Talkin Cowboys: What Is Next At Running Back?

Alfred Morris era of Dallas Cowboys Football. Welcome to Talking Cowboys. That's quite an opening that covered a few things anyway, a lot of math. Yeah, I knew there was a reason I brought this. Get your popcorn ready for this show. We brought props to the set today. I'm ready popcorn, popcorn. I like it. Appreciate that you, Terrell. They just pop popcorn over here. They did one of the tents, and the fellow who popped the popcorn asked if I wanted any popcorn, and I said, no, it's too early. I

brought yourself. There you go. Actually this is from last night. Oh okay, all right. Actually copcorn's better after it sits a while. Okay. It's also day number one of a morning practice. Yeah, yes, okay, the first morning practice of this two thy nineteen Cowboys training camp. So we it's sort of like a pregame show here as the Cowboys will be on the practice field. It's technically as scheduled

to start at ten forty five Pacific time. Jason Garrett will be a little later today three o'clock Central time, one o'clock Pacific time, but a lot of Cowboys making the news right now. Yeah, it is kind of a one of those days where a nice added practice. Yesterday we got to see some guys. I thought there was some really good efforts buy some young players. I thought I saw a backup quarterback throw the ball a little

bit better. Yesterday. Some guys who were talking about maybe need to elevate their game kind of didn't elevate their game right out of the gates. So yeah, it's there's a lot to get to, a lot of different storylines. And that's the great thing about training camp practice, though, is that you can go from station to station and kind of pick out one or two things. I know yesterday I was talking about oh, I was anxious to

see Travis Frederick. And then we get to the press conference and then Travis Frederick not practicing, but him going to day. But I was really really excited though about just overall those guys being on the field. You saw some good competition. We saw some one on one with the offense and defensive line. We saw some seven on seven. We saw some receivers run some nice routes, make some plays down the field. Quarterbacks get him the ball, good block good, you know, good blitzing. So good, A good

overall day to get started in camp. We should petition for them to have this practice in the morning instead of the afternoon, because then the rest of the day we have something tangible to talk about to write about, instead of having to wait till five to thirty or six o'clock, which is eight o'clock back home. The morning practice, I think is good. I'm anxious to see Travis Frederick. We were yesterday until we found out that they were

going to give him a veteran day off. And the reason they did it that way is because they didn't want him practicing two days in a row in pads the first time in a year, So they just said, let's give him the veteran day off on Monday practice of them on Tuesday, it's a natural team day off on Wednesday, and then he gets a day to rest before they go back in pads on Thursday. Didn't want him in two pad practices in a row, So there was some there was some common sense to their decision

to keep him out yesterday totally made sense. Yeah, Joe Looney filled in nicely for him yesterday too. If you kind of took up Joe Looney did a nice job. I think you saw. I think the one on ones right, I think he saw the overall strength of the offensive line even without Travis in there. I mean I was waiting. Rod Marinelli said a couple of days ago, I want to see Tyrn Smith put on the pads against Robert Quinn. And when there was one on ones, it was seventy

seven round one, two and three. Yeah, and I think Quinn got him once, but he had trouble staying on his feet against Tyrn. And I thought the overall line was impressive. However, it's a deep defensive line rotation. They'll have their days. And there were some young defensive lineman a couple of rookies stood out to me, Daniel Wise and Mickey Well, Dorance Armstrong guy I'm watching as a second year guy. Absolutely, But keep an eye on Jalen

Jelks too. I know he's running about third team right now, I think, but he's he's rangey, he's got some quickness. Mitch Hyadd had a hard time, and Mitch Hyadd is an All American tackle from Clemson, you know, and he's out here. And then Jolkes on the other side of the country out there in Oregon. But yeah, a long lean. I like what you're saying. Rob really did a nice

job of capturing that. Yes, did you see guys and we know this is it's guys like Wise jokes if they if they're fighting in their weight class, I say this a lot. They're fighting in their weight class and they have some production. Then all of a sudden you see him maybe get a rep or two with the twos or the ones that kind of see, okay, maybe

we got some. We saw it last year with Antoine Woods, even though that Travis Frederick was compromised with the illness, still you started to see some things with Woods that wait, he deserves an operation. Mickey Mickey saw this a long time. I think you ran into Jerry Jones about they said, hey, or Clancy Pendergrasser, one of those coaches said hey, that's my guy. Keep an eye on him. And you know, sure enough he found a way to make this football team.

So the early impressions were very good. I like John Bay Johnson catching the ball, you know, over over, the speed that he was able to double move, that he was able to make on qu on a westery. I love the fact that though that you got a ball with a down the field with the Davis down there, you know, him catching Reggie Davis adjusted on a ball against a quality cornerback, you know with by the way, that was Cooper Rush throwing that one. Yeah, he had

a good day and he had a real good day. Yeah, everybody was jumping on those guys in the OTAs, but everybody forgot Maybe you didn't know, but everybody forgot that when you get in the season, those guys don't get to play, they don't get much work, yeah practice, And so now you go through a season without much work, maybe running the scout team, right, and then you go from January to May with no work, right, And now all of a sudden, let's go play. Well, those guys

aren't going to be sharp, especially the quarterback position. But the more he practiced, that last day in mini camp was really good, best day. And then he started out here really good. Absolutely, So I think they're start from your And if you saw somebody just signed a quarterback, somebody got hurt and they brought in a and some guy named Joe Callahan was signed. Right, so let's say, well you better go out and free aid and see and get a guy. Well, those are the guys that

got signed. So the slim pickings out there. Well, speaking to signings though, the Alfred More signing, yes, let's get to that. I want to ask you guys a question I could about Alfred More signed did why Why did Brian brought us I'm talking a third person. Why did Brian brought us? Buy into? Next man up? And let's see the young guys participate. I got it. I got an answer for you. The four guys they have here at running back, sure, their total NFL carries is six

okay for sixteen yards? For sixteen yards. And my guess is they're sitting there looking at this and they go all right, we're gonna give these guys a chance, sure, but we better have an insurance policy. And he was on his way to New Orleans right for an interview or workout or whatever talk. And it's like, Okay, if that's what you think you want to do, you better get him in here. It's probably not costing them, okay, and so, and that's where his base salary was last

year San Francisco. Yeah, no, I mean when the last year with the Cowboys, right, last year for the San Francisco was seven hundred ninety thousand, So he was basically playing on the veteran exception. They probably didn't give him a roster bone. That might be up to one point two. Yeah, I'm guessing up to one point two because I bet they didn't give him a signing bonus. Yeah. I just worry about the guarantees too, right, I mean, is he

gonna make the team and I don't. I don't think that's guaranteed just because they signed him last night or will sign him, and I don't practice gets a reflection on what these young guys have not at all far. They were just looking for insurance and thought, you know, last year when we started the season, we started with a tight end group that had nine NFL catches nine It's like, do we want to do that again? We're gonna start this season with wide receivers that don't have

a heck of a lot of experience. Do we want to do that again? It wasn't a message to ze brings in here. No, it's not like it's threatening the time. The timing's interesting just because right after it out. But Mickey makes a great point about New Orleans being interested in him. I will say this to Brian's point. When I first news first came out last night, surprised me because we just watched Tony Pollard run really well out there in practice, and I thought Mike Weber looked pretty

good too. Now it's one practice, and like you said, Darius Jackson has the entire regular season career cary total, and that was in one game against the Giants in Week seventeen last year. So I get it, But like Brian, I kind of expected maybe get you know, if this Zeke thing keeps going, at least go through the first game, see how these guys play against San Francisophia. I bet Alfred Morris was on their short list and in case

somebody got hurt or whatever. And then when they saw that he's going to New Orleans might sign there, they said, well, okay, we need to speed up the process on it. Plus, you go into camp and you've got five running backs there. Okay. Now, unexpectedly one of them didn't show up for camp. Okay, so you've got a spot there where you've got reps available to. Will McClay was just on the radio and said basically the same thing every team. I think you know,

they've got five six backs in camp. Competition not guaranteed to stop progress. But you're right, Brian, I mean those reps are going not as many are going to Tony Pollard now, right, so or Weber or if Pollard, Park's gonna get the work no matter what. Weber's the one that I was kind of thinking now is him and Chun Those guys are the ones that are not going to get his man, and we'll see how much work

he gets. And the other thing on this whole deal is it didn't cost him a roster spot because they had an opening because Zeke got put on did not report, so that doesn't count against your nineties. So they didn't have to cut anybody in a Kellen Moore offense, how much theally gonna be thrown to the running back? Well, they used to running back in the swing, you know,

they used him as part of Yeah, exactly. I mean, look at one of the best plays they had out there yesterday was a nice little screen pass off you know Mickey that were talking about it coming back from the dime hall. A lot of a lot of moving parts on that swing and they get lining out and they get it, they get the back kind of sneaking out there. So, yeah, it's gonna be screens, it's gonna be swings. It can might be that Texas out of those things that we've seen from Zeke before. They're gonna

figure out that Pollard can catch the foot exactly. They're gonna figure that out. And what's the biggest knock against Alfred Morris in his career can't catch the ball. And so it's he's just a guy who they bring in that they're familiar with, great locker room guy, and he's insurance and basically knows the offense right. He knows are not having to teach three other guys the offense. But

but I wonder though, like from an opportunity standpoint. Could he have more opportunity in New Orleans or is he just wanted to be here? Well, they lost ingram Uh, he left, and so there's a need in New Orleans. Yeah, his family currently live. Well, he was in San Francisco. His family still stayed behind it Frisco and left as with the rest of us. We love living in Dallas. He loves living in the Yes, yes, you went love

living in New Orleans. I would myself. I just I just a month May I bought into let the young guys play. And I appreciate your explanation, I really do. I know it was from somebody at the top of the food chain, So I appreciate your explanation. But I was I was thinking. I was saying, Okay, let's see you know, let's see Jackson and I understand the carries. Let's see Jackson, Let's see Pollard, Let's see Webber, Let's see Chun. You know, let's see these guys get work.

Let's see that crazy goal line drill that they run in full pads, where you know, backs trying to bang it in there behind the line. You know, let's see that. That's what I wanted to see and I and I again, I don't. I don't think the reps are gonna go from Pollard. I think the reps are gonna go from Webber and Chun. But I I and met and you know what, the reps and at the end of the day might even go from Jackson, right that I mean it, because Pollard's already getting some first team reps. Par Pol's

gonna get reps no matter what. He doesn't need that many reps. Alfred Morris didn't. Let's see, let's see. You know they want him ready, right right, But I don't know he's going to get so many reps. He's not gonna get Ezekiel Elliott reps as well. I think I think that they had him if the Zeke thing went

on into the end of training camp, they had him. Yeah, and and the and Alfred Morris was on their list that okay, he's the guy that they would they would sign at the end of camp or whenever it got Okay, we're two weeks out from the season. We need a guy just to make sure, just to cover ourselves here. And then when the Saints made a play for and they said, well, we gotta go ahead and get him now and it doesn't cost us anything, you know. And and now we monitor, Okay, whose reps are is he taking?

And maybe maybe they'll ease him into where he's not taking that many reps from guys early. And I think one reason you thought it would be next man up is because they have done that at certain spots on the roster. Mickey mentioned tied end last year, which didn't work out, not at first by committee, receiver by committee. I was going there too. Now they you know, they realized that wasn't working by mid season. Sure, Um, they've done it at safety too, Xavier Woods. They've given him

an opportunity and now he's stepped into that spot. So they've they've tried to let young guys step in. But I'm with you. I mean I was surprised at first. Let's to see how it shakes out though. Look, next man up is good in theory, but it depends on who the next man is. Yeah, but we don't know yet. I mean, that's right. But now they've got a known quantity, and that doesn't mean he's automatically next man up. He's

an insurance policy. Remember when Tony got hurt and everybody was saying they got to go sign a quarterback, gotta go get yeah whoever, fols whatever, and they just kind of stuck with it. And the thirty two million dollar man behind him, Yeah who knew right? So sometimes sure, I mean there's times, Mick where sometimes you argue, hey, let's just see what the young guys have. I mean, that'solue, that's there is, there's value. They're all young, every one

of them is young. So should the Cowboys be concerned at all that Zeke's going to Cabo to train? No, it's nice and hot. There doesn't As a matter of fact, they shut down the town it during the day at this time of year because it's so hot, like the banks shut down. Everybody takes siesta. Hmmmm. And you know when I and when I was and when I was there, I go, well, where does everybody go? It's so hot, and they go, well, we try to get into the hotels.

I don't like the idea, Yeah, I really don't. I'll admit it. I don't like the idea. I think that if you want Ezekiel Elliott, and he's got a lot of fans on his side anyway, if you to me, stay in Frisco train, be around, be visible that way, if that's what you want to do, If that's how you want to do it, I think going to Cabo is not necessarily the most ideal place. If you told me you were going to Siberia or someplace like that where I feel like it would be harsh and brutal

and tough and like Rocky four. Yeah, I'm training in the Amazon Jump. That's what That's what Cabo is. See, Cabo has got this idea. It's a vacation because of and the agent has a place there. Ye, seek also takes all his friends down there with you. Well, we need to wait and see what TMZ comes up with down there. Well, I'm sure they've dispatched somebody. Well, the bottom line from an organizational standpoint is it doesn't matter because he's dealing the cows are dealing with his agent,

not Zi. It's phone calls. Whatever it gets done, he gets on a flight, he comes here. That's gonna be roll whenever he gets here, whenever it gets done, if it if it gets done sometime in training camp. But yeah, the optics aren't great. Is there great? Is there a point in time you would consider trading him. Now, you know that thought crossed my mind this morning. I was thinking, can I say, no, what are you gonna get? I'm

just asking, I mean, what is there? Is there a price in your mind you're willing to get first for him? I'm gonna exna have to give me a first round pick. Okay, I don't want a first round pick super Bowl this year. First round pick doesn't help me this year. No, that's true, but does that but in you're in your in your mind is now never never entered my mind, never never felt like, you know, I want him two years left on his deal. I want him to show up and

let's go on a super Bowl. I'm not thinking about trading him, No, just brainstorming. I thought this morning, what if they look to trading him and what would be a match. And you know, people have talked about Duke Johnson Cleveland because they've had so called abundance of running backs. So Kareem Hunt is suspended, doesn't he unhappy with his exactly?

And so the point my point being, if you did trade him, you have to have somebody who comes in here and performs right now aside from absolutely pick whatever, I would not propose that at all you know, unless you think, but if somebody did offer you a one, you would consider it. No, that's what I would have to have. But I'm not sure I'm not trading him. You would have to be a player too, because Cam sit in the desert for six months before I trade him.

So let your season go. I don't care, all right, because then who's the next guy that's gonna be in line? Let's say next man a right, right, let's next man into Jerry's office. Let's say it's nineteen ninety three all over again, okay, and Himett Smith. He couldn't he couldn't go anywhere he could. But that doesn't that's that's but that's beside the point. Right now. Let's say Zeke goes the first two games, all right, and he's not here. The Cowboys lose to the Giants and the Redskins to

start the season. Okay, when does push come to shove on this deal? When see, we don't know what they want. We have an idea, do you We have an idea that they would like money similar to what the contract in Los Angeles. That's what That's what national reports are, Okay, that's what national reports. Yeah, I believe that. I don't if you told him, if if you, if I could say, but you don't know that they might want more than that. Okay,

what if they want more? Okay, if that's the number, if they want to reset the market, and Jerry's trying to reset the market, right right, I mean, isn't that what you took from his comment to you Sunday night. I also took next man up and we'll be fine, bit you know. Yeah, Okay, so he's injured for two games. Yeah, well one game could decide that's this division. Well I got to deal with it. Well, what are you gonna do.

You're gonna mess up your salary cap for the years to come because somebody held out on you, because then Amari Cooper's gonna hold out, and then Dak Prescott's gonna hold out. I know, I sat here and said, you can't set a precedent here and just give him whatever he wants so he gets in camp. Well that's why you can't trade him, because then he gets what he wants. Jerry on Sunday Night said he had a plan in place in case this thing lingers and gets close to

the regular season. What might that plan be? When we come back here on Talking Cowboys or has been helping Cowboys fans seed better since nineteen seventy two so they don't miss a moment on the field. Get classes with slurs, best vision, clarity and protection with the Ultimate Lens Package, three innovative technologies in one lens for a limited time. You can double your lenses for free when you purchase the Ultimate Lens Package and get a second pair of frames.

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we're having so much fun here at cowboys Camp. Would you like to throw back the curtain and explain and explain to the rest of the class exactly why you're laughing? Bicky? It was like a commercial. I had put my bones down and it was kind of un robbed, and I said, oh, I'll get some two skits and juice from that. Do you realize it's popcorn? Two little things? Amuse him? You know it's twofold, right, Okay, there's your popcorn ready and feed me? There we go? Oh there they all right,

we're a week. We are on periscope as usual, and Brian is monitoring things over there. Yeah, I do appreciate it. Thanks, Bill, and I appreciate everybody out there across the world that's listening to us right now. We've kind of decided we'd like to get you guys more involved, and so I kind of put a little message out there. We'd love to take your questions, you know, about the team, things that we might see, things in camp. So if you would fire him in and then I'll scroll through them

and keep them short if you could. Just got to read little bits, so if you keep them short, that will help me a lot, and then at some point in time Bill will call for him and we'll go that direction. Okay, you can also send me a tweet if you have a question or whatever at CBS eleven, Bill Jones, I'm on Twitter now. Dan Rodgers in fact says he reminds us that the Saints also have Latavious Murray.

They do. Absolutely, Yeah, that's true. And one of the things though, on the flip side of it, the Redskins just added or will add Donald Penn at tackle because of a Trent Williams situation where he's not reporting. Now that sounds like a situation where he may not be long for that city. You know, they may move on from him, but they're doing the same thing. Essentially, It's like, Okay, he may be gone a while, it's bringing somebody else

for now. Yeah, so we'll see. But that that is a bad situations again, yeah, because of his um things with his health and so forth. All Right, the right before the break, we talked about what Jerry said on Sunday night. He said he had a plan in place. He alluded to the fact that he had a plan in place in case this thing lingers. What could that plan possibly be signing Alfred Morris. No, he's not wrong,

he's not wrong. I was told this about I was told this that when this before the season started, when the way back into the draft, going all the way back into the draft, that if they did not get a running back, that Jerry said, we'll just go get

Alfred Morris. That that that that that Mickey's right. I mean, I know you said it with tongue in cheek, I know, but Mickey is actually very he's right that that was going to be the plan if if if they did not if they could not add a running back in the draft, but they added too, then that was going to be the plan, was that they could go sign Alfred More and the other thing is too. Once you get towards the end of preseason, if this thing is still protracted, hold out. I mean, you can see what

happens in final cuts. There might still be an opportunity to add another guy if you need to. But scared, I'm sorry, Road And what you gotta remember, Jerry has a hard time keeping secrets, sure does. He has a hard time. He wanted to tell you, but he just vailuely told you because it was already top of mind because he was already out there. But didn't we talk about it one day or somebody we had the discussion about, well,

Alfred Morris is out there. Yeah, So I just I could say, I just to me, I'm count me as well as guys. It's worried just because I think Zeke's crazy enough to do this. I think I think, yeah, or crazy. I think he's I think he's one of those guys that could be very stubborn. And you know, and I I just don't. I don't. I don't feel like I'm dealing This is gonna sound terrible the way I'm saying. I don't think you're dealing with a normal

football player here. And normal when I think of conventional thinking that now maybe the fact could be in a very positive way. Yeah exactly. But I'm not calling Zeke dumb or anything like that. I'm just saying, though, somebody that's very headstrong, somebody it's very much you know, on the field, he is, he's got this mentality, and then off the field, you're kind of like thinking, Okay, he's got a little crazy side to him. Anybody's he's holding out two years in advance. I mean all this stuff

like that, And is it calculated what? I don't know, but I worry if your hope has to be that that maybe that Zeke does not want to miss game checks. That's got to be your hope right there, because he might be crazy enough to hold out the whole year. He might. Yeah, we've seen it in the league before. But we had this similar conversation with de Marcus Lawrence. I'm not saying like you said, Brian, they're not the same guy, but we've had the same fear. Well, if

he doesn't get his surgery by this date. And I think finally DeMarcus decided he got on the phone with Steven himself and said, you know, let's figure this out. I want to get the surgery and be ready for the start of the season. Let's go try to win a championship. You think Zeke would really I'm not in his head, but would he really consider his best friend as the quarterback sitting out this season or many games to miss out an opportunity to go win a title.

I just wonder, beyond the financial component, would he really be willing to do that. You're minimizing the influence of the agent. You're a blame it at all on Zeke. The agent works for you. Yeah, but the agent. A lot of these guys listening to their agent until they get to the point where now I'm losing money. The agent's not losing money, right, He made his money on Zeke's first deal, and so yeah, he's gonna make money

if they get signed. But a lot of times the agent's got the agent in mind because if he gets a big deal, then I get a big deal. Right. And look, he didn't figure this out himself. He was told what to do. You know, let's let's realize that just turned twenty four years old. He didn't figure out the economics of a of a salary, of a salary Cap. Do you think he saw the agent and he heard what Melvin Gordon did in San Diego and he goes, oh, yeah,

that's a good idea, I'd do that. Do you think he sees the direction though this team is going with his career? Do you think he sees that? What do you what do you mean running him into the ground Marco Murray? Yeah, just giving him five, you know, four hundred touches a year. Do you think I think he understoodands that he wants to be fall but he also wants his money to run the ball right and and and he understands that I gotta get it now because

who knows? And that's why you know, Yeah, Todd Gurley had got his deal for one year, and now is he gonna be the same back because of that knee issue? So maybe maybe they were trying to give him a shorter deal, you know, we don't know. Maybe they said three years not five, you know, and then you get a chance to get another contract. That's finding good if you're healthy and you're not running the ground after three more years. But you know, they've got his rights for

you know, two more years. So okay. The other thing that Jerry I said. We talked about a little bit yesterday, but it's now getting run around the nation ESPN, NFL Network and so forth. The quote from Jerry that you don't have to have a rushing champion to win the Super Bowl. I think you should. You have to play. I think his whole right, just not that set exactly the whole thing the contract And to me, now I

should listen to you guys before I say. But to me, what he was saying was not that, oh, I can get any Tom Dick and Harry to be my running back and we can win a Super Bowl. Because until Emmett Smith won the rushing title, no rushing guy that won a rushing title won a Super Bowl. Four four and three of them are Emmett, one other guy, Terrell David, one other guy, one other guy. Yeah, So I don't think what that's what he was saying. I think what he was saying, in a roundabout way is I don't

have to pay top dollar for a rushing champ. I'm trying to reset the market. He's saying, I don't have to pay him Todd Gurley money because I've got these other things that take care of And I think that's was his point on that not that nah, Like he said, any one of five coaches could I think I think maybe that was it was a message to the to Zeke that Okay, what's more important to you a rushing

championship or a super Bowl? And what he is saying is, Okay, in order to win a super Bowl, we have to have enough funds left over to field an entire team, right, not pay just one player because you want to rush to reset the running back market or and that goes back, but it goes back to what Tank said to Steven

on the phone. It's not my problem, my problem. And we got a mail back question that somebody said, why don't they just get all these guys that are up for a deal potentially in a room and just explain to him what we gotta do here, that we got to give a little bit if you guys want to go win a super Bowl. That's where you talk about agents being involved too. Yeah, they don't play a card game. Everybody draw and then that gets the most money, the

next guy gets the next most. On my Twitter at CBS eleven Bill Jones, Stephen Nclario says, if you don't need a rushing champ to win a Super Bowl? Why did you draft him fourth overall and build a team around him? Believe Bryan asked that yesterday. You don't know he was going to win a rushing champion chip, but you expect if you're if you're drafting four overall, he's got that ability. Drafted talent is what it is. There's

other running backs that are talent. Walder Peyton was pretty talented, right, Absolutely, he was all right so and I don't know if he wanted rushing. He didn't win a championship when the Bears won a Super Bowl. Bears didn't win many games with him, which was was shame him and Barry Sanders had a very similar career that Barry Sanders. You know, he won one and been dedroit, didn't win anything. This team was very different too. When they did draft him.

You had a quarterback coming off of injury who was in his late getting to be late thirties. You had a defense that was not very good overall, and he was gonna be kind of the deodorant for everything. And he was and he's still you know, he was still the focus. He was the reason that they needed ball control to save the defense. And that's what his job was, and that's why I believe that to help Romo, but to also make sure that that defense got protected, and

they've drafted better defensive players since you know. So, do you feel like that you've changed your attitude about Zeke? Now? What do you mean that he's holding out? Yeah? Well, I mean in a way that do you feel like, Okay, they could move on without him, whereas before when he was here, that you couldn't play without him. I wouldn't want to play without him, and I'm not sure they would be as good with I haven't seen anybody out there to tell me that I got a guy that

can rush for twelve hundred yards. You haven't been here a week, That's what I'm saying. That's why I said that, Okay, now they might be able to. Yeah, but that, like you said, do you want to take that chance? You changed? Do you feel like you've changed in regard to can they win without it? Yeah? If if Zeke? If we remember remember how we just when he was suspended, how we sat here and fought you know, the league. They're a bunch of sobs, you know, gosh, how can you

do this? Is Zec? Everything we've ever talked about has been positivity about Zeke and how he's played. Yeah, and now I feel like as a whole, everybody's like, ah, you can, yeah, you'll be okay. You don't need a you don't need this, you don't need that. Why why have we changed okay? Why have we changed our attitude because he's Is it because he's holding out? I honestly haven't changed my attitude on it. I really haven't. And this may sound like a cop out, but I don't.

I don't blame him wanting it's gonna be okay that we played without ze I didn't say that. I didn't say that. I didn't say that one bit. When he's on the field, I feel like this team can score at any time. You feel like they should pay him, then I think they should pay him what they can afford to pay him. Yes, okay should? I think the case can certainly be made that he should be making

basically what Todd Gurley money. Yeah. I mean, in my opinion, well, from an agent's point of view, it's like, well, yeah, I'm the rushing champ. What's the highest salary right now? Okay, let's go above that. I mean, that's just natural agent thinking. That's what probably Zeke's thinking himself. And then why have a contract. Oh no, I understand what you're saying. I mean, he signed it, but a three year deal instead of a five year deal. Contracts are broken every day. Well

that's fine, but I don't have to break it. You know, it's well to play. Wait wait, wait, wait a second. The rules in the NFL for a first round draft pick, the club has your options dollars next year. Yeah, if they want it. That's what I'm saying that if you don't like it, you don't have to play. You can go play in the what's the new league that's starting up, to go to Canada. I just think the narrative about Zeke has gone. A draft Dodger is gone from Man,

you gotta have him July everybody's head. You know, I was listening to Brian. I'm sorry, I heard you what you said. You know, I think the narrative about him is gone from you know, people just saying, oh my gosh, you can't play without him too. Oh it's okay. How much is off the field stuff played into that with some See, we don't know, we don't know. I think fans are tired. Yeah, yeah, but Brian, the fans aren't running the I know, I know, Mickey, are the people

you're talking about, Mickey? We don't know. Maybe the front office is thinking the same thing. Maybe the front office is saying, listen, we're tired of dealing with this. I'm tired of helping you with legal fees or gett't you know counseled. They understand how important he is to what's going on on. Think so too. But there they can't fool themselves. However, now, the only difference between now in twenty seventeen basically is the defense is better. So that

gives you a chance. Right, he was drafted to make, hopefully get the defense better. I think, well, the defense, he can't get the defense off the field. Uh. And then this offense is the receiving corps is deeper I think than it ever has been. And your quarterback could take a leap forward this year. And that's that's that's the major key. When he wasn't here, if you were a defensive coordinator, what are you doing? Dak and Dez are not going to beat me. Now, find a way

to beat me. That They were going to make sure that didn't happen, and they did. You ask me. I feel like that Zeke is more important contractually than Dak because I trust I trust what I see with Zeke more than I trust I see with Dak. Does that make sense, I'm just saying you. No. No, I'm just saying me. I'm just saying me. Dak is not Tom Brady, absolutely not. But somebody's gonna say a look at New England. Look at New England. They win and they don't have

a running back. Every year they changed drafting the first round and running back. But Sony Michelle is a first round running back, but they didn't have him. Last year they did Super Bowl, they won him Super goot back Michell. Well, they still did it by committee. Get ready, it was committee, but get ready, get ready, New England. When everybody else is gonna play spread offense and throw the ball in all that, New England is gonna go the other way.

They're gonna line us, swam the ball down your throat. And they drafted to Gay from Alabama this year. Damien Harris, who's he run the first rounder? But he was close and um he might he might be better than the first round That was from Alabama. Who's pound, Who's pound for pound? The best player on this team pound for pound? Just best player? So that make it a trick question pound for pound, Yeah, it doesn't matter. Yeah, like the

heavy weights count. Sure, some will say Zach Martin. I'd say Zach Martin, and I would put Zeke second below him. So that's my answer, Like, he's still very important to what this thing is. And and Kellen Moore has told us, I mean, we're our foundation. Is still our foundation, right, I mean, they're not going to just sling it sixty times a game, even if Dak does take a step forward. So yeah, I mean they they need him. He knows that.

But Mickey's right too. I mean it's gotta work. It's got to work under the cap because they've they've got I mean, they've got other guys coming up down the line too in a couple of years. Why would I feel Why would I feel better paying Zeke than I would Dak? Where are you gonna end up paying him both? I'm gonna pay one thirty over thirty million dollars though, well, Zeke has been at the top of his position for three years now. Absolutely, I mean he is, and that's

That's why they're in this situation right now. And I'll say it till day I die. How many touchdowns did Alfred Morris score in twenty seventeen. We'll have that answer for you when we come back. You're on Talking Cowboys. If you're like me and you love I mean, if you have a thing, then cutting the chord is scary. But then I found out I could switch to DirecTV Now and still get the live sports I love. No satellite needed, no bulky hardware, no annual contract, just that

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your last chance. Your Steel Week offer expires to night and that's a five piece steel for only forty dollars. Jack Black offers free shipping if you order more than thirty five, so that means the steel is free. We call it the Jack Black All trades you call it a steel five piece steel weeks set for forty dollars. You get Cool Moisture body lotion, true volume thickening shampoo, Pure Clean Daily facial cleanser, double duty face moisturizer, and that bar of Charco body soap. When can they get

it to me? They better hurry up and do it right because I need in my hotel here in Oxnard. Well I'm relying on hotel. I think it has to come from Frisco though. Well that's why I'm asking. No. I need I needed here by Thursday, and today's Tuesday. You better ship at home. So go to jet black dot com for the steal of the week. All right. Update from periscope. Yeah. Question from periscope is I'll give you one of them. There were so thanks for everybody participating.

Could continue to fire in if you mind. Uh, they want to know do you think Amor might sign first? Be a smart move for him. He's in camp, yes, and he was talking to him already yesterday on the field. Chance that he might sign, you said yesterday you thought that that it would be I always thought he would be the first one because numbers and stuff. Val Hey, I think it's always been just hey, get in there. If you can get a deal done, we'll make a

deal with you. And then there's there's a certain amount of money and let's you know, let's go whoever. It's not necessarily a pure pecking order, although I think getting DAC done before the seasons the priority. I agree with you on that. Guys want to know out there, they say, what do you guys think the starting d line will be with Lord's healthy, that'd be for the Giants game. Um, Tyrone Crawford at the other end at the right end

or Robert Quinn. Well that I think that's the only one that's up in the year because you got Antoine and Malik inside, yeah, and Tristan Hill behind Malik. I think, uh this, uh Covington is going to be a player. Just looking at him. Thanks mackea. I appreciate you didn't see him in the one on ones. Yes, that held him out, but he was in the team. So the team, Well, he's coming back from the calf somebody. They're easing him in, Yeah,

and then you're gonna have Armstrong and Taco's gotta get going. Yeah. But he's got a guaranteed contract, so he has a little bit of a net his base salaries guaranteed this year. Yeah, so I don't know if you want to, you know, eat that and not have a player, you gotta keep be careful on how much dead money you eat. And then you know, Jalen Jelks, let's see it, Carrie Hyder and Hyder I forgot. I knew I was forgetting something. Joe Jackson had an interception yesterday. He did because Rico

drop the ball. Skillets some skillets there yesterday. One more question, how many how many? How many interceptions do you think Dak has from drop balls being picked off? That was Mike White that that was not just saying he had a few of the first half of the season last ye Yeah, I sure did. Couple final question here if I could, before we let Bill answer some questions as well. Who needs to have a good camp to stay on the roster on the defensive line or offensive line or

offensive line? Yeah, I think you kind of talked about the defensive line. We can maybe talk about the offensive line. I think Looney's spot is safe. Is he not as a swing guy inside? Yeah? Uh? Adam Redman, Sue Philo think see they worry about his weight, he gets too heavy, gets to Hey, he looks like he gets too heavy the way he moves. Sometimes he's moved around the league a little bit. Okay, one more question, then more likely

to have a breakout Dorg's Armstrong or Xavier Woods? M h, Well your words gave a little shot to Jason Witten yesterday. Since since since Woods started sixteen games last year, Armstrong barely played to break out, you got to come from nowhere. So I think it would be Armstrong because I think, well, if Woods Woods is breaking out, he's breaking out into the Pro Bowl. Yeah, how's that? Okay? I like Rob

You thinking the same way Woods? Yeah, but I just like watching Dorance rush the pastor man, I I he's got He's an explosive pass rusher. Like I think you give him more reps, you're gonna see him really rise. Okay, what about Whitton? Can you have a breakout, break out, break out from nowhere, comeback player of the year? Yeah? Yeah, all right, I'm still all right, Bill, I'm still kind of going through keep going. Okay, how about one more then I'll go one more with you. Dan, I'm sorry,

this is like technology kills me. Right Now, what player would you like to have their first Pro Bowl? What player would you like to see have their first opportunity at the Pro Bowl? Mhmm. It was a good one bow and I got one. Go for it. Make it you just fired out if you want. That's that's a great thing about radio. I like that which by the way, yes, he used me the other day on the little run around the goal post. Yeah, he goes leaping up into the air and he hits his head on the crossbar

the goal post. Let me ask you this, Bill, Wait, did he really? Bill, I'm new to the holding the boom mic. Bill asked Jeff Heath about it. That's what I'm saying. Bill asked the one guy that would have zero reaction. Bill goes, what do you think about? And Jeff Heath looks him like he wasn't impressed. It's like pretty athletic, and Bill's having to follow up like, oh, yeah, he's kind of amazing, isn't it anything? Yeah, he did

say you to a lot of guys. Yeah, if you ask the one guy that would have zero reaction, that was the first DPE we talked to. Asked me, right, are you kidding me? I've never seen that before. I mean just think about that. I mean, you're you're basically hitting your head at your six foot tall and you hit your head on the rim him of the Well, that's I mean the gold Cross. So it's a forty eight inch vertical. Well, we see where the running starres

almost due. Yeah, but they're six nine Yeah. Well yeah, what's his his? Well, that would be a forty eight vertical, but it's where the running start, right, Okay, now his versical. His vertical at the combine was thirty four. His broad jump was eleven feet, so this is a combination of a broad and a vertical. Yeah, he had a good practice yesterday. By the way they threw. They threw on him a couple of times, and he was right there on its. Hey, let's get some picks and make the

Pro Bowl. This ye right, that would be good. That would be the difference. They're asking the background noise once again, it's the sander, Sander and blaster, the sander next door. Sorry about that, Jerry says, it's a damn drill. It's out. It's they're building Steff next door, So sorry about that. If you want to pick for the first Pro Bowl that I would like to see how about MALIEK. Collins. I mean, I don't good one. He'd have to get his sack totals up obviously, But when he's healthy, he's

been really good for them. I just I wish him good health. I wish him a full healthy season and see what he can do. Yeah, I'm with you on that. How many touchdowns did Alfred Morris score in two thousand and seventeen with the Cowboys? Mickey, that was your question before we took a break. I believe in five starts in fourteen games, he had one hundred and fifteen carries for five forty seven and one touchdown. One touchdown. He averaged four point eight yards a carry. Okay. But how

many yards to carry did Zeke average the last two years? Okay? And how many touchdowns did he have? He had more? Yes? One, Alfred had one? Yeah, yes, Zeke had six last year, seven the year before and fifteen in two thou sixteen had zone offense. Right, What did you argue in twenty seventeen defenses played them differently with Alfred in the game. Yeah, absolutely, because he couldn't beat them. Zeke can beat you. And

what was Kellen? And what was Kellen Moore's answer to what do you have to do better in the red zone to improve? He said, run the ball better. Yeah, run the ball better. And if you run the ball better inside the twenty, then that means maybe you're running the ball better inside the ten because you got to knock somebody off the ball off the line of scrimmage, and they didn't do a very good job of that last year. So the point is this is not going

to be a sky Wars offense. That's right, Kellen Moore call of the play. I like that Skywars. You know, it's not like this. That's something new. That movie came out in seventy seven. So I misspoke. I don't think you knew. I didn't know what's Star Wars. I'm worried about you. Yes, I mean I invented my own turn Okay, sky Wars, right, Luke Starwalker. By the way, I think Blake Jarwin is going to be a breakout guy talking

about I didn't think the guys might be right. Yeah, good for them, and he just needs the opportunity guy thinkson Garrett kind of sounds like he absolutely thinks they might be right. I'm telling you this two tight end offense is going to be back to where it used to be with those two guys on the field, back when Martellis and Jason. Yeah, Martellis and yeah, all right we got we have two minute warning yet three minute, three minute warning? All right? What do we expect on

the practice field today? It's gonna be great seeing Travis Frederick drill. Yeah, Travis Frederick, Yes, yes, I want to see that. I want to see if. I don't know if they're gonna put him in the one on one pass rush drill, but I think he's gonna get in team. They might give him one or two reps in it, but I just want to see him stand up and hold somebody off. Yeah, that's coming full speed. In Training Camp Live today, we're gonna focus on the team period,

so we'll focus in on Travis Frederick. Have some video up for you guys to see him and how he's battling inside. Those inside guys did a nice job yesterday the human log and then also Collins there was some battling going on in with us. Williams snow size, I mean Connor Williams. I'll tell you what. Connor Williams on a pad. You see the past that kind of tried. He tried to jump. I think he was trying to jump.

He was trying to jump a rookie. He was trying to jump hill and he'll kind of swum around him a little bit. He was trying to short set him. It's what he was trying to do. So next time, Connor said, Okay, I'm not gonna short set. I'm gonna sit back and do what I'm supposed to do. And I want to see. I want to see if if Reggie Davis is a one hit wonder. Yeah, can he be consistent? And you know the other thing is he's gotten some punt return reps back there, trying to give

him some more to do. You know, if the more he can do, maybe try to earn that roster spot. All I know is he can fly. Well, we saw it. I think he had like three touchdown catches in one of those OTAs. Yes, you know he can move. That's when we figured we finally realized he was there. He had been there all last year and I don't think anybody knew who he looked like. Can't Cooper Rush also build on that good day? Yes, got to be consistent, that's the deal. In training camp. By the way, we

will have the Cowboys Blue White Scrimmage on. Yeah. I got that rundown this morning. Yeah, part of that, so we'll talk about that as the week goes on. That's it for talking Cowboys for today. Reminder Jason Garrett is at three o'clock Central time, one o'clock Pacific time. We'll check you next time. Get your popcorn ready. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.