The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
Cowboys.
This is the Players Lounge, broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys World headquarters at the Star. Now your hosts, Barry Church, Danny McCrae, Heckma Harrison, and Newie Scrugs.
Cowboys Nation. Here we are players last.
I hope your team win. Come on stars.
He goes, he goes, he goes. Okay, Uh, Barry Church.
Is not here.
He's yeah, it's very VERI is off. And that's okay.
It's okay because we got birthday boy Danny McCrae in the house. But still were gonna keep selling looking celebrate Cray, Happy birthday. Heckm Harrison good in here, fresh off a visit his son. Little Heck was over TC.
Get that frog going out there loving do it again?
How you do it like that? Like that right there? You hey man, come on now do it right. We got time, Okay, we figured out, we got time.
We got hey, look man, it'd be it would be a big old thrill to see heck with the games baby up there.
In the stag and you know, get you and get you on the sideline. With me. Man, she just walk around there and just stay all day.
He get I'm moving. No, man, that's all I like. Is that all we had to do?
Like it? Come on now?
Yeah?
Yeah, I took my kid out there. She's walking around with me. Yeah. We get that, man, We get that kind of access. But uh my, man, what's up?
Happy birthday brother?
I know it was yesterday, but just you know, another trip around the sun. Thirty six?
Man turned thirty thirty six? Boll you look good man thirty six minutes? Why are you getting out there?
Boy? Up?
What you mean up?
Well? You know what up there is? See these?
Yeah, you're not close to way y'all. Don't you wear don't you were ringing my grades out? Your grades? As soon as I see it, I get it as soon as I see it.
I just try to get the ones I can and then losing telling him about the battle I know you don't do.
Never make a man when you start plucking on the stroke. What is that? What is this? Young like that?
And it's dark and one of them stick out?
Yeah, because only one of the times, so you'd be like, oh man, that one, this is so obvious.
Joy, Why you can't man?
Joy? Enjoy. What what did you do for your birthday? Danny? Man? I had a crumpus ball. I do.
I do a crumpus ball, crumpers ball every year. A lot of family came in town White's friends and stuff, you know. But he asked me. I was another one that sall see, you didn't got me some donuts. Now, so because I asked him for some cake, I couldn't even get it. I couldn't get a piece of cake made of me. You know, hey, man, you know I messed with you. Man, y'all would have nothing on the menu for the Harrison family.
Man. Yeah, chicken. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. What is it?
I went on with my people through yesterday. So yesterday I went out to the attorney, had a barbecue. Yesterday I spent my day and I spent my day just rolling around eating.
Well, now that I know you, because the last time I invited you something, you to make it. So now that I know that you're actually showing it's your birthday.
Birthday is that's a different thing. Yeah, that's that's that's a whole special day I survived.
Watch party was a big thing too. It's not every day that was doing the weekday. We had that one because don't you worry. Don't you worry? But I got a birthday coming because I ain't.
Don't you wear get that bigness.
So Russell Wilson one year deal to go to the Steelers, Kirk Cousins.
So the free agent tampering.
Period at noon gets rolling, so you can officially tamp they have been tampering. So it's about Kirk Cousins going to Atlanta, talk about possible forty million dollars and Baker Mayfield, Congratulations the baker.
Baker's back with the Bucks, got himself a big old deal.
They took care of that. They took care of receiver Mike Evans. Congratulations to him. So moves are being made here. And if kirk Cousins gets forty million dollars, I really don't want to hear any Cowboy fans start morning and growing because guess what, Dak Prescott's gonna get his money. And if it hits up into the sixty million, it's going to hit up in there. It is now there are no cheap quarterbacks in this league, guys.
Russell one team, yeah, somebody else is bearing the bill on rush.
So yeah, Russ pocketing thirty nine.
But at the same time, Russ is sitting here in that point where Baker Mayfield was last year. Okay, you're leaving a situation it was kind of cloudy, so you're doing that one year kind of pillow deal. It's all a baseball pillow deal. You fall right here for a year and then get back in the market. So if Russell Wilson has a good year, boom, he can get
right back in here and start start dealing. But I just keep laughing as I read social media of fans who want to get mad at Dak Prescott and Dak's money. This is what the market is, and you're mad at the player, when essentially you should be mad at the team because the team gave the player all the leverage, so the player's gonna use it.
Yeah, listen, I think we all talked about it with four years was it four years ago when for your franchise and we sitting there saying, hey, man, go ahead and get it done. Then you put the franchise tag on it, so that kind of pushes it to where you are now.
So I mean, as a former player, I'm.
Like, hey, hey, somebody got to figure out a way to get it. I think Dak Prescott has put itself in a a in a position to where he's coming off of MVP type year leading the league in touchdowns, interceptions are down. And you look at it and you say, when you look at a Baker Mayfield or whoever else is getting paid, I want to be higher than them because this is what I did in.
The previous year.
So this is the Cowboys fault that then in the situation, And to me, I think the strangest thing about it is you have a couple of three players on your team that you're going to be resetting the market with. And I guess that's a testament to the way that you draft. You're going to reset the market at wide receiver, You're going to reset the market at the linebacker position.
Is it lineback is a defensive end or is it linebacker?
It got classified as a defensive end.
Better if you want that money because it.
But I think under the fifth year option, isn't it lower as being a defensive end as it was a line Either way, it is.
Lower, it is, but he's that But that distinction thereamer Todd Archer had had had a long thing he rode up there available on social media. But bottom line is he is classified defensive end. Would have made more as a linebacker, but.
In his in his fifth year option, he would have made more.
Well, just the the tag linebacker was more.
But in his in his contract negotiations, when he's negotiating as a defensive end versus the linebacker will to be higher.
Here's what I think.
At the end of the day, when he negotiating, it's gonna be what's the highest number.
Band he gonna the defensive end is one? What's your one? I mean.
But but the distinction itself as it came down, I thought when I when I saw it, it's like, what are the Cowboys doing? But then then as it was explained to me, it's not the Cowboys that make that distinction. It's the players Association that that does that. And so look again, looking over the league, there's so many moves being made and the ones that you were just talking about,
especially at the quarterback position. With Russell going to Pittsburgh, it was a no brainer in our group chat, I said Pittsburgh online one because it was a natural fit for me, and I look at their coach and I'm like look, man, that that was the guy that you needed to bring in that hopefully can get your offense going. If I'm a receiver at Pittsburgh, I'm thanking God that we finally get a quarterback at Russell Wilson's arm hasn't diminished that much that he still doesn't have anything on
the deep ball, intermediate routes. Maybe that deep out he can't put that thing on the rope like he used to. But other at the same token, when you turn over to my guy Raheem Morris kirk Cousins, you know, in that situation, if I'm Rohie Morris, like, do me a favor, don't do me no favors right now, just to get things started here. And look, you have enough talent around and I do believe in the running game. I think that running game is going to be sufficient enough to
support which whoever comes in there and plays quarterback. But we got to get talking taking care of cowboy business. You have to get Dak's deal done if you're going to have any luck in free agency period.
You're correct, You're correct, And.
Once again I go back to just the way quarterback contracts are set up. And then also you have to talk about the agent. Here this game of agency. When we talk about agents, you keep your job by being able to go tell other free agents look at what I do, and it gets used against you if you don't. So when you look at Justin Herbert Fuller of fifty two, Joe Burrow high right now fifty five, it's an agent. If you can't get those things beat, it gets used
against you. So the Cowboys got that working get against them. And once again I go back to a guy like Kirk Cousins. If you're gonna pay forty million dollars for Kirk Cousins and we know his what he produces for you, which is disappointment. And I say disappointment for the stairpoint that they had went to the NFC Championship game with Case Keenum and their whole thing was thanks Case, But we need to go next level. We need a guy that can get us over the hump. They never got
over the hump. They never got back to where they were a Case Keenum. So maybe keep your own guy. And here's the problem. I think about Atlanta. For forty million dollars, you could have Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson was available last last year and the owner said, well, we're worried about him getting hurt.
But that was the weirdest negotiation of any player that I've ever seen. Last season, when Lamar could, teams would not touch Lamar.
So go back to what that was.
Remember, DeShawn got all that guaranteed money from Cleveland and the owners were hot.
They were hot in the hasls, like he what are we doing here?
We're not doing this, and so it's kind of said, not said that, hey man, nobody, don't nobody else go do this? And so Lamar has any smart player, Oh he's getting that. I want that too, And it was almost as though, hey man, nobody give this guy that. But eventually he signed a contract. He didn't get the guarantees like Watson did.
He didn't get them in that collusion.
In that collusion we had to prove it was said, Okay, this man looked. I'm just saying, if Deshaun Watson was able to walk away with the bag like that, and then you have an MVP in the league that's a free agent, has an opportunity to have to reset the market, and we're.
Still in a situation with Deshaun Watson. Is what is still at the top of the food chain. Why why is there even any discussion when we talk about dak in restructuring his deal, And that's that's that's where I have a disconnect in all of this.
You're you're correct, But it's the it's the fan base and the fan base in general, and then of course those fans who are anti Deak.
Okay, so you got that out there.
But just overall, when I think about Atlanta, what you could have had in Lamar Jacks.
You about to pay forty you about to pay forty million dollars.
For a guy that is who he is coming off an injury that Oh, by the way, your team is letting you go.
We'll miss you.
Thanks Kirk, good luck. Yes to me, that's that's wild. And Dak Prescott, as we all saw.
Had a career year, second team All Pro last year. So in the first year of the offense, so I just this is the business. Then the Cowboys and put themselves out.
I think that's the saving grace, like first year of the offense, because outside of that, I think some of the frustration goes of the performances in the playoffs.
Oh man, So I think.
It's if Dak was able to turn what he's done in the regular season into a couple.
Of playoff wins.
I don't think you will be getting as much pushback for a sixty million dollar contract when the recency thing is, okay, sixty million for what we just saw over the last three years going twelve and five. It doesn't add up in some people's eyes. But it's not even that. It's more of this is the situation you put yourself in as an organization because of how you did him on his first contract.
So that is the issue. Do I have an issue with them paying it.
I don't, But as I'm looking at it as a Dallas Cowboys fan, I'm still saying the same thing some of those fans are saying. I'm like, hey man, it's three years of twelve and five, and we need this type of performance in the playoffs in order for me to feel comfortable with you moving forward for the next
four or five years. Because if I got to look at that for the next four to five twelve and five and then expect to be out in the first round of playoffs, then I'm not seeing the sixty million dollar work.
ROI I get it. I get it.
But it becomes two situations where playoff playoff production, and I would put Lamar Jackson was he.
Two and four?
I think of the playoffs in two and five, So so you know, money, playoff production. But then you're just that whole contract thing. That's almost that's a separate deal. It's a separate dealer. Fans don't see it that way, but but you truly have to when you do this. Michael Gallup, by the way, the team apparently reportedly said, hey, man, go seek a trade.
We talked about it right here on the playoffs.
Liane probat to buy two Stevens.
Michael Gallop a guy we like, but thirteen million dollars last year and you were if we include Jake Ferguson as a target, you were target number four.
You can't do that. No, paid him way too much money.
And I think coming in the expectation for him coming off of the a cl Andrew Will two years removed from the ace Yell injury, we just never seen. We never got that Mike g from before, and the expectation, the money and all of that. You know what that's gonna It's gonna be your undoing here and being the fourth target at thirteen million dollars is a cush gig, almost like a.
Back you know.
I mean, And I went way out on the limb with that right there, right just saying I'll take it. You know, I'm sure all year he was looking at his chake like, you know, they really shouldn't be giving me. He never said that, by the way, but I just look, I wish him luck. I think that, you know, hopefully there's maybe there's a way. But I think going forward for the Cowboys, they have to find a guy at
that position. We've gone over that agnolzium, but they're just basically talking about needing that guy playmaker, a difference maker behind ceedee Lamb.
We just didn't get it.
And we can try and put three guys in a barrel to be that one guy if we want to, but we understand and when you go into the playoffs, we did not have that secondary target that we could rely on. And look, it's just Cowboy fans, you know, I being amongst them, just feeling like like, man Dak needs more from these guys. When it gets to playoff time, they do.
Listen.
At some point, it's gonna be hey, you at some point it's gonna say, man, because you are who you are, this gotta be enough. At some point, I do agree that we need that second guy outside of CD Lamb to be more productive than we had in the previous year. But it's just hard when you looking at sixty million dollars and I know Patrick Mahomes is an outlier of like you can look at what they have on offense
and you say, well, he can get it done. But at some point I'm looking at that and I see him play through the regular season, I'm saying I believe that he can still get it done with the players that he has on the squad. Like I think that Ceedee Lamb, Ferguson, the emergency of Ferguson last year, had at Zeke and Tony Poller, Like, you've had opportunities where you had enough weapons to at least get further into
the playoffs, and we still haven't. We haven't seen And it's the performance that he puts out there in the playoffs. It's not like those other guys not showing up. It's some of the things that are on just on him.
Quarterback, the quarterback Brandon cooks his resume and what he's done in his career. Last year there was a disconnect, and I've got to come back in here to the coaching staff. You had a player who's been putting up a thousand, thousand and thousand, and been putting up a thousand.
With some Jag quarterbacks.
So I look at that last year as a failure of the use of the player overall, because the player's resume shows you he can he can perform, and there were times where we saw Brandon Cook's perform.
So I'm not as sold as.
I say some people talking about a wide receiver and second to third round for the Cowboys, like, I really don't think that's the issue to me. To me, the issue still on the front lines. You you you can't stop them running, okay, And what do we keep seeing in these playoff games, these teams bullying them. I mean, I go back to when Jason Garrett was here and they went out to Los Angeles and the Coliseum and they got two dudes rushed for one hundred and ten
on them. I mean, just this thing's been You've been getting bullied up front for ages, San Francisco, Green Bay.
They just we're gonna run on you and cut your heart.
Out, Yeah, this is and and so that so, so follow that up with your offensive line issues.
Too, So we can talk all day long about a receiver.
To me, that's one of the last things I'm gonna fix at address here. If I come back with Lamb Cooks Ferguson, I'm gonna try to find somebody.
I got told bon I'm gonna try and.
Find somebody at that level because I think they've got enough here.
You gotta fix these You got to fix it up front now, I mean absolutely, I absolutely agree with you.
I think the conversation just evolved around gallop in the way that the offense was last season. But when you go back to the Green Bay Law, it was I put that in the lap of the defense. I think your defense lets you down in so many ways. The ball game was out of control before you even could get your offense in any rhythm. They had twenty one points. So let's just I mean being realistic about it. I don't think that a big time wide receiver is going to fix all of our problems. I think a running
back is going to fix your problems. That's what that's So let's let's let's take a break and hit on that.
Okay, let's take a break hit on that and I We'll start with a free agent and somebody of the Mavericks game hit me up with this Derrick Henry. So when we come back, I want to get your thoughts on Derrick Henry, who I did not know.
Liz it right here in Dallas for worth. So let's talk about.
Roll time when we come back here and other running backs. The players that about you by Tostitos, Barry Church, where are you at having the time? Barry birthday Boy? Danny Craze here, heck maher since here on new scruts. Players not about you by Tosteel, the Dallas Guy. What's dot comedy.
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Is a Sunday, by the way, March twenty four. That's a huge week. I know it's so you know what it is.
Oh, but you got Concer Calf come here, Rangers open up. The Rangers getting ready to open up the season. The final for the regionals, the regional is here. So you got the elite eight games in the elite I said, the sweet sixteen games in the Elite eight regional final.
And that team is gonna dance.
We have women's just a man last year. Were lucky enough last year to had the women's final four. I saw you talking about my folks, to let them. Let us up. All right, you know what, I can't wait. I got like three minutes. The coach is rubbish, that's all. She is, straight rubbish.
But but I love First off.
She said, don't go picking on the little people. Pick on somebody on size. Angel was walking the other ways. She's not scared of that.
She was. She was like, you saw what her tweets said. The person my status, she said, She said her ankle was hurt. A person of her status, she said, person of my status is not going to get involved in that. I do not I do not indulge.
But the black dudes jumping out the stands, over the scos table onto the court.
It's it beyond people sometimes what do we do? Saw the women's basket, but he saw how big.
Hole girl was.
Over there and just saw how what just hers a whole like there's a whole budget.
You know, sometimes you could do something so stupid and when you do, it's just like I'm dumb.
Like I'm here now. I didn't think about it all.
The way through.
With the police officer right here too.
Man, the police was right on the man.
That's a tough go LSU South Carolina.
That was a great game, by the way, both times that.
Was overshadowed by that event.
And I'm tell you what, women's basketball is taking a turn.
Boy, Kayla Clark.
You don't want to give her the credit for the magnetism and the eyes that she's brought to women's basketball. But I think just with the way that South Carolina Don Staley is doing an amazing job.
LSU was always there, man.
So I mean, I'm looking forward to that just as much as I'm looking to looking forward to.
The men the tournament.
It's gonna be a good tournament with the talent that you had there, and especially teams that are allowed up at the top too. So it's gonna be a good tournament.
Last year's final four at the American Airline Center in Dallas, uh, I really feel fortunate to have gone to that. I went to the practice they had, but the practice was full. Iowa fans came out last year. That was my first time just kind of seeing the whole Caitlyn Clark mania of what that was South Carolina. The it was watching down Staley reminded me of watching President.
Obama when he was running.
The way people treated her superstar and then of course l SU all the fans who came out there for that.
It was a party. And poor Virginia Tech. How did we get here? It was the ye you know, but they got the brother head coach. Everybody good to see you. Yeah.
But but but that was that was a heck of a heck of a run in Dallas and the second time they've had the Final four of South Carolina ended up winning it over Mississippi State a couple of years ago, and missisps State had that great shot when they.
Beat you can't.
So I look forward to maybe four or five years until it comes back to Dallas Fort Worth again, another soul out arena.
But yes, this final four here could be pretty good.
But I want to ask you this a sports journalist, You've seen a lot of great women basketball players and watching Caitlyn Clark, and I know it's this argument on social media that makes no sense because you go back to Sheryl Swoops and Miller all of that. Right, she is a phenomenal basketball player.
I saw swoops.
I saw swoops too, That's what I'm saying, Like, I mean, you saw soweps.
What playing?
Oh, I think you said you saw I hated the other day, No hat she was hating, but I didn't see she was hating.
Busy and was wrong. But you know what a lot too loud and wrong.
She said, Kaitlyn Clark doesn't deserve whatever she gets because the person's record that she was breaking only played four years and Kaitlyn Clark had a COVID year, so she had more time, which is wrong.
Katevin Clark's in her fourth year. Yeah, she didn't have a COVID.
Sometimes, I mean a lot of people, a lot of people call themselves coming from off the top rope. And Cheryl Schill, she's gonna be wrong about she can. She's the one player that could be wrong, loud and wrong because of the kind of player that she was. I'm just saying when I watched her play, it's just her game is so dynamic, h that it's just it's something to watch. And so that's what That's what I was asking you, man, what do you you know, what do you think about her game?
What when I saw her play in the suits, hitting these shots and just the way the crowd was, uh, it was it was fun. That's the one thing I think about just she was fun to watch and then her teammates fent off of her. The whole thing was just fun to watch. And I go back to the skin pul virginny Tech, nothing against you, but all the other three teams were fun to watch. The way South
Carolina play, the way they went about it. LSU would Angel, I mean they I mean that in that championship game, man and the girls come off the bench.
Man, she was nail in a couple of three. I mean it was. It was really good basketball.
And the way all three South Carolina LSU, they all had a Player of the Year, all three.
Of them had legit like this this star.
Right here and other players who fed off them, and the coaches who understood how to use them. But home girl was hitting some shots and was balling. I don't have an issue. And this is what happens.
Man.
People want the sport to get more publicity, then there becomes an issue of who gets more publicity than the Angelice was at the podium talking the other day about one of her teammates so and she said, hey, give her her flowers.
I'm not here without her.
It is what it is, man. And when you.
When you get a player like Caitlin Clark balling like she's balling, and she's a fantastic storyline, and people have written it's going to get out there, some people gonna have issues. We don't like that, and we know what some of the underlying issues are.
And we know this the unfortunate ones. Okay, but eyeballs are watching.
And when she gets drafted by a w NBA team, whoever gets the number one pick, that team is going to sell out. When when wherever she goes, when she comes right down here to play in Arlington against the Dallas Wings at the UTA, people come and show up. They're gonna show up, and that's good for the sport.
So tell me how this is bad when people are talking about normally they're not talking about and they're talking about you, And what if we talked about just kind of the last two years has been South Carolina and LSU.
Now we're talking about Iowa. Now we talk about is this a bad thing? Yeah?
We complained about that because all I know is everybody trying to catch the NFL.
We we're talking about non stop, now stop NFL today. You know it is it is. We're around here now we can talk tampering today.
Yes, we're talking about tampering. And who's gonna sign Whatere Henry, Derek Henny.
I'm at the math game, guy, like you win a basketball, they need to sign Dereck Henry, That's what they I'm like, bruh, what's deck? What is Derreck Henry good? How many carries you think you needed about Dereck Henry? Be Derek Henry good? About twenty two?
Right?
You think Derek Henry will get twenty two carries?
Mike McCarthy augience, No, I would disagree. Now, I don't know about twenty two.
Listen, Tony Paulo was floating around seventeen eighteen. I could see you getting four more if you're productive. If Tony Paula was getting more yards and that three yards and the cloud to us are falling forward, I think he would have got three four more carriers. But I think that's something you get when you when you have a Dereck Henry, especially when you're trying to close a game out.
That's a commitment, and they made a commitment to him in Tennessee. We are a run team. If I'm going to sign Dereck Henry and pay the man, you have to make that commitment.
How did it go for Tennessee? Mike's never made that commitment. They would they wouldn't. They got fuller than us.
A championship win with Derrick Henry. No, no, I'm talking about what version of Derrick Henry are we getting. I'm not opposed to it, no matter what. When I look at free agency and my and my expectations in free agencies is low low, Okay, then all I'm saying is we've we've gone out and we've gotten a Rico Dado kind of guys in the past. How is that work? Because we're not getting a difference maker at the position.
We went into the draft, we got deduced fun that we still didn't figure out a way even how to make that work throughout the season. It is incumbent upon this team, this organization to find a way to get a running game that is effected throughout the season. We went eight nine games without one hundred yard rusher and not even combined in situations, and we tried to figure out ways and throwing the ball. I'm calling the sweat myself.
I'm just saying that there has to be a difference in this running game because we were never a threat at all. There were no eight man boxes. So are you saying that Derrick Henry is a difference maker or not. I don't know what version of Derrick Henry we're getting.
I'm saying over the last couple of years, I saw the dimension returns on Derrick Henry, and I think if Derrick Henry agrees to come here and say look, I'm gonna come off the bench, I'm you know, it's gonna be a thunder and lightning kind of deal.
Who's the thunder and who's the lightning? You know?
I just I want to and then how much of this changes our offensive line philosophy because and it seemed like to me we were doing those outside zones where you know, this Tony Poler was getting out of space. He was more effective on the outside, but then we were using him as a battering ram in other situations. So I mean, we never had any true flow to our running game at all, and so I don't know how Derrick Henry, how effective he can be in this offense.
That's it.
We do we have true flow to our renting game. When we had Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard the previous year was it was it pretty much known that thunder and lightning when you know what you were gonna get, and you know what type of runs Ezekiel Elliot was gonna get. And then when you had that change the pace when you put a guy like Tony Pollard in, we knew what our renting game is. Yes, yeah, I think I think what a Derrick Henry dependent on the price.
I think everything to me is dependent on the price. Like I'm not gonna go pay him Christian McCaffrey type. So anyway, that's that's all I'm gonna I'm just the thought of like, okay, we because we all talked about red zone, like what do you do when you're on the goal line? Like that is an instant solved to the issue that you were talking about. And then also Derrick Henry what we saw last year because he was
coming off of injury the year before. I believe, Yes, it's the longer, the further the season got going, he still got the speed to be able to break away and get those fifty yard runs if he needs to. But the most important part of it is when you get into the second half, or you get into the second part of that third quarter.
Has he punished you in the first and second to.
Where you could tell that the defensive linement and defensive whoever don't want.
To tackle him.
That's consistent with a guy like Derrick Henry. It's consistent. Has he had games to where you like he's not doing much? Most people have except for Christian McCaffrey. But I think Derrick Henry here as the thunder. I think I don't think you lose with that one.
So if you pay for Derrick Henry is thunder.
What you just said, how do you how do we.
Reimagine the running game to take advantage of him?
Because this is.
Not something we've seen. Have we seen a bull like this from Mike McCarthy. Had Ryan Clark year, I mean Ryan Grant one year and on the Super Bowl season then he got hurt, but we haven't really seen him do that where they line up Dak just handed off and didn go.
We haven't seen that.
If you get Derrick Henry, I'm imagining at this point because McCarty s they want to Pollard back, so you're saying goodbye to Pollo.
So we get Derrick Henry. Are you now going.
Into the draft on Day two or three looking for enough because you need to get someone.
Right, two compensatory picks.
So to me, I think you got to go back skip Pete gave them what they need.
You need two backs. Yes, the goal line is.
An issue, but I just don't notice Derrick Henry fit the kind of run game that we've.
Seen from Mike McCarthy. Biggest questions is it more Brandon Jacob. I'm not Brandon Jacobs, Josh Jacobs for the Raiders.
Who's free that fits a little bit more of what they're going to do obviously costs is their Sequon Barkley another guy that make you hear people talk about.
But my issue with Barley.
Has been healthy is healthy that's the scary part. But he proved last year.
He didn't he prove it last year that he can stay healthy.
I think he's he's still end up getting banged up last season, but yeah, he did. He did play a healthier season, but he still ended up getting banged up. Very DeMarco Murray is to me.
And when I think of DeMarco Murray, he was always hurt and even the last year when he won Player of the Year, he hurt his hand.
He was hurt.
And so for me, Saquon had to win name and last year everybody, everybody will take it up.
Go I could go soldier.
I mean that's because you're trying to get paid.
I but his cost is of all the backs that are out there, I think Saquon is going to be the priceest and I just don't think the Cowboys are going to get into the point of pricing themselves. You paid ten million dollars for running back last year, and I'm not mad at Tony Pollard.
They put that attack them, but you had a lot of money.
Think about between Tony Pollard and Michael Gott that's twenty three million dollars.
So.
Of dudes who just did not give you what you needed. I just don't see any I don't see it. First of all, none of these guys getting ten million, I don't see it. If you get six if a group, if these guys get six, that might be high.
I mean prices are dropping again here back.
To what you were talking about in this when we were talking about Dak, and you know how everyone wants to have a conversation about receiver. I think the way that you preserve Dak is through the running game. It has historically been the case, especially when you talk about Zeke. And this is the part that we missed last season, and especially in those games where teams were just playing hot and seek against US and San Francisco game. Look no further than that, we just did not have an
effective enough running game. Then let's go to the playoffs. Look at the teams that had success in the playoffs. What did they do. We always talk about Patrick Mahomes and how great he is during the playoff time, but it was Pacheco that really made defenses kind of have to sit in that box because of how effective the running game was. We cannot negate this and start talking like fantasy football owners.
I know that's you, guys, but I'm just saying to think that football.
Still isn't fundamentally played, you know, in between the tackles.
We were not good at that at all.
And that's argument deck hearing, especially when you're saying six, Yeah, what I loved about what you said was in goal line. And I've said I'll keep repeating you go back to the Miami game. We win that game if you can score on the goal line, Philadelphia, if you can score on the goal line, and we just we were not
effective in that way. And to try and rewrite the narrative that oh we just need that, No, we need other guys to contribute ceedee, Lamb was balling on a budget, all right, But then you you did not have a running game that was effective.
And there was some misfires between Dak and CD and in that game early on here they.
Were they had their own Yeah, yeah, they together were good.
But I agree, I go back to Dak and Lamar, and I'm putting these two guys at the hip right now in the terms of the playoffs because they basically have the same playoff record.
Neither team ran the ball effectively to help the quarter which.
Is crazy for Baltimore. Though it's crazier for Baltimore than it is for us.
Yeah, I don't know what. I don't know what in the world they came up with. During the week they said this is gonna work. It was terrible. But I just think if you're going to help them, that's the best way to help. Tony Romo's best year was when they gave a ball. DeMarco Murray, I agree with you, and so yes, that has to be fixed. It's got to be I don't know how they do it. You got to fix the offensive line. Let's take our last
break here. Let's talk about the defensive line. I want to give you a name of a free agent that I think the Cowboys should really look at since Chris Jones.
Ended up going they was gonna sign Chris Jones movie, but had a dream.
So now I get back to reality.
Let's do that next right here, players last by you got Tostitos on das Cowboys dot com rady.
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As they snapped the press, guy who looks right, it's not there.
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He'll run for a first down. Just like football.
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Thank you, Heck.
Maherison, the player is not about by Tostito's on new SCRUSS. We've got Danny McCrae had his birthday yesterday, thirty six years young.
Appreciate you right here.
So Cowboys free agency, there's Chris Jones five years, one hundred fifty eight million dollars for Kansas City, one hundred and one million dollars guaranteed. This brother's worth every single penny. After Patrick Mahomes, I think he is their most important player and hats off to Kansas City for shipping off Tyreek Hill arguably the if not the best. He's one of the top three wide receivers in the NFL and they gain won two championships without him.
Wow, can you said that? Number? One hundred and fifty eight.
Million dollars for five years for Chris Jones, one hundred and one million of guaranteed, and there's not This is nobody saying a word overpaid, no worth every penny.
He's gonna call some other people to get overpaid.
That's true. No, no, no, that's other people to get an overplay. It's some guys looking at that saying, oh the Chris Christian.
Wilkins, Christian Wilkins in miamis looking at Jops and just saying, oh, I don't need.
One hundred and one million, keep you me ninety.
Five now, Christian Williams, the Christian Wilkins. That's a good player coming out of Clemson. I love him as a player, but he he ain't that I mean, Aidan Hutchinson's gonna be open with year. They be talking to him about it soon.
Hutchinson will be a guy that franchise, you know. But but so for me, the guy I look at and I just say, hey, hey, hey, Leonard Williams Seattle, that was with the Giants before. There's there's a defensive lineman that I that. You know, Hey, Jerry, go get that guy. But Leonard Williams, I think I think you help your football team.
No he's not. He's not Chris Jones, not Aaron Donald's not Wilkins.
But play for sure.
He's a player, and that's what you need right now. You need a player. Got to stop the run. They're not Teams are just running on you. The big Fangio blueprint is still out here, is still effective, It's still working. So guys, how do you feel about Leonard Williams.
I like it. I just.
The where I'm torn at is the most important part. Like I wanted to be interior. I know they still gonna try to give Mazi. I know they're still gonna try to give Maziri.
Hankins.
My fear is linebacker almost more than defensive defensive line at this time, just because when you look at the position and you look at Overshan who will be coming off a big time injury. You look at not having Lane Vanderish, Michael Parsons is not playing linebacker. You're looking
at Marquis Bell going back to safety. What do you have there outside of the mont Clark Yeah, that you feel comfortable about because when you look at defensive line, for whatever we feel about Mazi and whatever, that's the first round pick who's going to the second year, who's going to get an opportunity if you have to plug in Hank's there and then you still have an opportunity
to figure it out. I'm not saying don't worry about the defensive line, but when I look at the second level, that like, that's where I'm like, that's what we need to find out. Two or three guys I like Leonard Williams. I think that'll be an amazing addition to the squad. But linebacker, to me is where I'm just I'm ultra focused on how do we got a guy.
Got a dream? Have a dream guy?
Yeah got look at I didn't need to see how Shack played last year? Was Shack Beary Checkberry. I didn't see how he played last year. But I'm just looking at names, and I'm saying what we needed the position. We need a leader at the position when somebody's gonna wear that green dot, somebody who has experience of being in there on those type of teams where they know what it looks like, know how to communicate that, and I think we need a.
Guy like that I had.
I didn't watch Shack, but that's just the name where I'm saying well, I mean, I know what I saw him do in years past. We've had plenty of opportunity to go out and get guys. I think of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebackers Devin White and the other the other guy. I mean they We've had opportunities to bring guys. In Chicago Bears traded a guy to Baltimore. It had an opportunity to get him, we passed on him. We've always had this mantra that we've believed in our guys.
But I'm with you, Danny, it's these are just blaring needs at the linebacker position. And if you can bring in a Pat Queen, a player like that that can solidify, be that green dot guy, but also be a calming force in the middle of that defense, we haven't. I'm with you. I think Leonard Williams is one of those guys that could, you know, to gap run support type of a guy. Look, Mazi, we're gonna give him grace from last season. He's got to come in and be
two times better than what he was last season. And having a coach like Zimmer that and I didn't think that dan Quinn was pacifying him at all. But you know, that Zimmer's gonna be all up in his stuff and he's gonna have to make some changes to his game.
He can't be as easily moved as he was last season and the guys around him, which were lighter defensive line guys, And so I'm looking at zimmers defense and I'm sure from what he understands, the priority has to be trying to get that three tech, that big guy one tech, that big guy in the middle that can stop the run. But just as important as that, the linebacker position. You had no one that could step up
and plug those gaps and stop the run. And you can go back as far as Arizona to see that it was linebacker play that really hurt us.
So just just pulled up just a couple of linebackers of free Patrick Queen Baltimore Price Pro Bowler last year, Miami's Jerome Baker, free agent linebacker out there, Carolina Panthers Frankie Louvu twelve and.
A half sacks the last two years.
Jordan Brooks Seattle, twenty six years old for a first round pick, Levonte David Tampa Bay.
I'm not bad.
I'm thinking about Leon, Yeah, him and Devin White was out there thirty four. Yeah, yeah, I mean no matter.
Okay.
So so that is one. And this is the interesting thing I would say about about the line back. This is a this is an interesting Zimmer type call, Mike, what what is it you need?
You know, what what is it you want? What is it you need? I agree with you. In terms of looking at.
A linebacker in free agency, my biggest thing is if I even want to help the linebacker, A guy like Leonard Williams.
Is gonna help your linebacker absolutely, So I'm trying to.
Pluck that thing in there first, because if he's taking up some space and taking up some tackles, and then put him next to somebody like, oh so Diggy's now now my linebacker, and go get get work done. You know, ray Lewis was always able to do such great work because it was a Sam Adams and Tony Sarah Goose in front of me.
He had guys with boom he could get there.
So if I'm gonna help my linebacker, you know, I ain't gonna help my linebacker if I got slim fast MASI out there.
That's my point. You don't have no who you're helping. You ain't got so.
I think it's kind of as it's a two full problem. You know, it's not like it's not one or the other, it's yes and yes day.
I mean, And that's a hard comparison when you say, I mean, because that whole defense was molded around the way that Ray played and you had the I mean, you couldn't get but a four hundred pound guy in each one of those guys to allow Raid to scrape and run the way just our defense design wasn't like that, and I just felt it.
It felt at times we got exposed.
But now with Zim, it's going to be a different d just based off what you're saying, because what does he have of Minnesota got big boys and so that's where he had your Kendricks is out there and bar those guys. So that's that's where it's going to be different than DQ. And that part of it is where I think free agency has to play a part. You just can't wait on the draft. Some of these guys you got to get in here, plug him in. Maybe there's a barget basement prices like Lindel Joseph is available
played for Mike. Yes he's older, but that's where I'm going to be very interested to see where they go and how they decide to get so.
Much a free agency.
To make it work has to be about how do you use the player? People want to just look at a player, now, how does that player use how does that coach use him?
So I kind of go back to dere Derek Henry or Mike Mike McCarthy.
Is he gonna use him the way you're gonna come and say, oh my gosh, you got Derrick Henry?
Are you using right just as well? And I know your frustration. Okay, Brandon Cooks.
Was Brandon Cooks used the way Brandon Cooks has been using his screer? No, that's the problem with all free agencies. Hey we signed so and so and such and such. Yeah, but he ain't doing what he used to do. That's what you gotta do. So for Mike Zimmer, as he looks at this defense, it's not what DQ's running.
How do they give Mike the pieces?
And we know Mike likes big defensive lineman because he's gonna try to stop them.
And you may lose guys like Doriance Armstrong also a guy that was a tweeter that gave you some flexibility, and so I mean it's still there's still a lot of movie pieces, so you may be feeling these gaps solely based off of necessity.
It's gonna be work. It's gonna be some work.
It's gonna be a lot of fun as they try to figure out these pieces. And that's why we we cover this and it's gonna be a great time. So everybody enjoyed the league year coming up and what these deals are gonna be today and we'll talk about it all next week.
Danny Craig birthday, boy, appreciate you.
Man Church will be back next week. Let's bring break is only one week.
I don't know if he might be retired from after they come back. Well, we shall see.
We shall see how new response.
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