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RJ Choppy, morning show host at 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, joins Willard and Dibs to preview 49ers vs. Cowboys.
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00:00Out to the River Islands guest line we go.
00:02Our friend R.J. Choppy, 105.3, the fan in Dallas, hosts the morning show out there.
00:08So, R.J., good afternoon. Thank you for coming on.
00:10Is there any truth to the rumor that Jerry Jones is the one who has currently grounded all flights at
00:17all airports around America
00:19to prevent all of the 49er fans from coming out there on Sunday?
00:23He might think he has the power to do that.
00:26I don't know that he did.
00:27I have no proof of this one.
00:30But that's wild, man.
00:32I mean, all these college football teams are trying to get to their away games for tomorrow.
00:36Right.
00:36You know, we're monitoring this.
00:38I mean, my school, Tennessee, they're at A&M this week, and they're on the runway.
00:45They're just kind of waiting around.
00:46We wait a long time.
00:48Yeah, it's quite a large story that's going on right now.
00:52So, we'll see.
00:53Hopefully, it's done by tomorrow so that the Niners can go out to Dallas and play the Cowboys.
00:59But, RJ, give us a sense of what is always going to be two special brands going up against one
01:07another,
01:07but to what level the fan base out there is feeling that as the Cowboys are experiencing another disappointing year.
01:15Well, look, it is a big rivalry.
01:19The Cowboys view the 49ers outside of the NFC East.
01:24It's one of three teams.
01:26It's San Fran, it's Green Bay, it's Pittsburgh.
01:28That's the big three of the non-divisional rivals.
01:31And San Fran is right up there because of the impactful games they've played.
01:36I mean, right?
01:36So, it's a big game for Cowboys fans.
01:40The problem is that most of us are not as delusional to think that this is a game that they
01:48should win.
01:50They should not win this football game.
01:52Our biggest concern is, what is Vegas thinking?
01:55Why is this point spread so low?
01:57That was the biggest thing.
01:59That was a stunner when we saw that.
02:00But Cowboy fans are excited about it, you know, as much as they can be just because it is a
02:04rivalry game.
02:05But, you know, truth be told, most of them know that they're expecting the worst.
02:12And I get that, but did last night give any buoyancy to the Cowboy fan knowing that, you know, the
02:18Giants lost
02:19and now you're sitting just, I guess it's a game and a half back with the tie, it's kind of
02:23funky?
02:25We're trying to get some of that buoyancy.
02:27Like, you know, we're trying to convince ourselves, hey, you can still win the division.
02:30And they can.
02:31They know they can.
02:32A lot of Cowboy fans still think, oh, yeah, this is a team that can win this division because they
02:35have the best quarterback.
02:36But the reality is, what's going to happen when you get to the playoffs?
02:39I think we all know what's going to happen.
02:40I mean, you're going to face Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, you know, in the first round, right?
02:46Chicago, whoever, you're going to be the four seed.
02:50You might be the three because of the NFC South.
02:52And you're going to face a really good team that comes out of the North or maybe Seattle or the
02:57Rams.
02:57And you're going to wind up being an underdog at home.
03:00RJ, can you give us something?
03:03Like, I think we're all looking at this in the simplistic way that we do.
03:06And I think we're all in agreement.
03:08The Niner offense, I mean, they should score on every drive, right?
03:12Like, can you give us something from this Cowboy defense that in any way, shape, or form should slow down
03:18the Niner offense?
03:21Well, the run defense was pretty good last week against Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis.
03:25Now, they could probably play, you know, load the box.
03:29Prior to that, against Arizona, outside of Algier, Algier really went off against them.
03:34But in that game, you know, they really did shut down Love.
03:37The week before, you know, they did okay against the run as well.
03:41So, they are doing a little bit better against the rush.
03:45Quinn Williams has played his butt off.
03:47He's a really, really awesome player.
03:49And the last couple of games, he's really made the trade and the contract that gave him look good.
03:56So, he's a guy you got to watch out for.
03:58Caleb Downs has come on a little bit.
04:00He had a big interception to seal this one.
04:02The defense is not good.
04:03Like, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.
04:04It's not a good defense.
04:05They think it's getting better.
04:07It's not the worst defense in the NFL anymore.
04:10That's a plus.
04:11It's a heavily penalized defense.
04:14This defense allows the most first downs by penalty.
04:19Likewise, they also get the most first downs on offense by penalty.
04:23So, like, it's a pretty big variance.
04:27Defense is not good.
04:28A little bit better against the run.
04:30Still successful with the pass.
04:32And you look at all those penalties.
04:33Like, when you look at all the games that you've watched, where do you put the blame for all of
04:38the lack of discipline that Dallas has had?
04:41You know, this is a talking point we've had.
04:43Because, you know, me and the guys at the show, like, I am a player blame guy when it comes
04:50to penalties.
04:52I was here covering this team when Bill Parcells was here.
04:55And Parcells used to say, I don't coach penalties.
04:58He basically was, you know, that could be a convenient way just to pass the bus to the players.
05:02But I happen to believe it like that.
05:04You know, like, these are big kids.
05:06These are big.
05:07These are adults.
05:08They should know how to line up on sides.
05:10They should know that if you're an offensive lineman, you can't go a yard down the field.
05:14You know what I mean?
05:15Like, you got to wait until the ball's caught.
05:18There are rules you got to follow.
05:20There are technique things that I would blame the coaches on.
05:23If this team is holding at a high rate, yeah, I would blame that on them.
05:28But, yeah, I don't put the blame on the coaches for penalties.
05:31I mean, I think that's a player thing.
05:33You got to be smart enough.
05:34You're getting paid millions of dollars.
05:36You got to know the rules.
05:37RJ Choppy, our Odyssey station in Dallas.
05:40He handles the morning show out there.
05:41He's joining us on Weatherton Dibs 95.7 The Game.
05:45RJ, I got to tell you, this is interesting.
05:46We just had a caller say, the league is better when the Niners and Cowboys are both good.
05:52And you called it a rivalry.
05:54And I tend to think rivalries, like, as fans, we think it's about the teams and the players,
05:58but it's actually about the fan bases.
06:00I got to tell you, dude, the lack of bravado from the Cowboy fan base is almost unsettling,
06:10the way that this feels.
06:12Like, can you speak to that?
06:15Where has it gone?
06:16Is it as simple as, right, I get it.
06:18They're not as good anymore.
06:20But I don't know.
06:21This has just never been a part of this mix, if you ask me.
06:27Yeah.
06:28I mean, look, when you've been beaten down, even when you haven't won in 30 years,
06:32you're going to lose some of that, right?
06:34You know, it's like, you know, Yankee fans will never lose that,
06:38even though they haven't won World Series.
06:40It's still New York, right?
06:41They're always going to have that.
06:44Cowboy fans, yeah, they have lost it.
06:46Like, it isn't the same.
06:47And I can tell, you know, I started working in DFW in 2002 in media,
06:53and it was even back then it was different.
06:55Like, it was, you know, it was still the fight.
06:58It was still all about the Super Bowls.
06:59Well, now it's about getting back to the NFC Championship game.
07:02You know, the standards, they say, are still the same.
07:05I've always pushed back on that, you know?
07:07Like, expectations and standards have to change.
07:09You know, just because you won a bunch of titles 30 years ago
07:12doesn't mean that that's what your same standard is, your same expectations.
07:17They've definitely had a change in bravado.
07:21But also, like, you know, I think that, you know, the city has grown so much.
07:26I mean, you have a lot of people who move in here that are not even Cowboy fans anymore.
07:31You know, like, they move here from somewhere else.
07:33So the whole city is taking on kind of a different mix.
07:37And you look at, like, the lack of continuity,
07:40and I'm thinking back to the last Super Bowl when, you know, you went from Jimmy Johnson,
07:43you got Barry Switzer, and since then it's been seven head coaches.
07:46Do you think that that is a part of what is beleaguering Dallas,
07:50the fact that, you know, it seems like you have a coach, Jason Garrett,
07:53didn't get it done, and then you keep switching?
07:56There's one constant, though.
07:58Oh, what would that be, RJ?
08:03I mean, the general manager is still the general manager,
08:05and he has been here for all of them, the good and the bad.
08:09Now, he doesn't get credit for the good, which, I mean, you know, it always is crazy.
08:15Like, I mean, every owner gets similar credit.
08:19Just you hired the guy.
08:21Why can't you just take the credit for hiring the guy and then let that be it?
08:25But, you know, Jerry bought a hobby.
08:27He bought an occupation.
08:29He bought something to be, and he wanted to be in business with his kids,
08:32and he bought the Dallas Cowboys to be in business with his kids.
08:37I don't think the coach or the coaches, you know, they had never been the face of the franchise.
08:44Jimmy was the face of the franchise, and I think it bothered Jerry.
08:48And then ever since then, outside of Parcells, and he didn't like, he liked Bill.
08:54I don't think he had fun with Bill here as the head coach.
08:58I think Jerry wants a guy as the coach that he could put his arm around, you know, have a
09:04beer with.
09:05And Bill's not that kind of guy.
09:06Bill's serious.
09:07Bill's football, football, football.
09:09And I just don't think he had fun with Parcells here.
09:12And he hired Parcells.
09:13He had to be good.
09:14They had to get the team good again.
09:16They were terrible for three years in a row.
09:18He had to get a stadium built, and he knew he needed it.
09:21RJ, is George Kittle really disliked by the fan base out there?
09:26Yes.
09:27I mean, a lot of Niners are disliked by the fan base.
09:28Yeah, but of course.
09:29Of course.
09:30I mean, he wore the F Dallas shirt, and that did it.
09:34That really did it.
09:35But he's a good player.
09:36No, and the reason I ask is that.
09:38Like, I don't hear a whole lot about it.
09:42And obviously, he wore the F Dallas shirt.
09:44He said this week he might do it again.
09:46He was fined for it.
09:47He says he has zero regrets about it.
09:50That's the kind of thing I think I'm getting at.
09:53But, like, he's been poking at this franchise for at least three years,
09:57and I just didn't know if I've ever heard anything come back at him for it.
10:03Right.
10:04No, I know.
10:05Yeah, he is definitely not well-liked.
10:10But, you know, look, they hated Eli.
10:13You know, the fan base doesn't like Jalen Hurts.
10:17You know, there's a lot of players that this fan base has a rivalry with.
10:22Mason Crosby.
10:23They can't stand Mason Crosby.
10:25Mason Crosby?
10:26Yeah.
10:27Oh, because the playoff game in 2016, he made, like, two 50-yard field goals in a row
10:31and broke their hearts.
10:34Aaron Rodgers.
10:35Like, there's a lot of guys that this fan base doesn't like,
10:37but George Kittle is right up there.
10:39Is the majority of the anti-49er sentiment older people?
10:43Because we have a producer here who's 30 and our assistant producer is 25,
10:47and they don't really get the old school, like, hatred of Dallas.
10:51Do you find that it's more the older fans who have that feeling toward the Niners?
10:56I don't think so, because the reason is, I mean, the most recent playoff disappointments
11:02are against San Francisco.
11:05So that's fresh.
11:06From a Niners perspective, it's not very fresh,
11:09because when was the last time the Cowboys really kind of put it to San Fran?
11:13It's been a while.
11:14So, yeah, a lot of Cowboy fans still, it doesn't matter how old you are,
11:17they still really hate San Francisco.
11:21But, I mean, you know, you go back and look at those two playoff games,
11:25it was a, like, San Fran came in here,
11:28nobody expected the Niners to win that game,
11:30where Dak slid and ran the clock out.
11:34Yeah.
11:34And then the next year, when we went out there,
11:37you can make the argument that Cowboys really did outplay San Francisco,
11:41and Dak had a couple of turnovers, and that really caused them to lose.
11:46It was a really good game.
11:47But, yeah, Cowboy fans, it doesn't matter, young or old,
11:50they absolutely feel the rivalry.
11:52RJ, I don't know if young fans are bothered by Dallas,
11:56but they might be after your fourth San Fran reference.
11:59Yeah.
12:00Do you know, by the way, that people out here don't like that?
12:03What's that?
12:04Like, the abbreviation San Fran.
12:08Oh, I had no idea.
12:10Yeah, see, I wondered.
12:11Highly offensive.
12:12Yeah, it's not, I, no, but it just, I couldn't even tell you where that comes from,
12:17but, yeah, they're not into it.
12:20Wow, okay.
12:21Do you call it California?
12:22Can I not call it Cali?
12:24Frisco.
12:24You can call it Cali.
12:26Frisco used to be the offensive one.
12:28People have softened to it a little bit,
12:30and I now feel like they're more bothered by San Fran.
12:34Really?
12:35Yeah.
12:35Oh, I'm going to say it more now, then.
12:37Exactly.
12:37I love it.
12:38See, that's what I'm, that's what I'm looking for, RJ.
12:41It would be like, yeah, there you go.
12:42Calling the Cowboys the Arlington Cowboys,
12:44because, I mean, that's basically where it is, I guess.
12:48It is, yeah, it is.
12:49I call them the cows.
12:50I don't even call them the cowboys.
12:51I call them the cows.
12:53Yeah, no, but they're in Arlington.
12:54They're not in Dallas.
12:55Yeah.
12:56Yeah, they haven't been, they've never been in Dallas.
12:57They used to be in Irving.
12:58That's why I call them Texas' team,
13:00because we know they're not America's team.
13:06Oh, man, you know, I think you guys had a chance of that nickname.
13:11I mean, still do.
13:12Yeah, I mean.
13:13Still do.
13:13And if it wasn't for these FAA flight delays,
13:16you'd probably see a lot of red down there in Jerry's world.
13:19Yeah, what are you expecting on Sunday, RJ?
13:21Both in terms of the environment and the game.
13:24Oh, I'm expecting just a bludgeoning of a football game.
13:28I picked, I think, 42-24, San Fran.
13:33San Fran, yes, of course.
13:36So I picked 42-24.
13:39No, I think we all talked about this.
13:41We expect about 50% Niner fans, you know, 40% to 50%.
13:47I mean, they always show up, and it always looks.
13:51I mean, the red shirt's really against the blue.
13:55I mean, it really stands out anyway.
13:57So even if it's 30%, it looks like 50.
14:00If it's actually 50, it looks like 75.
14:03But this is, they've always taken over the stadium.
14:07There's a couple of teams.
14:09Bears do it.
14:10Steelers do it.
14:11Packers do it.
14:12Detroit did it, surprisingly.
14:15We did not expect that a couple years ago.
14:17And that was the year where they started getting good.
14:19And they took over the stadium, man.
14:22The Honolulu Blue came in there.
14:24Is this a testimony to maybe the local fans and the Metroplex not being totally bought in on this 30
14:31-year drought?
14:34I don't know about that.
14:36I mean, because, you know, the Cowboys were good in those years when they were giving up their seats.
14:40They just know that, I mean, they upcharge you so much for season tickets.
14:44They know that they can make essentially back what they pay on season tickets in one San Francisco game or
14:50one Detroit game, right?
14:51So, they sell them.
14:53I get it.
14:54You know, I wouldn't do it if I was a fan.
14:57But, I mean, I'm not in that position, right?
15:00Like, I don't pay for tickets to the game.
15:03Lucky enough, I don't have to.
15:04And if I did and I wanted to make my money back, I mean, it's an easy one to do.
15:08RJ, ton of fun, man.
15:09Thanks for doing it.
15:11Anytime, boys.
15:13RJ Choppy, 105.3, the fan in Dow.