00:00Let's bring in Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com, every Friday at this time to get you set for San Francisco.
00:08Did you stay up for the end of last night and put a little extra pep in your step this
00:13morning?
00:15I did see that game.
00:18I don't know about pep in this step, but I think the door is open.
00:22Definitely the door is open to see what the Cowboys do.
00:25But, man, the 49ers and the Giants are going to be the two biggest fan bases rooting against the Cowboys
00:33this week
00:33because I'm telling you, the Giants don't want any part of the Cowboys winning this game against San Fran
00:39because that's going to open up a can of worms that they don't want.
00:44They know they can't beat Washington, which is not a good thing.
00:47But if the Cowboys show that they can beat the 49ers, then everything's on the table at this point.
00:53And now I think we're going to have a race.
00:55But we'll see what happens this Sunday.
00:58Who do you think is actually going to be available to try to help them beat the 49ers?
01:02Since that injury report, it was so long.
01:04We had Brian Schottenheimer on earlier, and he starts naming players.
01:08And then as he's naming the players, he starts going, who else is on there?
01:11And it's almost like you have to struggle to remember who all could miss this game.
01:15But who do you think might actually be available out of some of the more questionable ones?
01:19Well, I don't – I'll be surprised if Joey Porter plays.
01:25I think that's kind of, to me, where it starts.
01:26I think that their defense has changed the most with him.
01:31I'd just – I'd be surprised.
01:33I mean, we'll see what he does today.
01:35He said it in the locker room that today's a big day for him.
01:38But as far as, you know, I think Overshown and Pickens, I think we'll both be there, you know, in
01:45uniform.
01:46So I think that's good for both of them being out there.
01:49And, you know, Ferguson – I'm looking at – I'm trying to think of the other guys on there.
01:53Ferguson, Goodson, I would imagine to be out.
01:56Azaraku.
01:58Azaraku, I'm going to say probably not on Azaraku.
02:01I'm not expecting Azaraku, Ferguson, or Joey Porter.
02:07But I – Porter, that thing is so tricky that, like, you don't really want to – like, I don't
02:12want to rule that.
02:13I mean, I wouldn't be the one to do that.
02:15I think it's one of those game-time decisions almost every week.
02:18But as far as guys that I do think will play, I think it'll be Turpin, Pickens, Overshown.
02:24Do you think they'll all be on a pitch count if they do get out there?
02:30Well, I mean, I think with Porter, I think with the way the rules are now with your practice squad
02:38guys,
02:38I think you have to cover yourself.
02:40If you were going to make him active, I think you've got to bring up a corner from the practice
02:44squad,
02:45a Kendrick or somebody like that, just because, you know, you don't know how long he's going to be out
02:50there.
02:50So I don't know if it's a pitch count.
02:52I just think it's – you know, and that's probably the smart way.
02:55I mean, because it's a foot – what he said yesterday, my foot's all jacked up.
03:00So that's not a good thing.
03:02It's foot, it's ankle, it's heel, it's everything.
03:05So if he's out there, I mean, I still think you have to cover yourself
03:09and make sure you have some depth behind him.
03:13You guys did a little series on DallasCowboys.com.
03:16Shout out Derek Eagleton, who just texted us in the last segment.
03:21And the question was, do the Cowboys have any advantages at all over San Francisco?
03:28What was your answer to that?
03:32Well, I'm not even sure what series you're talking about.
03:36You're talking about like a mailbag question?
03:38Yeah.
03:38Any Cowboy advantages against San Fran?
03:41Oh, okay.
03:44I mean, not really.
03:47I mean, as far as like –
03:48You did answer, right?
03:50I mean, I'm not going crazy.
03:52No, I answered it.
03:53I think what I – yeah, what I said was is that, I mean, I still believe –
03:58I still believe if the Cowboys can get – you know, if they get them blocked up front,
04:02then, yeah, there's always an advantage when Pickens and CD are out there
04:06with Dak throwing the ball.
04:07I don't think there's any team out there that's like, oh, we like this.
04:10We've got this covered.
04:12Now, the complementary players around them, the Fergusons and Turpens and Flanois
04:18and Javante Williams, those guys need to play well also.
04:21But I think, yeah, there is an advantage.
04:23If Dak is throwing the ball and these two guys are out there doing their thing,
04:28I don't think there's a team out there that can really handle them.
04:32And so I think – you know, but that's an if because we haven't seen the consistency there all the
04:38time.
04:39Cowboys defense to the 49ers offense?
04:42No, I don't see a lot of advantages there.
04:44They're going to have to get the ball out, they're going to have to get turnovers,
04:47and they're going to have to take advantage of it.
04:48Because if it's just straight up playing defense, them versus the 49ers,
04:52I don't think that's a great matchup at all.
04:54Sean, I wonder if Vegas thought all week that they knew that Pickens was going to play
05:00as part of the baked in on the point spread.
05:03It makes sense.
05:04They would –
05:04They move it that much?
05:05They – I mean, well, couple that, like Nick was talking about advantages.
05:09Like that's – the Cowboys clearly have an advantage over just about every team
05:12when those two are on the field with Dak.
05:15I mean, that would make sense because we still can't figure out the spread.
05:18Yeah, Nick, we can't figure out why it's been three and a half or opened at that.
05:22I know.
05:23I don't either.
05:24I don't.
05:26I don't either.
05:27And I don't even know if home – you know, the home team,
05:30if that even matters as much anymore.
05:32You know, like in the NFL, I guess it still does.
05:34But, you know –
05:35Especially with this one, how many – what percent of Sam Fran will be there?
05:39Oh, man, probably, you know –
05:4235, 40?
05:43It's usually half.
05:45God!
05:46It's a lot.
05:47I mean – but then again, you know, what's funny is that, like,
05:50that color will stick out and it'll – and everything red, you're like,
05:54oh, my God, look at all the fans.
05:56And then the Cowboys fans get everything else.
05:59Every blue, every white, every green and yellow is all Cowboys fans.
06:03So, you know, I mean, when you look at it from that standpoint –
06:06but I think it'll be a great crowd, honestly.
06:08The only time in my career that I can remember of being a 50-50 split, really,
06:13was the Cowboy 49ers in San Francisco.
06:16I've seen it the other way.
06:17So, I just think it's kind of the nature of the NFL now.
06:20But what I do know, it happened – this game has a feel of the Packers game
06:25last year in, like, week four where Micah came back to town
06:28and the Packers were rolling, the Cowboys weren't.
06:32And they had so many fans and all that.
06:34But that game had so much energy.
06:36Cowboy fans – you know, it's like a bowl game.
06:38Once the 49ers start saying, here we go, Niners, the Cowboy fans will chime in.
06:42It'll be loud and electric.
06:44So, I think it'll have an atmosphere to be a fun, like, bowl game-type crowd.
06:49But see if the – you know, the play on the field is entertaining, too.
06:54Nick, I think Shadi fibbed to us a little bit.
06:58Or maybe he really just thinks this way.
07:00And I was curious for your thought on it.
07:02We've talked about this.
07:03In the last five years, there's no team that has probably just stuck in the heads
07:10of the players and the coaching staff at times than San Francisco
07:13just from the battles that they had over the course of those three years.
07:17And so, you know, given the history and what that's meant to some of the guys
07:20who are on this team, Dak and others, you know,
07:24is there a little bit extra juice for this game, you think, for players?
07:28And that may add up to nothing.
07:29But is there a little bit of extra juice?
07:30Because Shadi was trying to say, like he said before, no.
07:33Every game's the same and there's no extra meaning to it.
07:35And I can't think he actually thinks that.
07:39Well, I think, yeah, I don't know if I – I don't buy that either.
07:44I don't buy that with any coach that says that stuff.
07:47It's not – it shouldn't be an extra game.
07:50But what Dak said yesterday about, you know,
07:54I don't want to put this on the other players on our team.
07:56Like they haven't lost to the Niners three or four times in a row.
08:00You know, some of these other guys.
08:01Now, Dak, CD, you know, I can't even think of that many others
08:05that have been a part of all of these.
08:06But, you know, there's not many of them.
08:10Dak obviously is.
08:11But that's not really the point.
08:13The point to me is the fact that this team's 7-1.
08:16And you haven't beaten anybody that's good.
08:19You haven't.
08:19And you even lost to teams that aren't good.
08:21So, like, this is the best opportunity staring you in the face.
08:25Because if you want to sneak into the playoffs and catch the Giants
08:29and get into the playoffs, guess what kind of teams are going to be
08:31sitting there for you?
08:33These.
08:33These teams right here.
08:34Or, and it might even be the Niners if they don't win their division
08:37and Seattle did.
08:38So, you know what I'm saying?
08:39It's like, this is the opportunity.
08:41It doesn't matter if they've won four or five in a row.
08:43It's like, you haven't proven.
08:45You've proven that you can lose to bad teams.
08:47You have not proven you can beat a good team.
08:49And guess what?
08:50Here's one coming to town.
08:52What's your pick?
08:55All that being said, I think the Niners win the game.
08:58I really do.
08:59I just, I don't, I mean, it's a great opportunity for the Cowboys.
09:03And I think they're going to play well.
09:04But I just feel like if San Francisco wants to run the football
09:08and McCaffrey is so tough because he can catch it,
09:12he can sneak it out of the backfield,
09:13that's why they don't get sacked because they just dump it off to him.
09:16And he's so dynamic.
09:18Purdy's great.
09:19I think he's a great quarterback that's even underrated.
09:23I think 38-27.
09:26I think it'll be kind of fun, high scoring.
09:28But I think you keep playing 60 minutes of football,
09:31I think the 49ers are going to be too tough.
09:34I hope I'm wrong.
09:35I hope it's a fun game.
09:36I hope the Cowboys, if the Cowboys are going to win,
09:38they're going to have to get turnovers.
09:39They're going to have to get the ball out.
09:40They're going to have to get an early lead.
09:42And, you know, I think that's what Atlanta did to them.
09:44But as I said the other day, I don't know if I said this to y'all,
09:48like it's weird, 49ers haven't really played any road games.
09:51This is their ninth game of the season, and this is their third road game.
09:55And they're only one and one in the road game.
09:57So, you know, we'll see.
10:00They still have some interesting games in front of them.
10:02Their schedule is very, you know, top-heavy with home games.
10:06So we'll see if it changes.
10:08But they're the type of team that's kind of built for it.
10:11But, man, it'll be a fun game.
10:14They've got to stop Fred Warner.
10:15I think Fred Warner might be the best player in football.
10:18He's so good.
10:19And so they're going to have to figure out how to get him blocked.
10:21We've previewed a lot of these with the 49ers.
10:25This team that they have this year compared to some of the other years,
10:29does something jump out whether they're better,
10:32something more unique about them, or not as good?
10:36They don't feel as good with the star power, you know,
10:40as far as some of the players not there.
10:43But that's when you know they've got great coaching.
10:46You know, they've got guys that they just – the system is so strong.
10:51It kind of reminds me a little bit of the Packers.
10:53You know, you get beat by the Packers a few weeks ago,
10:56and you look at their defense, and you're like, who are these guys?
10:59You know, but they still figure out a way just because of –
11:02and, you know, and I think that's one thing that fans,
11:05they don't ever want to hear, but, you know, because no one's patient at all.
11:10But it's like consistency does matter.
11:12Building a program, keeping this coach, and keeping, you know,
11:15the same type of program I think does hold some weight.
11:20So just every time you lose two or three games in a row, you're like,
11:23all right, get this coach out of here.
11:24Let's start over.
11:25Let's blow it up.
11:25Well, and, you know, you can't necessarily do that.
11:28And I think there's been times for San Francisco, for the Packers too,
11:31where their fan base maybe has wanted to move on.
11:33But there is something about the consistency,
11:36and I think this year it's showing a little bit more with the 49ers.
11:40Great stuff, Nick.
11:42Appreciate it.
11:42Enjoy the game.
11:43We'll recap on Monday.
11:44All right.
11:45See you guys.
11:45Have a good weekend.
