- 15 hours ago
Mickey Spagnola joined The K&C Masterpiece to recap the Cowboys big Week 7 win over the Eagles. Spagnola discussed running the football, defensive adjustments, Schotty's press conference, and more.
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00:00It's time to talk with our Dallas Cowboys insider, Mickey Spagnola. Good morning, sir.
00:06Good morning, gentlemen. How's it going?
00:08It's good. Do I need to tone down my enthusiasm because you are probably super tired?
00:15You know, I got four hours sleep. What more do you need?
00:18Man, good point. That is the spirit, Mickey.
00:23How excited were you, Mickey, that they ran the ball so that you could get out of that game a
00:26little early?
00:28You know what? We got home early because of that, right?
00:31Well, that's the result of not falling behind by 17 points.
00:38Right.
00:38And while they, you know, had to come back from behind three times, it was never more than one score.
00:45So you can kind of stick to it.
00:47And my understanding going into the game, the plan was to make sure that they are blocking schemes.
00:57They went heavy.
00:58Did you notice how many times they went two tight ends, right?
01:02Yeah. Throwing Broderick Jones out there.
01:04And then using Broderick Jones sometimes in the two tight ends.
01:08I believe my stats are correct here.
01:12He played nine snaps, 13%.
01:15And when they went three tight ends, a lot, one wide receiver, they still said, okay, we're coming at you.
01:25We're going to run the ball.
01:27I thought the other thing they did is just because they went two tight ends, that didn't mean they were
01:33going to run.
01:33They actually threw out of it to improve the blocking and did a good enough job early to discourage the
01:42Eagles from continuing the blitz.
01:45So I thought, you know, the packages they put together to protect Dak a lot better absolutely worked in the
01:54end.
01:55You know, we talked a lot leading into this game about the Cowboys third down defense and the astonishing rate
02:01of which they were giving up first downs.
02:03Whether it was via an actual play being run or a penalty, how worried were you in that first half
02:10that it was just going to be worse than usual?
02:13Well, I got to admit, the first three plays Philadelphia ran, I said to myself, you've got to be S
02:24-ing me, right?
02:26They dumped the ball off to Barkley for 12.
02:30Barkley goes for 29, and then the rookie, or not rookie, the inexperienced quarterback, Tanner McKee, finds a wide open
02:43lemons for 21.
02:44So if you add all that up, that was like 20, 29, 21, so that's 50.
02:55That's 79 yards in three plays.
02:58And I'm sitting there going, you've got to be kidding me.
03:01Here we go again, and they drive right down the field, four plays, 75 yards in two minutes and score.
03:09The good thing was it only took two minutes, right?
03:12They didn't drain the clock like, what, one of their drives was seven minutes, the other one was nine-something
03:19to start the second half?
03:20Correct.
03:21And they still survived.
03:22And the reason they survived, number one, the Cowboys scored, number two, actually after that long drive, the defense actually
03:34made plays, came up with a turnover and a stop on downs.
03:39And you were sitting there going, well, where was that previously?
03:42Right.
03:43What changed, right?
03:44Well, I'll tell you, second half, they decided that DeMarvin Overshawn was going to play more, and he had all
03:53his production in that second half using him to blitz from the linebacker spot, actually cover, use his athletic ability.
04:03He wasn't built to sit in the middle of a defense and plug holes stopping the run.
04:09They used his athletic ability, and it certainly paid off.
04:14In his first game in, what, seven weeks?
04:17Yeah.
04:17Was that an indictment on Barham's play, or was Overshawn just the better option for this?
04:25No, I think what they were doing is they were sort of rotating it.
04:30The change they made was Shamar James starting, right?
04:34How pumped were you for that?
04:36And he was the green dot, by the way.
04:39As a matter of fact, he played 88% of the snaps, 58.
04:46And when he was in there, he was the green dot.
04:49So they basically rotated the other spot.
04:52And I don't know, you know, what their plan was for Overshawn, but he played 43 snaps, and I guarantee
05:01the majority of them seem to have been in the second half.
05:05So, yeah, they rotated.
05:08They even used Baron at linebacker at times.
05:12So they rotated that position, and finally it started to pay off because, yeah, it was like the way things
05:20started.
05:21It's like, okay, this team's going to run for 200 yards.
05:25And I think they held him to, what, 125, something like that.
05:29And I was worried that Saquon would have taken that second play to the house if he was fully healthy.
05:36You mentioned...
05:37121, by the way.
05:39Oh, hey!
05:39Okay.
05:40Oh, sorry, I exaggerated.
05:42You mentioned Justin Baron.
05:44He, unfortunately, on special teams, also had the hold that wiped out the Goodson return for what would have been
05:53a touchdown.
05:54And that was a penalty that it felt like everybody knew because the second, like, before it was even officially
05:59announced, Dak was already trotting out on the field.
06:02Yeah.
06:05I didn't get a good look at it.
06:07It was a good call.
06:10Was it a good hold or a bad hold?
06:12It was one of those things we were talking about at Mickey is, like, there are a few things more
06:16agitating than penalties.
06:17But one is a penalty that has no impact on the play at all.
06:22This Justin Baron hold very much looked like it had a direct impact on springing the hole that led to
06:30the return.
06:31So, and I thought it was a good call.
06:34I can accept that.
06:35But give Goodson credit for not giving up on it, right?
06:39Absolutely.
06:39He could have gone down about three or four times, and he kept plugging away until he got to the
06:45end zone.
06:45So, that was somewhat encouraging, even if there was a hold to initially spring him.
06:51So, yeah, there was a few too many penalties, especially on third downs or downs that gave them automatic first
07:01downs.
07:01Yeah, that was a rough first half.
07:04But I thought after that first drive in this third quarter, they kind of settled down and played much better.
07:13Yeah.
07:13The defense was a lot more fun throughout the evening, forcing as many punts as they did.
07:20I did notice, though, Pickens was on the field a little less, I think, on run plays than Flannoy.
07:29Did you happen to notice that?
07:30Oh, they had some formations and went too wide when they went to tight ends, and Mingo was out there,
07:43and Flannoy were out there as the two wide receivers that they were presumably out there to block.
07:52And so, they kind of changed that up, and the fact that, as I mentioned before, using Broderick Jones as
08:00one of the eligible tight ends.
08:02So, they came in with some packages that said, okay, we're going to run the ball, and we're going to
08:08put our best blockers out there to do so.
08:12And then, what do they go for 200? 201, was it?
08:18204, Mickey.
08:19204. Boy, I'm just short-term.
08:22Now, why do you hate the Cowboys, man?
08:26And actually, average 5.4 carry with Williams going for 155.
08:34So, it was the, I think they, it got mentioned that he was the first Cowboys running back to go
08:40for more than 150 since Zeke in 2018.
08:45Right.
08:46So, that was pretty impressive, but that's what you can do if you don't just automatically fall behind 17 to
08:56nothing at halftime.
08:57Right.
08:57Yeah, yeah.
08:58By, I think, continuing to run the ball, staying stubborn mentality that they talked about all week.
09:04That was the surprising thing to me, Mickey, was that they did still.
09:08Like, I know you're saying the fall behind part, but even still, they just, it was the mentality that they
09:13were committed to it.
09:14And I hope that that's something that they will stay committed to for the rest of the season whenever it
09:20needs to be called upon.
09:21Did you get the sense that Schottenheimer last night after the game really wanted to talk to y'all?
09:27I don't think it was y'all.
09:30I think it was some people.
09:32Oh, okay.
09:32All right.
09:33Yeah.
09:33He read the paper.
09:34He saw the morning news.
09:36He saw them burying him already after six games.
09:41Uh, and I think he got a little irritated and, uh, you know what?
09:47Good for him.
09:48He, he, he needed to do that.
09:50Get a little Parcells in you when you get pissed at the media, right?
09:54Or at some members of the media.
09:57And, uh, I think he didn't disguise, uh, how, uh, you know, mad he was or, or at least affected
10:08by what was being said about his ability to coach.
10:13Do you, do you think what was being said was untrue though?
10:17Like not, not his ability to coach, but like some of the decisions that he had made.
10:24No, I don't think that they were questioning decisions.
10:26I would think they were questioning his ability to be a head coach and we're ready to fire him already.
10:32Uh, not even halfway through the season without looking at some of the reasons that some of this was happening.
10:39Uh, and so I think it irritated him and I think, uh, he was pretty terse with his answers, uh,
10:48the, the, the whole time he was up there.
10:50Well, I'm sure that's the first time anyone's ever been terse with you.
10:54Maybe.
10:55Yeah.
10:55Right.
10:56And I'll guarantee you, if you go back and, and actually see it, he didn't crack a smile once.
11:03Yeah.
11:04Yeah.
11:04I kind of, and that's not normally him.
11:07Right.
11:07Yeah.
11:08He, even after either of their plays where usually the guys are walking off the field and he's giving them
11:13the, the pep rally and everything.
11:15And they had just scored and he was still just giving them the great job guys.
11:18Like, this is what we're supposed to be doing rather than let's celebrate it so much.
11:22And I kind of liked the mentality a little bit.
11:24Uh, it's a, it's a different version of him.
11:27Obviously I want to see Schottenheimer happy.
11:29I want to be calling him shoddy again all the time and having fun.
11:32But if this is a version that it takes to, to kind of keep that, that peaceful mindset, not panicking,
11:37not getting too stressed out about some of these things and then going out and winning, then I'm all about
11:42it.
11:42I just, I'm watching that replay of the Pickens catch in the end zone right now.
11:46And I have no clue how he got his feet inbounds.
11:48Man.
11:48That was, that was otherworldly.
11:51That was nuts.
11:51There's no way he could get that second foot down, but he managed to get it down and it was
11:57so unbelievable.
11:58That's why they reviewed it, uh, for as long as they did.
12:02It was like, no, he really didn't do that.
12:05Right.
12:05Um, just amazing.
12:07And they said there was 0.2 yards of space between him and the, and, and the line.
12:16And I thought that even seemed too high because I was like, no, there was 0.01 millimeters there.
12:24Maybe, maybe for the first foot, the second foot, there couldn't have been more than inches from the line.
12:31Exactly.
12:32And the way he like turned his ankle at just the appropriate, I thought the throw was incredible.
12:38I thought the catch was incredible.
12:41I, I, it was really interesting to me because I thought Dak's game was solid at times, uneven, but all
12:48of his best passes were those touchdown passes.
12:52I thought every single one of them was phenomenal.
12:56Like dropping it in a bucket.
12:58Yes, exactly.
13:00The way they used to, uh, practice back in the day when they put a, one of those, what, the
13:0620 gallon garbage cans and in the corner of the end zone.
13:11And they try to throw it in the bucket.
13:13Now they have a net for that.
13:15So they, they've progressed on their equipment.
13:18Uh, yeah, early on.
13:20And, and I think he got affected on a couple, uh, passes, uh, cause, uh, guys were flying in his
13:27face.
13:27Uh, and yeah, there, there was some uncharacteristic, uh, incompletions throws that he made that you're going, what was that?
13:35Yes.
13:36Uh, and then boy, when he heated up, uh, and the protection got better and they discouraged them from blitzing.
13:44And, and, and, and so all this talk we did all week long, uh, or a lot of people did,
13:51let's put it that way.
13:52Uh, that Vic Fangio's got these Cowboys numbers and he gave up 414 yards total offense and ended up being
14:0138 points.
14:03Why didn't they blitz Mickey?
14:06Why didn't who blitz?
14:07The Eagles, they, they blitzed.
14:09They did early.
14:10They sent extra pressure five times in this game.
14:13Well, and they, and they either blocked it or defeated it and discouraged them from, from, uh, uh, continuing to
14:21do that.
14:21Yeah.
14:22Uh, and decided that they were going to drop into coverage and that didn't work so well either.
14:26Yeah.
14:27And that's actually when you're running the football because you're still in the game, you're not desperate.
14:32That's a, that's a, I mean, that's such a valid point.
14:34And Mickey, you talked about it all week last week.
14:36You were like, if, like, why wouldn't you blitz though?
14:39Like, why wouldn't you just look at what the last two weeks have been and just say, screw it?
14:42That's what we're doing.
14:43But the Cowboys, they, they did some adjusting to themselves, uh, that I guess forced the Eagles to not be
14:49able to.
14:51And, and I think, you know, the offensive line did a heck of a job.
14:54Did you see some of the, close to the goal line?
15:00Oh my gosh.
15:01Uh, he was a monster.
15:03And guess what?
15:04That was his, what, second game back since the injury?
15:07Right.
15:08Or is it third?
15:09So, or third, was it?
15:13Maybe.
15:14We'll figure that out.
15:15I think, I think it was maybe the second, but anyway, yeah, he, he kind of rounded in and we
15:22didn't hear any complaints about Terrence Steele or Tyler Guyton.
15:26Um, I, I think the offensive line against what was supposed to be a pretty good defensive front, uh, kind
15:33of handled, uh, the Eagles, uh, and, and discouraged that defense.
15:38Matter of fact, discouraged the crowd because I didn't, I don't know if you saw any shots of the, um,
15:44of the stadium.
15:45Uh, there was a lot of empty seats halfway through the fourth quarter.
15:50Yeah, it was the, it was the big overhead return shot about midway through the fourth quarter that I was
15:56like, wow, a lot of people have left this game good.
16:00I hope they left sad because their team lost.
16:03Well, they put their fingers in their pockets too.
16:09Yeah, because they like to flip people.
16:11Oh yeah, that's right.
16:12That's right.
16:13We were talking about that with Steven yesterday.
16:14I forgot.
16:15Excellent stuff as always.
16:18I didn't mean to go right over the top of your head, but all you have to do is be
16:22on the team buses going into the stadium and see the reaction, uh, of some of the people.
16:28It, it's just, it's laughable, you know, but they think they're, they're, uh, hurting people.
16:35And, and, you know, I, as I see players, they laugh about it.
16:40They think it's really funny that the fans are that fired up as the team buses are rolling into the
16:46stadium.
16:47Right.
16:47But now with the police escort, uh, they don't throw eggs at the buses anymore.
16:52In this economy, yeah, don't do that, right?
16:56That's expensive as hell.
16:56Yeah.
16:57It's expensive.
16:58Thank you very much, good sir.
17:00We'll catch you again tomorrow.
17:02Okay.
17:03Good job, guys.
17:04See ya.
17:04Thanks, Vic.
17:05Because we won.
17:05Yeah.