Player’s Lounge: All In the Optics

The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is the Players Lounge, broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys World headquarters at the Star. Now your hosts Barry Church, Danny McCrae, Heckma Harrison, and newly Scrubs.

Here we are many, can't we right here at the Star in Frisco. We're here at the SWBC podcast studios. This is the players lines. You've got he Ma Harrison in the building. In the house, We've got Barry Churches right here's golf games getting rained out. Maybe get something today. We'll see heartbreaking with the wrong hat on your head today.

I'm new he.

Scrubs, different car different different.

The d season tournament champions. You know they fired the head coach man one Darvin had one in season.

Right right, So can get you a MAVs hat man.

MAVs in the final Thursday is going down Thursday in the final? Maps are their stars lost last night?

They are done? So we just have one team in championship.

Many Camp Week, guys, yes, sir, Many Camp Week for the Cowboys. So June four, five, and six, Many Campus here and then they're gone. Get to go away, get to enjoy the last bit of your your life. Then you get back and you start training camp here and as we go into many camp, the top story of the day, Yes, Sir, pach Maherrison Berry church Wide receiver Jordan Jefferson four years, one million dollars, highest highest non paid in quarterback in the NFL history, one hundred and

One hundred percent.

It's a good day for your CD. It's a good day. If you're Michael Parsons, oh you know it's coming to it's a good day.

It's a great day.

Nine quarterback getting over one hundred million guaranteed these days.

Hey, look justin Jefferson, flat out dog.

You know, one of the best, if not the best receiver in the National Football League.

Deservedly so.

But like you said, if I'm CD LAMB, I'm looking my chops to this situation.

I'm like, Okay, this man getting one hundred and ten mil. What is that? Thirty thirty five, thirty sixty years something like that.

Oh, I got to get that.

I got to see all of that, because if you look at it to me, City Lamb, Justin Jefferson, they're you know, one A, one B, whoever, whatever style you like. And if I'm CD, I'm like, look, last year, you know, Justin Jefferson was hurt a little bit, but I balled out. I was an All Pro out there. You know, I

Or is it kind of.

Plateau right now where it's at ceedee lamp. You got one of the top five quarterbacks international football.

Excuse me, His production's gonna his production's gonna keep rolling.

So if I'm CD, I'm looking my chops like, yeah, I'm gonna need all that, and y'all probably not gonna see me until I get a piece of that.

I'm gonna double down on that because I absolutely agree with you BC. I think that we said it last week when we were talking about Justin Jefferson.

I called it collusion. You know they hey, they talking about.

These contracts because they're gonna be market setting contracts. And if I'm CD, based off of the year that he had last year and before that, I'm basically saying, look, my trajectory, it's all the way up with me, right and just and kind of going back to Justin Jefferson's contract, and I think it was something we talked about pre show, was is a four year deal for him. So this is a twenty three year old guy that's gonna get an opportunity to come back to the table and get

We said, you know he's gonna get thirty five man, Man, it's a good it's a good day for CD Lamb. So wow, yeah, now it's five million dollars.

Oh, yesterday's price is not today.

Here's the thing, and I kind of go into this. Teams are now having to make the decision where do we go. The Viking said to Kirk Cousins, no more, We're not gonna do this. So Atlanta paid the freight on the contract, so they decided we're not going to do that.

They've got a rookie.

They've got a rookie quarterback now, so so you're gonna have to figure out how do you make this puzzle work for yourself.

Lamb will be here. He's young enough. You cannot afford to let him go.

I wonder if Jordan Jefferson would be a Minnesota They decide we're gonna pay the thirty five.

We're gonna do it. Parsons is not gonna go anywhere. He's too young.

They're not gonna let him go. And the way they're acting right now, I wonder what's gonna happen with the quarterback because you start talking about the numbers that are here, fifty five million for Prescott, thirty five million for Lamb, we haven't got to what Michael Parsons is going to get yet. You bring up Jake Ferguson to me, that's not even I'm not even gonna entertain that.

And men, thanks literally, I look at Jake Ferguson, who I like as a player.

But if you want to start talking about the tight end numbers and what that's gonna cost you and where you've got to go, you start looking at the rest of your team. I got Tyler Smith, I gotta pay. I'm gonna pay Tyler Smith before I paid it tightle. I can go find another Jake for This is where I've got to go to my front office to say, hey, look, we're gonna have to have you find some dudents for us because everyone just simply cannot get paid.

Diggs is making good money.

Now, yeah, Land, Okay.

There's an interesting thing about blaining deron Bland. I mean, what do you do there? I don't I put it like this. I'll pay my corner before I'll pay my titty, wouldn't you.

You can never have as many cover people right.

Right, So I simply can't. I can't go just find another hymp all due respects. Much like Jake Ferguson, you've you've seen that you can go. You found adult and Choultz you get fut that you can go do that you you have in front office. It understands what type of tight end you have. It's gonna be interesting. And that's where the quarterback. As long as the quarterback situation keeps going out here, haven't I'm having to wonder and ask myself is the quarterback going to be back?

It's not even look, I think when when it comes down to Dak, whichever side you you you go to with him, the inconsistency in the playoffs, you know what you get with him, all right, And regardless if Mike is here next year, this year, whatever it is, you know how solid of a player that you get those seventeen games, all right, there's no sense in bothering for the future against that.

To me, it's a no brainer.

You try and find a way between now and the beginning of the season to get Dak's deal done because you can't do it. To me, if you can't do anything else without getting that deal done, and if you just sit on your hands and say, look, we're not gonna do anything, and you let him walk at the end of the season. Then how much sense does that make If you don't get anything, you get nothing in return in that situation.

So you're right, But what part about any of this has made sense? Why didn't you lock up CD Lamb. Why did you lock up when you could have got it at twenty once you saw Tybree Kill get paid.

Why didn't you do a thing? Why didn't you pay dak before?

So as this thing keeps going on, yeah, I'm just starting to wonder who gets left by the side of the road.

Well, look, it's hard for me to go into the mind of what the front office is thinking, especially when you started the season saying all in, all right, and nothing has been all in since you've made the statement all right, and so this has been a very confusing offseason, to say the least. All right, we say preach all right, less is more. Maybe somebody said less is more, this

You don't know what the hell you're getting with.

That, You don't, Okay, So the trajectory, you get paid all this money, but you in Minnesota, you're not getting the balls, you know, touchdowns, but you're getting all this money. And so how does that look as a player for perception wise?

JA Dave Chappelle clutching that money, Okay, I'm just saying, somebody's cold. I got my quarterback. I'm clutching at thirty five. I'm gonna clutch at be.

Okay, Okay, and that may be the last that may be the last payday that you get. As we start talking about players in the future, and that can that can have direct ramifications on you in the future. So he's going to be looking at that. But if I'm CD, if I'm the Cowboys, I'm in a position right now with the quarterback that has shown me he's continuing to get better.

Where did that let that off? Last year? He got better MVP votes.

All of that second MVP voting.

But but why is he out here waiting on the deal still? That's the part Heckma that I can't get out of my head because he's done everything that tells you you should be signing him to a new deal.

Percent on what the deal getting done? What is your faith percentage wise on the deal get done? Where are you right now? See faith is no, no, no, hope, May don't don't do that? May I know you by the tell political as percentage? What is your percentage on that right now? What do you think?

Sixty percent of me says it gets done?

Sixty percent okay said?

The forty percent that's out there is I don't get it because Jerry and the past Troy never had to beg for dollars, Romo never had to beg for dollars. You've put dak on a franchise tag now and now we're sitting around here, floating around trying to.

Figure out what else? What does he have? Why isn't he signed?

I mean, this reminds me of the Lamar Jackson situation in Baltimore where some people believe there was collusion across the league about getting that done. But he can leave. You got nothing at the end. Why would did you even want to play this game? I don't understand. He did everything, in my opinion, outside of winning in the playoffs that you want him to do. You know, by the way, Lamar Jackson didn't do it either. No, he won the MVP.

Guy won the MVP.

Say both dudes laid eggs, so that for me, I don't understand. Jalen Hurts, they wrote to check no problem. Justin Herbert, they wrote to check no problem. What's the problem here? That's what I'm Kirk Cousins got a check.

Yeah, coming up an injury.

Jerry, Please tell me why you're a quarterback and you're the dude since you bought the team in eighty nine when you drafted Troitman and gave him a record to a couple track, you're the guy who always pays his people.

Is it the fact that he's I understand four rounded, but he was this was way, but he's turned himself into an all pro mvlact.

He led the league.

That they're making him like you said, beg for these dollars when you got guys Herberst my boy, they never want a playoff game.

I can see Hirs he took them to the super Bowl.

But these other guys, Kirk Cousins like you just named, they got stops, but there's no.

Productions with it.

Golf just got paid, yes, golf, and nothing against him. But we know they have assembled a team where there's a lot of help. Were big upfront, we got some running backs and we've invested in So they're not asking him to go be Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. They're not asking him to be that he got the cash. This is just weird to me. That's why I got the forty percent out of here because I've never seen Jerry operate in this fashion with his quarterback.

That's the disconnect between the fan base and the front office. Is when you start saying, as far as Dak is concerned, that he's basically like he's dancing for his meal. Right, but he is still when he got his deal, he's reset the market for quarterbacks at his deal.

Now time has gone.

On, you would have liked for that deal to have been done last year so you didn't have to worry about this.

And these are the things. All you're talking about dragging your feet.

That's it, because that got paid and he's gonna continue to get paid, all right, And so he's waiting on another because anybody's sitting out there, what do you mean that got paid top quarterback salary in the league at the time that he got that got paid guys, Yes, and they got to put a clause.

Hey man, we need you to look at this back.

Those are all those other things.

All those other things, don't these things are not even applicable to Dak because the guy is a football field in his backyard, all right, So you're not worried about him and his dedication to the game. All we're saying is you can't get any of these other deals done until you pay this guy. And everybody knows maybe you know, believer, it's different from right now.

You can okay, you can do that.

If you wanted to pay it, you could do that. I mean you paid digs.

I mean, if you wanted to go ahead to say, you know, we're gonna go here first, they can do that.

Yeah, that would that would store your cap from where your cap hit is with with that, That's all I'm saying.

They did it.

They did it before he signed last time around. They signed some other guys, so so you can do it. It doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't make sense the three of us here. Why would you do this in a league that's a quarterback league. How come you haven't gone ahead and say, boom, we're taking care of you. But you know, if you want to sit around here each French fries first and and go a hey broccoli.

And then well we'll get to the state later on.

I don't get it, and it and it just it just it boggles my mind because this is not I'm so much about history and looking at past things that people.

This is not the Joneses.

You know, Tony Tony you played with Tony never had to sing for no supper bro checks every single time.

Flip flops and hall. But do you think those the front office thought those were the guys and they're still out out on Prescott.

I mean that's to be the only that could be the only, like because.

Someone somewhere along the way there's a question.

So I guess what you're saying is you're in a waiting, wait and see situation with this season with Dak here.

That's the only way they've.

Done it before.

Yeah, that's I could think of. They've done it.

Before, they made the man play on a franchise tag.

I just I think you're beyond that point now. I think before I may I may have agreed with you, but I think you're beyond that point, especially after last season, especially.

After why they get no. They pin in the paper.

If he's the guy.

That's the million dollar question, this should get done. And that's why I asked the question. What's your percentage of getting the deal done? You say sixty percent. I believe the deal gets done before we go to camp.

What's percent? I'm seventy five you're saying before camp? See, yeah, I'm just period.

So you said he might go into the season without.

That's crazy. We've seen it before. Though, we've seen this before. I mean, so we're not talking about something that hasn't made a scratch our heads. That's true, and it's so out of character, so out of character for what they're doing.

I don't get it.

And and we'll dive into this next. Paying Trey Lance five point three million dollars and they're talking about him in a positive lot.

We'll talk about that. And is Michaeh.

Parsons Is Michael Parsons the leader? There was a column written about that. Barry Church is laughing, But we'll dive into that next. With Hey, Harrison plays Lounge right here on Dallas Cowboys dot com rall.

It's the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black, and right now Cowboys fans could get fifteen percent off their seventy five dollars order, plus because every deal needs a playmaker, your order will include a free five piece skincare set and free shipping. The Jack Black Playmaker is four of Jack's favorites and a full sized intense therapy wpball. Make a play for the playmaker at Getjack Black dot com slash Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP.

Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP.

I'm Danny McCrae, Dallas Cowboys alumni player here with Smoothie King and Smoothie King wants to ask you, what's that sound. That's the sound of us magically transforming our Smoothie bows into two new decadent flavors. Dig into a cool III or Pataya bowl, handcrafted with crunchy purely Elizabeth Rinola fresh strawberries and finished with the velvety chocolate hazel nut drizzle, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or anytime you want to munch.

To kick off the twenty twenty three NFL season, Hugo Boss teamed up with the NFL and Micah Parsons to launch an iconic apparel collection featuring hoodies, crews, T shirts, polos, joggers, and more. The bowld unique apparel of the Boss NFL collection unites football and fashion while reflecting what it truly means to be a boss. Get yours today at NFL shop dot com, slash Hugo Boss, at Hugo Boss dot com and at Boss retail stores hashtag be your own boss.

There is no eye in Dallas. There is no eye in heart, either no eye in Blue Star or a lone star for that matter, And there's no eye in how about them Cowboys? Smeirenough knows there's no eye in football. Football is a wee thing, an experience that is best enjoyed together with good drinks and good folks.

Home or away.

We rally together, we cry together, and we always rally cry together because there's definitely no eye in Cowboys. Fans smear enough we do game days, Please drink responsibly.

To the players lounge. The schedule is set in.

Limited tickets for the twenty twenty four Dallas Cowboys season at at and T Stadium are available now. Don't miss your chance to see your Cowboys live at at and T Stadium when they host the NFC East rival Blue Eagles, Giants and Commanders, plus the Saints, Ravens, Lions, Texans, Bengals and Bucks. Visit Dallascowboys dot com, slash tickets or seat geek dot com, the official primary ticketing partner of the Dallas Cowboys.

Thank you, heck Ma Harrison.

It is mandatory, mini, can't we here at the Star Cowboys getting After June four, five and six, head coach Mike McCarthy is going to be in year two of his offense here, So that to me should be exciting if you're Dak Prescott and CD Lamb, who had a great connection last year being all pro players, of what they could do a year two of this.

Trey Lance is the backup quarterback he was. They spoke about him once again.

Mike McCarthy was a lot of positive things to say that they're going to push him heavily for preseason preseason camp.

Out here disrespecting my guy out here, man, Now he's my guy, but you know before he wasn't respect.

What is he done?

What has Trey done to be like you know, all right, he's we're gonna slide him in there. We're gonna push and see, you know, see what he got. I understand preseason on a camp, But what has he done.

For him to just be next in line? The air the air apparent?

I just besides being a first round pick, like all right, so if he was a four or fifth round pick, are we still we're still doing? Like we come on, He's had opportunities last year he was here, didn't scratch the surface. Now all of a sudden, he's gonna be out there the trade package read out.

I'm dealing these days, me and CD can I just I don't see it, man.

I see the disrespect for now, and I respect that coming from you as a former player. I think you you understand that. That's probably how the locker room is speaking too. You know what has this guy done as he even because Cooper Rush has already shown you, he's given you that time proof and consistency that if all hell breaks loose, he can come in and be a guy that could be a gap for the four or

Now.

You know, he's reading defenses a lot better. Now we've taken a gamble on this guy, and we got at least talk him up if he's gonna have any equity for us to move on from in the future. So look, it's all just coaches speak to me. I didn't buy too much into that. Now these preseason games, you'll get an opportunity to see Trey you trigger Tray.

See how not right release. I just don't hear anything about it. The athletics. Come on, man, come on, we'll.

See what he got what he was supposed to do. I noticed your man and all, and we waited, were waiting on the debut. You see what he got the second coming.

The smiddy nobody wants to trust in Mike's.

Programmed might do it out there with my forty percent being out here talked about, you know, was I think sixty percent that they will sign Doak Prescott?

The forty percent is a part of that. Is Trey Lance here a part of that.

It is a to me, it's a part of the factoring in here because I've chatted with a couple of folks. So I still think they like to get that done. I think that's what they want to do. But clearly they're working on playing B. And if plan B is Lance rush the ticket, the Lance rush.

Ticket, they don't run it twenty twenty five. Maybe that's what they do.

But at this point in time, you cannot just dismiss it and say, nah, it's not going to happen.

The Lance Rush Tours. I just man, stranger things have happened.

Yeah, like Tony Romill coming to start a quarterback, because I remember me, Romo came in here with Terres Newman and was the fourth quarterback that you thought was gonna get cut until they cut Quincy. So we've seen crazier things happen around here. I just don't think you should laugh off Trey Lance. Don't laugh at Trey Lance off, Like, don't laugh at him like that.

Man, he did gonna come in here.

Don't laugh like that. Don't laugh man, Just trying to tell you, don't laugh. Don't laugh.

Man, I'm gonna come off the couch and.

Up.

Man.

I just can't see it personally. I just man, we'll see them. Why why because we haven't seen him done it before. And and look, time proof. You're big on this time proof and consistency thing, and we've seen it from Cooper Rush. And I just I just look, you're making me go. According's hands on you right now.

And so when you go Cooper Rush, okay, I go back to what he did with then McCarthy's program, because I saw what he was here.

Boy JG.

Don't like just say he took to New York and couldn't get that out of he was was the guy who got something out of us.

Okay, So the man's program he's showing.

I'm just more or less saying, guys, as long as this Dak contract hangs out here the way it's hanging out here, because when he gets the free agency, they can't stop it.

No, they can't stop it.

Right, it's over with. And so then it becomes a point of hey, man, who's gonna give you most money? How do I feel?

I mean, there's you're you're going and he may you let him go, he may not come back. And so if that's the case, then that means Lance Rush may be what you go with as your quarterback. It is a possibility, oh for sure. And I'm putting it in a forty percent possibility right now because I don't know.

And that and that great area to me, based off of the contracts that you're putting together, the team that you coming off of the season three seasons that you've had, why would you blow that up for a lesser known commodity in Trey Lance. To me, even if if even like Mike McCarthy right now, he's in his last year on his contract, he can't put his faith in Trey Lance right now. Your best way to get there is through Dak ever having a great season.

That's yes, what you say, Okay, heck man, what's yours? I'm not debating you. What you say makes sense, But it also doesn't make sense that your head coach, who's only only Andy Reid the last three years, has one more regular season games in him, is sitting around here singing for his supper, that your quarterback who led the league and touchdown passes second to the MVP, is singing. None of this makes sense. But this is what the

Because he's left the door open for that to happen. Cannot ignore that Jerry we trust.

I mean, like always said, he's never let somebody leave that he that he's won it, and he's paid weapons out here.

We talked about this last week.

And oh, by the way, if Mike McCarthy has a really good year, guess what he can do too, just like that, let me ease on out this door or find something better if I want to.

They can re up, then definitely he can.

Re up or he could go walk if he has another let's say, ten win season, four years in a row, ten plus win seasons in this league, and we all know this is a different kind of franchise to work for you your time in Jackson. Yeah right, it's a whole lot going on around here that Mike McCarthy.

Is going to show a prow that.

He heckma, it doesn't make any sense. No, we agree, it doesn't make sense, but this is what has been allowed to happen.

Yeah, from the beginning with Mike McCarthy. I said it coming into the Sea, coming into this offseason that that was the one deal that to me didn't make sense that that didn't get done to get him get his deal redone is from because that has anything to do with the salary cap or anything like that. And he's he's been successful. I just think it's the playoffs that

Campbell got a deal.

Let me think about that, you know, I mean, you know, okay, the body of work. I mean, Mike McCarthy is a Super Bowl coach who's come here and taken over for your man and done it out.

You know, takeaway the first year COVID year.

The guys. The guy's been on coaching. He's been coaching, and you got to sit around here. It doesn't make sense. Let's get our last break in here when we come back. Is Micah Parsons a leader? The question was asked by The Dallas Morning News. Dive into that next right here, oh the plays Dalas coyboge dot com read.

To kick off the twenty twenty three NFL season, Hugo teamed up with the NFL and Micah Parsons to launch an iconic apparel collection featuring hoodies, crews, T shirts, polos, joggers, and more. The bold, unique apparel of the Boss NFL collection unites football and fashion while reflecting what it truly means to be a boss. Get yours today at NFL shop dot com. Slash Hugo Boss at Hugo Boss dot com and at Boss retail stores hashtag be your own Boss.

Hi.

I'm Danny mccraig, Dallas Cowboys alumni player here with Smoothie King and Smoothieking.

Wants to ask you, what's that sound.

That's the sound of us magically transforming our smoothe bows into two new decadent flavors. Dig into a cool Iie or Pataya bowl, handcrafted with crunchy purely Elizabeth Rinola fresh strawberries and finished with the velvety chocolate hazel nut drizzle. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or anytime you want a munch. And that's the sound of you making them disappear. Smoothie bowls now in two new decadent flavors. Only at Smoothie King, the official Smoothie of the Dallas Cowboys.

It's the official men's skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys.

Yacht Black and right.

Now, Cowboys fans can get fifteen percent off their seventy five dollars order. Plus because every deal needs a playmaker, your order will include a free five piece skincare set and free shipping. The Jack Black Playmaker is four of Jack's favorites. And a full sized intense therapy whipball. Make a play for the playmaker at Getjack Black dot com slash Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP. That's get Jack Black dot com slash Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP.

I'm Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, and they snapper.

The press guy who looks right, it's not there.

He escapes left. He'll look for a first down.

Just like football, when it comes to crypto, it's important to have a team you can trust. With blockchain dot Com, I know I'm in good hands. Since twenty eleven, they've been trusted by millions around the world to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency.

Prescott's gonna run this himself, run it up the middle and he scores.

Whether you're new to crypto or an active trader, They've got you covered.

What are you waiting for?

Get started at blockchain dot com.

The players loude.

Join us for the third annual Dallas Cowboys June teenth Celebration presented by Miller Light Head to Miller Lighthouse at at and T Stadium on Saturday, June fifteenth from three to seven pm to enjoy live entertainment and shop local black owned businesses.

For more information on this.

Free event, visit atct stadium dot com slash Juneteenth, which is also, by the way, my twentieth wedding anniversary. We gave y'all y'all federal holiday. Appreciate, appreciated. Harrison Yeah Saturday, congratulations He Maharris twenty twenty.

He is Bury Church, Lewiscrus Players Lounge mandatory mini camp is this week, so Michael Parsons is required to be here June four, five six.

He has not been.

Here for the OTAs which is the uh that's voluntary, okay.

And to quote the great Darren Hamlet was I was there when he said it to me? What do volunteer mean? Jacky Valley reach?

What do what? Heavy on the duke? But do voluntary means?

So David Moore, the Dallas Morning News came up with the comps Dallas Cowboys, Michael Parsons is a star. That does not mean he is a leader. Soas no one should question Michael parsons drive to be great. Now, if you want to question his credentials as a leader, that's fair game. After the Cowboys got drilled forty eight thirty five to get Green Bay Packers. Parsons said, cool, I want to change the culture. I want to change the identity of what the Cowboys are. Cut the charades out,

So to get up.

I'm puffy, I'm all that, I'm all in the video.

To retire that one.

Everybody else out there and practicing. I just put on my stuff.

In that gun.

The boy you gotta see.

You gotta be there for the NBC intros and the Jumpo trun Dog.

You do it to make it happen.

And that's where Moore is like, you know, showing up in the start to shoot a video then pointedly not practicing with your teammates is another thing.

The optics are not good.

He says, they weren't good on Thursday with Parsons posted on X while his teammates were practicing at the Ford Center do the Rain. So that's where David Moore's column comes in and says, yeah, he's a star, but is he much of a leaders?

Start with you Church, I ain't gonna say, you know, he's a bad leader, and greatly you know, there's things that that he does out there or to where myself, you know, as a former captain, I wouldn't have done. But you know, it's a new age and a new time with these players, you know, getting their brands out there and being all in the spotlight and all that good stuff.

You know.

But something, you know, it resonated with me a little bit when you said, you know, twenty two weeks we need to lock in, we need to do this and that, you know. But at the same time, you know, after each game he's doing these podcasts and bringing up these bulletpoard materials, which is the extranists. You know, if you want to be locked in, be locked in. And you know, I think he's a leader as regards to his play on the field, Like if y'all want to be great,

And they didn't say bad, they just said he's not a leader. You're a star, but not a leader. I understand there are some people who felt that Tony Romo was a star, but he wasn't a leader. Okay, so this is not this is not something uncommon across sports where people will say, hey, star player, but that's not the guy that people are going to go follow. Troy Aikman was a great player, but people felt the heartbeat of the team was Michael Irvin. Not to say Troy

Yeah, you know, being a leader, And I just go back to what you said, Barry, because I think a lot of that comes from the experience as a former player. You talk about the locker room, the bulletin board material and things that you just don't give your team that you're playing AMMO against you. And we're in a new age. These guys have podcasts, they have endorsement deals. They're all protecting their brand because those are the things that they

I need hold on.

I need everybody else to lock in on how you play with number eleven.

Now, I'm not going to judge him on these OTAs. I'm not going to say it.

How many players have we had that have skipped OTAs and came in and had phenomenal seasons. Nobody's talking about that Week five, Week eight, Well, you know he missed voluntary training.

You know, against San Francisco.

Week five against San Francisco. Yeah, but this is what I'm saying to you, what I'm what I'm saying to you is.

That's the one guy. That's the one guy.

That I'm not worried about, because I need these other ten guys to support number eleven and make it where you can't double team this guy. If you're double team in on one side, Sam Williams, I need you to beat I need you to beat your guy.

I'll come back to you and simply say, this is the way we're talking about Dak rightfully so and not performing against San Francisco and not performing against Green.

Bay in the playoffs, we can say the same thing about number eleven.

Where were you? Yeah?

And when we want to people want to throw out the Lawrence Tailor comparisons and brother, where are you at?

Because legitimate he is right?

Okay, you want to look Dak Prescott legitimately criticized for what happened to playoffs. Micah should be as well. Where were you? Certainly not TJ Whiten It out there. You know when you want to compare yourself to these other dudes who actually have Defensive Player of the aarwards and you don't you leave yourself open. Heckma is what what mister Moore is saying. When you decide you want to do these things, you leave yourself open.

I get it, and look and Barry, I guess.

My My question to you is, as who has played you, yourself playing with dogs and guys in this league that have played at a high level. You know what this guy is gonna bring each and every week. But you also know that these offensive coordinators have schemed up. You're on one side of the ball. We've seen what you guys are doing. We're gonna scheme up for you. We're gonna run directly at you. We're no, this is this is what you're going to do. That's a whole different look.

What did San Francisco do Differently? They ran right at him.

What Yoda said, do it?

Do not?

There is no try this.

Said Yoda ain't never put on no helmet and got out there and did what Michael's doing. So you're not gonna tell me that Michael slipping when he's got forty point five. And also, by the way, there's only one other guy by the name of White that's done what this guy is doing. So in comparison to say that he's not a leader is off base. You need to find somebody else to talk about, because this guy right here, he that him, He is.

That guy him, He is that guy.

Packers didn't think so.

But about to say, but the new he's put that.

He against San Francisco has always shown up in the.

Playoffs, his hit.

The criticism of Dak Prescott is legitimate.

But you can but you don't put any of the guys.

You can also put it on Michael Parsons if you want to talk about I'm defensive player of the year on this, on that.

Where were you in the biggest game games? Lawrence Taylor was always here in the biggest games.

T J Watt being there, He's out there winning awards, getting there.

Miles Garrett is too. That's all I'm saying.

If you want to say I'm this, I'm that he is, then I need to see this.

When it counts.

At moments, it is Connor McDavid for Evanson Oiles, is that getting done, it's Luka Donches's Kyrie Irvy getting it done.

You get.

So basically, what you're saying about micaeh is that he's being perceived as his superstar in the league, but when the moments are big as he disappears.

Right now, when I look at the playoffs.

He wasn't where. He wasn't the player he needed to be. The quarterback wasn't the player he needed to be.

On the other.

Guys that wasn't the players that they needed to be. That's what I'm saying. You got more guys out there on the field that didn't play either.

You ain't about to They're not about to break the bank, are they.

Okay? All right, Okay, that's true. I mean, okay, get you know they are. That's support. I mean, where's Tito, where's you? You know, we beat up on.

Marty? Marty.

That's what we're paying the seam. Okay.

So what we're talking about, we're talking about is the best players. Okay, when you want to win these ships, you need your best players. Absolutely, Like Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Hey man, get it there, Chris Jones. You can't see the go ahead and get it done. The quarterback, the wide receiver, and the defensive end. Your star players did not get it done against Green Bay. They did not get it done against San Francisco. Those

That's everything else.

When I covered the Rangers, I saw Corey Seger go out there and go get his thing done. I saw native Valdi goes, you need your best players, especially when I'm about to write you a check as big as anything I need you to get.

I like what you said there, because even in putting it in a basketball analogy, now with the Mavericks going up against Boston, who has one of the top rosters in the NBA, what are you going to get from guys like Lively? Where are you going to get from these other guys, these role players that now can't just just separate themselves and go quietly into this. They got to play. And so guys like Tank, Lawrence, Dron Bland, Uh, Stephan Gilmour, those You had a lot of guys that

But when they win, do we say, you know, Adron Bland had a you know, even though Parsons had eight sacks, Dron Bland did this thing too or were we all saying Buffalo.

All right, I mean, you're right, well, you're right, you're.

Right that the criticism against the Cowboys was what were you doing against these teams who could run the ball on you and who were good?

Yeah, where did you put your starts up?

That was that was said for the quarterback, I mean the whole the whole outfit.

And that's where the that's where a whole argument about playing him at linebacker versus defensive end comes into play, because that's the way the teams have schemed it up versus Michael and he has to be tougher to that degree this season more than ever.

We're not doubting his talent. We're not doubting he is one of the great players in the league. What we are saying is, hey, man, when these playoff games are here, when these big games are here right now, you're not coming up with enough, and you have to come up with more, because that's what the great ones do. And I am one of those who refuses to even think and talk about him in the class of Lawrence Taylor

It's gonna be Lawrence Taylor's joke. You know, linebackers, spies, Joe Green, these dudes.

When you turn on the tape, man, they were tossing folks and when the biggest moments the Super Bowl, just tossing people. Man, you gotta get there. You can't just keep talking about it. You gotta get.

Michael Parsons is leaving left tackles in his Come on, man, you see how this guy is running by people. Don't You're taking isolated games and you're saying, look, this is a game you didn't show up in. But you're not talking about the games where he had two sacks. You're not talking about the game. Come on, mane that's what I'm saying.

That's easy to do, that's easy to do.

But you're not gonna discount Michael. You but you're not gonna do it. I'm not gonna let you do it. Go ahead' gonna let you have that cake. I'm gonna cut it too. Hey, I just cake, but that cake, yeah, put it on me. Though I don't know fun stuff, knew he would.

Fun. Thank you checking players right here. Dallas Cowboy dot com ready.

This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.