Speaker 1: The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is Mick shot
Speaker 1: screening live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the official
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys at now. Here are Bill Jones, Everson Walls,
Speaker 1: and Nicky Spagnola. Well, two out of three ain't bad
Speaker 1: on a Tuesday inside the s WBC Mortgage studios at
Speaker 1: Ford Center at the start in Frisco is Mickey Spagnola.
Speaker 1: But where all? Where is Everson Walls? Yeah? Jos in
Speaker 1: my inside my own studio. Everson had a I think
Speaker 1: a prior commitment, and I think he was doing some
Speaker 1: judging for a school thing. Um, so I think it's
Speaker 1: so Noah, He's volunteering to do something. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: didn't know if the NFL decided that he he needed
Speaker 1: to stay out of his own personal SWBC mortgage studio
Speaker 1: until tomorrow, right, and they'll open back the facility again.
Speaker 1: I like you. I like your opening. Two out of
Speaker 1: three ain't bad? Was that like a meatloaf song or something?
Speaker 1: There was? It was something like that, that's right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: And in fact, it could apply to the Cowboys schedule
Speaker 1: going forward. If the Cowboys were going to take two
Speaker 1: out of three coming up here, and it would be
Speaker 1: of course at Baltimore. We'll get into the rescheduling on
Speaker 1: that next Tuesday tentatively right now, and then at Cincinnati
Speaker 1: in San Francisco. Can you imagine, well, the Cowboys will
Speaker 1: be in the NFC standings if they can just win
Speaker 1: two out of the next three games, mickey, they probably would.
Speaker 1: They could very well be in first place by themselves.
Speaker 1: If you look at the other team, there's no doubt
Speaker 1: to play, right. That's that's right, That's exactly right. That's
Speaker 1: what I did late last night after Philly lost to
Speaker 1: Seattle and dropping them to three seven and one, just
Speaker 1: as step ahead of the Cowboys at three and eight.
Speaker 1: And you've got the Giants in Washington atop the division
Speaker 1: at four and seven right now, and I'm searching for
Speaker 1: it as I speak here. Who do they play this week?
Speaker 1: It's an ominous schedule for the NFC East this week,
Speaker 1: aside from Dallas playing at Baltimore next Tuesday. You have
Speaker 1: it at your disposal there in a heartbeat, I can
Speaker 1: call it up in a minute if I wrote it down,
Speaker 1: and I've just tried to remember when I wrote it,
Speaker 1: you know, we had a lot of shows to fill
Speaker 1: here the last couple of weeks, and I wrote it
Speaker 1: down to make a huge point. And I guess it
Speaker 1: was longer ago than I thought. In my big blue
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboy notebook here where I log all the games,
Speaker 1: so I'm going too far back. But anyway, one of
Speaker 1: the teams plays the Packers. Anyway, as I find that
Speaker 1: the it's it's pretty incredible. I did the math before
Speaker 1: going to bed last night. I did the math on it.
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Mickey. The Giants are at Seattle. The Giants
Speaker 1: are at Seattle. That's a loss, okay, and without their quarterback,
Speaker 1: although that might help them cope. McCoy starting. Washington plays Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: They're at at Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh, that's right, that's a loss,
Speaker 1: so okay, so let's carry it forward. The Giants then
Speaker 1: fall to four and eight. Washington falls to four and eight,
Speaker 1: and what are the Eagles doing? Well, it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: who the right playing the Saints, all right? At the
Speaker 1: Packers Okay, Oh no, I'm sorry, the Packers. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: got ahead of myself at the Packers. At the Packers.
Speaker 1: At the Packers. So they fall to three eight and one.
Speaker 1: So let's just say, okay, so that if the Cowboys
Speaker 1: were to shock the world and win at Baltimore, which
Speaker 1: will now have Lamar Jackson next Tuesday, Okay, they would
Speaker 1: be at four and eight in a tie with the
Speaker 1: Giants in Washington for first place. How about that? They
Speaker 1: would be all three of them would be four and eight,
Speaker 1: and Philly would be a half game behind them. But
Speaker 1: let's just say, just for grins, that Dallas doesn't win
Speaker 1: that game and they fall to three and nine. Let's
Speaker 1: take it forward to the next week. Philadelphia plays New
Speaker 1: Orleans the following week, all right, okay, loss, Let's say
Speaker 1: they fall to three to nine and one. The Giants
Speaker 1: play Arizon. Okay, could Arizona fully capable of beating the Giants?
Speaker 1: And so they fall to what would that would be
Speaker 1: four and nine? Right? Washington plays at San Francisco in Arizona,
Speaker 1: and you know, and the way San Francisco is playing.
Speaker 1: San Francisco beat the Rams on Sunday, I mean, they
Speaker 1: are as many injuries as the forty nine ers have had.
Speaker 1: They are. What a terrific coaching job they're doing out there,
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan and getting that team geared up to play
Speaker 1: each week. But let's say San Francisco beats Washington. Okay,
Speaker 1: they're now four and nine and the Cowboys are playing
Speaker 1: at Cincinnati. So if the Cowboys beat Cincinnati, they would
Speaker 1: then be tied with the Giants in Washington, and then
Speaker 1: the following week. The following week, Philadelphia plays at Arizona,
Speaker 1: the Giants play Cleveland, in Washington plays Seattle. These other
Speaker 1: three teams in the division may not win a game
Speaker 1: until the last couple of weeks of the season when
Speaker 1: they start playing each other, until they play the facts.
Speaker 1: In fact, the Giants in week sixteen play at Baltimore,
Speaker 1: and Washington plays Carolina. Well, Dallas plays Philadelphia. I mean,
Speaker 1: this thing crazy as it sounds, this thing and as
Speaker 1: devastating as what Thursdays seem like for Cowboys fans, the
Speaker 1: way that thing ended. This thing is far from over
Speaker 1: in the NFC East. So now, having set all that,
Speaker 1: can you piece together an offensive line that can help
Speaker 1: the Cowboys score more than something in the teams in
Speaker 1: these next couple of games. That'll be the key, right,
Speaker 1: because chances are, all right, they're probably saddled with the
Speaker 1: same guys they finished the Washington game with going forward
Speaker 1: in these at least these next two games at the
Speaker 1: backle position. Okay, all right, here's what I'm looking at
Speaker 1: with the schedule of the NFC East teams. If you
Speaker 1: can just be within a game going into the last
Speaker 1: two games against Philadelphia the Giants, So if you can
Speaker 1: get Zach Martin back for the last two games, you
Speaker 1: got a shot to win this division at five at eleven.
Speaker 1: I'm telling you it's possible. So uh, and I got
Speaker 1: I got a I should have brought my NFL hat
Speaker 1: today because I got a bone to pick with the NFL. Okay,
Speaker 1: So they've pushed these games back. Right for Baltimore the Cowboys, Um,
Speaker 1: they're end up playing Tuesday, right, It's a night game
Speaker 1: at Baltimore, Okay, and then the next game they play
Speaker 1: is at Cincinnati on Sunday. So two road games in
Speaker 1: a row, right, Uh, two games within six days. And
Speaker 1: if you think about it, since they're playing at Baltimore
Speaker 1: a night game on Tuesday, Wednesday's gonna be a wash
Speaker 1: for the Cowboys because by time they get back on
Speaker 1: their charter flight, it'll be three o'clock in the morning
Speaker 1: here or close to it. So Wednesday's at wash you
Speaker 1: got Thursday, Friday, Saturday, you're flying to Cincinnati, all right,
Speaker 1: But how about this Baltimore, because they've caused this whole thing.
Speaker 1: They get to play at home on Tuesday night, so they,
Speaker 1: you know, if they want, they can be in bed
Speaker 1: by midnight. Their next game it's a Monday night game,
Speaker 1: so they get an extra day rest after these games
Speaker 1: had been pushed back, and somehow that to me didn't
Speaker 1: Now there on the road, but it's not that far.
Speaker 1: They're at Cleveland, but it's a Monday night game, so
Speaker 1: they've got an extra day to prepare for their game.
Speaker 1: Where the Cowboys get cheated out of an extra day
Speaker 1: to prepare for their game, and they're they're no fault
Speaker 1: through their own now. Jerry was asked this morning on
Speaker 1: his show if he thought they would push the Cowboys
Speaker 1: Cincinnati game to Monday night, and he didn't sound hopeful.
Speaker 1: He didn't really want to answer the question because I
Speaker 1: bet in his mind he's thinking that's what needs to happen.
Speaker 1: So you know, I saw he was playing it close
Speaker 1: to the vest because because all things are subject to change, right, right,
Speaker 1: and so there was no reason for him to go
Speaker 1: out and say and make a statement about it, you know.
Speaker 1: But the NFL's statement about all these games was this,
Speaker 1: these decisions were made out of an abundance of caution
Speaker 1: to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches, and
Speaker 1: game day personnel, and in consultation with the medical experts.
Speaker 1: I wonder if they asked the medical experts if it's
Speaker 1: a good thing to play two games in six days
Speaker 1: and both on the road and not have the normal
Speaker 1: preparation time, like do the Cowboys have to start spending
Speaker 1: time this week preparing for Baltimore and Cincinnati because they're
Speaker 1: going to get cheated out of a day of preparation
Speaker 1: and a day of rest going into that game. So
Speaker 1: you got to hope whatever they can store up this
Speaker 1: week getting ready for a Tuesday game will last them
Speaker 1: for getting short sheeted going into that Cincinnati game. Well,
Speaker 1: and the other part of that is you're coming off
Speaker 1: two games in five days, all right, and then your
Speaker 1: next two games would be now that granted it is
Speaker 1: twelve days later, but your next two games or two
Speaker 1: games in six days. Yeah, so four games and someone
Speaker 1: much smarter than me would and who knows about how
Speaker 1: an athlete recover from our NFL players recover from a game.
Speaker 1: How much that tax is a body to come back
Speaker 1: on short rest for your next game. It's one thing.
Speaker 1: Every team in the league does it once during a season,
Speaker 1: but to do it twice in the span of a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks, I don't know. Yeah, and and and
Speaker 1: you know, and I mean, I understand what's going on
Speaker 1: in Baltimore. I get it, and it's part of this year.
Speaker 1: But again, you know, they they are responsible for their guys,
Speaker 1: and their guys are responsible for their actions. And they
Speaker 1: admitted that it was their guy that did it. Yea,
Speaker 1: And they discipline the guy who started it there and
Speaker 1: it's still and it's still going to their staff member. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and it's still going. So they've had I was reading
Speaker 1: the story. They've had twenty two players test positive or
Speaker 1: get identified for high risk close contact over the past
Speaker 1: nine days. You know, we've been doing this for three
Speaker 1: or four months, and all of a sudden, uh, you
Speaker 1: know it it breaks out. Uh. And even what they
Speaker 1: had somebody test positive again yesterday that they wouldn't have
Speaker 1: available twenty on COVID ridge, I saw they had like
Speaker 1: thirty eight guys that were eligible to play. Uh, I
Speaker 1: guess I was gonna say tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow night's Wednesday, right,
Speaker 1: I've lost track of the days in the order of things.
Speaker 1: But it's an afternoon game because the White House. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's a Rockefeller Center tree lighting is on that. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And maybe they didn't realize it. It was the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: by the way, because going forward, I saw a note
Speaker 1: on Twitter if I can trust it, that the Cowboys
Speaker 1: Redskins game was the most watched NFL game so far
Speaker 1: this season. The Cowboys Washington Football. Yeah, okay, I got
Speaker 1: it was the So it was the most watched, isn't
Speaker 1: it annually the most watched the Thanksgiving three thirty in game,
Speaker 1: or maybe everybody was making up for they knew they
Speaker 1: couldn't watch another game at you know, And I haven't
Speaker 1: seen those ratings, but I would not be surprised if
Speaker 1: those numbers are higher than they have been. You know,
Speaker 1: the way they the way they do the TV ratings,
Speaker 1: it's you. It's you know, you basically have to be
Speaker 1: at home and have your your TV turned on. And
Speaker 1: there wasn't as much travel this year, and so more
Speaker 1: people were at their home where they would be monitored
Speaker 1: for the ratings. So I wouldn't be surprised if the
Speaker 1: ratings were higher just because of that, and there's not
Speaker 1: and they're not going over to you know, to mom
Speaker 1: and Dad's house maybe to watch, and so instead of
Speaker 1: using one TV, you're you're using three TVs. So that's
Speaker 1: a good point. So, well, there's a lot still to
Speaker 1: get to from that Thursday game because we just had
Speaker 1: one show since then, and we talked about some of
Speaker 1: the some of the aspects of that game. But how
Speaker 1: about we start with before we go to break, And
Speaker 1: we just got a couple of minutes before break, and
Speaker 1: we were talking a little bit about this prior to
Speaker 1: coming on. You know, in the NFC East, it's been
Speaker 1: sixteen years since we've had a repeat winner. And when
Speaker 1: you look at what's going on in Philadelphia, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously here in Dallas, the Cowboys have as many problems
Speaker 1: as anybody, and so this is not casting stones at
Speaker 1: someone else, but they really have to be disturbed with
Speaker 1: what's going on. And they've had injury issues too. I
Speaker 1: understand that in Philadelphia, But what's going on with Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz and the Eagles right now, I think it's pretty
Speaker 1: safe to say as jumbled up as it is in
Speaker 1: the NFC East. We're probably going to have another different
Speaker 1: winner this year in the NFC East. I think it's
Speaker 1: going to be New York, Washington or Dallas. No, No,
Speaker 1: well think about it. So all three teams right now
Speaker 1: are basically and I don't know how you want to
Speaker 1: count Alex Smith, right, but all three of those teams
Speaker 1: are playing with backup quarterbacks. That's right, because it looks
Speaker 1: like Daniel Jones is out for at least a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks. And the way he looked going down, so
Speaker 1: I think they it was a calf strain is that what?
Speaker 1: I what? I or hamstring? I can't remember which, but again, yeah,
Speaker 1: that looked bad. I know Alex Smith is a starting quarterback,
Speaker 1: but he hasn't played and if you look at you know,
Speaker 1: his performance against the Cowboys, I mean he was dinking
Speaker 1: and dunking underneath, throwing to the running backs, the tight ends.
Speaker 1: Do you think the Cowboys defense might have caught onto
Speaker 1: that at some point? By the way, because he certainly
Speaker 1: wasn't stretching the field. Their defense may give them the
Speaker 1: best shot the way they're playing defensively, because they're shot. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they're they're they're not lighting it up and playing up
Speaker 1: front against you know, the NFC East teams that are
Speaker 1: basically all seem to be having problems on the offensive line, right,
Speaker 1: and keep in mind that the you know, the Giants
Speaker 1: had one of their tackles opted out to start the season,
Speaker 1: and they they're starting a rookie at at left tackle
Speaker 1: and Cam Fleming at right tack But I laugh because
Speaker 1: you saw the Giants game on Sunday, didn't you? The
Speaker 1: end of the Giants game, Yes, the penalty on Cam Fleming,
Speaker 1: I don't know, almost way to the end. Yeah, there
Speaker 1: is a there is a penalty. The Giants basically put
Speaker 1: the game away. I believe it was a pass to
Speaker 1: the right side. I can't remember, but anyway, Uh, Cam
Speaker 1: Fleming was called for a hold. It was away from
Speaker 1: the play and I thought, of you did your love
Speaker 1: for Cam Flevi at that point. And now, as it
Speaker 1: turned out, they wound up winning the game anyway, but
Speaker 1: he they came close to losing because of the Cam
Speaker 1: Fleming holding call and could I think I can't even
Speaker 1: remember the specifics of it. But anyway, because they've had
Speaker 1: issues on their offensive line, Yeah, Washington, you know, Washington
Speaker 1: might be the healthiest on their offensive line. But you
Speaker 1: know they're still you know, they lost Trent Williams, who
Speaker 1: is their main stay. He's now in elsewhere, and so
Speaker 1: and then Phillip and Dallas. It's been well documented the
Speaker 1: injury issues on both offensive lines there. So can't have
Speaker 1: enough of, so much more to get okay and I
Speaker 1: want to go back to that thirty seven yard touchdown
Speaker 1: or okay when we come back here on mix shots
Speaker 1: in just a moment. Hey, they're Cowboys fans. With Type
Speaker 1: Cleaners at Home pickup and delivery, cleaning your clothes has
Speaker 1: never been more convenient. Simply sign up at your local store,
Speaker 1: set out your dirty clothes, and one of our tight
Speaker 1: cleaner professionals will come directly to your home for a
Speaker 1: totally contactless experience. Your clean garments will be returned promptly
Speaker 1: the next scheduled delivery day. So skip the errand and
Speaker 1: enjoy life not laundry. Visit ty Cleaners dot com or
Speaker 1: your local store to sign up for Type Cleaners at
Speaker 1: Home pickup and Delivery Today. The Cowboys Way, where sixteen
Speaker 1: Hall of Famers and five championships shows us what success
Speaker 1: looks like. Where Turkey is always the second best part
Speaker 1: of Thanksgiving Day where we are all defined by one
Speaker 1: single thing, the star, where we as fans know it's
Speaker 1: our job to keep the tradition going. Bank of America
Speaker 1: is proud to be the official bank of the Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys and to support the quest of living life the
Speaker 1: Cowboys Way. Copyright twenty twenty Bank of America Corporation. Grab
Speaker 1: some Outerbucks gear and get ready for hang with a boy.
Speaker 1: From rugged venture coolers to tough as nails elevation tumblers,
Speaker 1: We've got what you need to keep your game day
Speaker 1: drinks frosty and your football feast ice cold. And with cases,
Speaker 1: screen protectors and power accessories, you can defend your phone
Speaker 1: and stay connected to every play gear up at auterbox
Speaker 1: dot com and amp up the fund of every Cowboys
Speaker 1: game that's auterbox dot com. We're back in a tasty
Speaker 1: treat that's sweeping airwaves and taste buds. It's new Doctor
Speaker 1: Pepper and Cream Soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor Bad
Speaker 1: and Cream Soda. Is he a Newcombonet's music to my ears? Okay,
Speaker 1: Doctor Bap time pull it in a glass of music
Speaker 1: to my ears and mouse New Doctor Pepper and Cream
Speaker 1: soda delasious. Do back back back to Mixed Shots. You
Speaker 1: can now support your beloved cow Boys from anywhere. Open
Speaker 1: up AT and t's fan Zone feature inside the Cowboys
Speaker 1: app and record your personal cheer and referee signals. You
Speaker 1: will receive a personalized mosaic and may show up on
Speaker 1: the AT and T Live FX video board during the game.
Speaker 1: As we're walking you back here to mix Shots. And
Speaker 1: so when you were donning Mickey, you're donning your your
Speaker 1: referees hat, it was in regard to what the NFL
Speaker 1: is doing with the Cowboys schedule, right, Yeah, there wasn't
Speaker 1: something else. So I didn't see, Okay, I didn't see
Speaker 1: you threw a flag on them? Yeah, okay, all right,
Speaker 1: all right. I'm still at a loss on the thirty
Speaker 1: seven yard touchdown run that put the game away the
Speaker 1: other day. And uh, you know when it happened, I
Speaker 1: went back on the TV copy. You know, I'm watching
Speaker 1: on my back porch because I was socially distancing for
Speaker 1: my brother in law who is here much too long
Speaker 1: over the weekend. That was a joke. He exceeded the
Speaker 1: forty eight hour rule. He exceeded the forty eight hour
Speaker 1: rule that is normally in effect. But he thought he
Speaker 1: could stay because he's already had COVID anyway, and he
Speaker 1: wasn't a threat to me, he thought anyway. So I'm
Speaker 1: on the back porch watching the game, and I said,
Speaker 1: I see that touchdown run, and I backed it up
Speaker 1: four or five times, going what defense are they in?
Speaker 1: And then going back and looking at the coaches film
Speaker 1: on it. I just don't understand it. I do not
Speaker 1: understand why they would be in that defense in that situation.
Speaker 1: Thirty six from the thirty seven with three thirty left
Speaker 1: in the game, and Washington hasn't shown a propensity in
Speaker 1: that game or any time to throw the football to
Speaker 1: a wide receiver. There's a tight end on the field,
Speaker 1: there's two running backs, they're in twenty one personnel, and
Speaker 1: you've got six defensive backs. Jalen Smith is the only
Speaker 1: linebacker on the field. It didn't appear. I thought, maybe
Speaker 1: on the previous play, did vander Esch look like he
Speaker 1: had hurt himself or anything, and didn't see anything like that.
Speaker 1: Vander esh played over sixty snaps in the game. But
Speaker 1: even more than that, the alignment is you've got they
Speaker 1: had a pass rush alignment on the field in that
Speaker 1: you had at Randy Gregory at right defensive end, Alden
Speaker 1: Smith inside at tackle, playing basically a three technique. Tyln
Speaker 1: Crawford was between the guard and center, basically your one technique,
Speaker 1: and DeMarcus Lawrence says the left defensive end. And you
Speaker 1: had Jalen come up to the line of scrimmage in
Speaker 1: front of one of the best guards in the NFL,
Speaker 1: Brandon Sheriff, And all it took for Sheriff to knock Smith.
Speaker 1: I mean he bailed at the time of the snap,
Speaker 1: but all it took for Sheriff was to it was
Speaker 1: to get his hands on Smith, and he wasn't going
Speaker 1: to get be able to get over there and stop.
Speaker 1: But it was a huge hole there to the left
Speaker 1: of the center, and I'm going, and besides the fact
Speaker 1: that there's no safety held back there, but there was
Speaker 1: nothing on the second level, And I'm going, why why
Speaker 1: would you have a defense like that in that situation? No,
Speaker 1: You're You're absolutely right. And I had I had written
Speaker 1: down on my notes two running backs, one tight end,
Speaker 1: one linebacker, and the linebacker was on the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: So off the line of scrimmage, the closest guy to
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage one of the safeties, So they
Speaker 1: were at the thirty seven. One of the safeties was
Speaker 1: at the Cowboys twenty eight, and the other one was
Speaker 1: at the twenty three. And the two cornerbacks were playing man.
Speaker 1: So they're out of the play right because they're they're
Speaker 1: they're watching the wide receiver. The tight end was kind
Speaker 1: of in the slot off the line of scrimmage. So yeah,
Speaker 1: there once he cleared the line of scrimmage, basically, there
Speaker 1: was no one there to make a tackle. One linebacker
Speaker 1: and I don't get it. And all you gotta do,
Speaker 1: even if you don't even forget about identifying that they're
Speaker 1: in a dime defense, just identify the personnel on the
Speaker 1: defensive line. They are in a defense that is designed
Speaker 1: to rush the passer. What Alden Smith does is not
Speaker 1: play run defense. It's been his ears back and get
Speaker 1: after the quarterback. And that's why you would put him
Speaker 1: in that inside position to you get your best pass
Speaker 1: rushers on the field. And so but it just it
Speaker 1: made no logical sense from a Washington perspective why they
Speaker 1: would throw the football in that situation because they want
Speaker 1: to run the clock they don't have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Now.
Speaker 1: With Mahomes, as he showed the other day, you can
Speaker 1: you can, you know, throw to Tyreek Hill and it's
Speaker 1: it's and get that first down to in the game. Uh.
Speaker 1: And it's much more effective than running the ball because
Speaker 1: you can. You've got the best quarterback going right now.
Speaker 1: But anyway, it's just it. I was beside myself, and
Speaker 1: I think and that it was a game at that point.
Speaker 1: Still it was twenty seven to sixteen, Um, so anyone, no, no,
Speaker 1: I absolutely agree with you on all that. And and
Speaker 1: I'm not sure where the Cowboys were with their timeouts
Speaker 1: at that time, but still I think they had used one.
Speaker 1: They had used an early time out, and so they
Speaker 1: only had two timeouts left. There was two timeouts left.
Speaker 1: They used the first one on third and one at
Speaker 1: the forty three and then which is all the more
Speaker 1: reason that they're going to run the ball, right, you're
Speaker 1: not going to throw any completion and hand them a
Speaker 1: time out. And what they did after that first down,
Speaker 1: first and ten at the Dallas forty one, it was
Speaker 1: Barber up the middle for a yard. Alex Smith scrambled
Speaker 1: and made sure he stayed in bounds three yards and
Speaker 1: third and six at thirty seven, they're they're going to
Speaker 1: run it again, and you had right, and if they
Speaker 1: don't get the first down, six dbs on they don't
Speaker 1: get the first yeah, right, And if they don't get
Speaker 1: the first down, the other reason you're not throwing it.
Speaker 1: You're not going to take a chance on a sack
Speaker 1: because if you run it and you don't get the
Speaker 1: first down, you're in field goal range, right, and you
Speaker 1: can expand the lead to fourteen, or if you want to,
Speaker 1: you can put them down and make them drive you know,
Speaker 1: ninety something yards, or you can go for it on
Speaker 1: fourth down and run again and and drain some clock.
Speaker 1: So the so the personnel on the field, the Washington
Speaker 1: personnel on the field, did not dictate a dime defense,
Speaker 1: and the situation did not dictate it either. Yeah. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: And I don't know what, you know what the research
Speaker 1: showed that in third and six when the other team's
Speaker 1: up two scores because a two yeah, uh, that they're
Speaker 1: they're gonna throw the ball. No, they're not gonna throw
Speaker 1: the ball. It's just uh And did you hear Jalen
Speaker 1: Jalen Smith yesterday? I just lie of it. I didn't
Speaker 1: hear the whole thing, right, And yeah I did. I
Speaker 1: caught pieces of it as well. But in one answer
Speaker 1: he alluded to he was asked about the two runs
Speaker 1: and the run defense, and he was talking about how
Speaker 1: you just you gotta no matter what you're up against,
Speaker 1: you gotta, you know, for instance, on the fake punt,
Speaker 1: you gotta be able to uh man up and take
Speaker 1: care of business, and we didn't do it. And and
Speaker 1: then in specifically he specifically said, sometimes the other team's
Speaker 1: call is better than your call, and uh but as
Speaker 1: a player, you have to be able to overcome that,
Speaker 1: you know. And so he kind of alluded to the
Speaker 1: thirty seven yard or there, and then he was re
Speaker 1: asked about that and basically echoed, is the same comments. Whatever.
Speaker 1: I mean, he wasn't throw anybody under the bus, but
Speaker 1: just the fact that even mentioned sometimes their call is
Speaker 1: better than your call would indicate that the players were
Speaker 1: scratching their heads themselves over it. Yeah, and you know,
Speaker 1: and and and and it was almost, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of similar to what they did on on the other
Speaker 1: touchdown run right after the fake punt that didn't work. Right, Um,
Speaker 1: if I if I remember correctly. Um, and I've got
Speaker 1: it right here. It's like they're they're once again the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: you know, in their nickel nickel defense. Now it looks
Speaker 1: like they I thought they had two tight ends on
Speaker 1: that play. Um, And I can't tell right away. I've
Speaker 1: got it up here. They're too small, But it looked
Speaker 1: like there was two tight ends lined up and the
Speaker 1: Cowboys are in nickel and it's like they're running right
Speaker 1: over you. At some point you need another linebacker out there.
Speaker 1: And there was a couple plays like that too. I
Speaker 1: saw someone was posting plays and it is like, well,
Speaker 1: look at this, and I'm going to no point out
Speaker 1: the fact that they only got one linebacker in the
Speaker 1: middle of the field, and it's you know that that
Speaker 1: is hurting them, and it continues to hurt them. But
Speaker 1: what do I know about defense? Well? Uh, and then
Speaker 1: you're the last two opponents. You're playing against opponents that
Speaker 1: are going to run the ball more than they're going
Speaker 1: to be able to beat you with the past, both Minnesota,
Speaker 1: I mean, Minnesota's got some weapons and Kirk Cousins has
Speaker 1: had a decent month in November. But obviously they got
Speaker 1: Dalvin Cook and they go with two tight ends and
Speaker 1: a fullback a lot of times. And uh, and you
Speaker 1: still weren't using three true linebackers in either one of
Speaker 1: those games. I mean, when when Sean Lee was on
Speaker 1: the field, it was spelling Jalen or spelling Vanderesh. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and then if Lee had eighteen snaps right, and now
Speaker 1: I was going to play it out. You know, when
Speaker 1: you're in those alignments like that and your defensive end
Speaker 1: doesn't win on the edge. I mean, that's what happened
Speaker 1: on that other touchdown. Alden Smith got blocked. He was
Speaker 1: coming up field, and the linebackers got caught in the
Speaker 1: wash in the middle and there was nobody, nobody. The
Speaker 1: closest guy, the Donovan Wilson, you know, is lined up
Speaker 1: at the ten yard line and the balls being snapped
Speaker 1: at the twenty twenty three. It was like, oh, that's
Speaker 1: too much space there. There's no way he can make
Speaker 1: up for it. And then the other weird thing that
Speaker 1: happened on that play was the the the wide receiver
Speaker 1: to the outside left runs a crossing pattern and the
Speaker 1: cowboy and I'm guessing it's Chitube Awuzier. He never saw
Speaker 1: the play. He followed him across the field, so their
Speaker 1: last line of defense out there would have been Awuzier
Speaker 1: and he's coming across the field with the wide receiver
Speaker 1: and he doesn't realize it until Gibson is at the
Speaker 1: eighteen yard line and he's on in the middle of
Speaker 1: the field with the wide receiver at the Cowboys fourteen
Speaker 1: and there's no way he can get there. So, Yeah,
Speaker 1: the run defense that's been one of the scratches makes
Speaker 1: me scratch my head. Well, even even there when they
Speaker 1: have the right personnel on the field, or when they
Speaker 1: have two linebackers on the field at least, Cowboys have
Speaker 1: had some real issues being able to identify with their
Speaker 1: eyes and being able to identify where the play is going.
Speaker 1: And I don't know how much of that is film study,
Speaker 1: how much of it. I mean, there were a couple
Speaker 1: of plays in this game where vander esh it looked
Speaker 1: like he couldn't see he got blocked or his vision
Speaker 1: got blocked where he couldn't see where the play was going,
Speaker 1: so he was caught out a position. We're seeing a
Speaker 1: lot of that this season, a lot more so than
Speaker 1: what you normally see. Yeah, and it looks like what
Speaker 1: Washington did basically they let the defensive end kind of
Speaker 1: run himself up off the up the field out of
Speaker 1: the play, and then they double team both of the tackles. Uh.
Speaker 1: And it's clear sailing. And on this touchdown run the
Speaker 1: extra guy which was the nickel guy Lewis, he's on
Speaker 1: the other side of the field, so that they ran
Speaker 1: to the weak side, and the Cowboys didn't have enough
Speaker 1: guys over there, especially when the linebackers. If you had
Speaker 1: one more linebacker, you could spread out, but they don't
Speaker 1: like three linebackers on the field. M And you know,
Speaker 1: there's such an emphasis on getting to the quarterback that
Speaker 1: some of the some of the basics of playing run
Speaker 1: defense get lost. It seems like, yeah, especially when where's
Speaker 1: my notes, especially when they ran for what two o
Speaker 1: eight on you the first time, and then the second
Speaker 1: time they go for one eighty two five yards a carry.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Yep, it's uh, you know, winber. I mean,
Speaker 1: as much as you have to be able to pass
Speaker 1: the football in this league, especially when you when you
Speaker 1: fall behind, you got to be able to stop the
Speaker 1: run and get that football back for your for your offense. Uh. Anyway,
Speaker 1: It's that's been a that's that's been a difficult thing.
Speaker 1: Or when especially the teams go for it on fourth
Speaker 1: down so much. You know, when you get i mean
Speaker 1: four down territory starts at about your own forty yard
Speaker 1: line now, and if you can't stop the run, then, uh,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be in a hard You have a hard
Speaker 1: time stopping teams. So I mean, if you think about
Speaker 1: right we continue, if you think about real quick, Bill,
Speaker 1: they've had teams go for one fifty three, three oh seven,
Speaker 1: two sixty one, two eight, and then one eighty two.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you looked that up because that's what I
Speaker 1: was going to do during the break. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: just unacceptable. You just can't give up those those kinds
Speaker 1: of rushing yards, you know. And it's a minor miracle
Speaker 1: they beat they beat Minnesota because they gave up well
Speaker 1: that was the one they actually Pittsburgh they stopped for
Speaker 1: forty six, but they gave up one twenty five against
Speaker 1: Minnesota and still managed to win the game. All Right,
Speaker 1: we've got a longer week ahead now, since the Cowboys
Speaker 1: don't play until next Tuesday. When we come back, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna ask you what is the biggest need? Or maybe
Speaker 1: a couple of big needs that cowboys need to acquire,
Speaker 1: whether in the draft next year or however they acquire
Speaker 1: it to shore up the defense what position. So let's
Speaker 1: let's explore that when we come back here on mix
Speaker 1: shots in just a moment, we're back in a tasty
Speaker 1: treat that's sweeping air waves and taste buds. It's new
Speaker 1: Doctor pepper and cream soda. Let's take a listen, Doctor
Speaker 1: pepper and cream soda. Is he a new combone that's
Speaker 1: music to my ears? Okay, doctor music to my ears
Speaker 1: and mouth? New Doctor pepper and cream soda. Delas, just dear,
Speaker 1: it's nineteen oh eight. Don't you think we should get
Speaker 1: electricity and stop using candles to see at night? It's
Speaker 1: just electricity lights up the room fast, It's more reliable
Speaker 1: than candles blowing out, and people seem to love it nationwide.
Speaker 1: Well candles, God dare did you just run into the wall?
Speaker 1: May I have a new candle? Please? Historically, switching to
Speaker 1: new technology is a no brainer. Today it's AT and
Speaker 1: T five G fast, reliable, secure and nationwide. Switch to
Speaker 1: AT and T five G. It's not complicated. Five G
Speaker 1: requires compatible plant may not be in your area. See
Speaker 1: att doc com Slash five G for you for details.
Speaker 1: I'm Jay Nova Check, former tight end for the Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys back in the day. I was a guy who
Speaker 1: always got the tough yards and that's why I run
Speaker 1: with John Deer today. In fact, I have a John
Speaker 1: Deer three zero twenty five E tractor that can handle
Speaker 1: any yard work I need to do, even the tough
Speaker 1: yards way out back. So if you have one acre
Speaker 1: or a thousand, John Deer has the equipment that's just
Speaker 1: right for you. Visit a John Deer dealer today and
Speaker 1: run with us. We are the official tractor provider of
Speaker 1: your Dallas Cowboys. There's nothing as unique as our eyes,
Speaker 1: which is why Selor pioneers ways to make lenses as
Speaker 1: unique as you. Very Lux for super sharp vision, Essential
Speaker 1: Blue for protection, and Crisol for freedom from glare. Three
Speaker 1: cutting edge solutions in a single unique lens. So whatever
Speaker 1: your needs, insist on Selor visit your local slor experts
Speaker 1: and find a perfect lens for you. See more, Do more.
Speaker 1: Selore back back to mixed shuts. Ho Ho Ho Santa
Speaker 1: is back at his Dallas Cowboys cottage at the Star
Speaker 1: in Frisco. Appointments are available now to take your socially
Speaker 1: distanced holiday photo with Santa through December twenty fourth. Save
Speaker 1: five dollars when you book by December fourth. Book now
Speaker 1: at the Star in Frisco dot com slash Santa. When
Speaker 1: did you think we were going to appointments with to
Speaker 1: meet Santa on Christmas? Well, that's what that's what it's
Speaker 1: come to this year. Yeah, I'm just I'm just happy
Speaker 1: Santa is healthy. And you know, because he falls into
Speaker 1: that category that he's got to be very careful and
Speaker 1: so we need to make sure that he is safe
Speaker 1: as well, so he'll have well protected. He'll have good airflow,
Speaker 1: that's right. Yeah, you gotta have that good airflow and
Speaker 1: uh and all that good stuff. So okay, he gonna
Speaker 1: be good to see him out at the Star in Frisco.
Speaker 1: All right, it's going to ask you about the Cowboys
Speaker 1: defense and what needs to happen to shore up this
Speaker 1: defense in the short long term, meaning after this season,
Speaker 1: what do you think the biggest needs are on that
Speaker 1: Cowboys defense. Keeping in mind, and we haven't and I
Speaker 1: haven't studied all of it, I just saw off the
Speaker 1: top of my head. Know that there's several of those
Speaker 1: dbs who are in the final year of their contract,
Speaker 1: and we know what's going on up front on the
Speaker 1: defensive line and what the situation is at linebacker with
Speaker 1: and so there's your three levels. What do they need
Speaker 1: put more than anything? Probably one of each. But if
Speaker 1: you're just asking me on you know, a first round
Speaker 1: pick or just what they need, you know, what is
Speaker 1: Xavier Woods contract up, A Woozy's contract up, Jordan Lewis's
Speaker 1: contract up. To me, cornerback is going to be very
Speaker 1: very high on that list. I think after that, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, you gotta you always got to keep looking
Speaker 1: at linebackers. Um, you know you're I don't know what's
Speaker 1: going to happen with Sean Lee. Remember he only signed
Speaker 1: a one year deal and I don't know if this
Speaker 1: is the end of the road for him or not.
Speaker 1: But after you get past the two guys that were starting,
Speaker 1: I don't I don't see somebody that's just gonna step
Speaker 1: in and be that other linebacker. You know, Joe Thomas
Speaker 1: a nice guy to have, but they probably need some
Speaker 1: depth there. Uh. And then the defensive tackle position, you know,
Speaker 1: I know they spent a third round pick on Neville
Speaker 1: Gallimore but uh, if you're going to create a rotation there, uh,
Speaker 1: you may need some uh some more help in the
Speaker 1: middle of that defense where they tend to get exposed.
Speaker 1: Uh So uh, if I can say one of each, um,
Speaker 1: I think that that's probably probably the way to go.
Speaker 1: From a priority standpoint. You know, you, okay, you need safeties.
Speaker 1: I understand that, But to me, it's it's cornerback, linebacker,
Speaker 1: defensive tackle. You know the interesting thing at at those positions.
Speaker 1: To find an impact defensive tackle, I'm talking a first
Speaker 1: year rookie impact defensive tackle, you almost have to get
Speaker 1: him in the top ten. I mean, it's got to
Speaker 1: be that kind of a player who's who has that
Speaker 1: kind of athleticism and otherwise. And Galibo I think Galibar
Speaker 1: was a solid pick in the third round, but he's
Speaker 1: not going to make that big of an impact. A
Speaker 1: third rounder is not going to make that big of
Speaker 1: an impact his rookie year. And now he's that you
Speaker 1: use him, and Galibear is going to be good to
Speaker 1: be used in a rotation and so forth. But if
Speaker 1: you're looking for it, really an impact guy, if you've
Speaker 1: got like a top ten pick, that's where you might
Speaker 1: be able to find a guy like that. A corner
Speaker 1: you can if you got a later pick, a corner
Speaker 1: you can find there. And as far as a linebacker position,
Speaker 1: I think as much as anything, you know, depending on
Speaker 1: what scheme that Mike Nolan is running, if you're just
Speaker 1: going with two of the traditional linebackers, if Jalen Smith
Speaker 1: is on the team, in vander Esher on the team,
Speaker 1: if you're taking a linebacker in the first round, there's
Speaker 1: no place for him to play right now, you know,
Speaker 1: unless they do a big change, and because they could
Speaker 1: not shown any desire to have, you know, three traditional
Speaker 1: linebackers on the field in this defense. And if you're
Speaker 1: going to use your base defense as a nickel, then
Speaker 1: one of those guys in the middle has to be
Speaker 1: a guy that can create having not somebody that can
Speaker 1: stand up and hold up against the double team, somebody
Speaker 1: that can create problems because you've got one less guy
Speaker 1: close to the line of scrimmage to help you out.
Speaker 1: If you're always in nickel and just two linebackers and
Speaker 1: sometimes just one linebacker or standing up one on the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage, somebody in the middle has to be
Speaker 1: just disruptive as hell to be able to control the run. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean yeah, because the one thing that you could
Speaker 1: do if there was you know, a just throw out
Speaker 1: a you know, you know one of these linebackers who
Speaker 1: can come in and make an impact. Say you got
Speaker 1: a mid first round ten to ten to fifteen pick,
Speaker 1: and there's a linebacker that you really like. You can
Speaker 1: play him starter type snaps in the nickel. But then
Speaker 1: you've got to find a spot for Jalen to get
Speaker 1: his sixty snaps a game in that nickel defense as
Speaker 1: a rusher or something. You got to get versatile. Uh.
Speaker 1: Now here's here's the other assuming you think vander ash
Speaker 1: is the guy, you know, with his past coverage ability. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and here's the other thing. And and if you you
Speaker 1: don't have any semblance of an offseason, you know, maybe uh,
Speaker 1: if you are sold on Randy Gregory being an every
Speaker 1: down defensive end, uh, then maybe you can transition Alden
Speaker 1: Smith inside and say you're my three technique go at
Speaker 1: it um, you know, and he's kind of built like
Speaker 1: one right now, and he is quick, but he hasn't
Speaker 1: played that much inside, so that would kind of shore
Speaker 1: up that position. Then you have the Gallimore's and the
Speaker 1: Antoine Woods. Uh to kind of hold up at the
Speaker 1: at the one technique, but then again you need another
Speaker 1: three technique behind whoever is the starter there. They really don't. Well,
Speaker 1: you got Triston Hill, trustin Hill coming back. I forgot
Speaker 1: about him, yes, and he was he was somewhat disruptive.
Speaker 1: You know. I think we forget how well he was
Speaker 1: playing and how much they miss him, uh in the middle,
Speaker 1: with how active he was and how quick he was,
Speaker 1: So that would be a good one two punch in
Speaker 1: the middle there. Yeah. And then the other thing is
Speaker 1: the you know, the Cowboys have never wanted to spend
Speaker 1: good money on the thirty year old play veteran free agents,
Speaker 1: but they had to this year with Poe and McCoy
Speaker 1: and they both got I mean McCoy got hurt and
Speaker 1: Poe obviously I wasn't ready to play. And uh and
Speaker 1: that they got burned there big time. Yeah, that defensive
Speaker 1: tackle position. Yeah. And then they tried to nibble at
Speaker 1: the safety position and they got burned there. Uh So Yeah,
Speaker 1: a couple of the veteran free agents that they signed
Speaker 1: to kind of be hole pluggers. Didn't plug anything right exactly.
Speaker 1: They plugged their bank account and hurt the salary cap.
Speaker 1: Right there, you go? All right, well that doesn't we
Speaker 1: somehow we filled forty five minutes with ald Everson Walls.
Speaker 1: Oh no, I was expected back tomorrow. Yes, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure. Okay, all right, well, very good, and
Speaker 1: hopefully the Ravens will play as scheduled tomorrow afternoon. They'll
Speaker 1: be kicking off right when we get off the air tomorrow.
Speaker 1: They kick off at just after two thirty Dallas time.
Speaker 1: We might have to do a pre game second on
Speaker 1: that game. That's right. We all have our Ravens pregame
Speaker 1: show coming up tomorrow here on Mick Shots. Make it
Speaker 1: a good Tuesday, and we will see you again on
Speaker 1: Wednesday at one thirty for Mick Shots. This has been
Speaker 1: a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and Dallas Cowboys
Speaker 1: Football o'clock