00:00All right, a couple of items before we take a look at the new power rankings from ESPN,
00:05which have throttled the Cowboys up the board higher than I think they've been at any point in recent memory.
00:11First, a couple of items.
00:13Kenny Moore, there's been a lot of discussion about him ahead of the draft
00:15and whether he'd be somebody that fit with the Cowboys.
00:18And I thought he would be a really strong fit with what the Cowboys wanted to do.
00:22That was when we were talking about could Monsoor Delane be the top pick
00:26or could, you know, Sonny Stiles be the top pick.
00:28We don't necessarily think Caleb Downs is going to get down to them.
00:31Caleb Downs did get to them.
00:32He's going to play nickel.
00:33Kenny Moore is pretty much an exclusively nickel player.
00:37I know we talked about that a little bit earlier.
00:38We kind of laid it out.
00:39Are you comfortable with that or would you prefer, hey, you know what?
00:43Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to just let Caleb Downs keep playing safety
00:46and put Hooker on the bench.
00:48And Kenny Moore, of course, getting released yesterday in Indianapolis.
00:51They granted him the release.
00:54They couldn't work out a trade.
00:55I think I'd be more excited about signing Kenny Moore and putting Caleb Downs at safety.
01:02What if I told you you were?
01:04Because how are we just automatically like all the highlights stuff I've seen,
01:10I feel like it's been Caleb playing safety.
01:13Yeah.
01:13So now we're just like, oh, you get drafted in the NFL, like magically,
01:18like let's just pretend you forget all the highlight safety stuff.
01:23And he's going to play corner.
01:25He's going to be a nickel.
01:27This is my overall project today.
01:29Okay.
01:29I'm going to go get you the nickel snaps on his tape.
01:32Okay.
01:32I'm going to have to run them down.
01:34Which there aren't a ton of them, so I'm going to have to dig.
01:36I feel like I'm planting an RJ Choppy type seed that when Caleb Downs gives up some big plays
01:44and there's confusion on the back end because he's not there with Thompson and Hooker or Locke,
01:49I'm going to be coming in here.
01:51I'm going to blame you.
01:52I'm going to blame everyone else for this not being a large enough topic of,
01:56huh, Cooper Flagg didn't play point guard at Duke.
02:01Well, he goes with the Mavericks.
02:02And now we're going to, well, I don't know how much point guard he played,
02:04but he's not a point guard.
02:05And now we're going to have him play point guard here.
02:07And it feels very similar to this,
02:11even though I think Downs has more comfort in the nickel or playing it.
02:16I'm waiting to be right.
02:17I'll say this.
02:18I think it's like now I can improve two spots defensively versus one, right?
02:24Like, are you better with Kenny Moore in the nickel and Downs at safety?
02:28It's like an O-line question.
02:29And you are with Downs at nickel and then you sign a Dory Jackson to contribute on the outside.
02:34Like, are you better?
02:35You might be better doing that.
02:36Right.
02:36But I think their thing is just the nickel is such an important position.
02:40They want the best possible player they think can fit it.
02:43And they think Caleb Downs is better there than Kenny Moore is.
02:45Okay.
02:46And if you look at, I would say this.
02:48And I need to reset on how much work Downs did it in college.
02:52How many snaps, how many reps.
02:54Yeah, it was more at Alabama than it was at Ohio State, which was his freshman year.
02:58And it's a couple of years removed from that.
02:59Yeah.
03:00But he played nickel.
03:01I mean, there were, I would say it's probably 10 to 15% of his snaps.
03:08Maybe less.
03:09Okay.
03:10But because it's at Ohio State.
03:11Am I crazy?
03:12At Ohio State, it was just such a different look.
03:13No, you're not.
03:14I get it.
03:14Am I crazy here that 10% of his snaps were playing nickel.
03:19And now we're like, oh, exclusively nickel.
03:21And to the point that, you know, I'll be the first one to apologize.
03:24He's sitting there locking guys up and pick six returns.
03:28And he's calling the defense from the nickel spot.
03:30But I'm the only one saying, okay, 90% of the highlights and the time is at safety.
03:35And we're not going to play him at safety primarily.
03:38It's just, it's this new hybrid spot.
03:40So it's not like your traditional, it's not necessarily the traditional, like, always been the nickel.
03:44It's this new hybrid nickel that, like, they have with, like, Derwin James or Nicky Manwari.
03:49They were playing a lot of slot, too.
03:50When they play the Colts, how many reps do you think he's going to line up across from his brother?
03:56Every time they're in nickel.
03:58Okay.
03:59And how often do you think that will be?
04:01Do you have to guess for an average NFL game?
04:03Yeah, depending on the personnel that the Colts would run out there with, because you're trying to match personnel a
04:07lot of times.
04:07I would say probably two-thirds of the time, something like that.
04:10Okay.
04:11All my alarms are going off.
04:12Well, everything you're saying is opposite of what my brain is saying.
04:15It is a smaller transition, to me, for downs to go to the nickel than it is when you're talking
04:22about taking a tackle and telling them they're going to play guard.
04:25Like, I think that is a more difficult transition, tackle to guard, than what they're talking about doing with downs.
04:30Okay.
04:30All I'm saying is, this is going to happen.
04:34Guaranteed.
04:36And not that Twitter is, we're going to find out at 9 o'clock here, especially Mavs Twitter.
04:40Not that Twitter is what you should base life off of.
04:43But in the first couple games, if Caleb Downs is not Deion Sanders off the jump, or even Jordan Lewis,
04:51and there's a couple of big pass plays, Cowboy fans are going to be going insane and screaming at them
04:58that he is out of position.
04:59I'm just telling you that's what's going to happen.
05:02Yeah, I'm sure that will be, I don't think they're going to have consistent busts anymore to where it's going
05:08to be a thing where it's going to be a topic very much.
05:10It'll, when it pops up, it pops up.
05:12But to me, it'll be similar to like.
05:13Well, what if he's getting beat?
05:15I don't think, I don't think.
05:16What if he's getting beat versus, like, the cerebral nature and the anticipation of, you know, helping with the run
05:22and seeing everything on the back end or making plays as a center fielder versus losing one-on-one wide
05:28receiver slot matchups?
05:29I think he would make, so, because it's not as prototypical of the defense where he's just going to be,
05:35follow this guy around the entire field.
05:37You told me every snap against his brother.
05:38Right, but it's not going to be man.
05:39Like, he's going to be lined up across from him.
05:41He's going to be dropping into zone a lot.
05:42Now, they do man-match.
05:44So, a lot of the man-match stuff is, assuming he's going to carry stuff from Fangio.
05:49Yeah.
05:50Then the man-match stuff a lot of times is.
05:51What percentage of being responsible for his zone do you think they're going to run versus just, that's your man,
05:57follow him?
05:58Oh, the, yeah, there's not going to be hardly any just pure, you're guarding this guy.
06:03Okay.
06:03Now, it can become that.
06:05Okay.
06:05And that's why they need smart players.
06:06They need guys who, when you're dropping, depending on what the offense is doing, they switch to man coverage in
06:12the middle of it.
06:12Right.
06:13And so, that's why they think downs.
06:14You're picking someone up.
06:15That's why they think downs are so important at corners because it's like, all right, transition from this, you're doing
06:19this now.
06:20So, will he be more primarily responsible for just, like, the nickel area?
06:25So, yeah, it just kind of depends on how the design of the zone is.
06:28But, yeah, he will be from there.
06:29That's where he's going to be at the line of scrimmage.
06:30He may drop to a deep third.
06:33He may move to the middle of the field.
06:35He may be taking man coverage on certain snaps.
06:37He may be starting out as a zone, and then his responsibility comes, all right, drop off that zone.
06:42Now, you're guarding the flat, and you're taking the running back because this is what this is.
06:45It all could, like...
06:46But outside corners are going to be primarily man-to-man responsible?
06:50Uh, it varies.
06:53They start as that a lot of times.
06:55But then what will happen is, depending on what it is and what the route concept is, they're supposed to
06:59flip.
06:59And now it's like, okay, let go of the man coverage, and now you're standing in this zone, and this
07:02is what you're doing.
07:03So, that's why it's a very difficult defense for a lot of teams to get down.
07:06It's like what we always talked about with Dak facing Fangio.
07:09Like, Wolchuk did it.
07:12When I could see the lights, I thought we had it dark in here.
07:15When I could see G-Bag on the fan cam, right, you're stagnant, you're static, and then things all of
07:22a sudden are changing in the middle of the play, and that's where the intelligence of...
07:27You're audibling during the play, defensively.
07:29Yeah, you're changing it, and everybody just has to see the same thing.
07:33Yeah, right.
07:34Because it's not even like you're calling it out.
07:36It's like the option routes that used to get the Cowboys in trouble, where it was like, well, they're saying,
07:41how do you guys have all this miscommunication?
07:43Well, because it's like everybody's got to see the same thing and read it the same way.
07:47So, same sort of thing.
07:48It can screw it up if you've got dummies on defense.
07:51It absolutely can.
07:52That's why the Parker headline has been from Will McClay and others is just he wants to know their brain
07:58works.
07:58Like, if they process the right way, he thinks he can put them in the right position as long as
08:03they know where to be.
08:03And if they know where to be, he thinks he can cover it.
08:06And a big part of that is going to be Caleb Downs letting everybody know where you're supposed to be.
08:09And the nickel is such a big part of their communication and the way that they interact that I wouldn't
08:14be surprised if he's somebody who, at some point, they're like...
08:17Like, they could roll into the season and say, you're in the nickel and you've got the green dot.
08:19Like, he could do that.
08:21It sounds like the plan is so locked in.
08:23Kenny Moore, formerly of the Colts, probably not going to be signed.
08:27Yeah, I would think it's unlikely here.
08:29Now, it very well could be that they look at it and just...
08:31I mean, they've thrown so many resources at secondary.
08:33Maybe they do think it's a fit, but I don't believe it will be just based on what I heard.
08:37Now, Caleb's father, Gary, I mean, this guy maybe will and does have a podcast on Caleb's podcast network.
08:48He was on All City yesterday, and we're talking about cerebral and intelligence.
08:53And they asked Gary Downs, Caleb's pops, how long has he been watching film?
08:57When he was about seven years old, his coach started giving him the film for the game.
09:03And before the coaches would do a game plan, the coaches say, what do you think, Caleb?
09:08So, he's been watching film since he was seven years old.
09:11One of my former teammates, Jamal Anderson, coached Caleb when he was about nine.
09:15And he just did the same thing.
09:17Jamal said, when Caleb would go over to the house with his...
09:21You know, Jamal has a son, too.
09:22They played together all through youth.
09:24His son said, let's go outside and play.
09:26He said, Caleb said, I want to watch the tape.
09:28And he said, this seven-year-old kid, A-year-old, wants to watch tape.
09:32So, the cerebral part has always been there, his understanding of the game and his recall.
09:37When he was little, I could say, what happened on this play?
09:40He could tell you like a photographic memory where everybody was on the field, what everybody was doing.
09:45Dad, you came to the game.
09:47You got there in the second quarter.
09:48Mom left in the third quarter.
09:50He could see it all.
09:51And his understanding, I would say, when he was in high school, that's when the clarity of how smart he
09:59was.
10:00He could come home from his practice.
10:02He could Zoom with Alabama for an hour.
10:05Get off that Zoom, Zoom with Ohio State.
10:08Get off that Zoom, Zoom with Georgia.
10:10And I said, how are you keeping all of these defenses straight?
10:14He said, I got it.
10:15It's not a problem.
10:16And literally, he's been doing it since you're a little kid.
10:19And his understanding of XNL's offense, defense, I mean, as high as coaches.
10:24I mean, I remember his high school coach told me during one game that he took Caleb out the locker
10:30room during halftime and said, what do we need to do?
10:33And Caleb told him, we need to run this, this, and this.
10:37And that's where they went back and did it.
10:38So I think it's sort of innate, sort of a God-given gift.
10:42But he's been around and has some very good coaches, whether high school coaches, youth coaches, and, of course, at
10:47college.
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