Speaker 1: The following. He's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Are you ready for
Speaker 1: a break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that.
Speaker 1: It's time for the Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton. Hello, guys,
Speaker 1: welcome to episode one nine seven something stop. I remember Garcia.
Speaker 1: I'll be your host for today. I'm joined by the
Speaker 1: usual cast, Nick Imman, David Hellman, Uh, Derek Eagleton. He's
Speaker 1: still a part of the show. I believe he's gonna
Speaker 1: be back next week. Right now, he's having a full
Speaker 1: graduation party of three people in his family graduating, and
Speaker 1: I believe his son is graduating from middle I think
Speaker 1: he just saw on Twitter what was going on last
Speaker 1: week and he was just he said, you know what,
Speaker 1: if I'm not wanted after what happened last week, I
Speaker 1: don't miss him. Good. Oh cool. I'm sure he'll hear that.
Speaker 1: That's okay. We do have a lot of a lot
Speaker 1: of things to discuss. First of all, Tapper's injury. He
Speaker 1: suffered a concussion on Tuesday's practice. Uh, somewhat surprising to some,
Speaker 1: maybe not that surprising to others due to the fact
Speaker 1: that he's proud to be known to be having, you know,
Speaker 1: suffering several injuries. Poor guy. I feel terrible. I love
Speaker 1: the guy, but he just he doesn't get a break.
Speaker 1: I mean, concussions and OTAs, that's a new one. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's where you know, when you're injury prone. I
Speaker 1: mean that happens, and uh, you're right. I honestly I
Speaker 1: hate saying this. I always kind of forget about Tapper
Speaker 1: until he gets hurt. I mean, like when he comes
Speaker 1: back up into a headline, like I just I just don't.
Speaker 1: You can't count on him right now. You can count
Speaker 1: on Chaz Green more than you can count on Tapper
Speaker 1: right now. That's just kind of the way I look
Speaker 1: at it. Yeah, I mean I'm not gonna overreact because
Speaker 1: I mean, well, with this team, concussions can mean lengthier
Speaker 1: absences than some But uh, you know, if it's just
Speaker 1: run of the mill, I mean that's a that's a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks and it's May thirty first, so but yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's just you know, it's an unfortunate tendency
Speaker 1: that he has displayed over the course of his career.
Speaker 1: He's only appeared in one game, I think, which was
Speaker 1: the season opener last year. Yeah, he did, he did.
Speaker 1: It's great. Yeah, but you know it's just you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's it sucks for him, and it's kind of
Speaker 1: unfair because players don't do anything to bring injury on
Speaker 1: themselves typically, But you know, when it, you know, the
Speaker 1: third time in three years, you're just kind of like, okay,
Speaker 1: man cool. He is the classic example of a guy
Speaker 1: that will probably just at some point it'll run its
Speaker 1: course and they'll move von and he'll sign with you know,
Speaker 1: Cincinnati and have like eight sacks in a season or
Speaker 1: something like that. I mean, he could be somebody else's
Speaker 1: George Selvy. He's clearly a talented player. Yeah. Um, and
Speaker 1: I think this is probably his last shot here just
Speaker 1: I mean, he's a fourth round pick, third year. There's
Speaker 1: nothing tying you to him significantly, and I think he
Speaker 1: needs to have a great and healthy training camp. Um.
Speaker 1: Otherwise I think they'll probably just say, all right, let's
Speaker 1: call it what it is. So and and this is
Speaker 1: this means nothing in terms of that. Like I said,
Speaker 1: I mean I would expect this doesn't affect his availability
Speaker 1: for training camp at all. So it's just kind of,
Speaker 1: like I said, it's I just kind of a bummer
Speaker 1: when it's in a row Tapper, and you know, the
Speaker 1: writing was on the wall when they drafted Dorance Armstrong,
Speaker 1: another fourth round pick that it's like, you know, he's
Speaker 1: now he's got that same role that Tapper had. So
Speaker 1: I don't think there's there's no guarantee Tapper makes this
Speaker 1: team if he's fully healthy. He needs to be healthy
Speaker 1: and have a great game. So and like I said,
Speaker 1: that doesn't mean he won't, but it's just an unfortunate setback,
Speaker 1: especially for a non contact practice. And speaking of concussions,
Speaker 1: Jason Garrett did kind of hit on the whole Rico
Speaker 1: Gathers topic and what happened there. We were all wondering
Speaker 1: all last year why did Gathers disappear from everywhere? You know,
Speaker 1: we didn't see him around too much. But the whole
Speaker 1: fact it was that he suffered the concussion, and by
Speaker 1: the time that he was kind of somewhat healthy, he
Speaker 1: was at a point that the team was just too
Speaker 1: far into the season to bring in a guy like
Speaker 1: him to even give him a chance to play, and
Speaker 1: when you have Jason Waite on the field, obviously that's
Speaker 1: a given that nothing's going to happen there. But based
Speaker 1: on the yesterday's practice, to me watching him this week
Speaker 1: versus last week, I did see some improvement there. He
Speaker 1: was making some good blogs and catching the ball not
Speaker 1: really dropping it. Well, we're y'all's observation. I mean, like
Speaker 1: we said before, you know, he's a guy that just
Speaker 1: stands out for obvious reasons because he's because the size
Speaker 1: is there, he looks the part. Uh, he's still figuring
Speaker 1: out the ins and outs of the game. Um. But
Speaker 1: you know, I think I think this is a critical
Speaker 1: time for him. I think the OTAs and in mini
Speaker 1: camps are bigger for him than any other person, just
Speaker 1: because he has to show that he's picking things up,
Speaker 1: that he could be reliable. It is not about catching
Speaker 1: the ball and all that. It is about making sure
Speaker 1: your quarterback does not get you know, sacked because you
Speaker 1: missed your protection and all that. So it's it's every
Speaker 1: other little part of the game that's not about his athleticism.
Speaker 1: It's the mental part of it. Uh. And this is
Speaker 1: the really these are critical moments for him. Not only that,
Speaker 1: but I think Jason Garrett's willingness to admit that is
Speaker 1: kind of telling, because, Yeah, let's say it was Blake Jarwin,
Speaker 1: who has been played he played college, He played tight
Speaker 1: end his whole college career. I assume he's been playing
Speaker 1: tight end since he was like, you know, thirteen or
Speaker 1: fourteen years old. Whatever. If that were him, they would
Speaker 1: bring him back and let him. He's practicing. He needs
Speaker 1: to practice, he needs to get better. He needs to
Speaker 1: he can play scout team and contribute and give you
Speaker 1: looks that is going to mimic what the opponent's going
Speaker 1: to do. They didn't even want to do that with Rico,
Speaker 1: which means they don't even trust him to do that.
Speaker 1: They don't trust him to give you good looks in
Speaker 1: practice and do scout team stuff and play special teams. Like,
Speaker 1: if you're not willing to bring him back and let
Speaker 1: him practice and do stuff, that means you have no
Speaker 1: confidence that he can even get a jersey on Sunday.
Speaker 1: I disagree a little bit because you had to make
Speaker 1: a decision to bring him back. You've got him either
Speaker 1: knock somebody off the roster or cut him and put
Speaker 1: him on the practice squad, and I don't think they
Speaker 1: felt like they could get him through. But that's I mean,
Speaker 1: you can't knock somebody else off the it kind of
Speaker 1: you know, I mean, I don't want to give away
Speaker 1: what we're going to talk about later, but it reminds
Speaker 1: me of the Darius Jackson thing that I harped on
Speaker 1: for so long. It's like you couldn't find somebody else,
Speaker 1: Like if he was really gonna be able to help you,
Speaker 1: if you had even a shred of confidence that he'd
Speaker 1: be able to help you during the course of the season,
Speaker 1: you could find somebody to get rid of. And it's
Speaker 1: easier to say that now too, when you're when you
Speaker 1: go nine to seven and it didn't matter anyways, it's
Speaker 1: easier to go there's a linebacker, there's a Justin Marshalala
Speaker 1: or somebody who I guess my point, you're you know,
Speaker 1: there are a lot of fans out there who you know,
Speaker 1: he can, he can do something, he can be a
Speaker 1: red zone threat. He's he's the goat in waiting, whereas
Speaker 1: maybe they're wrong, but the way they view him is
Speaker 1: there like he's so far behind, he's got so much
Speaker 1: to learn. That we can't do anything with him during
Speaker 1: the sixth day, sixth day grind of the season. Goes
Speaker 1: back to my point, this is why these are so
Speaker 1: critical for him, these practices. Well, let's just go ahead
Speaker 1: and give the quick roster update. On Tuesday, the Cowboys
Speaker 1: released rooky free agents Malik Girl and Ed Shockley and
Speaker 1: signed linebacker Pinkins. Right, Pinkins Pinkins. Yeah, to add a
Speaker 1: little bit of death there at the linebacker decision. And
Speaker 1: yesterday they released guard Jake Robertson and defensive tackle the
Speaker 1: Quintin Osborne and signed wide receiver Mikauli McKay. Hopefully I'm
Speaker 1: saying these names McKay. Yeah, there you go, defensive tackle
Speaker 1: Antoine Woods, and your guy Darius Jackson. Okay, now yeah,
Speaker 1: this brings back some question. Okay, what is going to
Speaker 1: happen at the running back position? Darius Jackson's about to
Speaker 1: go for a thousand, That's what's about that? Hey, So
Speaker 1: where does that leave bow Scarbro. Well, you know, Zeke
Speaker 1: may not get to play if there is Jackson's If
Speaker 1: Dars jack I mean, we have to deal with this
Speaker 1: with you, like, I mean, what is the where's the
Speaker 1: one makes seem so exciting to you, to you and
Speaker 1: not the other team have picked him up, it doesn't,
Speaker 1: I mean, and I'm not dumb in the grand I mean,
Speaker 1: he's he's a back end of the depth chart running back. Um,
Speaker 1: this is more about what the Cowboys. Well, it's it's
Speaker 1: a little bit of both. He he's Okay. For those
Speaker 1: of you who don't remember, if you're listening to this show,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you do. He's a sixth round pick of
Speaker 1: the count They drafted him before they drafted Rico the
Speaker 1: Great hype gathers. He had a great training camp, like
Speaker 1: he played special teams. He was good in the opportunities
Speaker 1: that he got. I thought he had really impressive quickness
Speaker 1: and shiftiness. And then kind of going back to my
Speaker 1: point about Rico, he was good enough that they kept
Speaker 1: him on the roster for three months despite he never
Speaker 1: got a jersey. He could not get off the inactives list,
Speaker 1: which not trying to be mean, but like that's it's
Speaker 1: just kind of a waste if you just if from
Speaker 1: week to week you can't even get active once. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're just carrying him for basically depth purposes and for
Speaker 1: the future. Yeah, and so that says a lot when
Speaker 1: you carry a guy for twelve weeks that you don't
Speaker 1: think can help you on a game day. And then
Speaker 1: you know, Darren McFadden came off of NFI and Randy
Speaker 1: Gregory came back from suspension and they cut him, and
Speaker 1: I bet they thought they could get him to the
Speaker 1: practice squad and they didn't. And it was never for
Speaker 1: me about that. I thought Darius Jackson was this amazing player.
Speaker 1: I just thought the logic didn't make sense. I thought
Speaker 1: it was stupid um and so clearly it worked. It
Speaker 1: worked out. I mean, the Cowboys still have a great
Speaker 1: running back. Their running back situation looks fine. And Darius,
Speaker 1: you know, I actually talked to him yesterday. He had
Speaker 1: a whole h He called it a really humbling year.
Speaker 1: I mean, he wound up in Cleveland, he got hurt
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, was on IR with an ACL all last year.
Speaker 1: And then as soon as he was healthy and like
Speaker 1: excited about contributing their you know, ah, we're good bye
Speaker 1: and uh. And then you know, you get a real
Speaker 1: look at what the NFL is like when you're unemployed
Speaker 1: and maybe only two or three teams are interested in
Speaker 1: talking to you. Then it comes comes back yesterday and
Speaker 1: gets the ball, gets one play. Yeah, gets what happened
Speaker 1: in that place? He nothing, He didn't they threw him.
Speaker 1: I mean it's fine. And the first yeah, coming back
Speaker 1: to answer to answer your question, it doesn't mean anything.
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, yeah, Zeke is you still got Zeke?
Speaker 1: And then I would you know, Rod Smith is the
Speaker 1: number two as far as I'm concerned. But again a
Speaker 1: lot of people were very hyped with bo. Yeah, well
Speaker 1: coming off to draft, So what happens there with that
Speaker 1: third spot? Competition? Man, And that's you know, the one
Speaker 1: thing that we've been saying about Bow is everybody's hyped
Speaker 1: about him because he's super talented, a known name from
Speaker 1: a big name program. But he's a seventh round pick.
Speaker 1: There's no there's no guarantee he makes this team. And
Speaker 1: Darius is a guy with experience on special teams. So competition,
Speaker 1: I mean, I'd be I would be surprised if both
Speaker 1: of those guys made the team. And so I would guess,
Speaker 1: if we're being real, obviously Darius is my guy, but
Speaker 1: I would bet that they hope Bow beats him. Bow
Speaker 1: is better than him in camp, I mean, what more
Speaker 1: can you do? Yeah, Scarborough should be again, which well,
Speaker 1: and I think that Darius Jackson's a great guy to
Speaker 1: compete because Darius Jackson's a guy who can do multiple things,
Speaker 1: uh and gives you a look. I mean, he's got
Speaker 1: the talent to be your third running back, but he
Speaker 1: can also he can do return, he can do all
Speaker 1: that type of This is also a team that that
Speaker 1: would love to play Zeke one to seven snaps in
Speaker 1: the whole preseason. You know that's yeah, they don't want
Speaker 1: him carrying the ball. Absolutely, anybody else I can carry
Speaker 1: the ball to finish these games would be great. I
Speaker 1: don't think it's remotely a lock that Darius makes the team.
Speaker 1: And I'm not gonna go as far as to say
Speaker 1: I would be surprised, but I would I wouldn't bet
Speaker 1: money on it. I still, you know, I think Bo
Speaker 1: Scarborough is probably the guy, but quality competition in a
Speaker 1: spot where they wanted some other the other moves. You know,
Speaker 1: I thought Osborne was doing some decent things and uh,
Speaker 1: and Shockley was a guy that I thought had a
Speaker 1: chance to kind of you know, be a contributor and
Speaker 1: maybe be a special teams guy. But you know, when
Speaker 1: when it's this early in the game and they they say,
Speaker 1: now what we're moving on? I mean, they obviously didn't
Speaker 1: flash at all. This is the this is the time
Speaker 1: year when you just keep churning that roster is Bill
Speaker 1: Parcells used to say, and you you definitely do. But
Speaker 1: I always think it's funny. Like you know, Stephen Jones
Speaker 1: said it like two days ago, we talked to him
Speaker 1: at a press conference. He's like, you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: shorts and jerseys. It's cool to see him move, but
Speaker 1: what can you really see? Well, if you don't think
Speaker 1: a guy has got anything, you can see that apparently
Speaker 1: because you're cutting people. Yeah, and a lot of it,
Speaker 1: as I said with Rico, a lot of it is
Speaker 1: more than that. It's it's just they get in these meetings.
Speaker 1: They know who's picking it up and who isn't. And
Speaker 1: you know that's that's a good point to things that
Speaker 1: we see right now. But but they definitely know how
Speaker 1: far along is this guy from from actually getting this thing?
Speaker 1: Do you trust him? Like? No way? Yeah, it's true.
Speaker 1: So we're in at a transition point in this Cowboys team,
Speaker 1: transitioning to a youth, younger group. And we've talked about
Speaker 1: Seek's role into becoming that kind of leader. We already
Speaker 1: know Dak Prescott has been that leader. So Nick, you know,
Speaker 1: for Eve and I we it feels like we're back
Speaker 1: in college. We fit right in. But that right you
Speaker 1: pretty much. You know, we're pretty close. I appreciate you
Speaker 1: giving me those years back. Thank you. You are on
Speaker 1: the Yeah, we're on that side big and about three two, Nick,
Speaker 1: you know you're you're in another generation. Um kind of
Speaker 1: different they So I'm gonna direct this question to you
Speaker 1: since that seemed to be a theme in yesterday's locker room,
Speaker 1: a lot of people asking everyone, you know, this whole
Speaker 1: youth movement, how does it feel to be in there
Speaker 1: and see all these young guys and all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: I have all those veteran guys, and just I think
Speaker 1: it's interesting obviously when you when you see you know,
Speaker 1: when you've seen these guys for so many years and
Speaker 1: now that they're no longer there, and who's going to
Speaker 1: fill that role? I mean, there's always somebody that that
Speaker 1: fills that leadership role or you know, feels that role
Speaker 1: of I'm cranky all the time. I mean, somebody's gonna
Speaker 1: do it, gonna have have um you know, these different roles,
Speaker 1: so you know, for me, I look at it like, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's interesting. But also I remember way back in the day,
Speaker 1: like before I covered this team, the Cowboys were one
Speaker 1: of the youngest teams in the league in nineteen ninety
Speaker 1: two and they won the Super Bowl. If you're really good,
Speaker 1: it doesn't really matter. Zeke can be a vocal leader
Speaker 1: if you want, but you know, pick up, pick up
Speaker 1: the first down on third and two. Keep doing that,
Speaker 1: and that'll speak loudly with his actions. I think leadership
Speaker 1: is important, but there's obviously different ways to lead, and
Speaker 1: so somebody will fill that role. I think Sean Lee's
Speaker 1: going to do a nice job overall. I think some
Speaker 1: guys on offense will do that, and I think it
Speaker 1: opens up things for a guy like Alan Hearns to say,
Speaker 1: I'm new, but yet I've still seen a lot more
Speaker 1: than a lot of you guys. So I can be
Speaker 1: a leader and there's not this this you know, tiptoeing
Speaker 1: around like who who are you? I mean, look at
Speaker 1: the receivers. Yeah, Terrence Williams is not even out there.
Speaker 1: He can't lead right now. Bro Deonte Thompson and Tavon
Speaker 1: Austime to Austin hearns. I mean they've seen more of
Speaker 1: the guys. The new guys have more experience than the
Speaker 1: gallow called and Cole Beasley needs to know he's the
Speaker 1: one guy that can that can kind of step up
Speaker 1: and do that. I know we're going to talk about
Speaker 1: him in some other ways, but you know, I think
Speaker 1: Cole's a guy that that's been around and we'll understand
Speaker 1: this offense more than anybody. Now, we've been wondering who's
Speaker 1: gonna be that guy that turns into Dus Bryant as
Speaker 1: far as being vocal and you know, hyping everyone up
Speaker 1: around him. So yesterday I heard something pretty interesting. I
Speaker 1: don't know if either of you heard this, but I'm
Speaker 1: gonna make you guess right now. Who is that guy
Speaker 1: not on offense, just in the team. Who is that
Speaker 1: vocal guy that kind of talks trash and Dave do it?
Speaker 1: Who is it? Hey? Oh she said not on offense. Oh,
Speaker 1: not on offense? Sorry, sorry, but yeah, I mean but
Speaker 1: that we can get into that. That's the Zeke I mean,
Speaker 1: I would get I love that that's Zeke's impression. Yeah, yes,
Speaker 1: I would guess. Jordan Lewis Noah, I don't think so,
Speaker 1: you know, not not trash talking. That all or nothing
Speaker 1: segment left an impression on me. I don't know, Maybe
Speaker 1: I need to really watch that. Um okay, this this
Speaker 1: is It was hilarious. So apparently apparently he was. He
Speaker 1: called himself the biggest trash talker. Okay, so apparently. And
Speaker 1: then the media went up to Crawford and asked Crawford
Speaker 1: about this, and Crawford of course just laugh He's like, well, yeah,
Speaker 1: he trash. He talks trash all the time, mostly to himself,
Speaker 1: like he's just speaking out loud. No one really pays
Speaker 1: attention to him. He was saying that he also talks
Speaker 1: trash to the law. So it was pretty okay talking. Okay,
Speaker 1: here's the here's what I want to see when we're
Speaker 1: at training camp and those one on one drills are
Speaker 1: going on and it's Tacos lining up against Tyrn Smith
Speaker 1: or Lyell Collins whatever, and then and then keep talking trash,
Speaker 1: Like do something worthy enough for you can continue to
Speaker 1: talk trash. If if that happens, then I think will
Speaker 1: be A will be impressed or B will be like,
Speaker 1: what's wrong with Tyronn? It's the back and it must
Speaker 1: be something what's going on because Taco just beat him.
Speaker 1: But if he continues to do that, I think that's
Speaker 1: worthy of it. But I've never seen in any sport
Speaker 1: and a great a trash chalker that was like a reserve,
Speaker 1: like a backup. Well, maybe he won't be a reserve
Speaker 1: unless it's that hate player for the Lakers. The hate
Speaker 1: I just think the guy that for the Lakers, you
Speaker 1: probably are not the Lakers. He used to play for
Speaker 1: the Lakers. He played for Golden State's name Nick Young.
Speaker 1: Nick Young, he's the best. He's a trash chalker who
Speaker 1: gets like six minutes a game. He might get a
Speaker 1: lot of minutes in this series. Gonna get a ring
Speaker 1: is what he's gonna get. Well, Prawford then mentioned that
Speaker 1: he did he has seen a lot of Grove and
Speaker 1: that's okay. Is it's just the show where I ride
Speaker 1: for my guys. Is that what I have to do?
Speaker 1: Because I like Taco to Taco, I like him. I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna be a good player. But I don't
Speaker 1: think I didn't know. We we were like jumped up
Speaker 1: to trash talking status. Some thought we were just like, hey,
Speaker 1: he might surprise him. People I didn't think we're already.
Speaker 1: I see it as the opposite of that, because good
Speaker 1: Man like, uh, look, the part be the part type
Speaker 1: of deal. You're a first round pick, you're in your
Speaker 1: second year, you're not a nubie anymore. You should know
Speaker 1: the scheme, you're comfortable with, your teammates and your coaches.
Speaker 1: They need him to take I mean, they don't need
Speaker 1: him to be d Law, but they need him to
Speaker 1: take a step forward. I think we had a question
Speaker 1: about this in our mail bag the other day. I said,
Speaker 1: you know, he played thirty seven percent of the snaps
Speaker 1: last year. He looked like he played better down the
Speaker 1: second half of the season, but he's still I mean,
Speaker 1: he wasn't what you want your first round pick to be. Um,
Speaker 1: if he can bump that even to just like fifty
Speaker 1: percent and then hopefully the bumping snaps corresponds to better play,
Speaker 1: I mean you're talking. Can you know if he could
Speaker 1: even get to like six or seven sacks instead of three,
Speaker 1: I think that would be huge. And I think confidence
Speaker 1: was a big thing for him last year too. I
Speaker 1: don't I don't necessarily know that he had it, at
Speaker 1: least what you would want from your first round pick.
Speaker 1: So if he's got the confidence to be trash talking
Speaker 1: the starters and the established guys on the team, I
Speaker 1: think that's great. Don't don't get up, Yeah, get the
Speaker 1: energy up, trash chalcolate with the d line. But I
Speaker 1: mean I still haven't seen him trash talk with the
Speaker 1: old line. Yeah, I don't. Well, let's wait untild training campaign.
Speaker 1: But let's go ahead and take our first break. When
Speaker 1: we come back, we're gonna answer this question. Is being
Speaker 1: fat really the reason why David Irving is not practicing?
Speaker 1: I don't know. Let's find out when we come back.
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Speaker 1: All right, guys, we are back now. Let's go over
Speaker 1: the guys that didn't practice yesterday. We had shun leads,
Speaker 1: the Marcus Lawrence out veterans day. Just nothing out of
Speaker 1: the uh, you know ordinary, It's fine, all good. Aaron Smith,
Speaker 1: he just did some conditioning. It wasn't really anything injury related.
Speaker 1: He was just out. Then we had a few other
Speaker 1: guys that's hyped up. Good point. So Zac Martin, you know,
Speaker 1: still dealing with the whole contract thing. We have Lewis,
Speaker 1: Neil Terrence Williams, Malee Collins, Cony Italy. They're out recovering
Speaker 1: injury now. David Irvin is still a big question mark.
Speaker 1: We know that the whole reasoning as to why he's
Speaker 1: not practicing out there on the field right now, is
Speaker 1: supposedly because he's a little overweight, out of condition, And
Speaker 1: to me, that just doesn't really add up, because if
Speaker 1: you have a guy like that, why not have him
Speaker 1: out there on the field sweating in this hundred degree weather,
Speaker 1: you know, playing running around with everyone, not inside of
Speaker 1: the gym a condition, just working out on his You're
Speaker 1: kind of like the old you're old school, like you
Speaker 1: want to do two a days in Wichita falls. Just
Speaker 1: burned that fat off. Hey, it helps. He's doing things.
Speaker 1: It's not like he showed up here rolling, so I
Speaker 1: mean he didn't, no, I know, but just like that's
Speaker 1: just a vivid, vivid image. David Irving to me, was
Speaker 1: a guy that they they love the position flex guys,
Speaker 1: and they love that about Irving. That he could play
Speaker 1: defensive end, he could play defensive tackle. He can do both.
Speaker 1: If somebody gets hurt. He's a good guy that can
Speaker 1: move things around. And I think when he showed up
Speaker 1: here he looked a lot like a defensive tackle so
Speaker 1: and not really an end. And I think we've seen
Speaker 1: before guys go out there and they're not really ready
Speaker 1: to play. That's where you're gonna get some injuries too.
Speaker 1: So he's doing some conditioning. He's getting into that point.
Speaker 1: And this is the point of yere. Look at all
Speaker 1: those guys you just named. I mean, if you had
Speaker 1: a fingernail out of place, you're probably gonna get held
Speaker 1: out here. So I think they're looking for reasons to
Speaker 1: make sure you don't have to be forced out there.
Speaker 1: If you're not one hundred percent, you have to be
Speaker 1: one hundred percent I think to practice right now. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's I mean, you're old school, but this is the
Speaker 1: new school. It's not. And I know, like there's plenty
Speaker 1: of people that think it's terrible the way like players
Speaker 1: get coddled. But you go out there if you haven't.
Speaker 1: And Irving's been like in and out of here, like
Speaker 1: he hasn't been here every day. He comes every now
Speaker 1: and then, So if he's not one hundred percent ready again,
Speaker 1: it's may why do you throw him out there and
Speaker 1: risk that he does a real injury to himself? Where
Speaker 1: you know, right now, as far as I know, he's
Speaker 1: healthy and just maybe not in great condition. I'd rather
Speaker 1: that than he'd pull a hammy or do something worse
Speaker 1: because he's not ready to be in an NFL practice.
Speaker 1: A lot of this could be on him because this
Speaker 1: is a big year for him. It's a contract year,
Speaker 1: getting hurt, I will say. I mean we talked about
Speaker 1: this on our mail bag today too. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: in a contract year on a one year deal and
Speaker 1: has a chance to make a lot of money next year.
Speaker 1: It is surprising to me that he's not in shape.
Speaker 1: I mean, it seems like you would want to kind
Speaker 1: of not give anybody a reason to be annoyed with
Speaker 1: you this year. That was the point I was going
Speaker 1: to make. Sorry. I didn't mean to take it from you, Okay.
Speaker 1: It was like I love pick and Roll like you
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, yes, he if you saw pictures
Speaker 1: of him when he got here, it was kind of shocking.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, it's like these guys are
Speaker 1: big anyways. It's not like he's obese. You know, he's good,
Speaker 1: He's fine. I just want to see him out there
Speaker 1: right now. He's too fat. There you go. I just
Speaker 1: mean that wasn't me, good old Bill. Now, I do
Speaker 1: think Dave's right. I think that he'll get himself ready
Speaker 1: to go and also voluntary, voluntary I know, you know,
Speaker 1: people don't want to hear that, but it is. If
Speaker 1: if this is an issue, if he can't practice in July,
Speaker 1: I'll have a much stronger take than I do right now.
Speaker 1: But otherwise I'm just like, yeah, okay, okay, Well, let's
Speaker 1: just hope that's the reason. There's no thing like hidden
Speaker 1: behind the curtains, you know, as far as off field
Speaker 1: issues that could or affect him in other ways that
Speaker 1: we don't know yet, but in the meantime, we'll see
Speaker 1: what happens there. As far as the OTA, yesterday we
Speaker 1: saw Beasley playing on the outside. So Cole Beasley has
Speaker 1: been playing a major role, and as you guys mentioned,
Speaker 1: he kind of has to because who else is left
Speaker 1: as far as the veteran guys and all that. So
Speaker 1: what were your first impressions of, you know, being moving
Speaker 1: him out of the slot and playing him on the outside.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna let Dave answer this, because I don't think
Speaker 1: it matters much at all. You might have a different opinion,
Speaker 1: but I don't. I don't think it matters in the
Speaker 1: sense that I don't think Cole Beasley is going to
Speaker 1: be this team's X twenty eighteen. But what it says
Speaker 1: to me is, and I think I said the same
Speaker 1: thing last week. I'm just I'm super encouraged by just
Speaker 1: all the different looks that they're throwing out there, because again,
Speaker 1: I mean, you don't have Dez Bryant, you don't have
Speaker 1: Jason Witten. Those are two guys that always lined up
Speaker 1: in the same spot every time for the last decade.
Speaker 1: You don't have that, and so I think the way
Speaker 1: you compensate for that is to just make this offense
Speaker 1: as multiple as possible. And that Cole Beasley is not
Speaker 1: going to be running goes from the outside. He's just not.
Speaker 1: That's dumb, and he needs to do it a couple
Speaker 1: of times or nobody's ever gonna care if he's out there.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can run. You can run routes that
Speaker 1: benefit Cole Beasley from the outside. I mean he doesn't.
Speaker 1: You can do all You can do a lot of
Speaker 1: the same stuff. Not everything, but you can do a
Speaker 1: lot of the same stuff. And it just again, get
Speaker 1: as many guys who can play in as many different
Speaker 1: spots as possible. I think that makes things hard on
Speaker 1: the defense. I think that is the strength of Dak Prescott.
Speaker 1: I should know this number exactly at the width of
Speaker 1: the field fifty three yards fifty three yards, they got
Speaker 1: to use every bit of that. I think that's really
Speaker 1: what DAK friendly is to me. Fifty three yards wide,
Speaker 1: you use the field that way. They're not gonna be
Speaker 1: a lot they don't have a lot of vertical threats.
Speaker 1: They don't have a quarterback that they feel like that's
Speaker 1: his strength. So when Beasley lines up on the outside,
Speaker 1: I saw a play yesterday where he lined up out
Speaker 1: there and Tavon Austin was in the slot and they
Speaker 1: basically did a scissors route, if you will, and you
Speaker 1: know it was Austin sneaking out to the other side.
Speaker 1: I think moving him out there just gives him more
Speaker 1: space to kind of work that middle a little bit.
Speaker 1: So I they're gonna they're gonna use these players. You're
Speaker 1: gonna see a lot of you know, jet sweeps and
Speaker 1: all that stuff. I just think we're gonna see more
Speaker 1: with thought here, and which I think is a good
Speaker 1: thing when you have a great offensive line and a
Speaker 1: running back that can just spread everything out and let
Speaker 1: him run. I think that I've said this before and
Speaker 1: I'll keep saying it. Dak friendly means five or maybe
Speaker 1: six different possible targets on any given play, the defense
Speaker 1: can't account for all of them adequately, and the guy
Speaker 1: who has the best matchup gets the ball and the
Speaker 1: other five guys shut the hell up and don't care.
Speaker 1: There should one guy on this team that you go
Speaker 1: into a game and say, we've got to get the
Speaker 1: ball to him. The rest it should kind of flow, yeah,
Speaker 1: And it hasn't been the case exactly. Zeke is the
Speaker 1: only person on this team that mandates a certain amount
Speaker 1: of touches in a game, and everything else is just
Speaker 1: gravy and until somebody's until Gallup makes some plays and
Speaker 1: you're like, okay, we got to get him the ball more.
Speaker 1: But even like that, but even still, I think a
Speaker 1: big part of that equation is, Okay, let's just imagine
Speaker 1: that Michael Gallup blows up two weeks in a row.
Speaker 1: If the game plans not there for him the next
Speaker 1: week and he has a bad game, that's fine too,
Speaker 1: And he's a rookie third round pick and he's not
Speaker 1: going to fuss about it. I think that's a big
Speaker 1: part of that. I think that's a big part of
Speaker 1: being Dack friendly is he doesn't have to stress that
Speaker 1: somebody's going to be in his ear that they're in
Speaker 1: Cover one or Cover two or what. You know, I
Speaker 1: think that's important. Well, it's still early to know and
Speaker 1: figure this out, especially when they have so many wide
Speaker 1: receivers rotating around. But as of right now we are
Speaker 1: into second week of Volta's who has that guy in
Speaker 1: the wide receiver position that has stood out to you
Speaker 1: at the momentum from the whole group, who would be
Speaker 1: probably Deonte Thompson. It's not even that he looks good.
Speaker 1: It's that, you know, and this is just me speaking
Speaker 1: from my own perspective. Um, you know, when they sign,
Speaker 1: it's like a vet deal. He's a journeyman receiver. It's
Speaker 1: not it was not anything that got anybody super excited.
Speaker 1: It's just like, okay, this guy can maybe do with
Speaker 1: Bryce Butler did, it's a little bit of insurance. If
Speaker 1: they don't get what they want in the draft, you
Speaker 1: don't have to keep him. And they still don't. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's no guarantee he makes the team, but judging on
Speaker 1: what he's been doing these first two weeks, he certainly
Speaker 1: looks like a guy who's going to make the team.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, you think about Tavon Austin. Deontay
Speaker 1: Thompson's been doing a lot of stuff like that too,
Speaker 1: I mean jet sweeps, screen stuff down the field, stuff
Speaker 1: running with the first team, playing all over the formation.
Speaker 1: And I know it's OTA's and I know one of
Speaker 1: your top receivers is hurt right now, but uh, he's
Speaker 1: just very involved and looks very competent at what he's doing.
Speaker 1: I could see. And we did a ranking the other
Speaker 1: day of the top on our on our site, top
Speaker 1: ten receivers on the team. And it's early and I'm
Speaker 1: sure we'll do that again we get closer to camp
Speaker 1: or in camp. But I think that there's I think
Speaker 1: Thompson seems like he would be a guy that would
Speaker 1: be safe and there might be a spot for one
Speaker 1: more player on the outside looking in, like and I
Speaker 1: would put Noah Brown in there. I'd put Lance Lenore,
Speaker 1: um whom I missing here. That guys that are kind
Speaker 1: of right there on that verge. Maybe Katie Cannon can,
Speaker 1: but but um, two of them, if if they can,
Speaker 1: if they can you know, surpass Deontay Thompson, which seems
Speaker 1: like that would be kind of tough to do at
Speaker 1: this point. But it's still it's early. I mean we did,
Speaker 1: I guess start I sort of in my head was
Speaker 1: thinking as Deontay Thompson on the outside looking in when
Speaker 1: you know, heading into the cedric. Wilson's another guy that
Speaker 1: could factor into that mix. I view him more as
Speaker 1: a guy on the inside looking out. Now, yeah, and
Speaker 1: now you mentioned Tavon Austin, another guy that you know
Speaker 1: there are still question marks around his name. How are
Speaker 1: they guy the Cowboys gonna utilize him? We did see
Speaker 1: Cole Beasley returning punts and that is something that we
Speaker 1: thought that would be one of his main jobs, to
Speaker 1: put Tavon Austin there. But as of right now, we've
Speaker 1: only seen him with the wide receivers, just on offense
Speaker 1: doing things. So what is how can the Cowboys take
Speaker 1: him and put him and utilize him? And we know
Speaker 1: the Cowboys like him, we know that the Cowboys won
Speaker 1: him here and he's a good player, has on speed
Speaker 1: to him, But what would be that role for him?
Speaker 1: I think he will return punts um. I think right now,
Speaker 1: looking at these drills, they want the guy back there
Speaker 1: catch the ball and and and and be solid. And
Speaker 1: Beasley can do that. But I think when they need
Speaker 1: to get more dynamic, I think Austin will be there.
Speaker 1: And also when you're looking at touches in a game,
Speaker 1: I think it'll make more sense to put Austin there.
Speaker 1: He's not gonna get a ton of touches on offer
Speaker 1: hook gets some, but it'll it won't be enough where
Speaker 1: he can't do punt return stuff. Um, I think he
Speaker 1: will be that guy. And I think he's a wide
Speaker 1: receiver all the way. I interill it's third and two
Speaker 1: and he gets the ball up the middle, then he's
Speaker 1: going to be a wide receiver for me. And I
Speaker 1: don't know if I mean. They can call him whatever
Speaker 1: they want, but I think and he calls himself a playmaker,
Speaker 1: which is fine. They need more of those. I'm straight
Speaker 1: up annoyed by what Tavon Austin has done during OTAs
Speaker 1: or a better term for what he hasn't done. And
Speaker 1: I assume he's healthy, Like he's out there. Um, I
Speaker 1: mean he does, he does stuff. I'm not saying he
Speaker 1: doesn't do anything, but like he's not really featured with
Speaker 1: the first team very much. I haven't been able to
Speaker 1: get a good look at him, and I hope it's
Speaker 1: not out of some like you know, NFL sense of
Speaker 1: paranoia that they can't show their hand, you know, because
Speaker 1: it's it's OTA's and we get to two hours a week, like,
Speaker 1: and he's got five other years worth of tape. He's
Speaker 1: been in the NFL for a long time, Like you're
Speaker 1: not hiding him from anybody, And so I kind of
Speaker 1: wonder if they are. I kind of wonder if they
Speaker 1: just don't want to show people what they might do
Speaker 1: with him. And that's just the that's the peak of
Speaker 1: lame NFL, Like everything's got to be a state secret.
Speaker 1: Like I can go pull up five years worth of
Speaker 1: tape on the guy, Like you're not gonna show me
Speaker 1: something that I already couldn't have guessed he could do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean he and we know he's gonna have the
Speaker 1: ball and he's gonna be going and you know on
Speaker 1: the outside sweeps and stuff like that. Do you think,
Speaker 1: I mean, do you think that's fair compared to like
Speaker 1: the other veteran receivers. It doesn't seem like he's getting
Speaker 1: as many looks right now. Yeah, in the one day
Speaker 1: a week that we want what we know at a
Speaker 1: Garrett and Lenahan, I think you're exactly right, and I
Speaker 1: think that they don't want to show all that right now,
Speaker 1: what about in the past other teams having trouble finding
Speaker 1: me a good spot for him? I mean, does that
Speaker 1: playing into this to where maybe the Cowboys aren't just
Speaker 1: quite sure how or you know what to do with him.
Speaker 1: I see this a lot in the NBA, and it
Speaker 1: happens some in the NFL too. You get drafted because
Speaker 1: of the things they think you can do, and you
Speaker 1: get drafted high and you doesn't fit. But because you
Speaker 1: were drafted high and you're making a lot of money,
Speaker 1: they keep doing that. They keep pushing you here and
Speaker 1: the expectations are high, and you're never gonna get there,
Speaker 1: and you're just a bust. You go to another team,
Speaker 1: less money, a little bit different scenario, and you can
Speaker 1: actually fit their role. I mean, I think of a
Speaker 1: guy like Leonard Davis way back in the day. He
Speaker 1: was number two overall pick, had to play tackle because
Speaker 1: you don't draft a guard that high. He wasn't good
Speaker 1: like that goes to the Cowboys plays guard. It's better
Speaker 1: I think Austin fresh start for him, not as much
Speaker 1: expectations to carry this offense, carry this team, be a
Speaker 1: good role player. You're making a million dollars. He get
Speaker 1: the ball in his hands, but doesn't have to be
Speaker 1: every time. I think it'll be better for him. Last
Speaker 1: week we got him, we talked to him about just
Speaker 1: you know, like, whoa this offense doesn't have a number
Speaker 1: one receiver? Does that bother you? And he was like
Speaker 1: that that was my douchey TV reporter voice, not anyone specific,
Speaker 1: just generic, like somebody specific. I wasn't, no, but he,
Speaker 1: I mean he was like, he's like, honestly, the pressure
Speaker 1: to be that number one receiver can be overwhelming. I mean,
Speaker 1: he was drafted two spots lower than where Julio Jones
Speaker 1: was drafted. I mean, just to give you an idea
Speaker 1: of what you're expecting from a receiver you draft that high,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, and clearly did not produce that.
Speaker 1: And so I yeah, I think he's happy to be
Speaker 1: here where. I mean, if he has a game where
Speaker 1: he gets ten touches, that would be awesome, but nobody's
Speaker 1: expecting him to produce at that level, not for the
Speaker 1: price they paid for him. But no, I think I
Speaker 1: think they know exactly what they want to do with him,
Speaker 1: but they just don't feel like showing us right now,
Speaker 1: which whatever. Well, I good indicator is that we do
Speaker 1: know that he's wanted by the Cowboys. He Oh, yeah, No,
Speaker 1: they want him here. And Scott Nahan, Scott Nahan told
Speaker 1: me last week, like, you know the same I'll use
Speaker 1: the same voice, like, well, is he a running back
Speaker 1: or a receiver? And he's like he classify him as
Speaker 1: a tight end if you want to just get him
Speaker 1: on the team. So if the offensive coordinators saying that,
Speaker 1: I think that means they feel pretty good about him
Speaker 1: in terms of wanting him here and having a good
Speaker 1: idea of what he can do. Oh. I love that
Speaker 1: he told me last week. So that means that was
Speaker 1: you that you're right act I did ask that question,
Speaker 1: and I didn't do it in that voice. That would
Speaker 1: be cool, Scott. Okay, well, let's go ahead and take
Speaker 1: our final break. When we come back, we're going to
Speaker 1: discuss the whole safety position and getting to all of
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Speaker 1: to the break, We'll come back to the break. This
Speaker 1: is the third segment of the show. Right now in Texas,
Speaker 1: it's pretty hot weather, really hot, I would say, so
Speaker 1: if you're a guy, you definitely need some breathing down there,
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Speaker 1: feel good when you're watching practice? I was out there
Speaker 1: for two hours yesterday in the ninety five degree heat.
Speaker 1: I was very uncomfortable in a lot of different ways,
Speaker 1: but not not with my underwear because I was wearing
Speaker 1: Tommy John. Thank you, Amber n. It's good to know,
Speaker 1: you know, if we just like you guys being comfortable.
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Speaker 1: let's move on to Okay, let's move on to the
Speaker 1: safety position. Nick, you had a chance to I thought
Speaker 1: we were just talking about that. Okay, you had a
Speaker 1: chance to talk to Jeff Heath yesterday. And the Cowboys
Speaker 1: still having done added anybody at me, obviously, because otherwise
Speaker 1: he would be everywhere on the internet. But they having
Speaker 1: added a veteran guy to come in and helping the
Speaker 1: safety position, and as of right now, they seem to
Speaker 1: be comfortable with the guys that they have, especially Xavier Woods. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And I talked to Jeff just yesterday and he was
Speaker 1: saying that, you know, he is the veteran and the
Speaker 1: guy in the room and he could remember his first
Speaker 1: OTA and it's kind of weird that now everyone kind
Speaker 1: of looks at him. But I asked him, point, Blake,
Speaker 1: do you feel like the starting safety next to you
Speaker 1: is on the roster? And he said I do. Not
Speaker 1: only did he say that, he gave the name. He said,
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods, you know, has the right add too. He's
Speaker 1: very versatile, he can do a lot of things with him.
Speaker 1: He really likes the kind of things that he's seeing
Speaker 1: from him. So, you know, I know Dave's probably gonna say,
Speaker 1: well what else? What else would Jeff Heaths say? And
Speaker 1: I get it, but he said that he and he
Speaker 1: mentioned Xavier Woods. So as as they stand right now,
Speaker 1: And I talked to some other people afterwards, because I
Speaker 1: didn't want to make Jeff look like he was calling
Speaker 1: the shots here. They talked to some other people and
Speaker 1: they said, right now, there's nothing on the horizon for that.
Speaker 1: I still think they will sign somebody, but as of
Speaker 1: right now, it's it's Xavier Wood's job to lose right now.
Speaker 1: But based on the things that we've watched so far,
Speaker 1: and you know, we've all been very vocal in the
Speaker 1: need of a safety here, Dave. I mean, do you
Speaker 1: feel from what you've seen, has your opinion changed any No,
Speaker 1: I mean, and it's the same thing I always say, like,
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to hate on Xavier Woods. I just
Speaker 1: I think it's strange again. I mean, we talked about
Speaker 1: this time of the show. They brought in a guy
Speaker 1: to compete with Bo Scarborough and up the level of
Speaker 1: competition at the bottom of the running back depth chart,
Speaker 1: at the top of the safety depth chart. That is
Speaker 1: not happening. I mean, it's Xavier Woods's job to lose
Speaker 1: to a surprising degree. Not that he's not capable of it,
Speaker 1: just that typically NFL teams want to make their players
Speaker 1: earn those types of roles, and I don't know that
Speaker 1: there's a guy on the roster that can really compete
Speaker 1: with the Xavier Woods between experience, between talent and just
Speaker 1: the numbers. I mean Cavon Frasier, he's actually he's had
Speaker 1: some moments out there, but he's more of a box guy.
Speaker 1: He doesn't fill that role for them. And then he
Speaker 1: got some rookies and Jamille Showers. There's just there's not
Speaker 1: a true competitor for that spot. So the thing that
Speaker 1: concerns me about the evaluation of safety is that when
Speaker 1: you when you're looking at in a game, what are
Speaker 1: the positions that are really going to test the safety
Speaker 1: tied in? And we've seen it on this team a lot.
Speaker 1: Also speed receivers and guys that can make plays down
Speaker 1: the field. We've just said it earlier. The Cowboys really
Speaker 1: don't have that dynamic playmaking threat down the field at receiver.
Speaker 1: They don't have a tight end that's played more than
Speaker 1: a few games on this roster. So as we look
Speaker 1: at OTAs in minicamp. Who's going to really expose Xavier Woods.
Speaker 1: Who's gonna make them look like, oh my god, we
Speaker 1: need some help there. I mean, I don't know if
Speaker 1: it's really gonna happen. So these guys could play well
Speaker 1: in the summer and we could be like, oh, everything's
Speaker 1: looking good, but really, until you get to some of
Speaker 1: these games and go, you know what, maybe maybe it's
Speaker 1: not so great. That's the one thing I kind of
Speaker 1: kind of worry about about seeing how it goes. You
Speaker 1: may not get a good test of how it's really going.
Speaker 1: And I forgot somebody too. I did Mark queston huff
Speaker 1: I think he's playing second team safety. But again, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's not a name that just inspires a ton of
Speaker 1: confidence me And yeah exactly. I mean, hey, again, all
Speaker 1: credit in the world to Xavier Woods. And I like
Speaker 1: Jeff Heath a lot as a player and a person too,
Speaker 1: But that's what people always say at this time of year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's picking it up, he's getting it. He looks great
Speaker 1: out there, he looks confident, and then you know, we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens when we're really evaluating these guys in
Speaker 1: real practices and real football games and The thing that
Speaker 1: worries me is if Xavier Woods is not up to it,
Speaker 1: then you've left yourself in a situation where you don't
Speaker 1: have anybody else. And so no, I don't feel differently
Speaker 1: at all. And I think they will add a safety.
Speaker 1: I think they will add a safety before we go
Speaker 1: to training camp or while we're at training camp. I
Speaker 1: don't know if that guy will take the starting job.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, Xavier Woods might beat him
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, but I still think
Speaker 1: they need a guy to push him. And that's what
Speaker 1: I was going to ask. It's like, you guys have
Speaker 1: been here a long time, so you know how the
Speaker 1: cowboys thing kind of you know what their mentality is.
Speaker 1: Is this something that you really, you know, expect them
Speaker 1: to actually get someone although they been saying they're okay
Speaker 1: right now. Yeah, and I've said it before. I think
Speaker 1: that what you need to get at that position is
Speaker 1: somebody that's played a lot can give you some leadership
Speaker 1: back there. And the longer they wait, the less chance
Speaker 1: that that person is going to have to come in
Speaker 1: and really take these guys under their wing, because they're
Speaker 1: gonna be the new guy trying to learn it unless
Speaker 1: it's somebody who has played in Christopher Shard's system that
Speaker 1: would that would help if if we gotta get in,
Speaker 1: just we gotta get in one a week, we have
Speaker 1: like a quota, you know, I was I was just
Speaker 1: thinking how and you would love it, Dave. How awesome
Speaker 1: would it be if if we lived in a world
Speaker 1: where the guys really talk the you know, the other way. Hey, Jeff,
Speaker 1: do you really feel like the safety, the starting safety
Speaker 1: is here on this team. I don't think so. I mean,
Speaker 1: I know we have a guy in there right now,
Speaker 1: but I don't think so. I think we've got to
Speaker 1: get somebody else. I could say, I don't know exactly
Speaker 1: who it'll be. It might be that guy over here
Speaker 1: or this guy, but um, yeah, I mean Zaver's doing
Speaker 1: a pretty good job. We gotta get better. Like can
Speaker 1: you imagine like if yeah, I would love it. I
Speaker 1: I was thinking about that. You know. Obviously, the NBA
Speaker 1: Finals are about to start. NBA has been the big
Speaker 1: storyline for the last couple of months, Like Raymond Greenish everybody,
Speaker 1: I just love just I just love how forthcoming that
Speaker 1: league is in general. You know, like you got Donovan
Speaker 1: Mitchell and Ben Stimmons like sniping at each other about
Speaker 1: who should win Rookie of the Year and sub tweeting
Speaker 1: each other and calling each other out. And they're I
Speaker 1: mean they play eighty two games in the playoffs last
Speaker 1: three months. It's just a different culture. Like NFL players,
Speaker 1: your contracts not guaranteed and the whole dynamic of the
Speaker 1: league is all about like do your job, and it
Speaker 1: just it makes for it's kind of lame something. If
Speaker 1: Jalen Smith would have had an awesome year last year,
Speaker 1: just led the league and tackles whatever, could he have
Speaker 1: won Rookie of the Year. I don't know if he
Speaker 1: could have, but he should have been eligible. I mean
Speaker 1: that's that's the questions simons going on here. And if
Speaker 1: he was even listed as a rookie's like a one. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean if you don't play a single game, I mean,
Speaker 1: if you don't get a single minute of action, I
Speaker 1: think you're still a rookie even I know you have
Speaker 1: an extra year in the weight room and all that,
Speaker 1: but I don't have a problem with that. Well, speaking
Speaker 1: of Jalen, let's go I know a lot of fans
Speaker 1: keep asking about him and his leg and he is
Speaker 1: playing without the brace, So that's a positive thing. Now
Speaker 1: we've seen him, you know, on the field moving around.
Speaker 1: What are some of the things, And we talked about
Speaker 1: it last week, but people keep asking for quick updates
Speaker 1: on him. What would be your newest update on Jalen Smith.
Speaker 1: We'll talk yesterday to the media. But again it's like
Speaker 1: basic stuff that I'm happy. I'm happy to have some
Speaker 1: genuine confirmation about his brace because, like, I love Jalen
Speaker 1: Smith to death, but he's a frustrating person to cover
Speaker 1: because you can't always take his updates at his word,
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, he's such a positive guy. We've
Speaker 1: talked about a million times, Like if you'd asked him
Speaker 1: during his real rookie training camp back in twenty sixteen,
Speaker 1: if he thought he's like, yeah, I'm gonna play the
Speaker 1: season opener, and then it be it's like Jalen Smith
Speaker 1: says he's gonna play the season opener, and then it's
Speaker 1: a story and it's not true. And like that has
Speaker 1: just been a repetitive cycle with Jalen where he is
Speaker 1: super optimistic and the real story is usually somewhere else.
Speaker 1: So I don't always trust that what I'm hearing about
Speaker 1: him is genuine, but at this point, but well, I
Speaker 1: mean we've seen it with our own eyes. He's not
Speaker 1: wearing I mean, he's not wearing it. He's said he's
Speaker 1: not wearing it. His coaches have said he's not wearing it.
Speaker 1: They've talked about, you know, how fluid and confident he looks.
Speaker 1: Jason Garrett had a good quote yesterday about how you know,
Speaker 1: you always hear that he looks like he's not thinking
Speaker 1: about it, which that's a thing for a guy coming
Speaker 1: off an injury is you don't necessarily trust that the
Speaker 1: injured body part is going to be there for you
Speaker 1: the way that you need it to be. And I
Speaker 1: think he looks more confident that he can count on it,
Speaker 1: and so yeah, I think that's big. He plays a
Speaker 1: position that is also pretty hard to evaluate in OTAs.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you can't make real contact with people,
Speaker 1: I don't know how to evaluate you. But I I
Speaker 1: feel super optimistic that you know, I'm not saying he's
Speaker 1: gonna be an all pro, but I mean I just
Speaker 1: like the way his arrows moving right now. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be interesting to watch how his instinct developed, because that's
Speaker 1: one of the things that to my in my opinion,
Speaker 1: he needs to still work on which also affects his
Speaker 1: footwork because if you take off one side and then
Speaker 1: now you have to switch. And we know his lateral
Speaker 1: movement is something that he's had the most trouble with,
Speaker 1: so you know, it's it's like a left tackle who's
Speaker 1: not he's not the best, you know as a blocker.
Speaker 1: He's got to almost jump off sides a little bit
Speaker 1: just to get that extra edge. And I think that's
Speaker 1: what happened a lot of times with Jalen Smith, is
Speaker 1: that he had to guess. I mean, you have to
Speaker 1: and sometimes when you guess right, you look great and
Speaker 1: you're swiping all over the field and it looks good.
Speaker 1: But sometimes you have to guess to get that extra
Speaker 1: edge and and you miss. And I think that you'll
Speaker 1: see less of that and see more of just the
Speaker 1: reacting instinct because he's able to cut and move like that.
Speaker 1: So that's it. It's gonna be interesting to see how
Speaker 1: this goes when we get a little bit more physical practices,
Speaker 1: games and stuff like that. I'm excited about what Leyton
Speaker 1: vander esh could mean for him because I just I
Speaker 1: think he'll be better if he doesn't have to play
Speaker 1: one hundred percent of the snaps and do everything that
Speaker 1: your middle linebacker is supposed to do. And I can
Speaker 1: hear the counter argument like, well, you draft him thirty
Speaker 1: fourth overall, he should be able to do that stuff. Okay,
Speaker 1: but this is the reality of the situation. We're two
Speaker 1: years in, and if I told you that he's a
Speaker 1: much better player playing sixty five percent of the snaps
Speaker 1: as opposed to a hundred, I'll take that, especially if
Speaker 1: I can use his natural athleticism to do stuff like
Speaker 1: rush the passer. I just think having Layton Vanderesh there
Speaker 1: to help play Mike opens him up to just be
Speaker 1: like a Swiss army knife type of player who can
Speaker 1: do a lot of different stuff. Okay, that's exciting. Sorry,
Speaker 1: they've I was gonna move into the whole quarterback position,
Speaker 1: and a lot of people we know how this goes.
Speaker 1: Either you like Dyk or you hate him, or you're
Speaker 1: ready to move on from him. Clearly, he's gonna be
Speaker 1: your starting quarterback next this season, so get over here's
Speaker 1: your guy, here's who we have, and for ten more
Speaker 1: seasons after that probably well we'll see how this one goes.
Speaker 1: But a lot of hype around Mike White. He's been
Speaker 1: looking pretty good out there. Now there are questions in
Speaker 1: regards to him and what his future may be. And
Speaker 1: Cooper Rush, who becomes now your second guy behind Dak Prescott.
Speaker 1: So based on what you guys have seen so far,
Speaker 1: what are y'all thoughts on those two guys. I think
Speaker 1: Mike White throws a little bit a better ball. Um.
Speaker 1: I think he's got a better arm, and so in
Speaker 1: practice you're gonna see that more. Um. Cooper Rush, though,
Speaker 1: he when the games, you know, when the lights went on,
Speaker 1: he moved the ball, he moved the offense. It didn't
Speaker 1: always look great, but he got from point A to
Speaker 1: point B and down in the end zone every time,
Speaker 1: and uh and a lot of times he did it.
Speaker 1: And I think every time he did it. And in
Speaker 1: the preseason they were trailing in the first half. So
Speaker 1: he has this little moxie about him that's hard to
Speaker 1: to to really describe. It's a lot like what Dad
Speaker 1: had to a higher level year before. So I it's
Speaker 1: early right now, I think it in practice, one guy's
Speaker 1: gonna look better than the other. But I can promise
Speaker 1: you this, if if Mike White is leading this team,
Speaker 1: to two field goals in seven possessions in the preseason,
Speaker 1: and Cooper Rush has got four possessions and two touchdowns.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be thinking differently about it, or it's kind
Speaker 1: of the way thinking the way David is thinking. Maybe
Speaker 1: right now, No, you kind of you made my point
Speaker 1: for me, and not to be perfectly honest, like Cooper
Speaker 1: Rush hasn't looked great in these two practices that we've seen,
Speaker 1: but I just yeah, he's a gamer. He looked amazing
Speaker 1: last preseason and he got a little, very small amount
Speaker 1: of regular season experience against San Francisco, which is still something.
Speaker 1: And I just I would be surprised if two years
Speaker 1: in a row the backup quarterback for this team is
Speaker 1: a rookie who's never played. Like I think when push
Speaker 1: comes to shove, Rush will have a good enough preseason
Speaker 1: and they will value that experience enough that I expect
Speaker 1: him to be the backup. The thing about Rush that
Speaker 1: people forget about too is just his athleticism is underrated
Speaker 1: to me. I mean, he can make He's not exactly
Speaker 1: like dak on these on these read options, but he
Speaker 1: made some plays with his feet last year, and I
Speaker 1: think that's something that if he had to play, you
Speaker 1: can see that you wouldn't have that much of a
Speaker 1: drop off. You're gonna have some, but not that much. Okay,
Speaker 1: here's a question from Twitter. Are there any chances of
Speaker 1: adding a veteran as far as the defensive tackle position
Speaker 1: that would be someone consider splashy lash lash other than
Speaker 1: wide receiver and she Richard Ashy. Yeah, I mean that's
Speaker 1: already got Richard Ashy. Um other wide receiver in safety
Speaker 1: are like the only positions left in the NFL where
Speaker 1: there are quote unquote splashy players left. I mean, Jonathan
Speaker 1: Hankins is out there that Cowboys don't want him. Um.
Speaker 1: Other than that, I don't even know. I think if
Speaker 1: somebody else gets hurt or something else happens, yeah, I
Speaker 1: would expect him to um Brod Marinelli and Splashy defensive
Speaker 1: lineman just don't work. I mean, he doesn't want that guy,
Speaker 1: he doesn't want him out. He hasn't typically and I
Speaker 1: mean you know, and yeah, he's he's got guys that
Speaker 1: he likes, Uh, you know, Brian Price, Richard ashe Uh,
Speaker 1: there's one more one technique I'm not thinking of. Dayton
Speaker 1: Jones is playing defensive tackle right now, I think I
Speaker 1: think that is probably what's keeping them from signing somebody
Speaker 1: right now is a position flexibility. Stop me if you've
Speaker 1: heard that before. Um so, I mean they no sure,
Speaker 1: I could just say no, no, no, no, pretty simple, Okay.
Speaker 1: Cowboy John is asking who would be the one to
Speaker 1: most likely make the fifty three men roster out of
Speaker 1: Charles Stapper, Chads Green, and Noah Brown. Most likely of
Speaker 1: those three, I'm gonna I'll just keep riding for my
Speaker 1: guys because I love Noah Brown. I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: make it. Yeah, but that's a that's a good group
Speaker 1: of players, because um I could see I could see
Speaker 1: no I think Noah Brown is the answer of those
Speaker 1: three right there. But one of my sneaky hot takes
Speaker 1: for the get ready for It is I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: be surprised if Chads Green makes this team, and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna laugh at all the people who are mad about it.
Speaker 1: But I wouldn't be surprised either. I mean, I just
Speaker 1: nobody cares about me about making the team. As long
Speaker 1: as you don't really have to play at a position
Speaker 1: that's just hurt the team. I'm just playing guard. I
Speaker 1: think it'll be Fine, he's gonna be there left tackle
Speaker 1: with no help. Don't do that and learn he's gonna
Speaker 1: be the eighth and final alignment onto this team, and
Speaker 1: everybody's gonna lose their minds. But I just wouldn't be surprised,
Speaker 1: That's all I'm saying. Now, this is a wise shot
Speaker 1: because we still have a lot to go through. But
Speaker 1: who would be the one guy as a right now
Speaker 1: that would be very surprising to you, someone that you
Speaker 1: would not imagine making the team And does it makes
Speaker 1: the team? Yeah? Um, like it would really surprise me
Speaker 1: if this person made the team. Oh well, I mean
Speaker 1: there's a lot of guys right now. Um, let's let's
Speaker 1: how to answer it differently, because you could maybe name
Speaker 1: seventy guys that come out of nowhere. I would say
Speaker 1: Jeff five years ago. How about a guy that that
Speaker 1: would surprise a lot of fans if he made the team.
Speaker 1: But but don't count this person out. Maybe that Well,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna cheat a little bit and just say the
Speaker 1: linebacker depth chart looks very easy to figure out. Like
Speaker 1: it there is not a lot of room for a
Speaker 1: Cinderella story because you have three starters in Shaan Lee,
Speaker 1: Damian Sean Lee, Jalen Smith, and Layton vander esh Damian
Speaker 1: Wilson gives you at four. H you brought in Joe
Speaker 1: Thomas at to be your kind of backup and special
Speaker 1: teams guy. He's been starting while Shaun Lee does his
Speaker 1: vet days. And then maybe you keep seven linebackers, but honestly,
Speaker 1: six wouldn't surprise me either. So that leaves one spot.
Speaker 1: You got Chris Covington who you drafted. You got Justin
Speaker 1: March Lillard who was here last season. Like, there's not
Speaker 1: a lot of space for a rookie or any good yesterday. Yeah,
Speaker 1: now there's there's just not a lot of space at
Speaker 1: that position for you know, an undrafted guy or something
Speaker 1: like that to to do anything. So that would surprise him.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give a name. I'm gonna go with Donovan
Speaker 1: in the lumba cornerback. I like that Long's he's one
Speaker 1: of the guys that just you know, he fits exactly
Speaker 1: what the prototype is and they've got a few like this.
Speaker 1: Now he's not the only one, but I think he's
Speaker 1: number thirty two. Yeah, they need a new thirty two.
Speaker 1: They dude, need a thirty two. It's a lot taller
Speaker 1: than the last one. He's a lot taller and uh longer, hair,
Speaker 1: longer arms. No, he had a he had a pick
Speaker 1: six I think last week. Like he's he's flashed a
Speaker 1: couple of times. All right, Well, and he went to college.
Speaker 1: He went to broad US College. Is he really before
Speaker 1: he went to College of Scouting. No, but the college
Speaker 1: he went to, I forgot what. I forgot what it's
Speaker 1: called exactly, but it was like something brought us. It's
Speaker 1: the name of the university. He went. Tope, gotta be
Speaker 1: good right here. You going, okay, thank you for that.
Speaker 1: You're welcome. All right, Thank you guys for listening one
Speaker 1: more time, thanks so quick. And I just say, if
Speaker 1: you're listening right now live stay tuned because Hang with
Speaker 1: the Boys is coming and they're gonna have a really
Speaker 1: really special guest. Well, there you have it. Make sure
Speaker 1: to tune into Dallas Scotboys dot Com radio for Nickiman,
Speaker 1: David Hellman, Kan Garrison and remember her ce ce you
Speaker 1: guys next week on the break