00:00We bring to you Dallas Cowboys insider Mickey Spagnola. Good morning, sir.
00:06Good morning, gentlemen. How's it going?
00:08It is going pretty well. I hope you're hanging in there.
00:11At least your college football team beat the ever-loving crap out of mine, so there's that.
00:18Well, and everything that happened over the weekend was exactly what I expected.
00:24Yeah, sorry about that.
00:26The White Sox, if you strike out 21 times, you're going to get, and you only get beat two to
00:32nothing.
00:32That was the maddening part.
00:34Yeah.
00:35But the fact that the, I mean, I don't know why people thought the Aggies were coming into the zoo
00:42to play the 14th-ranked team in the country, and they were going to beat them. Seriously?
00:47I did not, but I also, I also did not think our coach was going to go scorched earth on
00:53most of the fan base afterwards.
00:55So, it was a fun time.
00:58It was probably needless.
00:59You know, the funny thing was, I was reading the story in the morning news.
01:03I think they used the game story from, I think the guy was from the Houston Chronicle.
01:11And he must have wrote 20, 25 inches, and never once mentioned that Jamal Roberts ran for 222 yards.
01:20But, nice.
01:22Why'd y'all let him do that?
01:24Ah, because we're not good.
01:25Okay.
01:26Now, speaking, I mean, I wish I had a more nuanced answer for you, mostly because...
01:31Okay, here comes the transition.
01:33Go ahead.
01:33I just gave you the facts.
01:34I appreciate it.
01:35Yeah, absolutely.
01:35All right, so let me ask you, this is kind of a conceptual sports question.
01:40Did you, do you ever boo your own team, or what do you think about that?
01:47And if so, did the Cowboys deserve to be booed on Thursday night?
01:50Because they most certainly were.
01:53No, I don't think I've ever done that.
01:58Because it's like, does it help?
02:01No, it doesn't help, right?
02:05And I don't think that...
02:09And I'm trying to think if I've ever been in a situation where I expected something and
02:14just started, you know, blood-curdling, booing people, right?
02:20I don't know if I outgrew that, if I ever did it when I was young.
02:24But I certainly haven't done it going to a Stars game, if they're not playing well.
02:33I certainly haven't done it in a college game.
02:37It's like, okay, that's what's happening.
02:40I can't change it.
02:42So, no, I'd never do that.
02:45And I never feel like if I pay to go see something and it doesn't turn out the way I
02:51want, then
02:52I take it out on the whoever's, the players, the actors, and start booing.
02:57I just don't do it.
02:59You just quietly walk out of the stadium?
03:02I might, you know, use some cuss words, but I don't just openly boo.
03:09What does booing do, right?
03:11Yeah, I know.
03:14The cuss words are far more effective.
03:15I agree with you on the curse words for sure.
03:18I'm like, yeah, I get you on that.
03:20Now, I felt like using a cuss word when Bucky Irving ran for 72 yards in one play in the
03:28third quarter, and he covered 90 yards and ran 20-plus miles per hour.
03:34It felt like that play wanted to have you saying some curse words, right?
03:38I think I probably used the J.C. on that one to myself in the press box.
03:45Like, are you kidding me?
03:47Seriously?
03:48You know, and that's one run kind of skews the whole rushing staff, right?
03:54Okay.
03:54It's not like they were just streaking all over the field, but it was one 72-yard run.
04:01I think I figured out without his 72-yard run, okay, he ran for 93 yards.
04:07I can deal with that probably, right?
04:11But not put 72 on top of everything else, and it comes for 241, and we thought last year
04:20was bad with all the yards they gave up rushing.
04:23This one topped every one of them from last year.
04:26Does it feel like, and that's been one of my early takes about this defense that makes
04:31them so agitating, is I think they do a better job for runs in keeping the other team in check.
04:38Like, prior to that run, he was averaging less than four yards a carry, and you're like,
04:43oh, okay, and then you just get crushed with these big plays that you're like, never mind.
04:49Yeah, like one big breakdown, right?
04:52Yeah, you're exactly right.
04:54You know, it can't happen.
04:56There's no excuse for it, but it seems to be happening more often than not.
05:03So, yeah, that's got to be corrected.
05:06And the fact that, you know, they allowed this undrafted rookie starting his second NFL game
05:15the time of day in the pocket.
05:17They only had one sack, all right?
05:20One sack, and that had to be, it was going to be the key to be able to keep him
05:26uncomfortable.
05:27And I think they only hit him like three or four times.
05:33So, and that's just, you've got to do better than that.
05:37And if that means you've got to blitz, then blitz.
05:41Because the other teams are blitzing the daylights out of your quarterback.
05:46And I just don't think you can sit there and be, I don't know if it's conservative or thinking,
05:52well, we've got to keep everything in front of us.
05:54But they're not even doing that.
05:56So, I just think they've got to start being more aggressive defensively.
06:01Yeah, the Bucs actually, I think it was a 10% increase in their blitz activity against the Cowboys.
06:07Well, it worked!
06:07It was effective.
06:09I think I saw a number, Corey, where they blitzed 48% of the plays.
06:13Yeah, yeah.
06:15That's almost every other play you blitz, right?
06:20But didn't we talk about that?
06:22Yes.
06:22Maybe they were listening to us.
06:24They were.
06:24The best way to take care of a quarterback who's hot with two hot wide receivers
06:28is make sure the quarterback doesn't get comfortable in the pocket and get him on the ground
06:34and affect his feet.
06:37And that's exactly what they did.
06:39You know, it happened the week before and the week before that.
06:43So, you know what?
06:44When they come up with a game plan for Sunday night in Green Bay,
06:48it better be to do something to break down these blitzes that are really trying to control the Cowboys' offense.
06:57You mentioned the sack.
06:58That was by one Malachi Lawrence.
07:01That was his credit there.
07:03Can you talk a little bit about the development you've seen with him?
07:06And do you think that when Schottenheimer was talking about some personnel stuff,
07:10him being more involved heavier in the rotation might be an option there?
07:16Well, yeah, I think so.
07:18But he's kind of been somewhat, I don't know if heavily is the word,
07:24but he's been getting his plays in there, I bet, over these last few games.
07:30It's been up in the 20s.
07:33So he's been out there.
07:35And, yeah, but sometimes these blitzes, you know, when you get a –
07:40I mean, when you get a – when it comes to sacks, a lot of times it's everybody doing what
07:46they're supposed to be doing,
07:47and then the sack falls in somebody's lap, right?
07:50And I just don't think they're doing enough as a front to put pressure on the quarterback
07:59and have sacks fall in someone's lap.
08:02It's like it seems like it's always got to be one guy's work.
08:05And if it's coming to that, I think you're in trouble unless you've got Myles Garrett on your team.
08:13Now, there are plenty of plays to lament from throughout that game,
08:18but one thing we didn't really talk a whole ton about is Kamonte Turpin fumbling the ball.
08:25And do you feel like – I know he showed a flash to the game before that at the beginning
08:30of the second half,
08:31but do you feel like we've still seen a lower return rate on explosive plays from Turpin over the last
08:37year and a half?
08:39And what do you think that's about?
08:42I think it's about him wanting to get more snaps at wide receiver
08:45and not focusing on what got him paid to begin with.
08:49No, I don't think so.
08:51Look at the blocking.
08:53Do you ever see huge holes?
08:55If he has a big return, it's of his own doing.
08:59And sometimes I think guys start trying to do more than they should, and then they get loose with the
09:05ball.
09:06I just think the blocking has been atrocious, and I also think teams have done a really good job.
09:13Go back and look where he's catching the ball.
09:16It's between the numbers and the sideline.
09:19And so now he's pinned into one area where the coverage team can converge on him.
09:27And if there's not a hole, he's not going to miraculously make one.
09:31And I don't think he's getting that many snaps on offense that is distracting him from what he can do
09:38defensively.
09:41It's just not opening up.
09:45Now, when you see it open up, he hits it, and he does a pretty darn good job.
09:49But I don't think he has forgotten how to return kickoffs or punts, for that matter.
09:56Does that surprise you, like lack of blocking on that side of special teams, when it does feel like your
10:04special teams kick coverage on the other side has been better this year?
10:10It has been better, and I think a lot of that on kickoff returns, though, has been for them to
10:20decide that the best way to do this is to kick those dirty kicks
10:26and try to get the ball to land inside the 20 before the goal line and have the ball start
10:34bouncing around where guys have trouble resorting to it.
10:37But I think that is to compensate for their lack of ability to coverage.
10:43I just think the coverage and the blocking on returns has not been very good, and I think that was
10:49a carryover from last year.
10:51Mickey, do we have any bodies coming back to help this team?
10:56Because there were some discussions of some changes.
10:59Who do you think can come back and do something this week?
11:04I think maybe DeMarvy and Overshoen would have a chance.
11:12Booker did come back.
11:15I'm trying to remember the new injuries they had.
11:19We'll find out more from Schottenheimer here this afternoon.
11:23When he probably has a better idea than he had on Friday of where the injuries are.
11:31Tyler Smith came back, obviously.
11:35So, yeah, I don't know.
11:38Until they get Jalen Thompson back and Locke, but they're both on IR.
11:44So, it's going to be a while, a couple weeks now, before they come back.
11:50So, yeah, and then you hope Joey Porter's, you know, got over his illness.
11:56And I saw somebody online suggesting he was trying to silently negotiate for a contract extension.
12:08Richard Sherman said that on the broadcast in the pregame, Mickey.
12:13He did?
12:14Yep.
12:15Did he see the picture of the guy almost losing his lunch walking from the bus to the locker room?
12:21I do not believe so, but to be fair, I'm not sure about that.
12:28There's pictures of it, by the way.
12:30Gross.
12:32Who wants a picture of that?
12:35And they basically sent him home.
12:38He didn't even make it to, like, the field.
12:41Once he got in the locker room and what was going on, it's like, you need to get out of
12:45here before somebody else gets sick.
12:47Yeah.
12:48I'm not going to lie to you, Mickey.
12:49I'm probably not going to look those pictures up.
12:51I will take your word for it.
12:53Yeah, if you have those pictures, just send them over to Kevin.
12:55Nope.
12:55Uh, just forward them along.
12:58If you text.
12:59Every time you send one of those.
13:01It's just maddening when people talk when they don't know or go try to find out facts.
13:07Just maddening.
13:08Well, I'm sure that's the only poor decision Richard Sherman has made as of late.
13:13Thank you very much for the time.
13:15Good sir.
13:16We'll catch you again tomorrow.
13:18That's a good decision on your part.
13:20There you go.
13:21Oh, Mickey Spagnuolo.
