The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 'Boys and Girl - Rams Week 1 Reaction with David Helman; Fact Checking Mike McCarthy's Analytics Conversion

Episode Date: September 17, 2020

On today’s episode of the 'Boys and Girl Podcast, Jane is off, but David Helman from DallasCowboys.com joins Bobby to break down the Rams game, evaluate how real Mike McCarthy’s analytics conversion is, and the latest on the Cowboys’ injury situation. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 podcast network on TikTok. 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 1800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1800flowers.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. Actually, no Jane Slater this week. It's just Bobby. But we do get the great, the illustrious David Hellman joining us. He's sitting in for Jane Slater helping me out today because I couldn't possibly carry 40, 45 minutes or whatever it'll be on my own. Dave, how you doing? just the two fuzziest, sloppiest members of the Cowboys Media Brigade filling in for Jane. I love it.

I'm trying to think there's got to be somebody fuzzier or sloppier. I don't think so, to be honest with you. I don't think so, man. I think we're carrying that torch. It is a pretty, it is a pretty, and, like, I think it's, like, generous for you to even include yourself in my area because, you know, I'll, like, at least you, like, kind of trim and, like, look put together.

There's, there's a beard there, but. You don't put a ton of effort in, and I admire that about you. No, not real. Well, especially since COVID and everything. At least before I'd at least wear a polo and like some jeans. Now it's shorts and like t-shirts with black cats who. I mean, I definitely, yeah, I mean, I know I don't look great right now, but I cleaned up some, you know, over the summer when I realized that people were going to start seeing me again.

I actually, I know we're going to get into football, but this is amazing. I'm wearing these jeans for the first time since March today. Oh. Found this key in my pocket. I have no idea what it's for or why it's there. So these are the types of things that happen when you wear sweatpants for seven months. It sounds like the beginning to like a great mystery though. Like where does the key go?

You can try it on all sorts of door. It's probably something really boring like a storage unit, isn't it? I'm going to say it's probably like my friend's spare or something lame like that. It's probably not interesting. Well, I mean, whatever. You know, they can't all be winners. But I will say Sunday, so I will, I know you didn't get to go to the Rams game,

which was odd for you. When was the last time you missed a Cowboys game? Like before you worked for the Cowboys? The last time I wasn't in the building for a Cowboys game was the season finale of 2012, the Dez injury, Robert Griffin the 3rd, 8 and 8, Romo throws a pick in the fourth quarter. That was, it kind of, you know, first world problems,

but if I did the math, I've probably covered something like 100 and, I don't know, 120, 130 straight Cowboys games. So to watch it on TV for the first time in eight years was real, real weird. Now is that just going to be a travel limitation or are you going to get to go to the home games? Yeah, I'll be there for home games. So I'll be there Sunday for the Falcons. But I don't anticipate that I'll be on the road this year at all. See, so I'll be there for the Falcons.

And so that'll be probably, I say all that just to say, I would guess that. not including like track pants or something. I would guess that'll be the first time I've worn pants since March is when I'm at the stadium on Sunday. It would probably be the first time I wear slacks. Like I've worn blue jeans and stuff like that. I don't think I've even put blue jeans on. I admire that to be honest. I mean, look, if it's all going to go to hell and it's all going to just, you know, go down in a blaze of glory,

I'm going to be comfortable as the heat gets turned up on me. Absolutely. So let's talk a little football before we look at kind of the Rams and we won't dwell too much on that and, you know, take whatever implications from that. Looking at, I guess, what the big story is, which is just the injury situation right now. Sean Lee, we find out had hernia surgery. He's out six weeks. Layton Vanderash out six to eight weeks with a broken collarbone. Like Jarwin out for the season.

Cam Irving out four to six weeks. You're not going to get Randy Gregory back on the field until week six or six. I mean, are we looking at a point now where the Cowboys are kind of going to say, just get through the six weeks and then we'll actually have our team by October. Yeah, I mean, now that everybody listening is good and depressed, we can sort of go through this. I mean, we talk about, you know, being so sad and melancholy, we don't wear pants anymore and just roll right into injuries. And it's really, it's kind of ironic because, you know, in July before anybody even showed up to practice, I probably would have said linebacker. and offensive tackle are two of the deepest positions on this team. I mean, you got Layton Vanderress, Jalen Smith, Sean Lee, Joe Thomas.

I mean, right there, you got four really experienced starters in this league. And then on the other side, you got Tyron Smith, Lyle Collins, Cam Irving, three guys that have started a ton of football games. And then throw in Brandon Knight for good measure. He started a couple times last year. That's about as good as you could probably expect to feel about that position heading into a season and one game in, the story is very different. So yeah, I've been, you know, and kudos, I'm on Jane's podcast. So kudos to Jane for breaking that story about Sean Lee,

which I said earlier this week, I was like, well, the hope, the hope is that Sean will be back in two or three weeks and you can kind of weather this storm with Joe Thomas until Sean can step in and start. And clearly that doesn't look like it's going to be the case anymore. So yeah, I think, I mean, it feels kind of bleak, and all of a sudden it makes sense why the Cowboys went and signed Rashad Smith, Rashad Davis. Rashad Smith? Yep. There we go. Sorry.

So it makes sense why they went and got him off the Bears practice squad. Same thing with Alex Light. They went and got him off the Cardinals practice squad. They're not going to be able to help you on Sunday against Atlanta, but clearly you're going to need experienced players to step in and help fill that void because, And Mike McCarthy said this morning on Thursday morning that Cam Irving's probably looking at four to six weeks as well. So you're going to need guys to step in for a healthy chunk of time. This is not going to be a one or two weeks situation. I mean, for all the things that went wrong for the Cowboys last season, which I think we said this last week when we had Jory Epstein on,

that for all that went wrong last year, it all seemed to kind of just boil down to there was some chemistry issues and leadership issues. you know, they were, for the most part, pretty healthy other than losing Leighton Van derich. I mean, Sean Lee got through an entire season. You know, they, they seem to have all the talent in the world heading into the season. Everybody thought they were, you know, oh, this is one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, and then it all kind of fell apart. So with all those issues that they're facing and trying to recover from and trying to mend heading into this season, it really feels like the last thing in the world they needed was to be, you know,

picking off people's practice squads after week one just to be able to feel the healthy team. Absolutely. 100%. And I hate to sound even more negative than I already am, but I mean, think about the track record of, you know, specifically this offensive line. Tyron Smith has been a lock to miss three games for like four years in a row. Exactly three. 13 games, like five years in a row. Yeah. So, I mean, you almost feel like that's a lock to happen.

Maybe it's maybe it's this week. Maybe it's two months from now. Who knows? but like you're probably going to have a stretch where you have to make do without Tyrant Smith. Like history indicates that. Zach Martin hasn't missed a lot of games, but injuries have caught up to him in the recent past as well. He missed his first career game in 2018. He has had injuries that have hobbled him at times.

You know, I think if he's not 30 yet, he'll be turning 30 this year. So, yeah, I mean, it's troubling to think that they're already dealing with this, knowing that they're probably going to have to deal with it as the season goes. What's the, I mean, obviously just discounting the amount of time they're out because, you know, a season ending injury is obviously worse than a six-week injury. But just looking past the length of time, who's the person out of this group right now that we're looking at Irving Lee, Van der Ash, Jarwin, who's going to be most difficult for them to replace?

It's funny because, I mean, I mean, I throw Lyle Collins in there as well. Just, you know, maybe hope that's another guy where, you know, you really. But you at least hope he's, you know, on track to be back in two weeks or well. The hope is that he's back by week four or five. We'll see how that pans out. But my point was going to be Lyle Collins and Laden Vandrech on paper are much better players than Blake Jarwin

or much more proven players anyway. But the tight end thing is the one that really freaks me out because, we went down the list of guys that can help replace Vanderech. They might not be as good, but they're there. You know, Joe Thomas has played a lot of NFL football. And, you know, same thing. Right tackle is kind of terrifying too. But the point I'm trying to make is the guys behind Blake Jarwin

have not done much of anything in the NFL. Dalton Schultz, you know, we can talk about how he played on Sunday if you want to, but I think everybody knows that it wasn't all that impressive. Blake Bell, you know, he's been in the league for a while. He's done some nice things, but he's never been a guy that anybody leaned on to play a heavy role. And then you got Cole Hickettini and Sean McHughn, who have literally not done anything in the NFL. Well, that's the one of the interesting things you point out there is, you know,

not just that, well, Joe Thomas has some NFL reps, but it's also a case where a lot of those linebackers, a lot of the defense in general. We heard this from them a lot this offseason. We heard it from Mike Nolan that everybody was kind of cross-training positions. Everybody was, you know, learning what each other does. The talk heading towards the end of camp, I remember specifically Dalton Schultz talking to the media,

and he was talking about himself as if he was an H-back or as if he was a full-back. And he wasn't any, like, Blake Jarwin really seems to be that. That's the only style of tight end, that seem tight end. He's the only one on the roster like it. So even if you have guys behind him that you like, I mean, maybe Hickettini a little. I think here's, and I want to be careful with what I'm saying,

because I think Hickettini fits that mold. He's athletic. Yeah, but I can't hear and say that I know that he can do it in a game because I think he's been in the league since 2017. I guess I could pull this up. Yeah, no, he's kind of have the Jameel Shower's trajectory. He just hangs around on practice squads. I was going to say, like, I don't know how much he's ever even been active in the NFL.

It's mostly practice squad work. Yeah, I mean, I think he's maybe been on an active roster a couple times, but I don't know. I don't think he even has any statistics or anything. He appeared in four games for San Francisco in 2017. He caught two passes for 15 yards. Oh, okay. All right.

It is a very, so that's my thing. It's like, you could call up Cole Hickettini and he sort of fits that mold, but like that doesn't mean he can do it at a high level. Right. And that's what's kind of scary is they don't have, they do not have a guy that's proven that he can carry a big workload in the NFL. And, you know, maybe what maybe at some point they'll go out and get a Delaney Walker or something like that, but it certainly doesn't look like it's going to happen for week two, which makes, I mean, I know it's not going to happen for week two,

because even if they did it today, they wouldn't clear a COVID protocol in time for kickoff. So it just makes me wonder, like, are they going to have to change the way they even view the tight-in position? Like, do you play more wide receivers? Do you play more, you know, do you put Tony Pollard and Zeeke on the field at the same time a little bit more often. You know. 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 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Cliverts 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. to be. 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 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 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 is 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 finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for Black. 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 or 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. games 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. We've joked about it for years, but like could Noah Brown go in and be like an inline, you know, not a true tight end, but maybe at least a guy who can help get in the way. He has the 40 time for it. I don't care about his 40 time. Okay, right, whatever.

I'm just saying. Can he chip, can he chip a defensive end? because that's what I need. So, yeah, I mean, and that's, I'm very curious because, like I said, like, they have guys who can fill in the other roles. Like, I don't know what they have at tight end. And it's awfully concerning. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1800flowers.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 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the... And there they go. Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-arm kid carry. Looks like dad has the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere. Ooh, but Mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler.

And now the eldest daughter, who looks to be about nine or ten, has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed, and they're off. Ah, but looks like Mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes. Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fan favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at NHTSA.gov slash the right seat. Visit NHTSA.gov. Slash the right seat. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinwiddie host of the new podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids.

Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories. told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit Adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Well, and you kind of reference it there. Like, do you think the solution ends up being, just knowing the philosophy as we do of Mike McCarthy and Kellan Moore, like, is there a possibility we just start looking at like,

okay well instead of just going with a tight end we don't necessarily think is prepared or it's too big of a drop off I'd rather run out here with 20 personnel and just go two running backs and three receivers and we'll do whatever we can have Zieg chip on certain you know downs or whatever else I think that's the million dollar question which ironically ironically I was I was really disappointed at how the same the Cowboys looked on Sunday like I mean, you know, it was always going to be a possibility that they lose. I think everybody was prepared for that. But like they just looked a lot like what we're used to seeing.

Like, did that team look drastically different from the one last season to you? No. And I mean, I think you look at the fact that like one of the things I got down here, Tony Pollard like 10 snaps. Like his snaps per game and his percentage of snaps per game was higher in 2019 than it was on Sunday. and it's interesting because there was so much of, we're limited obviously about what we can talk about that's gone on at practice and what, you know,

was occurring during training camp. There's lots that you see that you're not allowed to talk about. And so without getting into specifics, I think that nothing that we saw that was exciting during camp was there on Sunday. The changes that we thought were like, man, this is going to be a game changer. Except if you,

you want to say some of the stuff with guys standing up, certain guys standing up and rushing like Alden Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence and doing some things like that. But I think overall, like we didn't see any improvements and just to reset that since we haven't talked about it. Cowboys lose to the Rams 20 to 17. Four days later. Yeah, yeah, exactly. You didn't see, I think, any of the kind of fun, creative, schematic things that you were hoping for on defense. You didn't see, you continue to see them getting crushed on screenplays and, and, you know, over pursuit was, again, a big problem in this game. And on the offensive side of the ball, you know, you had no Tony Pollard. It felt so much like the Saints game last year in terms of

they were able to move the ball a little bit better in this game, but it felt so much like the same where it was like, you just kind of the entire game felt like, man, this doesn't feel like a three point game. This feels so just depleting. and helpless. And it's, that's what he was brought into change. That's what Mike McCarthy was brought into change, I think,

was a lot of the stale culture and a lot of the sort of issues you had with finishing games or doing certain things. And, you know, we saw them trying to take risks and go forward on fourth down. But, I mean, a lot of the same issues that you had with,

you're worried about your kicker. Is the pass rush improved? Is this or that different? And, you know, Team 17 Burger doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Team 40 Burger. No, me and me and Jeff Kavana are going to catch hell

if these guys don't start scoring more points. But you got, I got to say, the thing that was most frustrated to me was that Garrett's Giants scored one point fewer. I was really cheering for at least 18 points from the Giants. Oh, that's because you're a jerk. No, I just, you know. Why do you wish that on me?

Some men want to watch the world burn. That is literally, that's me. No, that's genuinely, that's genuinely, me, but it is just, it's interesting that it feels like so much of what was alleged to be different. Like, you know, everybody's talking about no more running on first down and, and no more, you know, doing this or that. Tony Pollard's going to be out there and we're going to see this and that. And I think we saw some of it.

But how much of it do you think is indicative of there's a difference here? Like, like, this is, there's not the difference that we thought. It's going to be kind of more of the same versus you had Terrence steel blocking for you at right tackle. Like some of these quick throw, we kept seeing Amari running these quick seven yard out and just, okay, snap the ball and Mari goes, throw it. How much of it do you think is like, okay, this is kind of the West Coast offense. It's not as vertical as we all thought it might be versus they just had to get the ball out quick because of the pressure that was going to be coming. Well, I mean, this is, this is boring. I know it's not a hot take, but I mean, like, it is okay

to say it's too soon. You know, it's one, it's one game. Um, you know, we, don't have to say it all over again. New coaching staff, very weird offseason, you know, not, not a whole lot of time to get everything humming the way that you probably prefer. But it is fair to say that they looked alarmingly similar. Like, I don't need to go over it all again. You just said it. I mean, I think Tony Pollard got one carry on an end-to-round or a jet motion. You know, he got like four yards, like, whoop-de-do. Like, that was the one big thing. And then, you know, the fourth and three recall in the in the rams red zone you know i don't think that's something jason garrett would ever consider so like those are the two big things but even even with those two things like i just looked it up on

the play by play like uh cowboys tried a 53 yard field goal on fourth and seven from what was that uh from the la 35 uh and i know for i know fourth and seven is long but i mean that's the stuff that used to drive us crazy with jason garrett and you know we spent all training camp saying like Zerline's not kicking from long range. That's because McCarthy knows better. Turns out when the lights are on and the game's happening, not so much. So it was a bummer how similar it looked. But that doesn't mean it'll stay that way.

I don't think you can make sweeping prognostications like that. And thanks to the NFL, the All-22 last time I checked is still not out. Yeah, I just had a tweet about that. Somebody was sending me a tweet, like as if I have. the answer to that. I don't. I don't know where it is. It's not a cheap service. So the fact that I still haven't seen the all 22, three, four days after the game is really annoying. But the point I was going to make is I assume that the Rams were playing a lot of deep zone, probably a lot of too high safety as well, to try to mitigate those long throws. And teams are going to do that, especially when you have a

receiver core like this, which makes it all the more sucky that. Blumannes, Lake Jarwin is out because that's the type of guy that can help you open that type of stuff up. So, you know, like I said, I don't want to overreact to one game, but a lot of the same disheartening stuff that we watched last season still looked like it was there for week one. And that that was a bummer. Okay. So then I guess just looking at it through this lens of all the things that were potentially concerning or didn't go the way they want, which I think when it comes down to a three point loss on the road. know on the road is something totally different this year than in years past. But when it comes down to a three point loss on the road, that felt about as bad as a three point loss could. Like it didn't feel like there were so many things that you wanted to see

improve from last season that didn't seem improved. There were injuries all over the place and there were just a lot of execution issues. And so there were things to be concerned about or things that weren't great. What would you say from that game or some of the common concerns you've heard, what do you think is the biggest overreaction versus what do you think is like, okay, this bear is watching, this has the potential to be a long-term thing that we thought was going to be different that isn't? I think anything, anything about the offense is probably an overreaction other than, I already said, you know, they lost their starting tight in for the season and they don't have a great replacement. But, I mean, you look at it. I know,

I know they only scored 17 points. I get it. But, you know, you know, you know, three of 13, like, I don't believe three of 13 on third down is like they're not going to sustain that. They'll get better at that. You think about the fact that they have a rookie right tackle playing his first NFL game. You think about the fact that I thought all things considered for losing a game where he only scored 17 points. I thought DAC was pretty wonderful. You know, I saw a pro football focus graded him out as the fifth best quarterback of the weekend. I thought he made some fantastic throws he took what was given to him the scrambling ability was on display um not perfect definitely not but i thought he played really well zeke obviously had an amazing game and then the big three

receivers combined for 18 catches and 200 yards and you know if not for a questionable OPI you're talking about 19 for 250 and maybe setting up a chance to tire win the game so i'm really not worried about the offense. Not yet. I thought they were, I thought they were fine, all things considered. Some of the stuff with the defense, I don't think you can say the same thing because it just looked, it just looked so yucky. It just, it looks so, like, particularly on a guy like Jalen Smith, where it looked so different for, and I know it's camp, but it looked so different from what you see at camp in terms of how he had been moving. It was all the same sort of over-pursued issues, it felt like. I made this point on our podcast, Cowboys Break, and I'll be interested to see how it

plays out. But I think, and there's a reason, I'm not trying to let myself off the hook. Jalen did look really good at camp, but I think you have to acknowledge that there's a difference between installing during training camp, you know, literally they were installing the playbooks and like setting up the offense and defense that they want to run, making sure everybody knows their assignments. It's like the purpose of training camp is not necessarily to exploit the defense. You know, it's to get everybody comfortable with what they're running, right? Yeah. Whereas the Rams sat down and said, okay, here's what we know about Jalen Smith and here's

how we're going to take advantage of it. And it didn't seem like he rose very well to that occasion. You know, the defense, to their credit, they did buckle down as the game went along. You know, I think if you tell me that the, if you tell me the defense is going to allow 20 points, I'll assume that the Cowboys are going to win a lot of games. But that early going, the first two drives really set the tone for everything, where they weren't ready for misdirection, they weren't ready for the screens, they didn't tackle well in open space.

I thought, and the linebackers were a big part of that. So it was just concerning to see that a lot of the same sloppiness was on display. One more just touch point from the Rams game before we look to something else here. I know everybody's talking about like, should you have gone forward on fourth down, which I think generally it was well received. I think most people were fine with them going forward on fourth down. I think people had bigger problem with the third and six run than the actual fourth down decision. And I think a lot of people felt like, okay, that's even a route that you feel okay about if it's just run a little deeper or whatever. I guess my thing is, why did you kick a field goal on fourth and six to make it 2017?

That was the one where it's like I don't see how the analytics can tell you one thing at 20 to 17 that didn't tell you at 20 to 14 or on 4th and 6. As everybody had said, they made up their mind they were going forward on 4th down which means at 3rd and 6 had Zeke been stuffed for nothing

they were going forward on 4th and 6 then. That's the thing I don't understand. Why did you kick the field goal to get within a field goal? I don't think if they had gotten stuffed, I think they would have kicked, honestly. I think if they lost yards they would have kicked. but I feel like they were going for it. I think they, which I honestly,

I think I'm the only person on planet Earth that liked the run call. Like everybody's like, why are you running on third and six? Why are you running on third and six? Because there were five guys in the box and nobody expects you to do that. And Zeeke had been running well all night. So you say, we've got a really favorable look.

At the bare minimum, Zique is probably going to get three or four. And if we do our jobs the right way, he might pick up the first down. And if he doesn't, we'll be close enough that a fourth down should be really, easy to pick up. So the run call really didn't bother me at all. I'd like, that's the type of stuff I wanted Jason Garrett to do for years where you're thinking a snap ahead of time and saying, okay, we're going to

do this. And based on the result, we feel pretty good that we're setting ourselves up for fourth down. Because I think if that had been Jason Garrett, he would have called time out. And him and Kellan Moore and Dak would have had a really stern conversation. And then they would have sent out the field goal team. Like that's what would have happened if Jason Garrow was the happen. But I mean, shouldn't you, even if you get the favorable look, which by the way, I do think it's funny.

I think what it reminded me of, and I don't know if you remember this, you remember like the third and 12 run call on the road against the Giants in 2016, where they called a pitch play to Z. Do you remember? No, because it was a big deal. Am I rain man?

No, because they called a pitch. Bradis talked about this in depth with you on the air. So that's why I was wondering if you remember it. Maybe. is that they called a pitch play on like third and 12 and everybody ripped it and it picked up like three yards. But then when you looked at the all 22 later, it was like there was just one guy to block and somebody had missed a block. Otherwise, like Zeke was going to go to the house for 80 yards on a third down call. But it felt like that.

Is there my thing is like, do you not trust DAC on two opportunities? You don't trust him to get the first down from six yards out if you give him two cracks at it? No, I definitely. Or three if you go forward on fourth and six down six. I'm ob like I'm firmly part of the DAC hive obviously I trust him but like isn't football all about like deception and doing what people don't expect you to do and Zik had been running the ball really well there's a limit to ah the unexpected let's get like I mean it's 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 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.

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but I wouldn't say like, oh, that's a good call. If you know ahead of time that you're also going to go forward on fourth, so you have two downs to get six yards, I don't hate that call, especially because defenses probably aren't going to be looking run when you're an 11 personnel on 3rd and 6. I think I sent you this. I think you saw this. But the stunning thing to me was that if you looked at over the weekend,

there were 40 plays that trailing teams ran in opposing territory. So they're like in the Cowboys were the only one. One out of 40 plays was a run and it was the Cowboys. I mean, they're thinking a step ahead, baby. They're thinking a step. You are, it's the meme. You're doing the meme. You're doing the think about it meme.

We're like, we need the, what's the exploding brain meme? Like the brain gets getting glow like that. That feels so much of like what the Cowboys have done for so many years. And I guess that's the frustrating thing. And this is a good transition point because this is the biggest thing I want to touch on. because I know you said... Wait, before you do, I do want to bring up because I've defended the call all week,

but I will say this. I actually, I talked to Bucky Brooks from NFL Network today. Name dropper. I know, right? I'm such a douche. Jeez. He made the really good point that, you know, the Rams dictated that whole game.

They had the lead for the majority of it, not all of it, but a lot of it. It really felt like the Rams' offense was dictating the pace and the circumstances the Cowboys were just trying to keep up, at least that's how I felt. And I think like that shouldn't be the case with the personnel you have. No, absolutely. And that's where it falls on McCarthy to me.

But at that point in the game, it is what it is. But the reason I bring it up is, I think that's probably why they went for it, which is to say, we're going to take the lead and start dictating this game. We're not, we're tired of trying to keep up with the Rams. But what Bucky brought up that I hadn't really thought about is, as bad, as they looked at the start, the defense was doing its thing in the fourth quarter. They didn't allow points in the fourth. They only allowed seven points after halftime. I think they forced three punts from the halfway through the third quarter until the end of the game. So

knowing that your defense had rebounded a little bit, maybe you do kick that field goal. And it might not have bit you in the butt too much. But I respect that they were trying to take control of the game. And I respect that they had the guts to do something like that. I didn't mind it at all. 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 enchanted rose medley for $39.99, or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1-800flowers.com slash tune in.

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the analytics nerds or the or the math nerds or whatever you said I don't I don't know I said that with love in my heart I'm like I'm pro analytics I don't want anybody to think that I'm not no like I said because then you followed it up with like a yeah you should pass it more and so it was like very much like I replied you with the clip it was very much like the Rick James clip from Chappelle show from years ago where he's like, I don't know, I wouldn't just stomp my feet on somebody's couch just to do it. Yeah, I remember stomping my feet on his couch. Like it was very much like just you had changed your mind in about half a second on Twitter. But didn't change my mind. All that to say here, because this is something like, I know

I've, I've had these conversations with you and, and with other people. I think that there is a little bit of, I said this to Ari Temkin and Roy White recently when I was talking with them on their podcast. One of them had said, like, what do you think we're going to see different? You know, what do you think is going to be different about Mike McCarthy this time? And I told them then, I said, I honestly don't think there's going to be a single thing different about Mike McCarthy this time around. I don't buy the analytics conversion. I don't buy that he saw the light all of a sudden. Jane had done an interview with him, which we can actually play the clip real quick. You know, it was interesting. You've talked about the fact that you've now embraced

analytics. You've also said that a good run game helps make your quarterback successful, which sort of runs countered what the analytics community says. So how do you reconcile the two? Well, analytics has always been a part of the operation. Frankly, my entry into the league in 1993 was really through analytics. I think they called it quality control back then. But it's a big part of what we've always done every day. But the point about running the football, to me, to be effective in the action,

passing game is the need to run the football. So when you're able to run the football effectively, there's an opportunity. to get into more chunk offense because of the play action pass and in the fake game. So that's really the point I was making. So that's an issue that I have right there is that, you know, when you're asked about

analytics or anything else that your response is boy, let me tell you what I was doing in 1993. You want to hear about analytics. And it's frustrating to me that or not frustrated. I guess I'm frustrated by the interpretation that I think too many fans have bought in way too heavily

into him being some sort of you know, PFF save type of guy. I think that for what the Cowboys wanted, they wanted a guy with skins on the wall, they wanted somebody who was a veteran coach, they obviously wanted somebody they didn't have to give up draft picks for or anything else. I think given their stipulations

heading into the hiring process, they couldn't have hired anybody better, probably, the McCarthy. McCarthy was probably the best option. And so I don't want to make it sound like the hire was trash. But I do feel like there's been a bit of a bill of goods sold to the fan base here about how, analytically heavy Mike McCarthy's going to be. And I think that we saw seeds of that on Sunday not being the case other than just he's

aggressive on fourth down, which I don't think is enough to say you're an analytics guy. I completely agree. And I would say the bill of gold, wow, the bill of goods being sold by who? Because I haven't been pushing that narrative. I think the, and God bless him, he works for our network. I think the Tom Pelliserro piece that kind of like put out the, I think, and I, think McCarthy had a big hand in that. I think McCarthy won it, just like saying, I watched

every snap of the game, and then he says, well, I was kidding, by the way, and Stephen is sitting there, like, laughing as nervously as I think I've ever seen him look, like, geez, I hope this is a joke. I think, oh, sorry, go ahead. But just to say that, I think that was what, I think that packaged,

like, RJ Ochoa made a great reference to me, or made a great analogy to me, which is, you know these guys who train for specific drills at the combine, and they, and they, just look to like knock out and you get these combine warriors who then they go up the board and people go like, man, you kind of forgot he wasn't exactly that football player that you saw testing like that. It kind of felt like that's what McCarthy did is that McCarthy was like, I'm going to train for these drills in the combine. I'm going to train for these for the hiring

process. And it doesn't matter that this isn't the coach that I am. This is what I'm going to put out there. This is what I need to do. And then I'll get the job and I'll win my way. And I think that's what I mean by a bill of goods that I think the fans were convinced that, oh, this is different. This is like so forward thinking now and everything that we're going to do. And I don't think it's as forward thinking as the fans believed it was. Yeah. And I hope not too many fans believe that, basically.

That's my hope. And maybe that. You see your mentions. You know a lot of about that. I mean, my mentions aren't always a good cross section of the Cowboys fan base. And that's, you know, there's stupid people follow you. There's too many and a lot of really smart people. Don't be a jerk.

I know. I'm just kidding. A lot of stupid people follow me, to be fair. But, no, I mean, I think there's some validity to it. You know, I mean, Mike McCarthy did go visit the pro football focus offices during his year off. And I think he's looked into a lot of that. But yeah, like, regardless of what the NFL network feature said and like, regardless of what you've been told, I never believed Mike McCarthy was going to roll in here with a team of 25 analysts and do whatever the analytics people. So like that was that was never going to happen. He's he is a football coach with somewhat of an open mind about analytics, but still a guy who's been coaching a certain

way since yeah, like 1993. So I never, you know, I basically pegged it as he's probably going to be more aggressive on fourth down and hopefully he passes on first down a little bit more often than we're used to. Well, week one was not a great, was not a great, was not a great indicator of that being the case. But we'll see. But yeah, I mean, I guess I'm not, I'm not that bummed about it because I never believed it was going to be this revolutionary change. I guess this is what I would say. And again, I think anybody who bought it this way was probably, it was their own

wrong expectations. But I think a lot of people thought that, or think maybe still do, that Mike McCarthy this time around was going to be closer to Sean McVeigh, Andy Reed than he was to, than he is to Jason Garrett. And I think the reality is he is much closer to Jason Garrett in philosophy and belief than he is to Andy Reid or Sean McVeigh. I think that that's a probably, probably a fair thing to say. But my rebuttal to that, just, you know, I'm trying to keep people from wanting to like jump off the nearest bridge.

Which again, as I said, best possible hire given what they wanted. So I don't want to, I don't want to make it sound like it's, but I do think people need to have realistic expectations of, what Mike McCarthy is and what he's going to try to do. Not only that, not only that, but like, okay, and don't get me wrong. Like, it would be so fun if the Cowboys were more like the Chiefs or the Rams. Like, that would be so cool. I would love it.

But I don't think you have to completely tear the building down to turn this thing into a success. Like, minor tweaks are all I'm asking for. Like, better understanding of situational football, better understanding of risk taking. Like, I mean, it's disappointing that they didn't throw a little bit more often on first down. But, I mean, I saw a lot of encouraging things from the offense on Sunday night for a first game, to be honest with you. I think McCarthy's direct quote on Wednesday was, he said something like, we're a lot closer than I think people want to believe based on what we showed the other night. And I don't have a problem believing that because, again, you saw the pieces. I mean, Zieg looked great.

not and you know to go back to your point like you're dog and me for you know they've run Zique too much he scored that badass touchdown on a nice little flare out route from Dack yeah yeah I'll accept a pass to Zique I don't want to see Zeek carry the sweet spot to me I don't know if you he got it I mean I think the sweet spot to me is about 18 carries for Zique I don't want to see him averaging 22 a game how many did he have the other night 22 exactly 22 22 I think and our friends on Twitter made the very good point. Unfortunately, part of that too is whether it's subconscious or conscious. The guy's name is Ezekiel Elliott. He was the number four pick in the draft that he's playing on a

$90 million contract. And that's, that's again, I don't know this for sure, but I feel like the way Mike McCarthy has talked about things. I think that what some people thought was going to change, which was this line that the Jones is used to use, which is Zeke's the straw that stirs our drink. He's the engine of the office. I think Mike McCarthy believes Ezekiel Elliott is the engine. the offense. I think he believes that's where most things should flow out of. I think the fun thing is, and like I agree with your overall point. Like I would say, yeah, I think Mike McCarthy's closer to being more like Jason Garrett than Sean McBay. I think that's fair. But at the same time, I can't sit here one game into the

guy's tenure and feel as confident that he's going to stubbornly adhere to his philosophy. No, I mean, look, if we were going to extrapolate from one game, the Cowboys would have scored 35 a game last year and put up, you know, 400 yards past it. So I get, you don't want to extrapolate too much. So extrapolating too much kind of got you in trouble with expectations last year. And to that point, again, not to put everything over to Mike McCarthy, because remember, this is Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy. These are two different regimes now.

Is there a chance that, because I think everybody just naturally assumes or because things they've heard in interviews, they assume Kellyn Moore's super aggressive and wants to be Sean McVeigh. Do you think Kellyn Moore's, probably just more conservative than the general fan buys into and that maybe some of this is just that's what kellyn more wants that's i thought about that on sunday night where i was like well if we see this a few more times we're going to really have to start putting nails in that coffin of you know the idea that weeks one to three last year were just like the kellen more show and that was who kellen more is and let let kellen cook uh because i am under the impression that this is kellamore show

right now and it didn't look like that. So, and I, you know, I think you can't start making sweeping, sweeping generalizations about things until probably the end of September. Like once they've played four games. But four games without apparently like four starters until they get those guys. So it's still going to be tough. I really, I don't want to hear it. I mean, yeah, everybody deals with injuries.

And I imagine, I obviously, you know, I'm not a doctor. You're not a doctor. I know that catches people off guard. but you know I do kind of look at it and go okay you got LVEE Irving Blake Jarwin like how much of that is exactly what a lot of people have worried about like you know there's you got to get some reps in the preseason or you know you have things like this happen your body's not prepared for the full speed to just walk in September you can't tell me like I'm not saying he was great I think I saw pro football focus had Terrence Steele is like the second worst graded tackle in the NFL but you can't watch that game and tell me like they lost lost the game because Terrence Steele was just this, you know, he just compromised the entire offense. That's not what I saw. Did you see the next gen stats that's going around today?

The big one that's been retweeted about the Cowboys? I don't think so. So the eight worst pressure rates allowed by offenses last week all went 0 and 8. So the pressure rate and two teams were up over 40%. It was the Jets at 44.7. The second worst pressure rate was the Cowboys. They were allowing pressure on 40.5% of snaps. I didn't say they were good.

No, no, no, that's what I'm saying. I don't think you can pin an entire pressure rate on one player. And so, so, because I mean, there wasn't an Adrian Claiborne eight sack, like one man wrecking ball. Like, I think a lot of what you saw actually was, I mean, we've seen that clip getting passed around Twitter of Aaron Donald knocking Zach Martin on his ass. And so like, I mean, Aaron Donald's making an all pro look like that. It's just it was, I think it was frustrating that they seemed to get, because like you talked about earlier, this, you know, two high safeties and, and, and, and a lot of, you know, lot of the zone coverages and everything. It seemed like they were getting home with like minimal effort, the Rams without sending a

and that's the concerning thing. I think as we kind of move forward in the future, even if Lyle Collins comes back. I don't think Lyle Collins coming back is going to fix, you know, a 40% pressure rate to, oh yeah, now it's the Great Wall of Dallas again. It just feels like there's some, I mean, you got to remember, you got no Travis Frederick anymore. Connor Williams is, we still haven't totally seen it from Connor Williams. and you do have Tyron Smith who's starting to break down a little bit. It just, it's maybe there's not enough talk about where this offensive line actually is these days.

I, it's funny because I was about to say, I think the smart fan, or I don't want to say smart, I don't want to be condescending, but like, if you're paying attention, you should have noticed that it hasn't been the quote unquote great wall of Dallas in three or four years. 16 was probably the last time. 16 was incredible. incredible. When Doug Free leaving, kind of it all started to go downhill from there. Yeah, and I mean, 17, they were good until Tyron got hurt.

And then, you know, everything went to hell after that between the combination of Travis got Gian Barre. Tyron continues to pile up injuries. Zach started dealing with his injuries. Connor Williams hasn't been terrible, but he's certainly... Don't forget the Paul Alexander experience in there. You're absolutely right. And so basically, right now, I would say, The Cowboys have two really amazing offensive linemen, Tyrone and Zach, when they're healthy.

Lyle Collins was trending in a hell of a direction, but you can't rely on him right now. And it just kind of is what it is. And if I'm looking for encouragement, I think it's mainly that DAC has gotten so much better at navigating the pocket. I do believe 2017, 2018, he probably takes two extra sacks in that game. as a you know he got out of it with three which still isn't great but I think he gets sacked a lot more off in a couple years ago I think he's learned a lot about how to deal with that which part of that is by necessity unfortunately so I want to just because you know to bring it all full circle I want to I want to close

on a depressing note or get you to the potential I know I know we went like in the span of like and that's the funny thing is like I don't think anybody thought the cowboys were a lock to win that game No, no, again, I think it's the way it went down, though. It's the way it happened. It looked way too familiar. I'm not trying to tell anybody they should feel happy about it, but like, man, we went from 40 burgers and 12 and 4 and NFC title game to like,

you know, this might be the worst team in the NFC, according to the narrative. I think is, I still think, I know a lot. Real fast. I know, I know broadest pushed back against this. I still think they were one of the most talented teams just naturally last season in the NFL, and I still believe that now. I think they're going to be minimum of 500 team just because of their level of talent. I think they are incredibly talented, and they'll just win some games naturally that way. But they ran with Terrence Steel at right tackle,

which was odd, because I think a lot of people just expected Cam Irving. And if you weren't going to go Cam Irving, I think a lot of people would have defaulted to Brandon Knight because he's somebody who did step in last year. And so that didn't happen. And you had Connor Williams starting this year, and then when Connor Williams went out of the game at one point with his little shoe issue, It was Tyler B. Otis that came in. And we talked about, you know, um, these Cam Irving was apparently kind of not just a swing tackle.

I guess he was more viewed as just a swing everything. Like he can do everything on the line. And so he was viewed as the backup at a number of positions. Um, and then inactive was Connor McGovern. What do you think is the deal? And again, this is kind of a random place to go off of.

But I feel like with the defense, with the offensive line breaking down like it has, you've got this third round pick who was not active at all last year and apparently like cannot surpass Tyler Biotish, Terrence Steele, like he's somebody who was allegedly supposed to be able to play guard, tackle center, kind of play all over, and he can't even be active in a time where you don't have Lyle Collins and you've got an undrafted free agent starting at right tackle. And it just seems like the Connor McGovern thing is there's some, I feel like there's some negativity surrounding his stock right now within the building.

Yeah, well, I mean, you got to consider it negative stock when, Well, he was the top 100 pick. And yeah, we haven't really, no, we definitely haven't seen him do anything in a game because he was hurt all last year and he was inactive on Sunday. And that's, it's definitely not great. Purely from a logic standpoint, I guess if I had to guess why he was inactive, I never, maybe I'm wrong. I can go back and look like I never got the sense that anybody expected McGovern to ever play tackle.

He was a guard center almost all the way. He did play, he did play, but I mean, he had the flexibility, dude. It's not just like Connor Williams, some flexibility to play tackle, but they're not putting Connor Williams at tackle probably. Connor Williams was an all-conference tackle in college. I think there's a slight difference there. Okay, whatever. But okay. But the point being, UT forever, LSU for never. Cool. How'd that scoreboard work out for you? Screw you. Okay, okay. Even if you want to say guard, you're still then,

Connor Williams struggling and then the backup's behind them are Biotish and Irving. My guess, my guess is that purely from a functional standpoint, and I've got another point I want make in a minute. But Tyler Beiotish is a very pure center. He won the Remington Award in college last year, you know, best college center at Wisconsin. I'm guessing that they prefer Beiotish as the center if Joe Looney is unavailable. But he did come in and play for Connor Williams when he went out. No, he did. But what I'm saying is they're like, all right, we've got two guys that have guard center flexibility. They can both do both. And one of them, we think, is clearly much better at center. So let's make him active. So that's my guess. But the other point I want to make is, I wonder how much Joe

Philbin has to do with it because coaches have so much sway. And we know that from, you know, we know that from Rod Marinelli and, you know, the way that he used to get his way with the players. Or even going back to Rich Basaccia, like the Cowboys made so many decisions based on what Rich Pisachia needed for his special teams. So in my mind, I wonder, I mean, I mean, you got to keep that in mind. The coaching staff that wanted Connor McGovern's gone. They're not here. Like Mark Columbo and Jason Garrett loved Connor McGovern.

Joe Philbin might be like, oh, this guy is really not something that I'm looking for. And another, you know, more evidence of that is I'm very, I was stunned that Terrence Steele was named the starter. And that's not even thinking about Cam Irving. Like you said, I was thinking about Brandon Knight. The guy came in and started twice last year and played really well. he was all conference. I think he was honorable mention all conference at Indiana and college as a right tackle. Like that's his natural position. And they seem to see him as a guard. Like he was a swing guard the other night too. I'm not sure he would have played tackle if he had to. So I wonder if we're seeing evidence of the difference in philosophy. And if that's the case, it sucks for Connor McGovern, but the people that were in his corner aren't here anymore. Well, and if that's the case, And we have issues of coaching staff looking at a roster that they may be as talented, but like, okay, this is a square peg and we're trying to put in a round hole and things like that.

Are they potentially farther away than this staff is prepared to take them because they feel like, okay, we like some guys here, but we don't think everybody's where they need to be. And so there's going to be an adjustment period where we're going to have to cycle out some of this roster depth over the course of the next year. And like that next year is more going to be the time where we see a what might, Mike McCarthy wants this team to be. Well, yeah, I mean, he was, he was never going to get the perfect roster that he wanted in his first year. But I will, I mean, at the end of the day, we're still talking about depth guys.

Like, I think Mike McCarthy probably feels pretty good about all of the stars. Sure, but you need your depth guys just about everywhere right now. No, that's, no, you absolutely do. And, and that's what we're going to see play out. But, I mean, I don't, I don't think there's this massive overall in the works. I think, you know, I would assume Tyler Beaudish is going to take. over for Joe Looney, if not this, if not at some point this season, the next year. Like, that's, that's the center Mike McCarthy wanted. And, you know, you've got depth that can handle

the, the left guard spot. I don't think, you know, Tyron and Lylel both aren't going anywhere in the near future. I am curious about what they want to do about their defensive line because with the exception of, I mean, you know, they drafted Neville Gallimore, but he doesn't seem ready to step in right away, which isn't surprising. But, you know, Don Tari Poe, Antoine Woods, I feel like those are really more like stopgaps than anything else. Albin Smith is on a one-year deal. So, yeah, I mean, yeah, Mike McCarthy's going to have to take some time

to rework things the way he wants to, but I don't think it's going to get in the way of them being a successful football team this year. No, but I just mean in terms of like being able to see that Mike McCarthy is having to structure a game plan around potentially pieces is that he, these aren't, this isn't what he envisions for his perfect. So he's doing a little bit of adjusting. And so like we won't be able to see necessarily what he wants this team to look like functionally until sometime next year.

I don't know anything about offensive line play. You should have just drafted Sadiq Charles. He wasn't win. He wasn't there. Third round. Third round. He went five. He went five picks into the round.

Of the fourth round. Of the fourth round. You should have taken him in the third when you took Neville Gallimore. I mean, I'm an LSU guys, so I'm not going to argue with you there, but sorry, buddy, it didn't work out. I'll have to share a funny quote with you later, but I can't do that on a camera. I would love, I would love to see Brandon Knight get a look out there at right tackle until Lylel can come back because I, I mean, I thought he played great last year when he was given

the opportunity. Great relative to expectations, obviously. Yeah, like, no, I mean, he wasn't as an undrafted rookie, right, just as an undrafted rookie who was stepping. He was Terrence Steele last year. Like last year they were like, oh God, we got to pull. I think played better against the Jets than Terrence Steele did against the Rams. Much better.

And he played well against the Packers too. Lyle left that game in the third quarter. Right. And he had to go against Preston and Zadarius Smith. And I mean, I know the Cowboys lost the game, but he handled it well. Yeah. No, it was. And I don't want to sound too, you know, down in the mouth.

I'm just, you know, they lost. You're a miserable. You're a miserable lout. I am a miserable person, but I'm like garbage. The old band Garbage from the 90s. You remember them? They have that song, I'm only happy when it rains. That's me. Pour your misery down on me.

David Helman, thank you so much for sitting in for Jane Slater today. Anytime. I mean, Jane's nicer to look at, but I feel like most of these people aren't going to be watching anyway. Oh, wow. Thanks. Dave doesn't think we have anybody who watches our YouTube videos, but thanks. I mean, I only listen to podcasts in the car. I can only speak for myself, but whatever. I know, but you also believe in running the ball.

You're an old man who doesn't believe in analytics, so it doesn't surprise me that you still cling to the radio. We're trying to get out of this, so I'm just going to let you put those words in my mouth, even though they're not true. Thanks, everybody. We'll talk to you next week. Hi, I'm Flo from Progressive. Being a baseball fanatic like me can be stressful.

It's not all sports points and touchdowns. So Progressive is going to help you take your mind off your team for a moment. Instead of thinking about how they miss that gold point score, think about the name your price tool from Progressive letting you choose coverage options based on your budget, unlike your team that missed the end zone net area. Well, anyway, hope this distraction about Progressive's name your price tool was helpful. It sure kept me from thinking about all those penalty balls.

Yay, sports! Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, price and coverage match limited by state law. 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.

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