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Nick Harris joined Shan, RJ and Bobby following the Cowboys 34-31 loss to Baltimore. Harris discussed Schotty's press conference, potential trade candidates, the Texans matchup, and more.
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00:00Nick Harris, every hump day at this time for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
00:04You're still not back home?
00:06Yeah, I am.
00:07I am at the Miami airport.
00:08I just went through immigration.
00:10And get this, while I was going through immigration, an ICE officer pulled me aside and said,
00:14Hey, be sure to tell my friend, RJ Choppy, I said, what's up?
00:17Oh, man.
00:20Oh.
00:21You know what?
00:22They're looking for a spicier Nick Harris, and we got it.
00:25Wow.
00:26We got it.
00:26I love you, RJ.
00:28I'm trying to poke at y'all a little bit more, so that's my first one.
00:31Sorry, RJ.
00:32You know, Nick is an interesting ICE case study, because it's like, Nick Harris, good to go,
00:39but then he got a facial hair.
00:40I'm like, I don't know about that.
00:42I don't know what that means.
00:44I mean, I'm an easy one.
00:45You're the mark.
00:46I'm the mark, but Nick Harris and the facial.
00:47I thought it was progress that they weren't like, hey, be sure we said, tell Sean we said,
00:52what's up, man.
00:54Why are you not back?
00:56So I decided to stay an extra day.
00:58I decided to sightsee on the back end of the trip rather than the front end.
01:01And so, yeah, I left last night.
01:03It hadn't been too bad, honestly, and I got one more flight to go before I hit availability
01:06later today.
01:07Were Bobby's fears about getting murdered over there, captured, or kidnapped anywhere close
01:13to being accurate?
01:14No, it was completely fine.
01:17I feel like I've been to worst places in the United States.
01:20It was completely cool, and I think the city did a really good job knowing that there
01:24were a lot of tourists coming into town.
01:26Security was pretty uptight as far as the stadium goes and some of the touristy areas.
01:31I will definitely go back to Rio de Janeiro.
01:33I had a fantastic time.
01:34Nick, we knew that Brian Schottenheimer would take accountability yesterday.
01:37He did.
01:38What did you take from the press conference, and how much does it matter?
01:43Yeah, accountability, I think, is a good step.
01:46But, you know, he did mention one thing.
01:48He said, it ain't going to happen again.
01:50And so, now we have to see that in action, you know?
01:53And, you know, whenever they are back in the same situation, it's almost certain to happen
01:56again here in 2026.
01:58You know, how does he react to that?
02:00So, that's going to be the thing I take away in the long term.
02:03But, you know, in the short term, I thought it was important for him to, you know, take
02:06accountability for, you know, what were, you know, some of his downfalls on Sunday
02:10night.
02:10And, certainly, in the last 30 seconds and all the decisions that piled up there at
02:14the end with all three play callers.
02:16And, he took the brunt of it.
02:18So, you know, it's what he should do.
02:20And, you know, I definitely commend him for it.
02:21And, you know, we'll see how they approach week four now.
02:24I think they're at a really important part of the season now, all of a sudden, where
02:27they kind of find themselves at a fork in the road.
02:29Rank the egregiousness of the decisions.
02:34I thought you were about to list them all.
02:37You listed them on Twitter.
02:38I would say, yeah, I would go, I would go, number one, I would, I would say the
02:44defensive play caller on cover one, man, I just don't understand that one.
02:47That one, I haven't been able to wrap my mind around, because it's a clear pre-event
02:51situation.
02:52Have five DBs sit on the 40-yard line and don't let anyone get over the top.
02:56You also had three replacement DBs in the game at that point in time.
02:59Number two, I would say the one read on third down, you know, give Dak a couple
03:03reads there, at least.
03:04You had enough time to work there.
03:06It wasn't like you were working against the clock.
03:08And then three, I would say kicking out in the back of the end zone.
03:10You know, it's, yeah, Jesse Mentor said in the postgame, if they had kicked it to the
03:14returner, he would have brought it out and they probably would have just kneeled it out
03:17if there was any time left.
03:18And so it's, it's, you know, three compounded mistakes that resulted in that, in that
03:22loss.
03:22Nick, I know Schottenheimer isn't going to reveal the word that caused Dak to like
03:26basically immediately throw it out of bounds.
03:29I thought Todd Archer and others did a great job covering all the questions yesterday
03:33amongst the Cowboys media, but I don't think I heard shoddy explain what the look was that
03:40had Dak throw it out of bounds.
03:42Do you have an understanding of that with the way the coverage was set up?
03:45Yeah.
03:45So Nate Wiggins was in coverage there.
03:47And basically the read was if Nate Wiggins has outside leverage, then throw it out of
03:52bounds.
03:52And he showed outside leverage at the snap, but George Pickens still won.
03:57And so that was one that Dak talked a little bit more about on Sunday.
04:01You'd have to go back to that presser back in, back in Rio where he was like, I really
04:05should have just sat on it, saying my back foot and drove it to the front pylon because,
04:08you know, 99 times out of 100, you know, that, that coverage is going to, you know, win
04:13on outside leverage, but I guess it was Pickens and I should have trusted that.
04:16That's basically what Dak said on Sunday.
04:18And so that's what it was.
04:19And it had Nate Wiggins, you know, shown inside leverage and he would have thrown the ball
04:23to him.
04:23Nick Harris from the four star telegram joining us here on one Oh five.
04:27The fan, Nick, when you saw it shot yesterday, I listened to the press conference twice.
04:33Cause I was like, just, I got to hear what I needed.
04:35I kept having to go back and watch body language and see different things like that.
04:40Was yesterday just, Hey, apologetic, let me fall on the sword.
04:45Or do you think that what you heard yesterday from Brian Schottenheimer is there's going
04:50to be philosophical changes if those scenarios come up again?
04:55Yeah, I think it was genuine in that sense.
04:57And, and for sure, you know, if they're back in that scenario, I'd be shocked if they ended
05:01up making the same decisions.
05:02And so, yeah, a philosophical difference is a hundred percent.
05:05I don't think there was any, you know, falling on the sword of any sense.
05:09You know, was the team perfect talking about the players?
05:11No, but man, he was right about one thing.
05:13They did fight damn hard on Sunday.
05:15And that was a tough Baltimore team, not only, you know, from a play standpoint, but from
05:20a physicality standpoint.
05:21And they matched that and specifically on the defensive side, you know, it's, it's, they've
05:25got a long way to go.
05:26Don't get me wrong, but I think you are seeing a little progression, especially with these
05:30young guys and specifically in short yardage situations.
05:33You know, when was the last time that we can look at this defense and see that they made
05:36three crucial short yardage stops, um, against, uh, against the powerful run game, much less
05:42the powerful run game led by a future hall of fame quarterback and future hall of fame
05:45running back.
05:46And so, you know, I think there are, you know, things you can look at on the positive end
05:50there, but, um, you know, all in all the coverage wasn't up to standard and, uh, obviously
05:54the, the, how they finish has not been up to standard and Schottenheimer pointed that
05:58out too.
05:59Nick, do you think shoddy for lack of a better term is still learning on the job?
06:05In what way?
06:07Uh, I mean, just, I mean, end of game situation, you know, certain situations he hasn't been
06:12in, in terms of as being a head coach, like he's, it's his show.
06:16And, you know, we kind of talked about this earlier where, you know, Jerry did not want
06:18a coach who was a first year coach and I know he's on his first year anymore, but you know,
06:23it's certainly there's, there's a, there's a, there's a growing period that you don't learn
06:26everything in one year, right?
06:28Do you think he's still kind of learning on the job as a head coach?
06:31Yeah.
06:31And I think that's fair.
06:32He mentioned something yesterday about something that his dad went through back when he was
06:36a head coach was, you know, he let, um, you know, one bad decision, him getting pissed
06:41over it affect another decision later on.
06:43And Brian said that that's what kind of led to the kickoff, uh, snafu right after the
06:48third downplay.
06:49And so, you know, he said, I got to learn from that.
06:51And so I, I think there's some truth to that for sure.
06:54I mean, he is going to be going into his 21st game as a head coach on, on Sunday.
06:58Uh, obviously he has a lot more experience as a play caller, but there's a lot more on your
07:01plate there.
07:02And I, I think you're, I think you're onto something there, Chuck, Nick, you know, there's
07:06been a lot of talk in the last 24 hours.
07:07I think the biggest thing I took away yesterday from shoddy and Jerry was the fact that they
07:12were really putting under scrutiny, their game decision-making and Ryan feeder and how
07:18that whole process goes.
07:20What do you think are the, the evolutions or the changes that are going to go into the
07:24logistics of their, their game management?
07:27Yeah.
07:27I'm, I'm curious to see, you know, what, you know, voices, if any of the, um, what's the
07:33word I'm looking for?
07:34If any of the weight of certain voices and that has, uh, during crucial game management
07:38situations are changed.
07:40Schottenheimer, I mean, he doubled down on his trust for Ryan feeder yesterday.
07:43So I don't know if that's necessarily a Ryan feeder thing that we can look at to change,
07:47but you know, there are a lot of chefs in that kitchen, you know, when it comes to analytics
07:50and when it comes to game management and, you know, a lot of different, not only opinions,
07:55but facts are being presented in various scenarios.
07:57I mean, it could be a third and short scenario in the middle of the third quarter.
08:01It's, um, you know, there's still going to be a lot of, uh, you know, valued, um, opinions
08:05that they have, that they have people on staff to, to, to weigh in on.
08:07And so, you know, I, I maybe wonder what the, uh, assimilation of those voices ends up looking
08:12like, uh, compared to beforehand and now after, uh, this, this Baltimore game, that's probably
08:18something I can look at, but it's not even really something we would truly know either
08:21at the end of the day, just because, uh, you know, it's, it's, we're not in those headsets
08:25and, um, you know, we've seen what the decisions have led to so far.
08:28Have you met feeder ever?
08:30Do you know anything like about him personally or, or, or the qualifications?
08:35Uh, just know that, uh, he was, he's, he's revered at the university of Nebraska, um, as,
08:40uh, you know, a game management type of guy as well.
08:42And has made his way through the league.
08:43He was around with Mike McCarthy.
08:45Mike McCarthy is the one who put him in that role and Schottenheimer retained him.
08:48Um, and, uh, so maybe there's something for Bobby to take a dig at.
08:52Yeah.
08:52McCarthy's what does McCarthy's fault on Sunday?
08:54A hundred percent.
08:55I'm on with that.
08:56Nick cares for our star telegram.
08:57Still trying to get back home in Miami here on Sean and RJ one Oh five three, the fan
09:02bigger concern right now today about the pass rush or the secondary.
09:09I would say, I would say the secondary just because of the health, but it's close.
09:14I, I, I, I will offer a little bit of optimism here about the pass rush.
09:18You have four teams coming up.
09:20Your next four opponents are all top 10 in sacks allowed.
09:25Houston is number three.
09:27Tampa Bay is number one.
09:28Um, green Bay and Philadelphia are tied for ninth.
09:30You got to be able to find pass rush.
09:32You can see the next four opponents.
09:34Three of these next four opponents are bottom 10 and rushing yards per game.
09:38Green Bay is in the basement of the NFL when it comes to not only yards, but also attempts.
09:43They're not even trying to run the ball.
09:44Uh, and, and you see similar trends with, uh, Houston, Tampa Bay, uh, not necessarily
09:49Philadelphia.
09:50They're more in the top half.
09:51So this defensive line should be able to bounce back in these next four weeks.
09:55And I wrote it yesterday in star telegram.
09:56If they don't, then it's not going to happen this year.
09:59Yeah.
09:59And Nick, uh, make me feel better about the personnel off the edge to exploit that because
10:04I just don't believe it's in the room.
10:07I would like to see a little bit more of Malachi Lawrence, if I'm being honest and, you know,
10:12not necessarily because he's, uh, you know, flash significantly more than a Rashawn Gary
10:17per se, but look at Jay Sean Barham, look at the reps he's gotten for the first three
10:22weeks and his learning on the job.
10:24You're seeing slowed progression each and every week.
10:27I think if you had that same type of trajectory for Malachi Lawrence, you could be looking up
10:30at the end of the year and, you know, have a pretty productive pass rusher on your hands.
10:34I'm not sure you're getting that from Rashawn Gary and what that finished product looks
10:37like for him right now.
10:3813 consecutive games without a sack or a tackle for loss.
10:42And look, I understand, I understand that teams are, you know, trying to potentially
10:46run away from him in the run game.
10:47I wouldn't be, I mean, what has he shown so far here in 2026 to value that?
10:52And so I would like to see a little bit more of Malachi Lawrence off the edge.
10:55Um, you know, I, I wonder if, if maybe we get a James Houston activation in the next couple
11:00of weeks to see what he can bring from a pass rush standpoint.
11:02Uh, but as of what you're working with, you're going to have to figure out how to finish.
11:06And, uh, I'm looking at Donovan as a rock who, you know, he's, he's had the quarterback
11:10pressures, but he's got to finish.
11:11And I understand they've got to get some mobile quarterbacks, but they're still quarterbacks
11:14at the end of the day.
11:15And they're part of the league too.
11:16So he's got to be able to bring these guys down.
11:18Nick, if the Cowboys were to make a move in the next, you know, four to six weeks, a trade
11:23of any sort of significance, what position do you think they would acquire?
11:27And what are your thoughts on the Adam Schefter rumors about Joey Porter jr?
11:32Yeah, I would probably be looking at corner.
11:35I don't think Joey Porter jr.
11:36Would be a super wise decision based on the price that Pittsburgh is asking for.
11:42It's sounding like it's a combination of either two premium picks or, uh, you know, a premium
11:48pick and a high value, uh, pick for the second one.
11:51And I, I, I don't think Joey Porter is worth that because not only are you going to have to
11:55give up value draft capital that you don't have a lot of in 2027, you're going to have
11:59to turn around and immediately pay him.
12:01And I, I'm asking you guys who's more worth it at the end of the day, Joey Porter jr.
12:05Or George Pickens.
12:06And then you go draft one in 2027.
12:08I think that's probably what I would be looking at, but, um, you know, we'll see, you know,
12:13I've seen people talk about, Hey, he might not be a scheme fit either.
12:16Hey, if he's a good corner, he's going to have to figure out how to play any scheme.
12:18And so, you know, that, that should even be further proof of like, Hey, if you don't feel
12:22comfortable about him taking on the scheme, then why give up?
12:25Value cap space.
12:26Why give up value draft capital?
12:28I would not be a fan of that on the surface.
12:30As it appears today, you know, if a deal were to happen, then we'll look at it obviously
12:33in that vacuum, but as it appears today, I don't think it'd be a wise choice.
12:36Nigga, you mentioned it.
12:37They're the whole draft capital issue and they're running out of that.
12:40Are there any obvious or, or dark horse candidates you could see on the roster that they could
12:45say, well, they could flip player for player.
12:48Yeah, that one's tough.
12:50Um, just because it depends on what, uh, Pittsburgh is valuing there.
12:54You know, I, I've, you know, we, we've discussed Donovan as a rock who in the past is a potential
12:59piece as like a potential Max Crosby type trade, but I don't think that would make sense
13:03for Pittsburgh because they do have some pass rushers over there.
13:05Sure.
13:06They could probably use another, um, at this point in time, but I don't know.
13:09That's kind of a name that pops to mind, but it's not like one.
13:11I would stamp and be on like, yeah, you got to trade that guy.
13:14You know how much of a fan I am of Donovan as a rock who I think if he has
13:17some talent
13:17around him, he could be a really damn good pass rusher.
13:20But, um, I don't think there's an obvious one.
13:22No.
13:23What about future picks like beyond 27, like a 28, would you be more open to that?
13:29Yeah, I'd be more open to it, but I'm, I value draft capital and, uh, these 27 and 28
13:36draft classes are looking pretty strong, at least at the top of the draft.
13:39And I would like to see them explore that instead of just handing out those picks.
13:43Nick cares for we're start telegram with a phenomenal cell phone, by the way.
13:47I mean, I wish you could hand this to Jerry.
13:48Yeah, please.
13:49This thing is flawless sounding right now in the Miami airport.
13:53Best guess at lining up the Cowboys secondary on Sunday as things stand today.
13:57Oh boy.
13:58Okay.
13:59So we'll go to the corner spot.
14:00Deron Bland, um, at the, uh, opposite corner, we'll probably be looking at.
14:06Aylan Carson.
14:07It depends on this.
14:08Savone revel can, uh, work back in and he, they're expecting him to work back into practice
14:13this week.
14:14What does that look like?
14:15I don't feel like we'll have a good answer until Friday at the earliest.
14:18Uh, so for right now, I'll go.
14:19Kaelin Carson at the nickel spot.
14:22Uh, obviously Caleb downs, um, at the safety spot.
14:25I think they'll roll with Marquise bell, uh, and Elijah Clark again, um, and, and see
14:30what that takes them.
14:31It wouldn't surprise me though, if they work Caleb downs into the back end, a little bit
14:34more than what they have, uh, so far we, we saw in base defense, uh, what after Thompson
14:40went down on Sunday, that it was downs on the back end.
14:42And we've seen that a couple of times, but it was consistent.
14:45He played almost every snap I think in, in, uh, in Rio.
14:47Uh, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him more on the back end and base, base looks.
14:51Nick, give us your early read on the Texans.
14:54Like before the start of the season, I would have said Cowboys will get beat up in this
14:58game.
14:58They will not score enough.
14:59Obviously the Texans are, uh, Oh, and three, they're going to be hungry for a win at home.
15:05What's your early read on their season and, uh, what they are right now?
15:09Yeah, I think the determining factor of this matchup is going to be the Cowboys defensive
15:13line against the Texans offensive line.
15:15There's an opportunity there.
15:16Uh, they have not played well up front.
15:18They haven't protected CJ Stroud well, and he's a quarterback that needs good protection
15:21to be able to find production.
15:23And now granted Nico Collins has been banged up.
15:25And so that's certainly affected what their offenses look like, but Stroud hasn't looked
15:29at, you know, stellar either.
15:30And so, uh, they had the first round pick, Keelan Rutledge, uh, playing a guard.
15:34He hasn't looked great through three games, uh, and the rest of their protection unit has
15:38not held up either.
15:39And so I, I would be looking at that as a potential matchup to exploit, but on that defense, man,
15:44you point to any guy and it's a dude.
15:45You can talk about the Neil Hunter, Will Anderson, uh, sees Al Shayer, my favorite linebacker
15:50in the league, Derek Stingley, uh, Jalen Petrie.
15:52I mean, these, these guys, they, uh, they can make an all pro team out of themselves
15:56if they wanted to.
15:57And so, um, you know, they, they got tore up a little bit by the Colts in week one.
16:00I'm, I'm excited to get home and, and look back at to, you know, what the determining
16:04factors were for that.
16:05Um, but I, uh, or wasn't the Colts that was, or was that week two?
16:08I don't know.
16:09I'm losing my brain, guys, but, uh, I think there, there should be an opportunity to go
16:13to Houston and win this ball game.
16:15Um, especially given how this offensive line has not held up for Houston so far.
16:19Absolutely.
16:20Fantastic.
16:20Thank you so much, man.
16:21Safe travels back.
16:23Okay.
16:23Thanks, fellas.
16:24Y'all have a good one.