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OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Dallas Cowboys · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:00
Speaker 1: What's up everybody. I hope you're doing well. We wanted
0:02
Speaker 1: to let you know. This Opposition Territory podcast was recorded
0:05
Speaker 1: on Thursday morning, April third, twenty twenty five. By the
0:09
Speaker 1: time you hear this, some things may have changed here
0:11
Speaker 1: or there. Boy, hope you enjoy the show. What's going on? Everybody?
0:30
Speaker 1: Welcome to Opposition Territory here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
0:33
Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
0:36
Speaker 1: in the world. That's right, just about twelve years strong.
0:40
Speaker 1: Here at the PSD podcast show. We got a great
0:42
Speaker 1: discussion coming your way this week. Yes, we are going
0:45
Speaker 1: to be diving into the Dallas Cowboys, a rival of
0:48
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles. What has their offseason looked like. We're
0:52
Speaker 1: certainly going to get into some of the depth pieces
0:55
Speaker 1: that they have acquired, and really where is this team
0:59
Speaker 1: heading in the future as they try to be relevant
1:03
Speaker 1: within the NFC and the NFL in general. We got
1:07
Speaker 1: a great guest, good friend of the show. Let's get
1:09
Speaker 1: to it, joining us this week from bloggingtheboys dot Com.
1:13
Speaker 1: Great SB Nations site. Yes, yes, even though it is
1:16
Speaker 1: a Dallas Cowboys site, still great information that they are
1:21
Speaker 1: putting up every now and again over at bloggingthboys dot com.
1:23
Speaker 1: We've got our good friend Matt Holler and Matt buddy.
1:26
Speaker 2: How you doing, my friend great Jeff, appreciate you having
1:29
Speaker 2: me on. Excited to talk some football. We're getting close
1:33
Speaker 2: to the good time of year, so I'm excited to
1:36
Speaker 2: dive into it.
1:37
Speaker 1: Absolutely. If you're not following Matt on the Twitter slash
1:40
Speaker 1: x at hollerin MDH, he is a great, great follow
1:44
Speaker 1: and I think this offseason has been interesting for a
1:49
Speaker 1: lot of the well not a lot, i should say,
1:51
Speaker 1: you know, the four NFC East teams that we really
1:55
Speaker 1: tend to follow, and with the regard to the Dallas Cowboys,
1:58
Speaker 1: Matt really seem to be starting anew in various ways
2:03
Speaker 1: here in twenty twenty five. Even though they have their
2:06
Speaker 1: franchise quarterback one of the best receivers in the NFL
2:09
Speaker 1: in CD Lamb. They have a brand new head coach, however,
2:13
Speaker 1: and Brian Schottenheimer, and that usually means some kind of
2:16
Speaker 1: philosophical changes maybe coming to the team, even though Schottenheimer's
2:21
Speaker 1: been around the building for a while. Now. Look, this
2:24
Speaker 1: is a Cowboys team that has made some moves for
2:27
Speaker 1: sure this offseason, but I'm wondering if you had to
2:30
Speaker 1: give a grade for the Cowboys offseason what they have
2:33
Speaker 1: done thus far, what would that grade be and why.
2:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think i'd probably give the Cowboys a B
2:40
Speaker 2: minus to a bay, which might seem a little high
2:44
Speaker 2: post to what other people are feeling about the offseason.
2:47
Speaker 2: But you know, there's a lack of big name moves,
2:50
Speaker 2: which is certainly not something you want to see. But
2:53
Speaker 2: I do think that they've done a decent job in
2:56
Speaker 2: a couple areas. First, we'll start with what you mentioned,
2:59
Speaker 2: the head coach change. Mike McCarthy is is finally out
3:03
Speaker 2: the door, which seems like it was going to happen
3:05
Speaker 2: for the past three years now and up until, you know,
3:10
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks before Schotenneimer was named head coach,
3:12
Speaker 2: it seemed like MacCarthy was going to stay and they
3:14
Speaker 2: couldn't agree on a contract, so he is finally gone. Look,
3:17
Speaker 2: I think that Mike McCarthy took a lot of unfair
3:20
Speaker 2: shrapnel during his time in Dallas. It comes with being
3:24
Speaker 2: the Cowboys head coach, right, Ace and Garrett went through
3:26
Speaker 2: the same thing. You're always going to get criticism as
3:28
Speaker 2: head coach of the Cowboys unless you're winning Super Bowls,
3:31
Speaker 2: which he didn't. There were certainly things that I think
3:34
Speaker 2: McCarthy could have done better, and in fair criticisms, but
3:38
Speaker 2: you know, he did win a lot of football games.
3:40
Speaker 2: But it was time for a change. I think that
3:43
Speaker 2: made the most sense to move on. So the choice
3:46
Speaker 2: of Schotenheimer, I think the immediate reaction was not very positive,
3:50
Speaker 2: and I think that I felt the same way.
3:51
Speaker 3: I would have loved a.
3:53
Speaker 2: Bigger name like Kellen Moore or Robert Sala, someone who
3:57
Speaker 2: you know, would have drawn a little bit more excitement
3:59
Speaker 2: I think from the fan base and people surrounding the team.
4:02
Speaker 2: But I think in the little over two months since
4:05
Speaker 2: that hiring has passed, the reception to Shotenheimer has changed
4:09
Speaker 2: a bit. People have got to hear him speak and
4:11
Speaker 2: talk about, you know, the things he wants to instill
4:14
Speaker 2: with his team. I think his number one priority seems
4:16
Speaker 2: to be getting the culture right and eliminating some of
4:19
Speaker 2: the issues that have gone on behind the scenes in
4:22
Speaker 2: the organization for the past few years. Stuff has started
4:25
Speaker 2: to come out that after Mike McCarthy's departure, you know,
4:29
Speaker 2: chose the culture in the locker room wasn't great during
4:31
Speaker 2: his tenure at times. I think that there was some
4:35
Speaker 2: stuff that seemed to be swept under the rug that
4:37
Speaker 2: you know, players Micah Parsons, de Marcus Lawrence not huge
4:40
Speaker 2: fans of each other, just some other little stuff that
4:43
Speaker 2: has started to trickle out. I think that show that
4:46
Speaker 2: there might have been a bigger issue there then you know,
4:50
Speaker 2: was let on or seemed to believe. So I think
4:53
Speaker 2: that Shotdenheimer focusing on that and making that his top
4:55
Speaker 2: priority makes me feel like he, you know, is a
5:04
Speaker 2: big time players coach. All the players that have played
5:08
Speaker 2: with him, you know, they're still Cowboys that have positive
5:10
Speaker 2: things to say. So feel good about what he can
5:13
Speaker 2: do and the culture that he can instill. On the
5:15
Speaker 2: player acquisition side, Like I said, they haven't made any
5:18
Speaker 2: big splashes, right. You know, every year people clamor for
5:22
Speaker 2: the Cowboys to sign you know, this sixty million dollars
5:26
Speaker 2: free agent, it's not going to happen. It's just not
5:27
Speaker 2: the way they operate, right or wrong. It's not the
5:30
Speaker 2: way they do things. People all in the trap.
5:32
Speaker 3: It seems like every year.
5:34
Speaker 2: They're not going to do it. Now should they be?
5:37
Speaker 2: That's a whole different argument. It looks like the Eagles
5:39
Speaker 2: last year proved that, yes, you can get better by
5:42
Speaker 2: signing big time free agents. But that's a whole other conversation.
5:46
Speaker 2: They did go out and add some quality rotation players.
5:49
Speaker 2: I think Dante Fowler, who played with Dallas a couple
5:52
Speaker 2: of years ago, is a great signing. He had double
5:54
Speaker 2: digit sacks last year. Jack Sandborne, the linebacker from Chicago,
5:58
Speaker 2: will be a good depth beast. They signed Peyton Turner
6:01
Speaker 2: and Solomon Thomas to be rotational defensive line guys. I
6:05
Speaker 2: think lack of depth is really what killed the Cowboys
6:09
Speaker 2: last season, even before the Dak Prescott injury, when they
6:12
Speaker 2: were getting hammered on the defensive line at the cornerback spot,
6:15
Speaker 2: they just did not have the depth to compete dealing
6:19
Speaker 2: with injuries, which you need depth in this league. So
6:22
Speaker 2: I think that they did a great job securing the
6:25
Speaker 2: bottom half of the roster. Now draft they got to
6:28
Speaker 2: nail the top half get some more big time players
6:30
Speaker 2: in here. But I think they did do some good things,
6:33
Speaker 2: like I said, addressing the bottom half of that roster.
6:35
Speaker 2: So that's why I'd give them give them a B
6:37
Speaker 2: minus to a B. And they can can change that
6:40
Speaker 2: in one way or the other coming into the draft.
6:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, we're gonna be getting into more about Brian Schottenheimer,
6:46
Speaker 1: and maybe the difference is that this Cowboys team is
6:50
Speaker 1: going to see than they have over these past years
6:53
Speaker 1: with Mike McCarthy. We're certainly going to get into that.
6:55
Speaker 1: And I do think that the culture is something that
6:59
Speaker 1: is going to be there's gonna be a microscope on
7:01
Speaker 1: it in terms of this Dallas Cowboys team and even
7:03
Speaker 1: the organization, because I'm I'm really interested in getting your
7:08
Speaker 1: take on Jerry Jones at this point Matt and how
7:11
Speaker 1: involved he is in terms of very detailed decisions concerning
7:16
Speaker 1: this team, and even how he operates from a pr standpoint,
7:20
Speaker 1: and how this actually does relate to the culture of
7:22
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys. I mean, this past week, when talking
7:25
Speaker 1: to some reporters about Michael Parson and his possible contract,
7:31
Speaker 1: Jerry Jones said he didn't know Parsons agent's name, and
7:34
Speaker 1: it was a big story. I don't know if it
7:36
Speaker 1: should have been as big as it was. But then
7:38
Speaker 1: he went on to say that he likes to negotiate
7:40
Speaker 1: with players directly, and it just seemed to be not
7:44
Speaker 1: the best strategy. From a pr standpoint, and really made
7:47
Speaker 1: it seem as though the culture is in some sort
7:50
Speaker 1: of dire straits, perhaps in some way. So I just
7:54
Speaker 1: wonder what kind of a look this is for the
7:57
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys and really what it means players wanting to
8:01
Speaker 1: play in Dallas in the future when you have this
8:04
Speaker 1: kind of Jerry Jones, you know, perhaps a gray cloud,
8:07
Speaker 1: you know, hanging over the Cowboys organization here. I mean,
8:11
Speaker 1: the guy's the owner. There's not too much you can
8:13
Speaker 1: do about it, and he's dedicated wanting to win a championship,
8:17
Speaker 1: you know, to a certainly, to a certain level. But
8:20
Speaker 1: I'm just wondering, you know, what's your take on how
8:23
Speaker 1: involved he is and really what it means for the organization,
8:25
Speaker 1: what it means for Dallas's future here? What are your thoughts?
8:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think unfortunately, it seems like we've gotten to
8:32
Speaker 2: the point when anytime Jerry's going to speak publicly, sort
8:35
Speaker 2: of just hold your breath, right, mental outcome isn't two
8:38
Speaker 2: damaging the team's future. I can't remember a time in
8:42
Speaker 2: the past couple of years where it's been a good
8:44
Speaker 2: thing when look, his comment was pretty much flat out
8:50
Speaker 2: unnecessary and if we're being completely honest.
8:52
Speaker 3: I think it was just downright dumb to say. Now,
8:54
Speaker 3: I agree with you.
8:55
Speaker 2: I don't think it was as big of a deal
8:59
Speaker 2: as it was made out to be. I think Jerry
9:01
Speaker 2: says a lot of stuff. I think sometimes when he
9:03
Speaker 2: gets going, I don't even think he knows what he's saying.
9:06
Speaker 2: So I don't think that, you know, his intent was
9:10
Speaker 2: to throw MICA's agent, you know, under the bus or
9:14
Speaker 2: anything like that. That being said, I don't see why
9:18
Speaker 2: he said it. It's not something that needs to be said.
9:21
Speaker 2: But on the flip side, I don't think it will
9:24
Speaker 2: have a real impact on players, specifically Micah wanting to
9:27
Speaker 2: stay in or play in Dallas in the future. One
9:30
Speaker 2: thing the Cowboys have shown that they're able and willing
9:34
Speaker 2: to do in the past couple of years, it's retain
9:36
Speaker 2: their own stars. They tend to wait a lot longer
9:39
Speaker 2: than other teams, and it costs them plenty of money
9:43
Speaker 2: along the way. They always seem to get the deal done.
9:46
Speaker 2: Look at dak Ceedee Lamb Trayvon Diggs. They all signed
9:49
Speaker 2: long term extensions in the past few years. There was
9:52
Speaker 2: plenty of uncertainty surrounding if all three of those guys
9:56
Speaker 2: would be in Dallas long term, and they got it done.
9:59
Speaker 2: I think that that eventually Micah, Deron Bland, and Tyler
10:04
Speaker 2: Smith will all follow suit. I think they'll sign all
10:06
Speaker 2: three of them to long term extensions. But there certainly
10:09
Speaker 2: is something to be said about not just these comments,
10:13
Speaker 2: but Jerry's comments in general, sort of deflecting free agents
10:18
Speaker 2: from wanting to play in Dallas. Right, It's one thing,
10:21
Speaker 2: you know, you can offer a free agent all the
10:22
Speaker 2: money in the world. If they don't want to play
10:24
Speaker 2: for your team, they don't want to play for your owner,
10:25
Speaker 2: they're not going to come there. So even if the
10:28
Speaker 2: Cowboys decided next year, hey, we want to dip our
10:30
Speaker 2: toew into the a free agent market, right, we want
10:33
Speaker 2: to go out and try to get a big time
10:35
Speaker 2: wide receiver, a big time offensive tackle, whatever it is.
10:37
Speaker 2: If Jerry and Steven and this front office has done
10:41
Speaker 2: enough damage to the brand that people don't want to
10:44
Speaker 2: play for the Cowboys, they don't want to come play
10:46
Speaker 2: for a team that, you know, is saying these things
10:49
Speaker 2: about their star player, possibly the best defensive player in
10:52
Speaker 2: the entire NFL. I think that that's definitely concerning. Like
10:57
Speaker 2: I said, I don't think it will apply to Mike.
10:58
Speaker 2: I think he's going to get a giant deal. I
11:00
Speaker 2: think he'll be a Cowboy for life. But I do
11:03
Speaker 2: think it's potentially concerning to outside free agents, and I
11:06
Speaker 2: think it'd be best for everybody if Jerry just kept
11:09
Speaker 2: silent for a little bit and keep him away from
11:11
Speaker 2: the microphone, maybe till the start of next season.
11:14
Speaker 1: I'm an Eagles fan. Keep it going, Keep it going,
11:16
Speaker 1: That's what I say. Well, you know, moving along with
11:19
Speaker 1: the conversation where you know, we were talking about and
11:21
Speaker 1: you were specifically talking about Brian Schottenheimer, the new head
11:24
Speaker 1: coach of the Cowboys a little earlier, but like heading
11:27
Speaker 1: into this season, you have to wonder what type of
11:30
Speaker 1: head coach he is going to be. He certainly has
11:32
Speaker 1: been with the Cowboys organization now for some time. I
11:35
Speaker 1: think since twenty twenty two, If I'm not mistake, am
11:38
Speaker 1: I am? I correcting that. I think it's been since
11:41
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, right, Yeah, yeah, But I'm wondering what
11:45
Speaker 1: kind of coach you think he is going to be
11:47
Speaker 1: for this Cowboys team in terms of any differences that
11:51
Speaker 1: we will see with him and what Mike McCarthy had
11:54
Speaker 1: brought into the equation because he was the offensive coordinator
11:57
Speaker 1: under Mike McCarthy. I mean, are we going to even
11:59
Speaker 1: see any differences with this team? Obviously, head coaches they
12:04
Speaker 1: want to make their team theirs, even even if they are,
12:07
Speaker 1: you know, being brought up through the ranks. So I
12:09
Speaker 1: don't know what kind of coach do you think we're
12:11
Speaker 1: gonna get from Brian Schottenheimer and you know from his
12:15
Speaker 1: philosophy and what those differences are gonna be from Mike McCarthy.
12:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's a great question.
12:21
Speaker 2: I think that Schottenheimer and McCarthy, it seems like some
12:25
Speaker 2: stuff has come out that I don't think he was able,
12:29
Speaker 2: mentioning Schottenheimer to have as much of an impact on
12:32
Speaker 2: the offense as he would have wanted. I think that
12:34
Speaker 2: Mike McCarthy was the head coach, right, he's an offensive coach. Yep,
12:38
Speaker 2: He's gonna call things the way he wants to, right,
12:40
Speaker 2: it's his contract, it's his job on the line.
12:42
Speaker 3: I get that. But I think that Schottenheimer might have
12:46
Speaker 3: wanted to do things differently.
12:47
Speaker 2: It seems like and I think that Mike did things
12:50
Speaker 2: his way, which you can't blame him for but I
12:52
Speaker 2: do think there will be definitely some differences. First, I
12:55
Speaker 2: think I mentioned it before, but it really seems like
12:58
Speaker 2: shot He's number one priority is creating a better locker
13:01
Speaker 2: room culture. I think that, in turn, if he's able
13:04
Speaker 2: to do that, we'll see a more prepared and consistently
13:08
Speaker 2: focused Cowboys team than we saw at times during the
13:11
Speaker 2: McCarthy era. Solo starts, unforced airrors penalties that they play Dallas.
13:17
Speaker 2: During McCarthy's time as head coach, there were so many
13:20
Speaker 2: big games where they'd start off slow, or they'd have
13:23
Speaker 2: games like the Denver game in twenty twenty one where
13:26
Speaker 2: they just completely no show and it seemed like they
13:28
Speaker 2: just were not prepared to play. I think that that'll
13:32
Speaker 2: be Schottenheimer's number one focus is cleaning those areas up,
13:35
Speaker 2: making the Cowboys play a cleaner and more consistent brand
13:38
Speaker 2: of football, which in turn, I think will make them
13:41
Speaker 2: a better team. Another change I think we'll see is
13:45
Speaker 2: he's going to do whatever it takes to get the
13:46
Speaker 2: running game fixed. Last year, Dallas's run game was a mess.
13:51
Speaker 2: They averaged four yards of carry and we're bottom five
13:54
Speaker 2: in the league and rush yards, rush touchdowns and yards
13:56
Speaker 2: per attempt. You know, they have a great quarterback in Dak,
14:00
Speaker 2: a great wide receiver in Ceedee Lamb, but you got
14:02
Speaker 2: to be able to run the ball.
14:03
Speaker 3: I mean, look at what the Eagles did last year.
14:04
Speaker 2: They showed you can win a Super Bowl leading on
14:07
Speaker 2: your rushing attack. So I think that that's going to
14:11
Speaker 2: be a huge focus. That they hired former Cardinals offensive
14:15
Speaker 2: line coach Clayton Adams as a new offensive coordinator, I
14:18
Speaker 2: think that that was a great sign that fixing the
14:21
Speaker 2: run game is going to be one of their top priorities.
14:23
Speaker 2: I think Adams will be a great help to a
14:26
Speaker 2: couple of Cowboys off young offensive linemen. I think that
14:30
Speaker 2: the reviews of his coaching ability and being able to
14:33
Speaker 2: connect with some of these young linemen is great. I
14:36
Speaker 2: think that he'll bring that to Dallas. And I think
14:38
Speaker 2: that they're going to add a running back, probably not
14:40
Speaker 2: in the first round, but in the second or third round,
14:42
Speaker 2: with some juice to help you add some speed to
14:45
Speaker 2: this offense. So I think fixing the running game is
14:48
Speaker 2: definitely going to be a difference. Mike McCarthy tried give
14:51
Speaker 2: him credit for that, but they were never able to
14:53
Speaker 2: get it right. I think with Schottenheimer and Adams and
14:57
Speaker 2: a new, you know, young running back and hopefully developing
15:00
Speaker 2: some of these offensive linemen, will get this rushing attack
15:03
Speaker 2: back on track and.
15:04
Speaker 3: Get them to a point where they can run the
15:06
Speaker 3: ball consistently.
15:07
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, it's interesting. We're going to get to in
15:09
Speaker 1: a little bit some reflections on last year's draft picks,
15:13
Speaker 1: where you essentially had the Dallas Cowboys really focusing on
15:18
Speaker 1: the trenches and how that might actually translate into the
15:21
Speaker 1: running game. We're going to get into that in just
15:23
Speaker 1: a bit, but I wanted to as we're moving along here,
15:27
Speaker 1: talk about a recent piece that you put up on
15:30
Speaker 1: Bloggingtheboys dot com specifically about you know, adding some more
15:35
Speaker 1: depth pieces to this team and the importance of that
15:38
Speaker 1: because of again, like what you saw last year when
15:41
Speaker 1: injuries piled up, the depth really wasn't there. You recently
15:45
Speaker 1: wrote them again on Blogging the Boys dot com, that
15:47
Speaker 1: are two free agents that the Cowboys should be looking at,
15:50
Speaker 1: cornerback Sante Samuel Junior and defensive end DeMarcus Walker. I'm
15:54
Speaker 1: wondering about why do you like both of these players,
15:57
Speaker 1: why they may be a good fit to possibly you know,
16:00
Speaker 1: give or I should say bolster the Cowboys this coming season.
16:04
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts?
16:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think both could be great fits.
16:07
Speaker 2: And and you know, in a bigger picture, I think
16:10
Speaker 2: that Cowboys still need to be aggressive and finding players
16:14
Speaker 2: before the draft. Right, they still have even with the
16:16
Speaker 2: depth signing, they still have some big holes on their roster.
16:20
Speaker 2: I mean, I think that when you look at the
16:22
Speaker 2: organizations that are getting to Super Bowls, right, the Eagles
16:25
Speaker 2: are a great example, The Chiefs are a great example.
16:28
Speaker 2: Player acquisition is three hundred and sixty five days a year. Right,
16:31
Speaker 2: They're not signing guys for the first couple weeks of
16:33
Speaker 2: free agency and then waiting till the draft and then
16:35
Speaker 2: waiting training camp. You got to be active and looking
16:39
Speaker 2: for ways to upgrade your team every single day, especially when,
16:43
Speaker 2: like I said, they've got some big holes, you know.
16:46
Speaker 2: First talking about a Sante Samuel, I think it's a
16:49
Speaker 2: must that the Cowboys sign or trade for a somewhat
16:53
Speaker 2: capable cornerback before the draft. As things stand right now,
16:57
Speaker 2: Trayvon Diggs is out for the foreseeable future with a
16:59
Speaker 2: knee injury. He had surgery end of last year, so
17:03
Speaker 2: he's gonna miss at least the first half of the season. Currently,
17:07
Speaker 2: the Cowboys have Deron Bland and Kayln Carson as are
17:11
Speaker 2: two starting corners. Blands an all Pro caliber player. I
17:14
Speaker 2: think he'll be even better this year fully healthy. He
17:17
Speaker 2: had dealt with the foot last year. But Carson showed
17:21
Speaker 2: absolutely nothing during his rookie year that gives you any
17:24
Speaker 2: real confidence that he's ready to be a starter in
17:26
Speaker 2: the league. Samuel would be a great addition to the group.
17:31
Speaker 2: He has some inside outside starting experience, and his signing
17:35
Speaker 2: I think would prevent the Cowboys from being forced to
17:38
Speaker 2: select a cornerback with one of their first two draft
17:40
Speaker 2: picks come April.
17:41
Speaker 3: I think if they.
17:43
Speaker 2: Don't sign Samuel or another cornerback was starting experience, it's
17:47
Speaker 2: gonna be hard to see them not spending one of
17:50
Speaker 2: those first two picks on somebody that can play cornerback.
17:52
Speaker 2: De Marcus Wakers another guy that makes sense for a
17:56
Speaker 2: couple of reasons. I think the biggest one is he
17:58
Speaker 2: has the matt I Refusk. He played under Dallas's new
18:02
Speaker 2: DC in Chicago for the past two years. He isn't
18:06
Speaker 2: a big name, right, not somebody that everyone's gonna know,
18:09
Speaker 2: but during his two years in Chicago.
18:11
Speaker 3: He was a productive player.
18:12
Speaker 2: He recorded eighty six pressures fifty four here at hurries
18:16
Speaker 2: in eight sacks. It's a pretty good numbers for a
18:19
Speaker 2: guy who was a rotational player. I think that he'd
18:23
Speaker 2: be a significant upgrade to Dallas's edge group.
18:26
Speaker 3: He'd be a.
18:26
Speaker 2: Perfect rotational pass rusher to pair with their current group.
18:30
Speaker 2: Sam Williams is a guy who's a former second round pick.
18:34
Speaker 2: The Cowboys are relying a lot on him. He's coming
18:36
Speaker 2: off with torny acl last season. Who towards him to
18:39
Speaker 2: miss the whole year As we've seen, you know, it
18:42
Speaker 2: can sometimes take guys a full next season to get
18:45
Speaker 2: healthy again.
18:46
Speaker 3: So I don't think they can fully rely on Williams.
18:50
Speaker 2: I think a Walker would be just another great depth
18:53
Speaker 2: piece than Hey, you can never have enough pass rush,
18:55
Speaker 2: so I think that Walker would make a lot of
18:58
Speaker 2: sense for those reasons.
18:59
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Again, folks were talking to Matt holleran from Bloggintheboys
19:03
Speaker 1: dot Com. Follow him on the Twitter slash x at
19:06
Speaker 1: hollerin MDH great great follow, And I really wanted to
19:10
Speaker 1: reflect on last year's draft, the Cowboys draft specifically because
19:14
Speaker 1: they I get, like I mentioned earlier, they really focused
19:17
Speaker 1: on the trenches last year with their first three picks,
19:20
Speaker 1: the two of offensive linemen one defensive lineman. I'm wondering, Matt,
19:24
Speaker 1: as you're looking at not just this coming draft, but
19:28
Speaker 1: also this coming season too, and what last year's draft
19:31
Speaker 1: means to it all, how do you assess last year's
19:33
Speaker 1: rookie class and which young players do you expect to
19:37
Speaker 1: take a significant leap this season, because I think it'll
19:40
Speaker 1: need to happen, especially in a division where you do
19:44
Speaker 1: have the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champions and a Washington
19:47
Speaker 1: Commander's team that went to the NFC Championship game. So
19:51
Speaker 1: how do you see some of these younger players really
19:54
Speaker 1: taking that significant leap this season who were drafted last year.
19:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think is a great point.
20:01
Speaker 2: I think that how especially their first three picks, if
20:06
Speaker 2: they're able to take that next leap this season is
20:08
Speaker 2: going to be a big indicator of if the Cowboys
20:11
Speaker 2: are back to a playoff contending team. All three of
20:14
Speaker 2: their first three draft picks from last year honestly got
20:18
Speaker 2: off to a pretty rough start. The duo of lineman
20:21
Speaker 2: Tyler Guiden and Cooper Bbe really struggled to adjust to
20:25
Speaker 2: playing at the NFL level. Geiden struggled so much that
20:30
Speaker 2: he was benched midway through the season. Defensive end marshaunneland
20:35
Speaker 2: who was their second round pick, got hurt early on
20:38
Speaker 2: and then never really was able to flash in the
20:42
Speaker 2: second half of the year. I do expect big things
20:45
Speaker 2: from bb I think that Clayton Adams, who I mentioned before,
20:49
Speaker 2: the new offensive coordinator.
20:50
Speaker 3: I think his hiring.
20:51
Speaker 2: Is going to be huge for Bbe's long term trajectory.
20:55
Speaker 2: I think he'll be able to help him build upon
20:58
Speaker 2: some of the stuff that he was able to do
21:00
Speaker 2: last year. Look, he transitioned to playing center at the
21:03
Speaker 2: NFL level with only playing a couple of games in college.
21:06
Speaker 2: That's not easy to hard to do. I think that
21:09
Speaker 2: he showed definitely some flashes. It's just getting that consistency,
21:13
Speaker 2: which I think Adams will help with. Talking about Geiden,
21:17
Speaker 2: I think that he could be the biggest X factor
21:20
Speaker 2: on the entire Cowboys roster this year. If he plays
21:23
Speaker 2: like he did last year, They're just not going to
21:25
Speaker 2: be a playoff team.
21:26
Speaker 3: It's as simple as that.
21:28
Speaker 2: They desperately need him to take that next step and
21:31
Speaker 2: become the next Tyrone Smith right the starting left tackle
21:35
Speaker 2: of the future. That they envisioned him being when they
21:37
Speaker 2: picked him in the first round. It's it's not easy
21:40
Speaker 2: to come in and start at left tackle in the NFL.
21:43
Speaker 3: It's going to take some time.
21:44
Speaker 2: So I don't think the jury's not out on his
21:46
Speaker 2: long term future at all. But they need him to
21:51
Speaker 2: progress this year in a big way. Last year he
21:54
Speaker 2: was he was such a liability that you know, even
21:57
Speaker 2: before Dak Prescott went out with an injury, it was
22:00
Speaker 2: a huge area of concern, just pressures off that left side,
22:04
Speaker 2: penalties as well. So I think that guidans the X
22:08
Speaker 2: factor of the team. If he's able to progress and
22:10
Speaker 2: become a capable starter, it will help this offensive line
22:14
Speaker 2: so much. And I think that it'd be a huge
22:16
Speaker 2: boost for the Cowboys offense as a whole.
22:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so as well. I mean, as an
22:21
Speaker 1: Eagles fan, I'm certainly going to be watching the development
22:23
Speaker 1: of these guys. I think it's a very interesting and
22:25
Speaker 1: even underrated storyline for the Dallas Cowboys heading into this
22:29
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five season. So, Matt, Buddy, before I let
22:32
Speaker 1: you go, we got to talk NFL Draft. It's right
22:35
Speaker 1: around the corner here, and as I'm looking at the
22:38
Speaker 1: Cowboys and what they need to do. Receiver, defensive lineman, cornerback.
22:44
Speaker 1: They seem to be three of the top positions that
22:47
Speaker 1: the Cowboys are going to be looking at draft in
22:49
Speaker 1: just a few weeks up in Green Bay. So when
22:51
Speaker 1: we look at the talent in this upcoming NFL Draft,
22:54
Speaker 1: I'm wondering, what positions do you see the Cowboys honing
22:58
Speaker 1: in on this year? Possibly the three that I just named,
23:01
Speaker 1: And are there any players that you are realistically hoping
23:04
Speaker 1: may become Dallas Cowboys in the future.
23:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you absolutely nailed it.
23:09
Speaker 2: Position wise, I might say there's about a ninety nine
23:12
Speaker 2: percent chance Dallas's first round selection comes at one of
23:16
Speaker 2: those three, either defensive end, cornerback, or wide receiver. You know,
23:22
Speaker 2: you can never have enough pass rush, but I think
23:25
Speaker 2: their need at wide receiver and cornerback, unless they make
23:28
Speaker 2: trade or assigning in the in the next couple of weeks,
23:31
Speaker 2: is a much more significant need. So I'd expect their
23:34
Speaker 2: pick at twelve to come down to those two position groups.
23:38
Speaker 2: My guy from the start of the draft processes twelve
23:40
Speaker 2: has been Ohio state wide out Ameica Buca. I think
23:45
Speaker 2: he'd be the perfect compliment to Ceedeelan. I also think
23:50
Speaker 2: he's NFL ready to make an impact right away, which
23:53
Speaker 2: I think is something the Cowboys should be looking for.
23:56
Speaker 2: Right The Cowboys have to take advantage of these next
23:59
Speaker 2: couple seasons.
24:00
Speaker 3: You're going to have.
24:02
Speaker 2: Obviously MICA's contract which we reference coming up, Tyler Smith's
24:05
Speaker 2: contracts coming up. Dron Bland is a free agent after
24:08
Speaker 2: this year. Dak and Ceed aren't getting any younger. You
24:11
Speaker 2: got to take advantage of, you know, really these next
24:14
Speaker 2: two or three seasons and try to chase that Super Bowl.
24:17
Speaker 2: So I think Kabuka would be the perfect fit with
24:20
Speaker 2: that in mind. He's a great route runner, able to
24:24
Speaker 2: get open, has outstanding hands, and I think that he
24:27
Speaker 2: would compliment Ceedee Lamb perfectly. So he'd be, you know,
24:31
Speaker 2: my favorite guy for them to pick at twelve. But
24:34
Speaker 2: I also think that there's a couple other players that
24:36
Speaker 2: could make sense. Teed McMillan from Arizona has been mocked
24:40
Speaker 2: to Dallas plenty.
24:41
Speaker 3: He's a big body and he's about six foot five.
24:43
Speaker 2: I think white out who has a great athleticism, great
24:48
Speaker 2: jump ball skills, some questions about his speed, which I
24:51
Speaker 2: think that to me would would turn me off a
24:54
Speaker 2: little bit, just because I think the Cowboys need speed
24:57
Speaker 2: on offense, they need explosiveness, They need players who can
25:00
Speaker 2: and you know, bring that to to their offensive unit.
25:05
Speaker 3: But McMillan is.
25:05
Speaker 2: Definitely an outstanding athlete. He definitely has probably as much
25:09
Speaker 2: potential as any player in the draft with his physical
25:12
Speaker 2: frame and and ability to go up and get the
25:14
Speaker 2: football on the cornerback side. Will Johnson from Michigan as
25:19
Speaker 2: a guy that's also been linked to the Cowboys quite
25:21
Speaker 2: a bit.
25:21
Speaker 3: He fits the.
25:22
Speaker 2: Matt Eberflus mold of a tall, long cornerback. I think
25:27
Speaker 2: that if Johnson is still there, I think he'd be
25:30
Speaker 2: strongly considered by the Cowboys at twelve. But one sleeper
25:34
Speaker 2: candidate that I would keep in mind of a guy
25:37
Speaker 2: that could be picked at twelve or potentially in a
25:39
Speaker 2: trade back is ECU cornerback Sheavon revel Oh. Yeah, he
25:44
Speaker 2: was on track last year probably to be a top
25:46
Speaker 2: fifteen pick, before he tore his ACL in practice in September.
25:52
Speaker 2: Funny enough, Revels surgery was done by doctor Dan Cooper,
25:55
Speaker 2: who is the Cowboys team physician. We know the Cowboys
25:59
Speaker 2: love pick guys who have surgery done by their doctors.
26:02
Speaker 2: They feel much more comfortable doing that. Revel, like Johnson,
26:07
Speaker 2: fits the Matt Eberfuse mold to a t. He's long,
26:10
Speaker 2: he's physical, he has great ball skills. So I think
26:14
Speaker 2: that if Johnson and McMillan and maybe a Boukar off
26:17
Speaker 2: the board, I wouldn't be surprised if Revel's a guy
26:19
Speaker 2: the Cowboys either pick at twelve or look to trade
26:23
Speaker 2: down to the mid teens or early twenties and target
26:26
Speaker 2: him as well.
26:26
Speaker 1: It's gonna be interesting for sure. This NFL Draft is
26:29
Speaker 1: going to be here before we know it. We're certainly
26:31
Speaker 1: gonna be talking about it more here at the PSD
26:33
Speaker 1: podcast show, and again folks Matt hollarand from Bloggintheboys dot
26:39
Speaker 1: com at Hollering mdh Over on the Twitter slash x Buddy,
26:43
Speaker 1: it was great talking to you. Always a great time
26:45
Speaker 1: talking NFL Cowboys Nfcast Talk. I'd love to have you
26:50
Speaker 1: on the show again, my friend, come back and join us.
26:54
Speaker 3: For sure, Jeff appreciate you having me on. Thank you.
26:56
Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Opposition Territory
27:00
Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
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27:06
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