WEBVTT - Cowboys Break: All-Madden 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:12.840 The following. He's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:23.600 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Cowboys. Are you ready 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:27.440 for a break? Yes? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely? 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.760 Ready for a break? Yeah, and so much for that. 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:37.120 It's time for the Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:43.440 with Nick Eatman, David Hellman, and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton. 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:50.440 It is Wednesday, December twenty ninth. Good morning, afternoon whenever 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:53.080 you're listening to this. This is Cowboys Break. I am 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:57.000 your host for the day, David Hellman, because I told 0:00:57.240 --> 0:00:59.520 the birthday boy I would do it for him so 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:01.720 he could go out and have fun. Last night, Derek, 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:03.920 we didn't wish you a happy birthday. Yes, it's fun. 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:08.280 We feel really gilt, seriously, it is. We're not happy 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:10.720 about Here's the thing. I went over to Dave and 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:14.880 I said, Man, we really effed up something bad, yeah, Nick, 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:16.760 And Nick scared me a little bit and he was like, 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.039 what what happens? Usually the usually when I say something 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.360 to Dave, I think it's his kind of general thing 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.679 to be like nah, kind of a contrarian, like like 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:28.679 it's not that bad or don't worry about it, whatever, 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:30.480 when I said that was like, we didn't say anything 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:35.360 about Derek's birthday. He was like, damn it, Like yeah, 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:39.399 we're bad people. No, it's it's honestly fun. It's honestly fun. Yeah, 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:41.200 I know your heart, so you have you had a 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:43.039 good birthday. I did have a good birthday, Dinna. We 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:46.319 got some good food and hung out. You are in 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:51.760 your Jason Witton rookie training came in the forties, barely 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:55.040 hanging into the forties. Forty nine. One more, one more 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.920 rotation from the other and I will be at fifty. 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.480 Forget our other jersey numbers. I mean, we always always 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:05.280 throw that out today, But where is the episode of No, No, 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:07.080 I don't care about that, and we're not We're not 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.240 going to do that today because no, we're not gonna 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:12.600 do that today. I'm hosting. But I would in lou 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:17.600 in lieu of the Number Talk tomorrow, in lieu of 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:19.919 the Number Talk, I did think it would be cool 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.160 to ask you guys, and I can do it too. 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.519 But y'all have y'all have been around the Cowboys and 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:29.880 been around the NFL so much longer than me. Give me, 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.480 give me your thoughts and memories on John Madden, give 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.480 me something. Just stick's got a good story? I got 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.640 a good story. Icon gets overused these days, but I 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:42.359 there there's not a person more befitting of that term 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:44.720 than John Madden. You know, I said this, Well, we're 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:47.320 gonna we're gonna post like a gut feeling type thing 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:51.520 here later about just people's thoughts and memories. And yeah, 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.840 you're said it best. I mean, legend, goat icon, We 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.840 say it all the time. What's your definitions different than 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:01.560 than other people's. But the picture that I kind of 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:04.400 painted here, it's, you know, kind of a hypothetical thing. 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:09.919 Twelve year old son, forty five year old dad, seventy 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.680 five year old Grandpaul, sitting in the room talking about Madden. 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:16.520 They all got something. You know, I played Madden. I 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.440 beat this one kid down the street. Whatever. Oh well, 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.360 I remember when you know, Pat, some are old watching 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.040 games and then seven year olds like, yeah, he was 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.600 the Raiders, a great head coach. And that's what a 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.240 legend is to me, is somebody that just spans all 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.160 that time in whatever way you want to say. He 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.080 was a contributor, He was everything. He was larger than life. 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.800 I mean he was he was the NFL. Yeah, John 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.600 Madden made football fun when I was a kid, Like 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.920 he was the guy that you know, the boom in 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.800 the band, like it. He made football fun and for 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:47.760 a kid. And then of course obviously, and I think 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.000 I've played every Madden in the history of Madden, in 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:54.040 the Madden Game, and like it was a part of 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:58.160 my college experience. Literally every day, me and my my 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.560 buddies we played matt and they were like it was 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:03.400 a lot of trash talk and we had a lot 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.160 of fun around that game. And so, like you said, 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:09.760 like they're all those different you know, watching football, playing 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:12.760 Madden there, he was everywhere. He was always a part 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:14.839 of it. And I was telling you earlier, like there 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:17.720 was probably nobody better if you can think about all 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.080 the guys that were around the game at that time 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.040 that had the personality and the understanding of the game 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.720 that you could put together to make what he made. 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.040 That's why he was so special in my opinion, Like 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:31.360 he was entertaining, but he knew the game in a 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:33.919 really really and he brought the game to you in 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:36.680 a really interesting way, which made him unique. And that's 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:38.960 why the game fits for somebody like him. It's a real. 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.480 I mean, there's so many bummers about COVID, but like 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:44.080 we don't see the TV cruise anymore, you know, like 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:48.200 you usually like whatever network has it, so like you know, 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.359 Aaron and Troy and Joe would come out on like 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:54.039 a Friday or collins Worth and al Michael's is here 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.280 all the time where he was before COVID, and it 0:04:57.480 --> 0:04:59.640 like you definitely you got a sense for how big 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:01.800 the game was when you saw them show up, you know. 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.240 So I'm here, like, do y'all have any stories about 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:06.920 that with Matt Yea I used to be at Valley Ranch. Yeah, 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:10.000 it's so funny to me. I want to hear your stories. 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:11.880 But like I was thinking about this last night, I 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:16.600 think televised football is so much more normal now than 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:18.760 it was when Madden was in his Hey you know, 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:25.440 so like there's eighteen channels, every station has like six crews, 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:27.920 and so it just doesn't feel as big as it 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.440 probably used to. You're like, oh my god, Madden's on 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.320 our game this week, you know what I mean? Or 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:35.359 like for me, I told Brad Sham this story, it 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.320 was Verne Lunkquist for me, like SEC football. That's why 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.160 I just like Verne's voice was in my house every Saturday, 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.240 and I actually I had the chance to meet him, 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.400 and I like, I fell apart. I was like, oh 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:48.640 my god. I was like, you're the voice of my childhood. 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:50.359 And Verne was like, please don't say that, Like I 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:52.640 don't want to be told that I'm that old anyway, 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.279 But yeah, and so I just I don't think it's 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.000 the same these days, where like because just say, every 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:01.159 game gets to be teleias and that didn't used to 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.720 be the case. So anyway, I would love to hear 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:07.800 yeah for for me, and um, it was it was 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.560 like you said, it was a Monday night game, so 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:12.640 they were here like on Saturday. I don't know. It 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.880 was a Valley Ranch, um, And I don't know why 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.120 I was in the building. It was something I had 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:18.560 to go in there. And it was a ghost town 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.039 on a Saturday. And I was walking through the halls 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:23.640 and have you ever been to Valley Ranch? If you 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:27.200 were walking too fast around the hall, you can you know. Yeah, yeah, 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.719 it was confusing l out ever and uh, And I 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.640 was turning the corner and all of a sudden, John 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:35.240 Madden was turning the corner at the same time, and 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.800 I had to stop. And this is like nineteen ninety nine, 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.400 so I was a few lbs ago for me, um 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:44.080 and um, I had to stop and like whoa. I 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.480 think he did a like a like a whoa. You 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.599 know what was that? It's coming down? Yeah? And he uh, 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:51.359 he was like whoa. And I was like, oh, sorry, 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.960 excuse me, apologizing whatever. He never even looked up. He 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:58.680 just kind of kept walking and he just he just 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:00.720 said out loud, didn't even turn around or anything. He 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:07.919 just goes, you would have lost that battle. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:12.160 by like never stopped or anything. It was basically it's 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.640 the nicest way you could say, get that out of 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:18.400 my way. But he wasn't. He wasn't gonna you know, 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:20.240 he had done putting his foot in the ground and 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.600 stopping and all that. He was just moving and you 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.280 could just imagine his voice saying that, like yeah, you 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:27.840 have lost that. And and I was in that like 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.880 is this cool? Like oh my, it's John Madden, you know. 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:33.800 And you you have a moment like that too, or 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:36.200 like oh that's the thing about working around here, and Dave, 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:38.200 you've seen it over the years. There there are these 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:40.120 moments we talked about it all the time. You'll be 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.280 sitting in your office and Roger stopback walks by. Like 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:45.000 it's just those kind of moments, And it was probably 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.480 one of the first wow, I got a cool job 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:49.680 moments I ever had working for the Cowboys. I was 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.760 at Valley Ranch. It's gonna seem a little weird, but 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:54.440 I was in the restroom. I finished doing my business 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.720 and I was washing my hands and door opens and 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.080 walks this big guys, John Madden, and he's like, how 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.720 you doing. And I'm like, hey, hey, and I'm just 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.280 like I almost almost don't know. Yeah, I almost don't 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.760 know what to say because I'm just like, that's John 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.520 freaking Madden. Like I played your video, like this is 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.000 John Madden. But you know you're kind of going about you. 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:16.760 He's going on about his business, going on bout my business, 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.680 and I'm just like walking out of the restroom, like, man, 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:23.000 this is a really really cool job. Which I know 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.160 that it was the one by where the loft, you know, 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.800 the loft, that little that little small restroom over there is. 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.520 It wasn't John Madden, obviously he was retired by the 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.480 time I started here, But um, I got I got 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:37.360 hired in April, which is like that there's nothing happening 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:39.360 in the offseason, and at Valley Ranch, like we're tucked 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:43.880 away in the back. You could go weeks without seeing anybody. 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:45.720 You wouldn't even know you worked for a football team. 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:48.680 It's just a regular office job. But like, probably two 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:52.120 months after I started, I went to use the bathroom 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:54.559 over by the executive wing and just I just happened 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:56.080 to be in that part of the building. And you 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.160 do this a million times in your life, but you 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:00.400 opened the door and somebody's coming out and going in, 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:02.640 and you kind of you do that like shuffle where 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:03.920 you're like which one of us is getting on the 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:06.920 way because these a small restrooms. Yeah, I couldn't have 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:08.600 been here for more than two months. And I did 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.480 that with Jerry Jones, and I just like I didn't 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:13.040 know what to say. I don't think i'd ever met 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.600 him before, and he's like you, and I just like 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:17.880 I was shell shocked for the rest of the afternoon. 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:20.400 He's got his own bathroom. Did he does I don't 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:22.000 know what to tell you. Did he say anything to you? 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:23.679 Because that's the thing about Jerry, Like Jared, we will 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.960 stalk up a conversation with anybody. It was he runs. 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:27.880 I mean I think we did the whole like well, 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:29.400 like let me get out of your way there, or 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.920 like excuse me, and he just kept going that same bathroom. 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.160 It was funny, we're telling bathroom story, that same bathroom. 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:38.760 I walked in there one time. Sean Payton was the 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.840 offensive coordinator back then, and he said the term I've 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:43.960 never really heard before, but you know, coaches have their 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:46.920 own lingo. He was like, uh, don't go in there. 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:51.719 All the buckets are full and us buckets wonderful. It 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:55.960 was like cool, like you got the message though, right, Yeah, 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.360 it was just like the buckets are full of thanks. 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.160 And on that note, we will take our first break, 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:05.199 and before we do that, when we come back, though, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:06.559 you can think about it in the break. I want 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:10.440 to know what everyone's favorite Madden like video game term, 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:13.000 because you know, he always said something in their memorable 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:15.560 in there. You know what I'm talking about, just like 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:18.559 maddenisms basically, yeah, maddenisms, but you know they were part 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.120 of the game because he had to say him in 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:22.679 the game. I mean, all right, I will think about 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:24.439 this and we will get back to it. We do 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:26.440 have Bucky Brooks. We do have Bucky Brooks. We we 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:28.160 are actually going to talk about We are into a 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.880 Cowboys huge game against the Cardinals, but we'll take time 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:33.400 to talk about that. We're going to come back to 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:38.920 that right after this break. At ATNC, everyone new and 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:42.040 existing customers get our best deals on every smartphone. Why 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:44.760 because you deserve it. We're turning your living room into 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:48.160 your office and your gym. We're teaching Grandma had a 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.880 video call and teaching her again. It's the button on 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:54.840 your laugh Nana, Okay, your other laughs. 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Find 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:07.080 a retailer nearest hit Stetson dot com slash Cowboys New 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:11.160 Doctor Pepper zero Sugar. You deserve it. I do deserve that. 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.280 You deserve decadent flavor without sugar, and a day at 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:19.920 the beach without sand getting everywhere, and a relaxing bath 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:23.080 that your children don't interrupt. I deserve all that. It's 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.200 really just a visual metaphor for Doctor Pepper zero sugar. 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:29.840 Everything you want nothing. You don't a visual metaphor on 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.800 the radio. I do deserve that, Doctor Pepper, zero sugar, 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:39.599 the zero you deserve is finally here. Back to the Break, 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.320 all right? Download the official app of the Dallas Cowboys. 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:51.200 Get access to in market game broadcast, mobile tickets, daily podcast, 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:55.360 live pregame and postgame shows, game updates, and more. Download 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:57.280 the app in Google Play story. You should do it. 0:12:57.280 --> 0:12:59.160 I mean, it's week seventeen. You should be doing it 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.960 by now. I mean, come on, Cowboys at Welcome back 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.040 to the Break. Thank you for that. Nick. I'm Dave 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:09.720 Derek Nick with me, and we've got our buddy. Speaking 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:13.160 of week, is it? It's week seventeen, seventeen seventeen weeks 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.480 of having our buddy Bucky Brooks here to help us 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:19.760 preview the opponent. We did Arizona Offense yesterday, we got 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:24.320 Arizona Defense today, and Bucky, this happens for me all 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.640 the time. We're like, you don't have time to look 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.280 into the minutia of these matchups until we're going to 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:32.880 talk to you, And I like, all of a sudden, 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:34.400 like I don't. I guess what I'm trying to say 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:37.079 is I don't know like the identity of this defense. 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.240 But I look at it and I feel like they 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:41.199 should be getting a little bit more hype for the 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.800 way they've played this season. Why is it that they're not. 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:48.760 They're not getting hype because the attention is always on 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:52.480 their offense Cala Murray Cliff Kings where he naturally makes 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:55.320 it the biggest storyline. But the defense was really the 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:57.319 part of the reason why they got off to such 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.800 a fast start. They were able to lock people down, 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:02.200 were playing a very aggressive style where they were blissing 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:04.600 all over and they're young guys were making a ton 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.680 of players Isaiah Simmons and Zach Collins and those guys 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:10.960 Zaman Collins, they were making a ton of plays. And 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:14.600 so what you're having now is with the offense struggling, 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.959 more pressure on the defense to kind of make things happening. 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.240 In the defense is still playing well, but because the 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.480 offense has drove off so much, the focuses on the 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.080 offense and offensive struggles. As I was looking through some 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:28.760 of the numbers Bucky, I noticed that there was a 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.840 stark difference in the points that they were allowing in 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.440 the first seven games. In the first seven games they 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.400 allowed sixteen points per game on average, and they were 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:40.280 seven and oh. Since then, that number has jumped to 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:43.800 twenty four points a game that they're allowing allowing and 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:46.280 now they're three and they were three and five in 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.600 those eight games. What do you think is to read 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:50.920 the biggest reason for the more points that they're allowing. 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.440 I know you talked about how the offense hasn't been 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.160 playing up to par, but has that affected the defense 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.600 or there are things that other teams have figured out 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:01.560 about this defense weakness? Is that maybe they're exploiting over 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:06.200 those last eight games. Well, you know, the season is 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.560 a marathon, and one of the things about the season 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:10.680 being so long is that you have to continue to 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:13.360 evolve what you're doing, because if you think you can 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:15.320 do one thing at the beginning of the year, it 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:16.880 has to change by the end of the year after 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.320 that film circulates. So earlier in the year they were 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.840 bringing pressure from everywhere. What people finally saw that they 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.000 got a hold of that they started having success, and 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:29.200 then a copycat league, people begin to copy strategies that 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:32.520 work against you, and so the Cardinals have had to 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.080 continue to adapt. They've had to continue to try and 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:40.720 tweak and change the deal has happened. The offenses inefficiencies 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:43.320 has put the defense on the field more and teams 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:47.000 have been able to exploit that. Looking at the Cowboys 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.800 running game, you know, it's weird to look at these 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.400 guys like Zeke to have thirty yards forty yards and 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:57.240 to think he's playing much better. But is it? Is 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:58.720 that the way you see it as well? Like you 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.120 can just kind of see that these guys are running 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:03.360 the ball. Him and Pollard are running it better, even 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:08.200 though the yards don't necessarily suggest that. Well, I think 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.080 for both guys it's to return to hell, and so 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:13.480 it's kind of hard to judge them on their productivity. 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:15.480 You kind of have to do the eye test. I 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.600 think in that game against Washington, you saw that both 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:20.600 of them had a little more juice, a little more explosiveness, 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:22.840 and that leads to believe that they're going to play 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:25.720 better down the stretch. I do wonder and I kind 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.400 of talked about this with DeMarcus Lawrence and five Bucks 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:31.400 about load management. How DeMarcus Lawrence, the best thing that 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.680 might have happened is he didn't play for about five 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:35.520 or six games and he comes back and he looks 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:37.760 like a different player. I think the same thing could 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.960 be true for Pollard and Zeke as they get healthy 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:44.040 going down the stretch. The Cowboys offense could benefit from 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:46.880 them being maybe a little fresher and healthier in the 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:50.320 postseason as opposed to them being fatigued and so them 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.000 sharing the load where so many buys, even Clement coming in, 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:57.160 are touching the ball. It may certainly help them as 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.480 they get into the postseason tournament and they're able to 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:04.640 increase the workload for Paula Nzike in that tournament. I'm 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:08.880 curious the Cowboys. They're definitely trying to get Tyrn Smith back. 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.960 We'll see if he actually plays in this game. But again, 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.840 you just look at the stats, Chandler Jones and Marcus 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:18.560 Golden having very successful seasons, But then you look at 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.199 it and they kind of seem like feast or famine players. 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.800 I mean, Chandler Jones had five of his nine sacks 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:26.720 in Week one. Marcus Golden has had two or three 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.400 multi sack games and a lot of zero sack games. 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:32.720 So how do you see that matchup, Like, are these 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:37.119 guys capable of wrecking a game or or is it 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:41.679 kind of smoking mirrors to you? Oldipis will kill them 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:44.159 Moore and how he approaches it. If they're heating it 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:45.840 up and they're bringing pressure, the ball has to come 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.520 out of Dak Prescott's hands right away, and so they 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:50.040 have to have a plan where they have enough quick 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.480 rhythm throws to get it out to offset the pressure 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:57.399 with quickness, screen game and that other stuff. But if 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.160 he's going to and shrug Dak Prescott, they have these 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:04.200 five and seven step drops against overmatch tackles, then give 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:06.160 me problematic. So a lot of it is by feel, 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.560 see where the game looks like the first quarter, doors 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.119 guys having under control. If they have it under control, 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.440 then a opery business as usual. But if they've given problems, 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.800 what's the answer. And I think that's the big thing 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.119 for a coordinator. It's not only what you have for 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.119 planing A, but what is plan B if the defense 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:24.320 shows you something that's not prepared for you. We've been 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:27.240 talking a lot this week about the possibility of Tyren 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.200 Smith coming back, and we've kind of had I think, 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.679 on this show at least there's kind of this general 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.440 consensus that if it were up to us, we might 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:39.080 sit tying another week or two and maybe having ready 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.120 for the playoffs and not risk the fact that there's 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:43.879 more that he gets another injury before the playoffs. That 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:47.000 being said, looking at a guy like Still and Dave 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:51.080 just talked about Marcus Golden and Chandler Jones would still 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:53.159 be able if would you have trepidation if they were 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:55.800 going to go that route of putting Steele out there 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:57.760 against those pass rushers or do you feel like this 0:18:57.840 --> 0:18:59.760 is a game where you really need tying because you've 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:06.000 got such skilled pass rushers out there. You know, it's 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.119 all apart, Like it's weird, right because the Cowboys in 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:10.560 a situation where they don't know where they're going to finish, 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:12.960 and so because the seeding is still up in the air, 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:14.840 you don't know how to play the last week of 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.359 the season. If you're going to play Tarmer Smith, I 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:21.080 normally would say playing this week can rest him next week. 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:23.520 You want to give him some game action, but you 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:25.800 don't necessarily want to play all those guys the week 0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:28.440 before you have to play a playoff game that increases 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:33.960 in physicality, intensity, and speed. Look, he's a veteran, so 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:36.280 he could play in the postseason without any work. I 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:37.880 would like to get him a little bit of work 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.080 before we did it, because I think it's tough to 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:42.480 go from kind of sitting on the couch to then 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.320 playing a playoff game where the speed is even different 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:48.359 than what it is in the regular season. Bucky, We've 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:50.800 asked that, We've talked about it here already on the show, 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:52.919 and anybody that's been around in the NFL for a 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.600 while has some kind of memories or connection to John Madden, 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.680 I'd like to see what your memories are with with 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:05.919