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Speaker 1: The following is a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is the Players Lounge, broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters at the Star. Now, your hosts, Barry Church, Anthony Dorsett, DeMontre Moore, and Newey Scruggs.
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Speaker 2: Come on in, come on in. Come on in.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what it is.
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Speaker 4: Come on in.
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Speaker 2: It's the Players Lounge. We at the SWBC Studios out here in Frisco, Texas. You know what I'm saying? This podcast is brought to you by Aristocrat Games.
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Speaker 3: Yeah. You got your quiet story.
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Speaker 4: You know, you hear me? R & B Friday night.
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Speaker 3: That's what I'm about to say. What's going on, man? Sounding like a 90s R & B video in here. Man, get it going, man. I'm sorry. My bad.
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Speaker 2: We got so much to talk about today. You know what I'm saying? We could jump right into what the Cowboys did, but we definitely got to talk a little bit about this game last night.
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Speaker 3: All right? So, of course.
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Speaker 3: Hello? Yeah, okay.
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Speaker 2: Of course, last night, you know what I'm saying? You watched Buffalo win this game in overtime.
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Speaker 3: It was a good game.
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Speaker 2: It was a good game. And your boy, Josh Allen.
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Speaker 3: The dust. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Man, you still didn't tell us the story about this dust thing, but I let y'all know.
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Speaker 2: I'm going to go ahead and say he the cheat code for the NFL, man. Josh Allen is the cheat code for the NFL.
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Speaker 4: Without a doubt.
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Speaker 5: I mean, because they did a good job of, you know what I mean, in handling those receivers for the most part.
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Speaker 4: All game long.
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Speaker 5: I mean, it was frustrating them guys on the outside, but when you got a guy that When things break down, 260 and running like he is.
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Speaker 2: Say that again, 260.
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Speaker 4: He was punishing linebackers.
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Speaker 3: Come on, bro.
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Speaker 5: And you know, as a DB, after a while, you ain't going to keep trying to lower the shoulder in that 260 coming downhill like that, man.
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Speaker 4: It's crazy.
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Speaker 2: I've always had an issue with big dudes making business decisions.
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Speaker 6: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: Like, come on, man. Y'all the same size.
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Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah.
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Speaker 2: He can't be big to you like he big to me.
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Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
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Speaker 2: But what you think about that game last night, Trey?
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Speaker 3: Man, I'm getting tired of it, if we're being honest. Like, I just was about to hit somebody. Like, I'm like, bro, there's no way. He's too big, too powerful to be doing this. And, like, hey, if somebody owns him in fantasy, I'm pretty sure they happy with him going and doing that. When have you seen a complete package like this? Like, you typically, like, yes, you've seen Lamar Jackson, the athletic quarterbacks that do their thing. You see the people that can throw. But to see somebody, like, of this magnitude, like, thinking about Ben Roethlisberger, like, how big of a quarterback he was. And it was like, but this guy can move. And, like, at one point in time, they was like, oh, he's not as fast as Lamar. But it's like, bro, he's deceivingly fast. And on top of that, he dropping that shoulder on you. And to see... the game and where it's evolving to like some of the physicality getting taken out of it and stuff like that it's like hey he he said i'm punishing somebody so for me i liked it but you know unfortunately i was disappointed because i picked the right you know i'm gonna go ahead and pick the rounds man i.
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Speaker 2: Had the wrong pick last night too as well man i didn't just a touch on this like there was a point in time where quarterbacks used to be stoic yeah it used to be like like, basically like statues in the pocket.
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Speaker 3: Okay?
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Speaker 2: Now, you know, and then it was a point in time where more athletic quarterbacks got punished for being so athletic.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, Mike Vick. Hey, come on, man.
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Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
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Speaker 2: But now it seems like, you know, for whatever reason, Josh Allen is able to change the dynamic with that and change the conversation a little bit.
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Speaker 3: Let me ask you this, though, because it's easy to say, oh, he's this and he's that, but He ain't been over the hump yet. So do you think that this is the year that he's over the hump? Because how many times have we started out the season, oh, Josh Allen is looking good. The Bills are Super Bowl favorite. And then all of a sudden, when it comes to crunch time, it's like, fall up short every time. So do you think this is finally the moment where he has his moment of stardom and becomes that guy?
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Speaker 4: He got a chance to. But just like every year, he got a chance to.
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Speaker 3: But.
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Speaker 5: If he keeps making them bonehead-type mistakes, man, and you see it each and every year from Josh Allen, when it comes down to it in the playoffs, big-time games, he'll.
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Speaker 4: Start pressing and he'll turn the football over. I mean, you've seen it last night.
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Speaker 5: When he started pressing before the half, there's no reason to throw that interception that he did. Watson dropped another one that was thrown right to him. Those will catch up to you at the wrong moment. You look at last year when they went up to Denver for that playoff game. The man turned it over five times, and it was ridiculous turnovers. Like, I'm holding the ball out here like a loaf of bread, gets it fumbled.
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Speaker 3: Superhero ball.
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Speaker 4: Superhero ball.
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Speaker 5: So, you know, it helps them win in games like this where you're like, man, Josh put that team on the back.
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Speaker 4: But then it also, you know, it can happen in the reverse way as well.
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Speaker 3: So do you think it's this year?
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Speaker 4: No, no, I think there's too.
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Speaker 3: Many good teams.
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Speaker 2: I don't think they have the defense for that.
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Speaker 3: Exactly.
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Speaker 4: I don't think they have the defense, man.
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Speaker 3: Even with the defense, you don't think– Because you see some people not have defense, but as long as you got decent, because they got decent defense. Yeah. You don't think that Josh Allen, if he's who he is, is everybody sending a chat, J-A-17. Like, they already gave him his Superman cape. They practically giving him MVP now.
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Speaker 2: Oh, they've done that. They gave him the MVP when Lamar's numbers was better than his that year. So, I mean, so arguably, they've been trying to give him the MVP for a minute. You know what I'm saying? They just had to get it, get the right year. And, of course, they want to crown him. If they get an opportunity.
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Speaker 4: To, they will.
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Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? But let's jump into the main thing that happened last night in this building. And, of course, Cowboy Nation, I'm sure everybody knows already, Cowboys went out and hired Mike Pettin as the senior defensive assistant. I guess that's what they're calling him. Senior defensive assistant.
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Speaker 4: Senior defensive assistant.
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Speaker 2: To help out Christian Parker in the defense here.
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Speaker 3: All right.
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Speaker 2: Now, one thing about Mike. Now, we've been talking about this.
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Speaker 3: All right.
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Speaker 2: We talked about how there were no other. Why you got that look on your face?
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Speaker 3: I mean, the way Barry said that.
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Speaker 4: I just, you know.
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Speaker 2: Come on.
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Speaker 4: Sound like a baby.
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Speaker 3: Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. No, let's keep it running.
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Speaker 2: So, Mike was a former head coach. He had one year with the Cleveland Browns, 2014 to 2015. Now, I don't know if anybody during that time could actually be judged by off of going through Cleveland and coaching that.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's rough.
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Speaker 4: Okay, that's part of the thing.
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Speaker 3: That's rough.
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Speaker 2: Now, outside of that, most recently he was with the Minnesota Vikings as the assistant head coach from 2022 to 2025. Now, what Mike has also done, though, he's been a D coordinator in the league already. Okay, now, with that, he's been with the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets, and the Green Bay Packers.
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Speaker 3: All right?
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Speaker 2: What are y'all getting from this move? I mean, what's the first thing that popped into your head? And be honest, what was the first thing that popped into your head when you heard they was hiring the mic?
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Speaker 4: The very first thing, when I first saw it, I'm like, wait a second.
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Speaker 5: You know, to me, and I hate to say it this way, but it looked like, hey, man, kind of like a babysitter role. Like, hey, you got to get right. And then, you know, we hired the guy that makes it seem like.
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Speaker 4: You know, we hired the wrong guy.
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Speaker 5: He wasn't ready for the opportunity that, you know, he was given. And being the defensive coordinator, for the Dallas Cowboys. Now, when you take a further look at it, Mike Pettin, who's been in the league for a long time, he's been coaching defenses for a long time. I think you talked about it before the show. He was down there with you in Pitt.
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Speaker 2: He was at University of Pittsburgh.
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Speaker 4: So he's been.
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Speaker 5: Around ball an extremely long time, knows a lot of defenses, seen a lot of defenses, and can help get this thing going in the right direction. like I said earlier, when I first heard the news, I was like, man, so, you know, what are your thoughts on, really on Christian Parker at that point, if you're bringing somebody in to, you know, help get this defense going in the right direction, because this is the first time for me to ever, you know, see that situation happen. You know, I've been on bad defenses where, hey, we weren't there very good. We just had to, you know, like you said, ride that thing out and make sure you know, just go, you know what I mean? And see if the corrections that we can have throughout the entire process, you crazy for that one, but I ain't going to entertain you right now. So to me, it's just, I've never seen this happen, but it's kind of like this, the mood, the Cowboys have.
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Speaker 4: Been in all season. Like we, we got to get this thing right now. We're in win now mode.
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Speaker 5: We don't got time for the growing, the growing pains of a defensive coordinator going through the, you know, up and downs of getting his system, right. We got to get the right system in now because we believe we have an opportunity to win now. So, That's where I see it after, you know, looking at it for a second.
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Speaker 2: What was your first thought?
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Speaker 3: So the pack ain't packing is what you're saying?
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Speaker 4: Man, you know, my guy, you know what I mean?
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Speaker 3: He's not a player.
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Speaker 4: He might have been stepped on a little bit.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, that pack ain't stepped on.
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Speaker 4: It ain't as potent, man.
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Speaker 3: It ain't as potent. It ain't blue magic, bud. When you say blue magic, Jerry is pulling every Houdini trick out the hat when you see this. This shows me, like I said before, like I'm not, As mad at Christian Parker, I hope he still, you know, we don't know what's going to happen behind closed doors. Obviously, something's happening to where it's like, hey, we brought the carpenter, his tools. We're putting them in the position. My question is, is this one of those things like you're trying to segue somebody back in there or are you just bringing somebody in here just to help you? you know, soften the blow. Really get your sea legs up under you because I think about my tenure when I played at the Dolphins. They bought a guy like Jim Washburn, got a retirement. He was like, I don't need to be here. But I've been around a lot of great defensive line and let me help Vance Joseph, you know, swing this thing around. And so when it came to that moment and just watching this, I like it because you're not just going to let him drown. We know how it is in Cowboys Nation. People are already talking about, CP needs to get fired and this and that. One, it's his first job. Two, you brought him in here, and I get why they were bringing him in here. He's the hot name. On top of that, he's the young guy. And what's been the biggest question here? Before Micah Parson leaving and trading, like you said, Matt Iberflues thought he was going to have somebody. it was the DB. It's always been the DB player. So now you brought somebody in here that was a DB specialist with everything going on. Like, you know, you, you haven't seen improvement, but I'll tell you like this, this DB and the secondary has been sustainable for all the injuries they have and stuff like that. They are making critical mistakes, but now you're like, Hey, let's bring you in. Somebody like 80 said, let's utilize like a veteranship. So for me, I want to see what's going to happen. The whole thing about him going up to the booth is where that's going to be interesting. And I will question it because now with you doing this, I don't think it's a bad move. I just think the timing, like what they say, right message, wrong delivery. I think this is the wrong delivery and bringing somebody in so late. And it's like it kind of shows like, hey, it's a panic button and this and that. And if we win, where does the success go? Does it go to Christian Parker? Does it go to Mike with him having a big name like he does and having the resume? And then even if he doesn't win and the defense does horrendous or even goes further down the slope, who do you put the blame on, Christian or the guy that you bring in?
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Speaker 2: So here's a question for both of y'all. We've talked about this, but we haven't, like, we beat around the bush. We haven't just gone straight through it. So is it the problem with the defense? Is it a scheme thing right now or is it a personnel thing right now? Do they have enough talent on this defense to be a good defense? Or is it the scheme?
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Speaker 3: I think they have enough talent. I think the scheme is fine. I think it's errors. as far as just being out of place. Like, you see a lot of people, like we've all mentioned here, hero ball. Like, you have, if you have, we all know that this is a team sport. If you got nine people, hell, let's just say if you got ten people doing their job, and one person, depending on who that one person is out of that scheme, they mess up or have bad eyes, it makes the whole defense look wrong. But now, guess what? If we all have a miscommunication there, You know, we thought it was a wrong play, but we're all on one accord. Then what they say, we're all right. And I don't see that being– I don't see the cohesiveness. I see too many times there's– and it's not just one person because maybe you can suffice with one. It's too many times that it's three people out of position. And I think the calls would be good. Like– Bland, if he just had better eyes and been in the back zone drop where he was supposed to be, you're not getting bombed over back that touchdown in the middle of the corner. Hey, easy. If you're blitzing on the edge, and I don't know if you're supposed to go under, knife it all the way under. So guess what? You can clear up that edge and make the tackle go down there. But running down the barrel of his face, because I know the blitz doesn't say that, typically the only time that a defensive lineman, and I can speak to it, is a zero pressure where we run straight down the offensive tackle and you're going to have somebody in that B gap and that C gap to let them know that, hey, once you take him, somebody got to come free. But you're giving up a space over here or you're letting the guy flush out like the list can go on and on. So I think it's more so players.
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Speaker 4: I'm with you on that.
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Speaker 5: I think it's more so players not executing the game plan out there. because we all understand coaching has something to do with it as well, getting the guys right and getting them prepared to go out there and putting them in the right position to get the most out of these guys.
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Speaker 4: But when you look at it, I mean, cover three is cover three.
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Speaker 5: And I take it back to that first game against the Giants. This team was in cover three, a guy supposed to be down in the flats, and they're allowing the running back, which at the time I think was Singletary, catch three straight passes out of the backfield.
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Speaker 4: And then the last one went for a touchdown.
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Speaker 5: When you're in cover three, I mean, the coach can't say cover three and then go physically put the player in the spot to make the play.
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Speaker 3: So for me, when you say cover three, you break it just a little bit for the viewers so they can truly understand.
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Speaker 5: So the viewers who are like, man, cover three, it's kind of cover three. It's a mirror defense. And what I mean by that is each side of the football field is doing the same thing just on the opposite side. So, Cover three, your corner, your opposite corner are doing the same thing.
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Speaker 4: Deep thirds.
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Speaker 5: They're responsible for the deep thirds. Your middle of the field safety is responsible for the middle of the field. Let's just say, I mean, red line to red line, but to make it simple, let's just say numbers to numbers. That's what your deep middle of the safety is responsible for. You got two hook players. Like I said, mere defense. So on the left side, your one linebacker is going to be a hook player, which is 10 to 12 yards off the field.
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Speaker 3: Between hash and numbers. Yeah, outside linebacker in this case.
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Speaker 5: And then on the other side, you got a hook player as well. And then on the opposite side of that, drop-down safety. Because with drop-down safety in the nickel corner are mirrored positions as well. The nickel will have curl flat. The opposite safety will have curl flat.
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Speaker 4: And those are your three. Those are your zones.
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Speaker 5: Those are your top zones, your middle zones, and then your defensive linemen. Sometimes they're running different types of games or just rushing straight forward. That's your simple cover three. Now, there's variations to it and all that, but we ain't going to get too difficult about that. That's your cover three.
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Speaker 3: Yes. Now.
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Speaker 5: when you don't have a guy in the flat and you got somebody wide open to me, that's, that's, that's on the players. That's on going out there and executing the game plan. So for me, I think a lot of it has to do with the players. Now injuries is a lot as well. They're playing with a lot of people that aren't supposed, you know, not, I don't want to say aren't supposed to, but haven't been put.
00:15:30
Speaker 4: In that position.
00:15:31
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:15:31
Speaker 5: They haven't gotten the reps, but to me, I mean, you know, a lot of this has to do with the personnel, but once again, man, we, we weren't saying that at the beginning of the season. Like we weren't saying, you know, we were thinking it was a better defense than it was last year.
00:15:43
Speaker 3: All right.
00:15:43
Speaker 2: So we got to take our first break. But when we come back from the break is a question I want to ask y'all before we go to this break.
00:15:49
Speaker 3: All right.
00:15:49
Speaker 2: And so are the Cowboys making the right decisions by bringing in a defensive specialist? And are they saying by doing this, or is it going to be some moves on offense made shortly? Or are they saying that by not helping bring anybody in an offense that They just got all the answers on the offense right now. All right, we got to take this first break. We'll come right back. It's the Players' Lounge brought to you by Risk Track Gaming. We'll be right back.
00:16:14
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00:17:11
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00:17:12
Speaker 4: Go Cowboys!
00:17:14
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00:17:16
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00:17:44
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00:18:19
Speaker 4: To the Players' Lounge.
00:18:42
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00:18:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
00:18:56
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Players Lounge brought to you by Wrist Crack Gaming. Now, before we went on that break, I asked a question. They said I was trying to stir the pot. I'm just asking the question. And that question was, what is the team saying? Are the Cowboys making the right adjustments by bringing in a defensive assistant? And with them also, is there going to be any? So are they basically saying that the offense is so straight that they don't need any help? Or should we be expecting some offensive moves to be coming here soon?
00:19:29
Speaker 3: I don't think they're saying the offenses need help. I think it's more so addressing the biggest elephant in the room. It's like, I'm not going to go over here and shoot at a muskrat. I'm going to go get the big kahuna, which the elephant in the room is the defense. And so with that being said, you brought in somebody that has defensive seniority ship, the the experience they say experience is the best teacher my only thing about this is like i said before in the previous segment it's the right message just the wrong delivery whether that's the timing or the person that's bringing it you bringing somebody in in week five right now like if you got some people that's not rocking with cp all the way or you know how there's always some There's always one guy or an old head vet that said, back in my day, it wasn't done this way. And the moment you bring friction into the locker room where it's, in my opinion, it's a scapegoat to say, oh, I'm going to rock with him, the guy that we brought in because this wasn't going here. And so if you would have brought them in at the same time at the beginning of the year, it's more of a team environment. versus sending right now it kind of gives you a little bit of panic button and we all know whatever is good or whoever tells you the right thing you naturally going to gravitate towards him and with him being a part of a defense that's been productive with the Vikings these last few years Daniel Hunter doing what he was doing over there if I'm a young pass rusher I'm going over there trying to pick his brain and saying hey what was y'all doing I know it's a different scheme but you know how can I do this and do that and so Now it's going to be like, who controls the whistle in the room? And that will be my biggest question right now.
00:21:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's 1,000% the biggest question because you look at it like this. I mean, you're right when you're saying it's bringing in kind of that extra friction because, like you said, who.
00:21:11
Speaker 4: Has the final say at the end of the day?
00:21:13
Speaker 5: Because it's like Christian Parker is titled the defensive coordinator.
00:21:17
Speaker 4: So what if he sees something different? Then, you know, Mr.
00:21:20
Speaker 5: Petten coming in here being the senior analyst says, wait, you should do it this way. But Christian Parker's like, no, I don't want to do it that way. Then where does he go to at that? Because then it's like, okay, well, then what's the whole point of having, you know, the senior assistant role in there if he's going to see things his way and not see it, you know, Christian Parker's way?
00:21:35
Speaker 4: So it brings a little bit of, you know, kind of friction to the top of that, man. And it's going to be interesting to see, man, for sure.
00:21:42
Speaker 2: It's going to be interesting to see who is going to actually be the voice of the defense, which I'm basically saying, right?
00:21:46
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's what's up.
00:21:48
Speaker 3: I will bring this up. The only thing that I say that works in some people's favor, because I've been around great guys that have earned the right to be a defensive coordinator, like Chris Kocerek, the defensive line coach at San Fran. People wonder, like, hey, how do they have the success and they keep changing D.C. 's week in and week out and year in and year out? Well, the consistency is Chris. Him, he says, hey, don't touch my position. D-line, this is where I'm at. I'm going to stay right here, but, you know, call everything behind us and we're going to kind of telegraph that. My thing with Christian Parker being a secondary guy. Is it okay if he takes the back role and he's like, hey, you know, I got you in here. Let me bounce these ideas off you, but now I can truly focus on the secondary and do what made me great.
00:22:32
Speaker 5: Okay, so what if he does that and takes the back seat and then his defense starts balling?
00:22:38
Speaker 4: Why would they bring Parker back?
00:22:41
Speaker 3: Because what made him so great in being the defensive coordinator is with the secondary, but now he gets to learn from the tutelage of Mr. P coming in here right now.
00:22:49
Speaker 2: He was with Vic Fangio already. You know what I'm saying? So he's been. And it ain't an argument to say that it can't happen, but it's just my whole thing like this and just like y'all saying. Okay, so now you're bringing this other man in here who basically, you know, at the end of the day, I hope that he sits down with CP and be like, okay, show me your stuff. All right? Let me see what you got. Okay, then from there, okay, let's start tweaking some of this stuff to say, okay, this is good. Maybe you shouldn't do this. Maybe we could change this, okay? But there has to be one voice coming out of here.
00:23:24
Speaker 3: All right?
00:23:25
Speaker 2: And if CP actually takes that backdoor approach that you're talking about, just like Barry said, his value is totally diminished. You know what I mean? So he's going to have to effectively stay in some type of leadership role in there. You know what I'm saying? And, like, hopefully... Mike is the type of person that's going to come in here and be like, look, let everybody in the defensive meeting room know that, hey, I'm not here to try to take over. I'm here to try to help facilitate this defense be better. Because we already know, just like you said, okay, if there was anybody already kind of looking at CP sideways, you already know what this is going to do to the room. You know what I mean? And so you hope that with that being said, you know, that, okay, There is some structure to it. You hope that what Mike brings in is definitely some, I guess you could say, some uniformity to it, if that's actually a word. You want this defense to actually find a place to start working together. And at this point in time, I say simplify things.
00:24:29
Speaker 4: Yeah, got to make it simple.
00:24:31
Speaker 2: Sometimes to me, I'm watching CP, and it just looks like to me he's outsmarting himself sometimes.
00:24:36
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
00:24:38
Speaker 2: And we all know this game is see ball, hit ball, catch ball at the end of the day.
00:24:43
Speaker 3: How much more simple do you want to make it? He's running cover three. He's running simple zone, like very few zone blitzes.
00:24:50
Speaker 2: So here we go right here. We talked about that hero ball. Where does that start? Is that starting in practice? Is this something that is like basically as they go through practice, and we all know we practice like a pro sometimes. So, like, when we say practice like a pro out there, y'all, at certain times during practice we're like, we're going through the motions and we know we're supposed to be doing, but you're not always in that right space.
00:25:13
Speaker 3: All right.
00:25:14
Speaker 2: And so you're not, you're not always where you're supposed to be, but like, you know, where you're supposed to be is, is, is, is, is this stuff coming from. bad practice habits. What is leading to this getting out on the field and them not being prepared to see this before they get out there? Like, why is this such a shock every week that, okay, you're not where you're supposed to be? Are you not where you're supposed to be in practice during the course of the week? And we're just saying, okay, we know you're going to get there. You know what I mean? It was like, you know, like when you're playing with a veteran corner and they run a deep ball on him in practice and they didn't ran a few of them and he don't cover to go. But he'd be like, you know, I got that.
00:25:49
Speaker 4: I'm going to be there when it's there, yeah.
00:25:50
Speaker 2: So where is this stuff coming from, and why is it such a surprise every week?
00:25:59
Speaker 3: I don't think it's– we know what it is. Man, call a spade a spade. Like, you come to the lounge for a reason. It's young. They young. The guys that we see consistently making these bad plays or being out with the bad technique are young guys, revels, easy guys. JB not doing it as much anymore. He's learned on the fly, but some of these other guys just haven't learned on the fly. They're young and inexperienced, the ones that are making the consistency. And then the other guys are the guys that are coming off of major injuries. And so what comes with that? The guys that are typically coming off major injuries and the young guys that are improving are in the same mindset. I got to prove it. This is what put you in that hero mentality. And then to trust, over-trust yourself and say, hey, I know what I'm going to do. Like you said, you can tell. You said it on the show last time. You can see on the film and when you're watching TV when the DB, like Bland, was looking like, ooh, I'm panicking. And now that you're panicking and when all else fails, what are you doing? Resorting back to what you think makes you great. You're trying to be in whatever you think makes you great. You're putting a little extra um into it. And now that you put that little extra um to it, you're completely wrong in the wrong way. And that's what's putting these guys in bad positions. Like, I don't see... The vets being out of Kenny Clark, Quinlan Williams.
00:27:15
Speaker 4: I don't know about that one.
00:27:17
Speaker 3: I don't see them. From what I've been watching as a D-line, I haven't seen them. Let me finish. Okay, go ahead. I don't see them completely out of position. I don't see them getting drove all the way up 20 yards upfield.
00:27:29
Speaker 2: How many yards does it have to be?
00:27:32
Speaker 3: It don't have to be.
00:27:33
Speaker 6: 20 yards is extreme.
00:27:34
Speaker 3: I don't see 20. I don't even see five yards up the field. There's been maybe one time where a guy got knocked out. But majority of the time, those guys are two stout walls that are getting there. Or you might have one person getting more pressure than the other to where you create that big gap and you don't have a linebacker feeling. But because, hey, you're not thinking about your linebackers like, yes, these guys are proven, but who has the Pro Bowl name? You're going to go for these guys and you're saying, oh, Quinn Williams was supposed to make this or Kenny was supposed to make that. And it's like, no, your linebacker was supposed to be filling the gap right there. No, your downhill safety was supposed to be coming right there because you're In this defense, you're supposed to cause gaps, and you're supposed to have people that feel and flow.
00:28:14
Speaker 2: Hey, man, he's going to take up for the defense regardless of the linemen every time.
00:28:21
Speaker 3: I will not.
00:28:23
Speaker 2: And so what has been said amongst not just people in this building but anybody watching football is that the front ain't been playing like the front. They've held– they've said the same thing about both of these guys, okay, Quentin Williams and Kenny. Like, okay, this is not the way they've normally played in the past.
00:28:43
Speaker 3: So, with that being said, like– Look who they had in the past. You had Quentin Williams that had a linebacker core up there in the Jets.
00:28:52
Speaker 2: You had the Packers.
00:28:54
Speaker 3: You had the Packers that had.
00:28:55
Speaker 2: A– Quentin Williams wasn't making plays thinking about the dudes behind him.
00:28:59
Speaker 3: He wasn't. That helps you make a lot more plays when you have somebody stuffing that gap and now that you've got to play with the big grizzly bear in the phone booth. If that big grizzly bear is right there ready for you in the phone booth but nobody's helping because, oh, by the way, I have been on the D-line. I've been on the edges the most. What have I not been saying? Let's give Rashawn Gary to be that guy consistently.
00:29:18
Speaker 6: Easy.
00:29:18
Speaker 3: Stop giving up contain on that edge because it's been you a lot. Like he's not playing in the gap for whatever reason. And if that is the case that Christian Parker is calling– Blitz is where he's diminishing his value of going in there. That's why I say it's ownership on both of those. But as far as us just saying I'm putting it mainly on these two guys, I can't say that because as much as we say that, what about you? when he's in the backfield and you see him in the quarterback's lap and then it's like, oh, Quinn Williams did that. He's causing penetration.
00:29:46
Speaker 2: I don't think that's what, that's not the goal here. And I don't think, I think you're taking it out of context. There's a problem with the defense, not just with those two guys up front. You know what I mean? But when you look at the pillars of of what this defense was supposed to be built around and what everything that was going on. The D-line was supposed to be the area of the defense right now that was supposed to have the least amount of questions.
00:30:12
Speaker 3: So hold on.
00:30:12
Speaker 2: We've got to take our second break. We'll be right back, and we're going to jump right back into this when we come back to.
00:30:16
Speaker 3: The Players' Lounge.
00:30:18
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00:30:48
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00:32:10
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00:32:14
Speaker 3: One love.
00:32:19
Speaker 4: To the Players Lounge.
00:32:26
Speaker 3: The countdown to game day starts with Rally Day, presented by SeatGeek, the day before selected home game. Get a tour of AT & T Stadium, autographs from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and alumni like myself, but you know who y'all want to see, Big Money Berry Church. Play games on the field and much more. AD might even pop out too. Get your tickets at AT & T. com slash Rally Days.
00:32:50
Speaker 2: Trey Moore.
00:32:51
Speaker 3: Yes, sir. That's me. That's him.
00:32:54
Speaker 2: Very church.
00:32:55
Speaker 3: What's happening? Yes, sir. What's happening? Put us in, Jerry.
00:32:59
Speaker 2: And this is the Players' Lounge.
00:33:01
Speaker 4: Got two players.
00:33:01
Speaker 3: All right.
00:33:02
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? That's cool.
00:33:04
Speaker 3: People getting paid out here now, brother. People getting paid. Give me a month. I'll be out here.
00:33:09
Speaker 2: Check this out. Now, getting back to getting back to.
00:33:13
Speaker 5: All right.
00:33:14
Speaker 2: Now, bringing Mike Petten in. Defensive. Senior defensive. specialist, I guess, whatever he's called.
00:33:22
Speaker 3: All right, now.
00:33:25
Speaker 2: And CP ain't going to be on the sideline no more. He's actually going to be up in the box.
00:33:30
Speaker 5: See, that's crazy to me. Not as crazy, but it's just like, wow. Like, that's wild.
00:33:35
Speaker 4: Hold on.
00:33:35
Speaker 2: Now, it's going to be wild if... They're not in the box together.
00:33:39
Speaker 3: That's right.
00:33:40
Speaker 4: If Mike's on the field and he's up top, I'm like, wait a second now.
00:33:43
Speaker 5: Because now all your players is coming to Mike saying, what we do here, coach?
00:33:46
Speaker 3: What we do?
00:33:47
Speaker 2: But then at the same time, they're not in that same space at the same time. Like, okay, we sit next to each other and you see what they coming in with. Now it's more so talking from here, talking to there instead of being in that same groove. You know what I mean? And so for me, it defeats the purpose of helping CP learn and grow and if they're not.
00:34:08
Speaker 3: In the same group.
00:34:08
Speaker 5: And to me, it's wild, because when you look at it, we had a situation when I was here in Dallas, okay? Rob Manelli, you know, my guy, he was the D.C. He was the defensive coordinator that was, you know, doing practice all week.
00:34:20
Speaker 4: He was the guy on the field.
00:34:21
Speaker 5: But when the game came, he went up to the box, and Ibra Floos was down on the field.
00:34:27
Speaker 4: And eventually, that's.
00:34:28
Speaker 5: Who all the players went to. That's where everybody was like, hey, Floos, what you think about this? Hey, Floos, if they got any questions, hey, Floos this, Floos that.
00:34:35
Speaker 4: And to me.
00:34:37
Speaker 2: If you're a new, this.
00:34:38
Speaker 4: Is his first year being a defensive coordinator, right? Christian Parker, this is his first year.
00:34:42
Speaker 5: How are you able to establish yourself if you're up in the booth and you're not down with your players calling plays, seeing what they see? It's a slippery slope when you get into that regard.
00:34:55
Speaker 4: And I'll bring it to the player side of things.
00:34:56
Speaker 5: We all been around where you're on the football field, you're going through practice, walkthroughs, whatever, And you got that one starter over there and the coach goes, hey, hey, whoever his backup is, hey, stand right behind him and follow his motions throughout.
00:35:11
Speaker 4: You know, we're going through all this walkthrough.
00:35:13
Speaker 5: Be right behind him, you know, seeing what he does, seeing how he does or communicates throughout. And the next coming week, he's out the job. And the backup who was behind him the whole time was out. Now he's starting. We've seen it happen that way. Now, I don't know if that happens like that in the coaching world, but. To me, this is a slippery slope, man. Who's going to be on the field? That's my thing. Because that's who the players are going to go to when you know what hits the fan.
00:35:37
Speaker 4: They're going to be like, hey, coach, how do you see this? How do we do this?
00:35:40
Speaker 5: And to me, if you're a first-time guy on there, you want to establish that rapport with your players, man.
00:35:47
Speaker 3: It depends. Whoever gave the call. If the front office made the call, yes, it's a slippery slope. But if he made this call himself, I'm not too mad at it because it's just like if I'm playing Madden.
00:36:01
Speaker 2: When you say he made this call, what do you mean?
00:36:03
Speaker 3: Christian Parker. If he decides to do this, that would be the real question. I would ask Nui whenever he gets in there, see if he can dig around and figure out who made the call. Because if it's management, yes, that is a slippery slope because it's out of sight, out of mind. But if it's him. I play Madden. You play Madden. Like, when you play Madden, what do you do? Hey, if I'm rushing and I'm playing on the defensive line, I'm going to have a bird's eye, point of line view. And if I'm getting bombs over Baghdad, by the second quarter, I'm making adjustments. I got to get an aerial view. Like, what is happening? How am I getting beat over the top? And what's been happening? We've been getting bombed over Baghdad. So he's like, man, maybe I need to go up here and really see what's going on because I've coached it. I've said it time and time again. At this point, I just got to go see it. And so the only thing that makes it a bad thing, like how you said, if both of them and AD, I think you brought up the perfect point because I wasn't really tripping about him being in the boot. It's just I want to see who's calling the plays. But if you do have two separations, like how you said, if he if Mike is here and it's his first time being here and he's on the sideline and everybody's running to him. Now it's easier to segue yourself to associate the success, this and there. And then now you have to sit here and say, hey, is ego going to come into play? Which we've seen time is undefeated. But another champion that's a good runner-up, that number one contender, is ego, especially in this football space. Pride and ego going neck and neck. And so now you have to sit here and say, oh, I'm the reason that we did that or I made that adjustment. And so now– You have a house divided, kind of like House of Dragons. So it's a lot of power going on right now.
00:37:43
Speaker 5: If you see Pete, if you see Pete and you look up and you see the reporter, hey, Mike, how'd you make that adjustment, man?
00:37:52
Speaker 4: Wait, that was my adjustment. I mean, like you said, man.
00:37:54
Speaker 3: Hey, he's going to be sitting over there. Get your boy.
00:37:57
Speaker 4: Like, dang, man, that's real, though.
00:38:00
Speaker 3: And that's where it comes to it. But even with that being said, I think with what the Cowboys ultimately want to do with the success that's been here, he's been a part of organizations, the Eagles when they won and stuff like that, to where you have to have selfless play and stuff like that. And I think winning cures all. If they start winning and they get to where they need to be, CP is going to be happy because guess what? Now I'm successful. Now they actually made it to the playoffs. And now my first year isn't that big of a– a mess up or a let down with him getting all his toolish. So going there and winning, that'll eliminate a lot of this.
00:38:38
Speaker 5: So does this signify that he wasn't ready for the spot?
00:38:42
Speaker 2: So I think that there's definitely some reason to believe that, okay, without question. And, you know, like if he was the type of person to honestly be selfless enough to go upstairs and ask for some help like that, Like, you know, I don't know who he talked to before he did that. But, you know, like that's something that you typically don't see a whole lot. But the question would be, you know, on the flip side of that, okay, if he goes upstairs, does this help him with his recognition of formations and be able to see the view better from the box?
00:39:24
Speaker 4: That's what he was saying.
00:39:25
Speaker 2: You know what I mean? And like you said, Trey, if that's the case then it makes a whole lot of sense.
00:39:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah.
00:39:32
Speaker 3: I'm with you.
00:39:34
Speaker 2: But, you know, it goes back to what we talked about a little bit earlier. Who is going to be the voice of the defense? You know what I mean? And so now you bring Petten in, all right? And so, unfortunately, last week they didn't have Joey Porter out there. So, of course, with this week, which you're bringing JP back, and it ain't this week because they got, what, nine, eight more days off, whatever. You bring Petten into it as well. If you're CP or if you're Mike coming into the situation and you got Joey Porter coming back, and we already knew what type of man-to-man guy he is, do you structurally try to make things a little bit easier for everybody and just say, okay, JP, I need you to be Darrell Revis. I need you to take away this side of the field. I need you to do this and let everybody else concentrate on what we need to do as a defense. And that's, number one, we can roll some safety help over to the other side of the corner over here and we can focus a little bit more on the run. I mean.
00:40:36
Speaker 3: I think you play to his strengths, but I also don't think that you make every little thing about him. Because that's a quick way to lose a locker room as well. Like, Like I said, what's the number one contender to the heavyweight championship, which is time? It's pride and ego. Going into that locker room for a guy that just got traded here and you say, oh, we're throwing out everything that we've learned throughout training camp, OTAs and many camps to say, hey, you're going to be the focal point. And if I'm bland, I got paid this money. Like this is what I'm supposed to be doing over here. So I'm not going to say cater everything towards him. I'm going to say play towards his strengths. But figure out how his strengths can make these other guys you pay strengths better, i.e. Rashawn Gary or Kenny Clark or those guys like that.
00:41:25
Speaker 2: And here's the good side of that, what you just brought up.
00:41:28
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:41:28
Speaker 2: So you bring Joey Porter Jr. in here, used to having T.J. Watt, Highsmith, the people that we talked about. Is this going to diminish his game not having that pass rush and that front that he used to have?
00:41:40
Speaker 3: He better be on it.
00:41:40
Speaker 5: I'm going to keep it a bang. He's going to be covering a lot longer than he was up in Pittsburgh. I mean, that's just being real because you got T.J.
00:41:47
Speaker 4: Watt on one side.
00:41:49
Speaker 5: Alex Smith, Cameron Hayward, like, you got guys that can rush the passer.
00:41:54
Speaker 2: Consistently, man.
00:41:56
Speaker 5: We know the Pittsburgh's defensive line is night and day. As of right now, it could change, but as of right now, their defensive line is night and day better than what the Dallas Cowboys have been producing so far this season.
00:42:08
Speaker 3: It is, but just, it's crazy.
00:42:13
Speaker 2: That's the truth. What's crazy?
00:42:15
Speaker 5: They just let Jalon Daniels in his second start, was back there torturing these guys. Like, he was cool, calm, and collected. That's on the secondary as well, as it is on the defensive line, but he's back there.
00:42:30
Speaker 3: He's back there chilling.
00:42:32
Speaker 2: What ghost, bro?
00:42:33
Speaker 4: CJ Shroud, 300-something yards.
00:42:35
Speaker 3: You just seeing ghosts where you just get punched and you can't see it no more. I mean, it is, yes, there is a day and night when you talk about the talent level as far as certain things, but when you look at it, it Reading the names is not as far as you say. Cameron Hayward.
00:42:53
Speaker 4: On paper.
00:42:53
Speaker 3: Don't get me wrong. Cameron Hayward is a dog. Big dog. Yeah. But he's old. He is. He's old. He is.
00:42:59
Speaker 4: Like, we're sitting here.
00:43:01
Speaker 3: And we know how it goes with the older guys. They don't take as many reps. They in there. Hey, let me get a little Bengay. Let me.
00:43:06
Speaker 8: Hey, man.
00:43:07
Speaker 3: You know what? Vet day. Hey, you know. A little vet day on Tuesday. But I'm going to get ready to go. And it's no disrespect to him. He's ready to go. He's a perennial pro bowler. Quinn Williams. Perennial pro bowler. Kenny Clark. Pro Bowler. Like, T.J. Watt, you got a Rashawn Gary over here. You got a Von Miller sitting over there on the bench. You got first-round pitch right there. Like, bro, what? What are we talking about?
00:43:34
Speaker 2: That's it.
00:43:34
Speaker 3: Are we talking about, like, because we're talking about.
00:43:37
Speaker 2: You're saying everything, and that's what we're asking.
00:43:39
Speaker 3: Like, what are we talking about?
00:43:40
Speaker 2: Where are they at?
00:43:41
Speaker 3: I'm saying it's not. They're there.
00:43:43
Speaker 2: And you're talking about the old dudes. The old dudes is making plays, but these young boys ain't.
00:43:48
Speaker 4: That's facts, sir.
00:43:49
Speaker 3: They make plays, but they play better as a whole and cohesiveness. When they rush, they're rushing together. They're letting T.J. Watt do what he do. But, hey, I ain't got to rush this hard right here. All I got to do is make sure I hold the wall right here, and I know he's not going to take it too far afield. With a young guy like Easy, what I'm seeing from him, he's not turning and countering a QB depth like instinctively yet. That's not in his makeup to where he's keeping one hand of the outside pass rush free to where he's converting like that. And that just comes with time, experience, and just being around veteranship. And when I say these other guys, like, is Von Miller a run-stopping defender like how TJ Watt is? No. But when you say his toolage and his pass rush box, I would beg to differ. It's up there. When you say run-stopping ability and Rashawn Gary run-stopping ability compared to TJ Watt, I would say it's up there. Sean Gary's a dog sitting in the edge. It's just you got to get them to play together, and that's what I mean by it's team ball. I see too many times everybody's trying to be Batman. Batman knew when to sit back there and say, hey, let Superman do his thing. Right now, I think everybody's trying to hit. But like you said, until you actually put it together and it comes together, you're the worst thing. But once the star is hidden and Everybody going to be in here, hey, we making PB & Js because we got all the bread over here.
00:45:12
Speaker 2: We're going to find out real soon because the Cowboys are, you know, with the new moves and everything else like that, I'm sure everybody out there is going to be expecting something to happen fast as far as change on the defense and everything else like that. But, you know, with everything we already know, it takes time. You know, so Cowboy Nation, even though they brought Mike Pettin in and they're expecting some changes to happen. As we like to say in this room, give him some grace, man.
00:45:41
Speaker 4: You can't get.
00:45:41
Speaker 5: Bombed on on Sunday night, though. This Sunday night, primetime, you cannot go out there and get bombed on, man. It just can't happen.
00:45:51
Speaker 3: And that's the real question I feel like we should ask because I wanted to ask y'all with Mike, what type of defensive scheme does he truly run? Because what we've seen right now, and they're saying in the comments, I want to shout everybody out to doing that, but I agree with them wholeheartedly. they're saying, why can't we run a true 3-4 scheme? Or why can't we run a true 4-3 scheme? Like, I feel like we're going back and forth too much, and we switched up the personnel.
00:46:17
Speaker 5: That's CP's bread and butter. He came in as a defense coordinator that was a multiple. Like, that's the scheme he believed in.
00:46:24
Speaker 3: But there, you know, every 3-4 multiple scheme has an identity where it's like, hey, it's 3-4 multiple, but it's typically more 3-4. Or it's like, hey, it's 3-4 multiple, but we have true 4-3 principles of where we are penetrating, but we just allow our outside linebackers to stand up. Like, right now, I see a lot of the zone blitzes coming in when we panicking and we trying to get back, but then also, I see a lot of man stuff starting to get sprinkled in there now, but now you got man blitzes, so Which scheme do y'all think it's going to be or be most?
00:46:58
Speaker 4: You got to get it right, man.
00:46:59
Speaker 2: You got to get it right.
00:47:00
Speaker 4: Get it right, man.
00:47:01
Speaker 2: Listen, this has been the Players Lounge brought to you by Risk Track Gaming. Make sure you tune in tomorrow. We'll be right back with some more Cowboy Football.
00:47:09
Speaker 1: This has been a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
00:47:13
Speaker 4: How about this, Cowboys?
00:47:14
Speaker 3: Yeah!
Speaker 1: The following is a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is the Players Lounge, broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters at the Star. Now, your hosts, Barry Church, Anthony Dorsett, DeMontre Moore, and Newey Scruggs.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: Come on in, come on in. Come on in.
00:00:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what it is.
00:00:35
Speaker 4: Come on in.
00:00:36
Speaker 2: It's the Players Lounge. We at the SWBC Studios out here in Frisco, Texas. You know what I'm saying? This podcast is brought to you by Aristocrat Games.
00:00:45
Speaker 3: Yeah. You got your quiet story.
00:00:47
Speaker 4: You know, you hear me? R & B Friday night.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: That's what I'm about to say. What's going on, man? Sounding like a 90s R & B video in here. Man, get it going, man. I'm sorry. My bad.
00:00:59
Speaker 2: We got so much to talk about today. You know what I'm saying? We could jump right into what the Cowboys did, but we definitely got to talk a little bit about this game last night.
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Speaker 3: All right? So, of course.
00:01:11
Speaker 3: Hello? Yeah, okay.
00:01:13
Speaker 2: Of course, last night, you know what I'm saying? You watched Buffalo win this game in overtime.
00:01:18
Speaker 3: It was a good game.
00:01:19
Speaker 2: It was a good game. And your boy, Josh Allen.
00:01:22
Speaker 3: The dust. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Man, you still didn't tell us the story about this dust thing, but I let y'all know.
00:01:28
Speaker 2: I'm going to go ahead and say he the cheat code for the NFL, man. Josh Allen is the cheat code for the NFL.
00:01:33
Speaker 4: Without a doubt.
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Speaker 5: I mean, because they did a good job of, you know what I mean, in handling those receivers for the most part.
00:01:40
Speaker 4: All game long.
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Speaker 5: I mean, it was frustrating them guys on the outside, but when you got a guy that When things break down, 260 and running like he is.
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Speaker 2: Say that again, 260.
00:01:50
Speaker 4: He was punishing linebackers.
00:01:53
Speaker 3: Come on, bro.
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Speaker 5: And you know, as a DB, after a while, you ain't going to keep trying to lower the shoulder in that 260 coming downhill like that, man.
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Speaker 4: It's crazy.
00:02:01
Speaker 2: I've always had an issue with big dudes making business decisions.
00:02:05
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:02:05
Speaker 2: Like, come on, man. Y'all the same size.
00:02:07
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah.
00:02:08
Speaker 2: He can't be big to you like he big to me.
00:02:10
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
00:02:12
Speaker 2: But what you think about that game last night, Trey?
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Speaker 3: Man, I'm getting tired of it, if we're being honest. Like, I just was about to hit somebody. Like, I'm like, bro, there's no way. He's too big, too powerful to be doing this. And, like, hey, if somebody owns him in fantasy, I'm pretty sure they happy with him going and doing that. When have you seen a complete package like this? Like, you typically, like, yes, you've seen Lamar Jackson, the athletic quarterbacks that do their thing. You see the people that can throw. But to see somebody, like, of this magnitude, like, thinking about Ben Roethlisberger, like, how big of a quarterback he was. And it was like, but this guy can move. And, like, at one point in time, they was like, oh, he's not as fast as Lamar. But it's like, bro, he's deceivingly fast. And on top of that, he dropping that shoulder on you. And to see... the game and where it's evolving to like some of the physicality getting taken out of it and stuff like that it's like hey he he said i'm punishing somebody so for me i liked it but you know unfortunately i was disappointed because i picked the right you know i'm gonna go ahead and pick the rounds man i.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: Had the wrong pick last night too as well man i didn't just a touch on this like there was a point in time where quarterbacks used to be stoic yeah it used to be like like, basically like statues in the pocket.
00:03:28
Speaker 3: Okay?
00:03:29
Speaker 2: Now, you know, and then it was a point in time where more athletic quarterbacks got punished for being so athletic.
00:03:35
Speaker 4: Yeah, Mike Vick. Hey, come on, man.
00:03:37
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
00:03:38
Speaker 2: But now it seems like, you know, for whatever reason, Josh Allen is able to change the dynamic with that and change the conversation a little bit.
00:03:46
Speaker 3: Let me ask you this, though, because it's easy to say, oh, he's this and he's that, but He ain't been over the hump yet. So do you think that this is the year that he's over the hump? Because how many times have we started out the season, oh, Josh Allen is looking good. The Bills are Super Bowl favorite. And then all of a sudden, when it comes to crunch time, it's like, fall up short every time. So do you think this is finally the moment where he has his moment of stardom and becomes that guy?
00:04:15
Speaker 4: He got a chance to. But just like every year, he got a chance to.
00:04:18
Speaker 3: But.
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Speaker 5: If he keeps making them bonehead-type mistakes, man, and you see it each and every year from Josh Allen, when it comes down to it in the playoffs, big-time games, he'll.
00:04:32
Speaker 4: Start pressing and he'll turn the football over. I mean, you've seen it last night.
00:04:35
Speaker 5: When he started pressing before the half, there's no reason to throw that interception that he did. Watson dropped another one that was thrown right to him. Those will catch up to you at the wrong moment. You look at last year when they went up to Denver for that playoff game. The man turned it over five times, and it was ridiculous turnovers. Like, I'm holding the ball out here like a loaf of bread, gets it fumbled.
00:04:56
Speaker 3: Superhero ball.
00:04:57
Speaker 4: Superhero ball.
00:04:58
Speaker 5: So, you know, it helps them win in games like this where you're like, man, Josh put that team on the back.
00:05:04
Speaker 4: But then it also, you know, it can happen in the reverse way as well.
00:05:07
Speaker 3: So do you think it's this year?
00:05:09
Speaker 4: No, no, I think there's too.
00:05:10
Speaker 3: Many good teams.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: I don't think they have the defense for that.
00:05:12
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:05:13
Speaker 4: I don't think they have the defense, man.
00:05:15
Speaker 3: Even with the defense, you don't think– Because you see some people not have defense, but as long as you got decent, because they got decent defense. Yeah. You don't think that Josh Allen, if he's who he is, is everybody sending a chat, J-A-17. Like, they already gave him his Superman cape. They practically giving him MVP now.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: Oh, they've done that. They gave him the MVP when Lamar's numbers was better than his that year. So, I mean, so arguably, they've been trying to give him the MVP for a minute. You know what I'm saying? They just had to get it, get the right year. And, of course, they want to crown him. If they get an opportunity.
00:05:48
Speaker 4: To, they will.
00:05:49
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? But let's jump into the main thing that happened last night in this building. And, of course, Cowboy Nation, I'm sure everybody knows already, Cowboys went out and hired Mike Pettin as the senior defensive assistant. I guess that's what they're calling him. Senior defensive assistant.
00:06:08
Speaker 4: Senior defensive assistant.
00:06:09
Speaker 2: To help out Christian Parker in the defense here.
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Speaker 3: All right.
00:06:12
Speaker 2: Now, one thing about Mike. Now, we've been talking about this.
00:06:14
Speaker 3: All right.
00:06:15
Speaker 2: We talked about how there were no other. Why you got that look on your face?
00:06:18
Speaker 3: I mean, the way Barry said that.
00:06:20
Speaker 4: I just, you know.
00:06:21
Speaker 2: Come on.
00:06:22
Speaker 4: Sound like a baby.
00:06:22
Speaker 3: Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. No, let's keep it running.
00:06:27
Speaker 2: So, Mike was a former head coach. He had one year with the Cleveland Browns, 2014 to 2015. Now, I don't know if anybody during that time could actually be judged by off of going through Cleveland and coaching that.
00:06:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's rough.
00:06:38
Speaker 4: Okay, that's part of the thing.
00:06:39
Speaker 3: That's rough.
00:06:40
Speaker 2: Now, outside of that, most recently he was with the Minnesota Vikings as the assistant head coach from 2022 to 2025. Now, what Mike has also done, though, he's been a D coordinator in the league already. Okay, now, with that, he's been with the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets, and the Green Bay Packers.
00:06:55
Speaker 3: All right?
00:06:58
Speaker 2: What are y'all getting from this move? I mean, what's the first thing that popped into your head? And be honest, what was the first thing that popped into your head when you heard they was hiring the mic?
00:07:05
Speaker 4: The very first thing, when I first saw it, I'm like, wait a second.
00:07:09
Speaker 5: You know, to me, and I hate to say it this way, but it looked like, hey, man, kind of like a babysitter role. Like, hey, you got to get right. And then, you know, we hired the guy that makes it seem like.
00:07:19
Speaker 4: You know, we hired the wrong guy.
00:07:21
Speaker 5: He wasn't ready for the opportunity that, you know, he was given. And being the defensive coordinator, for the Dallas Cowboys. Now, when you take a further look at it, Mike Pettin, who's been in the league for a long time, he's been coaching defenses for a long time. I think you talked about it before the show. He was down there with you in Pitt.
00:07:39
Speaker 2: He was at University of Pittsburgh.
00:07:40
Speaker 4: So he's been.
00:07:41
Speaker 5: Around ball an extremely long time, knows a lot of defenses, seen a lot of defenses, and can help get this thing going in the right direction. like I said earlier, when I first heard the news, I was like, man, so, you know, what are your thoughts on, really on Christian Parker at that point, if you're bringing somebody in to, you know, help get this defense going in the right direction, because this is the first time for me to ever, you know, see that situation happen. You know, I've been on bad defenses where, hey, we weren't there very good. We just had to, you know, like you said, ride that thing out and make sure you know, just go, you know what I mean? And see if the corrections that we can have throughout the entire process, you crazy for that one, but I ain't going to entertain you right now. So to me, it's just, I've never seen this happen, but it's kind of like this, the mood, the Cowboys have.
00:08:25
Speaker 4: Been in all season. Like we, we got to get this thing right now. We're in win now mode.
00:08:28
Speaker 5: We don't got time for the growing, the growing pains of a defensive coordinator going through the, you know, up and downs of getting his system, right. We got to get the right system in now because we believe we have an opportunity to win now. So, That's where I see it after, you know, looking at it for a second.
00:08:43
Speaker 2: What was your first thought?
00:08:44
Speaker 3: So the pack ain't packing is what you're saying?
00:08:47
Speaker 4: Man, you know, my guy, you know what I mean?
00:08:49
Speaker 3: He's not a player.
00:08:50
Speaker 4: He might have been stepped on a little bit.
00:08:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, that pack ain't stepped on.
00:08:54
Speaker 4: It ain't as potent, man.
00:08:55
Speaker 3: It ain't as potent. It ain't blue magic, bud. When you say blue magic, Jerry is pulling every Houdini trick out the hat when you see this. This shows me, like I said before, like I'm not, As mad at Christian Parker, I hope he still, you know, we don't know what's going to happen behind closed doors. Obviously, something's happening to where it's like, hey, we brought the carpenter, his tools. We're putting them in the position. My question is, is this one of those things like you're trying to segue somebody back in there or are you just bringing somebody in here just to help you? you know, soften the blow. Really get your sea legs up under you because I think about my tenure when I played at the Dolphins. They bought a guy like Jim Washburn, got a retirement. He was like, I don't need to be here. But I've been around a lot of great defensive line and let me help Vance Joseph, you know, swing this thing around. And so when it came to that moment and just watching this, I like it because you're not just going to let him drown. We know how it is in Cowboys Nation. People are already talking about, CP needs to get fired and this and that. One, it's his first job. Two, you brought him in here, and I get why they were bringing him in here. He's the hot name. On top of that, he's the young guy. And what's been the biggest question here? Before Micah Parson leaving and trading, like you said, Matt Iberflues thought he was going to have somebody. it was the DB. It's always been the DB player. So now you brought somebody in here that was a DB specialist with everything going on. Like, you know, you, you haven't seen improvement, but I'll tell you like this, this DB and the secondary has been sustainable for all the injuries they have and stuff like that. They are making critical mistakes, but now you're like, Hey, let's bring you in. Somebody like 80 said, let's utilize like a veteranship. So for me, I want to see what's going to happen. The whole thing about him going up to the booth is where that's going to be interesting. And I will question it because now with you doing this, I don't think it's a bad move. I just think the timing, like what they say, right message, wrong delivery. I think this is the wrong delivery and bringing somebody in so late. And it's like it kind of shows like, hey, it's a panic button and this and that. And if we win, where does the success go? Does it go to Christian Parker? Does it go to Mike with him having a big name like he does and having the resume? And then even if he doesn't win and the defense does horrendous or even goes further down the slope, who do you put the blame on, Christian or the guy that you bring in?
00:11:28
Speaker 2: So here's a question for both of y'all. We've talked about this, but we haven't, like, we beat around the bush. We haven't just gone straight through it. So is it the problem with the defense? Is it a scheme thing right now or is it a personnel thing right now? Do they have enough talent on this defense to be a good defense? Or is it the scheme?
00:11:49
Speaker 3: I think they have enough talent. I think the scheme is fine. I think it's errors. as far as just being out of place. Like, you see a lot of people, like we've all mentioned here, hero ball. Like, you have, if you have, we all know that this is a team sport. If you got nine people, hell, let's just say if you got ten people doing their job, and one person, depending on who that one person is out of that scheme, they mess up or have bad eyes, it makes the whole defense look wrong. But now, guess what? If we all have a miscommunication there, You know, we thought it was a wrong play, but we're all on one accord. Then what they say, we're all right. And I don't see that being– I don't see the cohesiveness. I see too many times there's– and it's not just one person because maybe you can suffice with one. It's too many times that it's three people out of position. And I think the calls would be good. Like– Bland, if he just had better eyes and been in the back zone drop where he was supposed to be, you're not getting bombed over back that touchdown in the middle of the corner. Hey, easy. If you're blitzing on the edge, and I don't know if you're supposed to go under, knife it all the way under. So guess what? You can clear up that edge and make the tackle go down there. But running down the barrel of his face, because I know the blitz doesn't say that, typically the only time that a defensive lineman, and I can speak to it, is a zero pressure where we run straight down the offensive tackle and you're going to have somebody in that B gap and that C gap to let them know that, hey, once you take him, somebody got to come free. But you're giving up a space over here or you're letting the guy flush out like the list can go on and on. So I think it's more so players.
00:13:22
Speaker 4: I'm with you on that.
00:13:23
Speaker 5: I think it's more so players not executing the game plan out there. because we all understand coaching has something to do with it as well, getting the guys right and getting them prepared to go out there and putting them in the right position to get the most out of these guys.
00:13:38
Speaker 4: But when you look at it, I mean, cover three is cover three.
00:13:42
Speaker 5: And I take it back to that first game against the Giants. This team was in cover three, a guy supposed to be down in the flats, and they're allowing the running back, which at the time I think was Singletary, catch three straight passes out of the backfield.
00:13:56
Speaker 4: And then the last one went for a touchdown.
00:13:57
Speaker 5: When you're in cover three, I mean, the coach can't say cover three and then go physically put the player in the spot to make the play.
00:14:02
Speaker 3: So for me, when you say cover three, you break it just a little bit for the viewers so they can truly understand.
00:14:09
Speaker 5: So the viewers who are like, man, cover three, it's kind of cover three. It's a mirror defense. And what I mean by that is each side of the football field is doing the same thing just on the opposite side. So, Cover three, your corner, your opposite corner are doing the same thing.
00:14:22
Speaker 4: Deep thirds.
00:14:23
Speaker 5: They're responsible for the deep thirds. Your middle of the field safety is responsible for the middle of the field. Let's just say, I mean, red line to red line, but to make it simple, let's just say numbers to numbers. That's what your deep middle of the safety is responsible for. You got two hook players. Like I said, mere defense. So on the left side, your one linebacker is going to be a hook player, which is 10 to 12 yards off the field.
00:14:42
Speaker 3: Between hash and numbers. Yeah, outside linebacker in this case.
00:14:45
Speaker 5: And then on the other side, you got a hook player as well. And then on the opposite side of that, drop-down safety. Because with drop-down safety in the nickel corner are mirrored positions as well. The nickel will have curl flat. The opposite safety will have curl flat.
00:14:57
Speaker 4: And those are your three. Those are your zones.
00:14:59
Speaker 5: Those are your top zones, your middle zones, and then your defensive linemen. Sometimes they're running different types of games or just rushing straight forward. That's your simple cover three. Now, there's variations to it and all that, but we ain't going to get too difficult about that. That's your cover three.
00:15:10
Speaker 3: Yes. Now.
00:15:12
Speaker 5: when you don't have a guy in the flat and you got somebody wide open to me, that's, that's, that's on the players. That's on going out there and executing the game plan. So for me, I think a lot of it has to do with the players. Now injuries is a lot as well. They're playing with a lot of people that aren't supposed, you know, not, I don't want to say aren't supposed to, but haven't been put.
00:15:30
Speaker 4: In that position.
00:15:31
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:15:31
Speaker 5: They haven't gotten the reps, but to me, I mean, you know, a lot of this has to do with the personnel, but once again, man, we, we weren't saying that at the beginning of the season. Like we weren't saying, you know, we were thinking it was a better defense than it was last year.
00:15:43
Speaker 3: All right.
00:15:43
Speaker 2: So we got to take our first break. But when we come back from the break is a question I want to ask y'all before we go to this break.
00:15:49
Speaker 3: All right.
00:15:49
Speaker 2: And so are the Cowboys making the right decisions by bringing in a defensive specialist? And are they saying by doing this, or is it going to be some moves on offense made shortly? Or are they saying that by not helping bring anybody in an offense that They just got all the answers on the offense right now. All right, we got to take this first break. We'll come right back. It's the Players' Lounge brought to you by Risk Track Gaming. We'll be right back.
00:16:14
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00:16:44
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00:17:11
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00:17:12
Speaker 4: Go Cowboys!
00:17:14
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00:17:16
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00:17:44
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00:18:19
Speaker 4: To the Players' Lounge.
00:18:42
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00:18:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
00:18:56
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Players Lounge brought to you by Wrist Crack Gaming. Now, before we went on that break, I asked a question. They said I was trying to stir the pot. I'm just asking the question. And that question was, what is the team saying? Are the Cowboys making the right adjustments by bringing in a defensive assistant? And with them also, is there going to be any? So are they basically saying that the offense is so straight that they don't need any help? Or should we be expecting some offensive moves to be coming here soon?
00:19:29
Speaker 3: I don't think they're saying the offenses need help. I think it's more so addressing the biggest elephant in the room. It's like, I'm not going to go over here and shoot at a muskrat. I'm going to go get the big kahuna, which the elephant in the room is the defense. And so with that being said, you brought in somebody that has defensive seniority ship, the the experience they say experience is the best teacher my only thing about this is like i said before in the previous segment it's the right message just the wrong delivery whether that's the timing or the person that's bringing it you bringing somebody in in week five right now like if you got some people that's not rocking with cp all the way or you know how there's always some There's always one guy or an old head vet that said, back in my day, it wasn't done this way. And the moment you bring friction into the locker room where it's, in my opinion, it's a scapegoat to say, oh, I'm going to rock with him, the guy that we brought in because this wasn't going here. And so if you would have brought them in at the same time at the beginning of the year, it's more of a team environment. versus sending right now it kind of gives you a little bit of panic button and we all know whatever is good or whoever tells you the right thing you naturally going to gravitate towards him and with him being a part of a defense that's been productive with the Vikings these last few years Daniel Hunter doing what he was doing over there if I'm a young pass rusher I'm going over there trying to pick his brain and saying hey what was y'all doing I know it's a different scheme but you know how can I do this and do that and so Now it's going to be like, who controls the whistle in the room? And that will be my biggest question right now.
00:21:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's 1,000% the biggest question because you look at it like this. I mean, you're right when you're saying it's bringing in kind of that extra friction because, like you said, who.
00:21:11
Speaker 4: Has the final say at the end of the day?
00:21:13
Speaker 5: Because it's like Christian Parker is titled the defensive coordinator.
00:21:17
Speaker 4: So what if he sees something different? Then, you know, Mr.
00:21:20
Speaker 5: Petten coming in here being the senior analyst says, wait, you should do it this way. But Christian Parker's like, no, I don't want to do it that way. Then where does he go to at that? Because then it's like, okay, well, then what's the whole point of having, you know, the senior assistant role in there if he's going to see things his way and not see it, you know, Christian Parker's way?
00:21:35
Speaker 4: So it brings a little bit of, you know, kind of friction to the top of that, man. And it's going to be interesting to see, man, for sure.
00:21:42
Speaker 2: It's going to be interesting to see who is going to actually be the voice of the defense, which I'm basically saying, right?
00:21:46
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's what's up.
00:21:48
Speaker 3: I will bring this up. The only thing that I say that works in some people's favor, because I've been around great guys that have earned the right to be a defensive coordinator, like Chris Kocerek, the defensive line coach at San Fran. People wonder, like, hey, how do they have the success and they keep changing D.C. 's week in and week out and year in and year out? Well, the consistency is Chris. Him, he says, hey, don't touch my position. D-line, this is where I'm at. I'm going to stay right here, but, you know, call everything behind us and we're going to kind of telegraph that. My thing with Christian Parker being a secondary guy. Is it okay if he takes the back role and he's like, hey, you know, I got you in here. Let me bounce these ideas off you, but now I can truly focus on the secondary and do what made me great.
00:22:32
Speaker 5: Okay, so what if he does that and takes the back seat and then his defense starts balling?
00:22:38
Speaker 4: Why would they bring Parker back?
00:22:41
Speaker 3: Because what made him so great in being the defensive coordinator is with the secondary, but now he gets to learn from the tutelage of Mr. P coming in here right now.
00:22:49
Speaker 2: He was with Vic Fangio already. You know what I'm saying? So he's been. And it ain't an argument to say that it can't happen, but it's just my whole thing like this and just like y'all saying. Okay, so now you're bringing this other man in here who basically, you know, at the end of the day, I hope that he sits down with CP and be like, okay, show me your stuff. All right? Let me see what you got. Okay, then from there, okay, let's start tweaking some of this stuff to say, okay, this is good. Maybe you shouldn't do this. Maybe we could change this, okay? But there has to be one voice coming out of here.
00:23:24
Speaker 3: All right?
00:23:25
Speaker 2: And if CP actually takes that backdoor approach that you're talking about, just like Barry said, his value is totally diminished. You know what I mean? So he's going to have to effectively stay in some type of leadership role in there. You know what I'm saying? And, like, hopefully... Mike is the type of person that's going to come in here and be like, look, let everybody in the defensive meeting room know that, hey, I'm not here to try to take over. I'm here to try to help facilitate this defense be better. Because we already know, just like you said, okay, if there was anybody already kind of looking at CP sideways, you already know what this is going to do to the room. You know what I mean? And so you hope that with that being said, you know, that, okay, There is some structure to it. You hope that what Mike brings in is definitely some, I guess you could say, some uniformity to it, if that's actually a word. You want this defense to actually find a place to start working together. And at this point in time, I say simplify things.
00:24:29
Speaker 4: Yeah, got to make it simple.
00:24:31
Speaker 2: Sometimes to me, I'm watching CP, and it just looks like to me he's outsmarting himself sometimes.
00:24:36
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
00:24:38
Speaker 2: And we all know this game is see ball, hit ball, catch ball at the end of the day.
00:24:43
Speaker 3: How much more simple do you want to make it? He's running cover three. He's running simple zone, like very few zone blitzes.
00:24:50
Speaker 2: So here we go right here. We talked about that hero ball. Where does that start? Is that starting in practice? Is this something that is like basically as they go through practice, and we all know we practice like a pro sometimes. So, like, when we say practice like a pro out there, y'all, at certain times during practice we're like, we're going through the motions and we know we're supposed to be doing, but you're not always in that right space.
00:25:13
Speaker 3: All right.
00:25:14
Speaker 2: And so you're not, you're not always where you're supposed to be, but like, you know, where you're supposed to be is, is, is, is, is this stuff coming from. bad practice habits. What is leading to this getting out on the field and them not being prepared to see this before they get out there? Like, why is this such a shock every week that, okay, you're not where you're supposed to be? Are you not where you're supposed to be in practice during the course of the week? And we're just saying, okay, we know you're going to get there. You know what I mean? It was like, you know, like when you're playing with a veteran corner and they run a deep ball on him in practice and they didn't ran a few of them and he don't cover to go. But he'd be like, you know, I got that.
00:25:49
Speaker 4: I'm going to be there when it's there, yeah.
00:25:50
Speaker 2: So where is this stuff coming from, and why is it such a surprise every week?
00:25:59
Speaker 3: I don't think it's– we know what it is. Man, call a spade a spade. Like, you come to the lounge for a reason. It's young. They young. The guys that we see consistently making these bad plays or being out with the bad technique are young guys, revels, easy guys. JB not doing it as much anymore. He's learned on the fly, but some of these other guys just haven't learned on the fly. They're young and inexperienced, the ones that are making the consistency. And then the other guys are the guys that are coming off of major injuries. And so what comes with that? The guys that are typically coming off major injuries and the young guys that are improving are in the same mindset. I got to prove it. This is what put you in that hero mentality. And then to trust, over-trust yourself and say, hey, I know what I'm going to do. Like you said, you can tell. You said it on the show last time. You can see on the film and when you're watching TV when the DB, like Bland, was looking like, ooh, I'm panicking. And now that you're panicking and when all else fails, what are you doing? Resorting back to what you think makes you great. You're trying to be in whatever you think makes you great. You're putting a little extra um into it. And now that you put that little extra um to it, you're completely wrong in the wrong way. And that's what's putting these guys in bad positions. Like, I don't see... The vets being out of Kenny Clark, Quinlan Williams.
00:27:15
Speaker 4: I don't know about that one.
00:27:17
Speaker 3: I don't see them. From what I've been watching as a D-line, I haven't seen them. Let me finish. Okay, go ahead. I don't see them completely out of position. I don't see them getting drove all the way up 20 yards upfield.
00:27:29
Speaker 2: How many yards does it have to be?
00:27:32
Speaker 3: It don't have to be.
00:27:33
Speaker 6: 20 yards is extreme.
00:27:34
Speaker 3: I don't see 20. I don't even see five yards up the field. There's been maybe one time where a guy got knocked out. But majority of the time, those guys are two stout walls that are getting there. Or you might have one person getting more pressure than the other to where you create that big gap and you don't have a linebacker feeling. But because, hey, you're not thinking about your linebackers like, yes, these guys are proven, but who has the Pro Bowl name? You're going to go for these guys and you're saying, oh, Quinn Williams was supposed to make this or Kenny was supposed to make that. And it's like, no, your linebacker was supposed to be filling the gap right there. No, your downhill safety was supposed to be coming right there because you're In this defense, you're supposed to cause gaps, and you're supposed to have people that feel and flow.
00:28:14
Speaker 2: Hey, man, he's going to take up for the defense regardless of the linemen every time.
00:28:21
Speaker 3: I will not.
00:28:23
Speaker 2: And so what has been said amongst not just people in this building but anybody watching football is that the front ain't been playing like the front. They've held– they've said the same thing about both of these guys, okay, Quentin Williams and Kenny. Like, okay, this is not the way they've normally played in the past.
00:28:43
Speaker 3: So, with that being said, like– Look who they had in the past. You had Quentin Williams that had a linebacker core up there in the Jets.
00:28:52
Speaker 2: You had the Packers.
00:28:54
Speaker 3: You had the Packers that had.
00:28:55
Speaker 2: A– Quentin Williams wasn't making plays thinking about the dudes behind him.
00:28:59
Speaker 3: He wasn't. That helps you make a lot more plays when you have somebody stuffing that gap and now that you've got to play with the big grizzly bear in the phone booth. If that big grizzly bear is right there ready for you in the phone booth but nobody's helping because, oh, by the way, I have been on the D-line. I've been on the edges the most. What have I not been saying? Let's give Rashawn Gary to be that guy consistently.
00:29:18
Speaker 6: Easy.
00:29:18
Speaker 3: Stop giving up contain on that edge because it's been you a lot. Like he's not playing in the gap for whatever reason. And if that is the case that Christian Parker is calling– Blitz is where he's diminishing his value of going in there. That's why I say it's ownership on both of those. But as far as us just saying I'm putting it mainly on these two guys, I can't say that because as much as we say that, what about you? when he's in the backfield and you see him in the quarterback's lap and then it's like, oh, Quinn Williams did that. He's causing penetration.
00:29:46
Speaker 2: I don't think that's what, that's not the goal here. And I don't think, I think you're taking it out of context. There's a problem with the defense, not just with those two guys up front. You know what I mean? But when you look at the pillars of of what this defense was supposed to be built around and what everything that was going on. The D-line was supposed to be the area of the defense right now that was supposed to have the least amount of questions.
00:30:12
Speaker 3: So hold on.
00:30:12
Speaker 2: We've got to take our second break. We'll be right back, and we're going to jump right back into this when we come back to.
00:30:16
Speaker 3: The Players' Lounge.
00:30:18
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00:30:48
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00:31:47
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00:32:10
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00:32:14
Speaker 3: One love.
00:32:19
Speaker 4: To the Players Lounge.
00:32:26
Speaker 3: The countdown to game day starts with Rally Day, presented by SeatGeek, the day before selected home game. Get a tour of AT & T Stadium, autographs from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and alumni like myself, but you know who y'all want to see, Big Money Berry Church. Play games on the field and much more. AD might even pop out too. Get your tickets at AT & T. com slash Rally Days.
00:32:50
Speaker 2: Trey Moore.
00:32:51
Speaker 3: Yes, sir. That's me. That's him.
00:32:54
Speaker 2: Very church.
00:32:55
Speaker 3: What's happening? Yes, sir. What's happening? Put us in, Jerry.
00:32:59
Speaker 2: And this is the Players' Lounge.
00:33:01
Speaker 4: Got two players.
00:33:01
Speaker 3: All right.
00:33:02
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying? That's cool.
00:33:04
Speaker 3: People getting paid out here now, brother. People getting paid. Give me a month. I'll be out here.
00:33:09
Speaker 2: Check this out. Now, getting back to getting back to.
00:33:13
Speaker 5: All right.
00:33:14
Speaker 2: Now, bringing Mike Petten in. Defensive. Senior defensive. specialist, I guess, whatever he's called.
00:33:22
Speaker 3: All right, now.
00:33:25
Speaker 2: And CP ain't going to be on the sideline no more. He's actually going to be up in the box.
00:33:30
Speaker 5: See, that's crazy to me. Not as crazy, but it's just like, wow. Like, that's wild.
00:33:35
Speaker 4: Hold on.
00:33:35
Speaker 2: Now, it's going to be wild if... They're not in the box together.
00:33:39
Speaker 3: That's right.
00:33:40
Speaker 4: If Mike's on the field and he's up top, I'm like, wait a second now.
00:33:43
Speaker 5: Because now all your players is coming to Mike saying, what we do here, coach?
00:33:46
Speaker 3: What we do?
00:33:47
Speaker 2: But then at the same time, they're not in that same space at the same time. Like, okay, we sit next to each other and you see what they coming in with. Now it's more so talking from here, talking to there instead of being in that same groove. You know what I mean? And so for me, it defeats the purpose of helping CP learn and grow and if they're not.
00:34:08
Speaker 3: In the same group.
00:34:08
Speaker 5: And to me, it's wild, because when you look at it, we had a situation when I was here in Dallas, okay? Rob Manelli, you know, my guy, he was the D.C. He was the defensive coordinator that was, you know, doing practice all week.
00:34:20
Speaker 4: He was the guy on the field.
00:34:21
Speaker 5: But when the game came, he went up to the box, and Ibra Floos was down on the field.
00:34:27
Speaker 4: And eventually, that's.
00:34:28
Speaker 5: Who all the players went to. That's where everybody was like, hey, Floos, what you think about this? Hey, Floos, if they got any questions, hey, Floos this, Floos that.
00:34:35
Speaker 4: And to me.
00:34:37
Speaker 2: If you're a new, this.
00:34:38
Speaker 4: Is his first year being a defensive coordinator, right? Christian Parker, this is his first year.
00:34:42
Speaker 5: How are you able to establish yourself if you're up in the booth and you're not down with your players calling plays, seeing what they see? It's a slippery slope when you get into that regard.
00:34:55
Speaker 4: And I'll bring it to the player side of things.
00:34:56
Speaker 5: We all been around where you're on the football field, you're going through practice, walkthroughs, whatever, And you got that one starter over there and the coach goes, hey, hey, whoever his backup is, hey, stand right behind him and follow his motions throughout.
00:35:11
Speaker 4: You know, we're going through all this walkthrough.
00:35:13
Speaker 5: Be right behind him, you know, seeing what he does, seeing how he does or communicates throughout. And the next coming week, he's out the job. And the backup who was behind him the whole time was out. Now he's starting. We've seen it happen that way. Now, I don't know if that happens like that in the coaching world, but. To me, this is a slippery slope, man. Who's going to be on the field? That's my thing. Because that's who the players are going to go to when you know what hits the fan.
00:35:37
Speaker 4: They're going to be like, hey, coach, how do you see this? How do we do this?
00:35:40
Speaker 5: And to me, if you're a first-time guy on there, you want to establish that rapport with your players, man.
00:35:47
Speaker 3: It depends. Whoever gave the call. If the front office made the call, yes, it's a slippery slope. But if he made this call himself, I'm not too mad at it because it's just like if I'm playing Madden.
00:36:01
Speaker 2: When you say he made this call, what do you mean?
00:36:03
Speaker 3: Christian Parker. If he decides to do this, that would be the real question. I would ask Nui whenever he gets in there, see if he can dig around and figure out who made the call. Because if it's management, yes, that is a slippery slope because it's out of sight, out of mind. But if it's him. I play Madden. You play Madden. Like, when you play Madden, what do you do? Hey, if I'm rushing and I'm playing on the defensive line, I'm going to have a bird's eye, point of line view. And if I'm getting bombs over Baghdad, by the second quarter, I'm making adjustments. I got to get an aerial view. Like, what is happening? How am I getting beat over the top? And what's been happening? We've been getting bombed over Baghdad. So he's like, man, maybe I need to go up here and really see what's going on because I've coached it. I've said it time and time again. At this point, I just got to go see it. And so the only thing that makes it a bad thing, like how you said, if both of them and AD, I think you brought up the perfect point because I wasn't really tripping about him being in the boot. It's just I want to see who's calling the plays. But if you do have two separations, like how you said, if he if Mike is here and it's his first time being here and he's on the sideline and everybody's running to him. Now it's easier to segue yourself to associate the success, this and there. And then now you have to sit here and say, hey, is ego going to come into play? Which we've seen time is undefeated. But another champion that's a good runner-up, that number one contender, is ego, especially in this football space. Pride and ego going neck and neck. And so now you have to sit here and say, oh, I'm the reason that we did that or I made that adjustment. And so now– You have a house divided, kind of like House of Dragons. So it's a lot of power going on right now.
00:37:43
Speaker 5: If you see Pete, if you see Pete and you look up and you see the reporter, hey, Mike, how'd you make that adjustment, man?
00:37:52
Speaker 4: Wait, that was my adjustment. I mean, like you said, man.
00:37:54
Speaker 3: Hey, he's going to be sitting over there. Get your boy.
00:37:57
Speaker 4: Like, dang, man, that's real, though.
00:38:00
Speaker 3: And that's where it comes to it. But even with that being said, I think with what the Cowboys ultimately want to do with the success that's been here, he's been a part of organizations, the Eagles when they won and stuff like that, to where you have to have selfless play and stuff like that. And I think winning cures all. If they start winning and they get to where they need to be, CP is going to be happy because guess what? Now I'm successful. Now they actually made it to the playoffs. And now my first year isn't that big of a– a mess up or a let down with him getting all his toolish. So going there and winning, that'll eliminate a lot of this.
00:38:38
Speaker 5: So does this signify that he wasn't ready for the spot?
00:38:42
Speaker 2: So I think that there's definitely some reason to believe that, okay, without question. And, you know, like if he was the type of person to honestly be selfless enough to go upstairs and ask for some help like that, Like, you know, I don't know who he talked to before he did that. But, you know, like that's something that you typically don't see a whole lot. But the question would be, you know, on the flip side of that, okay, if he goes upstairs, does this help him with his recognition of formations and be able to see the view better from the box?
00:39:24
Speaker 4: That's what he was saying.
00:39:25
Speaker 2: You know what I mean? And like you said, Trey, if that's the case then it makes a whole lot of sense.
00:39:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah.
00:39:32
Speaker 3: I'm with you.
00:39:34
Speaker 2: But, you know, it goes back to what we talked about a little bit earlier. Who is going to be the voice of the defense? You know what I mean? And so now you bring Petten in, all right? And so, unfortunately, last week they didn't have Joey Porter out there. So, of course, with this week, which you're bringing JP back, and it ain't this week because they got, what, nine, eight more days off, whatever. You bring Petten into it as well. If you're CP or if you're Mike coming into the situation and you got Joey Porter coming back, and we already knew what type of man-to-man guy he is, do you structurally try to make things a little bit easier for everybody and just say, okay, JP, I need you to be Darrell Revis. I need you to take away this side of the field. I need you to do this and let everybody else concentrate on what we need to do as a defense. And that's, number one, we can roll some safety help over to the other side of the corner over here and we can focus a little bit more on the run. I mean.
00:40:36
Speaker 3: I think you play to his strengths, but I also don't think that you make every little thing about him. Because that's a quick way to lose a locker room as well. Like, Like I said, what's the number one contender to the heavyweight championship, which is time? It's pride and ego. Going into that locker room for a guy that just got traded here and you say, oh, we're throwing out everything that we've learned throughout training camp, OTAs and many camps to say, hey, you're going to be the focal point. And if I'm bland, I got paid this money. Like this is what I'm supposed to be doing over here. So I'm not going to say cater everything towards him. I'm going to say play towards his strengths. But figure out how his strengths can make these other guys you pay strengths better, i.e. Rashawn Gary or Kenny Clark or those guys like that.
00:41:25
Speaker 2: And here's the good side of that, what you just brought up.
00:41:28
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:41:28
Speaker 2: So you bring Joey Porter Jr. in here, used to having T.J. Watt, Highsmith, the people that we talked about. Is this going to diminish his game not having that pass rush and that front that he used to have?
00:41:40
Speaker 3: He better be on it.
00:41:40
Speaker 5: I'm going to keep it a bang. He's going to be covering a lot longer than he was up in Pittsburgh. I mean, that's just being real because you got T.J.
00:41:47
Speaker 4: Watt on one side.
00:41:49
Speaker 5: Alex Smith, Cameron Hayward, like, you got guys that can rush the passer.
00:41:54
Speaker 2: Consistently, man.
00:41:56
Speaker 5: We know the Pittsburgh's defensive line is night and day. As of right now, it could change, but as of right now, their defensive line is night and day better than what the Dallas Cowboys have been producing so far this season.
00:42:08
Speaker 3: It is, but just, it's crazy.
00:42:13
Speaker 2: That's the truth. What's crazy?
00:42:15
Speaker 5: They just let Jalon Daniels in his second start, was back there torturing these guys. Like, he was cool, calm, and collected. That's on the secondary as well, as it is on the defensive line, but he's back there.
00:42:30
Speaker 3: He's back there chilling.
00:42:32
Speaker 2: What ghost, bro?
00:42:33
Speaker 4: CJ Shroud, 300-something yards.
00:42:35
Speaker 3: You just seeing ghosts where you just get punched and you can't see it no more. I mean, it is, yes, there is a day and night when you talk about the talent level as far as certain things, but when you look at it, it Reading the names is not as far as you say. Cameron Hayward.
00:42:53
Speaker 4: On paper.
00:42:53
Speaker 3: Don't get me wrong. Cameron Hayward is a dog. Big dog. Yeah. But he's old. He is. He's old. He is.
00:42:59
Speaker 4: Like, we're sitting here.
00:43:01
Speaker 3: And we know how it goes with the older guys. They don't take as many reps. They in there. Hey, let me get a little Bengay. Let me.
00:43:06
Speaker 8: Hey, man.
00:43:07
Speaker 3: You know what? Vet day. Hey, you know. A little vet day on Tuesday. But I'm going to get ready to go. And it's no disrespect to him. He's ready to go. He's a perennial pro bowler. Quinn Williams. Perennial pro bowler. Kenny Clark. Pro Bowler. Like, T.J. Watt, you got a Rashawn Gary over here. You got a Von Miller sitting over there on the bench. You got first-round pitch right there. Like, bro, what? What are we talking about?
00:43:34
Speaker 2: That's it.
00:43:34
Speaker 3: Are we talking about, like, because we're talking about.
00:43:37
Speaker 2: You're saying everything, and that's what we're asking.
00:43:39
Speaker 3: Like, what are we talking about?
00:43:40
Speaker 2: Where are they at?
00:43:41
Speaker 3: I'm saying it's not. They're there.
00:43:43
Speaker 2: And you're talking about the old dudes. The old dudes is making plays, but these young boys ain't.
00:43:48
Speaker 4: That's facts, sir.
00:43:49
Speaker 3: They make plays, but they play better as a whole and cohesiveness. When they rush, they're rushing together. They're letting T.J. Watt do what he do. But, hey, I ain't got to rush this hard right here. All I got to do is make sure I hold the wall right here, and I know he's not going to take it too far afield. With a young guy like Easy, what I'm seeing from him, he's not turning and countering a QB depth like instinctively yet. That's not in his makeup to where he's keeping one hand of the outside pass rush free to where he's converting like that. And that just comes with time, experience, and just being around veteranship. And when I say these other guys, like, is Von Miller a run-stopping defender like how TJ Watt is? No. But when you say his toolage and his pass rush box, I would beg to differ. It's up there. When you say run-stopping ability and Rashawn Gary run-stopping ability compared to TJ Watt, I would say it's up there. Sean Gary's a dog sitting in the edge. It's just you got to get them to play together, and that's what I mean by it's team ball. I see too many times everybody's trying to be Batman. Batman knew when to sit back there and say, hey, let Superman do his thing. Right now, I think everybody's trying to hit. But like you said, until you actually put it together and it comes together, you're the worst thing. But once the star is hidden and Everybody going to be in here, hey, we making PB & Js because we got all the bread over here.
00:45:12
Speaker 2: We're going to find out real soon because the Cowboys are, you know, with the new moves and everything else like that, I'm sure everybody out there is going to be expecting something to happen fast as far as change on the defense and everything else like that. But, you know, with everything we already know, it takes time. You know, so Cowboy Nation, even though they brought Mike Pettin in and they're expecting some changes to happen. As we like to say in this room, give him some grace, man.
00:45:41
Speaker 4: You can't get.
00:45:41
Speaker 5: Bombed on on Sunday night, though. This Sunday night, primetime, you cannot go out there and get bombed on, man. It just can't happen.
00:45:51
Speaker 3: And that's the real question I feel like we should ask because I wanted to ask y'all with Mike, what type of defensive scheme does he truly run? Because what we've seen right now, and they're saying in the comments, I want to shout everybody out to doing that, but I agree with them wholeheartedly. they're saying, why can't we run a true 3-4 scheme? Or why can't we run a true 4-3 scheme? Like, I feel like we're going back and forth too much, and we switched up the personnel.
00:46:17
Speaker 5: That's CP's bread and butter. He came in as a defense coordinator that was a multiple. Like, that's the scheme he believed in.
00:46:24
Speaker 3: But there, you know, every 3-4 multiple scheme has an identity where it's like, hey, it's 3-4 multiple, but it's typically more 3-4. Or it's like, hey, it's 3-4 multiple, but we have true 4-3 principles of where we are penetrating, but we just allow our outside linebackers to stand up. Like, right now, I see a lot of the zone blitzes coming in when we panicking and we trying to get back, but then also, I see a lot of man stuff starting to get sprinkled in there now, but now you got man blitzes, so Which scheme do y'all think it's going to be or be most?
00:46:58
Speaker 4: You got to get it right, man.
00:46:59
Speaker 2: You got to get it right.
00:47:00
Speaker 4: Get it right, man.
00:47:01
Speaker 2: Listen, this has been the Players Lounge brought to you by Risk Track Gaming. Make sure you tune in tomorrow. We'll be right back with some more Cowboy Football.
00:47:09
Speaker 1: This has been a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
00:47:13
Speaker 4: How about this, Cowboys?
00:47:14
Speaker 3: Yeah!
