Player's Lounge: How Are We Feeling About This?

and Danny McCray. Gentlemen, Cowboys getting ready to face the Cincinnati Bengals right now. The Bengals have the third record in the league. They would draft third, the Cowboys would draft fifth. They meet in the queen City of Cincinnati on Saturday. How are we feeling about this so far? Church? Ah, Man, you know this game, this game coming up against Cincinnati. I think we might actually win. Man, I think we

might actually win. Don't confuse. That would be school, all right, that's not That's not me being back on the cooler or anything like that. I just feel like we have a good better chance of winning this game than any other game. So I'm gonna have to ride with Cowboys. But we'll do our predictions later. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I'm not sure. I think this is the time when you start to see guys pop up on the injury report who really not heard, and they start

packing in a little bit. And I say that just because you know, I see Zeke. I see Zeke is the first, the first the victim of the injury report. So we'll go through the rest of the week and see see how it plays out. But this is that time to where you start playing it for Vegas and playing for vacation and start seeing the family when you know you're pretty much out of there. So I'm not sure how our chances are to beat the Bengals. All right, The Cowboys are in their final four games of the season.

This is the final quarter, This is the push in December and the past we used to talk about how the Cowboys would have some tough times in December. Right now, as far as this December goes, it's really not gonna be much to remember, because while the Cowboys are technically still in the race for the NFC Championship, it does not feel like it feels like Baltimore was the end of the run. As Barry Church said he was done drinking the koo leg. So let us ask this question

here on the players line. Let's get right to it. Which players need to be in their final four games in a Dallas Cowboys uniform? If you were management, which players would you be looking at saying, you know what, we're gonna have to say goodbye to this player and move on from them after the season. Who'd like to go first? If you want me to go first, I got my list, I'm ready to go. I would love to hear Newi's take. I would love to hear NAT's take.

I want to see how you go about this. Okay, all right, first, wait, wait, wait, Louie, Wait, wait, Louie, Louie, Louie, hold on, hold on, look, I'm gonna hold this up for the camera, just so everybody knows. I'm not gonna have my names out. But I got my list because I don't want I don't want nobody to think that I saw your list and then I started changing it up. All right, I don't want I don't want that to happen. Church. I hope you got yours already written down. I don't

want to see no pins over there. You scratch the names out you know, you know, so you could they're okay, all right, all right, all right, go ahead, go ahead. I want to make sure all of the same page. Yes, Tyrone Crawford may nine million dollars this year. He's an unrestricted free agent the Cowboys. He told just go ahead and move on and say thank you. The past two and a half years and just it's not been there.

So Tyrone Crawford is off the list. The Cowboys defensive line, to me, has to be the first thing that they addressed in terms of improving it. So Tyrone Crawford would not be back on the football team. Chris Jones, the putner. Chris Jones's last two seasons have not been good. He's been injured. The punning and special teams you have not been good at all. Chris Jones had a great run, but like anything, it comes a point time where we

gotta say goodbye. So putter Chris Jones would become Xavier Woods. He'll be an unrestricted free agent. The Cowboys need to rebuild this defensive secondary along with that defensive line. I thought the game in Baltimore pretty much told us all we need to know, you know, thank you very much. I think the Cowboys were hoping that he could become a difference maker. He has not. I don't necessarily put

it all on Woods. I mean, when you're sitting around here drafted dudes in the fifth and sixth round, you can only expect so much. But they need to move on from him. Shaun Lee. Shaun Lee has been a warrior his time here. But Sean Lee, they need to stop it, just say say thank you. They want to offer him a spot in the organization somewhere, but you know, I'm sorry. You got too many questions at linebacker between Jalen and Layton vanderest you don't need a third question

with Sean Lee. Cheetah O Woozia at the corner spot. You drafted Cheeto in the second round. You hoped he could be a player. This was the year. If he was going to show you something, it was going to be in a money year. He was hurt. Um, he's just a guy. He's a jag. You can go find another guy, and you can get a Cheeto for a lot cheaper price than what you're paying here. Darren Thompson understood the free agent. You got a lot of guys

on your list. Thank you, Thank you, Darien. We appreciate your efforts, but you know, no, move on along Greg's arline the kicker. Uh, they can get out of this contract and not have to pay him over two million dollars next year. The cap George would be six hundred and sixty thousand dollars. So go ahead and and thank him for his service. UM called Kai four Bath back saying maybe sorry, uh, can we get you back on

that million dollars deal? Um? But you go right there. Um. So these are guys and I'm just sitting here looking at and I'm just saying, uh, you know, thank you, but but we need to we need to move on the way. Also, I'd be looking at it at Cam Murky swing tackle. He was only on a one year deal anyway. But but if you can't play, um, no, you're not doing any good. The Cowboys, in my opinion, need to seriously think about it in this draft of taking the tackle in the one of the first three

rounds or first four rounds. And I say that because as much as I am a Tyrant Smith fame and Tyrann Smith has Hall of Fame credentials and he's all decade player, we know he's been missing games the past four years and this year, you know, Tyrant play that first game and he's been out. Then when you've got Collins, you you've also invested heavily in. And these are guys

that you just can't cut because the salary cap. You need to get a swing tackle, because you cannot just sit up here and say that both of these gentlemen are gonna play sixteen games. So you need to use some capital at that position to go get a guy who can do it and not try to run around here with you know, cam irving cam flaming these dudes who can't get it done. So that's where you got to go there. So that's that's my list of guys who need to be in their final four games with

the Dallas Cowboys. As you turn this thing over, no, I love it, Douey, Hey say it with your chess man rattled scave all strong. I like it though, Man, You and me both got a lot of a lot of similarities in our list. Man, so I'm gonna go ahead and rattle off a few myself if you guys don't mind. Number one on my list, man, number one on my list, and this is my boy. I mean, I've been teammates with this guy for seven years when I was with the Cowboys. I mean six years when

I was with the Cowboys. But I mean it's his time and that's and that's Tyrone Crawford man. I mean you already said it knew he but you know that's a pile too much on him because you pretty much said I was I would get ready to say about him. But he's just making too much money, man. Ten million dollars this season and he didn't even record a single stat last week against Baltimore. No tackles, no sacks. I

don't even think he had a quarterback pressure. And when you're going when you're getting that much money from an organization, there's expectations that come along with that. Now, if he was making you know, maybe two or three mill, I don't think he would be on this list. But the expectations of a guy making ten million, you're gonna have to go out there and you're gonna have to produce. And that's just something that we haven't seen from Tyron

Crawford lately. I mean, yeah, I understand he's one of the leaders in the locker room and he kind of that guy in that defensive line room that everybody kind of respects and brings along with him. But he just, you know, leadership alone isn't worth ten million dollars. I'm sorry. So he's gonna he's gonna have to go after this year. I mean, like I said, as my boys, my teammate, but he's just making too much money and he's not producing enough. Next on my list, I would have to

go to a Woozier. I mean, look, this is a guy that he just has it develops in his time here with the Cowboys. They thought he was gonna be that guy. They thought he was gonna be that number two corner. And over these last two years he's been getting picked on. I mean, fifty fifty jump balls. Guys have been mostling them. Guys have been beating them deep.

And when he came back from injury with that hamstring, maybe a little bit too early, but he was on the field, he looked like he was carrying cinder blocks with him while he was running. He wasn't able to keep up with anybody. And as a corner in a national football league, you can't have that. You can't have that. Guys are too good out here. You gotta have a guy that can shut down on the other side, and

he just wasn't that this year. So I'm sorry, but you know, he might have to find free agency and might have to find a one year deal somewhere else to kind of get going with the rest of his career. Now, this one, this one might be a little bit of surprise to you guys, But I also got Alden Smith on my list. Now. Look, I know he came out early in the season and he was he's on fire. Everybody was like, oh, the Smith, Maddie. He know he's been five years off, but it was like, he only

missed five games. This guys out here, he's legit. And I'll admit it. I was on that kool aid train as well. But after those first three, three or four games, I mean, we've rarely heard from Alden Smith. I mean, he's been on the field and kind of a kind of a Tyran Crawford esque season. After after those first three games, I mean, he's on the field, but he's

not making plays. He's not generating stats out there, and as a premier rusher, if he hits the freemire, if he hits the market he's going to be a lot more than we're willing to pay him. So I think we let him go. I don't think we swallowed a bullet and signed him back or anything like that, because I think his production hit the ceiling after those first three games, and if you saw after that, he's gone downhill consistently after that. And that brings me to third

on my list. Gotta go woods man. I mean, it's just been downhill since he made those comments about not all the time we're hustling and all that stuff. You can't make those comments. And as a safety back, this defense needs. This defense needs a leader. This defense needs someone in the back end that can control the secondary, get him all on the same page, making sure everything is commuted to Cadie out there. And I just don't

think he's that guy. I don't know if he's young, or if the system he didn't really get the system like that, but as a free safety in the back end, you gotta be the quarterback of the defense, especially the secondary, and there was just too many lapses out there. We've seen too many busted coverages and I'm saying it all his fault. But as a leader back in there, in the secondary. You gotta be the quarterback, and you gotta

make sure everybody's on the same page. And he just hasn't been able to do that with his tenure here in Dallas. So hopefully he'll be able to pick his game up somewhere else, but I don't believe it's going to be in Dallas. And lastly, I put my boy, mister swite clear abews Jalen on my list and look and look, I know I'm not the only reason he's on this list is because I'm not sure if we if we designate him as a June first cut, I'm not sure if he counts that much against the cap.

But if that is true, if we can make him a designated June first cut and we don't have any cap penalty, then he gotta go. Man. Look, I mean, look this this guy. I mean, he just has been in decline since two thy and eighteen. He seems to be flying all over the field, but it's in the wrong direction. I mean, he just seems like a chicken with his head cut off out there just running around. So for me, I mean, look, he's a good dude off the field, but we need more. We need more,

and plus another. That's another guy with the expectations with money. I mean, when you're making whatever he's making. I think he's making nine or ten a year. You gotta match that on the field, and we just haven't seen it. We haven't seen this splash play. So my boy, Jaila, you made no tradamis aka Church's list of the cowboys who will be going next year. Goodness, y'all, listen, what what's left for me? Goodness, y'all. Y'all went hard. Y'all went hard. So I guess I'm gonna just have to

reiterate a couple of y'alls. Of course, you know new he said that text message yesterday with in the DM about how much Crawford was making, so he has to be number one on the list. Yeahs Nube. He asked me number on one, number one on the list if it's just because of how much money he's making versus the production, right, Like, I don't This one doesn't have anything to do with Nolan. As much as I want to blame it on him, I don't think this has

anything to do with Nolan. I think it just has to do the decline and his ability to play the defensive line position. So you know they got they got to get out of there and save that because they need some money one if they plan on getting backed back in the building to be they started quarterback next year, So get get getting my grad Crawford out of there. I love them, I played with him, but you know, the old guard sometimes you got to get out of there.

And that leads me into what newis said. But my guy fifty I talked about this earlier in the in the in the year when they were saying that Sean Lee was the guy who was coming in here giving all the speeches and being the leader of the team and all that stuff. He's not even the starter on the roster. He was he was out, he had surgery, and this is the guy you're looking to to be the leader on the field by sitting on the sideline

and and trying to coach people up. I think I won't say it in a sense to where it's just like winning as far as holding people back, but they have to make room for somebody else to become the true leader in that defensive locker room, and with Sean leader, I don't think that's ever gonna happen. So you know, great career. Uh, maybe he can go out there to to Oakland with I mean to Vegas with Besoccia and them with you know, and reconnect with him. But he

has to get out of there. Um. And I know that we can't get rid of this guy just based off the money. But if there's any way for us to move him and get something for him, I would

say it's Tyrant Smith. I mean, this is if you talk about not if you talk about not being dependable to you know, for your offensive line and for your offense to be out there and like like you handicapped the team when you practice all week or get ready all off season and then they have to you know, prepare this backup guy because you haven't been able to be out there. And he's making a ton of money. I think his contract doesn't isn't up to twenty twenty four.

So if you if there's a way for you to find a way to move on from him, uh, you know and save a little bread and get you another tackle in there, because you're gonna be picking out this year. Get you another tackle in there, like Louis said, to shure up this offensive line, then I would say you should get that done, my guy, Greg Zeroline, Oh my goodness, listen, get him out of here, Get him out, Get him out. It didn't it didn't make it. It didn't make any sense.

It didn't make any sense for you to bring him in, Like you had a service, serviceable guy back there already and you decided to let him go and then pay another guy seven million dollars to come over here and what you call him church? Hook him, luf, hook him luve? What are we talking about? He went from legatroun to

hook him love makes absolutely no sense to me. And I will say this, I'm a little I think differently than you guys on this Xavier wood state for his for his lack of production, to his decline, I have to blame it on Nolan. Last year, we looked at this guy and we saw that he had the potential to be some type of good player, maybe not a superstar, but he was going to be a serviceable safety in

the NFL. And within ten eleven months he has become absolute one hundred and eighty degree of what we thought that he was going to be. And if you look at this entire defense and this entire secondary and what we thought they were going to do this year and how they all declined because we weren't blind last year what we what we saw. We thought these guys were going to be able to improve from where they were, and they've declined. All of them across the board have

declined from where they were. So I have to put a lot of this on the defensive coaching staff and specifically the defensive back coaches. So I don't think he's that bad. I think you bring another leader at safety in here and you let him be you know, play you know, play second, and I think he'll be serviceable still, all right, Um, So so that's where we're out there.

I wanted to respond to the couple a couple names that you guys brought up here and why I didn't even them, And also Steven Jones has some pretty interesting comments about Dak Prescott and a contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Let's dive that next on the Players brought to you by Hotels dot Com on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Hey, they're Cowboys fans with type cleaners at home pickup and delivery.

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and look for star Review under the stadium tag. All Right, um, we were just talking about in the first segment players, we think should be in their final four games with the Cowboys. Okay, as they enter this final uh four games of the season. Now, Barrett, you brought up Jalen Smith, and here's one reason why I'll push back on you there. It will cost you nine point four million dollars to not have Jalen on the team next year. Even if

it's that's what post June cut. Well, you can split it up if you do it post June, so you can split it up that you basically want to go, you know, five million one year and basically five million next. But that's but yeah, that's that's still too much money out. You know, he would have to stay it in. I mean, that's still too to me, that's still too much dead money for to cut him with it. I mean so that I guess so so money that's why. So for me,

money becomes that issue. The Cowboys push a lot of money on guys into next year because they're trying to get under the cap. Go back to Tyrn Smith here, which you brought up, Danny, it would cost you fourteen million dollars in dead money to cut Tyron Smith in twenty twenty one. In twenty twenty two, it's fifteen million dollars. So Tyrant is basically going to be here. You put yourself in a position that it's kind of like barred against the credit card. The cowboys kept pushing his money

down the road. So it's gonna cost you a lot. And that's why I ended up go ahead. Does he have any value out there? That's why I say, isn't a way to move on from or get anything anything for Tyrn Smith? You know, not at all. I don't think so. No, we're talking about injury history. It's just horrible, man, and they're gonna and cowboys are gonna. I think the cowboys are gonna want too much for him to trade him off. And you know, I don't think the teams are willing. They would be to give a guy too

much for that injury history he has. They would be crazy that man. Listen, that should be when I'm NBA deal, sign it. Just get the contract off of you because it's and it's and listen, it's not his play. It's not nothing against him, like he can't control you know, his back and his neck and all that stuff. Like he's just getting injured. And it's been going on for the last few years. So, like I said, it's nothing against him personally, he just hasn't been able to stay

healthy and that is hand becapping the team. And that started when against in the Atlanta game, when we saw Clayborne coming against six secks. That was the most eye opening thing for Tyrris Live being out of the game that I've seen since I've been here. Well, and just go back to what you guys were both talking about here. So if you just both went okay and they took took your suggestion in terms of taking of releasing Jalen Smith and Tyrn Tyring, you're talking about fifteen million dollars

I mean, I mean twenty five million dollars basically. Uh, And that's just you know, twenty four million bucks. And that's just in a year where the salary cap is going to go down, you're basically just gonna have to eat it for a year. I'll say this in Jalen's defense, let me get another coordinator in here and then start to look at what do I really have because in my opinion, I don't think Mike Nolan did right by

either player vander Esh, Jalen Smith, Riven Shanlee. I just don't think I just do not think these guys fit this system. I don't think that Lake Banderesh is a middle linebacker. I think Lake Vanderesh is an outside linebacker. I don't want a guy with the next problem in the middle. So I just think there's so many issues with this defense that I look at a guy who's got a high number and say, you know what, I'll

give one more year. And then, by the way, the outtime for the Cowboys on this deal is after the twenty twenty one season now, so that's really where, Okay, how can you get out of this deal and not kill your cap. It's going to be in twenty twenty after the twenty twenty one season, and then it's a six million dollars hit, so you can say, okay, we'll cut it. Do a post June first cut. Do three

million one year, three million the next. That's that's a little bit more manageable, and you might have Dak Prescott already done, and then you can kind of maneuver some things a little bit bit better. When you start to look at that thing. It's kind of like with Greg's rline here that you get rid of you cut this guy out of this year you know, your dead cap hit is only going to be six hundred and sixty

six thousand dollars. You can make that work versus trying to pay this guy two point three million dollars the next year. So that was kind of just, you know, in terms of looking at why kind of with the way I did with that and not putting those guys on my list. Yeah, and I don't go back to the linebackers real quick. I never understood well, first of all, Mike Nolan's gone to begin with, But I never understood why they switched those guys up because I understand, you know,

I get it. You know, vander esh he's a bigger body, and you kind of want a bigger body banging in there, but he had those neck issues. And with Jalen Smith, he could have been in the middle linebacker because he doesn't move side to side well. And as a will linebacker, you got to be able to move well in space

and that's just something Jalen doesn't do. So I would have stuck Jalen right in that middle, made him between the tackle player and he come down here that's exactly what he does best, and leave vander Esch on the outside as a will because he can move side to side,

he has some lateral movement ability. So I think Mike Nolan, you're right, knew we I think he did a disservice to all three of those linebackers by switching those positions when he came in, and we might have seen a better a better linebacker corps if they hadn't did that. So I don't know, man, I guess we could give these guys one more year and then to see how it play out after that. Listen, Church, you got you gotta be honest with yourself about about what they were

in last year and what they're in now. You gotta remember that Mary and Nelly in front of those linebackers, they did a lot of stunts, a lot of a lot of pirates, a lot of a lot of games in front of them, so they didn't have to take on those blocks head on every every every time that the ball was ran. So it was a lot of chasing side to side. When you got d Law and the defensive linemen going spiking into the A gap and B gap, then you got Vanderish and Jay Leon Smith

running sideline of the sideline getting over the top. So that's why you saw a lot of that pursuit and you saw those being saw those guys being able to run side a lot of sideline because what was in front of them when they were playing D line. Now it's just guys two gapping and then you gotta come. You gotta come meet the fullback or or the offensive tackle head to head, and we're seeing them, you know, not not do so well in those situations. Mccrai. Let

me jump on what you just said there. And also, and this is another defensive of the linebacking group in general. When you're D line is as bad as the Cowboys D line, especially up the middle, it's hard to be

a good linebacker in this league. I was talking with someone who who coached the Ravens and by the way, Mike Nolan used to be the Ravens if it's a coordinator, and they spoke about how they always had to make sure they had some good guys the front flour to keep Ray Lewis free, and that ray Lewis would basically man a guard, could you know, or you know, a tackle could get on ray Lewis and they could just

push him around. And so because you know, ray was Ravens wasn't that big of a players, a heck of a players, a Hall of famer, But that was the thing. They had to try and keep it clean for Ray so he could get in there. Um, these linebackers haven't had it clean for two years, Okay, in in my opinion, I don't think they've had it clean for two years right now. We look at their play some of it. You can look at what's happened at the front four.

That's why I would be leaning it in terms of just saying, hey, look, I'll give one more year and let's see what we can do up front as an organization to get this front four a heck of a lot better. Because what they've got right now, I'm sorry it's not working. Yeah, that's true, true, And we also got to take it too account. I mean it they didn't have an off season, they didn't have any type of OTAs, no type of captain's workouts, they had an

abbreviated training camp, and no preseason. So I mean, I know those are all excuses, and then you know a lot of the NFL teams had to go through the same thing. But I think we need to get these guys just just one more after watch you definitely knew it. You spoke me into into giving these guys one more. I was ready to get rid of Jalen with the quickness, but yeah, yeah, I would. I wouldn't get rid of Jalen.

But I'm with you on the all the Smith for a man, because one we're known to overpay guys, and I could see that being one guy that they decided that they just go overpayes because they saw some potential in the first few games and try to use that same excuse that you just used with no off season he was coming off you know, five year hiatus and

all this other stuff. Don't overpay this guy, move on, go find you another another guy to play that position, or just invest in Randy Gregory because we've seen him be able to play once again in as long as you can depend on him to, you know, to stay available for you. All right, let me throw this out

here on the Alden Smith thing. What if there's certain teams out there they're looking at an Alden Smith to say, you know, because of what happened in the past, we're probably gonna hit the pause if they don't trust them. And then with the salary cap going down, We're gonna

see some massive discounts on some very good players. So the Cowboys could elect not to sign Alden Smith and they may be able to go get themselves another guy, you know, who could turn out to be a good player who fits in here, who another team says, you know, we don't want to pay that guy. It didn't work out with Everson Griffin, but it worked out the year

before with Robert Quinn. So the Cowboys could find themselves, you know, and then they got Alden Smiths, So the Cowboys could find themselves in the market for another discounted defensive end. Right now, they've gotten the fifth pick in the draft, so maybe a top defensive end player is there,

or a top defensive tackle player is there. So I think that you may be able to get him back at a good rate, because you know, there's gonna be this is gonna be dollar general prices out here for some really good players this off season because the cat in the way it is, man, you know, it's gonna be interesting. Would you would you want him back newly, even if at at a at a discount, at a discount of rate, would you want him back that has he shown that much that he's earned the right to

come back. Um, once again, I'll say this, tell me who my coordinator is and and that's the conversation I would like to have with my guy. If my coordinators say, hey, look, let's let's you know, here's our free age. You know, you could bring in the coordinator and like anything, you run through the roster, what do you think about this player who's available? This is what the draft looks like. And I would say, make a make a decision there.

Alden Smith may may decide he doesn't want to be here, especially if they change the scheme to straight forward three and he decides, you know, I don't want to go go my hand down. So you know, that's another thing there. We talk about some of these guys who are understrict the free ages, as though they want to come back, maybe they don't want to be back. You know, maybe Tito Tito May Tito, Who's he says, you know, man, I had enough of this. I don't want to be

on this. This defense ain't no good. Um, I want to go somewhere else, you know, same thing with zaber Woods, some other guy. I mean, there's gonna be guy Jordan, because say the same thing. There's some guys who might say I don't want to be in Dallas anymore, So I will say, let's say this. I will say, this's a bit of advice to all those young dbs and young guys coming up another organization out there, like the

Dallas Cowboys. As far as money on the field and off the field, I promise you the grass is not always greener. So put all that into account when you're making your choice in free agency. Just don't go chasing the money list today. That's just an old man. That's just an old man giving advice. And let me wrap up this all the Smith thing, all right, because listen, if it's one position on the field, actually one player right now that I will not allow Mike Nolan to

be put the blame on. It's all the Smith to me, Like when I when I talked about the Marcus Lawrence, it was, hey, man, the dude is not used to putting his hand down. Now he's playing standing up all this. If there's one guy who knew the scheme and was used to doing the stuff that Mike Nolan is asking these people, asking these guys to do, it's all the Smith. And we saw it at the beginning, and then we saw the drop off, you know, as the season has

been going on. So as far as bringing in a new coordinator and finding out, you know, if Mike Nolan was the reason for him not being able to produce like like we expected him to be able to do. I can't give that one, annot sniff. I think we've seen what he has left in the tank and it's time to move on from it. All right, m boy, We just got some more juicy details about the Cowboys and effort. Hear what one player has to say about the head coach having to address address the effort of

the football team. Will do that next on the players lads right here on Dallas Cowboys dot Com read each game day. You know what that means. First, Cubob Prepper, Steak Pepper running and Steake Pepper running. Next, a counter Clarkway's lamp around the rule. Now the lucky grease stained jersey goes on. I'm leslie the Jarns. You know. The

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All Right correction here deadcap hit money on tyrn Smith. It is eight point eight million dollars okay, that's it for twenty twenty one. Eight point eight million bucks. That's still a high number. It's not the fourteen that I thought it was, but it is still eight million bucks. But it's saving five. Is that saving? You gotta pay him fourteen, but you release them and only pay eight for the dead cap. You're saving five though, right, all right? So let's say this. You you cut him, You tell

me where you're going. If you don't have Smith at left tackle, you're gonna put the punds over there. No, you're getting a high draft pick. You gotta get this offensive line right now. Oh no, we gotta go defense with the draft. You gotta address, you gotta dress. I'm not the line. The reason, the reason he's got to be lined, the reason I'm not addressing. Listen, the best years of the Dallas Cowboys have been win when the offensive line was top notch and running and running the show,

not the defense. You already got a hundred million dollars on one player on the defensive line. Get rid of Tyres. You already got LC out there coming back at right tackle. Get show up your love tackle position and play the offensive game. And Mike McCarthy wants to play no, n no, thank you, thank you. If you draft, if you draft a defensive lineman and with the with the with the fifth pick, you are making a mistake. I don't care what y'all saying. That is that will be a total.

We got to be on the d line as long as it's on the defense. We need to spend at least six of the seventh picks. Gotta be on defense. Man, this team, this defensive team was prociers and we got so many free agents. I mean, we got we got a so so so when so when are you addressing

the left tackle? I told you, I said within my first four picks, but my first pick right now, and I probably my first, second, and third might even be right here on on on defense, Danny, do you realize the Cowboys have given up more points than the New York Jets this year? I also realized that yesterday. You know, but but but I know who the defensive coordinator is. These guys were not that. These are the same dudes. These guys were not that bad last year. They came

in here, change the skins and gave up everything. I'm not listening defense. I know I ain't hearing MC Craze says, it's all on the it's all on the coaches. No, no, I'm not I'm saying. I'm saying that our offense, like taking care of my offensive line and Dak Prescott who's coming off an injury, is more important than picking a defensive line and number five in the draft. That's what I'm saying. I'll take I'll take my chances on Tyrn

Smith next year and playing two games. Go ahead, take my chances on Tyrn Smith coming back next year, Lele Collins coming back next year and using a pick along the way for a tackle. Like I said, but it's not gonna be my first pick. My first pick, and probably my second pick going straight to defense and probably defensive line. It'd be defensive line, defensive backfield. But I'm

fixing this defense. This defense is bad. It has to be fixed, even if I go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, and go ahead now go ahead ahead no no, no no, no, no go go go oh. All right, So I'm about to say he also gotta take into the account with Tyren Smith those injuries in his past years, he ended up going throughout the season like he didn't stop the season, he didn't rest He didn't get surgery to fix it. He just thought, you know, after the seasons, then we're

gonna take it. We're gonna take a accountability for it. We're gonna fix it after season. But this year, I mean, he exited early, so he's had months and months off and he's gonna have the whole off season. He might come back refreshing, ready to roll. That's all I'm saying. Church. I would rather put him at tackle than go ahead and draft one in the first system I know my defense. This is literally the most time Tyres Smith's hand off in his whole career. This year he came got hurt.

So I'm talking about thefore the season, before the season, they had no off season, they had no OTAs, they had no real training camp. This is the most time that the dude has had off and he he didn't have some Church. He came back and having a new injury. It was the back, and that was the net. He's gonna be right, all right, I've been ended. Let's end this one. He had moved on to the next top and he ended this one. Danny, Uh, your mindset is

not the mindset of the Jones family. So so let's just end it right there, and let's move right because I because I want to pick Justin Jefferson. You're right, they don't have my mindset. We would add Justin Jefferson on the squad for two hundred a game. Okay, that's good, That's that's good to know. Guys have decided. Glad LSU's decided not to play in a bowl game this year too. That's really really, really kind to them. We're gonna miss. We're gonna miss a lot of my bowl games than that.

Don't worry Mada. John Macholda, the athletic who covers the Cowboys It's a fine job, tweeted this out twenty eight minutes ago. Let me read the tweet. Cowboys linebacker Jalen Smith said, it's quote unacceptable end quote that Mike McCarthy had to address the team today about their effort. Quote. We can all give more effort. And that goes for all the players, including myself, and the same for the coaches. It's a big reason why we are where we are

in quote. That's a lot to unpack right there. Would you like to start first, Danny McCrae, I mean, let's I don't have much of sin. But we addressed this when Xavier Woods came out in the media and said, you can't expect us to hustle for the entire game. You talk about the entire game. Jayleen Smith should have addressed that. Then they should have had somebody locker roll say age, Aya, I don't know what you're talking about.

You need to go recant that statement and say, hey, I made a mistake and I should be the first one out there hustling for every snap that I'm on the field. This is no surprise to me. I'm starting to wonder who anonymous is Jaalon Smith coming out here to talk about the means that they have an inside the team means and stuff. Let's get the let's get this stuff figuring out bro some stuff. It's supposed to stay in house. We know y'all late hustling. We watched

the same film that y'all watching. It's week twelve. Now it's a little bit too late to fix this. We know y'all, and usting y'all about to turn the corner on us and get us drinking no kool aid. So I mean it is what it is. Look, it's just talk, talk and more talk. I mean that's all we've seen from this Cowboys team, especially on the defensive side of

the ball. I think it was like week three or week four through Cleveland came in there, you know, the Marcus Lawrence got on there talking about where soft as you know what, and it's just all talking. We need to turn it around, we need to turn it around, and it's just nothing. All we hear is talk but no results out there. And this is another reason why I think Jalen needs to exit, because I mean, he's supposed to be the leader of this team. He's supposed

to be the guy that's you know everybody. I'm taking accountability for everybody. This is my team, this is my defense. But you never hear in any of his post interviews or anything like that. He always says we need to do this or we need to do that. It's never starts with him. It's never like, oh no, I need to take accountable lead for my play. I've been doing this or I've been doing that. It's never that it's wee wee wee, or but when it's something good. Now,

when he's getting picks or when he's doing something good. Yeah, you saw how I read the quarterback on that one, I had to float back and you know, I had to get the interception on that one. I just don't think he's a great leader for this team, and his play has just not warranted what he's making off the field. Hey, Church, where does where does the lack of effort come in at? Like?

How does that trickle into the locker room? And just go through all twelve weeks of the season to where you try to address it, you know, in the first couple of weeks, and then you go, you know, getting the meeting, you said we're gonna fix this, and then the next four weeks you have the same issue. Then you go out there and get stuffed again and you turn the film on and you say, look, guys, this is the same stuff we've been talking about since week two.

We talked about it again in week six, we talked about again in week eight, and now we're back here in week twelve talking about the same stuff. Do you like just throw your hands up in there, like, all right, y'all, if y'all ain't gona hustle, you know, I'm just getting rid of y'all. At the end of the season, I understand where y'all at or is this something that you're like, all right, listen, all right, now it's time to turn

it on. Do we realize that we aren't hustling when we are out there on the field, Like I'm trying, I'm trying to see what the mindset is, because, like I said, when Marinella was here, all shout out to him for we was accountability on if you were loafing

and you were not hustling. And I want to know if these dudes in there looking at that same type of sheet and seeing twenty and thirty loads out there on that sheet per game and being like, all right, I'm going to continue to do the same thing because they are they got no respect for anybody in that defensive room. Player, there's our coaches. It's no way, There's

no way, because you know how Marinelli had. He had to chart up there, and he had a chart where there's loads, there's big plays, there's big hits, there's taking a ball away. And if you saw your name on that loaf chart, you were embarrassed because you know Marinelli, as soon as we got to that meeting, he was gonna pull out that pointer and just circle man Church. You had about eight loads of this game, and it was embarrassing. You didn't want to go into that meeting room.

You felt less than a man going in there getting pointed out for loafing. And they and they put it on blasts and it's just like there's just no accountability with this defense. You know, one day it's we gotta work on hustling, we gotta work on hustling. But then they do to hustle, and then there's mental errors. And then when they there's no mental errors, there's no hustle. It's like they just can't get out of their own way.

They just don't know. It's just it's I don't know, I might have a loss for words about this defense, but you're right, mccraye. It's like they just don't have the respect for one another out there on the field, Like he'll make the play, that guy could do it. It's just I haven't seen anything like this in a long time. All right, let me give you a little bit more from Jail and Smith, where he says it's non negotiable. Your effort has to be there, and uh,

he says goes for players and coaches. It's a big reason why we are where we are, Why are you talking about these coaches. I'm just just just saying this is this is, this is what it was. Um Uh. Somebody in the building told me this season he said, one problem is nobody mother f's any of these players. And then I had another person tell me who they don't work in the building. Another person said, there's an

entitlement factor that players have around the building. How do you feel about those two statements that I was told? It where your feelings? I think it's one hundred percent right. I think it is a one hundred percent right. Not Not enough players are fearing the coaches or the repercussions of bad play out there, and they just think, hey, you know I can play bad, I'll still be right in my checker. I'll still be able to cash my check. It's just no accountability and there's no fear of losing

a job or getting mother or like you said, getting MFTR. Yes, yes, same here. But like I said, the respect factor for the guy that you line it up next to and your coaches in the locker room in an organization, to me, is not there, especially when you have to address effort this many times in one season after you turn on the tape and you hear all the commentators, all your family and friends, everybody that's in the organization saying, man, this team is not hustle. They're not out there giving

one hundred percent. You listen to this the entire season and you don't go out there and fix it. That is a big deal. I am wondering though, why Jaylen Smith continues to keep saying players and coaches address the people in your locker room, stop talking about the coaching. You're gonna go out there and you're going to play what they call do the technique that they teach you

to play. What you can control yourself as a team and as an individual player is how much effort you give while you're out there in the game on the field. That's all you need to worry about. Lead them coaches alone, this is it just sends a bad signal, like I don't like hearing that. Now, Danny, let me ask this question here in the final two minutes that we have, what does it say about what Mark Mike McCarthy is doing as a head coach that these guys don't have

the effort that you need. That they had two weeks off to get ready for a Baltimore and Baltimore runs for basically three hundred yards, and guys look so lost out there on the football field. That is that his homeboy Micnolan don't know what he's doing. He doesn't he doesn't know how he's not leading correctly to get his information down from his mind into his position coaches and

down to his players. Somehow there's a disconnect from what he's seeing on the paper when he wants to put the scheme in to how he's communicating it to his uh secondary coaches and his linebacker coaches, the line coaches, and how they're communicated to the players. Because let's getting lost in there, all right, all right, we did not get a chance to dive into Stephen Jones and his um position on Dak Prescott. Let's save that for tomorrow.

We'll get into it, and then also we can revisit more of this in terms of talking about the effort for the Cowboys, because if I'm head coach Mike McCarthy, I'm worried. If I'm Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones, I'm really worried because if guys are wearing this star and are walking out there not giving their effort. That's a problem because the best teams in the league, this isn't an issue, and clearly it's an issue right now in that locker room. So we've got more to dive into.

It has been a fun time here in our FWBC Virtual Mortgage Home studios here, so Danny mccraie, Barry Church too, four Dallas Cowboys. Good stuff. Let's do it tomorrow at two thirty pm. Chris Beam, our producer, awesome job. As always, I'm newly scrubs signing off right here on the Players and Outpact to by Hotels dot Com on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.