Player's Lounge: Need More Splash Players?

mccraig and Barry Church. Okay, gentlemen, before we dive into a whole lot of issues, not just the Cowboys around the National Football League. I was watching Monday Night football and I couldn't help but remember how Barry gave out this great prediction before the game of a thirty one twenty one, a ten point raven beat down that he was expecting against. And Barry was telling us, how, you know,

trust trust Church, You're gonna take us a church. And I just surely hope nobody putting no cash on that ten point. I don't know why, I don't know why I follow Notre Damaso is a fraud like like like I always say, man, with friends like y'all. Who needs enemy? That's all I got to say. I'm just I mean, Barry. When you said it, I wrote it down. I was like, oh my gosh, when the last time we started beat by ten points. I mean I had confidence. I had confidence, man,

I mean I let my heart. I left my heart. I went with my heart into my head. Man. I was going with my fantasy. I was hoping, you know, Baltimore would do something. But they let me down. Man, they let me down. But my thing was ten. I mean, my homes beat by ten. I mean, I can't even think of the last time these dudes got beat by ten points. But I had a three point when I Kansas City twenty four twenty one, and then thirty three twenty seven is what Danny had. But you know, I

just want to make sure we let you. I'll be as I'll be. You know, we got we got next week predictions coming up, so I'll be a hopefully even putting no diaper money on that game, you know, a typer money. We're scraping by, man, we're scraping by over here. Yeah yeah, yeah, all right. The Cowboys. Cowboys are one and two. Cleveland is coming to town at two and one.

But the bigger news, which affects two clubs today Tennessee in Minnesota, but actually affects a whole lot of clubs because the way the NFL and the nfl PA handled the situation is going to be very interesting. In case you have not heard, three Titans players have tested positive for COVID nineteen with five staffers. Tennessee shut down their whole facility until Saturday. They played the Vikings over the weekend. That game was held up in Minnesota. Minnesota closed its facilities.

They have not had any positive tests. There's still awaiting results. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the NFL wants to play the Titan Steelers game on Sunday, and if they have to move it into Monday, they will. That game is expected to be in Nashville. So you guys were in the players association and tell me how does a situation like this work where the players have concerns and they want those concerns relayed to the team. How does

the team rep go about this? For Tennessee in Minnesota at this point in time, Barry dany Ill a little bit start, go ahead, Ladie matt Oh well, at first, I want to say, man, isn't an ironic right? Who who was the quarterback that was talking about day worried about COVID and all out of all this other stuff and look the irony other sension. Way, boy, it's something else. You know. I just want to get that shout out to you, Kirk Cousin, because y'all sucking this year anyways.

Um nah, So you know, I imagine that you know, this was discussed, you know, before the season even started. They had to have some idea that something like this will happen, to have some type of protocols in place to where they will be able to handle the situation. So hopefully, um you know, the player of rep is just reiterating, you know, what they originally told them before the season started, and you know, and calming the players down.

You know, they all have a right to be concerned, but they all you know, when they said yes to go throughout the season, they all signed up and knew that at some point that this will happen. So just reiterating it and you know, and calming them down and making sure that everybody's following all the rules and they

don't put anybody at risk. So this if this game needs to be moved back, you know further than Monday that you know, the NFL and NFLPA can agree to do that, and if they feel safe with doing it on Monday or Sunday and the players feel that way, then let them go out there and play. But you know, hopefully it's pushed back a little bit further because I don't know, the quarantine period is like fourteen days, so

that's pretty quick. Yeah, I think that's really quick if they if they went ahead and just push it just a couple of days or just one day over the Monday. Um, just knowing how the protocols work and they make sure everybody's out at least two weeks before they come back around. So you know, I don't I don't see this game being pushed back to Monday. Hopefully they they make up

for it in a bye week or something. But um, like like you said, um D Smith and those boys, there was protocols going out to all the teams, so I'm sure they'll go ahead and review those protocols and how the players do as such. Um. But like when Crais said, I mean all these players they pretty much signed up for this. I mean, they had an opportunity

to opt out and they chose to keep going. So hopefully, you know, no bad ramifications comes from this outbreak, and hopefully they can contain it in Tennessee because, um, like you said, if if it's spread to Minnesota and then who knows, you know, where those players are going after that. So hopefully they can just have it contained to that one club. Intendant see and they'll push this game back a little bit and we'll get it resolved a little

bit later. But as far as the protocols go, I'm sure d Smiths reached out to both teams and all teams throughout the NFL, and they're going through as such. Minnesota sent out a statement about four hours ago saying they had no positive COVID tests. Judy Bautista of NFL dot Com had an interesting tweak. She put this about

an hour ago. Let me read it. Says, I don't know what the NFL will finally decide about Sunday's games, but remember that owners were told there could be competitive inequities this season, and a committee of former players, coaches gems was formed to advise Roger Goodell on these issues.

Lots of moving parts, So that's that. And then also Mike Garafolo of NFL dot Com says Titan coaches have told players if they have to go to go without any work until Saturday, they're gonna have a walkthrough, then play the Steelers Sunday, and that's what they'll do, no excuses. So who it getting blasted and get and get ram rotted. I mean, you're telling me they're gonna go in there with just walking through, the walking through what they got for the Steelers on the whole man, the good luck

to you, I'm telling you good luck. That's just it ain't gonna work. I hope, I hope, listen, I hope this doesn't happen. But I'm just imagining the lou Will situation, trying to figure out, you know, where the first case of this came from, and what that person was doing to contract COVID, and hopefully he was he or she was was not out doing something they weren't supposed to be doing. And this just doesn't run rampant just because somebody was breaking the rules. So hopefully that doesn't happen.

But I just keep thinking of lou Will going to the Strip club for chicken wings. Let Pepper lou Let me be fair here too. Something I left out here. I should have said that all eight people with Tennessee were asymptomatic. Okay, so the asymptomatic and we'll see exactly what what goes on further there. But you bring up a very interesting point there, guys, when you say that if they go without work and they got to show up and play the Steelers and they will get blasted.

Let me go ahead and move James Conner up in my fantasy lineup. Go ahead, lockdown James Connor, putting him my number one running back to the Steelers. And that's right there there. We go ahead, go ahead and set that right there. So what's your so far? What's your record so far? To one in two? One in two? The first week I played the guy who who just he had everybody rolling, He had he had everybody rolling.

And then the second week is where I messed up with the James Connor situation because I sat him and had I played him by the one by four. Instead I ended up losing. This week, we played James Connor again, and so we were rolling. We're rolling. So we're on the CoA a you know, like Mike McCarthy. Like Mike McCarthy, I was making some mistakes. I had to correct a mistake. They were correctable mistakes, so I made my correct Yours

wouldn't half as bad as McCarthy's. But we you know, we touched on that next week, probably touching on that next week. I hopefully we're talking about a blowout of summer. We're sitting here with the same record at one and two. One of the things that we spoke about yesterday and I was just kind of looking into today since we had, you know, some final statistic numbers because of the Monday night game was in. I want to look at see where Ezekiel Elliott was at here, and he is nintheen

yards right now, two hundred and nineteen yards. He is third in the NFL and attempts with the fifty eight he is ninth and average per game seventy three yards per game, and he's tied for seventh with three touchdowns. Um your thoughts, Church then, McCray on the usage of Ezekiel Elliott three games into this season under McCarthy. Look, I think you know those three games he's getting his touches as you see, I mean he's top tending some of these touches in some of these areas, so I

think they're getting them the touches. And that's even with last week's game, him not really getting that that good users are getting that ball rolling for him. So I feel like, so far, so good this year. I mean, they let him run the ball a little bit in LA and then as we offous and we saw Atlanta, he was able to pound Atlanta's defense down and get the get the engine rolling on that offense. So as of right now, yes, I would like to see him being run a little bit more, especially early on in

the game. They got away from that last week in Seattle. But um, so far, I mean, you know, I can't I can't complain saying he needs a lot more, but I think a little bit more running touches should should provide well for this offense. Yeah, I honestly, I think he's okay. But I don't even think it's, you know,

necessarily about his touches. I think it's about him being the focal point of the offense, like running off of him and then if he isn't open, and then throw it to somebody else or you know, just just just make the play based off what happens to Ezekiel Elliott, and I think that will help us get a little

bit more successful. Uh, you know, we keep falling behind, and I think that we can kind of negate that if we get him going early and get some of those long drives and get him rolling and punishing those those defenders. Because when you get Ezekiel going early and he's falling forward for four or five yards, that is

demoralizing to a defense. And I think that we can get that done early in the game so we don't end up being behind so you know, so quick and then have to go to throwing them you know, flat routes and screens when everybody already know it's gonna be passed, because that kind of takes away, you know, the element of surprise or the element of creativity for getting Zeke involved in the passing game. So they play the Browns this week, and we know what they want to do

that they want to utilize their running backs. Nick Chubb Kareem Hunt might arguably be the best one two combination of running backs. Got two guys who both led the NFL in rushing. Kareem did it his rookie Kansas City, and Chubb did it last year with this team. Here, they control the ball for thirty three minutes against Washington, and while Dwayne Haskins had his issues quarterback for Washington, I go back to this same thing that I've been

marching and talking about all season long. This Cowboys defense is not good enough to be on the field for thirty plus minutes. And I bring up Ezekiel Elliot and I go back to this thing where once again last week, we saw the Cowboys defense on the field for thirty three minutes and it's a loss. At some point in time, I need Kellen Moore of the offensive coordinator, Mike McCarthy, the head coach, to realize that, you know what, you need to go out and control the line of scrimmage

and hold a football. You know, all these nice little plays, all that stuff and all this yard it's all that stuff's nice, fine and dandy, and it looks good. And yes, dak is leading the NFL in passing yards. But if they're gonna go where they want to go, you need to control the football. Green Bay's defense is okay, okay, It's not at the level of the Steelers or some other defense but it's okay. One reason why it is okay, it's because Aaron Rodgers in the offense or keeping the football.

And that's the thing that I need to see from the Cowboys is they get in here to week number four because if you don't, Cleveland's gonna run it down your throat. They got a good offensive line, They're gonna hold a football. And if this team is on the foot on the field for thirty minutes, we could be talking about a team that's one in three. I mean, can't centipede and say hey, here comes Cleveland, let's go right down to w You can't do that. This team's

not that good. That's why I was bringing up just kind of this. That's that's kind of me getting to my point of why am I bringing up Elliott? Guys, I'm still worried about the time of possession? Am I wrong to think that way? Danny? Now, you're right, And I feel like we are the only team, baby, besides the Giants with Sacon Barkley that has a start running back.

They can't figure out how how to control the clock and get and get the player involved, you know, And like you said, the way we play with our defense and the way they want to come in here and control the clock and you know, and how they can attack our defensive backs because they do still have two start receivers out there that's coming to town from Cleveland. So it could get ugly for us if we don't for the whole season, if we don't figure out how to control the clock and how to keep our defense

off the field. Yeah, we gotta we gotta figure out some type of way to get this this engine rolling, which I think we should. But to the point which you made earlier, knew this upcoming matchup, Man, it scares me a little bit because like you said, they have arguably the best one to punch and Hunt and Um and Chubb in the backfield. I mean they're both they're both downhill runners, Hunt who can be a dangerous weapon outside of the backfield and catching, and we're already down

to I mean we got third linebacker in there. So these are these are dangerous matchups looking forward to this Cleveland game. And like you said, Danny, they got dangerous weapons on the outside. Both of those LSU boys Landry and Odell out there. They can do damage and they got some speed at tight end. So we got we got all work to a work cutout for us this week. It's not just gonna be let's just go ramp up

on the regular old Cleveland bound. So we gotta figure out a way because if we turn the ball over against this defense and that offense gets it for Cleveland, our offense may not ever see the field. So what happens this week? Cleveland with thirty seven rushes one hundred and fifty eight yards against Washington, you see what they want to do. They want to limit Baker Mayfield's touches, which I think is a smart thing to do because, like most quarterbacks, and more times you're throwing it, the

more opportunities you're gonna have to make mistakes. And Baker Mayfield is not a proven quarterback in the league yet in my opinion. So we see Stefanski, who was with Minnesota last year and you saw what he was able to do with Dalvin Cook. He's bringing this over to Cleveland. They're running the ball, So the Cowboys have got to be able to stop the run on first down, and they've got to buckle up and get ready to get these dudes off the field on third down. That's another

problem too for this cowboy defense. You got to get off the field on third down here, You've got to stop the run this week. And Danny giving your opinion right now when you're looking up front at the defensive tackle position between Pole, Tristan Hill and Antoine Woods, are you seeing guys doing enough here as they get ready to face Hunting Chump. I think they did enough in games two and three, just because you know, and I

think it's misleading because those aren't really running teams. The running team that came in here was was La and we kind of saw, you know what that was like. So you know, honestly, I don't I don't know if we're gonna be able to stop these guys. I really didn't feel like that against Atlanta and Atlanta you know that they went out and made some dumb mistakes and they got away for some stuff that they should have done it and took us let us off the hook,

and uh, same thing with Russ. So I think we're gonna see this week how how our defense really plays against a true running team. And unfortunately, you know, I don't I don't think it's gonna go that well. But you know, I'm here to be proven wrong. Man, you're being nice over there. Man, I'll tell you right now, step up this defensive line does next step up their play. Chubb and Hunt are gonna run all over the defense and they're gonna keep them on the field for thirty

thirty five minutes. And that's just gonna limit the effect that Dak Prescott and his offense has to master their point total. So if these boys don't step up, I mean, it's it's it could get extremely, extremely ugly Cleveland. When they played Cincinnati in their second game of the year, thirty five rush is two hundred and fifteen yards. They're going to come ready to run the football. And that's what the Cowboys are gonna have to do is stop that run. And at the same time, they need to

run the football. When we come back, let's dive into some comments from Jerry Jones today on his radio show about Earl Thomas and also the Cowboys offensive line issues, and they've got a couple of them. You are checking out the Players Lounge, brought to you by Hotels dot Com right here on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Hey, they're Cowboys fans with tight cleaners at home pickup and

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I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Back in the day, I was the guy who always got the tough yards and that's why I run with John Deer today. In fact, I have a John Deer three zero twenty five E tractor that can handle any yard work I need to do, even the tough yards way out back. So if you have one acre or a thousand, John Deer has the equipment that's just right for you. Visit a John Dear dealer today and run with us. We are the official tractor provider of your

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T Stadium. Tours presented by Seek Geeks are available daily. Visit at and T Stadium dot com for details. And that is one thing I've not done. I've had plenty of people who've come to town here and they've toured ats. I've never done that church for crae. Have you guys been a part of those tours. Yeah. When my my family came intown, I took them a couple of times just to kind of pass the time. But I mean, it's it's cool. It's a little it's a little site.

It's cool. I have not toured it, But what do you say? Go ahead, Danny? Now I would have said I haven't toured it, but all my camps run through there, so I think I know that place in and out. Okay, all right, I've got to go. I've actually got to go do it one day. But nobody when people will tell hey, you want to go, I was like, yeah, go ahead and go. I say it's worth going. I said, I'm there all the time. So I've never actually done the tour, so I'm sure I've missed a couple of

things there. So it is something to see here, all right, players Lajibati Bay Hotels dot Com. We are in our SWBC Mortgage Home virtual studios here. Another item I wanted to check on and get into as the Cowboys get ready to face the Cleveland Rounds, who were two in one for the first time, they're over five hundred for the first times. Its twenty fourteen is Alden Smith. Alden Smith leads the NFL with four sacks through three games.

And I bring that up because we right here on this show had a little spirited debate about Alden Smith coming back here and what a pleasant surprise. Alden Smith is basically everything the Cowboys have been hoping Randy Gregory could be one day as a second round pick in terms of being an impact player. Right now, he is the best defensive player for the Dallas Cowboys in my opinion. Three games in Church, Yeah, I mean, look, I was one all one of those guys had my reservations about him.

Wasn't really sold on on. I mean, how could he come back after five years and play good and play at the high level at such a premium position like that. He's not playing a long snapper or or hunter or anything that her positions after the quarterbacks. So for me, it was not and I for me, I was just like, I'm not having it. First three games and I was

dead that dude. I mean, his energy out there, I mean, he just seems like he has a high motor and he's able to get to the quarterback whenever, whenever he wants to almost and it just seems amazing. I mean, for him, it seemed like he just missed five games instead of five years. I mean, this dude is doing something that I didn't think was possible. So hat goes off to him. I mean, hopefully he can continue this rampant rage and hopefully we can get get more of

a pass rush from the rest of those guys out there. Yeah, he's, uh, he's doing great. Um, actually, he's doing amazing. He's out playing the rest of the dude and he's he's he's uh, you know, creating pressure, getting sacks. You know, he's in there.

He's doing his thing in the ring game. And you know the thing that I worried about him when my reservations came from his off the field issues, right because you know, without COVID, to me, without COVID, you know, the pressure in a big city like Dallas and the team like Dallas will be will be sky high. So I think this is a perfect situation for him, and he's capitalizing on every opportunity he got. And you know,

I'm happy for him. I had my reservations and and he's proving me wrong, and and and thank goodness he is, and I hope he goes out there he continues this this big time play that he has going on. So we're looking at four sacks right here, and if he can stay healthy, I think we're looking safe to say we're looking at a possible ten sacks season. As I say, I say healthy because we're watching guys every week now

deal with soft tissue injuries and acls. So I'm just saying if we get ten, if there's ten sacks that come from Olden Smith, I'm trying to see who could actually beat him out for Comeback Player of the Year. When you start to think about if he come back after five years and get ten sacks in this week, man, that's that's that's crazy. That's correct, that's special. That's special. Man.

I don't I don't know. I don't see anybody really beating him out for that for that comeback Player of the year, especially if he's able to get double digit sacks. I mean then you're you're you're with America's team. I mean, you're always in the spotlight. So I mean, I don't

see anybody beating him out for that one at all. Um. But I mean, once again, this could be two years back to back where a defensive end has come on this team and left this team in sacks and pass rushers and not you know, the main guy, the main attraction on the other side. So I don't know. I mean, it could be something, It could be something to worry about. I mean, this is this is back to back years. But you know, we shall see, we shall see. Listen,

I gave I gave, I gave d Law fourteen. I gotta take take something away from him and give him the Audi Smith and in those sacks that I've seen d Law getting the game against Philly and Washington and

and and and the Giants. Uh, I think all the spens are gonna take a lot of those, so I can easily I can see him he usually getting ten just just based off us playing those teams and seeing how their offensive lines are performing and how other teams are able to create pass rus against them, and with him being being our one guy right now, I can see him getting ten ten plus. I gotta I gotta

switch it up. And with d Laud and his knee injury, it just makes it, it just makes it even even clearer that Alten Smith, you know, will have a great year as long as he stays healthy. I joked about it when we were texting each other during the game, but all jokes have a little bit of seriousness to him. He's the only guy who understands defense. I mean, that's that's true. I mean, he's the one guy who understands

the defense. He's the one guy who's not defensive. Ender's not complaining about standing up and putting his hand down. I mean, he's he's been comfortable with it. So I think definitely some of that plays into a part there. So when do we start to turn the heat up on the twenty million dollars a year defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, Tank Lawrens, Yes, he's got a knee injury. They're paying you for sacks, and this could be the second year in a row where you're not leading the

team in sacks. You're having somebody outperform you double digit wise and sacks potentially, because right now it's ford to nothing Alden Smith. Last year Tank had five, Robert Quinn had eleven and a half and he missed two games. So I mean, at some point in time, Fellas and you guys kind of got on me last year when I brought it up, But when do you start to get the return on investment? They paid Tank Lawrens after two fantastic seasons. He wanted his money, and I said

he should get his money. But if you're making twenty million dollars a year, you gotta be there. And I don't want to hear people talk about well pressures and hurries. Nah man, you paid twenty million dollars for sacks. That's what you're paying for for defensive You want sacks, that's what you want. Just as when you pay Dion Sanders a bunch of money, you want him to get his hands on some footballs. You wanted I and Ts. You

wanted the guy who can make turnovers. So that when do we how long do we give Tank this grace period because he hasn't had a sack McCray since Thanksgiving against the Bills, and I believe that was a half. I knew, I knew, I knew you has coming my way. So this this was what I'm gonna say. All Right, Yes he needs to step up, but at the rate we're going anybody and we got just making twenty million dollars a year is going to be underperforming, all right.

We got we got Amari Cooper out there making twenty a year, who I think is underperformance, specifically because of the office of scheme. We got d Law who's out there, he's underperforming, you know, not getting many sacks. We got Zeke out here to me underperforming only because of the scheme where you come out and you don't even have the guy taking the first carriage of the game, and the next the next game you come out and throw six straight passes. So at this rate, we're going to

be underperforming on all contracts. Go ahead, and now we go ahead, So let me throw this out here because you brought up Cooper, who's on your fantasy team. And I think you're harder on Coop because he's on your fantasy team. But let me just run this out. You got this note from the Cowboys PR says Amari Cooper caught nine passes for eighty eight yards against the Seahawks.

Cooper now has twenty five receptions through the first three games of twenty twenty, the most through the first three games of any season by any player in Dallas Cowboys history. So first three games he called let me, let me finish. Okay, okay, man, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. First three games. Amari Cooper twenty five catches two hundred and sixty seven yards, no touchdowns in twenty ten. Miles Austin twenty two catches

three hundred eight yards, one touchdown. Lance Dunbar twenty two catches two hundred and fifteen yards, no touchdowns nineteen ninety five. Michael Irvin twenty one catches three hundred ten yards, two touchdowns. So those are your top ones there, now, go ahead and go man, go ahead. Man. I'm just I'm just not with those stats. Man. You gotta watch the game. If the game is the Man against the Rams called like eight passes that they gave them on swants and

stops and they got scooped on the last one. I mean yeah, so so that's that's that's eight kids is to the stats. But they didn't they didn't do anything. This isn't twenty millie, like I said, watch DeAndre Hopkins, watch DeVante Adams. This is, in my opinion, what it should look like. And I'm blaming the half one on coop. Actually thirty percent on coop seventy percent on the staff. I think they just feel like they have too many weapons and they just don't know who the focus on.

I told you earlier in the week, the focal points should be that Zeke and Coop and everybody else should be picking up the scraps, and we're just not doing that. And it's it's unfortunately, but I think that's the way we win. It's just I think what the thing is with these twenty million dollar man they're not making these splash plays, these huge plays. I mean, if you looking at the other guys that are making twenty million, the d line, the Leslie, Miles Garrett or Aaron Donald, they're

making huge plays. I mean we've seen Aaron Donald that first game throws Zeke into dock. I mean he's getting sacks, force and fumbles. I mean the same with with Miles Garrett and with and with de Marcus Lawrence. We're just not seeing that. And then you go on the offensive side of the ball. Mark Cooper, Yes, you know he's had those catches, he's had his yards, but it has did he do did he pass the eye test? When you look at it? He's he making game changing plays.

I mean I've seen one where there was in Atlanta where he had that deep one over the middle to field with one hand. But if you're looking at the if you compare him to the other guys, the Michael thomas is and the DeAndre Hopkins, well, Michael Thompson he ain't really been doing much this year, But DeAndre Hopkins he's making super splash plays that are that are just flashy.

And I think that's just the biggest difference in what we're looking at between these twenty million dollars men, Church, if you pay if you pay attention to the receivers that we have on our on our roster, they're they're making more splash plays than the Mark Cooper. Just I mean, I'm there with you. I mean, like you said, it's the truth, but I mean it's just he's not making no splashy plays, and that's what you expect from a guy making that much money. All right here, let me

just go to that. I'm just gonna go since you guys are on Hopkins and and and Adams, so let me just go ahead and start to just just check up numbers here, all right. So week number one for DeAndre Hopkins, he has sixteen targets, caught fourteen passes. Then for Adams and his Week one, he has seventeen targets, caught fourteen fourteen footballs. That was week one, um week one for Cooper here we pull up his statistics in the box score. That's when they would play the Rams

week one and he had fourteen targets. Week one, caught ten balls. So week one out the gate with the yards talking about Louis okay, for Cooper it was eighty one yards. Other dudes have board in a hunt. But you know you you you saw those balls. They they Coop was catching, they were they were significant. My boy was catching. They were come back and there was no yards a man, no yard, just splash blazing. Yeah, it's not twenty million dollars worth. It's time to take a break.

It's time to take a break. Brought to you by Hotels dot Com. We've got other things to talk about. We're moving off this topic. Next right here Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio. Since eighteen sixty five, Stetson hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas, and Stetson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Want to show your Texas and team pride too. You can by purchasing your own steps and you can look just like how the flag guys do on field at

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See more, Do More. To the Players Loud all Right, You're in The Players Loungs brought to you by Hotels dot Com with newis scrugs longtime Cowboys reported joined by former Cowboys Safeties Danny McCray and Barry Church. New Era nineteen sixty headgear collections and celebrate style and designed worn by players and coaches over the last sixty years. The Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop introduces the New Era nineteen sixty

headwear collection. Find the fullest sort at your nearest Cowboys pro Shop and pro Shot dot Dallas Cowboys dot com. So you guys were running down Tomar Cooper here before the break. Um, we ran down all the hot paper leffs, all the papers getting run down. No. I was, yeah, this is true, this is true. But I was trying to trying to give a brother a break here. But you guys were having none of it, none of it for Amari Cooper here. So um, look, I'll tell you this.

They're trying to find, trying to spend. I'm trying to spend my way of it. This way, McCray, I think you're right. Scheme, the schemes got issues here man. Um oh now he's so yeah, give it. Yeah. I'm not trying to fight, not trying to fight you brothers on this. Okay, fine, all off the shoulder, man, Okay. I mean just like you guys lost Monday night football, I'm gonna go ahead just lose this O. There we go, here we go. You gotta bring something in, but you you you owing

three on bits. So I mean I'm not worried about I'm not worried about losing, you know it hey, hey, it is it is what it is. It is what it is here, Uh, Dak Prescott and I wanted to bring up it was a column written by David Moore and we spoke about it earlier in the week where David Moore said, hey, look, if Dak wants to get paid like, you know, a top notch quarterback, he can

start by beating Russell Wilson. This week didn't happen, and then he wrote the column that day to say, hey, look, you may say it's unfair, but the fact is Dak couldn't do it. Dad needed to carry his football team, and instead of Dak Prescott doing it getting it done, he ends up making critical mistakes. He spoke about the fumble which led to a score, also talked about the interception that led to a score by Seattle, and his whole premise was Dak Prescott has to carry this football

team and he can't afford any mistakes. It's not fair, but he's saying that's what he has to do. How did you guys sum up just kind of what he said right there about that? Go ahead, Dan oh, listen, this is football, right, People are gonna make mistakes. Interception is gonna get thrown, people are gonna fumble. It ain't about being fair, not that that's the name of the game. Like this stuff happens, I don't I don't know any quarterbacks started quarterback they went the whole season when all

a fumble, our interception. It just that that that's just not right. My whole thing with Dak is we just like, I feel like the way that the team plays in the same way, the same thing that happened last year when I said trash ards, this year there's not so much trash ards because they're getting close enough to actually

come back and win the game. But we get down so early to where he has to throw these fifty and sixty passes and rack up all these yards, and then at the end of the at the end of the week or the end of the season, you say, well,

Cowboys has the number one rank offense and we ate Nate. Well, yeah, because if you watch the actual game and you see that we were getting the brakes beat off of us at the beginning, and the only way that we could come back was if he threw for those type of yards, then then it makes sense to you, and I think

that's where we're backing. It's half on how we're playing as a team, because you can't ask him to come come back from Uh, every every mistake that the special teams make, every mistake that the defense make, and then every mistake that the office making, then we're losing as

his fault. That's not true. But once we get to where we can play a complete game, to where you can see him play a true quarterback position where it's close and he has to figure out a way to manage the game and then become a passer and control that, then I think you'll be able to say he can get paid. But right now, just see us getting down so early and those stats are just racking up, and at the end of the day you say, oh, he man, he had all these yards. Well watch the game. Of

course of course he did. Because look how we like Yeah, I mean, like you said, I mean, football is the ultimate team sport. So can we put all the blame on Dak and how they they lost that game or the other or the first one? Now, I don't think you can put it all on him, but I think it has to do with a lot of different factors. I mean, yes, he is making mistakes out there, he did throw interception you did to coumble away those balls

in the previous game. So I think he has to play better as a whole in order for this offense to get going, in this team to get going as a whole. I mean, he is, you know, the franchise quarterback. He is the head of this team and the leader, and they can only go as far as he can take them. So I believe he'll have to play better in order for this offense to roll, and maybe he'll have to do a little bit more different play calling

or whatever. But um, as far as him getting paid in that situation, like I was, I'm gonna admit I was kind of wrong earlier. I mean, we had this conversation a few weeks back, and I was talking about, h you know, Dak Prescott needs to get all this money and all this stuff, and you guys wanted Andy Dalton all this bullcrap. But um, I mean, I mean I might have been a little a little I don't know. I know, I know I said I might have shot the gun a little bit. So I'm just gonna I'm

gonna hold my reservations till the end. But I don't know, he just I think he just needs to play better as a whole for this opense to get going. Let me correct you real quick before before you go listen, that is not the franchise quarterback. He's on a one year deal. All right, go ahead, and now he just wanted to I want to clear that up. Okay, all right, So you're saying, so you're saying he's not he's not going just right now or going forward. No, no, I'm saying.

I'm saying, I'm saying, technically, right now, he is not our franchise quarterback. He's playing on the one year deal. He did not get a franchise deal. I mean, technically you got a franchise deal. So also in More in David Moore's Peace in the Dallas More You News, he said, look, Russell Wilson didn't make any mistakes, didn't throw any interceptions. You know, it allowed his team to win a game

in which they needed all those points. And his premise of going back to Dak Prescott was, hey, look look at the mistakes that you made. Those mistakes led to points, and you have to be and rise even more so to another level because your team is making all these mistakes.

You can't do it. What he didn't say. What he didn't say was what Dak did was basically a Romo special because we saw a lot of times where Tony Romo would do the same thing, where Tony wasn't the reason you lost, but he was a part of the reason you lost. And I go back to that excellent game. There were that duel between Tony Romo and Peyton Manning at Jerry World, and I think Tony threw five touchdown passes, but at the end when they needed it, Tony threw

in a triple coverage. It was an interception Peyton Manning and the Broncos get the ball. They basically run down the clock, kicked the field goal, and they walk off and they end up losing the game. And I remember so many people saying it was the defense's fault. The defense wasn't any good. I was like, well, fellas, guess what. The Broncos defense wasn't good either. Nobody's defense was good that day. It was going to come down almost like a tennis match, who makes who makes an unforced air.

Tony made an unforced air. And when I look at Dak Prescott and the unforced airs that he made against Seattle. I say, you know what, those are things that he's got to be better that he can't afford to have those kind of things. It's unfair, but that's what you need out of him because right now this defense isn't going to be able to help you much because they're down dealing with injuries. They got their own issues here.

So that's gonna be the thing that I look for against Cleveland from Dak Prescott is it still keep playing at a high level, but do his best to make sure they're no fumbles, they're no interceptions. Are you asking the guy to be perfect here? Yeah, you kind of are. Is it unfair? Probably so, But right now that's what they need. Until this team defensively can get rolling, until this offensive line can get itself going, you gotta have your quarterback play really next level. He's gonna have to

be the Lebron James of the Dallas Kyd Boys. I mean, like you said, we're facing multiple injuries on the defensive side of the ball. We got a patchwork offensive linemen right now, and from what the reports say, hopefully the reinforcements coming back soon, but who knows when when Loud Collins and and Tyron Smith are going to come back. So to me, he's just gonna have to be that

Lebron James. He's gonna have to carry this team and not make those mistakes, not make those those late game errors that that people criticize a lot, because I mean, like you said, I mean, he doesn't have all that around him to help support, so he's just gonna have to put him on his back. I listen, I just I just he does. But I just don't agree, like I take fairness out of this. This is the coaching staff. He should not have to make up for special teams

errors and defensive errors, right, some of the defense. Right, you're gonna give us some points, and then you have to come back and all that stuff. But when all this stuff is just mounted against you, you you asked them, the dude to do the impossible, like like last year, you give up a blot to limit those mistakes. Yeah, well of course he does, but he doesn't make many like like you know, he thought he thought an interception and fumbled and we you know, it make it sound

like he just out there being Jameis Winston. You know, he made a couple of errors. He threw the ball like fifty times. I mean, what you expect me down, He's bound to make make a mistake and the last thing to me really it counts, but I mean he was going forward. We just need to find a way to play better as a full team and not make him have to do all that. Man like stop finding a way to stop shooting yourself in the foot and getting down so early, and I guarantee you the game

will flow different and the outcomes will be different. I agree with you McCray from the standpoint from a coaching From coaching, they've got to get they've got to get the team overall off to a better start, and that's something that they haven't done. Jerry Jones did mention today about lell College. They're not expecting him back this week, they're not sure when they get him back, and he kind of danced a rather basically in his own way.

Jerry said, look, we'd rather wait as long as we can to activate him so he doesn't have another setback. That was as much as he could give us. Jerry's really being coy now that Mike McCarthy's here, so we could see Zach Martine at right tackle on Sunday, and if we do, I don't have any issues with it because I thought that the ligne adjustments they made where they put in rookie BYARDA. Tyler Beyardish at center and they moved Looney over the guard, I thought they held

up pretty well. And we'd already start talked a little bit about this, and we'll talk about it even more tomorrow. Cleveland's got some they got some pass rush, they got some guys who can get after you, so they may need to go with that. That's our time today. It is three fifteen. We do the Players Lounge two thirty pm Monday through Friday right here on Dallas Cowboys dot Com. I'm knew we scrugs longtime Cowboys reporter as Barry Church

Danny mccraibore, both former Dallas Cowboys safeties. We'll get into tomorrow. We'll break down even more as the Cowboys get ready to face the Cleveland Browns Sunday at eighteen T Stadium. Take care of everybody. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.