, that's just locked in Cowboys stuff during the season. So to do this during I mean, it's just it's very overwhelming for me. Most people are probably like, it's not that big of deal. I would have been finally life stuff, yeah, yeah, which is fine, which is fine. I just I don't know.
That's that type of type of sacrifice John and showed a man. Yeah, Cowboys fans out there, Yeah, if you ever were were interested on John's background, that's what it is.
Yeah, he's making sacrifice.
I mean, really, my whole life is based around the deal. I mean, the place I live, everything is in location of this facility, you know, I mean it really is. My whole life is built around covering the Dallas Cowboys during the season. I try not to have any distractions, and I have this distraction right now that I'm trying.
To get rid of.
John's going to be living out of a tup aware the next my new.
Place just boxes and everything just everywhere, like it will sit there until whenever the season.
No, I say, like you have a pet, like that pet is just dying for the count.
No one because of that.
Because of that reason, it'd be too much work.
So at one point I was roommates with David Hellman and he had a dog, and I think it was Josie. Yeah, Josie. I don't think I was traveling yet.
Maybe that was what it was.
I don't know, But anyway, what happened was is like there'd be a lot of times, like during road games, where like he'd have to board the dog. And so because of that, I was always like, I'm not getting a pet. Why I cover the team just because I don't want to have to do that all the time. So no, no pet.
I know y'all's conversations in both of your senses of humor, I could just see you given him all sorts.
Of flack for that. Oh yeah, like are you kidding me? Like you're gonna go board that animal?
Yeah, Dave probably felt like awful about it because he loves that dog, and yeah, it was just.
The whole thing.
Yeah, all right, let's get into some news and notes we just heard from Jerry Jones.
Going into Tuesday.
We did we could start with so defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has been generating quite a bit of interest from from various teams don't say yeah, And he's not the only one. According to Jerry Jones, Will McLay was reported, i think either late last night or earlier this morning, that he's generating interests from the Commanders and Panthers for their GM jobs, and Jerry was kind of asked about both, and he said that there are several assistant coaches that
have generated interest. He said he expects close to fifteen to twenty total interviewer interview requests across the board by the end of the hiring cycle. So I guess, you know, Schottenheimer might be might be thrown into that equation, you know, you know, with him not being an offensive play caller. I'm sure that that could be another team's pitch to Kim one if if they if they were.
To land him.
Obviously, Dan Quinn, we've gone through two hiring cycles and he's still you know, a part of the Dallas Cowboys. So they're gonna try to go three for three here, I'm sure this coaching staff. And yeah, there's a lot to deal with this time of year, obviously, with the playoffs starting and Black Monday in the past now, and you know, opening's kind of figured out already and who's gonna end up where.
So this is a fascinating time, especially with this coaching staff.
Yeah, it's I don't see will leaving. I mean you have to take these these interviews, no question about it. But the dan Quinn thing, that's a lot more up in the air, just because it's been multiple years where he's sat there and had these opportunities to you know, return to being a head coach, and you just look at like the Eagle situation, that's the way it is going forward. You have a good team, teams, teams are trying to take your assistant coaches. So, uh, I get it.
If you're a Cowboys fan, you look at this and you're you know, you might panic or whatever, like, oh, well, you know we could lose dan coinn or whatever.
But you don't know.
And I will say this. The one other thing is that some people might look at all this could be a distraction, you know all you know, teams in the playoffs and now all of a sudden, the coaches doing interviews or whatever like that. Like dan Quinn has done so many of these. He's a pros pro that's not going to take any anything away from him getting ready for whoever their opponent is Packers this week and whatever going forward. So that just comes with it. I mean,
if you're a good team, that's how it is. I mean, I've seen it this year with the Lions. You know, like the Lions are generally not a team that people are like trying to get their assistant coaches, but their offensive defensive coordinator is getting tons of interviews. So that just comes with it. If you're going to be a good team, you're going to have this happening you all the time.
And it's always going to go into the playoffs because that's when teams are looking. Black Monday's already in the rearview mirror and teams are making their moves. You also look at i mean, look at the Super Bowl teams last year. You have Philadelphia on one side and you have Kansas City on the other side. Those coordinators all pretty much all four of them, I think it was three of the four took new job in twenty twenty three.
That you had both of the coordinators for Philadelphia and then he had Eric b Enemy go to the offensive coordinator job in Washington. So it is interesting to see just how much of that does come down going into the playoffs. Of course, none of it's going to come to light until after that team is eliminated or however long that ends up running.
Yeah, it's just the juggle game, I guess at the end of the day, and there's nothing that the Cowboys can do to control that real quickly.
Which one do you feel like would be the most significant loss out of the two, Will McLay or dan Quinn Will McClay, Yeah, I think so too. And it may not be the biggest name because dan Quinn's going to be at the coach and he'll be out there and it'll be in the news.
But if Will McClay walks, that's a massive blow.
You look at the way this roster has, but it constructed since Will McLay has been here. I mean, his footprint is his fingerprints are all over it.
Footprint footprint too.
Yeah, Yeah, I guess he's kicking the door in his his prints are all over it.
Yeah.
You know, he's big on those those verified measurement, verified athleticism numbers that come out of the draft. He's he's big on, you know, looking for those really small school guys that have been able to come in and he prefers that athleticism and you can see it on the team, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Dan Quinn has been a big part of that as well.
So I think I think Will McClay would be the bigger loss just because you would have to account for that just personnel mindset, and it's hard to find, you know, completely because everyone has a different personnel mindset in the scouting department. So I think that would be the bigger loss as far as replacing him.
So yeah, i'd agree, especially just because of the fact of where this team is right now. You know, all the guys, the ones on the wall behind you, right there, and he's over here. I mean he's you know, helped draft those guys and they're all making lots of money. And so for UH to pay Dak and CD and Mike of those next contracts, you're going to really be relying on the draft going forward and finding some gems there. So yeah, yeah, losing what would be would be huge.
You said, he you don't anticipate him leaving?
Why we Well, he said, he has said this a bunch and I don't think it's changed. I mean, his one of his top goals is that he wants to win a super Bowl with Jerry Jones, you know, and he's close with the Jones family. He's obviously been here.
I know, he really likes it here. Yeah, not just the Cowboys, but living in Texas and that, and so I think it would be easier for him to move to another gig if they were coming off winning the Super Bowl, but not when you know, it's kind of like, I mean, last night's a good example, Like there's a part of the Jim Harbaugh story where he went back to his own matter and he's going to try and
turn this thing around finally, you know. I mean, they're just getting owned by Ohio State for like two decades, and he turns it around. They went three in a row, gets them in the in the colleg Football Playoff three years in a row, and then finally wins the National Championship. Because of that, I think he's gone, yeah, you know, and for Will, if he was to, you know, they were to win a super Bowl here, maybe then I just think that that's something he really wants to do,
you know. And I'm not saying that he his way, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does or not, but when you I'm sure he feels like they're close. And I'll just use it as my own perspective from my own job. And I've probably told you guys this before, and I don't know if I ever said it on the air before, but one of my biggest fears would be to cover another team, to leave this beat when
the Cowboys won a Super Bowl. I would be sick to my stomach if I left and then they won, you know, because it just it's just different, you know, And and people can sit there and that don't like the Cowboys and it's all America's team and all that, and it's not whatever. This is just but it is different.
The Cowboys are different. So and I don't know if you took it this way, but Jerry on the radio today, I kind of felt like was saying that like in a way, like you know, when he said the thing about exon, I was kind of feeling like he's he's not gonna come out and say like this is the Dallas Cowboys. We're gonna be fine, We're gonna get people. But but it is just it is just different. And so if you feel like they're close, like I'm sure Will does. I think it'd be really hard to leave this.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
Moving on to Stefan Gilmore and Tyler Smith and news coming into this week.
We didn't touch on it yesterday.
It was to find Gilmore but dislocated his shoulder and the win against Washington and was able to pop it back in place on the sideline, had the second half with a sling over his shoulder, and then told Mike McCarthy after the game, I'm good, I'm gonna be ready, and then told reporters after the game in the locker room that he felt great and that, you know, it just kind of depends on the week. And that was more of what we heard yesterday from Mike McCarthy and
then this morning again from Jerry Jones. Sounds like he'll probably get a rest day tomorrow on Wednesday, if I would have to guess, and then probably limited on Thursday and or Friday. But I fully expect to find Gilmore to go on Sunday. It appears he'll probably wear one of those harnesses under his jersey on the to protect the shoulder.
I wonder how much of his you know, movement will be.
Conflicted with but we'll just kind of see as the week goes on, that'll be a little bit more clear. And then Tyler Smith sounds like he's gonna get ready to go this week as well, dealing with that horn planner fashion that he suffered against Detroit obviously, but it sounds like they're looking forward to getting him back on the field and this week in a limited practice fashion and then play on son Aegasreenbay, So.
Good news on both fronts.
Stephan Gilmour starting with him specifically, I mean we asked Barry Church on postgame show coverage of when you're wearing brakece like that on your shoulder, how can that affect you as a defensive back?
How can that affect you?
Of course Barry played safety, but he was saying from a cornerback standpoint, it's not going to affect you as much because you can still move, you can still use your hands, you can still be.
Semi physical, probably not as physical, especially in the run game.
Can't come downhill and just hit people with your shoulder or anything like that. But it is going to affect you just from a physicality standpoint, in terms of the actual coverage ability in the way that he's able to defend the pass, it shouldn't affect Stephan Gilmore too much. So great news, especially in a scary moment where he was being held coming off the field. I thought it could have been.
A lot worse.
Oh yeah, and we go back to that, the Trayvon Diggs injury. I remember, you know, that was the talk. Then it was just well, that's a big loss. But then it's also one of those you look at the depth at the position, like a significant.
Drop only year you probably could right, right, And.
So when this is two games now where Gilmore has been kind of slow to get up on different things recently, and you just think, okay, well there's a big drop off if you don't have him. So even him with a harness and maybe being say ninety eighty five percent, I mean, you'll take that to over the fact or the possibility of you not having him.
So yeah, it was funny this morning hearing Jerry Jones talking about being healthy going into the playoffs, and he was talking specifically about this team. He wouldn't want to set him up any better, he wouldn't want to put him in his position better.
The first thing that popped in my head was.
Man, I would love Trayvon Yeah, that's really too too.
I would love on this roster. I'd love Layton Vandersch on this roster two. I think overshown it would be a huge piece.
But I get what he's saying.
I mean, overall, this the health of this team, that cornerstones of this franchise. They are healthy going into the postseason. I completely agree they're in a good spot. But man, it would push him over the top if you had guys like that available.
Look was Stefan Gilmore.
And Nashan Wright because that was who kind of came in for Gilmore after he got hurt on Sunday. How catastrophic would it be if Gilmore couldn't play right?
Why do we got to talk about this?
I'm just throwing it out there. How is it a catastrophic thing? I think about na Sean Wright. I see a strong training camp, honestly, that he had a preseason that he put together where he had some really shining moments.
But he hasn't really been trusted on the field just yet so far this year.
Battled a little bit of injury early in the season two, and we haven't quite seen that third round type talent from Nashan, right, since he's been in Dallas. So is it a huge catastrophic loss Stefan Gilmore cannot.
Play on Sunday? That's I think it's a reasonable thing to kind of look at.
I would say, yes, yeah, I don't know.
I don't know if i'd use the word catastrophic. But if I was ranking, you know, the roster and players that you can't afford to lose, he's certainly in the top ten.
Yeah.
Yeah, i'd say top five probably borderline top five, borderline top five, I mean.
Okay, dak micah cd CD, Yeah, those are top three, no doubt. The top three is then often I would say two offensive linemen, probably Zach.
I mean, we've we've seen you can survive without Zach.
But that's why I would put like Gilmore above the offensive line.
Yeah, because you feel better about Brockoffman and t J. Bass behind him. What about Tyron Smith?
Yeah, that's biguma. Yeah, depends on who you're going against.
Yeah, I think Tyran Smith's gotta be.
Tyro Smith's probably the only offensive lineman. Would put it on hil.
Moore pretty rough after that, but yeah, I think Gilmour's border Damon. Yeah, just because you don't have anybody else period.
Clark goes down. Who's off a linebacker one?
Thomas, Yeah, I.
Mean it's it's yeah, it's rough, it's ya.
Buddy Johnson, Yeah, yeah, off of the practice.
Squad probably probably, so he's been getting those elevations and then the elevations reset this week or reset for the playoffs.
They can elevate whoever for the playoffs, so that'll obviously help the double.
Is there a limit in the playoffs? Is it only three? No, you can go all four games?
Okay, yeah, yep, So I was curious. We will see how that that goes down.
But other than that, other than those two notes, we talked to coordinators yesterday, there seems to be some confidence in this building for going going into this week, going into the playoffs, and no one came out and said it, but this is probably the the opportunity that they feel best about, you know, getting the Packers in the first round, avoiding both the forty nine Ers and the red Hot Rams until the NFC Championship game at the latest.
You know, these these first two rounds at home too.
You couldn't have asked it to be set up much better and you feel the confidence around this building and you felt it yesterday talking to Mike McCarthy, talking to the coordinators.
You know they feel good going into this week.
Yeah, big thing for me with their position that they're in because I agree with Jerry Rell, the health is outstanding. With all things considered, you look at other teams and where they're at. Everyone, like when you mentioned tray Bon Diggs, there's every team like that's in there once. If it's not a guy that's missing, it's somebody that's banged up right now that you'd love to have them at one
hundred percent. But the thing for me that makes it feel like this could be different is that they're battle tested, that the things that they've done the last couple of years have put them in a position that nothing that should happen going forward should be any bit of a surprise. No matter what happens. I mean, you have to go to San Francisco. You've already gone to San Francisco, you know, Yeah,
it's going to be tough. Everybody knows that they're going to be favored and they're probably the better team, But that doesn't mean that in this league of parody, that you can't have the better day when that game boom, you're in the super Bowl. You know, like this Packers team, are they really battle tested? Not really the Lions.
No.
So it's like you look at like the Eagles, the Niners, and the Cowboys, those are the teams going into this playoffs, they are like, yeah, those are the teams that they've kind of been through it. And now with the way the Eagles are playing, I don't think anybody looks at them as that type of thing. And frankly, if you're a Cowboys fan, you would want to play the Eagles. You'd want them to be the team that you would have to go against because it'd be at at and
T Stadium. You know. For a long time, I know I was thinking that, well, if they're gonna go through the Eagles, they're gonna have to go to Philadelphia. January could be, you know, just awful weather, bad, ugly game. But they've gotten all this from the last two years, built up with so many key players in this team that they should be ready for whatever happens. Come out in a slow start, they shouldn't blink. They should be
able to respond to any anything that that happens. Then because of what they've gone through.
So I said this yesterday, I'm curious your opinion, John, there's no excuse why this team shouldn't win two games.
None, There's no excuse.
Of my I thought of it literally when you talked about the Gilmore thing, I was like, even without them, they should be able to win offense alone, CD and DAK. The level they're playing at is good enough for me that I believe with them playing at home, they should beat the Packers, they should be the lines. They should be in the NFC Championship game. Then whatever happens from there happens from there. But yeah, no, it's a disappointment. They don't get the NFC Championship game.
No doubt about it, no doubt about it.
And there's been reports out there about McCarthy's future and the tenure with the head coach.
I don't necessarily buy it.
I think there is a concern on playoff success, and I think there's going to be.
A level of interest from the fan base in his future.
I think his futures locked up. That's just my personal opinion. I think he's gonna be here. Based off of Jerry Jones's answers, and based off of really the way that this this current franchise feels about their head coach.
They look to him now more than they ever have.
I agree with you, but I think there is a difference between making it to the NFC Championship game and stumbling against the Packers in the wildcard round.
And how quote unquote locked up you are?
You know, end of sure, because if you come out and you lay a egg against Green Bay, then.
Then maybe we can have that conversation. Yeah.
I think that's where things get a little bit. But that's where talking points get made. Yeah, because that's going to be everything that's talked about next week. Is that, you know, playoff success hasn't been here, even though twelve one seasons have.
But let's get to the game first.
Yeah, we got to play the games right, all right.
When we come back here on Talking Cowboys, we're gonna take your phone calls eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven. If you don't want to give us a call, shoot us a text message eight one seven two nine zero three two nine eight.
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Our first text message that I saw today, it's from a six to zero nine says, can you guys start a rumor that Jimmy Johnson's going to be at the game this weekend, just so we have more Cowboys fans there than Packer fans.
I like it.
There's a little bit of a strategy play there. Yeah, do you expect a lot of Packers fans? John?
I mean there shouldn't be more than well, yeah, there should not be more than Cowboys fans. That would be embarrassing.
But yeah, especially this year, it's wide out, it's right, a big, big game.
And then just where the Cowboys are at, I mean they're just this is a team that could go to the Super Bowl. Like, I don't think Packers fans are looking at this Packer. I mean they're looking at this package and like, well where did this come from? I just yeah, there's gonna be a lot of Packers fans there, just because there's a lot of Packers fans in the country. But it's not gonna be like, oh, I don't know, Sunday and our nation's capital.
I mean that was so bad. Yeah, what was the percentage? Eighty eighty percent? Cowboys fans don't get me out in there, so.
Oh yeah, seventy at least seventy, you know, walking in just and then walking around the concourse and things like that. I watched two series down in the stands when the game started, and I mean like all behind the Cowboys bench was like a Cowboys home game for sure. And then just the Upper Bowl wasn't complete sold out, so that that you got to factor that in too, you know. So I'll say seventy as as.
As an official number. Hey, but official estimate.
If you're a Commander's fan, why would you go to that game? No, you know, this is like a hated rival. You know, they're probably going to win. The only reason you'd go is to play spoiler.
You know, so I didn't know you're probably going to get beat thirty eight to ten, right, I mean, if.
You're a Commander's fan, you probably show up in a Cowboys uniform so that you can get the number two overall Pick's true too cheering for the opposite.
I think the Packers fans will probably look like there's more than there probably are, just because if you if Cowboys fans are wearing all white and then they're wearing green and yellow, that's going to stand out. So it'll probably look that way, But I don't think it'll be I don't know, twenty five percent maybe at the most.
Gotta be that's it. Maximum Cowboys Nation, get out.
The understand why Cowboys fans wouldn't be pumped to go to this game.
You got to be pumped to go to this straight home games. You're eight to zero at home.
Jerry Jones is kind of asked about it this morning about like, do you try to box out Packer fans from from you know, getting tickets?
You know, I'm a moron, so I just helped me out here. Guys, how could you do that?
There is a way that you can like section off zip codes from buying tickets. Yeah, like it's exactly Yeah, yeah, that's that's the exact uh big big brain work.
I think there's a lot of Packers fans that just live down here.
Yeah, that's true.
So it's like it's it's still gonna stand near impossible to do it completely.
But so what you do is you buy the ticket yourself if you're a Packers fan, and then any of your friends that are coming down from Green Bay or whatever like that. Like, I just don't think that it would be I just think would be too difficult to try and you know limit that.
Yeah, if you're going to go to the game, if you are set as a fan at least I know it in my experiences, if you know you're headed to an event and you want to go, you're gonna find it anyway.
Absolutely, get into the game.
Absolutely, you're going to text a friend, You're going to text a family member that you've never talked to in three years to try and ask, Hey, you live in Dallas, can you possibly buy us tickets?
Does in that matter?
You're gonna my fight a way into the middling scalp at the game. Yeah, it doesn't geofence anybody.
I mean, that's true.
Yeah, there's a lot going on there. Yeah, all right, we've got a couple of phone calls on a Talking Tuesday, if you're interested in giving us a call eight eight eight A five to five two two nine seven.
Let's start some things off with Dano in Florida. What's going on?
Dan O?
Welcome back to Talking Cowboys.
Good morning guys.
How you doing great? How are you good?
Hey?
A couple questions. Well, first of all, statement, this weekend's game brings me back to the sixty six game, which was my first Dallas Green Bay Championship game with Leon Donue. Missed that block on Dave Robinson clause and Meritith to throw a pick in the end zone.
Remember that like it was yesterday.
There you go. Hey, I'm I'm struggling with dan Quinn's defense, okay, last not this past week, but Prider that those last couple of drives to me, he's playing not to loose. Seems like the aggressiveness gets somewhat diminish, and he's playing not to lose rather than to win. And I find I have an issue with that, and that's maybe just me that's maybe my observation. The other thing I know, Nick yesterday mentioned that, you know, Lee Karen Steele has
played better than what people might think. I disagree with that. I think we have two big holes in that offensive line, Faddish and Steel. And I'm wondering if if Collins looks good at any point, if Steel struggles, do they go with.
Do they go with Lyle Collins?
Yeah, so I'll hang up and listen to what you think.
Thanks, guys, appreciate you. Dano a couple of questions there. Let's start with the defensive side of that.
Let's start with your memories of the sixty six game.
Yeah, first, good time. Well, I mean the Packers went on to win Super Bowl One.
The next year they came back met in the NFC Championship game again, nineteen sixty seven.
That was also known as the Ice Bowl. Ice Bowl. Nice job, negative thirteen degree weather. Don't like that. I'd have done. I guess what happened.
Cowboys lost, Green Bay went on they won Super Bowls one and two underneath legendary head coach Vince Lombardi.
I've heard of him. Yeah, he's he's on the trophy. Now ever heard of his work so good thing.
So if if the Cowboys win those games instead of the Packers, is that the Landry Trophy instead of the Lombardi Trap.
Very good shot, honestly, I mean there were a lot of things that Lombardi did well, but yeah, but you gotta win.
If you're the first one to win it, it could be the Tom Landry Trophy.
Yeah.
Anyway, are we gonna start with defense?
Start with defense? Okay, unless you want to start with Lyele Collins.
Yeah, I'd rather start with that.
Let's start with Lyle Collins.
Came at me a little bit, but it's fine. I think he may be misundertood what I said yesterday.
I don't.
I don't believe I said Terren Steel's been playing better than people that think. But what I'm more I was saying that he put together seventeen games of being on the field for every single snap up until that those final couple series yep on Sunday, and he really struggled at the beginning of the season, and he started to stack really good games over the course of the back half of the season.
I would argue that the bad half he's played better than most people think.
Absolutely, I would argue that, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're season not so much.
We're talking Week nine against Philadelphia not so much.
Yeah, that was that was kind of strap second half of the season, weeks ten through eighteen.
He was playing better than most people think.
As far as like putting in Lyle Collins in place of him, if things aren't going well, that's just not going to happen.
That's just not going to happen in the playoffs this year. That's yeah, it's not gonna happen.
Completely agree, Yeah, completely agree. Injury is the only way that I could see them putting Lyle like Terry have to get hurt. Uh yeah, right, But as long as Terrence is healthy, he's he's going to stay out there. They're not gonna They're not going to move in Lyle like that. I just I know they look at Terrence as is a piece of the future. I don't think they would do that to him on just some bad play, you know, And I don't think he'll be he would be bad enough that that that they would turn to
that anyway. I just I don't know where Lyle's at in terms of being able to step in right away, you know. I mean, there's yeah, he's in shape, looks good, obviously said all the right things we talked to him last week. But you know, playing in in playoff games, is he ready for that? He might be, but I don't know that there's gonna throw him out there. If we really don't like the way this guy's playing, let's go through Alysle and there. I don't see that happening.
I just think they're too deep into this season to get to the spot where they're at for them to change that up there.
What was the other question?
It was dan Quinn. He's worried about dan quinns. He's not alone on that.
There's a lot I've seen that on Twitter a lot after these games, that people think that they're going to too much pre event. I just me personally, I don't. I just don't think that that's just a Cowboys thing. I think that's just the way football's played nowadays.
You know.
Yeah.
So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that dan Quinn probably knows more about defensive football than all of us, and there's probably a reason he does that. So I guess I'll be the idiot and lean on that.
You look at these.
Final three games, that they played after the Buffalo game, and they're only given up eighty eight yards per game on the ground. They've forced five turnovers in those three games, and they're allowing seventeen points per game. So, I mean, this defense is kind of hitting his stride right now. I'm not worried about the defensive unit as far as it being too conservative at times.
I mean, I don't see that as a major issue.
Yeah, I think the only I think the two major things that I look at as far as like I would put under cons on this defense are one, there's just kind of.
A lack of size.
They have sacrificed that for athleticism in a lot of areas on all three levels. And then two being able to handle speed. And then other than those two things, like, I don't have any concerns about this defense.
One of the.
Questions on our text line six p. One nine asked the last caller mentioned Dan Quinn. Is there a possible successor in the building if Slash win he leaves, who can use these players and their skill set the way that Quinn intended to be the be the next defense.
I don't see it.
I don't know Mike McCarthy's wanted previous head coaches to be his DC, and he said that before he started calling the offense. Yeah, so I don't see how he's not hiring somebody that is a former head coach to be his DC.
I agree with you.
I think I think two guys on the defensive staff could be coordinators one day, not necessarily saying that they can.
Oh no, there's those guys, but I'm saying Al.
Harris for sure. Al Harris was the first one I thought of.
It would probably be Joe.
Specifically here, it would be Joe Witt, definitely.
I would just be very surprised. The only way I could see it may be happening is if they won the Super Bowl and they were like, let's just try and keep this super as much as possible. But I find it very hard to believe that it isn't going to be somebody that's been a previous head coach.
All right, Marco in Italy, We're going across the pond.
What's up Marco, guys, good morning, Thank you for having me back talking to you.
Yes, sir, good to talk to you.
Yeah to three three good points. So from I wanted to share with you mind about Jake Ferguson. I mean, I really like the guy who's it's such tough. He gets hit with hammers from defenders when he goes through the middle and while stands up saying, this is the best that you can do. Do you have anything else to thought? I love the guy. I love his toughness, and he reminds me of Jason written. I'm not just saying. I'm not saying that today he's like Witten. Obviously we
do hope that one day he will be. But his toughness, the way he plays did end reminds the middle victim. And I just love the guy. What can I say? I love the guy. Then the the question that I have for you is looking at the forty nine ers, and we obviously hope that you know, we we cross papped with the forty nine ers.
Job.
I don't know whether we hope it, but it may be that we cross Pappy with the forty nine ers. Game three of their losses came with a sc North tos the Browns, the Bengals and the Ravens now. I don't know whether there's a just a matter of chance or to the common denominator. The way the AFC North places football. That is just tough for the for the knives to digest again. Question for you, you know more than me. I'll be happy to hear it. And then the final your thoes. I need your help on one thing.
I was thinking about buying cheese steaks for some teams. I don't know whether there should be the Giants or maybe the Cardinals, just to reciprocate the knighte g. Just to the colegials last year. Uh, you know, to to go pressent with the Jaguars. I think it would be extremely nice and polite for us or to buy some cheese steaks to one of those things, just you know, to show them we're nice guys, because at the end of the day, that's what we Cowboys said. Thank you,
thank you, Thank you guys. Always great talking to you, and go Cowboys.
Yes, sir, go Cowboys.
You have to buy a lot of cheese steaks for those teams because the Eagles lost five of six. That's a lot of cheese steaks. Gotta find a way. Yeah, he said he got to pick a team. Probably the Cardinals is the first one because that's the one that opened the door.
Yeah, a bit.
I'm looking at I'm looking at the combined weight of both teams, and I'm taking the team with the lower combined.
Oh, that's that's next level, thinking that's chest, not checkers.
I like that.
I'm gonna save a buck.
And then he was talking about the AFC North teams that beat the forty nine ers, the Browns, the Bengals, the Ravens.
The AFC North.
Beat everybody their first team or first division to finish above five hundred in like eighty years something like that.
Yeah, everybody means above five hundred.
I mean yeah, And I do buy it in a little bit into that whole playing outside. You know, there there is like a toughness because I will say, I do think you have to be tough to beat the Niners. I don't think you can finesse them if you're going to beat them. So I think that's probably part of it, that the style of play probably factors in. But I do think that this Cowboys team, now, it is built and they do play, as mich McCarthy would say, it's a dome team. But I do think that they can
play tough when they need to. And I think of if they got to the NFC Championship game, all that would be on the line. The fact that this is the team that ended your season the last two years, you know, the whole Cowboys Niners rivalry. I think that they would play a pretty tough game. I don't think that they would get punched in the mouth and that would be the reason they lost. They might, they might lose because the Niners are a better team and they
just play better at home. But I don't think that they'll get punched in the mouth and embarrassed. I don't see that happening at all.
Yeah, I agree, especially going back to Santa Clara too, given what happened in Week five, as you mentioned, gosh, it would be meteoric the hype if they were able to get that done. Going you have two weeks to let the super Bowl build. That would be a lot of fun to just cover and be a part of. But yeah, I got to get their first two more games. But that is a tough team, really tough team.
I just had like, not even flashbacks because it's never happened before, but just like a flash forward of, like you said, the metiorc hype of what it would take if you go when you win these two home games, you win against the forty nine ers, which is easier said than done. And then you're going into the Super Bowl with that hype going into it. Yeah, that would be astronomical.
Uh, we've got one more phone call.
We're gonna take our first or our second break though before we get to it. We'll get to you in a moment, Mike in New York. Yes, when we come back on Talking Cowboys.
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To Talking Cowboys.
Back here on Talking Cowboys, presented by in visil Line, the official smile of the Dallas Cowboys.
Let's waste no time, Mike in New York. You're on Talking Cowboys. What's up? Mike?
Here we go.
Ahead.
I had to I had to do guys. But anyways, suppose the Cowboys go up? I uh, biggest health can soone is obviously everybody. But I hope Zach Martin can come back. I know he's out with the illness the other day, so it's kind of you know, if he comes back from that, I'll be I'll be happy. And like you said, everybody caught across the board. We need everybody on deck for this one.
I want to be Green Bay so bad.
It's say it's say, I was thinkingating was like tomorrow, I can't wait.
Appreciate you, Mike, and always great points bringing up Zach Martin and.
He always brings so much energy.
I love Mike.
I love it man, that's awesome. Uh, here's the thing about Zach Martin. He's got to be back, right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's just a quick illness.
I think they caught it. I think he caught it just on the wrong day. Of all days, he caught it on the wrong day. If he caught it on Saturday, probably would have been able to get my v's.
In, get some treatment in and play on Sunday.
Yeah.
If he caught it obviously yesterday, then obviously you know, he'd be fine. I'll probably this up coming Sunday. I think he woke up on Sunday felt ill. And that's it's what kind of started the snowball effect of eventually he was.
With the team on the trip, right, Yeah, he traveled. He was fine on Saturday.
Yeah, it's it was Sunday morning, woke up, did not feel well, felt like death, and yeah, and then brought off and stepped in and bt B.
According to Dak Prescott, big time brock stepped.
So I liked that, and I was looking through the pictures that they always you know, they're posted on the team's Instagram account, like everybody's like just like at these right now. Okay, so like, hey, guys, what's up? You know the picture? Cool? Everything's great?
What's up? Good?
Good?
Okay, guys are walking out man hotel. This is fun.
Jake Ferguson, what's up, guys, What's I don't feel good? It's not time for a picture.
Okay, what are we doing? I don't want to do in the picture now. Yeah, he is certainly the to I guess that's that one's mine. But yeah, there you go.
He that did not seem like he was ready for the wanting to participate in the pregame photo shoot.
Oh poor guy. Yeah.
I think they're honestly, like, that's what you guys. Look at it more from a Cowboys Perspective'm not a Cowboys fan. I look at more of just an NFL like outside perspective type thing, and I'm just like, like Zach was dealing with an illness, He's gonna be back to a playoff game. Tyler Smith is gonna be out there. They didn't play him because the planner fasciot, why not buy him another Let's be honest, too, they knew they were going to beat Washington. Let's let's buy him another week.
You get Jonathan Hankins back, and then you avoided a catastrophic Stefan Gilmore injury for the second time in the last three or four weeks. Like you're in great shape going into the playoffs with all things considered, you know, so yeah, Like, I don't think that you could ask for much more. I think it would be unrealistic for you to sit there and expect that you wouldn't have a trade on Diggs, that you wouldn't have a Marvin Overshown.
That stuff just happens. It's NFL football, you know, Like that you're going to have those Like all things considered with the you look at who are the most important players and the ones that could make the biggest difference in any of these playoff games. Like they're almost all there, you know, and and healthy and playing well.
So kind of along those same lines, the seven oh three. This is Noah in Washington.
He says, what makes this team better than the last two playoff teams for the Cowboys is that a big part of it, or is it.
More than that.
Well, I think experience is the big one, you know, just because, like I said earlier, having gone through it. But the other one with me, and I thought about this a lot after the game, was just the way that Dak and CD are playing and the level that they're on makes me think that they're going to be in every game that they play. You know, there were just times in some of these previous seasons where I just didn't see them having that same type of rapport.
You know.
Obviously twenty sixteen you had some of that with Dak and Zeke being rookies and it was just kind of like they could do no wrong in that. But I don't know that they were playing as well.
Now.
Of course you can come back and say, well, they were probably running the ball better than they are right now. They're obviously not running it well. But I just think Dak and CD are playing on a level of that's the type of stuff that you see. Again, I'm not
looking at this as being a Cowboys fan. I'm looking at this as just an NFL observer, and that's the type of stuff that you see, like getting high at the right time and that being a difference in the postseason because they're clicking and making huge plays in big moments, because let's be honest, there's not gonna be a lot of blowouts like these are going to be tight games
in the fourth quarter. And I thought it was another another good sign as the previous colors said Jake Ferguson, Uh, I just think that where he's built to you can trust him, you know, and you can trust Brandon Cooks and what it just seems like every week that that rapport is built with Dak too. So what they've done through the passing game, I think is the thing that
gives me the most reasonably. They were just there were there were moments, not that I watched all of the game last night, but where you're just kind of like, how many more quarters are you going to play this this? And for Washington to score another touchdown, you know, like it just didn't seem like it was gonna happen no matter what. Like Michigan wi is just leaving the door open for him, and they just weren't going to score. I feel like if you do that to this Cowboys team,
they're gonna they're gonna score. I just feel like that they have the rapport uh and that they're playing at a level that they hadn't been playing in years past. And then also Mike McCarthy calling the plays. He's been in a lot of big games. He's got a lot of experience in these situations, and so I think those are the other things. But health is really high in the list for me.
I agree, experience, and then this offense, the way he's playing right now, and the CD kind of had a moment after the Buffalo game where it was it wasn't as bad as it I don't want to say bad, but it wasn't as loud as it was after the San Francisco game when he was like, get me the ball, but it was kind of the same kind of rhetoric.
It was like, you know, we got to get me the ball.
Like, that's funny that it's funny that your brain told you to say bad because at the time it was bad. At the time, it was depending on where this season goes, talk about how big that that moment was, because that could be such a turning point for the entire season. But it's so funny you say bad because that's the way I would think of it in the moment when it happened, You're just like, that's not a good look to have him off to the Why are he normally is over there with all those guys? Why is he
over there by himself? Like you can tell he's like frustrating. Really brought me back to like some of the times with Des Bryant when he was just real frustrate. But you just got used to seeing that from Desh, like, hey, he's just passionate, that's why.
He goes about.
But you don't really see that much from CD. And so that that is interesting that you would say bad at first, because I did think that too, But every week that's coming by, since I keep looking back on it and going, man, that might have been the best thing that happened to them.
I get a credit McCarthy and with that whole deal as well, because he took that time to bring CD into his office and talk that out during the week after, and I think those conversations really spoke a lot more towards the rest of the season than even that moment in the locker room after San Francisco, but kind of had like a slightly similar moment after Buffalo where it was like, yeah, I mean, this is just a moment where we couldn't get me the ball.
We got to get me the ball.
Those three games since quick math, thirty two receptions, four hundred and forty three yards and four touchdowns and three games like that's good.
It's pretty that's up there.
Pretty good.
That's up there.
So I think as long as CD is getting his I don't have any problems with this offense. And then again, I don't have any problems thinking these next two games don't work out.
Markel from Houston asks us for our final question here on this talking Tuesday, what percentage would you give the Cowboys to win it all from this very moment? And we've talked percentages all year long. By the way, Markel's said his birthdays in two days, so they're definitely fellow Capricorn. Yeah,
he said, they're definitely winning this game. Let's let's talk about it because percentages, I mean, four weeks left in the regular season gave the Cowboys a nine percent chance to win the division, and they ended up winning the division. So numbers don't matter a whole lot. And we're four weeks from the super Bowl, so chances of winning at all what would you give.
It fifteen to twenty percent. I would say, I think that there's a fifty percent chance that it's either the Niners or Ravens, and then I would put the Cowboys in with everyone else in that other fifty percent, you know, to break it down between them the Bills. You got to give a little chunk of that pie to the old Chiefs just because of what they've tblished in the past.
Yeah.
Man, I'm looking at your computer right up. Man, I just can't believe how much the Eagles have fallen.
It's it is bad because I was just thinking about that too. How many teams do I think can win it? Yeah, Baltimore, San fran done, They're no doubt they can totally win it. Buffalo Dallas absolutely. I think both of those teams are good enough to win it the city because of what they've done before. I know they've got their own problems as well, but you can't count out Patrick Mahomes the
next one. I was like, okay, Philadelphia, Yeah, and then Miami if they turn it on, they were as good as anybody.
They were in the same conversation.
It reminds me of Yukon basketball last year.
Where they just went through like a two week stretch in January where they were awful and well, this team you make the tournament, and then they were the best team in the tournament.
Won ever get my double digits?
Yeah, yeah.
The only thing I keep going back to on the Eagles is just like the history of when you lose the Super Bowl, especially one where you had a chance to win, there usually isn't a rebound the next year. It's usually, I mean, it's usually much worse than the season that they've had. But there is something about the way that this season ended that I've thought about that a lot. And then also the whole like curse of you can't win the NFC East two years in a row like it is. It is just wild how that
that collapses happened. I never would have saw that.
I'd say, I'd say I'm right around with you in between fifteen and twenty percent, because I think there are six teams legitimately that can win it, and that would put you in about fifteen percent ish fifteen to twenty. So that's that's where I'm at right now. Then I would of course skew that a little bit in favor of maybe Baltimore or San Francisco because they have the rest, but Dallas has a shot.
They absolutely have a shot, but.
Yours, I'd say about to say fifteen to twenty.
Fifteen twenty, you're like eighty five.
Yeah, maybe we'll revisit this next week. May maybe come back and see if the percentage is higher.
I don't feel like it could be any higher until they play San Francisco. Like, you could ask me the NFC Championship week and I would probably still say fifteen twenty.
I'd probably be a little higher.
I don't think so because like that, again, I expect them to win these two games. I expect them win the wildcard. I expect them to win the divisional game. I don't expect them to win an NFC Championship game. I don't expect them to beat the Ravens in a super Bowl. I don't expect them to compete with the Ravens in the super Bowl. To be completely honest, but that's Ravens. That's way down there.
Yeah, fell that they got there, Like like you saying on Sunday, they got play the Ravens to win in a wildcard round. I don't like that, But you tell me that they got to the Super Bowl and they went they're going to be right and so high that and again just the one game like elimination, I could. I don't think that.
I don't know.
I think it would be a coin flip for me. If they get to Super.
Bowl, it's a coin flip.
There's a long way to go, long way, long way to go. And tomorrow we're gonna focus a little bit more in on the wild card round because the Cowboys have the Green Bay Packers, a team that they can't overlook in their own right. Uh, gotta be better against the run, gotta be better against Jordan Love. I mean, there's a lot going on this week and we're gonna preview the Dallas defensive matchup tomorrow against that Green Bay offense.
Isaiah should be back, unfortunately after his Washington Huskies couldn't get it done.
Yeah, he didn't call in this morning, didn't call in this water for him.
All right, we'll be back tomorrow to.
Preview Packers Cowboys defense versus offense when we come back at nine a m.
Central time.
Chris Beam, John Mitchoda, Nick Harrison, Kyle Yoman saying, so long from talking Cowboys will see tomorrow. This has been a production of dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.