- 11 hours ago
The GBAG Nation broke down the latest news from around the NFL, including the Cowboys 1st-round pick Caleb Downs switching his number ahead of OTAs. They also analyzed Brian Schottenheimer’s high praise for Downs, debated over the defensive "green dot", Javonte Williams potential to chase a rushing title, and more.
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00:00What in the world is going on?
00:02Caleb Downs is now set to wear number 13 ahead of Cowboys OTAs, according to the Cowboys Pro Shop.
00:09Thank you to our buddy Tommy Yarish for putting that out in the world.
00:13Now, numbers are always subject to change from now until the start of the regular season, Tommy says, which...
00:19Don't buy the jersey. Just don't do it. Okay? Just wait. Just wait.
00:25I'm willing to put a bet payoff on the line here.
00:27That could be like a collector's item, though. Be scarce.
00:30Yeah, that's true. Maybe it wouldn't be one you'd want, or people would realize what was going on.
00:34You could try and collect all of the ones that he's ever worn. Get like an 18, a 13, and
00:39a 2.
00:39I got the OTA throwback, bro.
00:41Yeah, I can't believe that when the season starts, all over Kobe Durant, who might be a good player for
00:46the Cowboys this year.
00:47I don't want to just totally rip on Kobe Durant.
00:51But Caleb Downs has a chance to be your best defensive player this year.
00:56And I don't think that's too far-fetched to say.
00:58The face of the defense.
00:59Come on, now. The dude needs to wear his number.
01:01Sam Howells also changed from 13 to 16, the backup quarterback.
01:06And then Jordan Hudson, SMU zone, who I think might have a chance to make this team, is changing from
01:1016 to 18 now that Downs isn't wearing 18.
01:13But we got Caleb Downs rocking the 13 for right now, maybe into training camp.
01:19But by the start of the regular season, I feel like he's still going to be in the two.
01:23I still don't know why this angers me as much as it does.
01:25But every time I see something like this, my blood is boiling.
01:27I'm like, this is ridiculous.
01:29You kind of know what this means, right?
01:31Nobody's going to step in.
01:32This is going to be up to Downs to negotiate it with Durant.
01:36Because if the organization or a coach or somebody was going to step in and facilitate this or require it
01:42from Durant, it would have already happened.
01:44Right.
01:45Right.
01:45I mean, where's Rich when you need him?
01:47Fix this, bleep Rich.
01:49I mean, come on now.
01:49This is ridiculous.
01:50But I'm surprised you don't want rookies to earn it, though.
01:53You're just going to hand the keys over to anything this guy wants?
01:56Yeah.
01:57Caleb Downs?
01:58Absolutely.
01:58I'm handing the keys over to whatever he wants.
02:00This dude's a rare breed.
02:02I've talked about him in the same realm as some of the best safeties that have ever come through the
02:07draft.
02:07I'm going back to Sean Taylor, Eric Berry.
02:11You name the great.
02:12He could benefit from some humbling, you know?
02:14You don't think he sounds humble?
02:16You hear what he told Chris Carter?
02:17I love it.
02:18That's confidence.
02:18I'm the best No. 2 in the history of Ohio State.
02:20Was he wrong?
02:22You're talking about Chris Carter, Lulchuk.
02:24A wide receiver.
02:25I think you're disrespecting Caleb Downs.
02:26An actual touchdown scorer.
02:27A national champion.
02:28A guy who never allowed a single touchdown when he was the primary defender in coverage over two years at
02:33Ohio State.
02:33Hey, Caleb Downs.
02:34What has he done?
02:35He won a natty.
02:36He was the best player in Alabama defense that resulted in a ton of first-round picks.
02:40Listen, man, I'm with you.
02:41I mean, I think this guy is just an absolute star.
02:44Hey, if you don't want to hear from me, Brian Schottenheimer.
02:47Brian, take it away.
02:48Keep glazing Caleb Downs.
02:51The person elite, the intelligence elite, it's cool for me on the field to watch the ability for him to
02:59be going in any direction and how quickly he can get into balance.
03:03Why that matters is it matters with the ability to tackle in open field space, make plays on the ball
03:09in coverage, time-up blitzes.
03:11He's just got incredible lower-body athleticism that when you watch him, he always gets into that same position where
03:18he's ready to strike with the same foot, same shoulder, whether it's left foot forward, right foot forward.
03:23And the way he moves in the individual periods, which is what really most of this camp is going to
03:29be, is mostly individual.
03:30It's very impressive how he can do that.
03:34Just to go, and also Brian Schottenheimer saying the communication of this guy is different.
03:39He's not asking approval.
03:40He's saying he's close left, rip, rip, loo, loo, whatever the plays are.
03:44He's driving the defense.
03:45Knowledge ignites confidence.
03:47Be a student of your craft, and that's what he is.
03:50Don't worry about the green dot stuff.
03:51It's not going to matter, because you've got the guy that's going to get everybody where they need to be
03:54anyway.
03:55He knows his right and left.
03:56I think we're all looking at, like I said yesterday, I think we're all looking at the green dot stuff
04:00as the guy, that's your leader of the defense.
04:03That's why we're making such a big thing about the green dot, because several years ago we didn't have the
04:08green dot stuff.
04:09Everybody's talked about that.
04:10We signaled in plays, guys communicated, the safeties talked to the corners, linebackers talked to the defensive line.
04:16You know, we're making a big deal about the green dot, because we're taking that as the leader of the
04:23defense.
04:24Which is going to be downs, in my opinion.
04:26Very well could be.
04:27And they've had bad communication on defense.
04:29Yeah, they've had busts.
04:30Yeah, exactly.
04:31I mean, that's the thing about it.
04:32That's, you know, to me, it is kind of where it's at.
04:37Because we want a green dot guy, because that signifies who the leader on the defense is.
04:44And so, I think we just need to give all that a rest.
04:48The green dot stuff?
04:49Yep.
04:50Yeah, they don't seem to be thinking it's that big of a deal.
04:52I mean, Scott Simons definitely, when he talked to us, was like, eh.
04:54I mean, we're going to let everybody get the calls, and it's fine.
04:57You'll know who the leader of the defense is.
04:58Caleb Downs will be.
05:00What you need is a smart defense.
05:01That's the important thing.
05:02It'll be fine.
05:03Yeah.
05:04817 said, let him wear 11.
05:05That'd kind of be hilarious.
05:07Yeah, it'd be Roman numeral number two.
05:10And it would kind of signify that you're taking the torch of best player on defense from Micah Parsons.
05:16Yeah.
05:17That's if you want to crown his ass already.
05:19Crown him.
05:19Crown his ass.
05:20I will.
05:21And I have.
05:22Now, this was enlightening from one Steve Sarkeesian.
05:26I was trying to think of a great defensive player that was 13.
05:30I was just, maybe I'm...
05:31Maybe I'm overshown.
05:33I was talking about a healthy, great defensive player.
05:36I don't think there have been a lot, because I don't think a lot of defense players were wearing 13
05:39up until the new jersey change.
05:42So, I can't really think of a ton of great 13 defenders.
05:45He could be a pioneer, making the number cool.
05:49Who had the thought about the 11?
05:52Somebody texted that in.
05:53I like that.
05:53Yeah, it's kind of gone viral a little bit on Cowboys Twitter.
05:56People are having fun with it.
05:58I don't know.
05:59It makes a lot of sense.
06:00It's Roman numeral number two.
06:01Yeah.
06:02Yeah, I could see that.
06:03I mean, that might not be a bad pivot.
06:04Here was Sarke with Josh Pate.
06:07Now, in the offseason, he's talking some NIL stuff, but also who does he visit with NFL coaches?
06:12Do we consider Brian Schottenheimer in the same realm as offensive minds as the other coaches he's going to name
06:18here?
06:19How often are you reaching out to people for advice?
06:21Yes, and when you're reaching out to them, what do you find yourself most frequently seeking advice on?
06:28Everyone will say we've evolved since 20, 25 years ago.
06:30There's no doubt.
06:31We've evolved in the last five years.
06:34These guys we're recruiting now were in the seventh, eighth grade when NIL started.
06:39Well, this is all they know, and so the perspective has changed.
06:43These high school kids have agents.
06:45Well, how do we still motivate these guys to understand the value of team?
06:50And with team success comes the individual accolades, awards, and honors.
06:55I love the X's and O's aspect of it, and I've got a lot of great friends that I try
06:58to tap into and meet with in the month of May.
07:01That's a lot of what I do with guys in the NFL, and it might be one play that I'm
07:07going to go visit Sean McVay about
07:08or a Kyle Shanahan or a Brian Schottenheimer.
07:11But I think that that part's important because I just don't ever want to get stale at what we do.
07:20McVay, Shanty, Shottie.
07:21Wow.
07:23I mean, I think there's definitely a gap there.
07:25I mean, I wonder, would you rather, if you're talking X's and O's, do you want to talk to Shottie
07:28or do you want to talk to Clayton Adams?
07:31I think I'd be talking to Clayton Adams, and I think Shottie kind of acknowledges that or that's the reason
07:37he brought Adams in.
07:38Yeah, for sure.
07:40I think you talk to Shottie because he doesn't have the understanding of how to teach and coach everything that's
07:47modern,
07:48but he knows that you have to be pursuing all of the latest trends.
07:52Like, I imagine Shottie is tracking everything that the new coaches are doing,
07:57and that's how he knew to go get Clayton Adams and Christian Parker.
08:01So I think Shottie can sort of point you in the direction of the modern teachers or schemers that are
08:07doing the innovating,
08:08just because how much he's all over it, like a great head coach or like a great general manager would
08:14be.
08:14I think, to me, when you start to talk about those guys, I think Schottenheimer's probably the most accessible.
08:23And I say, you know, in a way of like easy to talk to, if you reached out to him
08:29because he's kind of gone through that,
08:31being a coordinator and being a position coach, there are probably better coaches to talk to about that than him.
08:38But the fact that he is fairly accessible, I think he'd be an easy guy to call up and say,
08:45hey, listen, do you have a few minutes of time because he's kind of been there?
08:49I think McVay and Shanahan, they've kind of been through maybe not as much as what Schottenheimer has.
08:56Their path to the top has been a little bit less than what Shottie had to go through.
09:01But I think there's a lot of accessibility to that.
09:04That, hey, if – listen, if you want to – okay, if you guys want to go talk defense, who
09:10are you going to go call?
09:11If you want to talk defense, who are you going to talk to?
09:13Mike McDonald comes to mind right now.
09:16I mean, Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, those type of guys.
09:19Fangio.
09:20See, that's what I'm saying.
09:21Fangio.
09:22You name three guys that are really, really good and probably not accessible.
09:27Not going to pick up the phone.
09:28Not going to –
09:28Kind of grumpy.
09:29They're not going to help you.
09:30Yeah.
09:30They're not going to help you.
09:31McDonald will help you.
09:33You know, younger coaches –
09:34The older, like been there, done that.
09:36Yeah.
09:36Like, I'm good.
09:37There's some older coaches that just won't – they won't help you.
09:41They don't want to go through.
09:43I mean, I'm sure that if you had a relationship with Belichick, you know, but if you were calling
09:48up as a young coach and say, hey, Gus, I'd love to spend the day with you, he'd go, what?
09:54You know?
09:54And Shottie does relish those opportunities.
09:56I mean, he was talking about how he – like, when he found Clayton Adams.
10:00Like, he goes and will reach out to other coaches around the league, like, who are some young
10:03up-and-coming names that I should connect with?
10:06And then he'll go chat with those guys.
10:08So, he does kind of have a pulse on maybe who are some of the better young minds in
10:13the game.
10:13And, I mean, hell, we saw him at the Texas Pro Day.
10:15I mean, he was making the rounds, talking with Arge, talking with Cam Coleman, their
10:18new wide receiver.
10:19He obviously has a really good relationship with Sark.
10:22So, I get that.
10:23It's just – I don't know that we ever really – like, he's mentioning, okay, the top
10:26two offensive names in the sport right now, in Shanahan and McVay.
10:29And then, oh, Brian Schottenheimer.
10:31And, hey, the Cowboys' offense was great.
10:33But, boy, I mean, they were talking about pressure this morning on Sean and RJ.
10:38I mean, there's going to be pressure on Brian.
10:40If all of a sudden this offense takes a step back, what the hell happened?
10:44The defense was so bad.
10:46And I think that was one of my questions I always kind of ask you guys during
10:50Krusty's Corner is, who's the pressure on?
10:53Is it on Parker?
10:54Is it on – Schottenheimer can't take a step back.
10:58He can't.
10:59The defense can't be any worse than it was last year.
11:02You're right.
11:03The defense was so bad, it really glossed over us having conversations about the
11:07red zone issues, the slow starts, then the inability to score touchdowns in the
11:12second half.
11:12Like, it's not like the offense was perfect.
11:14We look back statistically, it looks great.
11:17But when we go ahead and really dive into all 17 games of the season, there were
11:23flaws on that side of the football.
11:25It wasn't always just roses.
11:26And they were telling us that even at the height of the excitement early in the season, where
11:31it was like, oh my goodness, this offense might be the best in the NFL.
11:35I remember the coordinator days of Clayton Adams saying, there's a lot of stuff that we
11:39need to get better at, or we're going to get exposed.
11:42And they were.
11:43I feel like they were about five of the 17 games that really did not go well offensively.
11:49And that's too many.
11:50That's too high of a ratio.
11:51Sure.
11:51I mean, the Bears game, just an inability to really move.
11:54The opening drive looked good, then they fumbled.
11:57And then after that, the offense kind of went kaput.
11:59You end up losing that one.
12:00There were several where it just kind of dried up against Detroit.
12:03It started off hot, and then it kind of fizzled.
12:05Minnesota.
12:06But this is really cool that Sark looks to Shoddy as a guy that he can tap into wisdom
12:12on.
12:12Because again, that goes to maybe Shoddy updating the Jones family's operating system as
12:19far as their brainpower and how they look at the game, their mindset on how they problem
12:23solve in the NFL.
12:24It's just fantastic.
12:25And I think how we get here is after things didn't go well for Shoddy in Seattle, he's
12:30thinking as he's going over the age of 50, this is my last chance.
12:34And he spent that time where he was consulting and maybe didn't have the day-to-day grind of
12:40a head coach or a coordinator.
12:42And he used all that extra time to study the league and who was having success.
12:46Because, of course, he notices how popular the modern coaching stuff is in all these
12:52coaching searches.
12:53It's going to be brought up.
12:54And the fan bases in all NFL markets are now demanding it.
12:58100%.
12:59So what did Shoddy do?
13:00He does a full comprehensive study constantly.
13:03And as a result of that, I think a guy like Sark recognizes the depth of his knowledge about
13:09the league right now.
13:10When's the last time the Cowboys had a head coach that had this depth of knowledge around
13:15the league, that one of the top college head coaches would call you and say, man, let
13:20me pick your brain about what's working?
13:22It's a hell of a commentary about where we are.
13:25No, I think it's high praise for Shoddy.
13:27And I think, look, at the way the defensive coordinator search went.
13:29I mean, I think that's kudos to him as well.
13:31I mean, they were interviewing a lot of guys that maybe the rest of the league, and really
13:35when the Cowboys interviewed him, then you started to see Jones, who ended up getting
13:39the job.
13:39I believe it was with Washington.
13:41You know, all these guys end up starting to get other interviews.
13:43But Shoddy was really kind of at the forefront of that.
13:46One other big way, and we talked about this a little bit yesterday, that the offense could
13:49go ahead and improve.
13:51Bleach Report actually had out who are five running backs that could legit win their first
13:56NFL rushing title this year.
13:58And you had the big dogs like Jameer Gibbs with the Lions, a Marion Hampton with the Chargers,
14:04Bajon Robinson with the Falcons was on here.
14:06You've got Brees Hall with the Jets.
14:08Like, those are big names.
14:09And then, Javante Williams, who had career highs, 1,200 yards, 11 touchdowns last year.
14:15You've got another, I think the offensive line is going to dictate this quite a bit.
14:19But I think Brian Schottenheimer's talked about how he does want to run the football.
14:23And if you look back at his days with the Jets, and with the Seahawks as an offensive
14:26coordinator, they were one of the best running teams in all of the National Football League.
14:31If this offensive line can take that step, you've got Booker in year two, Beebe in year
14:35three.
14:35Left tackle's probably your biggest question mark, and I don't have that question about
14:39Steele running the ball.
14:41That's why he's in the league still.
14:42He is a good run-blocking right tackle.
14:44It's the pass protection.
14:46But maybe we could dream big.
14:48Could Javante Williams, is that a crazy thought, legitimately win the NFL rushing title this
14:53year?
14:53I don't think it's crazy.
14:54You know, you have less Bass and Hoffman out there.
14:57You have more strength.
14:58You have Tyler Booker in his second year, Cooper Beebe getting better.
15:02You know, hopefully a healthy Tyler Smith, you know?
15:05Yeah.
15:06That's a tremendous point.
15:07But, you know, the defense being better might give you a chance to be ahead and get him the,
15:14I don't know, what is it, 50 more carries that he's going to need to get to 1,500 yards
15:18or so?
15:19214 said it's nutsy.
15:20All right.
15:20Well, hey, you know what?
15:21I just want to throw it out there.
15:23This is the time to just throw out some, all things are positive.
15:25Slower guys have won it.
15:27Yeah.
15:28We've seen it.
15:28You know, you could do it, but it's going to take a commitment from the coaching staff
15:32and it's going to take the scoreboard cooperating with you, getting into those fourth quarters.
15:38And him not losing his legs later in the season.
15:40Yeah.
15:40That's a good point.
15:42You did see some fatigue there, 100%.
15:43And then, you know, what happens if Jaden Blue has used this offseason to say, man,
15:48I really got to get my stuff together?
15:50And maybe his stuff's together and he shows up in Oxnard, he's a completely different guy,
15:54or Phil Moffa, you know, shows that he could do that because you don't want to give any
16:00running back 325 carries if you can help it.
16:02It's just not a good idea for having your guy fresh in January or the fourth quarter.
16:07It's just rare, rare outliers that can take that amount of workload and keep producing at
16:13the highest level.
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