Talkin' Cowboys: Lines of Communication

Dallas Cowboys Podcast | October 16, 2025

Hosts: Kyle Yeomans, Patrick "No C" Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Isaiah Stanback
Location: The Star, Frisco, TX

Episode Overview

This Thursday episode of “Talkin’ Cowboys” dives deep into the mid-season state of the Dallas Cowboys, focusing on the defense’s struggles, the impact of injuries and possible player returns, leadership concerns, and a thorough preview of Week 7 against the Washington Commanders. The hosts break down why the Cowboys are underperforming defensively and discuss scheme vs. personnel, communication issues, and the upcoming challenge posed by Washington’s offense.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Injury Report & Roster Moves

• Full Participation in Practice: For the first time in recent memory, every active roster player practiced Wednesday—no DNPs.

  • "[03:05] Zero. Every single person who's on the active roster practiced some capacity yesterday." —Patrick

• Notable Returns & Limits:

  • CeeDee Lamb, KaVontae Turpin, and Tyler Booker are trending toward returning.
  • "[06:41] So those three guys all are trending toward returning to the field against the Washington Commanders. The lead horse in that is obviously CD Lamb." —Patrick
  • Trayvon Diggs was a full participant (still listed, but healthy).
  • Jonathan Mingo’s activation may have to wait another week due to knee soreness.
  • Kalyn Carson is expected to be added to the 53-man roster, possibly making Khyri Elam inactive.

• Upcoming Returns:

  • DeMarvion Overshown is ahead of schedule coming off injury, possibly opening his practice window before November.
    • "[09:09] ...I fully expect that Demarvion Overshones window will be open before the calendar flips to November." —Patrick

2. Defensive Struggles and Leadership

• Current State:

  • The defense is ranked last in the league (32nd).
  • "Cowboys are the sixth team in NFL history to give up 175 points and had two or fewer wins in their first six games." —Kyle [29:56]
  • Defensive players lack on-field leadership; recent leaders are either new arrivals or absent (due to injury or trades).
    • "[13:52] There’s maybe a lack of leadership from a player standpoint on the defense, which we've talked about before. Yeah, we've had that conversation. Who are your leaders on your defensive side of the ball? I'm waiting." —Kyle
    • "[14:16] Kenny Clark is brand new." —Isaiah

• Accountability and Attitude:

  • The group discusses getting “punked,” being out-physicaled, lacking accountability, and the need for someone to step up both vocally and by example.
    • "[15:49] ...you're getting punked is a great way to put it. They didn't say that specifically, but they were saying we're being out physical. We're being pushed around. This is not our brand of football. This is not the standard." —Kyle

3. Scheme Issues: Zone vs. Man Coverage

• Zone Overload:
  • The Cowboys have played zone coverage on 96.3% of early down dropbacks—the highest in the NFL.
    • "[38:29] The Cowboys defense has deployed zone coverage on 158 of 164 dropbacks faced on early downs this season, resulting in the highest rate in the NFL, 96.3%." —Josh
    • Zone on early downs, more man on third (but still only 27.4%, fourth lowest rate).
• Mismatch with Personnel:
  • Many of the defenders are Dan Quinn-style—best in aggressive man coverage.
    • "[34:32] Majority of the contributors on defense were Dan Quinn. Guys ... Their skill set is man. That's not to say that they can't play zone. That'd be dumb for me to sit up here and say they can't play zone. They—you can. But there's many ways that you can get to zones while selling man." —Isaiah
• Calling for Change:
  • Hosts call for coordinator Matt Eberflus to adapt: let the players play to their strengths, trust them in man-to-man, and stop being rigid with scheme.
    • "[37:54] I'm really hopeful that Matt Eberfluz is like, you know what? They're tired of what I'm doing. Bet. Here we go. Let's try it your way." —Isaiah

4. Lab Coat: Do You Need Both an Elite Offense and Defense to Win?

• Science Lab Segment ([25:15])
  • Patrick investigates if Super Bowl winners actually have both elite offense and defense.
  • Only three of the last 25 Super Bowl champs were top 5 in both offense and defense.
    • "[26:54] Of the past 25 Super bowl champions, only three ... have had an elite defense and an elite offense." —Patrick
    • Most winners excelled on one side and were “mid” (average) on the other.
    • Cowboys’ issue in 2025: their defense isn’t even average—“Man, I wish this defense was mid.” —Kyle [29:31]

5. Washington Commanders Preview

• Washington’s Strengths:

  • Offense features heavy pre-snap motion, misdirection, and zone-read (especially with Jaden Daniels back).
    • "[43:21] They are varied in their looks, in terms of motions, pre snaps, shifts.... they do a lot of misdirection with their personnel.... That is a running game is the zone read.... With Jaden Daniels, they are running screens off of that as well." —Isaiah
  • Daniels’ passer rating is up since returning from injury; Cowboys allow a league-worst 117 rating.
    • "[44:47] Daniels110 passer rating since returning from injury ... the Dallas defense has allowed a 117 passer rating to every quarterback they've faced so far, which is the worst stat since they started keeping passer rating as an official stat in the NFL." —Kyle

• Defensive Challenge:

  • Dallas must improve communication and gap discipline to counter the Commanders’ motion-heavy attack.
    • "[47:39] You just have to have good communication buddy." —Josh

• Matchup Worries:

  • TE Zach Ertz is a known Cowboys killer and could exploit struggling linebackers.
    • "[46:48] This could very well be a game where everybody's eyeing, you know, Crosky Merit and everybody's eyeing Jaden Daniels and Everybody's eyeing Terry McLaren and Zach Ertz sneaks behind you and gets two, three touchdowns on you." —Patrick
  • "This is probably the most challenging communication wise matchup that Dallas has." —Isaiah [48:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Defensive Woes:
  • “This team can’t communicate on the defensive side of the football.” —Kyle [47:49]
• On Needed Defensive Attitude:
  • “Call a spade a spade. When you’re getting your butt kicked... So when you're having that happen. Because it does happen... There has to be somebody who vocally steps up. Physically, you know, executing wise... you got to do that for your guys. Can't just talk about it.” —Isaiah [15:54–16:18]
• On Playing to Player Strengths:
  • “If we're going to lose on defense, lose doing what you're doing ... Not sitting back, back seven yards off... take that element out.” —Isaiah [37:22]
• On Season’s Direction:
  • “There has to be a movement in the right direction because you aren’t going any direction except for backwards right now.” —Kyle [19:06]
• On Science Lab Stats:
  • “Only three Super Bowl champions in the last quarter century have had an elite defense and an elite offense.” —Patrick [26:54]
  • “Man, I wish this defense was mid.” —Kyle [29:31]
• On Key to Beating Washington:
  • “You have to be able to control the ball all game long ... Take up as much time as humanly possible—delay of game every play, control time of possession, win second runoff in the takeaway margin by at least plus one. At least plus two would be ideal.” —Josh [48:24–48:29]
• On CD and Turpin Returns:
  • "It's that much more meaningful that CD Lamb and Kevonte Turpin are backing them." —Patrick [31:31]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Injury Report & News: [02:53–06:55]
• Leadership & Defensive Accountability: [13:43–17:15]
• Zone vs. Man Coverage Debate: [34:32–38:29]
• Lab Coat/Science Lab Segment: [25:15–29:35]
• Washington Commanders Offensive Preview: [42:56–49:56]
• Closing Summary of Defensive Matchup: [49:56–50:05]

Episode Takeaways

• The Cowboys’ defense is at a crisis point, both in execution and attitude.
• Communication, leadership, and scheme rigidity are clear issues—leaders must emerge for any mid-season turnaround.
• The defense is being misused for its talent; a shift toward letting players play to their strengths is overdue.
• The tough, motion-heavy Washington offense will test every weakness Dallas has shown—especially in communication and discipline.
• Science says Cowboys don’t need a top 5 defense/offense together to win big, but they can’t afford to be historically bad on D.
• The host panel is lively, concerned, and hungry for necessary changes, and fans are encouraged to bring the energy for the upcoming showdown.

For the next episode: “Say it With Your Chest Friday”—expect bold predictions, stat of the week, and Josh’s signature segment.

Summary by Talkin’ Cowboys Podcast Summarizer.