00:00It is our Dallas Cowboys insider, Mickey Spagnola. Good morning, sir.
00:05Good morning, gentlemen. How are you doing?
00:07Well, I'm doing great, Mickey, because do you remember who I called for yesterday to make his triumphant return to
00:13this football team?
00:17Oh, it wasn't Sharmar Bartholomew?
00:22You know, it wasn't for probably the pronunciation reasons you can imagine.
00:28But also, it was one, one-yay, Thomas.
00:33How'd you know he was available?
00:35Because he sent a tweet out.
00:37Yeah, he tweeted it.
00:38Yeah.
00:39I thought you were doing research.
00:42I mean, I was looking at Twitter.
00:45Does that count as research?
00:46But as you pointed out yesterday, because the Cowboys obviously brought in a couple of different players yesterday for the
00:56practice squad,
00:56can you explain to everybody, that's great, but that turnaround time, whether you think it's for the Texans, whether you
01:04think it's for Tampa Bay, that can be really tough.
01:08Yeah, absolutely.
01:09And basically, if they're getting signed to the practice squad, that tells you that they needed guys to help practice,
01:19right?
01:19Because a lot of the guys that maybe were on the practice squad or on second or third team, they're
01:27now starting, right?
01:28So now you've got to have some other guys to service the practice squad.
01:33So, yeah, I don't know that, you know, maybe Wanye can help them because, you know, his deal here was
01:40special teams, if you remember.
01:42Over his, let's see, he was practice squad in 2022, 23, 24, so over his three years, he had played
01:55706 special team snaps and only 550 defensive snaps.
02:02So if he somehow is active on Sunday, it's going to be because he can jump in there and you
02:09probably don't need a lot of practice to play on special teams.
02:14Just block the guy that's in front of you on punt, on a kick, I'm sorry, on a field goal
02:20attempt, then you probably could play right away.
02:24And I'm with you on that.
02:26And going back to Wanye for just a second, it always felt like injuries were the stop to any momentum
02:33that he would create here in terms of getting those more defensive snaps.
02:37Well, you remember last year he had, I don't know if it was a sinus condition.
02:43Remember, it was something with his vision.
02:46Yeah.
02:47And they finally.
02:48Migraines.
02:49Yeah.
02:49Yeah, and then they gave up on him in the offseason and the Colts signed him on a one-year
02:56deal, but they did guarantee him $437,000.
03:02So I bet he, you know, he jumped on it because it's like, well, okay, if they're going to give
03:07me some of that base salary and a little bit of a signing bonus,
03:10I don't know what the Cowboys are going to do, but I better take this.
03:13So, yeah, and you're right, just the matter of staying healthy, because when he first got here, undrafted from Georgia
03:22Tech, and then made the team in 2023,
03:27I think people forgot he was somewhat of a kickoff return specialist at Georgia Tech.
03:35He was a lot faster than people thought.
03:37But then, unfortunately for him, Kevontae Turpin showed up.
03:43Mickey, I'm kind of curious.
03:44I want you to play psychologist here for just a minute, but multiple times yesterday and multiple times since the
03:50game,
03:51Schottenheimer said, it's on me.
03:52It's on me.
03:53I'm going to take, you know, responsibility for all that.
03:56What do you think he hopes his team gets from him taking that responsibility?
04:01That they're going to also say, you know what, that's on coach, or you know what, I need to take
04:07responsibility.
04:07What do you think he's hoping to get from that?
04:10No, I think it's to show that he's part of the team.
04:14He's not just sitting up in this ivory chair and, you know, and blaming other people for what they didn't
04:20do,
04:21because he knows he could have done a couple things differently.
04:25So, I think that when a coach does that, I think the players think, okay, I'll do whatever this guy
04:34asks me to do,
04:35because he's one of us.
04:37And I think that's, you know, kind of what you have to do.
04:42You know, think about what the quarterback does.
04:44You know, he never blames anybody, right?
04:47Right.
04:47It's always my bad.
04:49And I remember early in Dak's career, and I might have told you guys this story before,
04:56but there was a game where there was a whole lot of mistakes going on, and it affected his performance.
05:04And later, the next week, middle of the week, he kept taking blame for this and taking blame for that.
05:13And I'm watching this, and I'm going, okay, I guess that's what the quarterback has to do.
05:18In my mind.
05:19So, he was walking by, and I was looking at him.
05:22He goes, what are you looking at?
05:24I go, I'm looking at all the stab wounds you've got from falling on your sword.
05:29And he looked at me and smiled.
05:31He goes, part of being a quarterback.
05:33And so, I think sometimes it's part of being the head coach.
05:38Same thing.
05:38And I definitely agree with you, but that, and that, not but, and that being said,
05:45he certainly does take the blame in some of these scenarios for this past weekend, right?
05:51Well, if you're not following his school of thought, yeah.
05:57You know, some of this stuff is not black and white.
06:01Now, he took the blame for how he gave Dak instructions.
06:06And remember, when these instructions are given, you know, the headset goes off at 15 seconds left on the play
06:14clock.
06:15And so, there's only so much you can tell the guy.
06:18And he feels like he overemphasized what he was trying to relay to Dak about the third down play.
06:28And the fact that, you know, Dak might have misunderstood.
06:32And sometimes, you know, you put something in somebody's mind, and then it's the last thing they remember, right?
06:42Make sure we don't lose the opportunity to kick a field goal, right?
06:47Because we're behind.
06:49And so, you get that in someone's mind.
06:53I can tell you a quarterback story from Roger Staubach.
07:01Okay, I like him.
07:02Butch Johnson.
07:05Tom Landry sent Butch Johnson in with a play.
07:08And he gave it to Roger.
07:11And Roger goes, okay, I hear that, but, Drew, here's what I want you to do, right?
07:19And he just avoided the play call, called his own play, threw a touchdown pass, right?
07:28And coming off the field, Landry goes running to Butch Johnson and chews him out for not delivering the play
07:35right.
07:36And here comes Roger just kind of walking by with a little smile on his face.
07:43And Tom never said anything to Roger, but he was chewing out Butch because the play didn't get called in
07:49right.
07:50And so, sometimes the quarterback overrules the head coach as long as it goes right.
07:57I think about that in basketball all the time, when you see certain shots, and you're like, that was a
08:02dumb shot.
08:02And then it goes in, you're like, never mind.
08:04So, hold on.
08:05That was a good decision.
08:06Roger didn't, like, he didn't stop and say, no, no, I called something.
08:09No, he kept walking by with a smirk on his face looking at Butch.
08:13Wow.
08:13I kind of feel like Tom might have known, though.
08:18Coach might have known, though.
08:19That wasn't okay.
08:20All right, maybe so.
08:21All right, when we look at, obviously, this has been a big talking point coming out of the Rio game,
08:27all of the injuries.
08:29I know we'll see about a couple of these as we progress.
08:33But theoretically, the Cowboys secondary in nickel, which honestly is really base, on opening day was going to be Blandon
08:42Durant, then Downs, Hooker, and Jalen Thompson.
08:45And then there's a good shot that on Sunday, it's going to be Blandon and Kaelin Carson or Amir Speed
08:54and Downs and Marquise Bell and Elijah Clark.
08:58That is an astonishing amount of turnover in three weeks.
09:01Is that how they finish the game?
09:04I think it is.
09:05So, sometimes when, you know, I'm not sure the call, the defensive call with seven seconds to go was a
09:15great one, but I think that might have factored in that you had that much inexperience on the field on
09:23one of the biggest plays in the game, or at least the last big play of the game.
09:29So, yeah, Blandon, kind of the last man standing, him and Caleb Downs, right?
09:35Because they're doing an iffy on Savon Revel.
09:40Yeah.
09:41But I was sitting next to him on the bus on the way to the airport after the game, and
09:46he pointed out it wasn't just his knee, it was a sprained ankle also.
09:53Ooh.
09:53And he looked like he was in a lot of discomfort.
09:57So, you never know what a good night's sleep and, you know, three or four days of rehab can do,
10:03but that looked iffy that he would be available.
10:07Yeah, so you're right.
10:08It's getting pretty thin in the secondary, and, you know, these guys they brought in, I can't imagine in two
10:16practices or three practices that they're going to provide anything to shout about,
10:21more so than the backups you already have on the team.
10:24Now, and like I said, Wanye could be a difference guy on special teams going down at cover, or block
10:32somebody on field goal attempt.
10:37That's still bugging me.
10:39No, I get it, because you'd think, theoretically, that Aubrey would have made that.
10:45Oh.
10:46As he kicks 60-yard field goals, like they're extra points.
10:50Right, yeah.
10:52You know, and when it first happened, you're sitting there going, oh, I wonder if he kicked it too low.
10:57And it's like, no, the guy almost blocked it off his foot.
11:01Mm-hmm.
11:01He almost had time to stand in front of him and do a spin.
11:05Oh.
11:06Or just be like a mannequin with your hands up in the air, right?
11:10Yeah, just, he was right there for it.
11:12I, I'm, with all that being said and all that, all that change, how much more work and pressure does
11:19that put on Christian Parker this week?
11:21Yeah, I think so, because you've got to adapt.
11:24And it's not just Parker, you know.
11:26And reteach.
11:27Schottenheimer's part of that too, right?
11:29He's got to overlook and see and, you know, see what the plan is, what they're going to do.
11:35Now, a lot of times, and unfortunately, this is not going to sound good, but, you know, last year, when
11:43they were having problems with assignments in the secondary,
11:47and you're thinking, well, my talent is not quite what it needs to be, then you start playing zone, hoping
11:55everybody keeps the ball in front of you, right?
11:58Well, they did somewhat on the last play, but it was in front too far down the field.
12:05So, again, you know, you may try to be conservative so you don't get beat deep repeatedly time after time.
12:13But then there's a downside of just, you know, milking it right down the field, play after play after play.
12:21So, yeah, it'll be interesting and see what they put on different guys, especially if Collins is ready to come
12:28back and play, right?
12:29Yeah, and we've been obviously keeping an eye out on that.
12:33Matt, and I realize this is not the time where you're going to be making moves or anything, but if
12:38you were healthier,
12:39it sure does seem like Marquise Bell is just struggling mightily left and right, whether it's on coverages, whether it's
12:47with the penalties.
12:48Do you agree that it feels like he's had a rough three games to start this season?
12:53Well, there's a reason why he was the backup and the reason why they kept him for special teams, right?
13:00Yeah.
13:01And so, but, you know, when you're running thin, you've got to put somebody out there.
13:06At least he probably knows what to do now.
13:10It's how well can you do it.
13:12Now, the interference on the goal line, to me, was BS.
13:18Maybe holding, but again, if you look at where he made contact with the wide receiver, it was five yards
13:26from the line of scrimmage, right?
13:29And you're able to do that.
13:30But it looked bad because you were so close to the goal line that you're thinking, whoa, that was in
13:37the end zone.
13:39That's interference.
13:40Well, go back and look at it.
13:42You know, you got the right to hit the guy, and maybe it was holding, but they gave, well, I
13:48guess it would have been the same thing, right?
13:50Yeah.
13:50Five yards or where they put the ball in the first place.
13:53But again, yeah, I mean, the good thing about him, if he's making mistakes, he makes them playing hard, and
14:02I'll give him that.
14:04But they kept him for basically special teams for sure.
14:08Appreciate the time, as always, good sir.
14:10We'll catch you again tomorrow.
14:12Sounds good.
14:13See ya.
