WEBVTT - Talkin' Cowboys: What To Expect For #DALvsATL 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:08.399 This is Talking Cowboys Screaming live on Dallas Cowboys dot 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:17.040 Com and the official Dallas Cowboys as texts by now 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:22.360 your hosts Mickey Spagnola, Brian brought us, Taylor Stern and 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:28.600 Rob Phillips. Welcome everybody into the SWBC Mortgage Studio. I'm Taylor, 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:31.960 joined by Brian, Rob Mickey on this Friday before the 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.520 Cowboys head to Atlanta to face the Falcons. Of course, 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.199 lots of news here at the Star and Frisco is 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.360 always and it's tour Friday, so it's gonna be fun. 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.000 We're gonna have feistiness. We have lots of news to 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.680 break down, of course, Ezeki Elliott. Hopefully you guys have 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.240 heard all of our content on that since the news 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:52.839 broke yesterday afternoon. But before we get to that, I 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.120 want to know everyone's doing. And then Mick Mick's gonna 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:57.080 run us through the injury report and we're gonna just 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:01.440 keep on rolling. Guys doing good. Like you said, keep 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:03.800 on rolling, right, they got to keep on rolling as 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.240 a football team. Good coach, good coach. So before we 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:09.760 get into all the Issygillett news, and we have lawyer 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.120 Rob break it down and everyone Mick, why don't you 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:13.880 run us through the injury report because this is the 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.480 first week I feel like in a long time, you 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.399 have some very very key injuries that need to watch. 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:24.440 Anybody you're particularly interested in Ron Smith. Smith was not 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:26.640 out there and I tried to stay as long as 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.280 I could so he didn't backdoor me, right yeah and 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:33.680 come in. But they were going through individual drills and 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.000 he was not out there. So that's a d NP 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:40.280 for him. Three days in a row. It doesn't look good. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.720 I'll be interested to see how they designate him. I 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:47.240 found out though, that you can make him questionable, questionable 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:50.880 or even doubtful even though he hadn't practice all week. 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.920 But what do you guys? And they've eliminated probable, So 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.760 I don't think he plays Yeah, branded the old I 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.240 don't think they're sing. I don't think they're trying to 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.040 pull any fat. No, I don't think so either. Also 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:06.160 not practicing Jeff Swain uh. Jason Garrett told us that 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:10.120 in the walk off he uh did something with his 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.760 knee and wasn't going to practice today. So that'll be 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.360 an interesting one to watch if they want to keep. 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:19.160 If he can't go and they want to keep three 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:25.520 tight ends available. Maybe, Um, I forgot his name, Blake 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.639 Jake Jarwin. I was going, I was gonna, I was 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.440 gonna say, you gonna pull it off? Yeah, I couldn't 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:34.919 remember his name. Jarwin, Oklahoma State, see like eighty nine 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:36.600 or something. Yes, sir, so yeah I got that part. 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:40.760 Uh so maybe he's active if Swain can't go. Evidently 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:43.520 they did do a test on it and came back negative, 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:49.040 so we'll see what happens there. But after that, MALIEK. 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:53.400 Collins was out there, Um Brown was out there. A 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:56.840 Woozier was out there. Bailey was out there doing the 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:59.520 same thing he did yesterday, which was basically go through 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:04.600 warm ups stretching and then goes outside and begins his rehab. 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.400 And Dez Bryant was out there there you go, and 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.720 he d good news, moving around quite well, I might add. 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.280 And just before I walked off, he ran a little 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:19.080 They were doing those little individual routes and against air, 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.239 and he did a little bit of a It was 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.360 kind of a down and out about twenty yards, caught 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.920 the ball one handed, going towards the sideline, pulled it 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:30.840 in and tippy dode down the sideline and stayed in bound, 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:34.960 so I would say he's probably good to go, and 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.760 that's probably the best news I gave you. And obviously 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:44.160 not there Ezekiel Elliott, who began his suspension immediately. What 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:48.440 was it about two thirty yesterday when that position came 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:52.840 down around there, So at that point he was suspended. 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:55.640 I wonder if he had to fly back on his own. So, yes, 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.360 the three judges that we gave you guys a full 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.120 scouting report on yeah day, well i'll tell you what 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:04.120 they did not ring. And it was kind of odd, 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.320 you know, and maybe it was just where we were 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:08.160 sitting brand but you know, you and I were talking 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:11.200 and seemed like everything we were hearing at least tweets 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:14.400 different reports coming from New York, it sounded favorable for 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.040 ze Gilliet and of course the news comes down. Now 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.880 there is going to be another hearing on December first, 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.240 so we can get into what that means. But Zeke 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:24.919 Elliott for the time being is suspended. Yeah, kind of 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.840 get hurt because you have a Thanksgiving Day game on 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.160 the snow. You get the Thursday after Thanksgiving because they 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:36.400 play Washington, play Washington December. Yeah, November, you could have 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:38.360 been it could have been a three three week thing. 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.080 Possibly if you've got have been ruling in your favor. Yeah, 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:45.080 I think it's probably. Lawyer Rob says it's probably a 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.720 long shot to get him back before the six games 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:50.640 are over. I mean there's a chance it's an expedited appeal, 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.160 so it's a couple of weeks before what do you 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:58.200 look at the fact that they ruled it to be expedited. 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.400 That is a consolation. Yeah, But it all depends on 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.520 how long it takes them to deliberate, how many people, 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.680 how how involved is that appeal going to be. Is 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:11.719 it gonna be three new judges, three new judges and 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:14.200 these guys got it done in an hour and a half. Yeah, 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:16.680 But it's also of the overall case, right, it's not 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.400 just we're not just ruling on an injunction here, so 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.480 like more the merits right than just. I listened to 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:28.080 the majority of the arguments from yesterday and in the 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:32.280 when the NFL was making their point. One of the 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:37.520 things one of the judges pointed out was that in 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:43.440 this case, if it wasn't for a legal procedure, Judge 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:49.000 Mazant had ruled in Zeke's favor. Yeah, and that would 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:52.600 have taken precedence and they would have had to appeal 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:56.600 and prove that ruling wrong, other than going to the 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.240 court in New Orleans to say, hey, they jumped a gun. 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.160 He didn't have or asdiction to do this. So they 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:04.839 actually went to the point of pointing that out to 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:09.159 the NFL's lawyer when he was making his argument. So 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:13.760 the funny thing was when we were reading the live tweets, 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.640 most of the live tweets were coming out on what 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:20.800 the judges were asking the NFL lawyer right. What didn't 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:24.360 come out is what they were asking Zeke's lawyer right, 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:28.479 And a lot of it had to do with evidence exclusion, 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:32.200 their charge of right, and they basically were saying, well, 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.960 you know, the commissioner has this right, the arbitrator has 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:40.200 this right. They can't make the accuser show up to testify, 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:42.799 even though the guy pointed out they didn't even ask. 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.360 And then they got into this all this stuff about 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.839 when did Lisa Friel say this? When did they show 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:55.400 the commissioner that? And they were questioning the attorney on 0:06:55.520 --> 0:07:00.280 evidence exclusion. They did question the NFL on irreparable arm 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:03.839 And that's why I thought the thing was turning because 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:09.120 they said, hey, you took fourteen months to investigate this thing. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:11.920 What if he took four more months and the season 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.640 was over, right, So you obviously weren't in a hurry 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:20.280 to have him suspended. Yeah, and then the NFL guy 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.440 pointed out, but the reason we want him suspended because 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:25.920 let's say he gets injured and then he can say, 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:29.320 I'll take my six game suspension now while I'm injured, 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:33.680 and we don't want players kind of manipulating the system. Rob, 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.800 you look frustrated. No, I'm not. I just I mean, 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:39.440 it didn't take him very long. It took him thirty 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.320 minutes after it was over. It seems like they knew 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:43.920 what they were going to do. They had a good 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.640 feeling about this be my impression of it. But why 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.960 do you think they ordered an expedited hearing on the appeal? 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:53.520 They kicked the can down the street a little further 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.120 make him feel better or what? Yeah, well, you know, 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:58.440 let's have three other judges to decide what they want 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:01.680 to do, because it's what we thought wouldn't happen till 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:04.480 April May. I haven't. I haven't figured out this case yet. 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:06.600 I know, I know for a fact though, it's the 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.680 Article forty six. Though. Oh they brought up Article forty 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:13.200 six Section A. Yeah, I know, it's Article forty six, 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:15.680 and nobody wants to hear about that because you've given 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.200 the Commission of the power the players have. They've given 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:21.120 the commission of the power to hear these to be 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:24.360 judge and jury. Yeah, so you've you've signed away that, right. 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.800 But I yeah, every time that I want to believe 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:32.040 that I have an understanding, No, I don't even yes, 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:35.119 even great. It reminds me so much of the difficulty 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.720 that I think that we all share when you're trying 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:40.600 to predict how football games are going to turn out. 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.880 You know, you think you have all the facts, you 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.800 think you have all the information, and then it goes 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.880 a completely another direction. Yeah, you know, And that's and 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:53.439 that's what this legal thing has become for me. I 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.720 just keep looking back at Article forty six and I 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:59.840 say that to me, is what these judges based their 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.640 opinions on. Now I haven't seen this, maybe Rob has, 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:06.400 I don't know. Did we see what the decision was? 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.360 Was it like a clean sleep three zero? I didn't 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:14.920 hear a score a scoreboard split decision? No, didn't get 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:18.520 a scoreboard there. But you know, if I think if 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:20.800 you've got a split decision, you would have we would 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:24.360 have heard from one of the judges in their opinion 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.200 say this is why I felt the way I did. 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:29.760 But they haven't even written anything yet. I haven't seen 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:31.880 that unless it hasn't just been that's what I'm saying. 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:35.040 I don't know. I just check their website. The six 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.160 games go on. Figure out a way now to play 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:38.800 with it. I mean, the bottom line with all this 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:40.400 is that you're not going to see him at least 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:44.280 for four games and probably all six. So it is 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:45.840 what it is now. I mean, I feel like we talked. 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:48.280 We talked about this on the podcast yesterday when the 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.040 news came down. I feel like we sat on the 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:53.040 tennis court at knox Nard and said, more or less, 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:55.640 this very well could happen if he gets to New York. 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:01.400 It's labor law, it's in the NFL's backyard, and there's precedent, 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:05.320 there's the Brady case, and here we are. So you know, 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:08.000 the unfortunate thing for the Cowboys is they're five and three, 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.280 they're in a playoff race. Here, they're just now starting 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:12.800 to get some momentum with their offense, with their defense, 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:18.080 and can that sustain itself without your best player, very 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:21.320 very quite possibly your best player on the field. Yeah, 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:23.839 it's him or Dak or one of your offensive linemen 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:28.520 or Shan Lee. So I just you know, it's it's 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.360 gonna be difficult. I mean, I'm always the wet blanket 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:34.080 guy with the crew because I just look at this 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:36.800 and say, you know, you start taking guys away, you 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.760 start taking things away, take away, Tyren Smith put a 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.679 banged up, Does Brian out there take Ezekiel Eliat away? 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:46.280 You know, you're that's that's stuff you have to deal with. 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.000 But you know what, it's going to compromise how you 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:51.400 play this football game. Would you argue that it's been 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:53.920 difficult this entire season for the team or do you 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:57.439 think they've been able to manage some stability, some focus 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:00.720 with this whole ongoing process and well they're five and three. Yeah, 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:02.800 I know, but I'm saying, you know, have they have 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.240 you still seen what you wanted to see from them 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:07.760 outside of everything off the field? Oh? I think that, 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:10.440 Like Rob says, though, offensively, you're kind of getting things 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:13.040 on track. That fourth quarter of the Green Bay game 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:15.480 kind of kind of got you in the right direction 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:17.880 of what you've been able to do the last three 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.040 games in a quarter. Uh, you know, it's a shame 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:23.360 that you're going to lose that that part of your 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:27.160 offense because to me, as much as we want to 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.360 say the defense is turned around, Mickey's right about this. 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:33.400 A lot of the time the points, the points, the 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:35.720 ability to score a lot of points put you now 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.880 at least gives them an opportunity. Now, they might lose 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:41.760 games and it shootouts, you know, we've seen that happen, 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:44.480 but at least, like you say that, the points have 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:48.560 allowed them to play defense at a little bit different level. 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:50.800 And there you know, as as they're as they're working 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.600 through those games, you know they're they're having some young 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.880 guys step up, they're having some pass rush, they're tackling better, 0:11:56.960 --> 0:12:00.120 Sean Lee and Anthy Hitchens are tackling. I mean, those 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:02.440 of the things that help your defense is because your 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.680 offense has got you an eleven point league going into 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.920 the you know, the final drive. I don't think Tay, 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:11.199 this whole saga has really weighed on the players minds 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.839 day to day, game to game. As much as people 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:15.760 want to think outside. I don't think so. I think 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:19.000 it's probably weighed on Zeke, but I think it's pretty 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.120 telling what Jason Garrett said in his press conmerce today, 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:24.160 he didn't give the team a dissertation about what's going on. 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:27.559 I think the team's very well aware of what's been 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:30.880 happening here. But you saw the juice that he gave 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.280 them last Friday when he came in the locker room 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.520 and oh, he's ready to play as eligible to play. 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:38.640 The guys were fired up, as Brian said, standing ovation. 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:40.800 They know exactly what he means to this offense. And 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.040 that's no disrespect to the other backs. He's just the 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:45.480 special back, and like Brian said, they've got to figure 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:47.679 out a way to I mean, you can't replace him 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.480 with one guy. I think it's got to be three 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:51.560 guys who kind of bring a little something different each 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:53.400 to the table. I think about him all the time 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.760 in this way. As great as Tony Romo was, yeah, 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:01.000 they still drafted this kid to help Tony Romo. You know, 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.400 you kind of think about you know, yeah, initially was Yeah, 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:05.320 Tony Romo is one of the best quarterbacks ever to 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.200 suit it up here, and you know, but they still said, 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.080 you know what, we can get Tony some war help here, 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.400 you know. And that's what Prescott's done. I mean he 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.760 is again i'd say it's thirty three percent of your offense. 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.360 And he's also your blitz pickup guy. And he's also 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.240 your short yardage back. And he's also your guy on 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:22.400 the backfield that catches of football. He's also the guy 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:24.079 on the goal line when it's when you know you're 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.360 going to run the football and it's two yards, he 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:28.240 gets three yards, it gets in the end zone. He's 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.800 also your home run threat besides Deza. So it hasn't 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:36.400 affected him. It's affected him that he's been on the field. Yeah, 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:38.839 Now we'll see if it affects him. That's what the 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.240 question you're going to ask me on Monday, right and 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:44.440 probably Wednesday, and probably the next day and the next 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:48.120 one day. You know, is Zeke's absence affecting them? Now? 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:50.160 What you hope? It's your guts say it'd make that 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:54.320 the poll every day. Yeah, did it affect him? I'm 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.440 wondering if it'll affect him from a energy standpoint. That's 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:01.040 a good point. Now, obviously there's going to be some 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.239 effect with his absence from a from a playing standpoint, 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:08.640 But now are they down, you know, oh, Zeke's not here. 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.400 What do we do? Or are they soldier forward? And 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:12.760 I think that a lot of that's going to have 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.000 to do with the coaching staff to make sure a 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.840 depression doesn't set in. Because Zeke's not here, They're gonna 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:22.640 have to double down on making sure they're ready to play. 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:24.720 For one of the good things this head coach has 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:27.080 done is he keeps his teams in games. And he 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.760 I mean he's remained even key. Yes that's true. So 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:32.920 he wasn't the one that was hooping in Holler and 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:37.240 last Friday right now, the players got fired up and 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:41.080 you know, they were playing the music and doing normal 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:44.520 stuff today, I think that they should understand that they've 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:48.800 got to individually have a bigger burden now absolutely on 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.400 this team's success. And I'll tell you the other thing 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:56.480 they understand is they better mind themselves because if this 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:59.280 can help and happen to Ezekiel Elliott, it can happen 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:02.760 to you, right, And so maybe the NFL wanted this up. 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.080 Is the big deterrent. You better not mess around because 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.520 these courts aren't going to rule in your favor, right, Yeah, 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.720 And I wonder if it is almost a benefit. Maybe 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:13.760 this is a stretch to say this, but that it 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:16.320 is a road game this weekend, because sometimes these guys, 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.840 you know, you brought it up, Mickey, Coach Garrett is 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.560 so good even kill on road games. They have great focus. 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:24.600 They know this is a business trip, you know, with 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:27.160 an out of sight, out of mind type of perspective, 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:29.520 you know, kind of you have that time in the 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.640 plane to really focus on the game. That plane ride 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:38.360 always going to whatever is they're sleeping. But there's really quiet. Yeah, 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.880 it is really quiet. Yeah, and just the mentality of 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:43.760 it's just us of out here. Yeah, it's kind of 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:45.760 like that, like us against this and now you're not 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:47.960 in the home stadium where they do a great job 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:50.440 of showing every player that everyone's excited about. I mean, 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:53.000 I felt like it saw Zeke on the JumboTron million 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.840 times last week. You know, So maybe this is some 0:15:55.920 --> 0:16:00.600 benefit to be like yo rally. Yeah, we'll see when 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:04.920 the first when the first difficult situation comes in a game. Yeah, 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:07.880 you know what you said. You asked Mickey that what's 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.000 your gut feeling, Brian, And I'll ask you the same 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.520 roun before we go to our first break. I think 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:16.360 it's I think there's enough talent around, you know, with 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:20.560 the running back situation to be effective. I don't think 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.040 it's going to be great. I feel like though you're 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:25.520 you're putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback. But 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:27.720 you know, the quarterback has played very well this year, 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:29.800 you know, and so you're gonna have to ask him 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:31.280 that you're gonna lean on him a little more. We 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.400 always talk about leaning on the line. I think Dez Bryant, 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:36.400 you know, the reason why he's banged up is and 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:37.880 he's going to come back and try and play this 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.200 week is because he knows what's on the line. He 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:42.200 knows with his teammates, he knows they need a lift, 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:44.360 you know, if he could go out there and provide 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.440 a lift. I think everybody has to play with that 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:49.280 type of attitude that you know what, Hey, we lost 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:51.440 a big, big part of what we are. We lost 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.760 our identity to a point, but somebody's gonna have to 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:57.560 step up and take that role, you know, And I 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.400 for the next six weeks, you can't feel sorry yourself. 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.320 Nobody feels sorry for yourself in this league. There are 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:05.320 people all over the league saying, you know what Richard 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.080 Sherman last, Yeah, nobody's feeling sorry for you. I mean 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.880 it's like, hey, topbreak, Richard Sherman. You know that people 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:14.520 are saying, hey, toughbreak, Cowboys, you lost a Zeka. So yeah, 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:18.080 I feel like though that, but you better figure it 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:20.520 out quick because you don't want this. I mean, you're 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:24.520 really basically, I still believe. I don't think I shouldn't 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.280 say you're not fighting for the division because you look 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:28.960 at how many games are left, and you know what 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:30.960 the Eagles have and what they've done so far, and 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:32.400 you got to give them credit for that. You play 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:34.560 them two more times and that will that be enough? 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.240 But you know, you got to think about where you're 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.480 positioning is and you just can't give games away and say, oh, 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:44.720 only because Zeke Elliott's not here, we're playing like crap. Yeah, 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:48.280 and this this opponent too, it's a little concerning because 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:52.120 Atlanta is more talented than what they've shown off. Absolutely, yeah, 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.360 And you just have to think at some point, as 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:56.320 well as the Cowboys defense is playing, maybe it's not 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:58.719 this week. They're gonna break through and they're gonna put 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:00.800 up thirty points in a football game, because I don't 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:02.679 think they've done it all year long, or least at 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.840 least not in the first Maybe there's three games, the 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:07.679 green Bay game, the Green Bay game, I think they 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.480 I think they beat Green Bay with thirty. Yeah, there's 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.399 a lot of pressure on their offense to get it 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.680 going this way. So you know they've been up, they've 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.359 been able to get off to fast starts in games. 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:20.800 Cowboys gonna have to match that. One thing that does 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.399 lend some optimism without Zeke in this game specifically, is 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:27.640 that the four games that Atlanta has lost this year, 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.920 they've given up one hundred and fifty four rushing yards average. 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.159 They have allowed teams to run on them. So you 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:36.160 look at it and you say, it's still our offense. 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:39.320 It's still our scheme. We have backs, we trust, and 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:42.000 we're gonna try to run our offense the best ability 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.159 that we can. And having Dez it maybe eighty five percent, 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:47.879 If he's eighty five percent, maybe maybe that's enough to 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:50.119 give you a boost and give you the balance you 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.119 need in this matchup. You know, the weird thing that 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.520 they've given up rushing yards is basically didn't Dan Queen 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:58.959 come there with his defensive scheme from Seattle, and we 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:02.280 know what Seattle does, right. They they jammed the line 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:06.640 of scrimmage, play single safety high right, and and the 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:09.800 Cowboys they're gonna get ready for it. That's what they're 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:12.720 gonna see. Now. Can these running backs plow through the 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.359 eighth man front right way Zeke does, right, because the 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:17.800 Cowboys don't normally back off from that. But that's what 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:21.520 they're gonna face right now. I'm wondering if, on the 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:24.399 other hand, Dan Quinn's gonna make sure his team doesn't 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:28.080 get relax and go ha no Ezekiel Elliott. Yeah, we 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:31.960 got it made Sunday right, and and not relax and 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:34.480 think that these other like I keep saying, these other 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:37.240 two guys or three guys ain't going out there on 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:40.440 metal crutches. You know, they can still run the football 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:43.280 over ten thou yards might right, Rob about backup running 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:45.320 backs that you got going into this game. Not everybody 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:49.160 has that, and most of it is the two veteran guys. 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.600 But Rod Smith has shown he can run the ball too, 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.879 So yeah, it's over. I mean, that's that's that's experience 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:57.320 and depth that most teams don't have. It's not like 0:19:57.440 --> 0:19:59.280 they don't have a proving guy back there. I'm gonna 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:02.080 put it back on the defense, back on how to 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:05.840 play well. Yeah, if they'll they will cobble together enough 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:09.160 points to win. Well, that's offense. But don't make them 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:11.960 score thirty. Yeah, don't make them score forty to win. 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:16.119 Twenty seven twenty four needs to be enough. Make he's 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:18.159 just given his predictions at the end of the first segment, 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:21.240 he's fired up. He's right. I appreciate you guys giving 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:24.120 such a great explanation into all of this. It has 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:26.200 been very confusing, and you guys have done a great 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:30.080 job helping everyone get a little bit more understanding on this. 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.480 So we'll be right back after our first break, we'll 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:36.480 get into more Atlanta Falcons and stay tuned for much more. 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:40.400