WEBVTT - Player’s Lounge: Proving Ground 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:04.960 The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:06.560 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:09.840 Cowboys. 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:16.680 This is the Player's Lounge, broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:18.720 World headquarters. 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:18.840 At the Star. 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:25.400 Now your hosts Barry Church, Danny McCrae, Heckma Harrison, and 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:27.400 new he Scrugs. 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:35.040 Players Lounge on a Friday. Let's ride. Danny McCrae is here, 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:38.400 Heckma Harrison is here, Barry Church is here. I knew 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:42.920 he scrugs going into the weekend. It is time to 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:47.800 get into it. Lose Cowboys Eagles. It's what the Cowboys 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.560 have wanted, their three point favorites in this football game 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:57.120 here courting Vegas and everything they want to finish the 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:01.080 season strong. To answer the questions of people had it's 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:05.960 all right here and it starts on NBC's Sunday Night Football. 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.039 So I thought heck had a good topic point today. 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.280 Biggest impact for this game offensive defense. 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:21.800 Why you gotta look at me like, all right, I'll 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:23.080 tell you what. I'm gonna go out on the limb. 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:25.480 I know I'm gonna go out on the limb, and 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:27.240 I'm gonna go with on offense. I'm gonna go with 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.440 your man, Brandon Cooks. I think Brandon Cooks is the 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:32.600 guy on offense that has the biggest impact because I 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.240 think Ceedee Lamb, they gotta do something about me torched 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:38.759 them the last time he saw him. Okay, On defense, 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.720 I'm going with Tank. You have to be that guy. 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:43.840 Tank has to be that guy. I think they already 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.040 know what Mike is gonna bring to the table. They 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.160 know the rush is gonna be on where daed Quayne 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:50.920 puts him, I don't know, But in order to stop 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:52.880 that run, you're gonna need a big, big game for 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:54.640 number nine. 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:57.360 I'm okay with those picks. Okay, but offensively for me. 0:01:58.120 --> 0:01:59.800 So this is who we think is gonna ball or 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:02.080 who we think they gotta play well in order for 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:02.920 them to get a dub. 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.880 Yes, okay, I got you. Dak Prescott. 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.880 I mean, Dak Prescott has to make sure he takes 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.360 care of the football all right. He's been doing it 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:14.680 great for the last we actually this season, he's been 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:16.600 great at it right. And then also he has to 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:19.480 be the playmaker, the extending the plays type of guy 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:21.880 putting the game on his shoulders because our run game 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.840 just hasn't been what we expected to be. So I'm like, 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.720 that needs three three touchdowns, maybe one rushing, like somewhere 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:30.760 in there. Total three touchdowns. I got to see him 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:32.160 do that on offense and on defense. 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.840 For me, I want to. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.800 Pick one person, but I can't because it's the cornerbacks. 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:41.280 To me, the cornerbacks have to be able to hold 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:45.400 up against the slim Raper and aj Brown, right, because 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:49.760 if you don't, then this offense has two ways of kicking. 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:50.400 Your butt up and down. 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:52.560 The facts, all right, and what we saw the last 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:54.760 what we saw last week with Geno Smith coming out 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.400 of coming to Dallas, that was uncharacteristic of our of 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:00.480 our secondary and I think that. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:02.919 We got to button that up or it's gonna be 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:03.840 a long day for us. 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.760 Because if you can't, if you can't stop them two 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:09.600 dudes man and Philly's already running team, then they just just. 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.600 Yeah, it kind of becomes a rap. Then it becomes 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.720 a rap for me. Offensively, I'm going with Ferguson. You know, 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:19.799 I feel like Ferguson's has got to have a big 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:21.680 time game and he has the capabilities of doing so. 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.080 I mean, he's gonna be lined up against either you know, 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:27.600 two linebackers one in in Leonard that's just got there. 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:29.639 So he's gonna be you know, scrambling trying to figure 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:31.640 out the playbook. And he also has to go against 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.760 one of them safeties. And Bayer was a guy, you 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:35.280 know a couple of weeks ago where I'm like, man, 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:36.440 that's a big time improvement. 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.120 That's a up grade. He's gonna help your team out. 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:40.200 And he made a couple of players early on, but 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:42.760 lately I'm talking about these last two three games. My 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:45.040 man's been looking lost out there. Whether it's in coverage 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.160 coming up to make tackles. He's missing a lot of tackles. 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:49.560 Coverage is not as good as it once was. So 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.200 to me, ferg He's gonna be that security blanket in 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:54.320 my opinion, to get those you know, five yard catches 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:56.720 maybe turned into some yack. He has the capabilities of 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.160 doing so to so to me, offensively, if fergus going 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:01.120 out there and having a good game, and then it 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.880 also opens up a lot of other things. Defensively, I 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:05.960 gotta go with Marqui's bell on this one. He's got 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:08.680 to have a huge game in that on that second 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:11.440 level one, he's gonna be tasked with that RPO and 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.880 we all understand how hard that is, you know, to 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:16.200 to bundle up right there. So he's gonna have to 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.400 be either spying on Hurts with that when it comes 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.040 to that limiting the run game, but also I think 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.159 he's gonna be tasked with You talk about Swift and 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:25.799 you talk about game well coming out of the backfield 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:26.440 as receivers. 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:28.160 I think he's done a great job. 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:30.240 You know, we talked about Eckler and then Chargers of 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:31.920 how he was able to limit those guys. I think 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:33.800 if he has a big time game as far as 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:35.839 limiting yards after cats, because they're gonna get they' gonna 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:37.640 get their grabs, they're gonna get their catches. If you 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:39.560 can limit those guys and be a great open field tackleer, 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:41.479 I think it'll be great for this defense. But that 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:43.240 second level is gonna be under attack, you know, whether 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:45.240 it's from Goddard, whether it's from the running backs out 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.680 of the backfield, or whether it's you know, quarterback draw 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.160 power with Hurts, it's gonna be under attacks. So I 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:51.600 think both of those guys in the middle have got 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:52.240 to have a big one. 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:54.640 Everything you said about defensively, I'm with you right there. 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:58.839 I mean, I'm right behind you there. One You've got 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:01.599 to make sure you take away there run and Jalen 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:03.160 Hurts wants to get out of the pocket, You've got 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:05.320 to make you checking on him. And who knows how 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.040 good that Goddard is back from the injury. But this 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.600 is where if I'm Philadelphia, I'm looking to make I'm 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.920 looking to make some hay right there in that area 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:14.800 of the football field. And I go back to what 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.000 you said, it's Dak Prescott on the offense. I mean, 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:19.960 this thing is all about offense, and it's all about 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:22.320 the quarterback. And if this quarterback is out here getting 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.360 it done, and we know they can win. But if 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:25.960 he's out here, you're throwing a pick and you're not 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:27.880 seeing a guy across the way and he steps in 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:29.680 and undercuts it, it's going to be a problem. This 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.880 is not a football game which you can give away 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.479 the football. You've got to win the turnover battle here. 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:37.839 You got to win the turnover battle. And you cannot 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:42.280 have nine ten penalties in this football game. The pre 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:45.640 snat penalties have to stop. And I don't know what 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:47.520 guys are saying in the room to each other, but 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:49.919 dog on it this week. It's on them. It is 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.839 on them to make sure did you report to the referee? 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:56.640 Do you stay onside? Do you not all the stuff 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.880 we've seen? Man, kick off return? Don't sit around here 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:04.880 face mass personal foul? I mean never heard of it? Right? 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.599 You know, these these kinds of mistakes that you just 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:11.040 cannot have in a magnitude game like this, that you 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:15.560 must have at the end of the day. I cannot 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:19.520 emphasize this enough. Guys, all your hopes and dreams are 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:23.280 right here, and if you don't win this game, they're there. 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.120 You now put yourself into eight ball. You're into wild 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.560 card spot and you go you're gonna be digging. You 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.040 could still be there, but you got to do this part. 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:36.080 And what people said all year long, you can't beat 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:39.320 anybody good. Even though they beat a winning a team 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.520 in Seattle, it doesn't count. I heard on the radio, like, 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.599 you can't win against San Francisco? Did anybody? Was I 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:47.520 the only one who was there at Tampa when they 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:49.920 want to playoff game because that nobody brings out it 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.560 is act like they did not beat Tom Brady and 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.960 put it in cinema time. I mean, that's like didn't happen. 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:59.000 So people are saying this is a quote unquote big game. 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:01.920 You know, I feel about that phrase, but this is 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:04.080 what they've got to do. You gotta roll. 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:06.520 So people saying that the Seattle Seahawks game didn't count, 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.800 that is that to me? That was a good football team, 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:15.760 a good defensively. They have a sound quarterback and Geno 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:19.880 Smith who has made improvement after improvement. DK Metcalf is 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.960 a big time receiver. Tyler Lockett, he is a big 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:25.200 time receiver Bentering Lee for a long time. Like they 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:27.560 that is a good football team, and they came in 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.680 here against a good defense, and they put up some 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:34.000 numbers on a really good Dallas Cowboys defensive. We went 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:37.679 up there Middleston numbers on a really good Seattle Seahawks offense. 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:41.040 So I don't like it counts now. 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:42.800 I think that one counts more than the Tom Brady 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.640 one because they underfives. 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.680 Listen to NBC Sports Radio all the way over here, 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:54.080 Peter King and Mike Florid we are talking, and Peter King, 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:56.920 they have to prove that they can go out and 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.680 beat good teams and actually win in that big game 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:02.680 that the Cowboys the last few years have not won 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:06.120 a big games. McCarthy put it on dak Is and 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:07.440 and then then he went on to say, you know, 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:09.720 if they're the team that Jerry Jones thinks they are, 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.800 they got to win. And then he referenced the to 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:15.040 San Francisco losses in the playoffs. And as I said, 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.120 I'm listening to this, and what I've listened to for 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.679 so many times is that Tampa Bay playoff game does 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:23.560 not exist in the minds of it's as though it 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:24.600 did not happen. 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:28.920 It happened. That's that's what you can't say. 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.800 It happened that that Tampa Bay team was not as 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.400 you know, they crawled off into the playoffs. 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.079 They had to put somebody from the South in this. 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:38.760 I'm not saying, do. 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:41.000 You know, if you lost it, you can't even the 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.440 bad so it was going it was going to get 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:47.520 used against you, but you've got no credit for it. 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.120 And yes, hey go beat a team with any record. 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.960 They did it, and there's no credit for it had 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:57.040 you lost it. See, you can't even be the middling team. 0:08:57.120 --> 0:08:57.920 You can't mean you know. 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:00.960 I'm just saying this is this is what champion anyway 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.520 to undermine the Dallas Cowboys. You know the media is 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:05.400 gonna take it, man, and we don't care nothing about that. 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.400 I mean, this is a game where the Cowboys have 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:09.920 to have it. And I want to ask y'all, man, 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.000 do y'all feel like from all the noise on the 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.920 outside as it's being stated that this is a career 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:20.200 defining game for that, do you feel that? Noah, don't, don't. 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.200 It's still the regular season. But I'm saying in the 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.120 grand scheme of where you're going to go into the 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.160 playoffs and grand scheme of actually getting to where nowies 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:31.000 just talked about how everyone's saying, well, you ain't beat anybody. 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:33.600 Finally you get an opportunity to go head to head 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:35.600 versus your nemesis in your division. 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:39.160 How could this not be? I don't think it's career defining. 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:41.920 I think it's a huge game and a huge opportunity, 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.360 especially when you're looking at the MVP race, and then 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:46.640 Dak could put itself as the front runner if he 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.000 goes out and beats Philadelphia. But he played really well 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:52.280 against Philadelphia last last time and we still lost the game, right, 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:54.360 so there still could be an opportunity for us to 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:56.040 go out there and Dak Prescott have four or five 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:57.800 touchdowns and we figure out the way to lose it. 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.079 And I don't think it would be on Dak. I 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.600 think that has done a lot in his career. But 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:04.440 I think the thing that's going to be career defining 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.680 is how he plays when he gets into big games 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.360 in the play How far can you make it in 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.720 the playoffs when you run into a Philly or San 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.240 Francisco or whoever it is who's rolling at that moment. 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:16.800 I think that is going to define your career as 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:20.040 a Dallas Cowboy player, just like Tony Romo is defined 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:20.480 that way. 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:21.880 Yeah, I'm with y'all on that one. 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:23.960 When you talk about, you know, career defining, you know, 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:25.720 we all understand when you were to start, it's what 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:27.679 happens in the playoffs. You know, that's that's what's going 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:29.920 to you know, grant your legacy or doing your legacy. 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.720 Because if we look at it last last year in 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:35.400 San Francisco when he had a bad playoff game, you 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:37.480 know that that wasn't to me career defining. I mean, 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:39.040 it was a bad game, I understand it, and it 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:40.960 was in a big situation. But look how he's been 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.200 able to bounce back this year. He's an MVP discussion. 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.600 So to me, I don't think this game is career defining. 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.680 I do, however, think this game is a must win 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:51.200 when you talk about being able to have home field 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.840 advantage throughout the playoffs, because we all understand this team 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:55.520 is a different team on the road. I mean, I 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.480 think we can we can put it that way. When 0:10:57.520 --> 0:10:58.680 you look at him at home, I think they're what 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.680 fourteen and zero shifts. I mean, that's ridiculous. So to me, 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.800 if you want to get that home field advantage and 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:06.840 you want to be that team that that host playoffs 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:08.920 games and you're gonna get your best shot to make 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:10.199 it to the to the s Bob, but to the 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.320 Super Bowl, then you gotta win this game because if 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:14.200 you lose this, I think they're what down two two 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:16.319 games in the division, and you look at the rest 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:18.480 of the Eagle schedule. They got the Commanders I think, 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:20.920 and the Giants, you know, a couple of games that 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.839 they should win easily. So if you want to get 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:25.400 that home field avantage, you want to, you know, take 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:27.440 that next step. This is to me a must win 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:29.520 game because you got to you can't go too far 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:30.360 back in that division. 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:32.640 No, if you win, if you come away from a situation, 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:34.520 come away from this game Sunday, you win. 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:35.520 That's ten. 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.160 That's double jedgit wins for Mike McCarthy in three seasons, 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.480 and that puts him in a rare class as a 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:43.720 Dallas Cowboy coach. 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.760 And a lot of people ain't talking about that. 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:48.960 You know, say, no news, good news, nah man, you 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:50.600 got to talk about some of the good things that 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:52.960 you see this team doing. And all you hearing is 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.320 what new he's talking about. Guys like Peter King saying, well, 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.800 now you ain't beat anybody. You saw that game you 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.600 were just talking about Seattle. Seattle is a bona fide 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:04.640 team and San Francisco has that work cut out for 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.880 them this Sunday against Seattle because they go in the 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:11.160 sleepwalking they can get beat by Geno and DK mex. 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:12.280 Ain't even got to be sleepwalking. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.400 The NFC West is always like that is always a 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.040 division of conference where you sit over there and you say, no, 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.720 matter the record of any four of those teams, you 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:22.360 can get beat. 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:25.600 And that's from Arizona Cardinals all the way up. 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.480 To the San Francisco forty nine Ers and the Rams, 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:29.480 even when they were winning the Super Bowl, they would 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:31.280 go into those division games. You'll be like, hold on, 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.200 what happened to me a last week? Right, because because 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:38.200 he's in the NFC West, So yeah, like it was 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.960 all good. Just how many times they rode onf Matthew 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.559 Stafford them in the NFC West before they want a 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:46.600 super Bowl? They were like, now, I don't know, man, Matthew. 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:53.240 Ain't got and he I look at Eli Manning and 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:57.280 you're talking about your career defining game. Eli Manning's career 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:01.120 defining games where in the playoffs and it was the 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:03.240 two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots. I mean for 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.760 Eli's career, his record, he finished one hundred and seventeen wins, 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:10.360 one hundred and seventeen losses, have a great record. And 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:12.320 they talked about putting this guy in the Hall of Fame. Okay, 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:13.679 talk about puting this guy in the Hall of Fame 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:22.080 at the end. So from twenty eleven to twenty nineteen, 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:26.280 he did that. He had one double digit win season 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:29.800 from from twenty eleven he was nine and seven, nine 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:31.880 and seven, seven and nine, six and ten, six and ten, 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.960 eleven and five, three and twelve, five and eleven, one 0:13:35.000 --> 0:13:35.320 and three. 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:36.440 Yeah, it was bad. 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:38.720 I mean, this is this is how he finished his career. 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:44.160 He had was it one, two, three, four, five, five 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.600 double digit win seasons, But his career was made the playoffs. 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.000 So when you needed to have it the most, you 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:53.720 did it, and you did it against arguably the best 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:57.160 head coaching quarterback of all time. He won twice, didn't 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.199 and you know one of them was when they were undefeated. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.960 Know the the Patriots were undefeated. So to me, heckma, 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:06.079 the it's the playoffs. That's where you that's where you 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:08.319 lay it down and where we're going to remember everything 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:12.960 about you. But this this game is going to set 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:15.800 a tone. If they win, we will talk about them 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.080 in terms of being a true contender. And oh, by 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.160 the way, look at what's on the schedule for them 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.160 the rest of December. All your hopes and dream is here. 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:27.200 They lose. You know what's coming. Can't get it done. 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.960 Here comes to measuring stick. You look, you can't meet it. 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:32.880 It's at your house. You had to win the street. 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:34.880 You couldn't do it. Jalen Hurst. Not is that fair? 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:37.640 But is that is that a fair criticism? 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:41.360 It comes with the meals. Jason Garrett used to say, so, 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:45.240 I'll say yes. From the from the standpoint of this is, 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.800 you know who you play for, you know what's expected. Well, 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:50.840 you play for the Yankees, you play for the Lakers. 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.240 You know people are here for championships. They're not here 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:55.920 for the excuses and the bull nine nine. That's why 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.120 you gotta get this one done. The old NFL films. Heck, 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:01.560 you remember Lou Savis. You can get it done. You 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.280 can get it done. What's more, you gotta get it done. 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:05.320 That's it. 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:08.760 Listen, it'll be fair criticism if they go out here 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.040 and they don't win this football game. It'll be fair 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:13.840 criticism of saying, when you come up against the upper 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.840 echelona football teams in the NFL, you haven't been able 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:19.880 to show that you belong in that category based off 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.000 the last couple of years. 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:23.520 I think that's fair game for the game. 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.720 And I worry about that. I worry about that. 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.520 I worry about that because the scenario as it continues 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:31.240 to play out of my in my head, it's like, 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.040 if they lose forty two to ten, what does that 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:35.640 do to the psyche of this team? 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:36.440 Like you hurt? 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:37.000 What does that do. 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:39.760 I mean you're talking about what does that dude that 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.080 set them back mentally? Does that put them in a 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:45.120 situation amongst them in the media types to say, oh, 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.760 you don't belong here. Here's another measuring stick game and 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.360 you fail to meet expectations and a team that has 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.080 been hearing the noise, I don't care. There's no way 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:54.160 they can get away from it. You play, you ain't 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.040 played nobody, You ain't beat nobody. Then you come up 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.640 against a team that has the record, that has all 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.000 the firepower, how do you mean up and you don't 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.320 even you don't even come close. 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:04.040 That's gonna hurt. 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:06.720 That's gonna hurt. And so that's that's that's what I'm 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.320 looking for. I want to see for all the expectation 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.080 that's been placed on them, if they don't live up 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:15.000 to it. Man, how many times can you go see 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:20.280 them headline the headline at some point, at some point, 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:22.880 we're gonna come here and we're gonna say, all right, y'all, 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.160 just the headline is right, like at some point, it's 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:26.200 not like they just beating up. 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:26.680 On the cowboys. 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:27.840 At some point you're gonna look at it and say, 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:30.480 all right, going back to the last two years. 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.120 How many times they beat these beating these teams. 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:35.880 Okay, we saw Philly get stomped out by San Francisco 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.280 last last week. Now if they go out there and 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.120 lay in forty two to ten, now you're gonna say, 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.760 hold on, hold on, y'all, ain't sniffing the top of 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.360 the rise. It's not it's not even there. Especially you 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.880 know how close the game was last last time we 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.480 played Phild like you've left that game feeling like, hey man, 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.120 if we've made a few more plays. Although Philly didn't 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.760 play their best game, they have right, So you say, okay, 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:02.200 this game ship a close, competitive game and it was 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:07.560 not home to somebody. Oh yeah, right, the whole playoffs, 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:12.000 I will couch this. 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:16.120 Going back to covering the Rangers when they were trying 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:18.600 to win the division, the Astros came into Arlington and 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.679 they put up historic numbers against them. It was a 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:24.880 beatdown and beat down. Run scored the series and hold 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:26.919 I mean the Astro just I mean laid it to 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.800 and everybody was, man, can can't win, ain't gonna get 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:33.600 it done. And then they had a lead in the 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.639 last last four games they couldn't hold on ASHS Division. 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.760 People rode them all. You gotta let it play out, 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.320 no matter what happens, you have to let this player. 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.119 Gotta let it play out. It may not be pretty 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:47.720 in terms of Okay, you could get beaten and we're like, 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:50.200 oh my gosh, but you do have to let it 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:50.600 play out. 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:52.800 I mean, look at the forty nine, the forty Downers, 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:54.520