00:00Let's start scouting the Bucs. Would you like to start offensively, defensively, or special teams?
00:09You sound like you want to talk special teams here.
00:12I only have one special teams note for you.
00:14Then we'll get to that in just a minute. I started watching Jalen Daniels with Baker Mayfield out.
00:20This quarterback is...
00:21Nope, this is different. Completely different, dude. That's Jaden Daniels.
00:25Dude, it was interesting. I don't watch a lot of pregame shows, but I was watching the Fox pregame show
00:31because I woke up early Sunday and was like, might as well check that out for a little bit.
00:37Then I was like, this is stupid. I need to go listen to Eric and Broaddus right now.
00:43So I did that instead.
00:44But there was a moment where they were doing picks or whatever, and Gronk was like,
00:49and I'll tell you, I'm paying attention to Jalen.
00:51I said, Jalen, not Jaden, not the guy from the command.
00:55And he made such a point, and I was like, okay, Gronk.
00:59Do you think they went over that in the production meeting like eight times because he kept saying the wrong
01:03name?
01:03There was somebody holding a big sign on the other side of Kurt Menefee going,
01:07hey, don't forget, you dummy.
01:09No, I'm just joking.
01:11I went to go watch him for just a little bit.
01:15And here are just some very quick notes on kind of what I think at the moment.
01:19This is the kind of game, I'm going to say this,
01:25that actually is now catered better to what you do defensively.
01:31Oh.
01:31And here's why.
01:33They're going to want to run the ball against you.
01:37And your linebackers are better in run situations than they are pass.
01:43Like, that's still a very clear thing.
01:46We'll see more on Marvion Overshown as we go along here.
01:50Steven did make it sound yesterday like Tyler Smith is playing.
01:53I know they opened the window, but I was like, hey, how's that?
01:57Now that he's playing, and he was like, oh, that's great.
02:00And I was like, okay.
02:01It's a huge plus.
02:02Kind of felt like Tyler Smith followed up on that and also led me to believe that he's going to
02:06play.
02:07But they're going to want to run the ball against you, and your two linebackers are good at that.
02:11You've now shown that you're actually pretty good at stopping the running backs in the last two weeks, right?
02:16Derek Henry, what you did.
02:18Now listen, I know that Houston is not a good running team, but this is, like, you did a really
02:25good job
02:25allowing only, what, 22, 24 yards from both of the running backs in that game.
02:30You still had the big run from Stroud that kind of probably scared you earlier in the game.
02:34And we'll get to that in just a minute.
02:36But they're going to want to run the ball against you.
02:38You've proven that you're better at stopping the run than you have been in the past.
02:42Well, while we're talking about stopping the run, something to keep an eye out for is the tackles in this.
02:49And, like, making the tackles.
02:51And I realize you're like, well, that's probably relevant for all games.
02:53Fair point.
02:54But Bucky Irving has the fifth highest force percentage of missed tackles since 2024.
03:02And some of the other ones on there are the best in the league or hurt.
03:08Kenneth Walker's one, B. John Robinson, then A. Chan, then Gibbs.
03:12So you're talking about some of the best running backs in the league.
03:15And then there's Bucky Irving at fifth, which is interesting because it feels like he is never even discussed in
03:21this category.
03:21But he is very adept at forcing missed tackles.
03:25So, especially in some one-on-one situations, if you can get the wrap-up tackle or you can get
03:31the tackle without giving up a whole bunch of missed tackles,
03:34I feel like more than other games or other running backs, that's going to be a huge benefit.
03:39And depending also on what you decide to do with Caleb Downs this week.
03:44Fair.
03:44Because if you decide to put him at one of the deep safety spots, you might decide, you know,
03:49we're going to bring him down in the box a little more often because...
03:52Would that be your preference for this game?
03:54Depending on health, yes.
03:56I mean, obviously, with Jalen Thompson out and P.J. Locke, you've got a lot of things you're still working
04:01on.
04:01But bringing him into the box is the best way to keep Irving from doing what he does so well.
04:08Because Downs is a good, reliable tackler in the box.
04:11We know that about him.
04:12That's the goal.
04:13Still haven't had the opportunity to do what they want with him here.
04:17But that is ultimately the goal of what they want to do is have him around the box more often.
04:21But you're going to be able to stack it a little more.
04:23And somebody just said from the 9-4-0,
04:25After watching our secondary, I don't see how anyone could want to run the ball against us.
04:31And I agree with you completely.
04:32Except that Jalen Daniels is not a fantastic dude when it comes to the pass.
04:38Yeah.
04:39He panics if he gets a little pressure around him.
04:41Now, you're obviously going to have to figure out how to get some pressure around him.
04:44But he does not see it the way the really good quarterbacks see it whenever they know when to deliver
04:50the throws.
04:51And because of that, I think sometimes he walks into pressure on his own.
04:56You know, like you'll create pressure.
04:57Sometimes the quarterback will create the pressure for you by being like,
05:01Why don't you roll out to the right side?
05:02That part was completely open.
05:04You moved into the pressure.
05:06So, talking about Daniels, the Packers blitzed on 18 of Daniels' 36 dropbacks.
05:14And you know how we've talked, not only for this last game, but for weeks and weeks, for years and
05:19years,
05:19that Dak is really good at carving up the pressure.
05:22Daniels, instead, was really good at moving into the pressure.
05:26Because the Green Bay Packers had 13 different players generate pressure against him.
05:31That's the most different players by any team this season.
05:36And granted, I watched that specifically.
05:40They were sending people everywhere, too.
05:41Like, they were sending people left, right, up the middle.
05:4450% blitz rate is crazy.
05:45And to do that, what they were trying to do was they were like,
05:49Look, this guy is going to be a little scared and a little timid once pressure comes.
05:54And he knows he can run.
05:56He's going to hit you for a couple of runs.
05:59Being able to limit the big runs is very important.
06:03And once he decides to do some of these other ones where they design run near the goal line,
06:07you're going to have to make sure you close fast on him.
06:10But whenever he gets up the middle out of the pocket on you,
06:14it's probably going to be because you decided to blitz up the middle
06:17and one of your guys got caught a little off guard there.
06:20I don't know that you just sit there and try and spy him the whole game
06:23with Barham or Winters or something.
06:25But I think there are some different ways to attack him
06:29to make him stress himself out where you attack with this pressure,
06:33but the real pressure is where you're pushing him towards.
06:36You know how sometimes we'll talk about,
06:38hopefully that was some well-thought-out, nuanced sports talk discussion.
06:42And then sometimes you just go a little broader with it, right?
06:45Allow me to go a little broader right here.
06:48This Tampa Bay offense sucks.
06:52And they weren't good with Baker either.
06:54No, and that is a great point.
06:56So the offense has been really clunky, and then Baker was out in Week 4,
07:01but their points scored have gone down every single week.
07:05So you want to look at it from the metric of total offense.
07:08They are 28th in the NFL.
07:10We talk way more about what about points per game, points per game.
07:16They're tied for 23rd with 19 points per game.
07:21The Cowboys are 30.5 points per game.
07:24That's second.
07:25They are, it's early, but the Cowboys are averaging 11.5 more points per game
07:32than the Bucs.
07:34This is another thing, much like with the Texans offense,
07:37if you can't excel defensively against this offense,
07:41that portends to bigger problems.
07:44Yeah, and the progression that you've been seeing from your defense so far,
07:50look, again, the Texans offense isn't great.
07:53You still gave up 30 to them.
07:56And you've given up 30 a lot of times this year.
07:59Three times already, I believe.
08:01But what I saw against Baltimore was I saw a team that said,
08:06we're going to be committed to trying to stop the running back from beating us.
08:10And they were pretty good at stopping the running back from beating them
08:13for the most part.
08:14There were a couple of series that you were like, what happened?
08:19Then, this week, they were able to keep the running game,
08:22and they were able to play man with at least one guy.
08:27Deron Bland.
08:28No, not Deron Bland.
08:29Okay, I was just making sure.
08:31Joey Porter Jr. went out there and did his job.
08:34Like, I went and watched every play from Joey Porter Jr.,
08:36and I was like, okay, he's pretty good at what he does.
08:39Did you feel more comfortable every time he went back out on the field?
08:42Because you were like, they're going to stay away from him.
08:44And he was out on the field 46% of the time.
08:46So, like, I was like, a lot more than I thought.
08:49But, Kevin, it also felt like he was just a third-down specialist.
08:53Maybe that's just because the TV decided to just show him on third downs.
08:56But he was out there more than I expected.
08:58Did you kind of feel like praise Jesus for healing that back injury?
09:02It's miraculous.
09:04I understand your sarcasm.
09:06What?
09:07But, Kevin, this is just the business of football,
09:09and we've got to get past our emotions on this.
09:12Get Steelers-itis.
09:13If he does it to the Cowboys, then I'm upset.
09:16Okay.
09:17Hold on.
09:17You just told me to get over my emotions.
09:19But he says he's a dog, and he just wants to be out there.
09:25Okay.
09:25So I'm going to believe him because he wants a contract.
09:29George Pickens wants a contract.
09:30They need to do the things that it takes.
09:32This is where Kevin, very similar to the Josh Hamilton,
09:36don't let them do it all now.
09:38Let them do it after the trade deadline, at the end of the season.
09:43Let them get all the big plays so that they can get their contract money.
09:46But, yes, I did feel better when he's on the field.
09:49I feel like you have added to your defense another layer
09:53that allows you to do more things that you want.
09:57Now, if you can just solidify that communication across that group.
10:00I was telling Fred this yesterday.
10:02It's very similar to you and me.
10:03You and me can do this show, never say a word to each other,
10:07and know where we're going.
10:08Right.
10:09Hand signals, whatever, we got it figured out.
10:11These guys are still having to go hit the cough button and go,
10:14hey, I need to talk to you about something real quick.
10:16Yeah.
10:16So that's where they still are at the moment.
10:18I think that as they play more together,
10:21you're going to see more development there,
10:22and defensively they're going to be better against the Bucs this week.
10:24And you're never rooting for this,
10:26but when something like this happens,
10:28it could potentially benefit your team.
10:30I have to admit, I'm like, oh, okay.
10:33Is Antoine Winfield.
10:36Yeah.
10:36Todd Bowles said yesterday,
10:37it doesn't really matter in this instance that it's a Thursday game
10:41as opposed to Sunday.
10:42He said that Winfield has a slight rib fracture.
10:46We're probably going to miss about two to four weeks.
10:49So it sounds like he wouldn't have played in this game either way.
10:53But for a Bucs offense that has been really stout,
10:56really stout this year, not having somebody like that,
11:02obviously you've got to think that will make an impact.
11:04Yeah, Vita Vea still leads the way up front for them with what he does.
11:08Josiah Trotter has turned into a pretty good little player, though.
11:12And Zion McCollum is going to try and match up on one of your best receivers out there.
11:18Can I throw something out there about Trotter?
11:20This is a theory.
11:23And I realize, like, a lot of people were limited on the practice report yesterday.
11:29There is still something up with his knee.
11:32Okay.
11:32All right, so the first week he had the pick six and the sack,
11:37and it was like the craziest stat line we'd ever seen for a defensive rookie.
11:41He didn't play in week three, and he slowed down to a certain extent in week four.
11:48I'm not saying he won't play.
11:49I still think there's something about his knee that is bothering him,
11:54and he's not 100%.
11:56So he has a crazy amount of tackles already,
11:58also two tackles for loss, a sack, a pick six,
12:01though we talked about those two were in week one.
12:03But just keep an eye out on him.
12:05I think there is still something bothering him about that knee
12:09that might have him at 75%, 80% out there.
12:12This is where I ask you this.
12:14Big game for Javante or big game for Goodson?
12:19Because do you really want to wear Javante out this early in the season?
12:23Right.
12:23Or do you need some balance across your running back situation?
12:26And it was interesting when they did bring in Goodson
12:29is you got an immediate, like...
12:30A couple moments.
12:31Yeah, exactly.
12:32And then there was the moment where Dak was like,
12:34had to call a timeout and then F-bombed him.
12:37And you were like, oh, well, you know what, Dak?
12:39It was just like saying that to your friend anyway, right?
12:41Right.
12:42He just needed to know the F-bomb was for him fastest.
12:44I just don't think the Cowboys are good enough
12:48to go into protection mode just yet,
12:51like with somebody like Javante or whoever else.
12:53Now, maybe you'll get to the third quarter, God willing,
12:57and you're up by 20 points, though, with this team.
12:59Who knows?
13:00And you can reevaluate some things,
13:02but you're only 2-2,
13:04and you're not good enough at this point to have,
13:07hey, we need to save this player.
13:09You're in we need wins.
13:11Exactly.
13:12We need wins mode.
