The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 'Boys and Girl - Andy Dalton COVID List; Offensive Line Coach Duke Manyweather on Dallas O-Line Play, Top Draft Prospects

Episode Date: November 4, 2020

On today’s episode of the 'Boys and Girl Podcast, Jane and Bobby discuss the news that Andy Dalton was placed on the Covid-19 list. Plus, notable offensive line coach Duke Manyweather stops by to discuss how the Cowboys’ line has played, and some of the draft prospects Cowboys fans should have their eyes on. Follow Jane and Bobby on Twitter and subscribe to get all the latest inside information from two of the most connected people in the Cowboys’ community. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1-800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem in june. Shanted Rose Medley for $3999 or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. Hello, boys and girls.

Welcome in to the Boys and Girl podcast with Cowboys NFL Network reporter Jane Slater and NFL network producer Bobby Belt, a Cowboys community with the inside scoop on the Dallas Cowboys. Now, coming straight to you from the Lone Star State, here's Jane and Bobby. Well, the COVID has finally hit the Dallas Cowboys, and we've been seeing it throughout the league. And really, as we start looking at cities and states across the U.S., as we start getting in to these fall and winter months, we are seeing the COVID cases rise. And it looks like Andy Dalton will not be playing against the Steelers this weekend,

and not because he's still in concussion protocol, but he has been moved to the COVID reserve list. Which maybe it's a little bit of a blessing in disguise that he goes into concussion protocol. He's not been out there in these huddles. He has been in the quarterback meetings. Last update I saw, which we're recording this on Tuesday,

election day. We have no idea who won yet, by the way. When this comes out, if you're, please forgive us, we're not neglecting the biggest story in the country. We just don't know right now when we're recording. But, you know,

when we were recording this, of this point. McCarthy said the last time that he had seen Andy Dalton was Saturday in the quarterback meeting room that he did not make the trip to Philly so he was not in that incubator of an airplane and he wasn't with the team on the road and

so those are all positive things I guess and I'm sure we'll learn more about who all was exposed and what sorts of actions the Cowboys are taking to keep this under control. But as I said, there may not have been a better time for this to happen than with a guy who was in concussion protocol and a guy who

wasn't mixing with the rest of the players the last week or so. And keep in mind, too, we don't know if he actually has it or if he came in contact with a family member that had it. Again, as we are recording this on a Tuesday, it's still new information, but it's enough that he is now obviously on that reserve list. So there's going to be some quarantining for him and they're moving forward, Ben Danucci, which means

Garrett Gilbert, right? He would be the... Garrett Gilbert is the backup, which I got to wonder, because, you know, Jerry seemed so certain that Dalton was going to be ready to play this weekend in terms of through the concussion protocol. So it is interesting to me, I got to look back and figure out when they signed Cooper Rush, because Cooper Rush had to go through COVID protocol, and he wasn't going to be able to be available until this week,

which made you think he was going to, Dalton was going to be out for Pittsburgh, because why I'll sign Cooper Rush and have him go through COVID protocol if he was going to be. So it does make me wonder sort of what led to the Cooper Rush sign it. But you do have three guys here now, Cooper Rush and Garrett Gilbert and Ben Danucci. And it's a lot of... I think in Dallas, we've seen that you can never have enough quarterbacks. I mean, think about Tony Romo, Kellan Moore, Descarteska. I mean, think about how many years we went in Dallas.

I remember the year they decided to go two quarterbacks. And it was like the first time and forever because they'd always carried the three. And this year sort of feels like that, you know, that 2016 year where it's like you can't find enough. And especially, I think they've got to carry a few more. quarterbacks this year for this very reason. Yes. The possibility that someone could end up with COVID. And then of course, you've got to isolate, you know, different position groups,

the way that they're doing things this year. So the league is being very, very careful as it relates to COVID. And of course, you have to have two negative tests in order to rejoin the team. My quick question for you, if Dalton is out because of, you know, this COVID issue and everything else, we all love Ben Danucci here, friend of the show. a really good guy. Do you think there's any chance the Cowboys look at this and go,

eh, that was so rough against the Eagles, which this is our first time talking since that rough Eagles game, but that was so rough against the Eagles that maybe we should look at giving Garrett Gilbert a shot or getting him up to speed. Or do you think they just roll with Danucci? I'd like to see Danucci because Pittsburgh is his hometown.

And so, you know, you would get the chance to play his hometown Steelers. And I think that'd just be nice for him in a year of not nice stories. Well, you and I had privately said, if I was the Cowboys, I would have rolled out with Ben Danucci this week, period. Let Andy Dalton get another week where he can rest up. And then we've got the bye week. But we've privately said that for a reason because now we look like loons after how things went against Philadelphia.

But go ahead. Continue. He's 3 and 13 against the Steelers. And he's lost seven straight. And so I'm thinking, how did it get meaningful playing experience for the rookie. Mike McCarthy has said that that's a position he wants a strength. In other words, he wants to develop. And what better to develop this kid?

Then put him in a divisional game on Sunday night football. And then put him against an undefeated 7-0 Pittsburgh Steelers team led by a guy like Mike Tomlin. And you got Ben Rothlessberger coming in here with guys like James Connor, Juju Smith-Schuster, Eric Ebron. I mean, go down the list. So offensive firepower, you're going to need your defense to do what they did against the Eagles. and then some, and then some, because I think slowing down this offense is going to be really, really tough. I believe the Steelers still lead the NFL in quarterback hits as well from a defense this year.

Through three games, the most DAC has ever been hit in a game, I believe was nine. If it's not nine, it's 10. Through three weeks this year, Pittsburgh was averaging 11 quarterback hits a game. They were averaging every game more than DAC had ever been hit in a game. And we've seen Dak take some pretty big hits before. And so it is that that's a defense that'll get after you. That's a veteran defensive coaching staff that I'm sure is going to go, let's see, how can we, you know, make things as difficult as possible on this young

quarterback and as confusing as possible. And let's take advantage of some of these holes in the offensive line. And it has been a really bad offensive line. And a lot of it, of course, due to injuries and, you know, rough combinations and some unforeseen things and some things that, you know, maybe they've shot themselves in the foot a little bit. Cough, cough, cough, Terrence, Steele, cough, cough. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only

legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days

I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network

on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years. for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast,

Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. But that is why I think that this week I was really glad. We've tried for several weeks now to talk to Duke Manyweather, who is the offensive line guru. He is the founder of OL Masterminds, trains a number of guys leading up to the draft.

And we're going to get his perspective today on the Cowboys Offensive Line and some of these draft prospects who Cowboys fans may start learning about as we get closer to draft time, some of these tackle prospects like Penae Sewell and Roshan Slater. So we now welcome Duke Manyweather. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted roses.

medley for $3999 or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles.

They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. and they see you. Their fearless guide through this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org brought to you by the United States

Forest Service and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this,

we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Joining us now is Duke Manyweather. He is an offensive line skills trainer, the offensive line guru. He is the founder of Offensive Line. OL Masterminds.

He also trains a number of draft prospects leading up to the draft, working very close with a number of them at Michael Johnson Performance Center in the Dallas area. and he's worked closely with a number of the Cowboys players over the years and has a really good feel for what good O-line play looks like. And so with so many questions about the Cowboys O-line and questions about the future of it and what type of players they may be looking at in the draft, there's nobody better to talk to than Duke.

And you can follow them on Twitter at Big Duke 50. And on Instagram, it's just a little different. It's at the Big Duke 50. Duke, how you doing? Doing well. Thanks for having me, guys. Absolutely. really excited to have you. I'm curious, you know, I believe you played O-Line at Humboldt State, right?

And so I know that that's kind of how you got your start. And you do, it's interesting, if people were to look at your path, for those that understand the draft process and understand the combine training process, you're kind of a unicorn, Duke, that there's not a lot of guys doing the strength program portion and the skills training. And yet I know that's, you do both of those things. And so talk a little bit of, I guess, about how you got into training offensive linemen, like how that path came to be and a little bit of the work that you do with guys. Yeah, you know what? Where other people normally grow up and come up playing different positions,

I was an offensive, defensive line in my entire life, from Pop Warner all the way through high school, college, and a brief stintner arena of football league. So offensive line has really been my passion and has been my lane that I've always really stayed in. I was an undersized offensive line in terms of height. You know, I'm six foot tall. But some of the things I knew I could control early on was how hard I work, my preparation in terms of strength training,

my preparation in terms of the mental part, knowing what I was doing, the techniques, and all that type of stuff. So I took that type of stuff to heart during my time in high school and in college and became really a student of the game and understanding what I can control. So my parents always told me, hey, listen, life isn't going to be fair, but I tell you what, if you work your tail off, you know, you'll start to get to where you want to be. And I've just kind of kept that mentality all the way through. So went to Humboldt State, played at Humboldt State, had that brief Stanton Arena

Football. Immediately got into coaching after I was kept from the Arena Football League. And then from there, I was able to do something pretty unique where I wore two hats. So I was an assistant strength coach at Humboldt State under. the legendary Drew Peterson. And then in the afternoons, I had my own O-Line Room at College of the Redwoods Junior College, which was about 30 minutes south down the road from Humboldt State.

And so for three years, I bounced back and forth being an assistant strength coach and then being an offensive line coach and run game coordinator. It's just kind of taking everything that I had learned, and I tried to read everything, listen to everything, learn from other people in terms of offensive line play. And I started to develop my own philosophies on all line.

One of the things I think really helped me was the learning process and the background that I had and was learning and honing and strength and conditioning and how the body worked and how everything was a system allowed me to more effectively coached offensive line from a biomechanics standpoint and mechanical advantage. So when we were talking about certain techniques that may have been, you know, historically, you know, just kind of passed down, I was always the critical thinker and I was kid. to say, maybe there's a more effective way for this type of body type and for this guy who doesn't have like that 6-6 reach that can be really effective. And so that's kind of where my philosophy went in. And so I kind of wore all kind of hats in terms of the strength and conditioning aspect, the, you know, skill and technique and then, you know, also the overall like coaching philosophy. So did that for three years. Then I was fortunate enough to stay at Humboldt State as an assistant strength coach.

But then I ended up moving over to the deep, D-line side of the ball at Humboldt State. And I coached D-Lyline for three years at Humboldt State alma mater. That was unique because it gave me a perspective of understanding how to attack offensive alignment and what we were trying to do as a defensive scheme. And I was able to coach some really good players. But when I went moved back to the offensive side of the ball,

it was like a whole new world. Like I knew exactly what I need to do in terms of developing offensive linemen in terms of putting them in the best possible case scenario to have success every single down. And that's really turned this into a complete niche. I was fortunate enough to garnish the attention of Charles Bentley. I went down there and worked with him for a couple years and he hadn't worked closely together. We went our separate ways and didn't work out for me there. And because it didn't work out for me there, it's probably the best thing that ever happened to me because it allowed me to really dig deep,

do the work on myself that I need to do to mature and to really come on into my own maturation to take everything that I had learned from coaches that knew more than me, that had done more than me, and then really streamline it to what I wanted to be. So many people told me that you're going to have to pick. You can't be a strength coach,

you can't be a position coach, you can't be an evaluator. And my question was always, why can I? And I thought that combined in all three of those, always gave me a unique advantage to be able to see into the future and predict potential and, you know, the capacity for development. And I've really stuck to my guns on that. And I've really worked to continue to stay in that lane.

And that's kind of what you're getting now. So what people are starting to see now in terms of, you know, what we're putting out with O-line masterminds and, you know, me working with many of some of the top offensive line in the league today is really 10 years of deliberate practice. When we talk about mastery and when we talk about, you know, those 10,000 hours, it's a culmination now, really over 12 years of work. So it's not something that I just got into and it happened. This has been a, you know, trickle-down and comprehensive type deal.

Duke, this is a Cowboys-centric podcast. So we've got you on here because we know you've worked with Cowboys Current and past. Can you talk to me about some of the guys you've worked with and even some of the guys in the league so that our listeners have a grasp of just, who you've gotten your hands on. Yeah, absolutely. Lyle Collins, I've worked with from the Cowboys. Definitely have worked with now Cam Irving,

started to have a rapport with Tyler Viotic. I've worked with Connor Williams pre-draft, getting him ready for his pro day and all his individual workouts. And I've got a really great relationship with a lot of the guys on the Cowboys team, including, you know, former and current players, Ron Larry, Jeremy Parnell, all those guys I trained for four or five years, even when they went to other teams.

So the lineage and the roster in terms of Cowboys have been pretty extensive, great organization. They care about their players over there. The players kind of get it in terms of what they need to do to get better. In terms of other teams, since this is a Cowboys-Centure podcast,

many people are going to hate to hear that Lane Johnson is one of my favorite people. But there's nobody that puts more into the game in terms of preparation at his body than Lane Johnson. You know, Brandon Brooks is a good guy that also consult with, you know, Tehran Armstead from the New Orleans Saints. Andrews Pete from the New Orleans Saints, Eric McCoy from the New Orleans Saints. There's just, and the list goes on. Just go ahead and say half the Pro Bowl. Yeah. So interesting enough, at one point, we did have a great deal of a pro bono.

bowlers. You know, when you look at who O-line masterminds draws in terms of Ryan Jensen, Trent Brown, Mitchell Schwartz, Terran, some of the guys that I mentioned, you know, and now we've got our new class from the past two years that have really come in and can start to take the lead by storm like Mackay Becker from the Jets and Kepp Adda Dotson from the Steelers and, you know, Cam Clark from the Jets. So we've got, you know, just a bunch of guys that are going out there and believe it in what we do and it's the true mastermind principle when you get one or two or more in a room with

the same common goal it's streamlined success and it lowers the chance for failure and Napoleon Hill came up with this concept 80 years ago and it's nothing new it's just I did the work to go and find out how these people got successful and how to streamline success and so I bought that to O-line mastermind when you look at that you mentioned there that you worked with Connor Williams pre-draft, and I think there's been some discussion about this. People have wondered, do you think he's more of a tackle? Do you think he should be playing tackle instead of guard? So here's the thing. Pre-draft, how I evaluated, Connor, I thought that he was going to be a guard. I thought that the way he liked to play, and you can still

even see that now. He likes to play square. He likes to play flat. He doesn't like a lot of space. And So that really does project in the guard. Now, you guys have followed me. You guys know I'm going to be soap boxes and rant. I don't believe every tackle automatically kicks in the guard. I believe that there's physical traits and their style of play that dictate that projection inside. And Connor just displayed some of those as I talked to you about as far as wanting to work in the short area. People need to understand this.

Connor going into his last couple of years at Texas at two different O-Line. coach. Okay. There was an O-line coach change. Connor also dealt with an injury, okay? Coming into the league, now what years is for Connor? That's year three. Yeah.

How many O-line coaches has he had? Three. Three. So when you start to look at that track record of a guy changing positions, you know, it's going to take time. We give up on guys so quickly in the NFL. When you look at the high school development cycle and the college development, cycle and even the Olympic development cycle,

if you max those out, it's four years. It's four years of full intent development to where people end up realizing their potential and really conforming at that pinnacle level. So if you got a guy that is going through that much adversity with changing coaches and injuries, and he's dealt with injuries even as a pro,

I mean, you still got to give that man a chance to develop in my opinion because when guys are rehabbing from injury and changing positions, let's just take the injury aspect. The injury aspect, guys are working to get back on the field in rehab. They're not getting better at their position at that point. They're getting better in terms of their health and overall strength and their ability to be available to the team. But think about how much you miss in that time in terms of actual development.

And then you factor that into having different coaches. It makes it difficult when you're spending a lot of years, time rehab. So that's kind of what's going on with Connor. I'm not ready to give up on Connor yet. I think that he still flashes some bright spots. I think that in terms of overall technique and just overall philosophy and how he plays can be cleaned up a little bit.

Also think that he still needs to continue to get stronger. And I think that is possible. And I think that some of those injuries have kind of halted his ability to get functionally stronger, but I see improvement out of them. I like to defer to people that are smarter than me since you've seen so much of these guys and obviously this position over the years, it's no secret that the offensive line has been a weak link

for the team this year. How much of a drop-off is there really in the absence of a Tyrant Smith, of a Travis Frederick, of a Zach Martin? What do they do that is so special? And can we expect this new crop of guys to develop into that at any point this season or even sniff it. So here's the thing.

Dallas Cowboys organization and Dallas Cowboys fans have been spoiled over the years with a tremendous an anomaly of an offensive line. When you look at some of those names that you just mentioned, you could very easily say at the top of their games,

all of those guys that you mentioned were the pinnacle and the prototypes of their position. When you talked about, if you want to build, a left tackle, you thought about 77 Tyron Smith. When you talked about you want to build a center, toughness, competitive edge, smarts, consistency, availability, it was Traverse Predick.

Jack Martin is still the gold standard for guard. When you look at the guys that have worn, you know, the Dallas Cowboy jersey and has played guard, there's two guys automatically now that come to mind, and that is Larry Allen and Zach Morton. and, you know, Lylell Collins. Lylee Collins, interesting enough, plate left tackle at LSU,

kicked in the guard, and then ended up learning a new position at right tackle. I think the last two years we've really seen, quote-unquote, you know, an awakening of how good Lyle is. So when you take those guys and you lose those guys, there's going to be a major drop-off because those guys are arguably the top two and three at their position, respectively, in the entire NFL.

So when you lose that, for one thing, when you go across the NFL, there's not a whole lot of guys like that even starting in the league. And then when you take those starting, that starting layer away, there's not a lot of valuable backups that are able to come in immediately and start and play at an effective and a high level. And I think we've seen that over the years when Tyroons have to miss games. I think we've seen that. Luckily, you know, when Travis was out,

I think Joe Looney did a tremendous job feeling him. You know, you were able to win still with Joe Looney. He was not going to be Travis Frederick. But Travis Frederick was Travis Frederick when sperm met the egg, quote, unquote, you know, like there's nobody that's going to beat him. So

with that being said, I think a lot of times people panic and, you know, they have these expectations that are lofty. And granted, when you're in there as a professional football player, it's all about results. It doesn't matter if you're the backup or the starter, but at the end of the day, the guys that are playing right now are not to the level

of those starters, and they were backups for a reason, and they were available for a reason. But my whole point that I want to get over to this is don't let your eyes fool you. The guys that wore 71 at right tackle in L. O'Connell, and 70 at guard, 72 in Travis Frederick, 70, even when Ron Larry was there, you know, that was 65, those guys were borderline, very good to elite players across the board, respectively. And it was a reason why they had the number one offensive line for, you know, two to three years. So losing those guys is a tremendous blow because you built your team,

you built your philosophy on having those studs up front. And when you lose one, it's like, okay, you got to plug in. You lose two. It's like, uh-oh, you lose three. Uh-oh. Now the night, we saw a Dallas Cowboys line that was unrecognizable. And it really hit you. go ahead.

I was going to say, can that explain then why we've seen such a drop off from Ezekiel Elliott when you don't have the confidence in that offensive line? Is it fair for people to criticize the fact that he hasn't had those 100-yard games? I think it's easy to look at the box score and say, well, his stats aren't what they are. But, I mean, again, I like to defer to people that are smarter to me. Could that be the explanation of it as simple as it might be? You just don't have that wall blocking for you right now. Absolutely. Well, when we're talking about, you know, actually getting yards and, you know, opening holes and the continuity,

offensive line is a position of five individuals with one common gun, you know, five as one, so to speak. So continuity in that group of those five guys across the board is very important, okay, for the group itself. But furthermore, continuity in understanding how certain guys are going to play in the timing and setting up blocks on, combo blocks coming off to the second level. Those are all things that backs, not only see, but read and fill it. So having a different lineup in there every couple of games and having new guys that may not be as powerful at the point of attack definitely changes up the timing and the flow in which Zeke is getting, you know, his work in.

With that being said, of course, Zeek's got to do a better job of taking care of football when he does have those opportunities. But, you know, as he showed, he's very accountable for getting better. term and owning, you know, some of the mistakes that he made. But absolutely, it impacts the run game and even the protections tremendously were not having the same five guys in there and then having a new five guys in there. With that being said, it's still a really good thing that Zach Martin is in there and he's healthy and playing still at an elite level.

One of the things that Zach is really good at is always being in great position, being able to finish. He's probably the best recover artists I've seen in the game, which leads him to just not getting beat. I think you've seen the last couple of weeks. Cam Irving is a very valuable backup LF tackle. He's played pretty decently and held up well. He's not going to be tiring.

Nobody expects him to be. But in terms of what Dallas has had in the past, in terms of backups, I think Cam Irving is a guy that has played a lot of football. He's with the Chiefs last year, had an extended role with some injuries. so he's played some football and has had some experience. I think Tyler Beiotish is very promising.

I think that you've got something there with Beaudish, smart kid, tough, and it's going to be, I think, very good for a long time to count. And Terrence still, you know, I think Steele is a guy that right now he was thrusted into the lineup sooner than he needed to be. He still must work on his consistency in his past set, step into his spot, not overstead invite inside,

counter move and then also needs to continue to get better with his hands. Once he learns how to not only be consistent with his pass set and make sure that his feet are winning the fight, he's going to be in better position to more effectively use his hands. And that's something that takes time. I think Steel also needs to improve in his overall functional strength. That way he holds up to some of those bull rushes that guys are liking to see. But he shows some flashes and some promises.

But he's not a guy that anybody expected to play this year. So with him being thrusted into the lineup, it's a thin line because you like those guys getting game experience, but you also worry about putting those guys in too soon. And it definitely could take its toll on you mentally when week after week after week, you feel like you're not having success. So my advice to any of those guys is just keep shipping away, find something to get better at every single practice, take it series by series, moment by moment. and before you know it,

you'll start to see improvement in the game and just the overall feel and the confidence for in which they play with. And they've still got a guy like Zach Martin they can lean on. They still, you know, got Cam, Irving, who's played a lot of football. You know, again, like I said, Connor is still chipping out

and figuring out his game. So it's not what it's been in the past, but at the same time, all is not lost. It's interesting. That's the thing I think, most people have felt like, okay, there's a lot of things that have been outside of your control. You know, Tyron Smith getting hurt, Lyle Collins getting hurt, Zach Martin getting hurt, Travis

Frederick retiring, you know, things like that. I think when the season started and Tyrant Smith was healthy and then it's okay, you've got Cam Irving, you signed him to be your swing tackle and then you start with Terrence Steele. Okay, Cam Irving gets hurt. Right, but Brandon Knight's there and you Brandon Knight started games for you at tackle last year and then you don't go to Brandon Knight and then you go, okay, well, I mean, you've got Greg Sinott and Jordan Mills in your building now. These are veterans who have played before. And then you've got, okay, we've seen Zach Martin bump out to right tackle and play there. And you've got a top 100 pick that can slide in at guard at Connor McGovern. Are you, do you find it interesting

just from the outside that they have seemingly been so committed to steal with, there's been some options that it would seem like there's some options within the building that you could go with while steel has been struggling as much as he has. Yeah, you know, but I think a big factor is this as well. For one thing, I don't know how the coaching staff views different personnel. I don't really know this coaching staff too well. What I do know of Joe Filvin is he's a guy that demands a lot in terms of execution mentally. So though we may think that some of these guys are valuable options or valuable options at the tackle spot, if they're not picking up the concept, they're not going to play for Joe Filvin. So that's one thing in which we see the physical part,

and we know with the physical part, especially with a guy like, you know, Jordan Mills who has started a ton of football games. But if he's not picking up the playbook in enough time, then, you know, he's not going to see the field. Because most coaches will rather take a lesser athlete and talent versus a guy that they, and take a guy that they can trust and know it's not going to have, you know, the mental errors or the missed assignments over a guy that is going to be physically dominating, but it's going to mess up all the time that they put, the offense in a bad decision.

It's give-take, but, you know, that could be some of the thought process behind why some of these guys aren't getting the opportunity. It could be that they're just not picking up the concepts and the playbook as well as coach wants them to. Any suggestions now that we're just learning that Andy Dalton is not dealing with concussion protocol this week, but he is now on the reserved COVID list. Oh, yay. And Danucci against the Steelers. I assume you watched the game on Sunday night. Was there anything that stood out to you

that might lend itself to helping him out a little bit back there? I mean, they tried with those quick throws. They tried with the quick screen game, not have them stand back there very long. How do you help that kid out against the Steelers' defense? Honestly, it's going to be rough because what the Steelers do well is they're able to get after you with their base defense, but then they're also able to disguise stuff really well.

So the Steelers will line up and give you a bunch of different looks where they spin the wheels late on the back end with their secondary when they're bringing pressure. They'll send false pressure. So it makes you extremely difficult on a young quarterback to kind of get a feel and a read. We factor that end with the offensive line that isn't, you know, to that standard in terms of completely starting. And again, you've got guys there that have played now. but, you know, communication is going to be key up front. I think it's going to be important for the young quarterback to not try to do too much.

It looked like on Sunday night that the game was moving fast for him, but it looked like he was moving faster in a panic. You know, you know, he didn't have that confidence. You could tell people say happy fever, seeing ghosts. It was just, you could tell like he was kind of out of his element. He wasn't confident in his ability to really. get the job done. I think what the coaching staff is going to really have to do against this

defense is try to come out and establish the run early on, even though Pittsburgh has showed an innate ability to take away the run. Saw that two weeks ago against Tennessee. They did a great job against Derek Henry, really great job. But they have to have some semblance of a run game, whether it's the quick screen game to the outside, you know, making sure that Pittsburgh is able to run,

whether it's setting up Zeef on, you know, some of the screens, the running back screens. But they're going to have to do something. A lot of play action that kind of protect him and get DiNucci out on the edge. He is a good athlete. So if he can get him outside the pocket and throw on the run, that could work to some advantage and maybe hit some big shot in the downfield. But again, it comes back to trying to really establish the run game and not really give away the ball deep into the territory

and then also try to play the clock of management game. We're a fan of Danucci on this show. We had him this off season. He's great. I'm nervous for him, Bobby. I'm nervous. I know. And that's,

and you know, to that point about protecting the man's life and making sure that he doesn't get crushed by T.J. Watt out there. When you look at, if you were, you know, working on this game plan and you saw, you know,

the skill that the Cowboys have a receiver and some of the issues that they've had pass block, I mean, if you were in there as the offensive line coach, would you be hammering home the idea of, hey, look, let's, you know, if we want to try and push the ball downfield at all, like let's try some max protect stuff. Let's keep Aiden. We got these receivers that are so talented, you know, we can send two of them out there and try and win on their routes and see if we can hit something. I mean, would you be looking at some max protect options with how talented Pittsburgh's passers is and how depleted Dallas's offensive line is? How many throws did he do for 10 yards though, Bob? Yeah, I know. I know, but that's the thing. That's the thing. I'm saying change it up. Instead of just quick throws to save him some time, some Max Protect and see if he can get downfield.

Who knows? So here's my thing with Max Protect. And it goes to the same thing with when you look at people and say, why didn't they give such and such help? Or, you know, if it's not a part of your offense in terms of actual packages and scheming, it's difficult to just put that stuff in on Game Day. So if we're looking at game plan type stuff, I think your Max Protect has to be a part of your,

play action pass looks, your run action looks. If you have some type of RPO's, they have to be a part of that as well. That way, it's not dead. Giveaways of, hey, we're going to max protect and two out or out. It looks like that you're lining up to play the ball. But then, I mean, to run the ball. But then that all goes back to trying to at least get some type of run game going early.

That way it allows you to get those run actions in, maybe get out of the edge and pop one down the field. and then be in the situation to be able to max protect, you know, maybe a big formation and then get, you know, a one-on-one matchup and man protection down the field. So it's just, I think it's all still predicated very much on being able to have some early success with some type of run game that allows you to be able to open up things, so to speak.

I'm curious for your thoughts. We haven't talked to, this is one of the only guys we haven't talked about yet. And this is a guy that I am a big fan of. And that he's currently. in an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing

human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on

the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the, scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network,

On TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me. not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

Get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough,

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app.

Search learn the hard way and listen now. On IR and that's Brandon Knight, the undrafted rookie out of Indiana last year who was forced into some game action. So when I see him, like I see obviously a guy who, I mean, you can see the play strength issues are there at time. He has some issues with bull rushes and things like that.

But to me it's like, okay, but the dude like, he's a good enough athlete that he gets to his spot and then he fights. Like he's blue collar bulldog, Doug free type to me. What do you see when you look at Brandon, and do you think he has a future as either a swing tackle or if the offensive line is right enough that, you know, hey, in some circumstances, that might be a guy that could be your right tackle in the future or something like that. Do you think he has that sort of ability?

Well, Brandon Knight, to me, everything you just said was 100% correct. He was a guy that went out there and he didn't look like that. He was out of place. He was a guy that had success against, you know, 70 to 80% of the guys, some of those elite guys, he did struggle with, but most people are going to be in that situation. He fought his butt off. He was always in good position. And so you saw with him. He's a viable option to have out there as a swing

tackle or even, you know, like an extra tight end, a tight blocker and, you know, some jumbo packages. But he's a guy that I think that you can still continue to develop and really lean on in terms of a valuable asset to a team as a backup player.

It's interesting enough because a couple of weeks ago when he got hurt, He got hurt. He got rolled up extremely bad. And then I'm pretty sure he finished the game. And when he got hurt and when he got hurt and rode up, I saw it. It looked bad. And then he kind of hopped up and continued to play.

I said, oh, maybe he wasn't that bad. Next morning, you know, you saw he had surgery. So that kind of shows you the type of toughness that the kid has. And you're not going to win because of Brandon Knight, but you can win with him at one of the positions. So I like some of the stuff that I've seen for him. And I think that, again, he's just a guy that needs to continue to develop. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts,

I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1-800-4. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. If I could be you...

And you could be me for just one hour. If you could find a way... To get inside. Each other's mind. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out.

And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council. So when you look at as guys look forward to the draft and stuff, you know, people are already going, hey, we might have a top five pick here. So hey, Penae Sewell, you're somebody we could look at or as I'm calling for behind me, Rishon Slater, who I saw put Chase Young in the dirt about three times when he played Ohio State last year. When you look, it is, it's a great last name, Slater.

Now, when you look at, I know that you're, you've actually already started working with Rishan Slater. Sewell and Slater, two guys who opted out of the season. Slater, the tackle from Northwestern. First, just tell us a little bit about Rishan Slater, what kind of player he is. And I mean, is he a cornerstone type of left tackle? Is he the type of guy you can build an offensive line around, do you think? Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, Rishan went to Northwestern. He's a very smart guy, very cerebral, but just very consistent, consistent as a person,

consistent as a worker and really consistent as a player has a large skill set already in terms of what he's able to do with his set, what he's able to do with his hands, his timing, his knowledge of leverage is really impressive. And then the thing that I think that most people don't know about him is he's freakishly strong. He's extremely strong. That is the biggest thing I had to ask you because I was with you last year watching you work out Cameron Clark, Sadiq, Charles, Mackay Beckton, and they're monsters in size.

And that was the one thing I was going to ask you about is because when you look at Rishan Slater, just you see him, you're like, he doesn't look like some of the big mallers. He doesn't look like he's built like that. But then you see on the field, it's like, man, how's he putting guys in the dirt like that then if he's not strong?

He is put together, I think, better than what people think. His lower hat, extremely large and muscular legs. He's got a video that he's shown me. He front squad at 5.05 for like five reps. And he's just, he's just an extremely strong player and strong in the correct area, strong with his rotation, anti-rotation,

really good, you know, overall core strength. Upper back is really strong. Of course, legs strong, upper body really strong. So to me,

when you pair, you know, some of the physical ability, that he has in terms of the way he's able to move. He reminds me how he moves to Ron Armstead. He's very fluid with how he moves, feet are light, but heavy when they need to be when he needs to go get somebody. Really has that really fluid set,

but then can aggressive set get his hands on guys and end the fight immediately. Has ridiculous top-in range in terms of getting to his spot and been able to run guys over the top of the pocket and even be in position to finish guys at the top of the pocket as you saw against Ohio State with Chase Young. So, Rashon's a guy that

many people are already starting to label him, oh, he's going to have to move inside. If I'm a team, I'm not moving him inside. And you'll see it the first day when he lines up at tackle, he gets to the top of his set and he's able to finish at the point of attack at the top of his set. Teams are going to go, oh, yeah, that's left tackle.

So that's not a guy that I'm going to, to move inside. That being said, he absolutely could move inside with, you know, little to know hiccup at all. But he's a guy that is going to be a really good player for a long time. And what about Penae Sewell there? That's another guy. I know you've seen a lot just from working on the Joe Moore Award,

the annual award for Best Offensive Line Unit. I know you've seen him. And we talked to Daniel Jeremiah a couple weeks ago. And, you know, he had a lot of great things to say about Penae. what are your thoughts on him as a player and where he might fit in as sort of a cornerstone and somebody that you can build an offensive line around

similar to Roshan Slater? Definitely. Penae is a physical freak. He's strong, he's big, he's athletic, and he's nasty with his demeanor. Just a physical mindset. To me, when you get those guys that kind of, they've got it all, and they've got that mentality

to want to put people in the, the dirt and finish them, typically you're going to have a really good player, pro player on your hands immediately. There's some things I think that, you know, Panay will clean up this offseason that will make him even better. I think just simple stuff like, you know, hand placement, overall usage of hands. He'll clean that up and he'll become very, very dangerous in past protection to a lot of people, especially with the type of strength and length that he has.

you know, he's a guy that can move the point of attack, you can get to the top of the pass set, and really be effective and dominating, you know, really taking over a game. So Penae, it's fun to watch. I look forward to eventually working with Penae. You know, for Cowboys fans, he's got the same agent as Tiring Smith and Viotish.

So it should be encouraging. You know, Penae's going to be in a situation and be placed around. right people to help his development, especially during this time, where we've got this extra time for him to work. So, you know, those are two guys that I'm really excited about. And I think that they will be tremendous pros moving forward. And here's the one last crazy note on Penae Sewell, is that he put out film that people were saying, oh, that's a top five player as a teenager. He has yet to play as a 20-year-old. He just turned 20 earlier in October. So we're talking about a guy

who's only played football, the furthest he's played was at 19 years old, and he was putting out top five film at Oregon. I mean, he's only going to get better. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I just ask you a question about that, though. What is going to be the challenge for you guys, scouts have talked to us about this, being able to really assess these players when they're not allowed on campus this year, especially as an offensive lineman, is that one of those guys that you need to physically see their strength and their size in person and, you know, their football IQ because you want those really smart guys in the offensive line. Is that going to be the area where they're going to feel challenged

a little bit different than skills players? So interesting enough, there's two answers to this. When you are Penae and when you are Roshan, it's not going to matter. Because you can turn on the tape, you know exactly what the heck you're getting with those two guys. But for other guys, it does absolutely create a challenge. And I think we kind of got a glimpse into that,

you know, this past combine cycle where you know most of the pro days were eliminated all the visits were eliminated and so teams relied heavily on agents and guys like myself to really give them credible uh feedback um you know there were a lot of teams and a lot of coaches a lot of GMs that constantly wanted me to send tape and uh you know like of our workouts just kind of seeing when guys were um you know and then even like the board work type stuff was very important. As you mentioned, they want to see how these guys think, how these guys process. So it's going to face, we're going to be faced with some challenges, but the challenges that we're going to be faced with this next combine cycle will be better prepared because we've

kind of gone through it already. You know, when you're caught kind of in the wind and not knowing on what to expect, you know, that's when leadership qualities come in immediately and you say, okay, we got to go with the skid. And one thing that I know, especially being a leader, especially being a developer, when adversity and a change of schedule when the shift happens, you got to innovate, you got to take action, you got to kind of go with the skid. And that's kind of what we did with a lot of these guys, you know, because there was a, for instance, Kevin Dotson, Kevin Dotson was an All-American at Louisiana Lafayette. No combine invite.

Pro Day was canceled, but worked his telloff. In his tape, it forced teams to go back and look at his tape. He was taking in the fourth round, and he started three games this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers and been phenomenal. That's a guy that, again, he had no combine invite, no real pro date. So they had to trust the tape and trust, you know, the information that they were getting from sources. but I think we're going to be better prepared for the 2021 draft no matter what happens. It's going to be interesting to really see what happens at the combine. Is it that the combine goes into an actual bubble?

Because we've all been to Indy, we know that it's set up that it could very easily be a bubble. But I think what we may end up seeing is that it is a bubble. There's not going to be outside access allowed probably. And they're going to have those guys there, you know, four to five days and really putting them through the pace is there to kind of get an intimate look to see who these guys are. We've already seen the shrine game cancel. It'll be interesting to see talking to Jim Nagy

with the senior bowl looks like this week. It could be that instead of a week, it's 10 days or maybe two weeks. Who knows? I'm not sure what Jim is going to come up with. But one thing I do know is some of these opportunities for showcases, whether it is at the senior bowl, whether it is at the combine, guys are going to be able to,

are going to need to be ready and be prepared to perform and put their best foot forward. But I think as far as us and training guys and even teams, teams will be better prepared to handle this next cycle around versus what we just went through this last year. Last question for you here, Duke, because I am curious, I know you are all about the complete package with guys. Like I say, you do all the weight training with them.

you look at the full physical package and everything like that. I know some people are curious about man Tyron Smith's getting up there and he's had injuries coming up now, but there's been less talk about the Lyle Collins injury. And I think that's interesting given the fact that it is a hip injury. And I know that hip fluidity is such a big thing, you know, with so many positions, but including the offensive line.

How important is that recovery going to be for Lyle? How important do you think that injury is? How seriously should people be? taking the, hey, look, you know, this is a serious thing that's going to take some care for him to rehab and come back from because, you know, that, that hip movement is really important for a guy out there at right tackle. Yeah, it's tremendously important. But to my understanding, based upon, like, the limited knowledge I have about the injury,

it's something that he can 100% come back and be ready to play and play at a high level with, with rehab, with movement prep, with sports med, and just continue to monitor it and rehab the right way. not being forced, you know, really to be on a timeline. I think the beautiful thing we have right now for him in terms of recovery is time. So I've got the utmost confidence that Lylel will be resilient and return back to original form to what he was. And probably in some aspects, maybe even a little better. I think that with an injury like that is probably something that is systemic. It's probably something that had probably been lingering that he kind of just like blocked out.

and it was probably limiting him in his abilities prior to just this year in cap. You probably saw some of it last year on tape. A lot of times dysfunction runs uphill. So a lot of times, something so simple as an ankle injury, which Lylel's had, can affect the knee and the hip alignment. So, you know, just looking for him to get back, get healthy. I think that Cowboys fans will be pleased to know that I think he'll be back it better than ever.

Before I let you go, I do want to follow up on that. Cowboy fans have been fairly relentless as it relates to not feeling like Lail showed up to camp in shape and then there was this injury. Any chance that with COVID and, you know, if there was some sort of lingering injury from last year that maybe he didn't address,

any chance that because of COVID, I think a lot of us were having a hard time kind of working through that, that there was sort of a compound effect. of that getting to the facility and the rehab that he needed, getting the access to the workouts that he needed. And then when you get actually there on the line and you're actually doing offensive line work, which is very different than any individual working out that you might do, that was kind of a perfect storm for that injury and the way it went down?

I mean, you could say, I mean, that could be, you know, that could be realistic. But I think that what you heard about him not being in shape. I think he was a little heavy, but as far as in shape, I think he was in shape. I think he was in shape. I think he was ready to play. What I think, though, is that that injury was around longer, and he just tried to work through it, and it got to the point where he couldn't work through it anymore. And so that's what really became the issue.

And that happens to a lot of guys. And a lot of players do that. I mean, Sean Lee was a player who was trying to work through his injury. So a perfect example. One thing that I've learned, because there's so much that. Jack Prescott. Yeah, there's so much that fans don't see, you know, they don't see until it becomes available to them. But there's a lot of these guys that are playing with and working through various ailments.

They just try to compartmentalize and, you know, leave on the back burner. But it gets to the point where when your quality of life and your overall effectiveness is not there, and then you've got to make a business decision to do what's best to you. I think that's kind of what you saw with Lael. And I think to some extent that kind of happened with the tyrant. I mean, we've been well aware that he's had issues with stingers and necks and things like that. And I think it just got to a point where he was like, I can't go anymore, you know, and stuff like that happens. One thing about it is on the offensive line in NFL, injury is almost 100%, you know.

And I mean, everybody's going to get hurt. Everybody's going to have something. and these guys are going to try to play as long as possible. I've got another player on another team that first week of the season tore both ligaments and his thumb on his right hand, ended up having a cast on it, played five weeks, and then they played Monday night football and heading into a bi-week. That next morning he was in surgery at 5 a.m. having surgery on the thumb, came back the next week with the cast on and played, you know.

So, you know, the timing of some of these things sucks. And me as a fan, I understand it sucks. But me being a professional in the business, it happens, man, especially on the online. It's a violent, it's a physical game. And as I said, injuries are have 100% rate in this business, especially at that position. So it's got to happen. and but I've got again the utmost confidence that Lyle will come back and be ready to go. Well, hopefully, yeah, we appreciate you just your insight.

Like I said, I think a lot of us, you know, offensive line, I feel like is one of those positions. It just looks like a bunch of guys kind of guarding the quarterback up front. I don't think people realize sort of the intricacies and the nuances that go into it. And what makes a good offensive linemen. So when we get someone here that that is what they do day in and day out, as you said, it's your lane. It's nice sort of getting your insight and kind of your thought,

but it does sound like the Cowboys fans, at least, need to recalibrate their expectations as it relates to this new crop of offensive line in the absence of some of these guys that bordered on elite if they weren't elite, and especially Bentonucci this week. Who has to deal with that? Yeah, yeah, and they need to start learning up on Sugar Land, Texas's own, Roshan Slater.

And you can do that. You can keep up with his pre-draft process just by following Duke on Twitter at Big Duke 50 and on Instagram at The Big Duke 50. He is the offensive line Renaissance man with OL masterminds and pre-draft training and everything else. And so you definitely need to keep up with him to keep up with all things offensive line with the Cowboys and the NFL. So Duke, we appreciate you so much, man. Jane, Bobby, thank you for having me. I know we've been trying to do this for a while.

Yes. Our schedules have all been all over the place. That's kind of been the thing. you know, last words to you guys, you know, stay safe out there. And I think we all can do our part to be the individual change we want to see. Lead where you are. Lead where you are. All right.

So I guess some perspective is what we got there on this offensive line. I don't know if I feel any more encouraged. I don't know if the fans do either after hearing a guy that knows a thing or two about what an offensive line should look like. But I think a lot of people are in agreement that with this current, There's been no team that has ever gone to the playoffs. That's correct, right, Bobby, I've got that stat right? Sure, I think so.

I'm not 100% positive, but I believe you're right. I will say that this is the... But if we start seeing more COVID shutdowns and we see this new playoffs. Yeah, mm-hmm. There could be yet another road for the Cowboys, Bobby. So I definitely think that's interesting. But at least again, we are trying to manage X-Squivis. expectations for the fans.

That's the theme for 2020. Manage Expectations. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1-800 flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39-99 or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more.

Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for band. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.