Player's Lounge: Problems on Special Teams

items to get into. Let me start by going back to New England up in Fox where I was there at the game. And let me tell you. When I woke up, it was raining. It was that Conny Regy's kept pounding and went all along. We drove to the stadium, it was just wet, wet, wet. Got out the car, um had you I had? I was layered up. Okay,

I was layered up. I had on just a long sleeve T shirt that put on a little sweater, then put on this vest, then put on a double layered coat, beanie and cover and it was it was just bad like that. Man. Oh, no, I was warm, but I was. I was. I was getting as quickly up to the press box as I could. My photographer had on a whole bunch of stuff there. But he was, he was, he was wet, but it was it was a and

just the wind. That was everything too, was the wind and it was sideway rain and wind and it was just it was just going to well, well you guys, you guys ever thought with part of that. So that was the absolute coldest game I'd ever been to. That was that was ter was just that was just wrong. That was just want to play, like, man, can we just like moved us the next running clock were getting I was like, hey, why are we throwing this? Just running the ball? The ball? That's the worst of rain

and wind. Yeah. So you you've heard, you've heard the fans, you've seen the media reports that the way the weather was that New England knew how to play in it, and the Cowboys were ready to go. I remember Dak it was a third down pass and he's with police are right there and then he changed the gloves. So a lot of criticism coming for the Cowboys and how they handled the weather. Um not going outside Jason Garrett and talked about on his show Monday, I Want to

Fight three the Fan with Sean and rj Um. Rob Gonnkowski was killing him on Fox talking about that. So, uh, what are your thoughts? Was it raining? Out of it? It was raining? Was it cold? It was going on Wednesday? I think it was. No, I don't think so. I was looking at the window. I don't think it was raining the cup. You know, you already know what I'm going to listen, Wait, whose faulted? Is it that that glove got whether he wanted to change his gloves? Is

that j G and the fault? Or is that that he was outside where he did pre game? He did everything, you know, two hours before the game and all that stuff. He decided to put on what he had on and then it just didn't work out for him, so he had to switch. Is that correct? Yes, he and Blake jar would also changed oh yeah something. But that's that's

the player's fault, right. Man was out there two hours before the game started and he warmed up through the passes, did everything that he possibly could do to getting ready for the game, and he decided to go with that. Know, they not expected me saying everybody saying that. J G Post said, Hey, Dak, they can't be saying the gloves with the with the with with a little bit to

believe people of blaming that on. So apparently as former players, you guys, you're not read you're not reading social media. I read you could read it. But I'm saying responsibility of putting on the correct gear comes out to the player.

That's why you show up two hours early, three hours early to the game, so you can go test out what you have to see what works best, works good on the ground, the warmert stuff, I'll get your hand one was ready and get all that that is on the player, and then messages communicated to them before they get there. Hey, get on the early bus so you can go out there and see what the field is like. That is communicated. Jerry Jones, the owner, spoke afterwards. I

was there as well. I heard that. So in talking about what you say, he spoke about how, hey, they handled the elements better than we did. So that's when when when the man in charge who writes the checks comes out and talks about coaching and also talks about how they handled the elements and and he's basically saying he feel like we had the Cowboys didn't handle the elements.

Oh yes, well mistakes to the point of the gear that's on the players, not to the point of game playing and being ready for certain stuff basketball coaching, and I think he was one hundred percent of talking about coaching, and we know that they were talking about one hundred special teams all right, well no, well no, he even talked about how, yeah, we've got to put together all three phases. I mean, look, offense couldn't score touchdown and

then you have special teams. So you lost two or three phases in Foxborough against a team that, in my opinion, if you just line up talent for talent, I think the Cowboys have more talent than this New England team. Right, But are we saying that the Patriots out coached the Cowboys? The owners said on what though on to me mostly mostly on special teams. The mess ups on special teams put those guys offense in position to go out there and make the places they did to get that one

lone score. Us missing field goals put us in position to have to go and try to score touchdown like special teams was the catalyst to me. This game for causing us to lose, all right, I could say that, Yeah, I can agree with that. We talk about it. We're talking about in position. When you get into two elements to game with the elements like that and they're crazy and it's winning, you can't throw it. Field position is a big part of the game. You played the field

position battle. So Danny McCree, if anyone's new to the players lives Danny McCree. Special teams, uh demon when he was here. Barry is an undrafted free agent. You had to get on special teams. So when you were watching the game, what were you seeing, especially on the pump lock. It's just miscommunication to me, um, when you're on that

pump when you're on that pump protection team. I mean I was winging on that team, so I knew all about the different type of Russians, the eight man boxes you're going to see, and what the person will protect the US to see and where he's accountable for what. But it's just a miscommunication. When you're going into that game, I pretty much assume, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. But everybody's pointing out Matthew Slider, I mean he's he's been doing it for ten years, the pro bowler pointing

them out. You got to communicate where he is at all times. And if you're if you're in front of that that punt protection team, you point them out. I mean you point out Bolden, you point out later find those two guys got the strength on this side or the strengths on that side, and you find those two premier pass ushers. I mean, it goes for that for every special team. And I didn't quite see how he got in there, but he had to get in there

pretty quick. He got it. So he lined up over the tackle and the tackle got a bad set um and he pretty much just went underneath the hand that he stuck out. And the tackle was Joe Thomas. Joe Thomas, and they attacked him. They saw something gonna tape and they attacked the attack him, and he didn't do the right technique and he got beat and slater even though

he did get a hand on him. Him being the special player that he is and being as great as he is and having all that experience, he was able to just have the perfect hand out and still get a hand Say that's more of a coaching era, because I'm sure the coaches were telling them, boys, y'all gotta know where this guy is at all times. But it's gonna fall on the coaches. But the player made the bad. I tell you to play cover too, And we coached this all week in the same number. And you jump

and you jump a dig route. Yeah, they're gonna say that's bad coaching, but you you made them bad. And we've been seeing a lot of that this communication. Some of those are not bad decisions. They but it all comes down to that fair that is that is uh, that is one. The ball ain't traveled past the twenty yard line on a kickoff, and my boy was all the way back in the middle of the end zone, was just chilling. That's that's bad coaching. That's that's a

lack of community. Got you on the side. The winds blowing, you're kicking to the winds raining, they're not kicking the ball for no touch back. Screwed up. Screwed up, was like, and what the third or the fourth question? Screwed up? Man.

You gotta have adjustments, man. So Troy been criticized. He criticized the Now I was I was, I was watching, you know, I was there, But you know, obviously we go back you listening, Troy was criticizing the coaching and and look, I have been covering many Cowboy games and did many oppressions with Jerry Jones afterwards. Okay, I'm going back to when Jimmy was here, Barry was here. I can't recall another time where he was that up set. Y. Yes,

Jerry was that upset. And I just walked out of there thinking, if you're Keith o quinn, you got a problem. You got a problem, because he all he said, it's coaching, he said, call, he said, this is on coaching, Hudson, and then the way and the things sometimes people say things without saying them. He praised Bill Belichick and special teams. Bill came into the league as a special team's coach.

And you see when you got guys like Matthew Slater Bold, those guys aren't on the team to do anything else other than play those special teams that they put a priority there. And he said, we Oh my bad, good. Sorry, No, I'm just I'm just telling what he No, no, I'm saying, did we put a priority? All right? I just out there a little bit. Well, well, you know, let's discuss it. Then she she went there, let's discuss historically. No, we don't know. We haven't put it enough emphasis on getting

those type of special steams players. It's kind of like, whoever we have left over to that place, say they're running back or whatever, who's not trying to three or four those are the guys. And then you have teams who historically have paid one to two specialties players to do exactly that. Just play teams, no other responsibility. Ultimore Ravens do it. New England does it. Yeah. Eric Williams was in Shottown and all he did was that's it.

It's interesting. He said that I was talking to Rick Goslin, and Goslin Hall of Fame writer uh wrote about that how the Patriots have four guys and all these four

guys spect the special teams guys. Then he says, you got to put a priority there on that, and and he felt like with just what you said that the Cowboys aren't looking at Hey, what can one you know that the guy has to be either be doing something offense or defense especial versus, Hey, look, can this guy get down here and do some of the things you're saying, Like a Matthew Slater because in my opinion, the block punt was the turning point in the That was it,

I mean, that was that was a game Belichick said it was. It was this. Well, well, so you know, Belichick didn't help uh Ko either by saying, yeah, we uh we knew they wouldn't be able to handle the elements. So we kind of worked on that and got everybody and it started with Troy and enjoy at anyone there, and he opened the flood. What they call it a

hat trick three. This is three tips where the top topic or the most talked about, most discussed topical Minnesota and I mean, and the one thing that about special teams is it's better to go unnoticed to where nobody talking about you. You punt it how you're supposed to punt. You know, you got some touchbacks whatever, and then nobody recognized suposed to Like when new he goes into the locker room and he doesn't see nobody, don't say nothing.

But that's a good saying. That's a good one, right, But that's when you had a decent special teams game. You want three weeks in a row. Obviously, when it's negative negative, this is when you're talking about frustrations from Jerry. He see the same thing we're seeing. He like, if if it's anything that I'm supposed to be worried about, all right, it's not special special teams costing us the game.

You block, you get a pump block. They score. A couple of games ago, we fair catch on and we have a chance to win the game, and we fair catch and have to throw a hell Mary. This is two critical moments in the game where you like, Hey, I don't got to worry about my defense playing good, my quarterback doing interceptual, any of that. I'm worried about if we're gonna make the right play on special teams. I'm not supposed to be holding my breath when we

have a fourth down and were punting up. I'm not supposed it's not supposed to be there. I supposed to be going to give me a drink or something. You know, I'm supposed to be shaking hands with the person I'm sitting next to him. I don't know right now. He gotta look at the game all day now, Like, man, I don't know we're about to punt broke back. This same man, he was on the way to the bathroom. He got that, he's I thought, I'm about to sit right back on the bed up that. I guarantee you this.

Every every Cowboys fan now will be paying attention to every special team play. They're going you cut the commercial before kickover, they're gonna go off. I'm gonna come back. Don't cut the commercial. Everybody's paying attention to the supposed to seas now so that you know you gotta quick turn around on Thursday. I don't know how much can be redeemed from the special team. Got the number one kick up, that's the next next thing that's going to

hit on this This is uh. You could arguably say this is the best special teams club in the NFL that's coming to town on Thursday. And yes, not to look forward before you keep on going on there. It's too many weeks for ko because Cardarol Patterson is next. Don't getting no easier, ain't getting easier. Don't get no easier. And screwed up. We had been in Chicago to win, to be blowing. Hey, screwed up to the ten big it's something out from Please, I don't want what you said.

My boy walking into the into the game, sweating twenty degrees outside. What's the sweating? Do it right, man, Just do it right? Does he think right? Man? Because because I like him? I like him, I mean I like him as a person. He's always, you know, been cool with me. We've always had a good conversation. But you know, at this point, when you're playing bad, then you gotta do what you gotta do. The punk block my notes that I kept from the game. So it happened at

one to thirty seven in the game. So it's a fourth and twelve punt block. New England gets the football with one twenty eight to go in the first quarter, first and ten. Sony Michelle with the run two yards, second and eight at the ten yard line, touchdown in to Kiel Harry, his first touchdown in the game. Great kids, m we've been losing a lot of those. Was a

great kiss he got the kids. So he beat He beat Byron Jones on that become the seventy fifth player to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady and his career, so seventy five different dudes ball. So it's seven to nothing. Cowboys get the ball back and um but Blake Jarwin ended up fumbling got it back then it goes into the second quarter, so as Cowboys still had the ball, so that was the first and ten from the eighteen.

Blake Jarwin fumbles it did his second and m second and two from the twenty sixth they run it to Ezekiel Elliott no yards, third and two at the twenty six Gilmour picks off Dak Prescott and then New England gets the ball back at the twenty nine of the Cowboys and one, two, three, four plays later to field goal. So it's it's ten to nothing right there. So they

get the ball the twenty nine second drive. In the first drive they got it, but after the pump block they got it around the same area pump block they got it at the twelve on the interception they got at the twenty nine, So twelve and twenty nine starting starting field position. Yeah, I think played well. I didn't say I don't like four yards of pop from Sony,

but other than that, yeah, yeah, they played good. Look So so this this whole in a game where points for at a premium and touchdowns of the premiucus, the Cowboys didn't score one in the thirteen to nine loss. Um special teams played that big part and now a whole lot of fans just what you're saying, who may have been casual fans know the name keitho quinn and that's not a good thing. They know my her. We didn't mention he missed as well. Now can I defend her?

Oh please listen for listen, I'm not here to beat now pointing out what's what's what's going on? Its miss. It was tough out there that the way that wind was going, I mean, it just it was taking balls away. You know. It just taught me Nick Folk, former cowboy kicker here. You know Nick Folk, we've seen the Nick's a good kicker. I mean, it was it was coming away from him, so it was it was hard. Do you expect them to make the kicks if you're a kicker?

How long was that one? It was like forty forty sixty forty six, I mean and checkman notes here what I'll say it was forty six. But even so, the length versus the rain, and it's coming from the side of any anything, anything, anytime you were going over thirty five, it was it was tough. Let me ask you this, do you think Jerry cares? Do you think he took that into account when he decided to when he sees the specialties playing as well, he counted that as a

miss kick. And that's something else they go on. That did not help when he went into the coaching and talked about how they were out coached, and and he even said to me, he says, when you come here, I think you expect to be out coached. I've never heard that. I've never heard that before. But I asked him the question, you like, you're out coach, Well, you come in here, I think you're gonna you should expect it. But with his history deal, I can understand why he

possibly feels that way. So you know, Rich Besaccia is the former Cowboys special teams coach who left here to go out to Oakland John Group right now, and and Besancia also was a special teams coach for gruten when they won a Super Bowl and down there in Tampa. But I do think that you guys, you brought up a point in terms of do you have the best players playing special teams. I go back to Lord's Taylor. You know, Taylor had to play special teams for Bill Parcels.

When Bill was here, he was making you know he was making some of the best players play special teams. That's that's something that Bill Parcels, I mean, Bill Belichick also kind of took from Parcels that, hey, look, you know what we need good play. You started just kind of starting year. Yeah. Yeah, we had like Sean Lee was on. There wasn't returning punks like we had the best players on this brook man. I guess it's just

a different philosophy. Yeah, it's different now and now I guess the way that people structure structure to wash the rosters is that money is saved for you know the upper Yeah, right, so you figure you just get some young guys to go out there and play teams or if you draft them in the fourth and fifth round and they're gonna play teams and be a whatever. Some of these guys even never played special teams in college.

Yeah they was a superstar. So it's not even in their forte to do this, but it's like what they have to because if you running back number three on this team, you're not playing running back. You gotta be able to be able to come be a cover of kids. I do want to let you know, so today being Tuesday, um, the Cowboys players were in the locker room. Because it's a short week, they were made available to meet it to that I wouldn't talk to CJ. There we go.

Did you have a personal conversation did you like get you hadn't get some love on the mit? Yes, okay, Yeah, I interviewed. I interviewed to ask them about that with the bump block and other stuff. Yes, yes, And we spoke to Jeff Heath as well. So you're trying to get their thought on a puplock situation. Uh. Jeff was a good teammate, talked about you know as the mistakes and got to clean up the mistakes. And when asked about you know what Jerry said about the coaching, he said, yeah,

we hear it and we take it personal. We want to we want to clean up the area. So I mean, Jeff, I think fans get mad at Jeff Heath for his safety play, and to me, Jeff Heath reminds me a lot of some of the guys that they used to have on the Cowboys Super Bowl teams, where you know, they were backup players, and I think Jeff Heath is a is a valuable backup player as a safety. But a vital special teams guy. If they had someone else here starting, you would you would not be putting as

much emphasis on Jeff. He's where fans are always mad. He's not this, he's not that. But at the end of the day, it's not like you, this is a first round draft pick you're talking about here. You're not talking about a guy that they signed to come over in free agency and you know, Weddle or somebody like that. That's where I think the fans have been a little

bit unfair. You're mad out of player for something he isn't when you need to look at what he is and ask the coaching staff and management have you decided to, you know, invest in that position. But I think Jeff Heath if you put him, if you put him on the Patriots, you know what, he'd be a backup player who who's out there making some real contributions. I think I just don't think Jeff Heath is the guy that fans say, oh him, him, him, and they hate guy.

If you watch if you watched the Detroit game and then you watch this New England game, even with him at safety, he made a huge difference. He made two huge plays out there. And heard him his white hair one kitch minus six yards. The man averages over I think over four or five kids. Is a game Heath was covering him Detroit game. I saw a big difference on special teams and satya so they can say you

know X, y Z whatever. Watch some of the other teams around the league and see what they say the position look like and try to plug and play with who you trying to get out of there with Heath? I respective, I like the way he plays this game, plays teams, he gets, he gets out there. He never gonna be out there local y aays gonna be at the Rice boyd percent making tackles and all that stuff. But he makes more plays than than the average person. He's an above average Yeah, all right, we need to

get into the Thanksgiving Day game. How you prepare for itw what you do after this game. Let's dive into that. Also, I want to know your favorite Thanksgiving Day side dish. We also have our football phrase and we got some stats to go behind that football phrase. He is buried Church. He's Danny mccrat who he scrugts. And this is the players lounge. I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Back in the day, I was a guy who always got the tough yards and that's why I

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S c r u ggs. It's an E double y Scruggs. On Facebook, it is NEWI scrug Sports. Okay, So the Cowboys now six and five, still in first place. Well, have you ever seen a team that's in first place? To the fan base older, it's just what you gotta do. You got to start because that's that's one specifically because of the division that we the only reason we made you plug us out because the Rams was the last night.

They're like, oh, playoff dreams over. We got five game we got we have Buffalo, Chicago, Chicago at Chicago, LA at Home, Philly at Philly in Washington. None of those teams scared me at all. The quarter The best quarterback of the whole group is is Josh Allen. Okay, stay with me, say night. Okay, I'm not gonna I like us. I'm not nerve because I'm already. The one game that I said that we were gonna lose, we lost already. It was supposed to be washing them, but we did

it earlier. We want to hang, got it out the way. So now I gotta go undefeated for the rest of the season. What are you going with this? Okay? So, so I wrote this for the Blue Star blog of the Dallas Warning News, and I said there was a path for the Cowboys to get to ten wins, and I included the new England Laws. Okay, so there's six and five right now. You got Buffalo if you if you win, okay, if you win, you're seventy five at Chicago.

That's a winnable game from the standpoint. That mental trubisky. It's mental troubisky. Come on, okay, So you win that you eight or five the Rams. Did anybody see last night's game? That debacle that is not last year's Let me scratch that out, all right. Baltimore is as a that's a whole different monster compared to the rest of the league. But I got you. Jared Golf is playing terrible. Oh oh he is, but the defense is not that terrible.

Nineteen picks or nineteen turnovers in his last eighteen games. I mean, this is this is a guy terrible, right, this is a guy that you know, the Cowboys have issues. You're trying to trying to win the turn over battle, Jared, God's gonna give you something. So you could be nine to five against La Philly. You could lose the Philly game, be nine to six, take on Washington, beat them, be

ten and six. I mean you're in and and fans were like, no, no, no, And I said, and I said on Twitter, before you write Jason Garrett off, remember last year because I was the guy who wrote them off three and five. They finished seven and one. So to say that with five games, let this Cowboys team, with the talent they have, cannot win four games here,

that would be irresponsible. You could even go nine and seven because also go on the other side, anybody watching Philadelphia right now playing terrible, turn on their sports radio station. Who's playing they have turned on? Carson went, I mean they are ready to they are ready to throw him out of ring back nick Foles. And we've seen Nick Foles all he's done since he came back Jacksonville's loops. But Philadelphia they want that right now. So and I said,

I'm not being a home er. I'm just being a straight realist here that this can be done. It can be done. We will be done, I don't know. And we can win a playoff home game even though it a person sat, we can win hit your stride, just like you said, remember what happened we hit our stride last seven. You just wrote our playoff right there. But I didn't say anything about can get it. So turn No, I don't know what I'm saying. I didn't go into the playoffs and say what can happen. I'm just talking

about getting I got ahead of my suit. Were trying to fill out a tournament. We don't know, fifteen fifteen, we're talking about that. Anything that boys can get into. So so a ten and six season is doable even with the loss at Philadelphia. The way they're playing, if they if they lose to Buffalo and win at Philadelphia, then they they are going to win the division. The question, so are should become how far can I go in

the playoffs? Not well, because yes, yes, because that will speak to what Jerry and Stevens spoke about a training camp on what the determination would be for Jason Garrett to come back in twenty twenty, and they feel like the team they put together has the talent to go to the NFC Championship and so a ten and six season may not save them. It may not, but they have the talent, they have the ability to get there. So that was what I wrote. So so Jim check it out if you go over to Twitter page at

new Scrugs or newe Scrugs Sports. I wrote it there and I went through the different scenarios we just kind of talked about here. But it's doable. It's doable, but it starts with trying to win on Thanksgiving Days. Buffalo Cowboys are thirty one, nineteen and one on Thanksgiving Day. Last year, they beat Washington thirty one to twenty three Amari Cooper in case you forgot, one hundred and eighty yards of receiving, which is a single game individual high

for a Cowboy player on thanks Thanksgiving Day. So this is um game number fifty two thanks to make up for last game. He was in Witness Protection that last game. Nobody knew put him now had two targets in that game because sorry, so I was there too. First of all, should shouldn't even have more targets with the elements the way that they were, so right after you, I'm right there, and for Amari gives you very short answers. Yeah, they're very short. And someone said, basically, you know, did you

know Gilmore was that good? The best corn? He said, is this the best corner you faced? And he said, I don't really know. I only had two opportunities, so I didn't really get a chance to. I don't get any played. So so you basically said, how am I supposed to know if he's any good with I didn't get any opportunity to really testing the guy. That was what. He didn't get no ABMs, so it was also bad elements,

but trash right put them on the go. He did give Bill said, taking me, he got Trey White this week, he's what he got six picks, four picks. And that was the next thing I was gonna say was it doesn't get any easier. We don't play around. It does not get any easier this week. But if the Elements won't be a factor, and if they want to take Cooper away, then it's time to get Gallop involved. We

seen explode hes getting open. Co Cop has been fantastic to get my boy jo and it looked like they put a little emphasis on that last week to get him going early in the game Untell he fumbled, But it seems like they're doing the right thing though. They've got to score a touchdown. You can't go two weeks

in a row. What I was scoring a touchdown here mismatches And this is once again the Cowboys did what Jason witt And told me they could not do a train cap, which is, you know, put yourself behind a ball. You know, we have to wait all right now you you're here and you got to wake up. And talking to Zach Martin and the locker room really today and he talked about we have to make sure figure out a way that we don't keep keep these slow starts, and they're not They're not where they want to be,

which is a good thing. They at least understand they shouldn't be six and five. This Cowboy team is the same record as the Raiders. Yeah, who would have thought that to begin this season with the talent base that the Cowboys have and the Raiders talent base, you were not thinking anywhere at all that these teams would have the same record right now. You did still, especially with them when they lost a b and all that situation with now man, like you said, you don't win Super

Bowls on Paperman, you're correct, you're correct. So in your opinion right down, how do they get a double against Buffalo? For me, you have to you have to make them be who they are right. What they do is they play great defense and they run the ball. Josh Hellen runs around a little bit. You stop that, and then you put on on notice and show Mary Cooper and Rundall cob and and jar One score some points. That's how we get the dub get the offense rolling and

start done right. And then we have to stop the quarterback from You gotta take the ball away from Josh Owen. But if you let them run around or get those first down, third or twelve, we made the mistake, mistakes lash confidence. We gave him momentum and he tore us up last year. So you got you gotta just kind of you gotta step on his throat early. Don't just think that he's gonna come out here and be you know, a quarterback that there's not gonna go around and be

able to complete something. Look like you don't Beasley, They're gonna go off. Don't let him come here and try to show the approval point that you know he should still be here or the book. The Bills are better because they focus on football more than us. He went to stop curse. Beasley might break the curse because former Cowboys coming into Dallas and playing. I mean, I've been a part of that. We got we gottabuse. So hopefully we ain't gonna say hopefully, but maybe Beasley will break

the curse. Wait, Phillips too, he came back into the court of Rams the way he came in to make sure he get his does they gave him a game ball? So I mean you are correct down with Layton Vanderesh out linebacker in this game, seaun Lee Jalen Smith. Is it upon them as you're talking about trying to contain Josh Allen who used his legs. You have to worry about a guy using his legs last week and Tom Brady he wasn't going anywhere, but you know, that's part of the game that Josh Allen. I think it is

definitely on them. They're gonna be playing some z own coverages and they're gonna have their eyes on the quarterback. So when they get back in their own coverages, and you know all the time the defensi line, they're gonna run and rush the quarterback to get the sack. So sometimes those rush lanes are gonna open up. It's on them, It's on Lee, it's on Smith, it's on Joe Thomas, Jordan Lewis to win. Their eyes are back at the quarterback.

They seen him scrambling and they got a converage quick and tackle because this guy, he don't look very athletic, but he can run. He can run good. And yeah, it'll be up to them underneath courverage as well to stop him from running. But also get those those close underneath window interceptions and backdowns and all that. So, all right, Thanksgiving Day game, afternoon game they played every So the Lions are the first game, that's the Cowboys, then it's

the NBC game. So I want to say it's Atlanta hosting the Saints. I'm almost pretty poscat checking out my fantasy football schedule there the Saints to going exact Dak and I've got Drew Brees trying to make that choice of who I play fantasy. Okay, this is the week of fantasy where you're like, man, I could be out of this before before we get to Sunday. So many games going on. I got Dad into my quarterback. I got a single tier running back I don't know, and

I fight for the number one seat. So if I lose, I'm in fifth. Where I win, I'm in first. I gotta keep winning because this is our our last regular season. I was as well, Yeah, so yeah, I'm almost like you if if I lose, I could drop down from from third to maybe fourth to fifth. So so that's that's that there. Uh, As former players, let me ask you this question, how did you all attack the Thanksgiving food and family? You got me in the game, but how did you how did you attack it? How did

you do it? Did you have your family come in? I had the family come in and all that good stuff and mom dukes and everybody cooking all that stuff. But I didn't like to eat heavy before a game, so I would just you know, dadfle here and there and then go to the game, but then smash when I came back. But I never wanted to eat a whole big Schmogus board of a meal because then I feel heavy, I feel slow, and anybody to be able to run past me then, so I just wait until

the end to eat. But it was definitely a good meal though. Yeah. We had an understanding that. So all my family that came in town, they all went to the game. So my mom would get down there the night before and then she would start cooking. None of us would eat or touch any of the things giving food until after the game. Okay, so I would eat. So I would eat with the team and all that stuff.

But I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything because I knew when I got there it would wouldn't be a spoonful missing from the mccaroni and tis all the stuff. Everything would still be intact, and we would say Grayson, then we would go eat. Ninety two thousand fans at AT and T Stadium last year for the Washington Cowboy game. They give you all certain allotment of tickets as a player. How many more do you find yourself? Oh? Am I wrong? No, no, okay, because

I knew what you was going with. How many more do you have to purchase? And then guys in the locker room were trying to purchase for those Thanks every day games because a lot of guys have family come in me. I only had that like two or three because I let him know from the jump, like I think it's funny. I never I never really had a

large amount. I do know stories, and I still have teammates and old teammates that get ten and fifteen because because what happens is the people that are asking for these tickets that you get them for free on your check on next Thursday. Then they deduct all those tickets. You why am I missing? Had about six tickets so

and it keeps going. So at the end of the year, you have a total of how much you spent on tickets, and then you know, if you're smart, you're like, hey, I got two that I get for the game that's free, and then everything else I got to purchase. So maybe two people come to this game and two people come to another one. Then some guys, especially if you got a lot of money, then you go ahead and whoever

you wanted. Some people split sweetz wearing get you a sweet, But it just depends on who you are, if you're playing in your hometown and all that, all that stuff matters. You didn't put anybody in the standing room only section. They stood at home big ticket giving. Yeah there the max off giving I think maybe six. But and that was that was rare. All right. So since since your family came in and cook Thanksgiving, tell me your favorite Thanksgiving side? I asked a lot of Collins this earlier

in the locker room. He said his favorite is his mom's seafood dressing. Its mac and cheese. Considered a. Yeah, so it's my mom's mac and cheese, no matter. I can eat a whole whole bowl of that. I mean it's the greatest combination of cheese. I mean, when you scoop it up, it's the cheese just I mean there's at least six or seven I mean velvita is I mean, it's just amazing steam coming up when you My mouth water right now. But like she put breadcrumbs on the

top of the ball. Yeah okay, yeah, yeah, and nobody can nobody can get the recipe. I mean they steal the recipe, but the sausage that doesn't taste the same. So throwing that that mac and cheese on that with that gravy. That's that's cheese, the turkey with the turkey. Oh yeah, it's man. You put that on one fork, Get you a couple of little dapples of the mac and cheese, get you a little scraping down turkeys, and then it goes down. I'm black. You get all that

lets So that's all right. So that's your guest, your go to. You got your turkey right there. First thing. You're reaching forwards the mac and cheese. What about you easily the turkey stuff, But you had to put the whole turkey winging us or the bone still in there like that. But just like my grits, I gotta have a cranberry sauce and not a little bit a lot now here a lot? Are we getting it out of

the can? Are you getting the getting the creole cranberries and making it not as then you know you can't open it. They got the cranberry chunks in the two you know, they come into a little like llo. My great grandmother a little bit. I'll tell you, my great grandmother made a fantastic cranberr with real cranberries and would use um oranges, orange pills, putting put into a blender, ton of sugar, ton of sugar, and he likes sugar, cranberries.

Sugar helps, sugar helps she and my mom knows how to make it too, but it is uh so we would have both. I have two. I have two crambers, have the jet the on the cam and then had the one she made. So I was always loaded up

with cranber. The stuffing that you got both oh yeah, oh yeah, because everything everything I did, it was it was always turkey, the dressing because they made a hilaciously great dressing, and then the two cranberries, so that that and I throw the other stuff that was on the test and say they had all in the green bee castle. But those were always my thirty things. And then the next day when you come back again, it was always had to have the turkey and in the great gravy

dressing and the cranber. How many days after things given can you eat the left offs? And what day should you stop thinking thanksgiving us? On Thursday? What day is it like? Bro? You triping well with my mom, We had a lot, you know, and going over to my great Grother's place, in Burma. There was always a lot so I could go, you know, the entire time we stayed, I had it. I mean it was it was just that good. How many days was that was? That? Is it like you're still eating this on Monday or you

like gonna get sick or no? So I said week, So you got all the way till next Thursday. I think so. And see I'm also one of those two of those guys too. I repurpose, I can make it into something else, and it was all good by me. Throw it on a sandwich. Are you one of those people that don't like when their food touches on the plate? I'm fine, you find what that mix it all? We please let the yams the yams, you know the special plate that you because usually when you get the little

circle plate paper players, you get the oval. Get out the back. So Thanksgiving is coming up here, enjoy the game. Also make sure you have a safe and happy holiday season. Let's take another break. Let's get it to our football phrase here and brain the code of Prescott coming off a tough game as he tried to take on the Bills and get the Cowboys to um seven win sets stecks right, here on the Place lounge A ready Okay? Yes, so are we gonna win? At cheer Just okaying is

not okay whether it's cheerleaders or your wireless network. At and T is America's best wireless network. Best network based on GWS one score, September twenty nineteen. Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time again for tailgating with the Auterbox boys. Autter Box, the company that builds wildly overproductive phone cases the one and only, but cases are just the start. Auter Box is the official outfitter of tailgating. If they can keep my phone safe, what can they do for

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to find buy and sell tickets. Plus with their deal score technology, they'll recommend the best seats in the house at the best value. So the next time you're craving this, download the sea Geek app and let's go see geek. Hey, Cowboys Nation. This season, when the Cowboys win, you get to experience the sweet taste of victory because if the Cowboys win the next day, Duncan is offering a free medium hot or iced coffee. So don't just celebrate the

Cowboys success from the sidelines. Head to Duncan and treat yourself to real victory because this season, Cowboys fans aren't only winning on game day, they're winning the next day too with a free medium coffee. Cowboys Nation runs on Duncan. Excludes coldbrew, limit one for guests. Participation may vary. Limited time off bad two radio heads. All right, The top two football teams in the Big Twelve Conference will face off in the Big Twelve Championship Game on Saturday, December

seventh at at and T Stadium. Kickoff will be at eleven am. Don't miss your opportunity to get tickets before they sell out. Tickets on sale down at seek geek dot Com are you gonna be there, No, not going to Big twelve SEC. I'll be watching. I know we're gonna take over Atlanta, will be We'll be just fine. LSU Georgia. Yes, uh, we will win by at least twenty one. Oh and Joe Burrow will seem in hisself as in history as to twenty nineteen high school Trophy winner.

And then I'll we can watch it that, we can watch it that popa those if you would like, so they got TVs. I'll be I'll be games like we could watch the replay. Come on with me, because I want to point out all the reasons why he is winning the house as I'm ordered. As I'm ordering the funnim Danny's l Tigers are going to go play in the SEC championship game against a Georgia team. And this is interesting how football works. Jake From almost won the

Nasshal Championship for George as a freshman. And this was a guy that as a freshman, I'm thinking, all right, by the time he gets his third year, he'll be a first round picking the draft right now, Jake From needs to go back to George. I was in my wood. You wanna be undrafted just like the league. They get film on you. Smart defensive coaches at college as well, and they get film on you, and then all of a sudden, you you can't adapt and change the show

that you really had that talent. Then you end up looking like back, did they choose the wrong quarterback? Of course, see what he's throwing up there, old states that bad is the whole beast up there right now, looking like somebody's great quarterbacks. I'm glad they call them, justin the whole beast up there. Justin Phields finish freshman year at Georgia, ended up transferring, got a got an immediate waiver and playing for Ohio State right now, and looks it looks

next world. And and Jake from Georgia looking looking like nothing like the guy who you thought he would be in your threat. But that's crazy how they work, right, So we get Joe from from Ohio State, Ohio State gets field Georgia, and they both shining right now, and Georgia keeps and you know, and and but they still one that the I don't want to beat it up making sound like the guy is is trash, but just going me it was I think it was was QB one. He was one of those. He was in high school,

one of the type. Dude. Yeah, so he it was it was a documentary and that it followed from Tate Martell and and two other guys who were quarterbacks. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's a good thing. And he came off like, Okay, here's here's here's a here's a likable guy. Tate Martell came off as a straight I'll see one episode wide receiver from Miami like the hurri game. Yeah, he's the one that sent out to tweet the cryptic tweet when Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State said you know, uh,

don't miss twice. You know you don't miss twice. Yeah. Yeah, so he sent that tweet out like a basic hey man, make sure you don't miss twice. Send it just because it was assumed that Tate Martell would be the quarterback. Next thing you know feels is there transfers Ohio State and then Martell he's up and out of it. He transfers to Miami, so you know he's all about to you and we all assume, okay, well he'll be started for many DZ and the Hurricane first game come he

not start then he left. He left the team for a day. Guess he was upset. So he comes back and then they moved him to receiver. He played a whole different position. Out do you ha when they put you on TV coming out of hospital? I mean, if you gotta do that, you gonna stay Ohio. Well, he wouldn't have been riding, would have been get ready to chi. They can stay in the league of the XFL something. But you should get a ring, you know. The XFL. I forgot to mention that there was a Josh Johnson

they blocked from going to Detroit. Yes, they did. Detroit wanted to Josh Johnson to come to a play for them, and the XFL blocked them from going there. That's where you got to stay in the XFL. What the quarterbacks, Yes, the back that they wanted jobs since it's crazy because the cacra factors that they that they blocked them got to come. Yeah, you can't miss the xflop like that because then they gotta go find a little guy. And

they drafted basic like that's how they did. Think since the Lions sure are good since they fired Jim Cole, Huh, they ain't no shot me. Just look The Detroit papers are saying fire Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia right now because they were. Bob Quinn comes out and says nine and seven is not good enough for the line, so he fires Calwell. Call Well spent four years there, went to the playoffs twice and only and had three winning seasons out of four. They live for that right now.

This team is going backwards in the gym. You're the guy you went. I got your guy from New England, Matt Patricia that that organization is not good. Matt Stafford played you look at his career. Best football he's played was under Jim called. Jim Calwell was out of as a coordinated for the Baltimore Ravens when Joe Flacco went on that road. Dude made Joe Flacco a Super Bowl MVP. Dude,

that dude is a magician. Andrew Peyton Manning's best football and you start leaving Jim Caldwell and people talk about Adam Gates. Go check Jim Calwell and Payton Mannings numbers together. So yeah, they messed that up all day. Let's get into our football phrase of the day here, field position and new He helped me out with this because you can give me the yard line. And okay, let's go back to that the New England game and field position

was where New England did a fantastic job. So so let's let's just start with So when you are the Cowboys drives, I'm just saying, so when we talk about field position, and we really talk about field position battles in the field position game, we're talking about plays that that teams run in order to when they get the ball back, they will have the ball closer to the end zone and when they are on defense, they want the ball to be closer to the opponents end zone.

So they have a longer field to drive or a shorter field to drive for your offense, right, yes, so here's something to know here. Um the Patriots or number one in the NFL and average drive, meaning that they have less distance to travel to score points. The Cowboys entered with the NFL's number one offense, but a ranking of twenty nine. An average drive starts, so they're having

to go a whole long way to score. So here are the Patriots drives on Sunday, their own twenty two, their own thirty six, the Cowboys twelve, their own twenty five, their own, twenty five, their own thirty six, they're owned twenty eight, their own twenty eight, their own thirty eight, their own twenty five, the Cowboys twenty five, and the two times they started in Dallas territory the drives ended in scores. Now that final time they were in Cowboys territory,

they ran out the clock. Here are the drives for the Cowboys in Foxborough owned twenty five oz, nineteen owned twenty one, eighteen owned thirty own thirty six oz, twenty one, twenty eight, owned twenty one eleven O eight owe fifteen. That Patriots starting average drive was forty was forty one the forty one yard line. The Cowboys offense average start

their own twenty one yard line. You cannot have that kind of discrepancy if you're trying to win at Foxborough against the pain And to put that into perspective, that is two first downs, right, so you have to score. You have to make an extra two first downs compared to the Patriots in order to score the ball. Not one draft started inside the twenty for the Patriots, right and special teams played a part of that. Right though, when the filth was flipped and they started on the twelve.

That was a black punt. And it's just like the field position battle was being won and lost most of the time. On special teams. If you're on the fifty and you're punning, you're doing those sky punts, it is important that you make it land inside the ten or at the ten to make the other team have to score drop ninety yards to score. If you punted into the end zone, you just took a first down away from them. That's one less first down they have to

get in order to score the ball. Right, So when you see somebody averaging ten yards to return on punt, that's one less first down at the office has to score. So that's that's what we mean when we say film position. The special teams controls that by making those yards up on returns or making those yards go be more on kickoffs and punts. Danny mc crailey pick up on what you were talking about there, Bill parcels, you should call it hitting yardage and he would add that up and

just you know, the hitting yardage in a game. And right there when you talk about the Patriots getting the ball at the forty one yard line and started drive, the Cowboys starting to get twenty one of the two first downs and just looking and you know, anybody, just go go check the drive chart. Just go check the drive chart. How many times you're able to get two first towns and drive It's not it's it's not easy, especially,

I mean it's not easy. So it makes a difference in the football game, where once again I said, you're trying to beat a team like that, and that's that's hard. Dak Prescott no touchdown passes. This is something I wonder about going back to see how New England lost their only game of the year Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson had about sixty five yards rushing and at least at least seven attempts. I had to check it more, but why didn't Dak run the football? Man? I saw one was

he rolling to the left. It was him in a d line, run the ball and he throws it. I'm like, listen, this is what Jerry's talking about when he says, I think that can use his legs more. It doesn't have to be a design play for him to run. You can you can play, can break down, you can scramble, you can see that you have the mismatch the advantage against a D lineman going to the left and you can run around him and get the first down. We've seen him do it in the past, So after that,

I mean, he just had those opportunities. He can We know that he can be a pocket passer. We know any pass on the field, we know that he can do that, and we know that he can run. But being able to make the decision on when to do it and when you what it's best for you to do it, and in that situation we feel like it I'm no quarterbacks. I feel like it was best for him to go ahead and pump, fake, run around the edge, get it easy first down, and keep it going. I'd

like to see him use his legs more. We see him do it in the past. But I mean he also has a strength to deal with his arm, so hopefully he can get it done. He got to find some type of combination to get it done. Let me tell you something, elements the next game that the elements will be that way at Chicago. If you have a chance to run a first down versus trying to fit

it into a tight window, just run. Is he that is demoralizing to a deep defensive line and dbs when a quarterback is able to break out of the pocket and scramble. That's why you see these guys getting so frustrated when Lamar Jackson is doing it, because it's like, it's what else do we have to do? We're covering, we're rushing, we're doing all this. These guys are chasing the whole time, and he scrambles for ten and make it look it's demoralizing. It's the worst the word. All right,

let me go back. I pull up the numbers here. So Lamar Jackson against the Patriots rushed sixteen times for sixty one yards and had two touchdowns. Dak Prescott one rush for four yards against against New England. So that was one of those when you come back to when you talk about coaching, this is something clear on film. How can you beat the Patriots? First off, they are not comfortable. You know, you got a team doing something they're not comfortable doing. So you know, use your legs.

And we see Russell Wilson has made a living doing that using his legs. We know Josh Allen is going to use his legs when he comes into AT and T Stadium in Jerry World. Okay, we know he Dak Prescott has that same ability, and that's uh, that's that's an interesting um. It's crazy that it is the opposite, right for because usually you say, when we just got to learn how to be a pocket pass, right, he can do that. So now we're like, hey, man, how to use your legs a little bit more and learn

when when to do it. It's like the opposite of what the NFL is teaching. But he can do it. So he should have some faith and confidence in itself to be able to turn that corner and get the first down. Put it in the game play more. That's that's that's see some more readoptions, depending on the situation, you can. I mean, we were just talking about the readoption. They ran that one. He went to the left and

lost yards. We don't want no parts of that. All right, Let's wrap up the players Lounge with a Thanksgiving Day prediction, very Church, I'm gonna go, Man, this is a tough one, but I'm gonna go twenty four seventeen Dallas Danny McCraw thirty one, twenty one Dallas. I want Danny. From the standpoint, if they win, they're gonna have to score thirty because that's what they've done. All your luck. It's gonna be a challenge against this Buffalo team, but I believe they

do it every time they lose. And people dogpile of Cowboys and you got the older saying, but the owner did, I expect everyone to show. It's also a Thursday. It's a Thursday game at your place here. I expect the Cowboys to score thirty points in this one, and I think they're gonna go ahead and get it with But we forgot about the tickets. It's Thanksgiving. We're given away a man. Listen to win the tickets, go to my

Instagram at Danny Underscore mccrai forty. Send me a message of your favorite of the topic that we talked about today for Thanksgiving, whatever it is, send it to me in a message and I'll pick on Wednesday at four pm to let you guys know who won the tickets. All right, got it? That is another edition of the Players Lives. Will be back next Tuesday at three pm. Have a safe holiday, enjoy the football game. That's Danny mcraie,

Barry Church. I'm new he scruts. We appreciate you. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football How ud you go there?