Cowboys Should Consider BLOCKBUSTER Trade To Fix Defense | Micah Parsons Replacement?

Summary

Locked On Cowboys – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Cowboys Should Consider BLOCKBUSTER Trade To Fix Defense | Micah Parsons Replacement?
Date: September 17, 2025
Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool
Podcast: Locked On Cowboys – Daily Podcast On The Dallas Cowboys

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on whether the Dallas Cowboys should pursue a blockbuster trade—possibly for a premier pass rusher like Trey Hendrickson—to address defensive struggles following the trade of Micah Parsons. The hosts field Twitter questions around this trade question, break down surprising and disappointing performances on the roster after two weeks, and debate whether the Cowboys' defensive woes are rooted in talent or coaching.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Should the Cowboys Make a Big Trade for Defensive Help?

• Waiting for Clarity:
  Landon feels it’s too soon to mortgage the future, preferring to "keep my powder dry" until there’s a clearer picture of the team’s potential.

  • “I think I'm still in wait and see mode at this point.” (02:44 – Landon)

• Offensive Need Unlikely:
  Both hosts agree a major acquisition is more likely on defense, given the current talent and performance of the offense. Running back was the only offensive position floated, but they quickly pivoted from the idea.

  • “I can't see it being on offense, let's just put it that way.” (04:02 – Marcus)

• Pass Rusher or Cover Guy Is Top Need:
  Landon argues if you’re trading, it should be for an elite pass rusher or cover guy, not an offensive player.

  • “It would be someone that you would go out and get—an elite pass rusher or someone, an elite cover guy.” (04:22 – Landon)

• The Trey Hendrickson Hypothetical:
  Marcus floats Trey Hendrickson (Bengals edge rusher) as a realistic, cost-effective replacement for Micah Parsons, especially with the Bengals struggling and possibly looking to sell—a big factor being Hendrickson's contract is much cheaper than Parsons' would have been.

  • “He's not Micah Parsons, but he's $15 million a year cheaper. He's had more sacks over the last couple years.” (05:44 – Marcus)

• Roster-Building Dilemma:
  Marcus highlights the organizational reason for not trading picks—the need to replenish youth and depth after losing elite talent.

  • “Those picks are to replenish the middle of your roster and that's the reason you traded Micah Parsons... you need those four first round picks over the next two years.” (04:49 – Marcus)

• Front Office Motivation:
  Landon speculates that Jerry Jones could be swayed to make a trade in order to “prove he was right” about the controversial Parsons move.

  • “I think now it's about trying to prove that he was right about the Micah Parsons trade.” (10:06 – Landon)

Decision:

Both hosts lean toward holding off for a few weeks to see whether the season trajectory (and potential trade market) clarifies, but they acknowledge the logic for a move if playoff viability is apparent.

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2. Most Surprising and Disappointing Players So Far (Through 2 Games)

Surprising Players:

• Javonte Williams (RB):
  Tremendously exceeded expectations, named one of the top running backs by multiple advanced metrics.

  • “At last I checked, he was the number one reference running back in the league in success rate.” (13:41 – Landon)
  • “He's just a really hard, physical runner and that's exactly what we've been wanting.” (15:28 – Marcus)

• Brevin Span-Ford (TE):
  Run-blocking tight end who’s been “clinic tape” every snap, praised for physicality despite low snap counts.

  • “Every single one was clinic tape... he's burying dudes, he's putting them on the ground.” (16:03 – Landon)

• KaVontae Turpin (WR):
  Emerged as the undisputed WR3, explosive in early games, credited to both his own development and OC Brian Schottenheimer’s vision:

  • “He’s kind of what I thought Tavon Austin would be in the NFL, but he's just a better player.” (18:19 – Marcus)

Disappointing Players:

• Jack Sanborn (LB):
  Signed as a physical linebacker, has struggled especially in coverage and failed to meet expectations.

  • “I think Sanborn's just been bad... I just don't think he's been very good.” (18:46 – Marcus)
  • “Sanborn also had a pretty bad game... specifically in coverage.” (19:07 – Landon)

• Sam Williams (DE):
  Produced pressures but hasn’t finished plays or shown needed consistency, especially for a second-year player:

  • “He's done some good things getting pressure, but he hasn’t finished anything.” (20:45 – Landon)

• Kenneth Murray (LB):
  While poor week 1 was not surprising, improvement in week 2 was noted and encouraging.

  • “Kenneth Murray really had a good game... it was encouraging to see him play much better this week.” (19:09 – Marcus)

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3. What’s the Bigger Defensive Issue: Coaching or Talent?

Talent Gaps Stand Out:

• Landon points to roster construction and injuries as the primary culprits, not new DC Matt Eberflus’ scheme:
  • “You knew what Matt Eberflus was when you hired him... I think, if anything, the issue is talent.” (23:14 – Landon)
  • “The problem is this defense scales to the talent that it has. And right now, like specifically, they have corners that are not necessarily sticky... but that's kind of reliant on you having the pass rushers to force the issue. And right now you just don't have the pass rushers.” (24:15 – Landon)

Roster is Decimated by Injury and Departures:

• Marcus lists several key defenders (Parsons, Bland, Overshown) who were absent in Week 2; acknowledges even a good scheme can only do so much without talent:
  • “If I were to tell you who are your best players on defense... and none of those guys were on the field in week two for you.” (24:38 – Marcus)

Coaching Adjustment Period:

• Both hosts note it usually takes time for a new coordinator’s scheme to “gel,” and miscommunications reflect early growing pains as much as coaching quality.
• “We're still in early days of a new defensive coordinator... it's a coordination issue as, not just like defensive coordinator, but coordination between the players and coaches.” (25:53 – Landon)

Force-Multiplier Players:

• “Having guys like Micah and even someone like Dak and CD, they're just force multipliers for your units.” (27:03 – Marcus)
• Scheme can only cover so much; elite talent is sometimes needed to bail out the calls—and vice versa.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Trade Window:
  • “Two weeks from now, Landon, I promise you, two weeks from now, you'll have a better idea of which teams could potentially be sellers...” (09:54 – Marcus)
• On Turpin's Emergence:
  • “It became clear right away that it was... as the weeks go on, you’ll see more handoffs, more route running. The reverse thing is so crazy—it feels like anytime he gets a ball on those jet sweeps, it's an automatic 10 yards.” (17:24 – Landon)
• On Defensive Scheme vs Personnel:
  • “The scheme is there to cover up for moments when the talent fails. It. They have to work hand in glove.” (27:44 – Landon)
• On Sam Williams:
  • “There’s just too many times when I see him and it feels like he doesn’t know how to use his hands. It’s just inconsistency on a snap by snap basis.” (20:48 – Landon)

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Key Timestamps

• Should the Cowboys trade? — 02:44
• Trey Hendrickson as a target? — 05:37
• Roster-building vs. trades debate — 04:49–08:33
• Surprising/disappointing players — 13:16–20:52
• Is the defensive problem coaching or talent? — 23:14–28:12

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Overall Tone

The conversation is analytical, measured, and pragmatic, reflecting cautious optimism about the roster while recognizing structural challenges, particularly on defense. There’s also the ever-present tension between “win now” and sustained roster building—a theme that colors much of the episode’s debate.

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Bottom Line

While tempting to make a blockbuster move to patch the post-Parsons defense, the hosts advocate patience—both in evaluating internal options and waiting for a more defined trade market. They are quick to recognize impressive early performances from key contributors and agree that defensive woes stem mostly from talent gaps and not DC Matt Eberflus’ schematic choices.

Transcript

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[A]

The Dallas Cowboys have looked better than expected through two weeks. Should they make a big time trade, we will get to that next. You are Locked On Cowboys, your daily Dallas Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome back to the Locked On Cowboys podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network. Your team every day. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. This episode is brought to you by Mazda. Like our players, we sweat every detail because when you make every move count, pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned for highlights in this week's Moving the Game Forward Mazda. Move and be moved. Welcome back. I am your host, Marcus Moser. He is Landon McCool. And on today's show, we are answering your Twitter questions, including who are some of the most surprising players through the first two games for the Cowboys, how bad is the defense? And who is the most to blame for their problems? But Lana, let's start with this first question and actually we've got quite a few people here that want to know, do you think the Cowboys should be making a big trade to improve the team now that we know maybe they're a little bit more competitive than we thought?

[B]

I, I think I'm still. You and I had, you know, had a kind of conversation before the show about this and, and I, I kind of think I'm still in wait and see mode at this point. Right. Because I do think you have this, this window right now where you've got these picks and, and it's like a valuable thing to kind of have all those picks in a single draft too, because it's not just that you're getting those picks, but also just the ammunition that you can use to move around to do all kinds of different stuff. So I kind of want to keep my powder dry right now just until we get a better idea of where this team is. Right. Like, I, I think we know that this offense is pretty good and I think through two weeks you've seen that they could be a top five offense. Right. Like, I think they've kind of shown, certainly through different spurts, they have a balance to this offense that I don't think we've seen in previous years. Right. So the vibes are right, I think at certain parts of the offense. If you feel like things can even out a little bit on defense, which I, I think is the area where you feel like you probably need to make this trade.

[A]

Shocked if it was on offense. Right. There's just. Yeah, I mean the only position is like running back, I guess, but I mean, Javante Williams has been. We'll get to Javante in a second.

[B]

We'll get to Javante Williams.

[A]

Yeah, I can't see it being on offense, let's just put it that way.

[B]

I, I kind of agree. So to me, it's like, I think you still need to figure out a little bit. First of all, you need to give these young guys a little bit more time just to see. Right. Just give yourself an opportunity and, and also just to see exactly how the rest of this team is like, is the coverage to the point where going out and getting a pass rusher actually would make a difference and help and kind of even things out a lot on this defense. To me, like, again, I'm kind of giving my hand here. I think it would be a pass rusher. It would be someone that you would go out and get an elite passer or someone, an elite cover guy that you feel like could help you on that end. I, I think that's the area specifically where, if you're going to make a trade for this year, like, that's probably where I would look.

[A]

So I have very mixed feelings on this because my initial reaction is no. Like those picks are to replenish the middle of your roster and that's the reason you traded Micah Parsons is because you felt like players 10 through 15 were, weren't good enough and they were getting too expensive. Right. So you need those four first round picks over the next two years to fill in the gaps and you're going to use all of that money that you quote unquote saved on Micah Parsons to extend guys like Duron Bland and Tyler Smith with, which is what they've done. However, someone like Trey Hendrickson is very interesting. Right. Because name he. I think he will be available. We'll see if that's the case. But with the Bengals losing Joe Burrow for the season or at least we think the season for majority the.

[B]

The least. Right.

[A]

Well, I'm not the lot done. Bengals host, but he's not playing this year, I think and he's on a one year deal. I wonder if it would make sense for the Bengals to move him now. Let's say they get a second round pick. They were asking for a first. If you're the Cowboys, could you make an argument like, hey, he's not Micah Parsons, but he's $15 million a year cheaper. He's had more sacks over the last couple years. We don't have to pay him as much. And while we get to keep those first round picks now we have Trey Hendrickson, we only give up a second theoretically and we compare him with Kenny Clark and now our defense. Yeah, it's not as good as it was with Micah, but we're better.

[B]

Yeah. And you're not making, I mean I think, you know, any trade also, you know, would probably need a, a commitment of or a, you know, a deal behind it, I would assume. But maybe not. Maybe, maybe, you know, we could just work out a deal where you just are simply trading him and maybe that comes with part of the haggling that you're making with the angles.

[A]

I mean, I think that would be the thing if you could trade. Let's say you trade for him and you give them a three year deal app. Make up the number 35 million a year. Okay, that's still, that's a lot of money. But that's $10 million less per year that you were planning on giving Micah.

[B]

Yeah. And on top of that you still get the, the first round draft picks and Kenny Clark, which again, like I know felt like a kind of a joke part of this, of this trade when Mike, when Michael Parsons trade originally went down. But he's been an incredible player for you.

[A]

He might be your best defender.

[B]

And, and I think it also makes the, this trade. Also this kind of trade makes some sense because suddenly you've solved, you seemingly have solved a lot of your run defense problem. At least the interior run rush part. You get maybe two thirds of the, the pass rush back from Micah Parsons with, with Hendrickson. At least for this year. Who. And maybe who knows beyond how much longer a 30 year old Hendrickson is going to continue to perform form. Right. And, and you still get the picks, as we mentioned. So, like, look, I mean, I'm not gonna sit here and even after that, no, no person's trade. But I think it makes some sense if you feel like you've got a team to, you know, make that happen. I, I still think that that's the thing that you and I agree on. Right? That I'm still in wait and see mode for at least a couple more weeks.

[A]

And that's what, like, I need to see them beat some good teams that maybe not every. Like for example, beating Chicago, if they go out, they beat Chicago in Chicago. I think I would be more apt to do a trade like that. But I think my instincts are you need these picks to get some young players and start, you know, start this kind of new era of the roster. And I think the thing I keep coming back to is even with Trey Hendrickson on the roster, are they good enough to make it to the playoffs? Are they good enough to be a Super bowl contender? I. Probably not. But then again, maybe Trey Hendrickson is the difference in the Philadelphia game and maybe that is all you need.

[B]

I don't know. Why not? I mean, honestly, like, because, I mean, again, I think if you. Anything can happen with these teams and you're still hoping for development in other areas of the team, if you give this shot a little bit of veteran and pass rush, I mean, real pass rush. Like, it's like. Because I can hear folks say, what about Clowney? What about Clowney, guys? You're giving Clowney like $4 million.

[A]

Not even something.

[B]

Not even. Yeah, so it's like you could just cut him if you want. Like, it's, it's totally fine. Like, I, I just think that with this kind of situation, it's, it's a real pass rusher. It's. It's not Micah Parsons, but it's in that range.

[A]

Pro pass rusher from last year. Right.

[B]

And production wise, he's, you know, produced more than Michael Parsons, at least on that front.

[A]

Like, on the sad part of it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

There's also part of me that thinks, hey, if you're trading a first or second round pick, I think you would want to try to find a player that has some cheap years left. Right. Like, this is what the Cowboys have done before when they traded for Amari Cooper, they had, you know, cheap years available. They traded for George Pickens. Who has this 20, 25 season where he's costing you nothing like that's the way to probably do it. I just, I have a hard time seeing the Cowboys giving up a high round pick and having a Pay player immediately, 30/plus million dollars a year who's in his 30s. But that's where I've been going through all these rosters trying to find another name. And it's just too hard going into week three because everybody, or almost everybody thinks they still have a chance to make the playoffs or be in contenders. Two weeks from now, land and I promise you, two weeks from now, you'll have a better idea of which teams could potentially be sellers by the deadline.

[B]

Last thing I'll say, I honestly think that I'll, I'm pushing back on that because I think we're through the looking glass at the, at this point. Right. With Jerry and, and I think that it now it's, it's about trying to prove that he was right about the Micah Parsons trade. Well, that would be.

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

To me, I think that would be enough to convince Jerry to get on board with the trade like this. Whether that's the right reason to get this deal done or not. Maybe at least it is a reason that this deal gets done.

[A]

All right, let's talk about some players that have been really surprising through the first two weeks of the season and a couple that have been major disappointments. We will get to that next. This episode is brought to you by Mazda's Moving the Game Forward. For those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it. These are the moments that do more that just put points on the board. They move crowds, they move culture, and they keep the game moving forward. And this week's moment that moved the game forward is Brandon Aubrey's 64 yard field goal to put the Cowboys into overtime. It's crazy when Brandon Aubrey steps up. Like I have no, no doubt that he's going to get it there. It's just whether he makes the kick or not. But he was fantastic. He was calm. The Cowboys had complete faith. You even saw guys in the bench, they weren't even getting up because they just knew that he was going to drill the kick. And that is what is giving the Cowboys a positive outlook moving forward. They've got the best kicker in the league. He's fantastic and he comes through the clutch and it keeps fans moving forward. And when you follow what moves you, the unexpected is only the beginning. And just like there's more to every highlight. There's more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda Move and be moved. This episode is brought to you by Game Time, the NFL season and back. And honestly, there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. But let's be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle. Between login screens and prices, jumping at checkout, it's incredibly frustrating. But that's why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to the fans. Game Time is fast, easy, and it's backed by the Game Time guarantee. You'll always get 100 authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus all fees are included. So the price that you see is is the price that you pay. I love that the app is super simple. You can see your exact view from your seats in the app before you buy. Honestly, it's faster, cheaper and less stressful than any other way that I've bought tickets in the past. So download the GameTime app, create an account and use promo code locked on NFL for $20 off. Your first purchase terms apply. Get that as promo code locked on NFL for $20 off. Swipe, tap Ticket. Go download Game Time today. Welcome back to the Locked on Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. This next question comes from Tyler. He wants to know who has been the most surprising and most disappointing player for the Cowboys through the first two weeks of the season.

[B]

Okay, so I got a couple on each, honestly. So I think for surprising, we first just got to have a little conversation about Javante Williams. Williams, right. Like to me, Devonte has been way more than what we expected. I think there was, you know, probably similar expectations. The signing happened for him and Miles Sanders. Right. And, and I think that it's been very clear since training camp has started. All throughout training camp and obviously through the first two weeks that Javante Williams is the number one back on this team and he's performed at a high level. I'm pretty sure at last I checked, he was the number one reference running back in the league in success rate. I. I think. Or number two.

[A]

Well, I think he's fourth right now in success rate, number one in EPA.

[B]

Per rush, which isn't bad Success rate. We also should talk about this. Success rate is measured two different ways depending on what you like, the traditional success rate and then also eat by epa. So sometimes these numbers get a little jumbled.

[A]

But the thing is is you use both of them together, that's going to Tell you kind of where he's at.

[B]

Exactly. So number one and number four, pretty good, right? So, yeah, and I think that that's what we've seen, right? Like, I mean, you know, he had a 30 yard touchdown run that was just beautiful. He's, he's breaking tackles, he's getting more than what's there. He's, he's, you know, I, I, I think, I don't remember the numbers right off the top of my head, but his rushing yards over expected is very high, or at least it was after the first game. I haven't checked to the second one, but I can't imagine it's not because he had a 30 yard touchdown run. So again, like, I think just any expectation that you had for Javonte Williams, he, he seemingly exceeded it. So very excited for him.

[A]

There were a lot of really good runs on Sunday, but one of my favorites was there was a second and 29 in overtime. And I think it was, this was the first time the Cowboys got the ball where they were pretty clearly. Just trying to get a few yards on second down. And he ends up breaking the run and getting I think 20 yards to set up a third and 10. And the Cowboys ultimately didn't convert. But now instead of being backed up in your own end zone, punting the ball away, Brian Anger hits a monster punt and they pin the Giants down there. And next play you have the interception, right? Like, it's just little things like that. He broke a couple tackles on a poorly blocked play, turns into a big field position play. He's just a really hard, physical runner and that's exactly what we've been wanting for the last couple years.

[B]

And I'm gonna go ahead and just transition that conversation into another physical, physical guy who's been a huge part of this run game, who in my mind has not gotten enough snaps. Man, Brevin Span Ford has been everything we hoped he would be as a run blocker and more. I mean, this last game I think he only had 10 snaps as a run blocker, but every single one was clinic tape. It was. And it's not even just clinic tape in form, but he's burying dudes, he's putting them on the ground and then he's getting in their face. Man, I just, I love the physicality that this dude plays with and the way he, you know, is so effective. They've got to find ways to kind of continue to get him more snaps. He was just a small guy that I feel like was worth mentioning because he just doesn't get a ton of snaps.

[A]

I. I got what I wanted to mention. Do you know who the number nine receiver is right now on Pro Football Focus in terms of their grading cd?

[B]

Lamb?

[A]

Yeah, it's not George Pickett. It's Kevonte Turpin. And this is one that we talked about all off season. Like, okay, who's going to be the third receiver? We thought this was going to be a battle between, you know, Tolbert and Turpin and Mingo, and it took all of what, like a week to feel like no pay. Turpin's number three here and everybody else is fighting for a job. I know he got banged up in this game, but, man, there was like a four play sequence early in this game where, yeah, Turpin got the ball on every single play. He scored a touchdown. They really didn't have any answer for him before he got banged up in this game. But for somebody who was so raw coming to The Cowboys in 2023, who started to play more on offense last year, to a guy that's an actual weapon on offense, it's pretty cool.

[B]

Turpin deserves a lot of credit for his own development. It's. It was a long way that he's come in these last few, few years, so kudos to him. I think Schottenheimer deserves a lot of credit because he actually is the one who, I think had the vision for this, even when McCarthy was the coach and, and really leaned into it, when all of us kind of were like, are you crazy? This doesn't feel like this is tenable. You keep pouring more into the Turpin on offense stuff. And the truth of the matter was, is that all throughout training camp, all of us that were out there at Oxnard were trying to say like, hey, Turpin is a thing. Like, it's not like they're using him too much for it not to be a thing. And it became clear right away that it was. And I think as the weeks go on, you know, you'll see more handoffs, you'll see more route running, you'll see more, you know, the reverse. The reverse thing is so crazy because it feels like anytime he gets a ball on those jet sweeps, it's like an. It's an automatic 10 yards. Like, no one can get the angle at least the first time, right? No one can properly get the angle on him, and he just beats it easily to the corner and gets an easy 10 yards to the sticks. It's crazy.

[A]

I mean, it sounds wild, but he's Kind of what I thought Tavon Austin would be in the NFL, but he's just a better player. That's. It's wild. A player that's been a little bit disappointing to me. And this is a guy that I was really excited. Who the Cowboys signed is Jack Sanborn coming over from Chicago from this Matt Everflu scheme. I thought because of the better defensive tackle play ahead of him with OSA and Kenny Clark and Solomon Thomas, who maybe should have been on the list we just talked about. Yeah, I think Sanborn just been bad. Like, I just. I thought you were going to get a physical downhill linebacker and yeah, you're gonna have to live with some issues in coverage. I just don't think he's been very good.

[B]

Yeah, just real quick. Solly just shutting down an entire drive by making all four plays. Incredible. Yeah. And I agree. Sam Bourne. It's like we saw Kenneth Murray play poorly in the first week, and that wasn't terribly shocking. But Kenneth Murray really had a good game.

[A]

We should mention that because we, we kind of killed him a little bit last week. I was. It was encouraging to see him play much better this week.

[B]

Absolutely. But I think the thing that was discouraging was I felt a lot of the first week you were just like, well, is. Is that also affecting Sanbor's ability to play? Because he didn't really necessarily have a good game. Sandboard also had a pretty bad game this game this week as well. Specifically in coverage, I felt like. Right. So. So, yeah. I just think that there is an area where we've continued to ask for the young guys to play a little bit more. Although Clark didn't necessarily have as good a game this week as he did last, I still think you need to start seeing more of these younger guys. Leofow still didn't get enough snaps as far as I'm concerned last week. So let's continue to see more of those guys because I just. These, you know, Murray is. If he's going to be inconsistent, that's fine. Like, at least, at least, you know, we can hold off until Overshum comes back, but if Sandbord's just bad, then we. We can't keep him on the field.

[A]

Anybody else you want to mention that's been disappointing? Again, it's, it's a small sample size, so don't overreact. Don't think that these guys can never play better. But who has been disappointed for you?

[B]

He's second on the team and pressures or pressure rate at least behind James Houston. By the way, who. Another guy that wow. I mean, but Sam, Sam Williams, you know, it's like I just, I've expected a little bit more, I expected more out of Sam Williams than Marshawn Nealon and Donovan as Rocku. Right. Because he's a year older than the rest of those guys. He's got more playing times and snaps than those guys, even though he missed a year. And it just feels like he's, he's done some good things, getting pressure, but he hasn't finished anything. There's just too many times when I see him and it feels like he doesn't know how to use his hands. It's just inconsistency on a snap by snap basis that I'm seeing with Sam Williams.

[A]

All right, let's talk about who is the bigger problem on defense for the Cowboys right now. Is it Matty Berflus or is it the talent? We will get to that next. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here in FanDuel is making sure that you are ready for kickoff with a can't miss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you'll get 300 at bonus bets to use across the app. I love Vandal because it allows me to bet however I like. Like for me, I love the futures market. Like I want to go see who is the favorite to win each division, who's going to make the playoffs. They have those, those odds and lines available. I also like to bet on who I think is going to make the super bowl. And it's all available on FanDuel. It makes every game even more exciting whether you're watching your team Dallas Cowboys or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It's quick, it's easy and it's the best way just to add just a little bit more energy to your Sundays. So are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.com to get started. That is FanDuel.com to place your first five dollar bet.

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[A]

Welcome back to the Lock On Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. The NFL season is finally here. So for your second listen, check out the lot NFL Podcast. Two episodes every single day. One in the morning with Tyler Rollin, one in the afternoon with Tony Wiggins. It's fantastic. Both shows are incredible. Find the Locked on NFL Podcast on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. All right, Landon, this last question comes from Zach. He wants to know what is the bigger concern right now? The talent on defense or Matt Eberflu, the guy who's calling the defense?

[B]

I think to me, you know, you knew what Matt Eberflus was when you hired him as far as, like, what he was going to be doing. I don't think anything he's been doing has been surprising. I think, you know, if, if anything, the issue is talent. Like, to me, like, I do think that there are other defensive coordinators that you could bring in with this talent and maybe have slightly more success. Right. Like, there are guys who could scheme it up a little bit more that could, you know, that could help kind of support this. But I do think that at this point, like, the idea was that we were going to play this zone heavy scheme, we were going to have a pass rush that got after people and, and you know, the front office decided to kind of flip things around on the defense a little bit, you know, a week before the season. I don't know if you guys heard. So, like, I think that, you know, Eber Flutes is not the issue because the plan was originally to kind of lean into what he wanted to do. And I think it's a sound plan when you have the horses to run it. But the problem is this defense scales to the talent that it has. And right now, like specifically, they have corners that are not necessarily sticky corner guys, but are good in zone who can jump bad errant passes and make interceptions. But that's kind of reliant on you having the whole the pass rushers to force the issue. And right now you just don't have the pass rushes to force the issue.

[A]

Yeah, and I look at it like if you're weak or week, first week of August, right. If I were to tell you who are your best players on defense, you'd go Micah Parsons, Duron Bland, maybe, and DeMarvin over shown. And none of those guys were on the field in week two for you, Right? I mean, and Parsons isn't coming back, obviously. It really helps to have a dynamic linebacker that can cover all the middle of the field. So you're not getting, you know, all these little five, six yard passes that turn into 12 yard gains. And that happened far too often. And then you have a corner in Bland who can play in the slot, who can play in the outside. He's just not there. So you're playing guys that you picked up or picked up on waivers two weeks ago and they're playing 65 snapshots. The talent's not good right now. Now the hope is that once you start getting bland and overshown and maybe somebody like Savon Revel, who Jerry Jones mentioned could be ready in week five, I do think it's going to improve, but you're still pretty limited based on what you can do. And so I, I don't put a lot of the blame on Eber F. He's trying to make the best of a bad situation right now.

[B]

I do think that Eber Fluss had a good game plan for what they did against the Eagles. Right. Like, I, I don't think Eagles.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah, I, I, I think the Eagles, like, you know, I think they had, like, good, I, you know, solutions. I think that they are a sound defense in a way that we haven't seen in some other, you know, year years previous to this. I, I think that there are still times when there were miscommunications, especially this week where it felt like the secondary wasn't always on the same page with what was going on. So I do think that there has been some kind of miscommunication. And to me it's like, with that stuff, like, is that a coaching problem or a personnel problem? It's both. Right. It's like, it's, it's both of those things. So I do think that we're still in early days of a new defensive coordinator, and I think it's important to remember that it's not. So we're dealing with two issues. It's not just necessarily a sudden lack of talent. It's, it's a, you know, it's a coordination issue as, not just like defensive coordinated, but coordination between the players and coaches type of thing. So, yeah, I do think that stuff will start to smooth out a little bit, hopefully. And then, you know, hopefully you get some more talent. Like we talked about guys coming back and, and maybe you add a couple guys through trade or something. So that's the hope is that the, the defense scales with talent increased. Yeah.

[A]

And we should also remember, like, it usually takes a while for a new defensive coordinator to implement their scheme. Like, I remember last year in week two, your first home game, the Cowboys gave up 41 to Derek Carr and they had Michael Parsons in that game. Right. Like, it takes a while now. It got better as the season went on. They, you know, so that's. That's the hope here. Now they don't have Micah Parsons in their back pocket who could wreck things. And honestly, that's one of my takeaways. Like having guys like Micah and even someone like Dak and cd, they're just force multipliers for your units. They can make everybody better. And those. Having those guys can make life so much easier for everybody. And the coaches.

[B]

Yeah. And. And I think that that works on a small scale and a large scale. Like, even for the defense. Overall, you need that talent to cover up for the moments when the scheme fails. Right. And. And I think the scheme is there to cover up for the moments when the talent fails. Right. It's. It. They have to work hand in glove.

[A]

And that's why Landon is advocating for the Cowboys to go out and trade for Trey Hendrickson. Pretty cool.

[B]

No. We'll see. I mean, I'm not. Not advocating against. Let's put it that way. Right.

[A]

The Bengals really don't ever make trade, so that's the hard part. Yeah. I can't. Can't even think of the last time the Cowboys and Bengals made a trade, but.

[B]

Oh, well.

[A]

All right, that is it for today's show. We want to thank you for making Laton Cowboys your first listed every single day. Download the podcast wherever you get your podcast. We are free and available on all platforms. He is Landon McCool. Follow him on Twitter @McCool BCB. I am at Marcus Underscore Moser and And we will see you right back here tomorrow.

[C]

You can just move through life or you can find the things that move you. It's your choice. You can choose to get out there, choose your people. You could choose to go for it. No, like, really go for it. Just choose to do something that moves you. Mazda crafts cars. For those who choose to do more than simply move. Mazda, move and be moved.

[A]

It's the Smuckers Uncrustables podcast with your host, Uncrustables. Okay. Today's guest is rough around the edges. Please welcome crust.

[B]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

Today's topic. He's round with soft, pillowy bread.

[B]

Hey.

[A]

Filled with delicious PB and J. Are you talking about yourself? And you can take them anywhere. Why'd you invite. And we are out of time. Are you really cutting me off?

[C]

Uncrustables are the best part of the sandwich.

[A]

Sorry, crust.

[B]

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