00:00This 2000 and 2016, they're 2-2.
00:03In your opinion, who are the Cowboys heading into tonight's game?
00:08You know, Bill Parcells always said, you are what your record says you are.
00:12You know, they're a 2-2 team.
00:14They have a great offense and a bad defense.
00:16They're a middling team.
00:17They've been a middling team.
00:19They have a chance to get on a roll, though.
00:21You know, you got, you played the, you know, winless Texas.
00:24Now you got the winless Buccaneers.
00:27You have a chance to gain some confidence, get a two-game winning streak at home.
00:30Then you face a Green Bay team that's not what we thought they were going to be.
00:34And they were out there, two best defensive players.
00:37And a Philly team that looks like it's falling apart.
00:39So the Cowboys have a chance to gain some confidence and get on a roll.
00:43Now the offense is special.
00:45The defense is bad.
00:46They're 2-2.
00:49Clarence, let me start with the offense there.
00:50In your opinion, do they have enough of a running game to close teams out?
00:54I've said this going into this year that one of the things that I think that's an Achilles
00:59for the Rams and the Cowboys late in ballgames.
01:02You know, we saw that a little bit earlier in the season here with the Giants in the early
01:06part of the startup of the season that you've got to close games out with the running game.
01:10I know Williams is a good-looking back, but is it good enough to close football teams out,
01:17especially if you're waiting for that defense to mature there with what they're doing over
01:22that side with Christian Parker?
01:24Yeah, two things.
01:25They played their first four games without their best offensive lineman, one of the best
01:30guard in the league in Tyler Smith.
01:32You know, and he's a parental all-pro, parental pro-bowl guy.
01:36He'll be back tonight against Tampa Bay.
01:38He should be back for the rest of the way.
01:39He missed the first four games after having thumb surgery.
01:42So their run game, they protected well.
01:45They have been 30 points, five points a game without their best offensive lineman.
01:49So they have the chance to improve.
01:51And yes, it's about the run game.
01:55It's also how you use Dak as a smart quarterback.
01:57Throwing short passes to CeeDee Lamb is part of the running game.
02:00I think they have enough offensively.
02:02When you look at the run game with Williams, especially when you get Smith back.
02:06And Williams has six touchdowns already, six rushing touchdowns.
02:09They should have a couple more if they would have even run the ball, run the ball near
02:14the goal line against the Ravens.
02:17Remember, they were down there twice inside the five and didn't run the ball.
02:20They had to set up a few goals in that loss.
02:23So they've run it enough close to the goal line.
02:25They run it well enough close to the goal line.
02:27They have enough offensively with their running game because most teams are doubling outside.
02:32They're not facing nine-man boxes.
02:35You know, they're not facing a lot of eight-man boxes because people are worried about Pickens
02:38and Lamb so they can run the ball because teams are more worried about the guys on the outside.
02:45Clarence, tell me about Dak in your eyes.
02:48You know, if you listen to anybody outside of Dallas, I mean, Dak is always criticized,
02:54maybe the most criticized athlete in all of American sports because he's the starting quarterback
02:58of the Dallas Cowboys.
03:00Your perspective, we're going into year 11 now with him.
03:03I mean, obviously the all-time leading passer now in Cowboy history.
03:07There's been greats like Roger Stalbeck and Troy Aikman.
03:11Dak Prescott is what to you as the starting quarterback in Cowboys history.
03:16What has he been to you?
03:19Dak is a great person, a great leader.
03:21Jerry Jones is the greatest leader he's ever been around.
03:24That includes the Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith Cowboys.
03:28And he is a great leader, a great man.
03:30And he gets a lot of criticism, but we forget his journey.
03:33Here's a guy who wasn't supposed to be here, fourth-round pick.
03:36You know, he was the second fourth-round pick that year.
03:39He came into camp as their third or fourth-string quarterback.
03:41A couple of guys got hurt, and he's not turned back.
03:44But just remember the journey.
03:46The Cowboys wanted like six other quarterbacks in front of him.
03:48He has a Tom Brady list of quarterbacks who were trapped in front of him
03:51who are no longer in the league like a Carson Wentz.
03:54Okay, the Cowboys wanted a Paxton Lynch in the first round.
03:59He's not even in the league anymore.
04:01And, you know, Jerry cried at the draft about not getting Paxton Lynch.
04:04Already known he already got Dak Prescott.
04:06So these are things he's had to overcome, and he's done that like no other quarterback
04:13in Cowboys history.
04:14We consider he owns every passing record in Cowboys history, yet he still gets dirty
04:20because the Cowboys have not won in the playoff.
04:22This Cowboys organization has not won and been to the Super Bowl
04:27or even been to the NFC Championship game since 1996.
04:31But yet, somehow, that's all falls at the foot of Dak Prescott for the last 11 years.
04:35No, that's about Tony Romo.
04:37That's about Jason Witten.
04:38It's about Demarcus Lawrence.
04:40It's about a lot of guys who've come through here who have not gotten it done,
04:43and we all know that this is the ultimate team game.
04:46Quarterback can't do it by himself.
04:47We get caught up in this quarterback win stat.
04:51Dak is one of the top quarterbacks in the game right now.
04:56No one's playing better football.
04:57No one's in more of a zone if you watch him.
04:59And it's been that way over a couple of years, except he does not have the playoff success
05:04of a Jalen Hurts.
05:05So he gets dirty.
05:06He gets criticized because of the Cowboys team lack of success in the playoffs.
05:11But if you look at his playoff numbers, they've been pretty good.
05:13Look at the defense, how many points they give up in playoff games.
05:16And most quarterbacks can't overcome that.
05:18That's not Dak's fault, but that's on Dak's legacy.
05:21And I've always said that Dak now is playing for his legacy.
05:25If you want to be remembered as a truly great quarterback, you and your team have to win
05:29the playoffs.
